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App-V 4.5 Now Supports Windows 7 Beta

Microsoft released a cumulative update to its application virtualization solution, which now supports the Windows 7 Beta, according to an announcement issued by the company on Thursday.

The new Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) 4.5 Cumulative Update 1 release contains all current hotfixes, along with an update that lets it run on the Windows 7 Beta operating system.

App-V allows users to run virtualized applications, which are delivered to end users from a server by streaming the apps to the client machine. The technology was formerly called SoftGrid. Microsoft acquired the app virtualization solution from Boston-based Softricity in July of 2006.

The Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) team explained that in order to carry out application virtualization, App-V needs to be updated to reflect the underlying operating system, including the Windows 7 Beta.

"Application virtualization is in a small class of applications that have very deep interactions specific to a Windows release -- in App-V's case it is redirecting the registry, file-system and component calls," explained the MDOP blog. "So as we update Windows, we will continue to require new versions of App-V."

Microsoft offers its App-V solution as part of its MDOP suite of management and virtualization tools, which are available to Microsoft Software Assurance customers. App-V is also available to licensees signed up for Microsoft's application virtualization CAL for terminal services.

MDOP subscribers can register to download App-V 4.5 CU1 from the Microsoft Connect Web portal. The solution is available now for subscribers. In addition, Microsoft plans to provide App-V support for the final Windows 7 product "within 90 days of [Windows 7's] general availability," according to the MDOP team blog.

One source has speculated that the Windows 7 final product could appear as early as September or October of this year, although Microsoft typically pegs the general release of the OS for early 2010.

The MDOP team expects to open a Technical Adoption Program for the next version of the program, called App-V 4.6, sometime in the first quarter of this year. The MDOP team will announce the availability of the testing program on the Microsoft Connect Web site. A key new feature in App-V 4.6 will be support for 64-bit platforms.

About the Author

Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.

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