ZDNet Must Read:
Office 14: Alpha testing to begin before year-end
Microsoft has been careful to say almost nothing (at least intentionally) about Office 14. But there was mention (since removed) of an Office 14 alpha release on one of the... Continued »
August 20th, 2008
WSUS users get a surprise: Windows 7 client
Some Windows Software Update Services (WSUS) users got a surprise on their patching servers on August 20: A mention of Windows 7 Client.
The actual Windows 7 client code was not distributed via WSUS. But the appearance of Windows 7 on the list of products that will be serviced over WSUS paves the way for Microsoft to start pushing something Windows-7-related to customers in the coming months.
“WSUS doesn’t push products - just patches. so this could just be in preparation for something that is weeks or months in the future. It’s just a new category.” said one WSUS customer, who confirmed that he saw the “Windows 7″ box on his update check list this morning.
The appearance of Windows 7 on a WSUS server was noted by Yannis Pantzis, who posted a screen shot of it on his blog. (I am providing a copy of his screen shot in case he is asked/required to remove it.)
WSUS is one of a number of Microsoft patching tools. Others include Windows Update and Microsoft Update. WSUS is typically employed by larger enterprises.
Microsoft has been providing a select number of outside testers with early Windows 7 builds over the past few months. A first, more widely distributed test build is expected around the time of Microsoft’s Professional Developers Conference in late October, 2008.
The final release of Windows 7 is expected in the latter half of 2009, according to Microsoft execs — and some partners who claim they’ve been told by Microsoft that the company is expecting to deliver Windows 7 before the usually touted 2010 delivery date.
August 19th, 2008
IE 8 to get ‘porn mode’?
The countdown to Internet Explorer (IE) 8 Beta 2 is on. Microsoft said the consumer-focused IE 8 test release would be available in August. There are just 11 days left….
No doubt, Microsoft has been holding back some features that will be added to the new test build. Istartedsomething’s Long Zheng blogged on August 20 about one such possibility: Private browsing, a k a “porn mode.” Private browsing is a feature that the Mozilla team ended up pulling from Firefox 3 (and 3.1), but one that Safari has had since 2005.
Private browsing allows those browsing the Web to erase their online tracks in history, cache and personal information entered and shared by a user on a Web page.
I asked Microsoft whether Zheng was right, and all a spokeswoman would say is the company will have more to say about privacy as IE 8 evolves.
There have been a couple of IE Blog posts that offer hints that Microsoft may be going beyond the pure “private browsing” mode.
From a June 24, 2008 IE Blog post on trustworthy browsing:
“(T)there’s more to online privacy than cookies, as cookies are only one implementation of content that can disclose information to websites. In some discussions, people have also described IE7’s Phishing Filter as a privacy feature because it helps protect users from sharing information. The larger challenge here is notifying users clearly about what sites they’re disclosing information to and enabling them to control that disclosure if they choose. As we talk more about privacy, we will broaden the discussion to include additional protections from sharing information that the browser can offer users.”
Some IE users have been saying for years that they want somthing more granular than the current browser option to delete all cookies or all temporary Internet files. From way back in 2006 in the comments on the IE Blog, poster Nick Davis said:
“I *hate* clearing my history, because lots of history is useful. What’s that new supplier’s site I went to last week and forgot to bookmark, etc. I hate losing all that info, just to cover up the fact that I, ahem, bought a gift for a loved one.
“Selective history. That’s what we need. Or a way to selectively delete browsing history after the fact. I mean, we’re only over 10 years into this whole web browser thing, and we have basically the same feature since v1.”
Any guesses as to what Microsoft might deliver on the privacy front with the forthcoming IE 8 Beta 2 and/or final release (slated to be available before the end of 2008)?
August 19th, 2008
Submit your best, new Microsoft codenames. Win a prize
As Labor Day approaches, it’s pretty quiet out there on the Microsoft news front. So what better time to launch a contest?
Being one of the keepers of a large and growing database of Microsoft codenames, I thought it might be fun to try to add to my collection. Here are the rules:
1. Submit to me via e-mail a new Microsoft codename that you either know or would like more information about. (You can remain anonymous if you’d like, but you do need a real e-mail address so that I can notify you if you win.) Send submissions to mjf [Shift2] microsofttracker.com.
2. I will post a new codename a day for one week, starting next week, on my blog. I won’t identify the submitter (unless you’d like to be mentioned by name). I’ll include any info I can find on what the codename is and how it fits into the Microsoft universe. Any hints or tips you can provide to guide me will earn you bonus points.
3. Anyone can submit: Softies, Microsoft partners, Microsoft customers, Microsoft rivals. You can submit multiple times if you’re bored and the spirit moves you.
4. Fake codenames will be frowned upon and senders of bogus codenames will be cursed with bad luck and this Microsoft watcher’s wrath for 13 years.
5. The “best” and most unusual codename (as judged by yours truly at the end of next week) will win. The prize? A free, autographed copy of Microsoft 2.0. I will ship it to any mailing address in the world that you designate. If you already have your copy, you can get one for a friend, a loved one or eBay….
I’m looking for new and as-yet undisclosed codenames. If you’re not sure whether something is new, you can always ask….
The first new codename will be posted on my blog on August 25. May the best codename wrangler win!
August 19th, 2008
Piecing together Microsoft’s cloud-computing vision
The term “cloud computing” has become almost meaningless — being used synonymously for everything from software-as-a-service (SaaS), to platform-as-a-service (PaaS).
But a new white paper, sponsored by Microsoft and written by the always entertaining consultant David Chappell, provides more clues aboutwhat the Softies are planning to unveil at this October’s Professional Developers Conference. For anyone looking to understand how and where Red Dog, Zurich, BizTalk Services and SQL Server Data Services (SSDS) all fit together, the 13-pager is worth a read.
Chappell, who provided an insightful talk at TechEd in June on Microsoft’s “Oslo” initiative (while managing to tread safely through a minefield of non-disclosure agreements) has done the same thing with his new paper, “A Short Introduction to Cloud Platforms: An Enterprise-Oriented View.” He doesn’t reference any of the aformentioned codenames by name.
But Chappell does provide a taxonomy for an application platform that’s useful when trying to piece together the various Oslo components under development. As Chappell outlines it, first there’s the foundation — platform software on a machine, including a base operating system, storage and standard libraries. Next up is infrastucture services (remote storage, integration services, identity services, etc.). And then there are application services — the services out of which cloud applications are built.
Chappell cites Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) as the best-known example of a cloud OS today. He explains:
“By far the most well-known example of an operating system in the cloud today is Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). EC2 provides customer-specific Linux instances running in virtual machines (VMs). From a technical perspective, it might be more accurate to think of EC2 as a platform for VMs rather than operating systems. Still, a developer sees an operating system interface, and so viewing it in this light makes more sense here.
August 18th, 2008
Office 14: Alpha testing to begin before year-end
While Microsoft has made a few public and well-calculated moves to prepare the way for Windows 7, the company has said almost nothing (at least intentionally) about Office 14.
On August 15, however, there was mention of an Office 14 alpha release on one of the Microsoft blogs that I read skim regularly. That post, about PerformancePoint Server, mentioned the Office 14 (O14) alpha TAP (Technical Adoption Program) release. The monitoring and analytics component of PerformancePoint Server (Microsoft’s business-scorecarding server) will be part of the O14 TAP, the posting said. And the alpha process for that O14 TAP is slated for November/December 2008. From the post (which since I blogged this has disappeared):
“The Alpha process will begin in the November/December timeframe this year. When you submit, please identify as a PPS M&A candidate. The deadline for submissions is August 28th.”
Microsoft opened up its Office 14 TAP nomination program in mid-May 2008. Here are excerpts from the note the Office team sent to Microsoft employees asking for potential tester names:
From: Office Customer Program Team
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2008
Subject: Office “14” Technology Adoption Program : nominations open!The Office “14” TAP team is excited to announce that the Office “14” Technology Adoption Program (TAP) is now accepting nominations! Nominations will be accepted until 8/29/08 and can be found at http://tap/team/Office14TAP/O14Nominations/Forms/MyItems.aspx. This nomination form should only be completed and submitted by Microsoft FTEs (full-time employees).
Recruiting and on-boarding for this phase of TAP will occur in two waves. The first wave starts now and will continue through the summer. This wave will focus on recruiting customers to validate server-centric scenarios (not involving client products as these will become available in the second wave). The second wave of recruiting will occur early next calendar year and will include client-centric scenarios. Selection criteria aims to maximize testing coverage for deployment scenarios and new product features. Other factors considered during selection include industry diversity, potential business impact for the customer, completeness of provided forms, and customer willingness to provide feedback and participate with product group on rigorous testing the product.
Companies willing to participate in public relations opportunities will receive preferential consideration. The numerous selection criteria will be balanced with a very limited number of available participant slots. Please note that Office “14” servers are 64-bit only.
Regards,
Office Customer Program Team
In case you want the official response from Microsoft on all things Office 14-related, here it is again, delivered via a company spokesperson on August 18:
“At this point we don’t have anything further to share on O14 build/timing - it is too early to discuss specific features, capabilities or timing for the next release.”
It still sounds like the final Office 14 is on track for 2009 — though probably not in the first half. Anyone else — TAP or not — hearing otherwise?
August 18th, 2008
Scratch that. Windows Server 2008 R2 still lives
What do you do with a blog post that is so messed up that you can’t even go in and edit it in order to fix it? That’s my dilemma with my post from August 15 about Microsoft skipping over Windows Server 2008 R2 and proceeding direct to Windows 7 Server.
After sending me a note that led me to believe that Microsoft had decided to veer from its original plan of an R2 update followed by a full-fledged Server update, a Microsoft spokeswoman called on August 18 to tell me that her note to me was misleading.
So, scratch that Friday evening post. Microsoft is still doing what it had led folks to believe up until this point: A release called Windows Server 2008 R2 is still on the books (now officially slated for 2010). And there will be some release two years after that which may or may not be called Windows 7 Server. (Microsoft currently won’t say anything about the planned naming for this release.)
And just to keep things extra confusing, the spokeswoman told me that if and when anyone hears references to “Windows 7 Server,” what they really mean is “Windows Server 2008 R2.” In other words, the codename for the Windows Server 2008 R2 release is “Windows 7 Server” — which, based on previous Microsoft naming conventions, should be the codename for the release that comes out after Windows Server 2008 R2…. Yeah….
A comment sent to me by an anonymous reader, good old anonymous@anonymous.com this morning makes more sense now. (Note to reader: Why anonymous? If you don’t want me to use your name in a posting, I won’t.)
“Okay, I don’t know how someone on our side could have miscommunicated this or if you are purposely reporting this incorrectly, but let’s be clear on this: Windows 7 Server is and has always been Windows Server 2008 R2.
“Furthermore, Windows 7, despite it’s rather pretentious sounding code name (a result of Sinofsky’s like of big round numbers) is NOT Windows NT 7, but rather 6.1(current builds are numbered 67xx as a direct continuation of the longhorn codebase). Put simply, it is not a big jump as a codebase revision and the new changes, on both the client and server, will be focused on user features, not core OS components. The big core OS changes are WDDM 2 and a kernel scheduler update to remove the simple bitmask enumeration of processors so that the OS can schedule more than 64 concurrent threads.
“Finally, and I can’t be more clear on this, ‘Windows 7′ client and Windows Server 2008 R2 will RTM simultaneously (and just so you are 100% clear on this) and are based on exactly the same codebase (just as Vista SP1 and Server 2008 are based on an identical core OS codebase).
“As for the next major release (meaning a full revision of the NT codebase) that will not occur until well after the current Win7 wave.”
So there you have it. Next up: Windows Server 2008 R2. To all you readers who thought it made sense that Microsoft was skipping over R2, looks like that’s not the case, after all. Sorry for the miscommunication.
August 18th, 2008
Might Office be where Microsoft gets socked with Chinese antitrust charges?
Back in June, there were more than a few stories about PC makers in China getting ready to sue Microsoft for alleged antitrust violations pertaining to Windows. Microsoft and China’s State Intellectual Property Office — the latter being the source of the original round of stories — both claimed the initial reports were inaccurate.
But according to a new story from the August 15 edition of the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft still might not be out of antitrust hot water in China. And Office, not Windows, may end up the primary target of any new antitrust complaints.
From the WSJ story:
“Evermore Chief Executive Gus Tsao said he’s prepared to pursue Microsoft under a new anti-monopoly law that took effect in China on Friday. The law is widely expected to be used to curtail the dominance of foreign companies doing business there, such as Microsoft….
“Tsao said ‘there’s no question Microsoft engages in many monopolistic practices,’ adding that the tight integration between Office and Microsoft’s dominant Windows operating system makes developing a product that works as well with Windows difficult.”
Meanwhile, in other antitrust news, Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission is investigating whether Microsoft is abusing its monopoly power there by “limiting consumer choice by restricting the availability of Windows XP on new PCs.” Investigators also are looking into whether Microsoft’s pricing of its various products is fair to consumers, according to an IDG News Service story.
I’m kind of surprised we haven’t seen anantitrust complaint filed here in the U.S. around XP availability (even though Microsoft does allow Vista purchasers to downgrade to XP — an option of which quite a few users seem to be availing themselves). I’m not suggesting that such an antitrust complaint would have merit; I’m simply surprised no one has tried filing one….
What’s your take?
August 18th, 2008
Microsoft rolls out a new high-end, proactive support plan
Microsoft is adding a new, high-end support option to its Premier service line-up that is focused on “proactive,” rather than remedial, support.
Available globally as of August 18, the new offering, Premier Ultimate, is aimed at the company’s largest customers. Via the new program, Microsoft works with customers to create a three-year roadmap, including a suggested set of services. Reactive support becomes something provided on an “as needed” basis, said Charlie DeJong, General Manager of Support and Health Services for Microsoft.
Customers who sign up for Premier Ultimate get unlimited problem resolution support (with some unspecified possible restrictions), plus IT health assessments, account management (both on-site and dedicated) and on-site support, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to Microsoft.
“We’ve been gradually realizing customers who consumer more proactive services are happier and healthier and require less reactive services with their charge models,” DeJong said.
Scott Braden, a Microsoft licensing expert and Senior Vice President with NET(net) Inc., said at first blush, the new program sounded like a smart move on Microsoft’s part:
“Many customers have complained about the hourly or incident support models that Premier has used before, because it’s difficult to forecast the need for reactive / break-fix tech support and a challenge if a customer uses up all the hours / incidents and has to buy more. The new ‘proactive services’ area in Premier sounds like a version of ‘Infrastructure Optimization’ which MSFT has been pitching to accounts lately. It’s a Microsoft-ized version of a best practices maturity assessment and recommendations. Seems like a good fit in this context.
“As for the ‘unlimited’ support (mentioned in today’s announcement), I’ll wait to see the actual agreement language and pricing. Microsoft’s pattern has been to load up Premier Agreements with large amounts of ‘account management’ and other non-support hours, so that the end price for actual tech support time works out to be a very high rate.”
Microsoft has been piloting the new Ultimate service with four customers over the past month, DeJong said. And there are 30 more interested customers in the pipeline who are interested in the new program, he added.
Some, but not all, customers will be paying more for the new plan, DeJong acknowledged. (There is no set price schedule for Premier Ultimate, he said; each contract is custom designed.) The general rule: “The healthier you get, the less you pay overall,” DeJong said.
Currently, Microsoft only suggests courses of action for products that are part of the Microsoft stack (though customers can buy “add-ons” if they want Microsoft support for rivals’ products.) But somewhere down the line, Microsoft might opt to make support for non-Microsoft wares part of the Premier Ultimate plan, DeJong said. For the time being, however, Microsoft’s Premier team works with those of other vendors when supporting mixed environments.
Microsoft’s partners also are not part of the Premier Ultimate plan and “We’re not sure we ever would.” Microsoft’s Premier Field Engineering and Technical Support Engineers are the ones delivering the services directly to the customers.
August 15th, 2008
Confirmed: Microsoft to proceed directly to Windows 7 Server
Update: This post is wrong. Read this post instead: Scratch that. Windows Server 2008 R2 still lives.
Microsoft’s Windows Server division has veered from its regular schedule to eliminate — at least in name — the minor “R2″ update of Windows Server 2008 that was slated to arrive in the next year or two. The result: The next version of Windows Server that Microsoft will ship will be named “Windows 7 Server.”
Just last week, I asked Microsoft about the seeming discrepancies (2009 vs. 2010) in its promised Windows Server 2008 R2 dates. At that time, company officials refused to comment. I didn’t think much of their silence, at the time, since Microsoft was busily prepping WS 2008 R2 sessions for its Tech Ed Barcelona conference in November of this year.
But this week, Microsoft officials decided to speak. And the official word is that WS 2008 R2 and Windows 7 Server are one in the same. The next release of Windows Server is Windows 7 Server and it is due, according to the new timetable, in 2010.
(I have to admit, when I first saw the headline, via blogger Steven Bink, that WS 2008 R2 was Windows 7 — without the word “Server” attached, I just dismissed the report. The original report on Microsoft’s R2 plans, to which Bink linked, from Martijn Brant, an IT Pro based in the Netherlands, also didn’t make the client/server distinction clear, leading me to discount it when I first read it.)
But late in the day on August 15, Microsoft sent me a note of clarification. Here’s is the only official comment I have so far, from a company spokeswoman:
“The company is still not yet disclosing specific release date/timing for this, but it does list 2010 as the timeframe on the roadmap page on Microsoft.com, which Ward notes in his comment. This of course is in keeping with the 2yr (minor)/4 yr (major) schedule for Server OS releases, as R2 is a minor release post Windows Server 2008.”
The change in plans leaves me with lots of questions, to none of which I’m expecting answers. (But I’m asking anyway.) My short list:
August 15th, 2008
Microsoft readies new Storage 1.0 feature pack for Windows
Microsoft is putting the finishing touches on a new storage-focused feature pack — part of the company’s Storage 1.0 platform — that will add new Blu-Ray media and smart-card driver functionality to Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008.
I hear the forthcoming storage feature pack was being tested by a number of folks in a private, non-disclosure-covered beta until recently. But now the information on the new feature pack is availalble for any/all to see on the Microsoft Connect site. From the site:
“There are 3 technologies available for this Pre-Release. Each will have its own installer:
- “Active Storage Platform: This pre-release package enables the Windows platform to restrict access to portable devices (such as a USB Flash Device) via a certificate or password authentication based on the IEEE 1667 standard specification.
- “Image Mastering API update for Blu-Ray media: This feature enables the Windows platform to do master style optical burning on Blu-Ray media.
- “Smart Card Driver: This release provides support for new form factors, such as ICCD/CCID.
I asked Microsoft for further information and got this back from a company spokesperson:
“The (forthcoming storage pack) release is a follow-on to the feature pack released in 2007, which provided down-level optical platform support. The current feature pack plans to update the optical platform as well as provide support for some additional storage devices. The release plans have not been announced.”
The feature pack for Storage 1.0 won’t be the first Vista feature pack. Microsoft has released, in addition to the previously mentioned optical feature pack, a wireless feature pack. Some also consider the recently released “Fiji” Windows Media Center TV Pack a feature pack.
SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads
- Success Story: Sesame Workshop Novell
- Nextel Direct Connect Fact Sheet Sprint
- Next Generation Mobility Now Sprint
Order Microsoft 2.0
Order 'Microsoft 2.0' by Mary Jo Foley at Amazon.com.
Recent Entries
- WSUS users get a surprise: Windows 7 client
- IE 8 to get ‘porn mode’?
- Submit your best, new Microsoft codenames. Win a prize
- Piecing together Microsoft’s cloud-computing vision
- Office 14: Alpha testing to begin before year-end
Most Popular Posts
- Microsoft (finally) speaks out on 'Fiji'
- Microsoft sending mixed messages about Windows futures with 'Fiji'?
- I say crapware; you say 'performance enhancer'
- Visual Studio 2008 SP1: Why not VS 2009?
- What's next for Windows Server
- Microsoft to stop selling boxed copies of Money Plus
Top Rated
- Vista: Whose 'reality' do you believe?+35 votes
- Microsoft sending mixed messages about Windows futures with 'Fiji'?+20 votes
- I say crapware; you say 'performance enhancer'+17 votes
- Microsoft solicits more IE 8 beta testers+14 votes
- How will Microsoft spend its multicore millions?+12 votes
- Microsoft delivers Home Server data-corruption fix in Power Pack 1+12 votes
- Microsoft launches new search home page; refreshes Live Mesh preview+11 votes
- Microsoft (finally) speaks out on 'Fiji'+11 votes
Premier Vendor Content Whitepapers, webcasts & resources from our Power Center Sponsors
Archives
ZDNet Blogs
- A Developer's View
- All About Microsoft
- The Apple Core
- Between the Lines
- BriefingsDirect
- Collaboration 2.0
- The Core Truth
- Dev Connection
- Digital Cameras
- Ed Bott's Microsoft Report
- Emerging Tech
- Enterprise Alley
- Enterprise Anti-matter
- Enterprise Web 2.0
- Feeds
- Googling Google
- GreenTech Pastures
- Hardware 2.0
- iGeneration
- Irregular Enterprise
- IT Facts
- The IT Grind
- IT Project Failures
- Laptops & Desktops
- Lawgarithms
- Linux and Open Source
- Managing L'unix
- The Mobile Gadgeteer
- On Sustainability
- Rational Rants
- The Semantic Web
- Service Oriented
- The Social Web
- Software as Services
- SOHO Networking
- Storage Bits
- Team Think
- Tech Broiler
- Tom Foremski: IMHO
- The ToyBox
- The Universal Desktop
- Virtually Speaking
- The Web Life
- ZDNet Education
- ZDNet Government
- ZDNet Healthcare
- Zero Day
-
-
Tasty Baking’s new LEED factory
0:57
Tasty Baking CIO: Brendan O’Malley
-
Balancing act: innovation vs. reliability
1:28
Facebook VP of technical operations: Jonathan Heiliger
-
Securing data at E-Loan
1:47
E-Loan CIO: Jay Shah
-
When crops are scarce
1:47
Del Monte Foods CIO: Marc Brown
- View all CIO Vision Series Videos »
