Tag: Milestone
September 20, 2009 by
Jason
Mozilla is working its way to deliver the first beta development milestone of Firefox 3.6., codename Namoroka. The next iteration of the open-source browser won’t have any additional Alpha releases and will advance straight to Beta, with the final release planned for just two months away. At the start of this week, Mozilla noted that the Beta 1 Build for Firefox 3.6 is the next development milestone of Namoroka, indicating that the v3.6 minor update for Firefox is evolving fast toward general availability.
String freeze in common code and browser only took place on September 15th, just to be extended to all aspects of Firefox 3.6 the subsequent day. As far as Mozilla is concerned, the upcoming deadline in the development process of Firefox 3.6 is Beta code freeze. “Right now we’re potentially drifting into November for a final release due to [a] number of outstanding blockers,” Mozilla noted on September 16th.
The Beta 1 for Firefox 3.6 was initially planned for availability by the end of September 2009, and with the progress made by Mozilla so far it looks like, by the end of this month, users will be able to test drive the first post-Alpha release of v3.6. Firefox 3.6 Alpha 1 was offered to testers in the first half of August 2009, more than a month ago. Read More»
Posted in Firefox | 1 Comment »
September 02, 2009 by
Jason Customers testing the virtualization extensions of Windows 7, namely Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode have been experiencing performance problems in scenarios in which sharing folders are enabled. Ben Armstrong, Program manager on the core virtualization team at Microsoft, revealed that the issues reported are connected with the latest development milestone of Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode, namely the Release Candidate Builds. Fortunately enough, a hotfix is already available from the software giant.
“A number of users have seen performance issues using shared folders / having shared folders enabled with Windows XP Mode on the RC release of Windows Virtual PC. This can be addressed by installing this hotfix inside the virtual machine. Please note – this hotfix is for Windows XP and is installed inside the virtual machine, not in the host operating system,” Armstrong noted.
Knowledge Base Article 972435 doesn’t mention Windows XP Mode, a Windows 7 feature, which is available as a standalone download. However, the resources designed to help customers resolve “slow performance when you try to open a redirected drive on a remote computer through a Terminal Services session” applies to Windows XP Professional. And Windows XP Mode is indeed based on a free and pre-activated copy of Windows XP that is available for Windows 7. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | 2 Comments »
September 02, 2009 by
Jason Microsoft is offering Windows 7 RTM as a free download. That’s right! Completely free, no catch, no strings attached. The Redmond-based company is delivering customers the possibility of continuing the testing of its latest iteration of the Windows client even after the Release Candidate Build 7100 development milestone downloads have been discontinued. In this regard, the Windows 7 RTM Enterprise edition bits are currently up for grabs straight from the software giant. Customers will be able to test drive the release for no less than 90 days.
Stephen L. Rose, Senior community manager, Windows IT Pro Client, explained that the free Windows 7 RTM Enterprise 90-day evaluation comes as a consequence of direct input from IT professionals. “Many IT pros we talk to have been looking for a way to continue their work with the Release Candidate to test their applications, hardware and deployment strategies with final Windows 7 bits. In response, we have created the Windows 7 Enterprise 90 Day trial edition, available beginning [September 1, 2009],” Rose noted.
Microsoft is already offering the RTM of Windows 7 via a variety of channels to specialized audiences. However, the free Windows 7 RTM Enterprise 90-day evaluation comes with no limitations, and is available for download for all IT pros independent of the subscription-based or volume licensing sources. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | 6 Comments »
September 01, 2009 by
Jason A new development milestone of the next iteration of the Office System has been leaked and made available for download in the wild. Microsoft is currently making its way to the first Beta of office 2011, a release slated to be available to all users as a public testing build.
However, the Redmond-based company managed to keep a tight lid on all details associated with the development process of Office 2010 since the delivery of the Technical Preview build in July 2010. Still, the silence must not be mistaken for inactivity, as the leaked Office 2010 Build 4417 comes to prove.
Both the 32-bit and the 64-bit flavors of Office 2010 Build 4417 have been leaked and are now up for grabs from various third-party sources. And while torrent trackers and warez websites are serving the bits illegally, Microsoft continues to be mute on the development of Office 2010.
Still, the productivity suite is undoubtedly advancing. According to Wzor, Office 2010 Build 14.0.4417.1000 is labeled as a Beta release, and no longer just a Technical Preview.
Technical Preview testers of Office 2010 have been able to grab the bits for the first development milestone of Office 2010 since July 13, 2009. The Office 2010 Technical Preview is a limited testing program, as opposite to the beta. Read More»
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Firefox 3.5 Release Candidate 2 is live and is available for download. This is the development milestone of the open source browser that will be made available to the general public. Mozilla already started serving the RC of Firefox 3.5 as soon as June 16, but the availability process is not over yet.
In fact, June 19 marks the day that the final RC bits of Firefox 3.5 are going to be served to the public. Mozilla indicated that with the development of Firefox 3.5, formerly Firefox 3.1, and codenamed Shiretoko, it has changed the traditional process of wrapping up the browser.
Historically, step seven in the development evolution involved “shipping partial updates to beta-channel users and change the beta download page to point to the new development milestone,” revealed Mike Beltzner, director of Firefox at Mozilla. “So, what’s new and exciting? We’ve realized that we can run this process in a more parallel fashion by splitting step 7 into: 7.1 ship partial updates to beta-channel users; 7.2 change the beta download page to point to the new development milestone.” Read More»
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Windows 7 Release Candidate is now live and available for download for the subscribers of Microsoft’s portal for developers and IT professionals. Microsoft did reveal that it would start serving Windows 7 RC bits via MSDN and TechNet subscribers on April 30, 2009, and the Redmond company managed to live up to its promise. In case you happen to have a MSDN or TechNet subscription you will be able to use the links provided below in order to download the fully fledged Windows 7 Release Candidate bits straight from the source. Members of the MSDN and TechNet networks will be able to grab not only the actual bits of the Windows 7 RC but also product keys designed to activate the development milestone.
One aspect worth noting is the fact that, while on the first tries there were no problems accessing MSDN Subscriber Downloads, at the time of this article the error “Sorry, we were unable to service your request” is returned instead of the respective area of the portal. Repeated tries all end up in the same page load error. No word yet from Microsoft explaining the issue. Read More»
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With the availability of Windows 7 Beta, Microsoft is also offering developers the necessary tools and resources to start building and adapting software and hardware products to the next iteration of Windows. One illustrative example in this context is the Windows Driver Kit (WDK) Beta for Windows 7 Beta Build 7000. In addition, the Redmond company is also delivering extensive documentation accompanying the latest WDK release for Windows 7 Beta, in an effort to provide developers with the necessary resources to help them tailor their drivers to Windows Vista’s successor.
“You’ll be pleased to know that you can now download the Windows 7 Beta WDK documentation in either hxs or chm format. Both downloads contain the same documentation bits that shipped in the Windows 7 Beta WDK.
Alternatively, you can access the Windows 7 Beta WDK documentation online,” Ted Hudek, Sr. content publishing lead, Microsoft. “Releasing in chm format is an experiment for us, and as such is currently just a one-shot. If we get feedback that folks like it, we’ll probably go ahead and refresh the chm at major OS milestones.” Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | No Comments »
February 16, 2009 by
Jason Following the same strategy that it applied with Windows Vista as the operating system was making its way through the development process, Microsoft is now releasing the developer tools and resources designed to permit building on top of the Windows Media Center component in Windows 7. Made previously available via Microsoft Connect, the Windows Media Center Software Development Kit 6.0.2009.0106 Beta for Windows 7 Beta Build 7000 can now be accessed by the general public.
It is important to note that as far as the actual application programming interface goes, the latest release of Windows Media Center SDK 6.0 for Windows 7 Beta is similar to what the company already delivered to developers for the Milestone 3, pre-Beta Build of Win 7.
Speaking on the Windows Media Center Software Development Kit for Windows 7 Beta, Charlie Owen, product manager on the Media Center team said: “This has been available for beta testers via Connect for a while now and we finally got it posted for everyone.” Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | No Comments »
December 12, 2008 by
Jason In addition to making Windows Vista SP2 Beta along withWindows Server 2008 SP2 Beta available for download, Microsoft is also serving the bits for the second service pack designed for its Windows client and server operating systems via Windows Update. However, the Redmond company is not offering Service Pack 2 Beta automatically packaged as an update to all copies of Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 SP1. In fact, a registry tweak is necessary in order to access the SP2 Beta build via WU, and this is where the Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Beta and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Beta – Windows Update Experience Kit comes in.
“Windows Server 2008/Windows Vista SP2 distributed through Windows Update will be applicable to Windows Server 2008 SP1 and Windows Vista SP1 machines that are running on any of the following languages: English, German, French, Spanish, and Japanese. Versions of Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista in any language other than these five, including systems with a Language Pack of another language installed, will prevent Windows Update from offering you the service pack package,” Microsoft explained. Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista | No Comments »
December 11, 2008 by
Jason
Microsoft has developed one of the key resources it has been providing so far for Windows 7. Accompanying the release of Windows 7 pre-Beta Build 6801 Milestone 3 at the Professional Developers Conference 2008 at the end of October in Los Angeles is the Windows 7 Developer Guide. At the start of December 2008, the Redmond company began offering version 1.2 of the Windows 7 Developer Guide, which brings an edited Media Platform section. In this regard, in version 1.1, Microsoft delivered descriptions to the areas dealing with the Windows Biometric Framework (WBF) and Direct3D 10.1 Command Remoting.
“The Windows Biometric Framework (WBF) provides an API which enables applications to use fingerprint devices to enroll, identify, and verify user identities without gaining direct access to any biometric fingerprint hardware or samples. You can use WBF with fingerprint devices that have Windows Biometric Device Interface (WBDI) drivers. WBF is extensible through plug-in adapters that manage sensor communications, biometric matching, and template storage,” Microsoft revealed. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7 | No Comments »
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