Windows Vista Team Blog

Brandon Paddock, who works on Search on the Windows dev team, took some time away from the office to develop a very useful add-on to Windows Vista’s already amazing search capabilities.  In Windows Desktop Search for Windows XP, there was a functionality called “Deskbar Shortcuts” that allowed you to associate words and phrases with commands or searches you executed on a regular basis.  Brandon has brought that functionality to Windows Vista with his Start++ tool.

For instance, using Start++, Windows Vista’s Start Menu Search Bar becomes an internet search tool wherein you input pre-assigned keywords or phrases and your search terms, then have it conduct a search using engines like Wikipedia, Live Search, or even the Internet Movie Database.  I can configure Start++ so that when I type “w Windows Vista” into the Start Menu Search Bar when Start++ is running,  it will open up a browser window in Wikipedia with the search results for “Windows Vista”.

Start++ can also serve as a command line interface to open specific applications or perform other tasks.  For example, you might use it to initiate playback of specific songs or artists in Windows Media Player.  I can configure it so that typing “play switchfoot” puts all corresponding tracks on my system into an .m3u playlist and opens Windows Media Player with the tracks ready for playback.

Start++ comes with a configuration guide to that to get you started customizing it.  You can of course can add your own shortcuts and commands as well.

Go here to the latest release of Start++.

   

Have you been wondering how you can tell which software and devices take advantage of the features of Windows Vista? You can easily identify these products by looking for the devices and software that are Certified for Windows Vista. Read below for more specifics on the program, and then enter to win thousands of dollars worth of Certified for Windows Vista products.

What does it mean to be Certified for Windows Vista?

You all have probably seen the Designed for XP logo that appears on PCs. The Windows Vista Logo Program is the next generation, however, we’ve made two important changes. First, we’ve extended this program to encompass not only PCs, but also peripheral devices and software, which is what I plan on writing about today. Secondly, we’ve set up a certification process, so that devices and software need to be independently tested before they qualify for the logo. So, yes, there are there thousands of applications and devices that are compatible with Windows Vista, however, Certified devices and software have been tested to help ensure that they are compatible with the premium features of Windows Vista. Devices and software that carries the Works with Windows Vista logo are tested for baseline standards of compatibility with all PCs running Windows Vista.

Devices:

To talk a bit more specifically about devices, all device drivers are independently tested to meet Microsoft standards for reliability, performance, and best software writing practices. We are continuing to add approximately 1,600 Certified device drivers per month. These devices will easily connect to Windows Vista with a guide that helps you through the installation process if needed. Wireless devices are also intuitive to set-up and security-enhanced. 

Devices are also tested to deliver performance and quality beyond basic compatibility, so you can have high-definition experiences with photos, music, videos and communications. For example, they are able to take advantage of Windows Vista features like native DVD burning, Network and Sharing Center and Windows Aero user experience. Color sensitive devices like monitors and printers work together with the Windows Color System so when you print pictures, they look like what’s on your screen. Certified wireless routers provide reliable connectivity for demanding applications like on-line gaming and HD media streaming, while wireless networks are security-enhanced by default. 

Software:

And now on to some software specifics. I want to emphasize here that Certified for Windows Vista software products are tested to Microsoft’s compatibility standards to help make software easy to install, better performing and more secure. For example, software is specifically tested to minimize the number of crashes, hangs and reboots that are typically experienced by users. It also installs without degrading the performance of Windows Vista or other applications. I also think it’s important to mention that Certified software should continue to improve over time, because we require that they not just include error reporting, but that they also use this data to continually update their product.  Certified software is also designed to work with advanced security features in Windows Vista, as well as meets the Anti-Spyware Coalition privacy guidelines.

I’m planning on posting information about specific Certified products on a regular basis, so continue to check back for product highlights and deeper spec information. This is a just an introduction to the program. Don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any questions. In the meantime, enter each week for a chance to win a ton of great products from our partners.

This year"s MIX07 promises to be an exciting 72-hour conversation amongst Web devs, designers, advertisers, decision-makers and MS (I"ll be there), with Ray Ozzie and General Manager Scott Gunthrie slated to start it all off with their keynote.  Just like last year at MIX06, MS is continuing to "mix" it up (the audience, that is) to get various perspectives on bringing next-generation experiences to the Web.

MIX07 at Las Vegas" Venetian Hotel offers a variety of sessions, such as "Blending Up User Experiences" (focusing on WPF integration and implementation) to "IE7 Past, Present, and Future" (browser features and futures).  And of course Windows Vista is right in the middle of it all, being the OS underpinning many of the advances in the Web experience.

Even better?  All MIX07 attendees receive a copy of Windows Vista Ultimate.

Last year"s MIX saw the Beta 2 Refresh of IE7, giving developers and web designers a peek at Microsoft’s brand new Web browser now shipping with Windows Vista.

This year’s MIX should be quite interesting.  If you"re not already signed up, do so before 15 March so as to take advantage of the early-bird discount of 15% off the full conference registration price.

And if you want to share your excitement for the event, you can even put some MIX bling on your website or blog.

 

See you there ...

Windows Vista Week has begun at Channel 9 and Channel 10.  Over on Channel 9 they"re covering Windows Vista from the developer side, focusing on building apps for Windows Vista as a user-centric operating system.  What technologies underlying Windows Vista make it what it is for the user?  And what can developers get out of those technologies to improve the user"s experience with their Windows apps?  Channel 9 will take a deep-dive into those technologies this week.  Expect topics to range from UAC to the networking stack and beyond.

Also, Channel 9"s Charles Torre has posted his interview with Michael Wallent on the "what" and "why" of Windows Vista"s developer appeal.  Incidentally, I had the opportunity to interview Michael about Windows Vista product quality back in November, and he had some illuminating things to share, so I"m sure his words for devs will be equally valuable.

On Channel 10, the team will be covering a wide range of Windows Vista topics, too, in this case targeting power users (is that you?).  For instance, Tina Wood works hands-on with Ernie Booth while installing Windows Vista, and Laura Foy interviews Windows Mobile"s Mel Sampat (creator of FlexWallet) about getting Windows Sidebar Gadgets to run on your Windows Mobile device.

Should be an interesting week ...

Hamad Darwish has released some amazing new desktop wallpapers for your enjoyment and look absolutely stunning on your Windows Vista desktop.  Microsoft contacted Hamad to shoot some photos for wallpapers to include with Windows Vista.  His photos titled Destination and Lost Sensations made it into the final versions of Windows Vista now in stores.  Long Zheng interviewed Hamad on his experience working with Microsoft and shooting the photos for the project.  "I really enjoyed the experience and I wouldn’t think twice about doing it again, if I was given the chance," Hamad says.

You can grab the new wallpapers over off Hamad"s personal website. Each of the wallpapers are at 1920x1200 resolution so they should look very nice on your desktop.

 

My favorite is this one -- it reminds me of a trip I took to Baja California in the late 90"s:

... I"ve configured it as the desktop image on one of my machines :)

Anyone who has tried Virtual PC 2004 on Windows Vista knows that the experience can leave something to be desired.  But today, from the hard working folks on the Virtual PC Team, we have Virtual PC 2007.

Virtual PC 2007 was optimized for using Windows Vista as the host operating system, allowing you to run multiple operating systems on a single PC and have an excellent experience doing so.  Virtual PC 2007 has also been optimized for Windows Vista running as the guest operating system as well.  Here it is running on one of my Windows Vista boxes:

Virtual PC 2007 can be a huge asset to business users.  Many businesses have custom applications that are designed to run in a specific environment, and upgrading a PC to Windows Vista may break those custom applications.  With VPC2007, business users can enjoy the upgrade to Windows Vista without to having to give up access to those custom or proprietary applications.  Instead, custom apps are accessible in their native (albeit virtual) environment, exactly as you remember them.

For developers building applications on Windows Vista, VPC2007 can aid in backwards-compatibility testing of those applications by providing access to multiple OS platforms.  For instance, there is a Virtual PC image available for Internet Explorer 6 for Web site developers needing to test on IE6 -- virtually -- while also testing on IE7, all on a single Windows Vista machine.

Companies that are part of Microsoft’s Software Assurance Program and are migrating to Windows Vista Enterprise can take advantage of VPC2007 by using the four additional Windows Licenses they"re entitled to, to create multiple virtual machines, each with its own operating system, on a single Windows Vista machine.

You can download the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Virtual PC 2007 here.  There is no cost for the download or use of VPC2007.

More information on building and using virtual machines can be found at the VPC2007 Web site, and in this white paper:  Using Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 for Application Compatibility.

You should also check out Virtual PC Guy"s blog for continuing news on the VPC and Virtual Server fronts.  "Virtual PC Guy" is Ben Armstrong, Program Manager on the Virtual Machines Team here at MS.

Hello,

Let me first introduce myself.  I"m Baldwin Ng, Product Manager for Microsoft Solution Accelerator team.  Our team has been developing great tools such as Business Desktop Deployment 2007 and guidance on client security such as the Windows Vista Security Guide. Today, another IT pro tool is born - Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 1.0.

Now that Windows Vista is launched and made available, customers are asking many of these deployment questions:

• How many of my existing PCs are current ready for Windows Vista?
• How many more PCs can be upgraded to Windows Vista?
• What upgrades are required in terms of memory, hard disk and graphics cards?
• How much would it cost and how long would it take to upgrade these PCs?

Indeed, one way to answer these questions would be to manually check each computer.  Another way would be to run automated readiness tools that can check one PC at a time against the Windows Vista hardware specifications, like the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor.  However, most businesses and IT consultants told us that they much prefer an easy-to-use network-wide assessment tool.  Many of the IT consultants also stressed the need for a tool that would not require deployment of software agents to individual PCs being assessed. 

NEW TOOL - Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 1.0
To tackle this challenge head-on, our development group teamed up with Windows Vista team and Microsoft Partner group and developed a network-wide assessment tool for Windows Vista migration called Windows Vista Hardware Assessment.  This tool helps organizations make informed decisions about desktop deployment and migration to Windows Vista by quickly assessing PCs on a network and generates detailed readiness reports of their hardware and device compatibility.

Please read on to find out more about how this tool works and learn ways to leverage the power of assessment to accelerate your desktop migration projects!  (Of course, if you can"t wait to try this tool, we understand.  Feel free to jump to tool"s web site and CLICK HERE!)

HOW DOES IT WORK?
The Windows Vista Hardware Assessment consists of three core components:  Hardware Inventory, Compatibility Analysis and Readiness Reporting.

 

Hardware Inventory
* Through the use of WMI, AD and other Windows Networking Protocols such as NetServerEnum, this tool discovers both computers on a domain as well as workgroup computers.
* Once inventory is completed, all system resources and device information are stored in a SQL Server 2005 Express database.
* AD domain membership and WMI credentials are required for you to conduct a successful inventory.
* The current release of this tool supports network discovery of up to 5,000 machines.

Compatibility Analysis (with Windows Vista)
* Using the most up-to-date device and BIOS database from the Windows Team, Windows Vista Hardware Assessment analyzes each PC"s readiness around hardware and device compatibility for Windows Vista. Driver information is pulled from online, regularly updated Web service so get the latest devices information each time you run the tool.
* Each PC is analyzed for its ability to run Windows Vista as well as the two different levels of experience, Windows Vista Capable and Windows Vista Premium Ready.  For more information regarding the details of hardware requirements, please visit the Windows Vista Hardware Planning Guidance site:  http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/aa905075.aspx  

Readiness Reporting
* The last step of the readiness assessment is the auto-generation of a set of readiness reports.
* Summary Report in the form of Microsoft Word document provides a concise summary for business decision makers in an organization to understand the existing PCs" readiness for Windows Vista and what it takes to upgrade them to the new operating system.
* Detailed Report in the form of Microsoft Excel workbook provides IT implementers and consultants the detailed analysis results, PC by PC, so they can better estimate and implement the desktop migration by completing the required hardware upgrades such as addition of memory and more hard-disk space.  Detailed information is also provided so one can understand the number of device drivers that are required to get device updates and where to get them. For example, this tool will tell you if a certain device driver can be updated via Windows Update, Windows Vista DVDs or through the device manufacturers.

MORE ON READINESS REPORTS
The Windows Vista Hardware Assessment provides 2 reports for each network/network segment:

Summary Report (in Microsoft Word)
* The Executive Overview section provides a high-level view of Windows Vista readiness for each PC discovered as-is (i.e. without any hardware upgrades) and after you decide to invest in some minor upgrades such as memory, disk space, etc.  Note that CPU change is considered a major upgrade and we do not consider it as minor - this is a typical buy-new scenario.  For example, in this report, you may find that if you were to invest in the recommended upgrades, you can migrate up to 342 PCs to Windows Vista.  That is good news if you are looking to reduce your desktop management cost and migrate most PCs to a single operating system - i.e. Windows Vista.

* How about hardware upgrades for the various experience levels of Windows Vista?  What you"ll find is that Hardware Analysis section of this readiness report would give you much of the details that you need to estimate the upgrade cost including number of PCs requiring increase of System RAM, Hard Disk Capacity, upgrade of Graphics Card or Optical Drive, etc.  This really helps the business decision makers of any organization to better understand the cost it takes to roll out Windows Vista.

* On the Device Compatibility side, we provide the insights into how many device drivers would be available for updates and where one can find the updates.  This makes it easier for any organization to implement the migration.  An OS analysis summary is also provided, which is especially valuable to organizations where asset management and system management software are not used.  You may find this summary useful when considering various Volume Licensing options with Microsoft as well.

 

Detailed Report (in Microsoft Excel)
* The Client Assessment worksheet provides assessment results, PC-by-PC regarding current readiness and reasons for the current "rating." For example, take a look at the Computer_00001 in the spreadsheet below.  You will find that this computer is not upgradable to Windows Vista Capable experience because its CPU speed is lower than 800MHz, a Windows Vista minimum requirement.  Computer_00003, however, can be upgraded to Windows Vista Premium Ready.

 

* The Capable After Upgrades worksheet provides detailed recommendations for each PC that can be upgrade to Windows Vista Capable such as 1) Upgrade to 512 MB RAM or 2) Free up 15 GB of disk space (with a disk drive capacity of at least 20GB).  For example, if you take a look at the report below, you will find that Computer_00003 can be upgraded to Windows Vista Premium Ready by clearing the hard drive to make room for 15GB of disk space.

* Aside from hardware assessment, Windows Vista Hardware Assessment also gives you a detailed look into device compatibility on each PC as well as organization-wide.  The Device Assessment Summary worksheet makes it easier for you to identify devices that you need to investigate further (e.g. devices with no known device compatibility information).

 

OPERATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
It is important to note the following before you start scanning your network:
1) Information is encrypted end to end, providing a secure way to inventory each PC.
2) There is minimal impact on the network and PCs during the inventory process.
3) Currently, there is no technology available to allow remote/agent-less detection of Bit-Locker and Aero-Glass features of a specific PC.  You are advised to use other tools available for single-PC readiness assessment for such features, such as Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor.

OTHER WINDOWS VISTA DEPLOYMENT TOOLS
Aside from hardware and device compatibility, you may also want to try out two other tools that are crucial to the success of any desktop deployment projects: Business Desktop Deployment 2007 and Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0.

Don"t forget, if you want to further harden your Windows Vista PC environment, our team has also produced the Windows Vista Security Guide that gives you the best practices and guidance you need.

SUMMARY
As you can see, Microsoft is readying IT professionals with a suite of deployment tools including the brand new Windows Vista Hardware Assessment.  So, why wait? Download the Windows Vista Hardware Assessment tool and guidance today and accelerate your Windows Vista desktop migration project planning!

For any suggestions on future releases, please write to us at:  wvhafdbk@microsoft.com .  We"d love to hear from you!

One of the things we"ve done differently with the release of Windows Vista is made it a priority to provide IT professionals with the tools and guidance they need to successfully deploy the new desktop OS as easily, quickly, and with as little cost as possible. Today we are happy to announce that the full set of tools we"ve created for business to deploy Windows Vista are available for free download. Many businesses have been using beta versions of these tools, and now they are all ready for production use:

Here"s the full set of tools that we"ve made available, including the new ones that have just been released today:

• Microsoft Solution Accelerator for Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007
  BDD 2007 is a set of comprehensive guidance, best practices, and tools that organizations can use to deploy Windows Vista and the 2007 Office system to desktops. Download it here. Part of what BDD includes are two solutions to streamline deployments-a zero-touch solution which requires Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 and a light-touch solution that does not. Since Manu announced BDD on the blog on January 17^th, we"ve already seen more than 60,000 downloads.
  
  If you only download one tool from this list, this is the one to get because it provides access to most of the other tools as well. To download other tools from inside BDD, click on Components in the Information Center section in the left-pane. This will bring up the current list of available components. Click "Check for updates" on the right-pane to download an updated BDD component list from Microsoft.
  
  
• Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) 5.0
  ACT 5.0 is a tool that helps businesses reduce the cost and time needed to resolve potential application compatibility issues encountered when moving to Windows Vista. Download it here. Since Peg announced ACT on the blog on January 30^th, we"ve already seen more than 30,000 downloads. Even if you are still considering when to deploy to Windows Vista, downloading and running ACT on your current PCs is an easy step you can take to start understanding how many applications you will need to migrate and get some data on potential compatibility issues so that you can address them as soon as possible.
  
  
• Windows Vista Hardware Assessment 1.0
  This is a brand new tool we are announcing today. With this tool, customers and IT consultants will be able to quickly determine the readiness of existing PCs to run Windows Vista and provide guidance on any necessary hardware and device driver updates. The beauty of this tool is that in can be run on a single PC by an IT admin and get an inventory and readiness assessment of all PCs on the network (up to 5,000). Download it here.
  
  Don"t forget, if you want to tell if just one or a few PCs are compatible with Windows Vista, use the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor, also a free download.
  
  
• Virtual PC 2007
  Released today, the latest Microsoft hardware virtualization software includes support for hardware-assisted virtualization technology and support for Windows Vista as a host or guest operating system or both. The ability to use Virtual PC 2007 to run up to 4 additional copies of Windows is one of the benefits of Windows Vista Enterprise. Download Virtual PC 2007 here and see our prior post on how to use it.
  
  
• Volume Activation 2.0 Tools
  Volume Activation 2.0 is a technology in Windows Vista that requires activation of each Windows Vista license acquired under a Volume License agreement. Based on customer feedback during the beta process, we have added several new tools to give customers more options for how they want to manage the activation process. The new tools we have released are:
• Windows Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT) Multiple Activation Key (MAK) activation requires a one-time communication with Microsoft either independently by each computer, or VAMT can proxy the communication on behalf of multiple computers at once-so that only one needs to access the internet and perform the one-time communication with Microsoft"s servers.
•  Key Management Service (KMS) for Windows Server 2003 SP1 and Later KMS enables business customers to host a local service within their environment that can be used to activate Windows Vista without sending information to Microsoft. We created this tool based on feedback from beta customers that wanted to host the KMS service on Windows Server 2003, in addition to the Windows Vista service that was previously available.
• KMS Management Pack for Management Operations Manager 2005 This tool allows enterprise customers to monitor and report the health of the KMS host that is fulfilling the activation requests within their organization. System administrators can also create alerts for conditions that could indicate KMS outages or impending problems-to help ensure that the activation process happens seamlessly.

If you"ve already been deploying or piloting Windows Vista you"ll think these are very cool tools (trust me). If not, you are probably scratching your head about what MAK and KMS mean. If you want to learn more about volume activation, I encourage you to check out these resources: Volume Activation Licensing Overview and Volume Activation Technical Guidance.

• PowerShell 1.0
  Another tool that we"ve blogged about was Windows PowerShell, the new command line shell and scripting language. When we first blogged here about PowerShell, it was in beta, but now the final version of PowerShell is available as well. Download PowerShell 1.0 here and also see this post for tips for how to use it to automate tasks in Windows Vista.

What having all of these tools available means is that all of the customers who have been testing beta versions can now begin production deployments.  If you have not been actively testing or piloting Windows Vista yet, these tools provide a structured way to get started.

This was the first of many posts we plan to bring you over the next few months on how to plan for and deploy Windows Vista in your organization. Please let us know if there are any topics that you"d like us to cover.

- Alex Heaton

Do you have a product that runs on Windows Vista that you"d like to showcase to potential customers?

We now offer the Demo Readiness Toolkit (DRT) for Windows Vista, which helps you build the skills needed to effectively demo your application on Windows Vista to your customers.  The DRT is a way for you to create customized demonstrations that highlight your product and Windows Vista at the same time.  You don"t need a dedicated demonstration PC to do this -- the DRT allows you to exhibit your demo on your own PC instead.

Included in the DRT are sample documents, demo files, sample applications, shortcuts and more to ensure that you have the appropriate environment to highlight your creation.  You can also build a demo script for consumer or business scenarios that, for example, underscore Windows Vista"s advances in say, parental controls or network management, respectively. 

And best of all, it"s free.  Nor do you even have to be a Microsoft Partner to access and use these tools.

Using the DRT is a process that works; I know, because we have an internal version of the DRT that is available to anyone working at MS who wants to give a demonstration of Windows Vista, and I"ve used our internal version myself, many times.

Once you"ve created your own DRT, you can enter it into the DRT Challenge for the chance to win prizes like a Zune or a trip to this year"s Worldwide Partner Conference.  Check out this video to learn how to get started.

We"ve posted on Windows Photo Gallery before, but I"ve been noticing a great deal of questions regarding RAW image support in Windows Vista here on the blog, so it"s time to give this specific issue a bit more airtime.

For  RAW image support in Windows Vista, Microsoft is working with major camera manufacturers to help provide RAW image codecs for their respective formats so that you can view them in Windows Photo Gallery.  As a matter a fact, several of those major camera manufacturers have already provided codecs for their RAW imaging formats:

• Nikon (.NEF files)
• Sony (.SRF and .SR2 files)
• Olympus (.ORF files)

Windows Photo Gallery has a "check for updates" feature that will kick in when any of the above file formats are discovered.  Photo Gallery will prompt you for a update that will enable the use of these RAW Image formats from these manufacturers.  More codecs are expected to come online and will be available via Photo Gallery"s update feature, just as these are today.  With respect to the Nikon files, there are apparently compatibility issues that both Microsoft and Nikon are actively investigating, with Nikon hoping to issue a updated codec in the near future.

The Photos and Imaging Experience Team explains the overall idea behind RAW format support in Windows Vista much better than I can (and far more in depth) in this post.

If you"re experiencing issues with any of the released RAW image codecs or Photo Gallery, head over to the Microsoft Photography Blog and leave feedback there for the team, as they are actively reading comments and responding to users" needs.