Windows 7 Application Compatibility is a hot topic and will only get hotter as the next MS Operating System gets ever closer. Will there be the same issues as with Pre-SP1 Vista?
Microsoft have stated that the vast majority of apps that currently work on Vista will work with Windows 7 too, however it won’t (and couldn’t be expected to be) 100%. It an effort to head off any potential problems at the pass Microsoft have released the “Windows Application Quality Cookbook” which contains a list of the aspects most likely to cause problems for developers.
These are:
Internet Explorer 8—User Agent String
Internet Explorer 8—Data Execution Protection/NX
Removal of Windows Mail
Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ)—Removal of Windows 2000 Client Support Service
Compatibility — Operating System Versioning
Server Core — WoW64 Is Now an Optional Feature
User Interface—Enhanced Taskbar
Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ)—Improved Queue Handling
Windows Server — Terminal Services
User Interface — High DPI Awareness
Removal of WPDUSB.SYS Driver for Windows Portable Devices
Server — Hyper-V
Server — 64-Bit Only
File Library Replaces Document Folder
New Binaries—Refactoring
Compatibility—Application Manifest
Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ)—SHA-2 Is the Default Encryption Algorithm
I think we can all agree that the PDC 2008 was pretty special. Azure, Windows 7, Office Web, Azure Services, Live Mesh..the list goes on. The sheer amount of information given out at these conferences often means that we miss bits that are interesting and/or pertinent to our jobs & lives (this was certainly the case when I was at the WPC in Houston!).
Fear not, as Mike Swanson over at MSDN Blogs has put together a wonderful collection of all the Keynotes and sessions, and where possible he’s included the Powerpoints and sample code!
Some of the sessions I’m glad to see are below. The main links go to the video on Channel9, the Powerpoint link will download the .pptx presentation.
The whole, wonderful list can be found here. There are countless sessions on SQL, Azure, .NET, Windows 7 and more!
I really want to give a big thank you to Mike for doing this..there are sooo many sessions on there I didn’t know about that are really interesting and useful!
Where is Microsoft after this year’s PDC Conference?
I think Microsoft is in a very strong position-at the head of many points of the market, and hot on the heels of the leaders in others..Cloud computing, Web applications, Desktop OS, Collaboration and more..
Windows Azure & Windows 7 have had a massive amount of buzz around them, and it nearly all seems to be good! I’ve got a few colleagues in the “Anti-Vista” camp but even they are cautiously optimistic about what Win7 will bring us…I am ridiculously excited and everyone else is looking forward to it 🙂
Azure instantly puts MS in the top 3 players in the Cloud space, and I don’t think it will be long before the No.1 spot is theirs.
Office Web Apps shows that Microsoft ARE taking the web seriously and as an answer to Google, it’s a pretty good one! This will bring online apps to a whole new section of users..I don’t use Google Apps for many reasons..but I’ll definitely use Office Web…
Live Mesh was another big part of PDC 2008 and this could seriously make peoples lives easier, faster and more fulfilling…if it’s executed correctly. Mesh isn’t a huge concern for me personally (at the moment) but could be important for so many others.
All in all I think the most important thing that PDC 2008 has done is breathe new life into Microsoft, it’s partner eco-system and the end users, who let’s face it are the ones that REALLY matter! People once again believe in Microsoft, are excited by Microsoft and dare I say it, people LIKE Microsoft!!! 🙂
Free Windows Mobile 7 phones look set to be available from Carphone Warehouse (CW), when you buy a copy of Windows 7 for the PC.
As CW open their electronic stores in conjunction with Best Buy next year, it looks like this will be a big promo for them.
This could be a really successful offer as it rewards those who are loyal to Microsoft and also entices those who might be sitting on the fence as to one or both of the upcoming Operating Systems.
Windows 7 Aero Shake is a new User Interface (UI) feature that looks pretty cool. It allows you to “shake” the app window that you want to focus on and that will minimize the other windows.
Windows Mobile 6.5 is the next version on the road map, as accidentally revealed by a Motorola Exec!
WIth Windows Mobile 7 looking likely for a late 2010 release, we can expect WinMo 6.5 to be with us in the 2nd half of 2009. There’s currently no word as to which features will be in 6.5 and which won’t appear until V7.
I’m excited to see what new features are contained in this as 6/6.1 had some great new stuff. Hopefully this will be an upgrade from 6.1 so I can get it on my HTC Diamond!
Hyper-V 2.0 features are already being discussed. Microsoft’s already great Virtualization product is going to get even better!
The next version of Microsoft’s Hyper-V is going to include:
·Live Migration (utilising a new Clustered Shared Volumes technology)
·32 Logical Proc Support
·Hot Add/Remove Storage
·Second Level Address Translation – Leveraging new Virtualisation technology built into next generation of Intel/AMD chips
·Dynamic Memory
·Boot from VHD
·Networking Improvements
·Virtualised I/O
As I get more info, I’ll let you know..I saw the above over at VirtualBoy.
For me, the Live Migration will be a great addition as that’s one of the main differences between Hyper-V and ESX and I think it gives some people the impression that Hyper-V must be lacking elsewhere too (which isn’t the case). The addition of LIve Migration will certainly help increase the adoption rate of Hyper-V..
It looks like we’re quite close to the beta’s being available..
A number of Windows 7 features have been announced today (28/10/08) at the Microsoft PDC 2008. The vast majority of the features we saw today were for the consumer but fear not, Microsoft promise there are numerous Enterprise related additions too! These include:
Federated Search: Deliver a consistent experience finding file across PCs, networks, and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server systems.
DirectAccess: To link users to corporate resources from the road without a virtual private network.
BranchCache: To make it faster to open files and Web pages from a branch office.
Bitlocker ToGo: Data protection for removable devices.
Refined Universal Access Control: To give fewer prompts for users and more flexibility for IT.
PowerShell and group policy management.
Client virtualization: With virtual desktop infrastructure enhancements, to improve memory utilization and user experience.
Device Center: To provide a single place to access all connected and wireless devices with Device Stage, to see status and run common tasks from a single window.
HomeGroup: To make it easier to share media, documents, and printers across multiple PCs in offices without a domain.
Direct Access:
“DirectAccess in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 enhances the productivity of mobile workers by connecting them seamlessly and more securely to their corporate network any time they have Internet access—without the need to VPN.”
Anything that means we don’t need to use VPN’s is brilliant! I find they rarely work as well as end users need them to and they can make a System Admin’s life difficult, so removing VPN’s could be enough to make the detractors forget all about Vista!
“With DirectAccess, IT administrators can manage mobile computers by updating Group Policy settings and distributing software updates any time the mobile computer has Internet connectivity, even if the user is not logged on.”
“To keep data safer as it travels public networks, DirectAccess uses IPv6-over-IPsec to encrypt communications transmitted across the Internet. DirectAccess can use split-tunnel routing, which reduces unnecessary traffic on the corporate network by sending only traffic destined for the corporate network through the DirectAccess server (running Windows Server 2008 R2)…”
Bitlocker To Go:
With all the lost data flying around these days, BitLocker To Go extends the proven BitLocker technology to removable USB devices, securing them with a passphrase. “In addition to having control over passphrase length and complexity, IT administrators can require users to apply BitLocker protection to removable drives before being able to write to them”.
Administrators can still allow unsecured USB devices to be used in a Read-Only mode and policies are also available to require appropriate passwords, smart card, or domain user credentials to utilize a protected removable storage device.
A related addition is AppLocker which is “a flexible, easy-to-use mechanism that enables IT professionals to specify exactly what is allowed to run on user desktops.” It uses “publisher rules” that are based on digital signatures so, with correctly structured rules, you can deploy updates etc without having to create new rules.
Virtualization Enhancements
Virtual Desktop Infrastructire (VDI) in Windows 7 is closer to the experience of a local PC now with support for Aero, video viewing in Media Player 11 and multiple monitor configurations. New microphone support enables remote desktops running WIndows 7 Enterprise to provide VOIP & speech recognition functionality. Last, but by no means least, is Easy Print which allows users to print to local printers without installing drivers on the server.
The guys over at ActiveWin have got a great, in-depth review of the Windows 7, M3 Preview which contains any number of screenshots and a whole host of info. Some of the bits that caught my eye were:
Location Aware Printing:
In Windows 7, you no longer need to select the printer to match your location. When you change network locations, such as taking your work laptop home for the evening, the default printer setting can change to reflect the best printer for that new location. When you print at work, Windows 7 will print to your work printer. When you print at home, Windows 7 will automatically select and use your home printer.
Media Player 12 will ship with Windows 7 and according to ActiveWin: “this new version features radical changes to its menu structure, with some menus positioned on the left and right sides of the interface…and features two thick toolbars of controls, the second one focusing on traditional features such as Organization, Sharing, Playlist and Search…Common media formats supported include WMV, WMA, MPEG-4, AAC and AVC/H.264.”
Ultra Wideband (UWB) and Wireless USB (WUSB):
UWB and WUSB are new technologies that provide wireless alternatives to USB cables. Support for UWB and WUSB in Windows 7 lets you take advantage of new wireless devices and wireless USB hubs.
Libraries also seem like a really cool multimedia feature. I’m forever duplicating files as I can’t find where I saved them, creating numerous folders in different places all with the same names and finally just keeping stuff on my desktop so I don’t lose it. None of this leads to a brilliant user experience at home or at work and this is where Windows 7 libraries come in.
“With Libraries, you can not only organize, but view and manage files that that are stored in more than once place. This reduces the need to view files even when they are stored in different folders. Libraries are so powerful that they even span different disk drives and/or PCs on your home network. There are a range of options for organizing and browsing, by type, date taken or genre depending on the file type.”
On top of this, there is the already well known addition of touch and multi touch capabilities to Windows 7. If you’ve got a touchscreen monitor, or more likely a Tablet PC, you can open things from the Start Menu etc by pressing them. MultiTouch will let you zoom in and out on images by moving 2 fingers together/apart as needed and more..
Another new feature of Windows 7 will be the ability to re-order applications on the taskbar…I think this is awesome! This is one of those little things that has annoyed me for years and will finally be gone. I have a certain order that I like my applications to be in and I always have Outlook as the first program. However at the minute if I have to re-start Outlook it ends up buried on my Taskbar between to IE windows or something..and then it takes me a little while each time I need to go back Outlook.
I’ve asked around the office and this addition is met with unanimous approval!
Something else I’ve just seen on pcworld.com is that you can schedule desktop background changes with WIndows 7, I think that’s quite a neat touch!
Over at ZDNet, Ed Bott has got a great gallery of Windows 7 Screenshots which you can find here. Below is a shot of the desktop which shows another new feature, that gadgets are no longer confined to that bar on the right hand side..now they can reside anywhere on the desktop 🙂
Microsoft Office Web Applications has been announced today (27/10/08) at the Microsoft PDC 2008.
This is awesome!! Microsoft Office is coming to the Browser to compete directly with Google Apps et al, and will work across browsers including IE (obviously), FireFox & Safari for the editing and creation of Word, Excel, PowerPoint & OneNote documents. The aim is to provide an easier, more consistent experience for users across all their various access points..work pc, home pc, laptop, mobile device etc..
Office Web apps will be made available via Office Live, which will have both a free ad-supported version and also a subscription based, ad free version.
It seems that Corporate customers will be able to take up subscriptions via their existing Volume Agreements (Open Value, Select, Enterprise Agreements etc) according to readwriteweb.
Readwriteweb also have a nice comparison between Office LIve Workspace & Google Docs here.
Cloudy with a chance of Licensing 