Windows Vista Team Blog

In his blog, Microsoft IT Evangelist Keith Combs mentions a couple upcoming chats scheduled for July that you might find useful.  On 10 July you can chat directly with the team behind Offline Files in Windows Vista -- check it out if you"re interested in learning how to make Offline Files work for you.  All technical chats are listed on the Microsoft Communities Technical Chats page; you can click here to add this particular chat to Outlook or Windows Calendar.  On 11 July there"s an opportunity to chat with members of the product group responsible for Windows Vista"s Backup, Complete PC Backup, System Restore and Shadow Copy features.  Click here to add this chat to your calendar as well.

And if you"re really interested in file storage and backup features, make sure you"re subscribed to The Filing Cabinet blog.

Hi all,

The Microsoft Solution Accelerators Team is happy to announce the release of the Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 2.0 Public Beta.  Windows Vista Hardware Assessment is an automated software tool that helps business customers and consultants make informed decisions about desktop deployment and migration to Windows Vista.  Specifically, this tool provides users a very quick way to inventory and assess PCs network-wide for their hardware and device readiness.  Through auto-generated readiness reports, organizations can more quickly identify computers that can migrate to Windows Vista “as is” without any hardware upgrades and others with recommended hardware upgrades.

The Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 2.0 Public Beta, an agent-less network-wide assessment tool, includes three frequently-requested features:

·         Customized Inventory – Users may now choose computers of specific organizational units (or OU’s) within an Active Directory domain/forest where the inventory would be conducted.

·         Flat-File Import of Computers – Users can now target a specific set of computers for the inventory and assessment by importing a specific flat file of computers (such as computer host names, NetBIOS names, or Fully Qualified Domain Names - FQDN).

·         Office 2007 Hardware Assessment – Users may now assess their desktop computers for compatibility with Office 2007 system.

In addition, Windows Vista Hardware Assessment users may now inventory up to 10,000 per domain/workgroup per scan (Note: you can inventory a few times to assess a network larger than 10,000).

So, why wait?  Download our 2.0 Public Beta here and give us your feedback!  Make sure you use your Live ID (or Passport credentials) and register for this beta program before starting the download process. To download the already-released Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 1.0, you may visit here:  http://www.microsoft.com/technet/wvha.

This tool is one of many Solution Accelerators that were recently launched for Windows Vista.  Please visit the Solution Accelerators Home Page to download other tools including Business Desktop Deployment 2007, Data Encryption Toolkit for Mobile PCs, Windows Vista Security Guide and more.

One more thing – if you are attending TechEd 2007 in Orlando, please attend our breakout session and hands-on lab throughout the week and test drive Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 1.0.  See you there!

Baldwin Ng

Sr. Product Manager, Microsoft Solution Accelerators

Greetings from Orlando, Florida, the home of Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, and TechEd 2007-Microsoft"s largest conference for IT pros and developers. Throughout the week you can keep up with the latest news and get some of the training at http://www.virtualteched.com/.

Back in October 2006 I introduced a new desktop management solution for Windows PCs called the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack. The demand for  these tools has been incredible and more than 1 million licenses have been sold already.

For those not familiar with the Optimization Pack, it is a set of desktop management tools available as an additional subscription through Microsoft"s Software Assurance licensing program that enables customers to increase desktop manageability, reduce the total cost of ownership, and improve overall infrastructure optimization. It includes:

• SoftGrid Application Virtualization, with the capability to virtualize and stream an application to the desktop. One customer already using SoftGrid is Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, which estimates that SoftGrid enabled them to save over $1,000,000 in software deployment and support-related activities.
• Advanced Group Policy Management, which provide workflow and change management capabilities to the management of Group Policy objects.
• Asset Inventory Service, which provides reporting of software assets used by an organization.
• Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset, which has the capability to recover a Windows machine that has crashed and won"t boot even through safe mode.

And this week we are announcing the addition of a 5th component, System Center Desktop Error Monitoring, which gives IT professionals a central way to analyze data from OS and Application crashes and hangs, so they can more quickly identify and resolve problems.

More news out this week is that the first versions of all of the components of the Desktop Optimization Pack will be available for download on July 1^st along with the Windows Vista compatible version of SoftGrid.

You can learn more about all of these tools at the Windows Vista Web site. And stay tuned to the blog this week for more Windows Vista news from TechEd.

- Alex

Video: Games for Windows Demo

Also, we"re still running the Look for the Logo sweepstakes, so go and enter to win thousands of dollars of Certified for Windows Vista products every week. Check back for future posts and more videos!

Click here for general information on the Windows Vista Logo Program.

Past Certified for Windows Vista demo videos include Digital Memories and Wireless Networking.

Today our Windows Live team is releasing new betas for several Windows Live applications:  Windows Live Messenger 8.5, Windows Live Mail and Windows Live Writer.  All three are now available for download.

A little about each one:

Windows Live Messenger 8.5

Windows Live Messenger 8.5 presents a brand new look-and-feel that"s more in tone with Windows Vista.  While this update largely affects the back-end, it also adds several new emoticons and integration with Windows Live OneCare Safety Center.  You can expect performance enhancements in there as well.

Windows Live Mail

As mentioned before, Windows Live Mail is the successor to Windows Mail in Windows Vista (and Outlook Express on Windows XP).  Windows Live Mail is also the successor to previous betas of Windows Live Mail desktop.  It sports a brand new UI that more aligned with what"s being adopted across Windows Live.  Windows Live Mail will allow syncing with Windows Live Hotmail, serving as a client-to-service bridge.  The first beta of Windows Live Mail will offer:

• Offline mail 
• Windows Live Hotmail account aggregation 
• Additional account aggregation for POP3 and IMAP mail accounts 
• RSS feed aggregation 
• More advanced photo-sharing capabilities 
• More advanced search via integration with Windows Desktop Search 
• Additional safety measures (AV scanning, anti-phishing, anti-spam protection across aggregated accounts for customers who do not have an AV product) 
• Additional integration with Windows Live services including Windows Live Spaces

And, there will not be any graphical advertisements in Windows Live Mail at this time.

Windows Live Writer

Windows Live Writer is a tool for composing blog posts and publishing them on several of the web"s biggest blogging platforms (such as Windows Live Spaces, Community Server, WordPress, and TypePad).  Windows Live Writer allows for custom plug-ins to be installed from Windows Live Gallery that extend its publishing abilities amongst blogging platforms.  Today"s new beta of Windows Live Writer comes with features like inline spell checking, the ability to add categories, table editing and easier image insertion.  Windows Live Writer’s new beta will be available in the following markets: US (English), US (Spanish), India (English), UK, Spain, Germany, Japan, China and France.

Remember, these applications being released today are betas and not final versions.  You can submit feedback on any of the betas at feedback.live.com.

And lastly, I expect Brandon will have screenshots on his blog soon.

In the next few weeks, the Windows Mobile Device Center team will be launching an update to Windows Mobile Device Center 6.0.  Aside from bug fixes and improvements over WMDC 6.0, the update (version 6.1) will include feature support for Windows Mobile 6 devices; this includes support for file synchronization on both touchscreen and non-touchscreen Windows Mobile 6 devices.  We"ll make a formal announcement here on the blog once the update is officially released.

Last month I had the opportunity to meet with some of the editorial and management staff at Future Publishing Ltd, where we chatted about topics ranging from what constitutes good editorial to successfully building an online audience.  I"ve also just received my (US) copy of the June/July issue of the Official Windows Vista Magazine, which is turning up stores and has once again succeeded in piquing my interest.  The latest issue showcases everything you need to know about working with digital music on Windows Vista.  ZDNet"s Ed Bott writes an opinion piece called "When I"m 64 (Bits)", comparing computing on a 32-bit system to using 64-bit.  Plus, they have a great how-to piece on how to speed up Windows Vista (ReadyBoost, anyone?).  Check it out (note that the magazine"s site is updated subsequent to release of the magazine itself).

Video: Networking Demo - Certified for Windows Vista

The video I"ve posted here shows how easy it is to set up and configure a wireless network using the D-Link DIR 655 using the Windows Connect Now wizard. We then also showed how to use a USB Flash drive (we used the Kingston Data Traveler II) to copy the network profile and configure another device.  Both of these products have earned the Works with Windows Vista logo.

Also, we"re still running the Look for the Logo sweepstakes, so go and enter to win thousands of dollars of Certified for Windows Vista products. Check back for future posts and more videos!

Click here for general information on the Windows Vista Logo Program.

Microsoft"s premier annual conference for IT Pros and Developers is almost upon us. Launched in 1993, TechEd has always been a great place to learn how to get the most out of Microsoft technologies. Where else can you meet and ask questions of the folks who actually participated in the design and development of a Microsoft operating system? Whether you are just exploring the different ways to configure Windows Vista, or if you are well along your deployment and want some advice on how to make sure it goes smoothly, the Windows Vista team members in attendance can give you the whys and hows.

If you haven"t registered yet it"s not too late, get all of the details here.

This year at TechEd we have over 80 sessions that touch on different aspects of Windows Vista.

TechEd promises to be just as important this year. With the launch of Windows Vista and the 2007 Microsoft Office system, many of us are exploring new features and configurations. From installation support, to User Account Control (UAC) and BitLocker, find the answers to your questions in some of the following tracks:

• Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007
• A Geek"s Guide to Microsoft Solution Accelerator for Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007 Lite Touch Deployment
• Microsoft Solution Accelerator for Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007: Advanced Zero Touch Installation with Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003
• Building the Perfect Master Image: A Universal Image Strategy
• Application Compatibility
• Windows Vista Application Compatibility and Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0
• Windows Vista Application Compatibility Issues for Developers
• User State Migration Tool (USMT) 3.0
• A Geek"s Guide to Microsoft Windows User State Migration Tool (USMT) 3.0
• Migrating User Settings from Microsoft Windows XP to Windows Vista
• Volume Activation
• What Is the "Buzz" on Activation?
• Activating Multiple Activation Key (MAK) for Enterprise Customers Using the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT)
• Security
• Fundamental Security Changes in Windows Vista
• Managing Network Security Using Windows Firewall with Advanced Security
• Microsoft BitLocker in the Enterprise: BitLocker Tools to Make Your Life Easier
• User Account Control-Managing User Account Control in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008
• Deep Dive into Microsoft Windows Vista Group Policy Changes and Troubleshooting
• Microsoft Windows Desktop Search: Current Implementation and Future Directions of Windows Desktop Search in the Enterprise

You can search all of the sessions at https://www.msteched.com/public/sessions.aspx.

In additions to the sessions, be sure to stop by the Windows Vista booths to meet the product team and get your hard questions answered. We"ll also be passing out a new DVD with all of our free deployment tools.

See you there!

- Alex