Windows 7 Makes Pre-Release Debut

At this week's PDC, Microsoft showed off Windows 7 and handed out pre-release code to thousands of curious developers.

We'll learn a lot more as testers put the code through its paces. For now, we know a few things -- namely, that Microsoft has improved the taskbar and enhanced its touchscreen abilities. Microsoft is also trying to make it easier to network machines in the home.

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Posted by Doug Barney on October 29, 20080 comments


Bill Gates De-Retiring?

Bill Gates has never been one to sit still. In fact, if you've ever met him or seen him, you know he literally can't sit still, but instead rocks forward and backward as he talks.

Those who thought the energetic Gates would retire from his day-to-day Microsoft duties to play Canasta were sadly misinformed. Besides heading The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and remaining chairman of Microsoft, Bill has a brand new gig: bgC3.

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Posted by Doug Barney on October 28, 20080 comments


Microsoft Floats Cloud Plan

Yesterday, at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference, Ray Ozzie announced Azure , a new system to create internal and external clouds and link them together.

Details were a bit sketchy, but here's how I understand it: Azure is an operating system of sorts because it manages and runs applications, which in this case exist in some sort of cloud. The platform, at this point, is aimed at developers who can use .NET and Visual Studio to build these apps.

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Posted by Doug Barney on October 28, 20080 comments


Mailbag: What To Do About Windows 7, More

Last week, Doug shared some of his confusion over Windows 7 . Here are some of your thoughts about the direction Microsoft should go with its next OS:

Microsoft is running out of time to GET IT RIGHT. If Win 7 doesn't hit the mark directly on the head, then no one will really care after that. I feel the new OS should be based on the Singularity core, be x64-based and use VM technology for any compatibility issue with older programs. Microsoft should not spend one more second working on x32 except for security patches. All of its OS development efforts should be focused on getting a core with legs, without messing it up with all sorts of features. Something like Win 2008 Server Core.
-Rob

Here's my list of advice for Win 7: Make it capable of virtualization as Server 2008 Hyper-V and App-V. Make it as light as possible (Google did that with Chrome and it works). Remove IE from Windows. Eliminate drivers and services from its core and keep them on the installation DVD for further installation when needed. Make it more video-efficient without the crashes caused on Vista. Make it 64-bit with 32-bit capability for legacy apps. Eliminate Windows Media Player and Windows Media Center; videos, pictures, music and folders should open and organized without any delay. Increase touch-screen use and features.
-George

You are on the wrong side of this one. The reason many of us dislike existing desktop OSes and are moving away from the them is even more compelling with super fat clients. They need even greater capacity and more expensive end user machines; they have huge patch management issues, as well as end user usability complexity and manageability issues; they're an IT support nightmare and need massive training schedules for IT staff; they're overkill (90 percent or more of users only use an Office suite, including e-mail and a browser); they add unnecessary complexity which adds risk to systems; they come at a higher cost in all IT departments that consumes funds at more stategic areas.

Long live the thin client and cloud computing. Down with fat clients and non-virtualized servers.
-Ray

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Posted by Doug Barney on October 28, 20080 comments


Surprise Patch

Late last week, Microsoft put out an out-of-cycle patch that fixes Remote Procedure Call (RPC) problems in some older software including Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003 and XP (XP may be old, but it clearly ain't going anywhere soon).

Hackers can exploit these RPC holes to run code remotely and, unfortunately, is the perfect platform for a worm. It just might be time to fire up Shavlik, WSUS or your patch system of choice.

Posted by Doug Barney on October 27, 20080 comments


Microsoft OK for Now

Our economy is clearly messed up -- and the overseas market is crashing again as I type. The weird thing is that stocks are tanking more based on what's going to happen than what is happening. The real impact of frozen credit will be felt when giant retailers go under and millions lose jobs.

That's why it's not surprising that in this latest quarter, Microsoft had its normal stunning results. Revenue came in just north of $15 billion and profits nearly hit $6 billion, margins any self-respecting capitalist would be proud of. And for the current quarter Microsoft expects things to get even better -- maybe hitting close to $18 billion. That's a lot of Christmas Xboxes.

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Posted by Doug Barney on October 27, 20080 comments


PDC Preview

Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference started today, and lots of goodies are to be unveiled. Topping the list is pre-release Windows 7 code given to all attendees. Microsoft is calling this code "pre-beta" (isn't that what the word "alpha" refers to?).

Microsoft promises improvements to the Windows kernel, but I'm still waiting to find out if there is, in fact, a new kernel altogether. I'll report back on what I learn.

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Posted by Doug Barney on October 27, 20080 comments


VMware Numbers

VMware had another stellar quarter . Often, setting sales and earnings records isn't enough for Wall Street -- but it was this time around. For the quarter, VMware yanked in almost a half-a-billion dollars, up a third compared to the same quarter last year. And net income of around $100 million was up more than 50 percent. More

Posted by Doug Barney on October 23, 20080 comments


Mailbag: Microsoft Cleans Up Gaming, Piracy Protection Rants, More

Most of you had few qualms about Microsoft's idea to censor online gaming dialogue "on the fly":

Great! Especially if they can apply it to the game characters, as well. There are actually some people out here who enjoy a good, violent game but can't stand the gratuitous profanity. We still watch our language and have found ourselves having to avoid whole game franchises because the swearing is so prevalent for absolutely no good reason.
-Steve

I like the "censors on the fly" idea for gaming. As an educator in a community college, I use gaming as an educational tool. My classroom is aimed at PG-rated content. When I do not have such confidence, I avoid using the games.
-Jack

I'm all for it. A technology used to be available for doing that based on the closed caption stuff and built into certain models of TVs. I think it's a great idea but they killed it due to altering copywritten material. If we could edit it out, then we would watch a lot more of the trash they put out and play more games, but due to the language, I don't want or let my kids play it and can't even do it myself. I'd spend more money if this were available.

Then again, they could just clean up the language in that stuff in the first place instead of making us buy a technology to do it for us.
-Ernie

The danger I could see in such a technology (and now that it has been invented, it will be deployed by someone) is not in using it to censor out objectionable words, but to insert objectionable words of a different sort. We are in the last days of a presidential election. Each election has become more contentious, more strident and more divisive. If we currently have even a few people so worked up that they are publicly threatening to kill one candidate or another, what will we have when spin masters can use software to change "on the fly" live statements by the candidate they oppose by substituting incendiary words for innocent ones? Will anyone hear or care about corrections made after the fact when they have heard with their own ears a "live" statement which confirms the fears whispered to them in earlier ads? We should be very afraid.
-Gary

A person's free speech rights allow them to say anything they want. I support that. They do not, however, have the right to force me to listen to it. I reserve the right to flip a switch and turn off what they are saying within my own domain. As I understand it, that is what the Microsoft real time censor tool provides.
-Dana

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Posted by Doug Barney on October 23, 20080 comments


Win 7, I'm Confused: Can PDC Help?

There's a lot of talk these days about Windows 7. Users are interested because many are trying to figure out if they're going to go with Vista, skip it for Windows 7 or go in an entirely different direction. And Microsoft isn't entirely shy about it, either, as it hopes to keep the world excited about Windows.

I became instantly less excited about Windows 7 when Microsoft seemed to say it would be based on Vista. That means a big client using an old kernel. Recent rumors (fueled at least in part by Microsoft itself) point to a new, much smaller kernel based on something called Midori, which may or may not be based on Singularity (a new kernel coming out of Microsoft Research).

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Posted by Doug Barney on October 23, 20080 comments


Microsoft To Censor on the Fly

I'm sure you've watched G-rated versions of R-rated movies -- the ones where the curse words are replaced with reasonable facsimiles, like Samuel L. Jackson calling someone a "mother-loving mother lover" before blasting away.

Microsoft now has a patent that could allow online gaming dialogue to be cleaned up on the fly -- without need for an expensive Hollywood video and voice editor.

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Posted by Doug Barney on October 22, 20080 comments


Microsoft Virtualization Tool Done

Microsoft yesterday shipped a new management tool for virtual machines , especially those spawned by Microsoft's own Hyper-V. So what's the snappy new name for this snazzy new tool? System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 (while the product is virtual, the name is really, really long).

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Posted by Doug Barney on October 22, 20080 comments