Windows Archive

Newly released is the Platform SDK for Windows XP Service Pack 2 support (includes MDAC 2.8, Tablet 1.7 and Windows Installer 3.0).

I've been using Windows as a network administrator for just over 6 years now. I've used NT4 servers, 2000 servers, and Windows 2003, and there has been a tremendous improvement with each version. There are still some things that drive me nuts in my job, though, and this is a chronicle of the top five.

This update helps resolve an issue on computers running Windows XP Service Pack 2. Programs that connect to IP addresses in the loopback address range may not work as expected and you may receive an error message indicating you cannot establish a connection. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer. Elsewhere, this download installs Microsoft Windows Script containing Visual Basic Script Edition (VBScript.) Version 5.6, JScript Version 5.6, Windows Script Components, Windows Script Host 5.6, and Windows Script Runtime Version 5.6.

With its eyes firmly set on the living room, Microsoft plans to release next month a new incarnation of Windows XP Media Center Edition, an entertainment-oriented version of Windows XP.

Microsoft plans to announce next week that it is ready to ship Virtual Server, a product that allows a server to run multiple operating systems, or multiple copies of the same OS at a single time.

Windows makes it easy to quickly download files to iPods and other portable storage devices--a little too easy in the minds of many IT managers.

Jim Allchin is group vice president of Microsoft’s Platforms Group and has overall responsibility for the Windows operating system. He talks about Longhorn, security, 64 bit, open source, and life at Microsoft. Read the interview.

When the UK's defense contractor for the Navy decided to standardize on Windows, it "prompted strong internal opposition from some , who had a sound background in Unix and who had, despite resource starvation and a companywide policy to standardise on Windows, been investigating open source alternatives as a foundation for future combat systems. They lost."

"Last week's announcement of the changes in Longhorn were interesting: the backporting of Avalon and the removal of WinFS from the mix. It was clear that the only way to get Avalon adopted was by backporting it in some capacity to older OSes." Read Miguel's take on Longhorn's delays here.

While many applaud the timely release of Avalon & Indigo and MS' decision to "stop dreaming and wake up," others warn the company that it is eroding its credibility and letting Linux make usability gains.

Jim Allchin is the Group Vice President for Platforms at Microsoft. The Channel 9 team sat down with Jim yesterday and asked him to share his thoughts on the updated Windows "Longhorn" plan and schedule that was announced on Friday.  Jim gives an overview of the updates to the plan and schedule, how Microsoft reached the decision, and how it affects developers.

In order to get the next update of its Longhorn operating system out on time, Microsoft will delay some planned feature improvements, sources close to the company said Friday. Also, now that XP's SP2 has been released, Microsoft is considering what other changes are needed to the XP operating system.

With a long-awaited security update to Windows XP now complete, Microsoft is preparing a holiday season push for the 3-year-old operating system--and is set to revisit ambitious plans for the next major revision, News.com has learned. Also, Microsoft is expanding a plan to draw mainframe customers to Windows for high-end applications.

Microsoft Corp. today announced availability of the Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005 operating system, the successor to Windows XP Tablet PC Edition introduced in November 2002. Included as part of Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (Windows XP SP2) with Advanced Security Technologies, this free upgrade offers Tablet PC users deeper pen-and-ink support including a redesigned input panel to create and enter text anywhere within Windows XP and familiar Windows XP-compatible applications.