A colleague of mine, pointed this out and seems like MS has released the Beta 1 for Longhorn (now called Vista), on MSDN . If you are universal subscriber you can download it. But, its a hefty 2.GB d/l! Below is my screen shot from my login. <p> <img src="images/Windows%20Vista%20on%20MSDN.png" alt=""/> </p>
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From OSNews: Microsft has made <em>hard statements about perfomance improvements in Longhorn</em> . They claim that applications will load 15% faster than in XP, while boot time is decreased by 50%. They also claimed that Longhorn will be able to wake up from sleep in 2 seconds. Users should also expect half as many reboots during patching. Time to dust of those trustworthy stopwatches.
Mike Calligaro talks about the Mobile team’s decision on using Persistent Storage in Windows Mobile 5.0 - first time ever for a Pocket PC (Smart phones already have this since 2002); and how this will affect you as a end user - as it talks about RAM vs. Battery life - both things which are very dear to our hearts.
If you want to find out more from a class diagram perspective on what the new API’s are especially for the new managed messaging, state and notification API’s in Windows Mobile 5, then check out the class diagram. Click on the thumbnail to see the full one. <p> <img src="images/cli318-tiny.png" alt=""/> </p>
What better way to learn these new technologies other than going through Microsoft’s e-learning courses including the hands on labs from TechEd, etc. for free. But you need to hurry, as this offer is valid only till launch (i.e. first week of November). If you already have the Virtual PC (VPC) image, then you can go here for SQL Server 2005 and Visual Studio 2005 . If you don’t have the image then you can still do the same on a hosted environment by Microsoft - you will just need to be on a high-speed internet connection then....
If you want to get to the .NET 2.0 and VS.NET 2005 msdn documentation, the best url for that is msdn2 - check it out.
TheServerSide.NET has done a performance benchmark specifically around benchmarks comparing the following four configurations against each other: Sun JWSDP 1.5 / Sun HTTP Server 6.1 IBM WebSphere 6.0 / IBM HTTP Server 6.0 .NET 1.1 / IIS 6.0 .NET 2.0 / IIS 6.0 They said, extensive time was taken to tune all the above following each vendor’s best practices and iterative testing to get the best result. For all configurations, tracing, logging, authentication and session state was switched off....
If you have time, you can code your way to the PDC for free, how sweet is that? :o)
Meenakshi encountered this on her laptop at home and had to install the hotfix. Be aware that after you install security update 873333 (MS05-012), you may find out that DBCS attachment file names are not displayed in Rich Text e-mail messages and you may receive a “Generic Host Process” error message (if you are on XP sp2). You may also find that File names are not displayed in e-mail messages (where the format is Rich-Text) that include file attachments when the following conditions are true:...
<p> <img src="images/clickonce_options.png" alt=""/> </p> Well it seems I stand corrected (sort of), and these are rare moments so enjoy it.. *grin*, seems like it was a user error (again sort of - in a minute on that) when I talked about the issues with ClickOnce earlier. The problem there was that the installation can only be supported via http and not using ftp (which I have chosen), once you change it to http you are golden....
CNet is reporting that Microsoft said Thursday that it will introduce new XML-based file formats for its Excel, PowerPoint and Word applications when the company launches its Office 12 software package next year. Company officials said the move to replace Microsoft’’s traditional binary file formats with open-standards-based XML versions will allow companies using Office 12 to more easily access data across XML’’s various applications. Microsoft pledged that the shift to XML, also known as Extensible Markup Language, will decrease the size of many individual files and make documents created in its Office products more resistant to corruption....
A tool provided by Microsoft could let people get around a check meant to prevent those with pirated copies of Windows from downloading additional software from the company, according to a security researcher. The threat is mitigated because the keys generated by the GenuineCheck tool expire “rapidly,” the Microsoft representative said. Consequently, it would not do anyone much good to put up a Web page with a list of keys....
Yes, I know, I have been harping about XP 64 bit and how you can upgrade to XP 64 bit for free , but you might want to rethink for in the short term (for about 6-12 months). Why you ask? Well in addition to the drivers (remember your 32 bit drivers will *not* work), the two biggest Antivirus solutions (Norton and McAfee) are not available and they don’t have any plans till 2006....
In the Beta 2 version of the .NET Framework 2.0 product, there are various APIs that have been added in since V1.1, but are marked obsolete. All of these APIs will be removed from the product at V2.0 release. These are APIs which were added during the beta cycles of the V2.0 product lifetime, but as a result of design changes and/or product feedback, have subsequently been replaced, or will simply be removed....
Not sure if you were keeping an eye or not, but I got some space to play with ASP.NET - something that is exposed to the net and not only my machines at home - does bring up some interesting possibilities. If you want me to upload some code that you might have to run then let me know, we just need to coordinate as I cannot create subfolders (unfortunately) - yet anyways....
Now that Microsoft has officially released the 64bit of Windows , what is more interesting is you can upgrade your 32 bit OS to 64 bit for free (you need to order before July 31st) - yep its true - for free - nada, zilch, nothing. But, heh heh yes, there is no free lunch in life. To upgrade you give up the rights to your 32 bit OS and must own a 64 bit CPU (e....
This is sweet timing, I just got my old HDD (2.5") on a USB up today and over the weekend Whidbey Beta 2 was released on MSDN to download , how sweet is that? Make sure to uninstall any previous versions you might have of VS.NET 2005, Yukon, Emulators, .NET CLR 2.0 (including CF.NET), etc. I will be checking it out over the next few days and letting you know what I find....
Microsoft and Canadian authorities on Thursday launched a software program designed to help police worldwide hunt down child porn traffickers by enabling authorities for the first time to link information such as credit card purchases, Internet chat room messages and arrest records. Microsoft said the Child Exploitation Tracking System is the first software designed specifically to capture pornographers who prey on children and sell their images via the Internet. It will allow police departments worldwide to share and track previously unlinked information on investigations and suspects....
Firstly, MSN 7.0 is launched, so have fun downloading it. Interesting developments on the latest version of the instant-messaging program lets people automatically display to others the name of the song playing at that moment on their computer. In a twist, however, the feature works not only with Windows Media Player but also with Apple’s rival iTunes music player.
I don’t agree with Microsoft’s approach here . Essentially if you are running XP and don’t have SP2 installed, then that will be forced down your throat. Now, I had SP2 running the day it went Beta and have not had any problems, but I am not sure if this really is to get the security patches out or forcing people running pirated copy of Windows to buy legal versions (remember SP2 cannot be installed on a pirated version)?...
OSNews has an article Microsoft’s Shared Source Initiative seems like an odd mix for the company when it works openly and a clever shot across the bow of open source when it works selfishly. How can the rest of us reconcile both positions? Microsoft ex-employee Stephen Walli shares his perspectives on the Shared Source Initiative from within and without the company - quite an interesting read. First, recognize that Shared Source isn’t one program with one license....
Though there have been lots of talk in Longhorn (especially recently), and I have dabbed in it previously, now some interesting bits are being released on what are the new features in IIS 7. The coolest one of these is the componentization of IIS where all of IIS’s functions will be specific components which can be turned on or off. This means that when you install the Web server, you’ll be able to add only the functionality you need, one piece at a time....
Microsoft is readying more than just 64-bit Windows releases. It’s also developing 64-bit versions of a handful of its key desktop and server apps. You an get all the updates here . Now, I only need to know when they ship MCE in 64 bit so I can really use the AMD64 I am planning on buying. :)
And about time I guess too. MS has finally announced that they are going to learn from Firefox and start working on v7.0 of IE with a beta shipping this summer. With the recent Longhorn announcement also shipping around then, lots of stuff happening.