Windows Archive

Want to know why many developers have chosen Windows Embedded for their real-time computing solutions? Read technical articles, case studies, and independent viewpoints on real time, and learn which Windows Embedded operating system might be right for you.

"Windows .NET Server is a surprisingly full-featured release, but because it builds on the strong base of Windows 2000 Server, it will be a simplein-place upgrade for those customers. Thanks to its new upgrade features, it should also prove to be a simpler upgrade for the large crowd of NT 4.0 Server holdouts, though we'll have to test that functionality before passing final judgement." Read the preview at WinSuperSite. On a related note, Microsoft has posted the long-awaited RC 1 version (Build 3663) of Windows .NET Server on MSDN Subscriber Downloads. Here is the good stuff available:

"A bizarre rumor about Microsoft making sweeping changing to its Product Activation technology in Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) is completely untrue, the company told me today. The rumor, which was started by a small technology enthusiast Web site, had Microsoft changing the product keys for all of its customers using volume licensing." Read the report at WinInformant.

"Are the software giant's customers hungry for the next version of its server operating system? The company is banking on it, but industry watchers aren't so sure." Read the article at ZDNews.

"Microsoft is planning what could end up being quite a shock for the Windows XP warez world, and what currently looks to be one of the most amazing moves made by Microsoft since Windows Product Activation was introduced. Currently, Microsoft is in the works of completely rewriting the algorithm for the way Windows XP Corporate keys are generated, and is rewriting the code for Windows XP to recognize this new algorithm. This new code will be an added ‘feature’ of Service Pack 1 due out later this year." Read the report at BetaONE.

"Originally code-named Freestyle, this entertainment version of Windows--which will go by the name Windows XP Media Center Edition--will appear on new PCs and PC hybrids in time for the holidays, the company revealed on Tuesday. With Windows Media Center, consumers will be able to use a TV remote control to catalogue songs, videos and pictures, as well as check TV listings." News report, press release and on a related note, this is how the new Outlook looks like.

"Microsoft is to ship the McKinley version of its 64-bit .NET Server preview software to PC manufacturers later this month. It being tagged Microsoft Windows Advanced Server, Limited Edition version 1.2, one can reasonably conclude that it is not finished as such, but if we're going to provide software for Intel hardware as soon as it's out (which is what we've said we'll do, isn't it?) then LE it has to be." Read the report at TheRegister.

"Microsoft has delayed the third service pack for Windows 2000- Service Pack 3 —for an indefinite period of time, according to internal documents I viewed over the weekend. Win2K was originally due July 17, but Microsoft recently discovered several major bugs in its Microsoft Installer (MSI) 2.0 code, which was to have been bundled with the update. So now the company will remove MS 2.0 from SP3 and include the older version, MSI 1.1, instead, unless feedback from its beta testers and partners indicates that MSI 2.0 must be included. This indecision, obviously, will adversely affect the release schedule for SP3." Read the report at WinInformant. Update: MSI 2.0 to be Included in Windows 2000 SP3.

"Microsoft will support eight-node failover clusters in Windows .NET Enterprise Server. The decision came months after the Beta 3 release of the Windows .NET Server family editions back in November, when Microsoft announced that only four-node clusters would be supported in Windows .NET Enterprise Server, while eight-node failover clusters would be reserved for Windows .NET Datacenter Server customers." Read the report at ENT-News.

This article summarizes Microsoft's decades-long effort to evolve Windows from a single, one-size-fits-all desktop operating system for everyone into a robust family of server and desktop operating systems.

From ActiveWin: "Microsoft UK is offering the loyal subjects of her majesty the opportunity to test drive the latest Beta 3 of Windows .NET Server family by ordering it, for free, over the web." The offer is available to .NET Passport holders.

Windows Powered mobile devices, which include Pocket PC, Pocket PC Phone Edition, Smartphone, and Handheld PC, empower consumers and mobile professionals to communicate with people and access information. This section contains the core documentation, software development kits, and other resources for developing on Pocket PC, Smartphone, and Handheld PC platforms.

Microsoft has released four new patches for Windows XP, some important security ones and other basic support items: NET Framework ASP.NET Session State Security Hotfix. Windows Management Instrumentation Cannot Register Permanent Event Consumer with Dynamic Classes: Windows XP Patch. WMI AccessCheck Receives Local Administrator's SID Platform SDK Redistributable COM+ Java Runtime Support. Get their download links at ActiveWin.

"Microsoft will more quickly retire old code in its Windows operating system and other software as a result of the company's four-month-old "trustworthy computing" initiative, the company's lead bug basher said in an interview." Read the rest of the article at ZDNews.