Tag: Windows 7
As Windows 7 advances toward RTM, the operating system is accompanied by a range of resources focused on the next iteration of the Windows client. An illustrative example is the software development kit, designed to streamline the development of native (Win32) and managed (.NET Framework) applications. Proof that the Windows 7 SDK is evolving comes from the Redmond company’s Visual C++ Team. A member noted that an issue related to Windows 7 SDK RC and Visual Studio 2010 had already been dealt with in the RTM version of the software development kit.
“If Win7 SDK (RC) is installed SidebySide with Visual Studio 2008 RTM before Visual Studio 2008 SP1 is installed, x64 and Itanium platform will not be available from the New Platform drop-down list. Build targeting x64 and Itanium will also fail. Note that the issue has been fixed in Win7 SDK RTM,” the Visual C++ team representative stated.
The problem was initially signaled on June 15th, by the Windows SDK team. At that time, Microsoft warned that installing Windows 7 SDK (RC) and Visual Studio 2008 RTM could disable VC++ configuration platform options. In this specific scenario, the Itanium and x64 listings will be missing from the New Platform drop-down lists of both the New Project Platform and New Solution Platform dialogs in Visual Studio IDE. Read More»
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Debuted last week for customers worldwide, the Windows Upgrade Option Program is designed to deliver customers and small businesses that buy designated PCs with premium versions of Windows Vista pre-installed free upgrades to equivalent flavors of Windows 7 once the operating system becomes available. The initiative is meant to feed consumers’ appetite for Windows 7 that could hurt Windows Vista sales and to make waiting for the next iteration of the Windows client drop pointless.
1. What is the Program Eligibility Period?
June 26, 2009 to January 31, 2010 – Only PCs preinstalled with qualifying Vista editions have to be acquired starting with June 26, but no later than January 31, 2010, in order to be eligible for a free Windows 7 upgrade through the Upgrade Option Program.
2. What are the qualifying Vista SKUs? To which Windows 7 edition will free upgrades be possible?
- Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade free upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade
- Windows Vista Home Premium Full free upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade Read More»
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With the advent of Windows 7, Microsoft is making sure that it will keep Windows XP available for an additional 18 months after October 22, 2009, the official launch deadline for the operating system. Through the Windows 7 downgrade rights, customers with select licenses and SKUs of the next iteration of the Windows client will be able to downgrade and run older releases of the platform. In this regard, Microsoft explained that Windows XP would be given priority over Windows Vista. What this means is that the option to downgrade from Windows 7 to Windows Vista goes live only after XP downgrades are discontinued, namely after the 18-month period that will kick in on October 22 will come to an end.
Starting with the launch of Vista’s successor on October 22, 2009, customers with OEM/Software Assurance/Volume Licensing will immediately be able to buy Windows 7 but downgrade, deploy and use XP. According to the software giant, companies will need one of the following licenses to access downgrade rights: Select License and Open License; Licenses Enrolled in Software Assurance or OEM End User License Agreement (LICENSE TERMS). It is important to note that the licenses referred to by the software giant as the Full Packaged Product (FPP) End User License Agreements for the retail boxed versions of Windows 7 do not come with downgrade rights. Read More»
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Microsoft is pushing ahead with the final stretch associated with the development process of its next iteration of the Windows client. Windows 7 will continue to cook for a little over a month as the Redmond company is baking the RTM build, with the Release Candidate milestone continuing to be available for a taste of the platform’s final development build. As Windows 7 starts on the last yards ahead of next month’s release to manufacturing, the software giant is not only focusing on the testing for the operating system, but also on getting the ecosystem of hardware and software solutions orbiting Windows ready for the successor of Windows Vista. One aspect of the company’s efforts is the Windows 7 RC Training Kit for Developers.
“The Windows 7 Training Kit for Developers includes presentations, hands-on labs, and demos. This content is based on Windows 7 RC and provides an early peak to our final training. This training kit is designed to help you learn how to build applications that shine on Windows 7 by utilizing key features such as: Taskbar, Libraries, Multi Touch, Sensors and Location, Ribbon, Trigger Start Services, Instrumentation and ETW, application compatibility,” Microsoft explained. Read More»
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With the next iteration of the Windows client having hit the Release Candidate stage, Microsoft has introduced an update to the resources designed to streamline development and testing of drivers for the successor of Windows Vista. Developers will be able to take advantage of refreshed documentation for the Windows Driver Kit via MSDN. The update to the Windows Driver Kit was introduced to keep up the pace with the evolution of Windows 7, which is available for public download as Release Candidate Build 7100 since May 5th, 2009.
“The WDKUA team is pleased to announce that we have refreshed the WDK documentation for Windows 7 RC on MSDN,” revealed Kevin Shirley, WDK programming writer. “We have also provided an improved feedback mechanism with this documentation refresh. Near the bottom of each WDK documentation topic is a “Send feedback on this topic” link. You can use the link to provide targeted topic feedback to the WDK documentation team. Please note that while we attempt to address relevant submissions in a timely manner, it may take awhile for us to update any given topic.” Read More»
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At the end of April 2009, Microsoft unveiled to the world a new service that it referred to as societal networking. A few days over a month later, the Redmond company is allowing testers of Microsoft Vine to access and download the Microsoft Vine Diagnostic Tool. The label is self-explanatory, and the new tool can be used to harvest diagnostic information on the users’ Microsoft Vine installations. Vine comes with a client that needs to be installed locally on the users’ machine. The Diagnostic Tool is designed to streamline the troubleshooting process associated with resolving eventual Vine-related functionality issues.
“The Vine diagnostic tool (vinediag.hta) collects diagnostic information of your installation of the Microsoft Vine beta, and stores it in a file on your computer. When you are discussing a problem in the Vine beta on the discussion forum, the support team might ask you to run this tool and share the file it creates. The information in the file could help the support team identify the issue and propose a solution,” Microsoft explained. Read More»
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Windows 7 RC, as well as its precursor, Windows Vista, and the R2 and RTM/SP1 releases of Windows Server 2008 are immune to a zero-day vulnerability affecting DirectX on older versions of Windows. The security hole makes Windows 2000 Service Pack 4, Windows XP (including SP2 and SP3), and Windows Server 2003 vulnerable to exploits but not the later versions of the Windows client and server operating systems, since the code containing the flaw was removed in Vista.
Christopher Budd, security response communications lead for Microsoft, confirmed that the company was “aware of limited, active attacks that exploit this vulnerability.” Budd explained that the vulnerable code was contained in the QuickTime parser in Microsoft DirectShow. DirectX 7.0, DirectX 8.1 and DirectX 9.0 are impacted.
“An attacker would try and exploit the vulnerability by crafting a specially formed video file and then posting it on a website or sending it as an attachment in e-mail. While this isn’t a browser vulnerability, because the vulnerability is in DirectShow, a browser-based vector is potentially accessible through any browser using media plug-ins that use DirectShow. Also, we’ve verified that it is possible to direct calls to DirectShow specifically, even if Apple’s QuickTime (which is not vulnerable) is installed,” Budd stated. Read More»
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Change the Scenery.
Windows 7 allows you to personalize your desktop background to suit your many moods with a new shuffle feature for your desktop. You can program your desktop background to shuffle through your favorite images and get a change of scenery as often as you like. To enable the shuffle feature, rightclick on your Desktop and select “Personalize,” then “Desktop Background.” Choose the folder where your favorite images or photos are stored and select as many as you like. Make sure you check the “Shuffle” box, and choose how often you’d like your images to shuffle. It’s a simple way to keep your desktop looking fresh and fun.
Crunch The Numbers.
The new Windows 7 calculator is a number cruncher’s dream. New functionality allows the user to not only calculate in the Standard and Scientific modes, but also in Programmer and Statistics modes. And that’s not all! Ever need conversion formulas for temperature, weight, area, or time? Finding the unit conversion option makes it a snap and takes all the work out of the user’s hands. There are even templates for gas mileage, lease estimations, and mortgage estimations. Read More»
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