Tag: Windows Vista
The Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.5 is an integral part of Microsoft’s focus to drive a high level of application compatibility for its next iteration of the Windows client, the Release Candidate build. Still, Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.5 is by no means limited to Windows 7, as the resource also streamlines the deployment of Windows Vista and Internet Explorer 8. The resource is designed to provide a comprehensive inventory that spans from apps to hardware and even devices in order to check their compatibility with Windows 7, Vista, Window Update and IE8. At the same time, ACT is not limited to just checking the compatibility of applications and websites, but also offer mitigations to resolve issues, including Compatibility Fixes or “shims.
Jeremy Chapman, a senior product manager in the Microsoft Core Infrastructure Solutions team, explained that the Windows 7 compatibility evaluators were in fact approximately identical to what ACT 5.0 had to offer for Windows Vista. “We made the process of sending and receiving files to the application compatibility web service much more transparent in ACT 5.5. Now you can tell exactly what are sending through to the web service from your application inventory,” Chapman stated. “This is the fastest way to sync application data with the same data used in the Windows Compatibility Center. This is what you see now when using the “Send and Receive” function of ACT 5.5.” Read More»
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Following the availability of Windows Vista in 2007, Microsoft started allowing users to access free copies of the operating system via the Download Center. Windows Vista Enterprise is just such an example. Even with Windows 7 on the horizon, and with Vista SP1 available for approximately a year, the Redmond company continued to serve the original Vista Enterprise bits. Windows Vista 30-Day Eval VHD now features a new published date on the Microsoft Download Center: March 19, 2009. However, the software giant is mute on details related to a potential update, if any.
Windows Vista 30-Day Eval VHD offers users a pre-configured virtual hard disk image containing the Enterprise SKU of the operating system. The Enterprise edition of Vista is normally served only to businesses, namely Software Assurance customers, via Volume Licensing. This is of course an exception, as it has been so far.
Packaged as a VHD, the copy of Vista is designed to run as a guest operating system in a Virtual PC 2007 virtual machine. 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»
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February 19, 2009 by
Jason
An issue originally associated with Windows Vista upgrades has come back to haunt Windows 7, as the operating system was released in Beta stage to the general public at the start of January 2009. According to Microsoft’s Nanda Lella, upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7 Beta Build 7000 is a process that will kill more than just the Ultimate Extras additions, if in fact the end users run the high-end edition of Windows XP’s successor. Lella revealed that the Vista to Windows 7 Beta upgrade would cause the RSS feeds associated with Internet Explorer to no longer update.
This is by no means a new issue. In fact, approximately a couple of years back, Vista users were running into the same issue. The context however, was a tad different. At that time IE feeds were killed by Vista to Vista upgrades. “Our investigations show that these tend to occur after upgrades from one pre-release build of Windows Vista to another version. If you’re encountering this issue, first make sure that the feed URL is still valid by manually updating the feed (press F5 while viewing the feed in IE7),” explained Walter vonKoch, Microsoft program manager. Read More»
Posted in Windows 7, Windows Vista | 1 Comment »
February 16, 2009 by
Jason New storage features have come to Windows Vista Service Pack 1, Windows XP SP3 and releases of the Windows Server platforms. Windows Feature Pack for Storage 1.0 was released to web (RTW) and is now available for download and integration with the supported operating systems. This is the finalized version of Windows Feature Pack for Storage 1.0, with Microsoft cooking the pack since 2008. In fact, in August 2008, the Redmond company was dropping a pre-release version of the solution via Microsoft Connect.
“The Windows Feature Pack for Storage 1.0 includes the following features: Image Mastering API Update for Blu-Ray Media – this feature enables the Windows platform to do master style optical burning on Blu-Ray media. Smart Card Driver – this release provides support for new form factors, such as ICCD,” Microsoft revealed.
“The following system requirements are necessary to install the Windows Feature Pack for Storage 1.0 – the system must be running one of the following operating systems: Read More»
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February 13, 2009 by
Jason As is the case with any pre-release version of its software products, Microsoft has kept a close eye on Internet Explorer 8, monitoring the feedback delivered by end users, and tweaking the browser in accordance. The Redmond company has not only fixed bugs, but also delivered new features and changed the browser’s behavior following user input. And the message from Microsoft is to keep the feedback coming. In January 2009, Internet Explorer 8 evolved to Release Candidate stage for Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008. Windows 7 Beta Build 7000 releases came to the table with a post-Beta 2 but pre-RC Build of IE8. However, Windows 7 versions from the Release Candidate branch, including Build 7022 and 7032 feature IE8 RC.
“Please, be aware that the Internet Explorer 8 version on Windows 7 Beta is older than Internet Explorer 8 RC 1. So if you have an issue that reproduces on IE8 on Windows 7 and not on IE8 RC 1 then the issue has been fixed, unless it is an issue in an IE feature specific to Windows 7, Read More»
Posted in Internet, Windows 7 | No Comments »
February 07, 2009 by
Jason Microsoft is introducing a similar strategy for Windows 7 as it did for Windows Vista when it comes down to offering customers resources designed to streamline the adoption process. With the next iteration of the Windows client having debuted into public Beta at the beginning of January 2009, the Redmond company has adapted a solution accelerator initially offered for Windows Vista to Windows 7. With the February 2009 release of Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit (MAP), the toolkit is designed to integrate seamlessly with both Windows 7 Beta client and Windows 7 Server Beta (Windows Server 2008 R2).
“Our team have just released an update to the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 3.2 for Windows migration that is now available to install on a machine with Windows 7 Beta. Check out the MAP Toolkit now and start planning your desktop deployment projects,” revealed Baldwin Ng, Senior Product Manager, Microsoft Solution Accelerators, earlier this week. However, Ng pointed out that while the latest release of MAP 3.2 does indeed play nice with both Windows 7 client Beta and Windows Server 2008 R2, the solution accelerator is not designed to assess infrastructures for compatibility, readiness and hardware resources necessary to run the next version of the Windows operating system. Read More»
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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»
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December 11, 2008 by
Jason
On December 9, Microsoft made available for download the last bouquet of security updates for 2008. the company released no less than eight security bulletins, six of them Critical and two rated as Important. Hot on the heels of the last round of patches for the year hitting Windows Update, the December 2008 Security Release ISO Image went live on the Microsoft Download Center. Via the Security Release ISO Image for the current month, the software giant is providing a single package for all the security updates designed for its Windows client and server operating systems, including Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Service Pack 3.
“As far as vulnerability counts go, this is the largest patch release since Microsoft started the ‘Patch Tuesday’ program back in late 2003. The release contains eight bulletins covering 28 vulnerabilities,” Symantec’s Robert Keith revealed.
“Of those issues, 23 are rated ‘Critical’ and affect Word, Outlook, Internet Explorer, Visual Basic ActiveX controls, GDI, Windows Search, and Excel. All of the ‘Critical’ issues this month require some sort of user interaction, whether visiting a Web page that contains malicious content or viewing a malicious file. The remaining issues affect GDI, Windows Search, SharePoint, and Windows Explorer; they range in importance from ‘Important’ to ‘Moderate.’” Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista, Windows XP | 1 Comment »
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