Windows Archive

Is Microsoft Working Towards NT, Silverlight/.Net Everywhere?

Since the big Windows news last week was the announcement that the next version of Windows will run on ARM, this one kind of slipped in under the radar. It's a rumour, but confirmed by different people: there will be a new application model in Windows 8, currently named Jupiter, while thee will also be a tile-based interface for tablets. It seems like the pieces of the puzzle are all falling into place: Windows NT everywhere, Silverlight/.Net everywhere.

Microsoft Announces Windows NT, Office for ARM

And this is part two of the story: Microsoft has just confirmed the next version of Windows NT (referring to it as NT for clarity's sake) will be available for ARM - or more specifically, SoCs from NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments. Also announced today at CES is Microsoft Office for ARM. Both Windows NT and Microsoft Office were shown running on ARM during a press conference for the fact at CES in Las Vegas.

Microsoft To Launch Windows Media Centre Set-top Box?

Apple, Roku, Google, Boxee.... They're not the only ones gunning for your big screen. Microsoft was arguably the first major company to focus on bringing digital content to your TV with Windows Media Centre, which the Redmond company launched all the way back in 2002. It never caught on, but now, the Seattle Times is reporting that Microsoft is going to make another attempt - by putting Windows Media Centre on a set-top box.

Microsoft Security Essentials 2.0 Released

While Microsoft's Security Essentials has been very well received because of its small footprint and unobtrusive nature, it didn't always rank among the very top when it came to its detection rates. Overall, I'd still say it's one of the best antivirus tools. Now, with version 2.0, Microsoft has improved the detection mechanisms, but of course, it'll take some tests before we can see how effective they are.

Windows 8 3D UI Rumours: Probably Unicorntastic Nonsense

Amidst all the WikiLeaks hoopla, there's also actual regular news going on. Windows 7 is barely out the door, and we're already dealing with Windows 8, which is indeed being worked on but will not arrive for at least two years. There's some rumours from an Italian website which state that the 64bit version of Windows 8 will have a completely new interface called Wind. Right.

15 Free Windows Tools for Every Desktop

If you haven't looked at the Windows utilities landscape lately, you're in for a big surprise. Many of the old favorites have changed, bringing new features to Windows 7, as well as XP. Others have fallen by the wayside, replaced by upstarts that deliver meaningful functionality that once cost big bucks. With that reality in mind, Woody Leonhard has picked the 15 free Windows utilities everyone should have.

NTFS: A File System with Integrity and Complexity

NTFS is the file system used by Windows. It is a powerful and complicated file system. There are few file systems that provide as many features and to fully cover them all would require a book. And in fact there is a book detailing NTFS, and it's already out of date. The purpose of this article is not to cover all of the features of NTFS, nor will it exhaustively cover NTFS features in detail. Instead we will cover its basic structure and then describe some of its more advanced features and provide use examples where possible. We will focus more on what it does, rather than how it does it. Trying to walk the line between informative and detailed is difficult and so this article contains a lot of references for people who hunger for more detail.

Windows Phone 7 Unlocked for Sideloading

Since the US is stuffing turkeys down their faces today, we're a little low on news. As such, let's talk about this sort-of jailbreak for Windows Phone 7 devices. Like iOS, you can't sideload applications by default, and as such, we need to resort to hacks to unshackle Windows Phone 7 phones from the Marketplace. This has been made incredibly easy. Also, just to annoy those that don't like unicorns: PINK FLUFFY UNICORNS DANCING ON RAINBOWS.

Chasing Pirates: Inside Microsoft’s War Room

In an industry dependent on intellectual property, Microsoft's fight against "theft" has implications beyond the bottom line. "Intellectual property is a critical engine of economic growth," says Microsoft's anti-piracy chief, "That's not just for large companies, but also for small businesses and entire countries. We work with governments that are realizing this is in their best interests."

Microsoft’s Best Free Server Tools for IT Admins

InfoWorld's J. Peter Bruzzese provides an overview of the 10 best free server tools Microsoft has to offer. 'Free is a term rarely associated with Microsoft offerings, especially at the server end of the spectrum,' Bruzzese writes. Yet remaining competitive has provided Microsoft great incentive to deliver some very powerful server admin tools for free. 'Of course, by and large, Microsoft's free server tools are aimed at offering value to paying customers. But some provide a free entry-level solution for large IT organizations to begin experimenting and small IT organizations to implement.' From Hyper-V Server 2008 R2, to SharePoint Foundation 2010, to migration and planning tools, IT admins would do well to explore the free server tools Microsoft does actually offer.

The Windows 8 Features Rumour Mill

Windows 8 isn't expected to be released until the end of 2012 and "new feature" details is still officially non-existent, but some of these recent rumours began to bear more weight since a slide was "officially leaked" on Microsoft-journal.spaces.live.com/blog. This slide although has since been removed, but it can however still be seen on lmsfkitchen.

Ballmer Calls Next Windows Release “Riskiest Product Bet”

"Windows 7 might be a massive commercial success and an undeniably rock solid piece of software, but Microsoft is apparently unwilling to rest on those soft and cozy laurels. Asked about the riskiest product bet the Redmond crew is currently developing, its fearless leader Steve Ballmer took no time in answering 'the next release of Windows'." Also of note in this same video interview thing: Ballmer states that Silverlight is now pretty much strictly a client, non-cross platform thing, while explicitly stating that when it comes to doing something universal, "the world's gone HTML5".