|
|
Windows Vista SP1 (RC) available to general public
This is just a quick note. Microsoft has just announced that the Release Candidate for Vista SP1 has been released to the general public.
Download and install from here
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Thursday, December 13, 2007
Check out our utilities for windows
Get a free copy of Vista / Office 2007
I lied. I read in a press release that they were doing this. I went and filled out the 15 minute form to find out the only free software I get is the spyware that collects information about my computer usage.
Originally you could apply to the Windows Feedback program, and then for the trouble of letting them watch everything you do - you could get a free copy of Vista, and/or Office 2007.
After filling out their huge survey and giving away my first born I couldn't find anywhere on the feedback site where I could download the software. I started googling. It looks like starting today (My luck eh?) they quietly discontinued the program.
The funny part is they left the website open. That way suckers like me could fill out all the info, and only after the fact find out there is nothing on the other side.
Not that I need it - since our MSDN subscription gives me all the Vista, and Office I need. I just wanted to see what this free offer looked like.
Now I know ;)
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Check out our utilities for windows
Microsoft Releases SP3 RC for Windows XP
Microsoft announced today the release of Windows XP SP3 RC1 (Is that enough acronyms for you?)
If you are a Technet, or MSDN subscriber you can download it now
I have started testing it with a fresh XP install. No big changes over SP2. No speed increase or decrease either. It includes all of the latest hotfixes and patches so once this thing is released it will reduce your setup time for new XP machines considerably.
I will continue to test, and let you know if I find anything noteworthy about this release.
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Check out our utilities for windows
Microsoft Releases Detailed Guides for Vista SP1
Microsoft has released a set of documents for Vista SP1.
This is the most comprehensive amount of information released so far. There are 5 documents in total. They are:
-Deployment guide for Vista SP1
-Enterprise Guidance for Application Compatibility Testing
-Hotfixes and Security updates
-Notable Changes in Windows Vista
-Overview of Windows Vista SP1
Download and open the hotfixes document. I had no idea it would contain almost 70 pages of hotfixes. Haven't had a chance to read through the whole thing...so I am not sure if they have zapped some of my major pet peeves.
They all can be downloaded from here
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Monday, December 10, 2007
Check out our utilities for windows
Windows 2008 RC1 Released
Microsoft has announced the release of Windows 2008 RC1 beta.
This release candidate is open to the general public for testing. You can download a 30 day evaluation from any of the links below:
Windows Server 2008 Standard RC1 (x86 and x64)
Windows Server 2008 Enterprise RC1 (x86 and x64)
Windows Server 2008 Datacenter RC1 (x86 and x64)
Windows Web Server 2008 RC1 (x86 and x64)
Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems RC1
Not all of the links above were working at the time I wrote this. They should be within the next 24 hours. If you are still having trouble...visit this download page
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Thursday, December 06, 2007
Check out our utilities for windows
Where did Telnet go in Vista?
I stopped using Vista for my day to day work about 6 months ago. I only fire it up in a virtual machine for testing with our remote control software.
I have realized it is keeping me from experiencing the pain of Vista, and finding solutions for it.
I decided I needed to start using it every day. That way I know exactly what my customers experience when running Vista. To make this mission more appealing I splurged and bought a dream system.
I finally made my choice - The Sony Viao TZ Series.
It is the white edition - looks a lot like a very thin Mac book (Surprise surprise). The hardware itself is awesome. The similarity ends there.
Unfortunately I cannot run Mac OSX on this fine piece...and I am stuck with Vista. Yes...that was my original purpose, but after I made the plunge I was swearing at it for at least a few hours.
The first thing I noticed is that I couldn't telnet into my FreeBSD based Asterisk server. Hmm. It says the command is not recongizied.
Could it really be that Microsoft has removed telnet from Vista?
Yep. Yes they took it out. Perfect. It makes me love Vista even more.
Here is how you get it back:
1. Get to a command line
2. Type: start /w pkgmgr /iu:"TelnetClient"
3. Click Continue on the User Access Control Prompt
4. Wait while Vista churns and churns thinking about it
5. Bam. Now you have telnet back
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Check out our utilities for windows
Microsoft to make Vista activation even more difficult
Microsoft said on Monday it is going to disable two methods hackers are currently using to pirate Vista (No word from them as to what those two methods are)
They claim that the new anti-piracy features in windows Vista have cut piracy in half (From Windows XP). Not sure if they asked those pirates if the reason was that they didn't want the new operating system ;)
Microsoft plans to make it even harder for legitimate customers to activate the software they paid for. Oops. I meant they will make it harder for pirates to get free copies of Vista.
Thankfully they have decided to change the way they deal with invalid versions of Vista. Instead of downgrading features, they will give the users recurring notifications that their version of Vista is not genuine.
If a user of pirated software wants to purchase a genuine copy of Windows from Microsoft, they can buy the Home Basic edition for $89 or $119 for the Home Premium version.
Lets hope SP1 fixes problems with legitimate users getting deactivated :<
Posted By: Steve Wiseman on Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Check out our utilities for windows
|
 |
