The new year is almost over, so what can say about 2005 in conclusion? For me, it was a year of ups and big downs, one most regrettable was the lost of my dear friend, Marisha Swaby, who passed away in August. I miss her very much and never would have thought in a million years she would not be here with us this New Years eve. But God new best, he took her so soon in life to do greater work in heaven. May her soul rest in peace and may her family find peace in all the good works Risha has done during her very short time on earth.

 

As for other parts of 2005, the release of BETA 1 of Vista was a positive one, and thats one of the positive things I continue to look forward to in the New Year to see where the development of this blockbuster goes. I hope to see a change in Jamaica in the coming new year, with an end to crime, violence, corruption and more job opportunities for people across the island. Most of all, I wish for no more natural disasters since 2005 seemed to be the year of it. I hope peace and prosperity across the world and continue to pray that everyone on earth can just get along.

 

Well, thats all from me for now and oh, Happy New Year when it comes.

I just would like to wish everybody a Merry Christmas, may this special time of the year bring you and yours peace and joy.

From eWeek

 

A feature expected in the next version of Windows that will allow users to tag documents and other files with "metadata" could lead to embarrassing information disclosures if companies are not careful, according to research from Gartner Inc.

New features in beta releases of the next version of Microsoft Corp.'s Windows make it easy to attach metadata, or keywords, to different documents.

However, there is no easy way to control the metadata once documents leave the Windows system or enterprise network.

Companies need to be aware of this fact and take steps to make sure that sensitive keywords and other metadata are stripped from documents before they are made public, Gartner said.

Gartner's research note, "Plan to deal with metadata issues with Windows Vista," published Wednesday, takes Microsoft to task for not designing security into the upcoming versions of Windows, code-named Vista, and Microsoft Office.

Read the rest here

From x(perts)64

 

Over the years, I’ve run more than one operating system on almost all of my every day systems. As a writer about technology and operating systems, I’m constantly working with new (and often beta) operating systems as I learn their ins and outs to write about them. Since I generally have to buy my own hardware, that means making the most of the hardware I do have, and dual booting, or multi-booting, can be an effective solution. Several years ago, when the Windows Expert Zone was getting started, I wrote a column about multi-booting, and much of it is still true today. But obviously, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition didn’t exist back then, so let’s talk about the specifics of how to do it with x64 Edition.

Read the rest here

Sorry I haven't updated my MSN Spaces in the past few days, but I have been so busy with work here at the Office plus investing some time throughout the day to test Windows Vista build 5270. I will be writing a pre-view soon, so stay tuned.

 

Thanks Imran for the correction, I will post it later to day. Merry Christmas everyone.

From Information Week

 

Microsoft's biggest challenge in 2006 will be convincing corporations that they should upgrade to Windows Vista when it rolls out late in the year, a research firm said Friday.

Directions on Microsoft, a Kirkland, Wash.-based company that tracks the developer's moves, put the Vista challenge at the top of its annual list.

Although demos of the still-in-the-works operating system boast cool graphics effects and consumer features, it's enterprises that Microsoft must persuade. "Windows is Microsoft's biggest business unit, and Vista is it's biggest challenge," said Rob Helm, director of research at Directions. "Frankly, I think it's going to be very difficult for Microsoft to make its case to corporations."

January and February of 2006 will be the months to watch, said Helm, since that's when Microsoft will lock down the feature set for Vista. "Then they can try to tell corporations why they need it."

Read the rest here

Interesting months ahead.

From Microsoft-Watch

 

Tablet PC feature integration, more user-interface tweaks and parental control filters are all expected to be part of the December Community Technology Preview release. But Beta 2 is still months away, it seems. Windows testers will get a new beta version of Windows Vista, dubbed the December Community Technology Preview beta build, just before next week's holidays, according to tester scuttlebutt. New to the December release, testers say, will be a number of features and user-interface tweaks. A new defrag module; tight integration of Windows Defender (the product formerly known as Windows Antispyware); and a functional parental-controls filter are all rumored to be in the December Vista build. OEMs and independent software vendor (ISV) partners are expected to get the December CTP any day now. And Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) and other Vista testers will be able to get their hands on the build by Monday or Tuesday, if Microsoft sticks to its plans, the testers claim. Read the rest here This could probably be the best holiday present any BETA Tester could get. I am definitely looking forward to it, we have been 5231 so long most testers were starting to wonder if it was designated the RTM Build. But there is more to expect, and the December CTP looks be very feature rich with new user interface changes and enhancements. I am looking forward to testing Windows Defender, I have been testing the public version for quite a while now (1 year to be to be precise, which I would consider to be a world record). Windows Defender is expected to include new user interface changes, many persons are looking forward to. Its gonna be a spectacular release.

From News.com

 

Microsoft is crafting a tool that will call out potential software conflicts with a security feature in Windows Vista that lets people run the operating system with fewer user privileges.

The tool, dubbed LUA Buglight, is designed to identify bugs related to the new Least User Access, or LUA, feature in Windows Vista, a Microsoft representative said in a statement. Vista is the successor to Windows XP that's due out next year.

LUA lets Vista users run their system with fewer privileges, as opposed to the administrator mode that Windows XP typically runs in. The change is meant to improve the security of Windows. For example, a malicious program that makes its way onto a PC running in standard-user mode can't do as much damage as on a PC running in administrator mode.

Read the rest here

From Channel9

 

Bringing Windows Vista to non-English markets is a lot harder than just changing a text file. Here Michael Kaplan, technical lead on the US-Windows Globalization team, on the  discusses some of the things (and tools) that the team does to bring Windows Vista to non-English speaking markets. Real interesting and some tips for developers who are localizing their own applications.

Check out the video here

From Techworld

 

Microsoft will move the graphics for its next version of Windows outside of the operating system's kernel to improve reliability, the software giant has told Techworld.

Vista's graphics subsystem, codenamed Avalon and formally known as the Windows Presentation Foundation, will be pulled out the kernel because many lock-ups are the result of the GUI freezing, Microsoft infrastructure architect Giovanni Marchetti told us exclusively yesterday.

Read the rest here

From eWeek

 

WASHINGTON, DC—The gospel according to LUA (least-privileged user account) took center stage at Microsoft Corp.'s Security Summit East here with a pair of Redmond consultants pitching the idea of a well-funded security deployment repository to help developers create applications for non-admin users.

 

The LUA principle, which promotes the use of accounts with fewer access rights than Administrator accounts, has been largely ignored by end users, but if Aaron Margosis and Shelly Bird have their way, code writers will have a central place to get tools and training to create least-privilege applications.

Read the rest here

From Channel9

 

Charles recently caught up with seasoned Niner, Larry Osterman, an SDE and 20 year Microsoft veteran, and Elliot H Omiya, a Software Architect and audio guru, to dig into the innerworkings of Vista's updated Audio Stack and new user mode API. Much of the guts of Windows audio have been moved up into the land of the user and this has consequences for both Windows audio developers at the API level and for Windows at the general programmability, reliability and stability levels. Great stuff.

Enjoy

Check out the video here

From WinInformant

 

From TabBlogger

 

Some notes for those of you who are going to be installing the December05 Windows Vista CTP.

-Log bugs at the Microsoft Beta website; We have a team in place who will be reviewing bugs as they come in. (I am on this team)

-Additional support is available through the Beta Newsgroups; Other members of the TabletPC team will be monitoring the microsoft.beta.longhorn.tabletpc newsgroup.

Of course, you can always message Lora or you can contact myself at the Contact link at the top of this blog.

I'm really looking forward to hearing what you think of TabletPC features in Windows Vista when you see this new CTP. We've come a lo-o-ong way from the Beta1 or even the September CTP.

P.S. If any Fujitsu P1510D users are out there, let me know what your impressions are. Running XPSP2 or Vista, either way.

Check out TabBlogger here

From eWeek

 

Qoute:

Microsoft Corp. is banking on enhancements to what it has dubbed the fundamentals to entice enterprises to upgrade to the next version of Windows, known as Vista.

 

The company will use upcoming industry shows to sing the praises of improvements to the Windows networking stack and secure networking techniques such as server and domain isolation to sell both Vista and "Longhorn," the planned update to Windows Server.

However, Microsoft may be swimming upstream against current technology trends and advocating changes that could roil enterprise networks, according to one analyst.

Microsoft will use the RSA Conference in San Jose, Calif., in February and the company's TechEd conference in Boston in June to demonstrate and evangelize the security enhancements in Vista and its upcoming "Longhorn" version of Windows, said Mike Schutz, group product manager for Microsoft's Windows Server Division, in Redmond, Wash.

Read the rest here

From NeoWin Forums

 

Its not clear if this is the much anticipated BETA 2 release of Windows Defender, formerly named Windows AntiSpyware or just an interim release. The screenshots show the new interface that utilizes Windows Explorer navigation buttons. The interface is clean and easy to understand. The UI based upon Microsofts forth coming Integrated Security Suite, Windows OnceCare, which includes solutions for AntiVirus, Backup, AntiSpyware and PC TuneUp.

 

Check out the screenshots here

Check out the Microsoft Anti-Malware Team Blog here

From IT Jungle

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger did it, and now Bill Gates is ready. Arnold went from bodybuilder to movie star to governor. Bill has already become a big time if not full time philanthropist. He has loosened his grip on Microsoft's reins. And now he is poised to take a final bow saying, "I won't be back." Yet, before he can leave, he has to pull off a corporate hat trick, launching new versions of Internet Explorer, Office, and Windows. Unfortunately, Windows Vista could trip him at the exit. It is going to require PCs with the kind of muscle young Schwarzenegger flexed.

 

With Vista, Microsoft has decided that PCs should have high quality vector graphics, not the girly-computer raster graphics on present day machines. All real computers, like real workstations, will, with Vista, be able to work with visual information based on lines and curves, not a grid of dots, the way CAD programs do, the way the most capable typographic engines do. Graphics will stay smooth and not turn jagged as you scale things up. Better shading will allow screens to present information with greater subtlety. Images will rotate nicely. Text will be able to run at angles and even follow curved baselines.

 

The only drawback to the new graphics scheme is that it won't work with the kind of display hardware on most people's desks. You'll need a PC with a very capable graphics card and lots of its graphics memory, probably 256 MB. That's more memory than many business PCs have now as their main memory, including some memory that can be borrowed by the machine's graphics engine. And that's just the start. The center of the Vista target, what will become a midrange PC if Microsoft has its way, will have a dual core 64-bit processor and 1 GB or 2 GB of main memory. It will also probably have a 200 GB disk drive that includes the new, smart SATA interface, technology that provide performance similar to what you find in SCSI disks today. Your display will probably run at 1600 x 1200 pixels, or you might go for a premium screen with roughly 2000 x 1500 pixels.