Tag: Technical

Windows 7 RTM Support

November 01, 2009 by Jason

Windows 7 is an evolutionary Windows client release, according to Microsoft, and it was also fit that support for the OS would also be an evolution compared to what was available for Windows Vista. And Windows 7 comes in a world where Microsoft Support is much different from what it was when the company made its debut.

According to the software giant, “Microsoft Corp. was founded in 1975 to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800. Customer support in 1975 consisted of Bill Gates and Paul Allen.†The focus on customer support has grown tremendously for Microsoft, as the Windows operating system became ubiquitous, and as the company started offering additional products.

Official statistics from the Redmond company reveal that this year alone traffic to Microsoft online support exploded to approximately 1.2 billion. “Microsoft Customer Service and Support now manages 30 million support requests online, through e-mail and phone each year in 29 languages across a range of products around the world. There are more than 7,000 agents in over 60 locations available to help Microsoft customers,†the company explained. Read More»

Vista to Windows 7 Upgrades Program

May 27, 2009 by Jason

With the Release Candidate Build 7100 development milestone available for download since May 5th, 2009, and Windows 7 making its way toward RTM, Microsoft is also planning to debut the Tech Guarantee Program, now labeled Microsoft’s ‘Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program’ associated with the operating system. The Redmond company offered a similar program for Windows Vista, and it is now planning to do the same for Windows 7, starting June 26th, 2009. The marketing initiative is designed to offer free upgrades from Windows Vista to Windows 7 for customers who will not wait for the next iteration of the Windows client.

Microsoft has failed to offer any details related to its Technical Guarantee Program for Windows 7, but TechARP revealed that the Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program was planned for debut by the end of next month. PC manufacturer Acer has already begun promoting the initiative in Australia, by offering marketing materials advertising the debut of the program. “Beginning June 26, 2009, customers who purchase a qualifying ACER Vista-based PC will receive a comparable version of Windows 7 when available,†reads the message of a slip included with new purchased Acer computers. Read More»

Office 2007 Resource Kit

January 21, 2009 by Jason

Microsoft is offering as a free download the Resource Kit content already made available on TechNet for the Office 2007 System. Packaged in Compiled Help format, the 2007 Office Resource Kit Technical Library weighs in at just 3.7 MB, and end-users will need an operating system capable of dealing with compiled help files, namely Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008. According to Microsoft, the downloadable Office 2007 Resource Kit CHM offers nothing more than the 2007 Office Resource Kit technical library, which can be accessed on the company’s portal for IT professionals.

Essentially, the 2007 Office Resource Kit is designed as a resource centralizing a range of information, guides, walkthroughs, troubleshooting techniques etc. related to Office 2007. In this sense, the kit is set up to streamline the deployment of the Redmond company’s productivity suite in the context of corporate IT infrastructures.

“The primary administrative tools for deploying the 2007 Microsoft Office system are included with the product and are no longer available as a download as in previous Read More»

Network Access Protection for XP SP3 and Vista SP1

October 14, 2008 by Jason

Network Access Protection is designed to permit a high degree of control over client computers across a network. A critical feature of Windows Server 2008, NAP is now also supported by Windows Vista
RTM and Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Service Pack 3. But deploying NAP is not exactly an effortless task. However, Microsoft is offering the necessary resources to help network administrators, infrastructure specialists and system architects. An illustrative example of this is the Network Access Protection Design Guide available via TechNet.

“The Network Access Protection Design Guide, authored by our very own technical writer and NAP Forum hero Greg Lindsay, is now live! The NAP Design Guide explains the advantages, disadvantages, requirements, recommendations, and design considerations for deploying NAP for the IPsec, 802.1X, VPN, and DHCP enforcement methods. (…) Huge thanks to Greg for his authoring efforts over the last year and to many NAP product team reviewers for helping to ensure that the content is technically accurate and complete,†revealed Joe Davies, NAP Senior Program Manager. Read More»

Process Monitor 2.0 for Vista and XP

October 02, 2008 by Jason

At the start of September 2008, Microsoft Technical Fellow Mark Russinovich revealed that he was cooking a major update for Process Monitor, one of the components of the Sysinternals suite. As of September 30, version 2.0 of Process Monitor became available for download. The
description of the tool authored by Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell reveals that Process Monitor 2.0 is designed to integrate seamlessly with both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 2000 SP4 with Update Rollup 1, Windows XP SP2, Windows Server 2003 SP1, and Windows Vista.

“Process Monitor v2.0: this major update to Process Monitor adds real-time TCP and UDP monitoring to its existing process, thread, DLL, file system and registry monitoring. You can now see the TCP and UDP activity processes performed, including the operation (e.g. connect, send, receive), local and remote IP addresses and DNS names, and operation transfer lengths. On Windows Vista, Process Monitor also collects thread stacks for network operations,†revealed Curtis Metz, Program Manager, Microsoft Sysinternals. Read More»

iPhone 3G Issues to Be Fixed by Software Update

August 16, 2008 by Jason

Although Apple is yet to acknowledge 3G connectivity issues surrounding its newly-released iPhone, reports are hitting from everywhere with claims of both hardware and software glitches to be the cause of weak signals. Additionally, Apple is said to be prepping a software fix to deal with the problems users are experiencing.

A BusinessWeek piece, for instance, reveals that the Infineon chipset used to provide 3G connectivity in the iPhone is likely the cause of the said issues. Forced to keep up with the immense data consumption of the device, the connectivity is poor or lost in some cases. Other sources cited in the report say that Apple has been so conservative with the software settings that the device cannot accurately determine whether the 3G signal and bandwidth are sufficient to support the features using it.

“Two sources say Apple will likely issue a software update by the end of September – if not by the end of this month – to resolve the issues,” reads the report. “Apple and Infineon are currently testing the fix, which will be included in a broader update of the iPhone’s software [...]. Part of the role of the Infineon chip is to check whether there’s enough 3G bandwidth available in a given area. If 3G isn’t available or there isn’t enough bandwidth, the iPhone will be shifted to a slower network.” Read More»

Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool

May 29, 2008 by Jason

It is tradition for Microsoft to release updates via Automatic Update, including major refreshes such as service packs, following their introduction on Windows Updates and the Download Center. This means that Windows machines with AU enabled would automatically detect and deploy a range of updates distributed by the Redmond giant. At the same time, Microsoft is offering the necessary tools for users to block the delivery of service packs through AU. As of May 27, 2008, this is only valid for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3, as far as the Windows operating systems are concerned.

In order to enable consumers, especially in the corporate environments, to get ready for the implementation of the next stage in the evolution of Windows platforms, the Windows Service Pack Blocker Tool permits the systems to ignore service packs on AU for up to a year. The transition period is over for Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2. Read More»

Understanding Images: A Guide to Resolution and Size

January 28, 2007 by Jason

Unless you’re a graphic designer by trade, you probably have some questions about the deceptively simple concepts of image resolution and size. Is more resolution always better? How do megapixels relate to megabytes? And can you reuse printed graphics on your nonprofit’s Web site?

Although image resolution and size can be a very complex subject, most nonprofit organizations will probably find it sufficient to simply grasp the basic terms and concepts. To help you find your footing, we’ve answered a few of the most common questions regarding image quality and size.

What Is Image Resolution?
The term “resolution” refers to the amount of information a digital or printed image file contains, typically measured in pixels. Generally speaking, the higher an image’s resolution, the more detailed and crisp it will appear on a printed page or a Web site  though some extremely high-resolution images may contain more pixels than the human eye can see. Read More»