Vista
There are 99 entries for the tag
Vista
Microsoft announced at 1:40pm PST yesterday that Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 have officially been “Released to Manufacturing” which is to say all the bits have been finalized and signed off on. You can read announcements here, here and here. And, of course, all over the twittersphere. Bits hit TechNet +, volume licensing download sites and MSDN on August the 6th. I can now rebuild my laptop for the last time (until that Windows 8 beta is released). Congratulations Microsoft. Some critics...
Well, the annual feeding frenzy known as the WWDC keynote is now over. There was a lot of good information presented on both Snow Leopard and the iPhone. It was pretty demo-heavy as well – better if you see it in person than if you are at home waiting for the next great tidbit of information. One thing I found interesting were the OS X active users statistics shown at the opening of the keynote. Now, perhaps I missed it – feel free to correct me if I did – but they make it come off like they sold...
Ah, I love it! All of the tension of the Palm Pre vs. the Apple iPhone on one page. I wonder if this was intentional or just sheer coincidence? I will be following it live like many others. I will also be getting a Palm pre in the coming days to play with and of course, a review to follow. I will be curious to see if Apple outright calls out the Palm Pre in the keynote. Do they do a straight-up comparison a la OS X vs. Vista...
The RSAT (Remote Server Administration Tools) have been released in beta form for the first beta of Windows 7. These tools allow for remote administration of your Windows Servers and services (think old adminpak.msi) from your Windows 7 workstation. I applaud the Windows 7 (or Windows Server) teams for getting these out quickly. We had to wait forever to get them for Windows Vista. Tip o’ the hat to Keith’s blog...
As soon as I got my mitts on the M3 build of Windows7 at the PDC last year, the first thing I tried was to run it in Fusion on my 15 inch MacBook Pro. It ran just fine sans one little thing – I could never get it to recognize the Marvell Ethernet adapter. Wireless worked fine, but for what I do at work wireless means a constant VPN connection and that was a pain. I did some searching, found one person that had it working on an older MacBook with a different Ethernet chipset. Once the new beta 1 build...
Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 is now available to Microsoft TechNet subscribers through the download website. This is the Customer Preview Program (CPP) which will roll to general availability tomorrow. Technorati Tags: Vista SP2,Windows Vista SP2,Windows Server 2008 SP2,TechNet,Microsoft...
I just got a 30-day demo of the new Palm Treo Pro with Windows Mobile Professional 6.1 to test out. I will add this to my current pending reviews in the next couple of days. Any questions? Specs: Unlocked GSM device – not available from a carrier at the moment Platform Microsoft® Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional Edition Processor Qualcomm® MSM7201 400MHz Display 320x320 transflective color TFT flush touchscreen Radio HSDPA/UMTS/EDGE/GPRS/GSM radio Tri-band UMTS – 850MHz, 1900MHz, 2100MHz Quad-band...
Everyone is streaming in trying to find the optimal seat. After four hours of waiting in line, I don’t care where I sit just as long as I am sitting. There are large plasmas all over the place which is good – from my vantage point, Jobs is going to be a dot. Huge applause – Al Gore is here in the audience. From my seat: More cheesy pre-show music … 10:01 AM PST Still waiting, people still streaming in. Whomever was in charge of the herd\logistics should be shot. Microsoft owns them in this regard...
So with the release of Windows Server 2008 I was really looking forward to some post or announcement from Microsoft with regards to the availability of native Active Directory management tools that can be installed on Windows Vista SP1 without any mods, kludges or scripts. You know, they just work out of the box. Like the good ‘ol days when you copied adminpak.msi from Windows Server 2003 over to Windows XP. Now that I am running Windows Server 2008 as a workstation I don't necessarily have to worry...
Mary Jo Foley has an article on bringing back creating Windows Workstation 2008 (Part I) and proposing the idea that in the past there was a “server” version of NT4 and Windows 2000 and a “workstation” version that was the same product with limits on concurrent usage when running IIS, etc. She says that since Windows Server 2008 is the best version of Windows Server ever by a wide margin, why not capitalize on that an offer a “workstation” version. Some people, especially in the consulting field...
One of the missing things from Windows Vista that most perplexed me (or frustrated the monkey cr*p out of me) was the lack of the RunAs shell extension. Following proper administrative best practices, I don't log in to my laptop with domain administrative privileges, I have a separate account for that. Running something like ADUC was never easy, and UAC in Vista often got in the way. If you turned it off, you could not get prompted to run an application under a different set of credentials. You could...
Having trouble making that connection to the console session via RDP? If you have applied SP1 to your Windows Vista installation the switch has changed! Instead of "mstsc /console" it is now "mstsc /admin." Go figure. Personally, I would just add a "console" checkbox as one of the options in the expanded connect configuration on the client. Why do you have to go and be all mysterious Microsoft? Technorati Tags: RDP,Terminal Services,Console Session,/console,Windows Vista,Vista SP1...
Phishing attacks are nothing new and you can usually spot them in your email with half of your brain tied behind your back. You've seen them - bad grammar, syntax and spelling. The obvious links to knock-off URLs. The pleas from Nigerian-Kings-in-hiding. Today in my GMail I received a note from Hallmark that I was the recipient of a e-card. Now, Valentines Day was a week ago so this seemed suspicious, but my mother is not above sending these cute little e-cards every once in a while so I took a look....
There has been a lot of talk around the technical Microsoft blogs about the RTM of Windows Vista SP1. There has been even more chatter around the fact that even though the final, gold bits have been released, Microsoft wasn't going to give any public access to them until some time in March. I understand the reasons, but like many, railed at the logic. However much I disagree with a Microsoft decision, I like that they listen. So beginning immediately they are making it available to the technical...
Nick has the details on the Windows Vista SP1 Beta release. I am downloading it now and will provide details as NDA permits
Read all about it. Beta coming soon. Projected release Q1 08. update: Microsoft TechNet Vista SP1 Resources page. Technorati Tags: Windows Vista, Windows Vista SP1, Service Pack 1 Beta...
J.K Rowling's website has released a sidebar gadget for Windows Vista that delivers bits of news and counts down to the release of the seventh and final book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
I am in a training class all this week in Toronto at the EMC office in Burlington, ON for EmailXtender. Usually I am a well prepared traveler having consulted for many years. For some reason though I forgot my power adapter for my laptop on this trip. I sought out the local Best Buy to see what a universal charger (like the model from Kennsington) would set me back - Yikes! $125.00 CAD. I have my Blackberry so I thought I could make it through still having email and internet access from the device....
I am sitting in a Microsoft TechNet event presented by IT Pro Evangelist Matt "All my mates are at TechEd" Hester. Matt is covering the Windows Vista Startup Recovery Tool. This tool is accessed by booting off of a Windows Vista installation DVD. Any version will work as all the versions contain the same bits. The install key determines which version gets installed. Once you boot up to the install screen there is a hyperlink at the bottom to launch the Startup Recovery Tool (SRT). You are then presented...
Download the Windows Vista pre-configured virtual hard drive and get a head start on testing applications on Windows Vista
Here is an interesting story: someone switched from Mac OS X to Windows Vista and reports a faster, more pleasurable experience. Quote: "I didn’t expect it to be like this, I didn’t want Vista to be this good - I was expecting to boot back into OS X and living happily ever after, but damn, this is one fast, slick and nice operating system. If you are a Mac user try it yourself, install boot camp and Vista and it will feel like you just added another CPU and doubled your RAM - I can’t see any evidence...
In the world of RSS and newsreaders there is a war of preferences going around over how people prefer to read their feeds. Categorized by feed, type of feed, or as a “river of news.” In other words first in, first displayed, in a long list and you simply scan top-to-bottom. I have tried both and IMO both have merit. River of news lets you see everything in an instant, and I find it useful for quickly locating important event. Then I read the “normal” stuff later on. When I am ready to consume all...
There has been a hack and an official KB on how to run ADUC under Vista. And while not perfect, it is functional. No one I know can understand Microsoft's logic for not having this solved prior to shipping Vista. If you also want to enable the Exchange extensions in ADUC there is one more step. After you do the things mentioned here, copy these three DLL's from a Windows 2003 Server (c:\%systemroot%\system32): netui0.dll netui1.dll netui2.dll Then re-register regsvr32 \windows\system32\maildsmx....
Hamad Darwish, a photographer, was comissioned by the Windows Vista team to take a series of photographs of which some would be used as wallpapers in the new OS. Long Zheng introduced him via some blog posts. In the interview Hamad mentioned releasing the entire set of photographs to the public. The shots are simply amazing. Here is the link to his site and the photos. He also has a Flickr page. Long's original blog post...
Please join the Southern Ohio Exchange Users Group on March 7, 2007 for a night of presentations highlighting Exchange 2007 and Windows Vista. We will be presenting several technical demonstrations on Exchange 2007 including deployment, operational efficiency and Unified Communications. We will also have some fun and informative Windows Vista technical demonstrations as well. Please register here so we have an accurate head count for food and drinks. The meeting will begin promptly at 6:30pm and...
You can download it from: https://connect.microsoft.c... Important changes from the previous version: PXE Boot Keyboard and performance issues on laptops fixed Virtual Networking on wireless adapters enabled Fixed to include installing Vista off of physical DVDs Technorati tags: Virtual PC 2007, virtualization...
There is now an official Microsoft KB article that details the steps for installing the Windows Server 2003 Admin Pak (adminpak.msi) on Windows Vista. del.icio.us tags: Windows Vista, Adminpak.msi, ADUC, Windows Server 2003, 930056...
A week out of the blogosphere feels good - and a refreshing way to recharge the batteries! Of course, now I have to wade through 700+ news items. I have not removed my laptop from its bag since December 22nd. It was hard at times, but I made it. I noticed a lot of people are getting their blogs in a knot over Microsoft giving out some review laptops loaded with Windows Vista Ultimate to select bloggers. I wasnt selected so it is hard for me to be anything but envious. On the other hand, I find it...
Even though the support wizards at Zune told me it wasn't compatible, I had a hunch it had more to do with me trying to install the previous version of ZuneSetup (the one that wasn't Windows Vista compatible) than the version of Vista I was using. Sure enough, in the comments and through my own confirmation I found this to be false. I re-imaged my laptop with a fresh install of Windows Vista Enterprise and ZuneSetup 1.2.5511.0 installed like a champ. My only complaint now is that I cannot authenticate...
As I posted yesterday, Zune finally released its Windows Vista compatible client. I had called Zune support two times previously and had gotten credible support. However, this was terrible. After gleefully downloading the new update, I would launch ZuneSetup and then I would be told "No Zune Software Updates Available." I rebooted, tried it a couple of times again, always getting the same result. I am running Windows Vista RTM Enterprise edition. After totally stumping the level one technician who...
The Zune team has finally released a version of the software and marketplace that is officially compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista. I have not installed it yet so I cannot vouch for the performance but I will have it in place tonight and will let you know if any glitches turn up. Read more about it at the Zune blog here...
From on10.net comes a link to some great XBox 360 themed wallpapers for your Zune. Now, if only I could sync my damn Zune with Windows Vista. Rumor has it that internally all the Microsofties have the patch that makes the Zune software Vista compliant, but the rest of us have to wait until, oh yeah, consumer availability of Windows Vista in anothe4 45 days. Come on, wrap it in the "beta" verbiage like everything else and let us download it already!! Zune wallpapers courtesy of 360style.net; a sweet...
I was hoping this would come sooner than later! Microsoft has started to release gadgets for the Windows Vista sidebar! I am happy about this for three reasons: They work well They interoperate well and They look good! Outlook was also a logical choice for some of the first gadgets. PIM information naturally lends itself to a "dashboard" interface for easy reference. Calendar info Task Info...
Remote Desktop Connection (Terminal Services Client 6.0) for Windows XP (KB925876) Remote Desktop Connection (Terminal Services Client 6.0) provides a way to use any new Terminal Services features introduced in Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Windows Server Code Name “Longhorn” from a computer running Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1...
A big thank you to the presenters at the November Southern Ohio Exchange User's Group meeting! Matt Hester from Microsoft presented on Exchange 2007 and Windows Vista. It was great to get some more information on unified messaging which is possibly the most requested topic where Exchange 2007 is concerned. We also heard from Tim Brunner on Symantec's Enterprise Vault product and how it helps medium to large organizations with compliance and retention. Our next meeting will be in January and you can...
I have been running Windows Vista RTM since it was released to MSDN a little under a week ago. So far, it has been bliss. Nothing major, or even close to major has made me want to switch back to XP. I have had to make some adjustments, but most have been the fault of those who have not made their software compatible (cough Zune) or who have compatible version coming out shortly. But I digress . . . I filled up my 20 GB C: partition pretty quickly once I migrated all of my data over. And there sat...
Now that I have made the switch to Windows Vista full time I have had to re-think my RSS reader. I originally switched to RSS Bandit after being a long time FeedDemon user one day when FeedDemon pushed me over the edge with its activation. I work as a consultant and systems engineer and I love to beta test software and generally experiment. As such, I rebuild my laptop often. One to many times as far as FeedDemon was concerned. The first time it happened their support team was quick to clean it up....
So a lot of us ran out to Circuit City, Target, CompUSA, etc. to get our hands on Microsoft’s latest portable media offering – the super-hyped Zune. Zune has been in production, publicly, for at least the past 8 months. Even longer behind the scenes I am sure. At the same time Microsoft has also been feverishly developing and testing in preparation for release the latest incarnation of its desktop operating system – Windows Vista. Common sense would tell you that somewhere in that time span someone...
Another virtual hard disk (.vhd) image from Microsoft which contains the following: A VPC hard disk image containing a pre-activated Windows XP SP2, IE6 and the IE7 Readiness Toolkit. Personally I love this new approach and hope Microsoft keeps on going! I had to do some research and testing on ADAM (Active Directory Application Mode) yesterday and the canned Windows Server 2003 R2 image was the perfect pre-made environment in which to do this! Zero prep time was needed since I had already downloaded...
From Paul Donnelly, part of the Microsoft Vista Product Team to Windows Vista beta testers: I'm excited to announce that we have completed final testing and this morning declared build 6000.16386 as Microsoft Windows Vista. The feedback and collective voice of this community has helped shaped this version of Windows like no other. We would like to extend our thanks to all of you for your help is building the highest quality, most secure, most reliable version of Windows yet! Update: http://windowsvistablog.com...
I didn't want to announce this previously as I wasn't sure if it was intended to be publicly unleashed yet. However, seeing as how it is advertised in the latest TechNet Flash email newsletter I am sure I can share now! Here is the blurb from the newsletter: Are you interested in knowing what your peers are saying about Microsoft Office 2007? Do you want to see the feedback on the new Windows Vista license changes? Or maybe you have a new script you'd like to share with a larger group of IT pros....
I have finally returned from Hong Kong after another not-so-fun fifteen hour flight. At least I had a window seat this time but as bad as I thought Delta was at times, I was being spoiled in comparison to what you get on a United flight. A couple of tiny bags of snacks a tiny little cup of a drink - not even a whole can of soda or mini-bottle of water! They open a big bottle and pour out of it. The screens for the movies during the flight (what else do you have to do - there are no power adapter...
Brian, who runs the excellent Blogcast Repository, recently shared with me how he could not use a host computer's wireless NIC with a guest OS when running Virtual PC when Windows Vista is the host OS. I even tried it on my laptop and sure enough, no luck. It just doesn't appear as an option under settings > network. After doing some digging in the readme that came with Virtual PC 2007 I stumbled upon: Virtual PC fails to open the network services driver after an upgrade of Windows Vista. It didn't...
Grab it here while you can! Read more about it here. Features include: Support for hardware virtualization (Intel and AMD) Support for Windows Vista as a host operating system Support for Windows Vista as a guest operating system Note: No support for Aero Glass though - just Aero Basic Support for 64-bit host operating systems Note: Virtual machines are 32-bit only Improved performance Technorati tags: Virtualization, VirtualPC, VirtualPC2007...
Everyone out there that has been using and beta testing both Windows Live One Care and Windows Vista rejoice! One Care is now Vista (build 5500 or later, RC1 recommended) compatible. Version 1.5 has all the goods and the details can be found here. Technorati tags: Windows Live, One Care, Vista, Windows Live One Care...
Windows Vista RC2 (build 5744-16384) has been released to Technical Beta testers
Microsoft's podcast page. Find links and RSS feeds for mp3 and wma versions of all podcasts as well as feeds for product specific podcasts like SQL, Exchange, Vista, Active Directory and Scripting. Link to Podcasts: Download Audio of Webcasts and Hear Them on the Go
The Windows Vista Team Blog has a post up detailing an email sent to testers by Paul Donnelly wherein he mapped beta tester locations in MapPoint. There are some really great views that show the concentrations of testers in typical places like North America and Europe. However, in drilling down you see some funny things: In the US, North and South Dakota are woefully under represented. Why is that always the case? Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan is not all that much better off. There are more testers in...
Microsoft has launched a new Windows Vista Tips and Tricks site. Aimed at the non-technical end user, this site will provide useful information as well as webcasts delivering information to prepare interested users for Windows Vista. Information is power
Here's a screenshot of Windows Vista rc1 running on my Dell D620. Everything is working very well despite a few bugs. IE7 continues to give me some minor fits I cannot explain: 1. I cannot change my homepage and make it stick. 2. I cannot add URL's to the trusted sites zone or the intranet zone. On other fronts: 1. I have to launch the sidebar manually - although some think this is a good thing. 2. Expanding my monitor still is with its problems - the behavior isn't consistent. On the up side: 1....
Windows Vista RC1 (RC1 v5600-16384) was released to technical beta testers yesterday. It will also be in wide public release soon through the Microsoft website and in the mail from various other testing programs. tags: WindowsVista, Vista, RC1 Update: More information here...
I was very glad to read a post today from James O'Neill's blog on Virtual PC 2007. Coincidentally enough, I had just loaded Virtual PC 2004 on Windows Vista build 5536 and was wondering to myself if a new version was ever going to see the light of day. Well fear not! While there is no news on the beta or a release date (other than the "2007" moniker) there is documentation. This gives me hope! Improvements are: · Optimized for Windows Vista. The virtualization architecture has been optimized for...
Looking for some Vista compliant AV to run while you test out the latest OS? Most testers had been using the Avast product - and it supposedly doesn't work under the latest build. I cannot get McAfee's Enterprise 8.5i to work either. You are then left with three choices of note: Norton Anti-virus has an enterprise beta version (if you can get a copy) Trend Micro has a version of PC-Cillin And the below link to Computer Associates EZ trust (free for one year) trial Link to Computer Associates Product...
I installed Windows Vista build 5536 on Friday and I have been blown away. I know everyone's experience, like mileage, varies. However - having installed all the previous builds this is the first one that has me thinking they may make their projected ship date. Here is a report after kicking the tires for four days: The speed is very nice. I have not yet had an instance of Vista just "taking a break" and spinning its wheels for a couple of minutes. Everything I have thrown at it has executed crisply...
Technical beta testers have just been given access to Pre-RC1 build 5536.16385 Windows Vista on Microsoft Connect. Downloading from the Asian and European mirrors nets you the best performance
Microsoft has put up a website where you can pre-order copies of Vista RC1 for evaluation. There is a $9.95 charge for shipping and handling. Register for your copy of the Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 (RC1) Evaluation and Resource Kit With the Windows Vista RC1 Kit, you will not only get the refreshed versions of the same great experiences you had with the Windows Vista Beta 2 Evaluation and Resource Kit, you will also get some new features, tools and resources to evaluate including: Software...
Come and see the always excellent Matt Hester in Columbus, Ohio on August 24th at the AMC Easton Town Centre 30. He will be presenting on Windows Vista, Exchange 2003 and Exchange 2007. I have seen Matt present several times and he never fails to entertain and present some very in-depth and informational subject matter. And he's an Ohio State fan. He's not perfect however - he likes the Cleveland Browns - a team that cannot buy a center ... see all the details here...
Enthusiast site WinFuture.de is showing screenshots from build 5505. IMO the visual consistency for Vista is really starting to come together. I see a lot less of the visual "mash-up" between the new icon style and older "legacy" icons\visuals than in previous builds. I hope they continue down this path and get everything totally re-written. I don't want to see one old Hyperterminal icon or mis-matched shell border. The whole UI team should be focused on this like a laser for RC1. Think of it as...
After you have created a *.wim image file using ImageX you may want to take advantage of the tools ability to mount the image file. Since the image file format is file-based (and not bit-based like Symantec’s Ghost) you can mount it as read-only or read-write. Files can easily be extracted from it or added to it. No more needing to image a workstation, modify it, and then re-image it back when you want to make a change. New driver? Add it. new DLL? Add it. Simple as that. However, before you...
I guess it was only a matter of time before the Apple clue-less train started to pound on Vista at the annual gathering of the faithful in San Francisco. The Moscone center will be the venue again for the annual gathering of Apple fanboys hanging on Steve Job’s every keynote word. I can only imagine what the nearby Apple Store will look like post keynote! Taken from Engadget, here are some of the banners from the conference – taking a swipe at Microsoft’s Vista. Apple is always...
So far it has been a solid week with build 5472 of Vista. All previous builds had not lasted this long – the previous record being held by beta two of two days before frustrations drove me to yank it out and replace it with XP SP2. There are still some minor inconveniences, but all in all it is running fabulously. There is quite an improvement in overall speed of responsiveness in the OS in general as well as in IE7. More programs work well with it, although my iPod cannot get its firmware...
I took a dim view of one of Mary Jo’s blog posts a while back where she questioned the fact that there was no time line available for the successor to Vista – despite the fact that Vista hasn't even been released yet – or despite the fact that she and the press crucify Microsoft when they then announce any delay to that time line. Now its more of the same. MySpace.com recently suffered a service outage due to a power failure in the area where its data center is located. Enter today’s...
I will post a more comprehensive review tonight but the early indication is a big thumbs up! A lot of the nits I complained about in Beta 2 have been fixed and the “fit and finish” continues to improve. Here is a quick screenshot and look for more details tonight. Seacrest out...
I am going to install tonight and try to have my mini-review up shortly. In the meantime, here is another mini-review with some good screen shots. Unlike Andre, I do really like the new Bliss wallpaper. Very serene and peaceful … I was getting tired of the Midwest pasture
Some screen shots have been posted of tweaks made to the UI of Office 2007 as well as the addition of a “silver” theme to the current roster of “black” and “blue.” The changes are expected to be finalized over the next week. Read more about it here and here. Personally I like the changes. I like the move to the rounded borders originally – they were fresh and new – but once I saw the UI with the traditional squared off corners we know and love in a...
Much like it has for Vista, SQL and other technologies Microsoft TechNet has recently launched a community-style forum for Exchange Server 2007. However, at the moment it is short on volume and guidance. Every topic had more posts on Windows Vista issues than Exchange. I don't know what people are thinking, but hopefully a site admin will step up to clean out the discussion areas from off-topic posters and monitor how things progress. Please don't throw it out there and then abandon it. The power...
I have been continuing my testing with the latest build of Vista, 5456 and I stumbled upon something amazing. It was new to me; and it amazes me how many new things I find in each successive build. This enhanced resource manager provides a wealth of detail beyond what are used to with the Task Manager. You can view: CPU, Disk, Memory and Network utilization Details on each down to specific process utilization Process PID, hard faults, Commits and sharable\private memory Give it a look...
After this post, I continued to try to work with Vista for another week before I finally reloaded my XP SP2 image. I did find out that the reason for the slowness in browsing as mentioned in item #4 is most likely attributed to the web caching appliance the networking team uses. Let’s just say it isn't ISA Server 2004 (learn about ISA Server 2006 which rocks even more)! I just loaded the IE7 beta 3 build on the same XP SP2 image and it is running very well so far. The UI seems more streamlined...
I have blogged in the past about how much I hate the current implementation of UAC (User Account Control) in Windows Vista. It has been the first thing I have turned off each time I have installed the beta. Guilty as charged! However, Jesper, in his blog makes a good case for leaving UAC turned on throughout the beta process. However will we make it better? And when Jesper speaks, most people concerned with security usually have good reason to listen. I don't like UAC in its current form - it is...
I have finally squeezed out a blogcast (done during my lunch break so it is rough – be kind please) and have it posted here. I plan on ramping up in the next one to two weeks, especially with some Exchange 2007 content. Below are some links to the content I reference in the blogcast. Enjoy. Ask the Experts: Windows Vista Disk Imaging with ImageX and Windows Imaging Format (WIM) Windows Vista deployment is based on disk imaging, and the operating system will come with a built-in disk-imaging...
Technical beta testers can now download Vista June CTP build 5456 from connect.Microsoft.com. Read more here. The next public beta is rumored to be in August and known as RC1
And the number one reason that Vista is so hard to love: No client-based VPN support - from ANY vendor. I have heard even Microsoft's VPN client does not work on the beta 2 build of Vista. I have personally tested Nortel and Cisco with no success. Does anyone know of a major VPN client to work with Vista? This is a major show-stopper for most people trying to dogfood the beta in production
Vista, you sure are hard to love. I am trying my best, to love you unconditionally - I know you are a beta baby - but you make it very difficult. I have loaded Beta 2 a couple of times already - but when the going got tough (which was usually pretty early on) I quickly bailed and re-installed XP SP2. This time, in my TechEd 2006, drinking the Kool Aide, hangover stupor, I decided to install it again and try my best to live through the tough times. Here is where I am at: Office 2007 Beta 2 works amazingly...
Okay, I am a lot less concerned about Windows Vista after seeing this build than I was with build 5308. The “fit and finish” of this build is way beyond what 5308 was. All of my device drivers for a Thinkpad R52 were automagically detected and installed. I haven't had a chance to see if the Thinkpad-specific software works yet or not; I hope to try that tomorrow. The widgets work nicely. LUA still blows; and I am not going to re-hash the arguments. However, it presents itself in a much...
I have never had a soft spot in my heart for print journalists, or most conventional news outlets (When did you stop beating your wife Mr. Smith?). And even though I blog I would hardly consider myself such – even in the most liberal sense. So I had to just laugh when I saw this post from Mary Jo Foley. While she and every other professional tech watcher\writer crucify Microsoft for its latest announcement delaying the release of Vista to consumers, she asks “But what about a delivery...
I recently blogged about problems I was having getting Office Communicator installed in the latest build of Vista. After a couple more things went south on me ( a lot in part to trying to get the Cisco VPN Client to work) I went back to Windows XP SP2. If you can believe it (I have never seen this happen before) installing Virtual PC SP1 totally hosed my wireless networking adapter. I tried everything including removing the device, re-detecting it, re-installing the driver, etc. Finally I decided...
Running the February CTP of Vista (5308) I am presented with this dialog box when overwriting files during a copy. I can only assume they think we know left to right is source to target but some more meaningful labels and dialog would be helpful! I cannot wait to see Beta 2 … ...
I’d like to think I can solve any problem. However, getting Office Communicator to install on the February CTP of Vista has got me quite perplexed! It will get all the way to the end of the install, then say it encountered an “error” and roll back. You know, that installation progress bar in reverse we all hate to see? I even tried to run the .msi in verbose logging mode, but the User-Mode protection in Vista wont let me create the log file. A plain ‘ol text file! Come on!...
W00t! I have Aero Glass with the Toshiba M200 and the February CTP 5308 build of Vista. I downloaded the nVida driver found here. I have a nVidia GForce Go 5200. Installing the driver in the “INF – Right Click” install method they outline did not work, nor did doing an Upgrade Driver on my video card in Device Manager. I had to select the video card, tell it to let me manually choose a driver and then tell it I had a disk and I would select the driver from it. I then browsed to...
I just got off of the phone with Verizon Wireless technical support. I was braced for the worst, especially hearing the horror stories when trying to get technical information on Treos and different mobile offerings. Boy was I surprised! The gentleman that helped me was knowledgeable, friendly and got me turned around in a short amount of time. I had trouble getting their PC Card software, VZ Access, to work under the latest build of Windows Vista (February CTP 5308). As it turns out, the software...
I took the plunge after reading a couple of reviews of the November CTP and all I can say is wow! I am running a Toshiba M200 with the February CTP build of Vista (5308) and the “tablet” experience is phenomenal. I haven't had to load a single driver! Well, I did have to load the beta nVidia driver for my GeForce go 5200 to get the Aero Glass. Otherwise, everything is working “out of the box.” Now, I should disclaimer that – there are a few Toshiba-specific gadgets that...
The Tech*Ed website is now accepting submissions for the Birds of a Feather discussion sessions. If you have not experienced these before, they are a great time! Once all the submissions are in, attendees are encouraged to vote for their favorite sessions. These are not presentations, but “moderated” discussions in front of a white board where you are free to discuss whatever the group would like to that is relevant to the topic of that session. I hosted two BoF talks at last year’s...
I would love to see Tech-Ed offer an install-fest for Windows Vista, with the latest build available at the time of the show. Perhaps Office 2007 as well
As I start to get psyched for Tech*Ed 2006 (am I the only geek that gets excited this early?) I find myself wishing for certain things to happen. Certain expectations begin to form; partly from past Tech*Ed disappointments and partly from hope for the future. Here are some things I would love to see this year: A wireless network that really works! Thirteen thousand geeks on a sprawling wireless LAN shouldn't be impossible should it? And given this is Microsoft’s flagship conference, why isn't...
I am installing a Windows Vista CTP build 5270 as we speak in a dual-boot configuration on my Thinkpad R52. This means I won’t get the nice Aero Glass effects (Damn you integrated Intel graphics chip!) but will be able to evaluate all the other aspects of Vista in the latest semi-public build. Cross your fingers. I loaded the ISO image via Alcohol and it is currently in what I assume is the “copying setup files to your hard drive” portion of the installation. I see a definite downside...
This is a cool article in that it compares screen shots of Vista and XP side by side. I haven't had time to completely read it but the screen shots and comparisons are well done. Check it out. It really illustrates how much the UI has changed
I am counting down to see when the first modder has a dual boot iMac (Intel version) dual booting with Windows Vista or XP …
has been released. Read more about it here
During the MS Heartland Region’s quarterly Tech Night Live, I saw some of the cool new Office 12 features demonstrated. There are some really great new things added and\or exposed in a way they never were before. As the person giving the demo explained, a lot of the things have always been in Office, we just made them easier to get to and use. More exposed. In the “ribbon” which is the current term for the new toolbar paradigm, you can hover over buttons or options and see them...
This is the best roundup I have seen of the new features in Windows Vista that appeal to the IT Professional
When it rains it pours! Microsoft has also made available its website dedicated to “gadgets” that will work in the Windows Vista sidebar as well as start.com and Windows SidesShow
Word is the build of Vista being given out at the PDC is 5219. And even though the build is labelled as Beta 2, it is not the official beta 2 build. This is reported to be just a pre-beta 2 build. You can read more about it here
Okay MSN, Google is throwing down. Do I have to wait for Vista to get a cool MSN sidebar
I have been giving Windows Vista the rundown since it was released and I have to say there is one thing I hate about it: the icons. The rest of the UI is pretty stunning. But who thought of the little tipped-on-their-side Manila file folders? That and the icons in the new Start menu (Games, My Computer, etc. — and oh yes, that crummy “glass” recycle bin) are all driving me nuts. Perhaps they will grow on me – perhaps looking at “Fisher-Price” for two+ years has...
Ben has a great post in his blog about running Windows Vista on Virtual PC. Myself and others wondered why we couldn't get the VM to mount the ISO for installation. Although many of us found a workaround Ben enlightens us as to why it happened. Apparently there is a 2.2GB limit on the size of a mountable ISO in Virtual PC. If you run a lot of Virtual PC, his blog is a great one to subscribe to...
I went and installed Windows Vista Beta 1 in a dual boot configuration with Windows XP Professional. The bootloader now shows: Microsoft Windows LonghornLegacy (Pre-Longhorn) Windows Operating System How quickly you go from current to legacy
(Channelling Homer Simpson – think beeeeeeer) Windows Vista, ooooohhhh, Beta 1. Read here. And here
And here is the official web page . .
Apparently, Windows Longhorn has now been officially christened, er, marketed as “Windows Vista.” Read more here. IMO it could be worse. For me, this will take some getting used to. I have been saying and thinking Longhorn for so long, I had forgotten that was just a “code name.” BTW, someone has already pointed out that Vista means some strange things in other languages, like chicken, for example...