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Windows 7 & Server 2008 R2


Windows 7 is excellent on it’s own, full of great new features, but when combined with Windows Server 2008 R2-it really comes in to it’s own. Things such as Direct Access, Branch Cache and Network Access Protection help make things easier, faster, more secure and better than ever before!

Win7 & R2

Direct Access:

Direct Access is Microsoft’s answer to the pain that is VPN’s. They are often tricky to set up, tricky to use with failed connections etc and can waste a lot of time and money in helpdesk calls and lost productivity; so this is where Direct Access comes in. Once PC’s have connected to the corporate network once, they’ll be able to do it anytime, from anywhere:

Direct AccessDirect Access

This means users will receive the latest updates wherever they log on…home, the airport, a hotel-anywhere! Making mobile working a more secure propostion for users and admins…

For more details, see my dedicated post here and there is a great Solution Design Technet article here.

Branch Cache:

This new feature is designed for remote office and works by caching information on local servers rather than retrieving it from HQ each time. I’ve just seen that the information can be cached on client computers and this is knows as “distributed cache mode”.This decreases network traffic and, at the same time, helps increase users productivity.

Branch Cache

Branch cache retention policies can be set by IT be it based on cache size, length of time cached etc. Technet has a great Early Adopters guide that’s full of information and can be found here.

To benefit from all these features, you need to run both Windows 7 AND Windows Server 2008 R2:

Licensing

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Windows 7 not on ARM netbooks


With Windows 7, Microsoft have made a clear effort to include the netbook market with the OS’s smaller footprint, reduced hardware utilization and the recent removal of the 3 application limit. However, one area of the market that doesn’t look to be included is ARM-based netbooks, according to Microsoft’s announcement at this week’s Computex trade show.

What is ARM?

ARM (Acorn/Advanced RISC Machines) is a type of CPU first made in the 1980’s. These small processors are developed for low power consumption and so are found in most portable devices including mobile phones, PDAs & iPods as well as hard drives and routers.

It is believed that Microsoft’s long standing relationships with Intel & AMD are behind their decision not to support ARM with Windows 7, although they have also been working with ARM for 12 years on Windows CE & Windows Mobile-both of which sit on ARM processors.

Microsoft’s official statement was:

At this time, Windows 7 does not support any ARM architecture. Currently, Windows works on both x86 and x64 platforms, which, thanks to the pervasive PC hardware standard, power the vast majority of the world’s laptops and desktops. In the specialized devices space, where ARM is well suited, we offer the Windows Embedded CE platform

The first three words, “at this time”, could be significant; does that mean that an ARM compatible version is in the works? Perhaps it will make a surprise appearance before the General Availability date of October 22nd or possibly the early part of 2010; it would certainly be a mistake for Redmond to dismiss this growing section of the market-particularly with Google Android’s arrival on 6 new ARM netbooks!

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Windows 7 Location Aware Printing


This is a Windows 7 feature I had forgotten about-Location Aware printing. Ever get it where you take your laptop into the office after a few days of working from home, hit print…then wonder when on earth it’s going to appear on the printer…then after a little while you realise you’ve printed it at home (or vice versa) and feel all daft?! Windows 7 Location Aware printing will stop all that 🙂

You can set default printers for certain networks I.e Epson “whatever” at home, HP “thingamajig” at work etc and Windows 7 will know where it is and print accordingly…nice!

Location Aware

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Windows 7 Presentation Mode


Windows 7 just keeps surprising me with it’s great new features; I’ve just seen Presentation Mode which I think is great. It really shows that MS have been listening to feedback and putting a lot of thought into how their OS is used.

Presentation Mode is found in the Mobility Centre (Windows Key + X) and lets you control your machine’s behaviour while you are giving presentations. You can:

  • Stop the Screensaver coming on
  • Set the volume level
  • Display a different wallpaper

A lot of us have wallpaper of our kids, wives/girlfriends/husbands/boyfriends etc but maybe don’t want to have everyone in the meeting/seminar room to see it for whatever reason, and this is a simple, easy way to do it.

Presentation mode - new

As I say, a great example of Microsoft listening to it’s users 🙂

*Update* As Frederic points out in the comments-this isn’t actually a new feature of Windows 7…it’s there in Vista too! I’ve been using Vista pretty much since it came out and I’ve never come across Presentation Mode and I’ve never heard anyone talk about it; and I think that is a result of the differences between the two Operating Systems. People are just more excited about Windows 7 and that is definitely helping get word of these features out and about 🙂

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First Look at DJ Hero


When I first heard that DJ Hero was a reality, I was excited…then convinced it would be pretty sucky and no good…however, I’ve just watched a first look video that Gizmodo have here and it looks awesome!!! 🙂

One thing I didn’t realise is that it DOES have a cross fader-which is excellent and certainly adds an air of realism I wasn’t expecting. I used to have some decks when I was younger and am a fan of mixing, scratching etc in general so this, if done well, will be right up  my street.

One thing I wonder-will you be able to link DJ Hero & Guitar Hero?! 🙂

*Update* Wikipedia tells me that:

“Ten songs have been specially mixed to also support gameplay with Guitar Hero and other compatible guitar controllers in a “DJ vs Guitar” mode. Players can also use a microphone for a non-scoring addition to the mix…”

The individual songs themselves have been pulled from a large number of music genres, including grunge, soul, R&B, techno, hip hop, and house. The mixes listed below have been confirmed to be in the game. Additionally, the songs “The Way You Move” by Outkast, “Hip Hop” by Dead Prez and additional songs from 50 Cent, Justice, N.E.R.D., Beck, and Blondie are confirmed to be in the game. In addition to mixes using individual songs from both Eminem and Jay-Z, including Jay-Z’s “Izzo (H.O.V.A.)” and “Dirt Off Your Shoulder”, there will be a Eminem/Jay-Z mix song. Eminem also stated that he will have additional songs included later in the year as downloadable content for the game. Universal Music Group is providing much of the content for the game.

Song 1 title  ↓ Artist 1  ↓ Song 2 title  ↓ Artist 2  ↓ Mix Artist  ↓ Guitar part?  ↓
“Feel Good Inc.“ Gorillaz “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” Marvin Gaye   No
“Bustin’ Loose” Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers “Time of the Season“ Zombies The Zombies DJ Shadow No
“Let’s Dance“ David Bowie “Jack Of Spades” KRS One DJ Shadow No
“All Apologies“ Nirvana “Give It to Me Baby“ Rick James DJ Shadow No
“Jayou” Jurassic 5 “Rockit“ Herbie Hancock   No
“Shout“ Tears for Fears “Pjanoo“ Eric Prydz   No
“Hollaback Girl“ Gwen Stefani “Give It to Me Baby“ Rick James   No
“Satisfaction“ Benny Benassi “Boom Boom Pow“ Black Eyed Peas   No
“Sabotage” Beastie Boys “Monkey Wrench“ Foo Fighters   Yes

We’re looking at an October 27th US release date so should be with us in the UK just in time for Xmas 🙂

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Bingtones


To coincide with the release of the awesome Bing decision engine, Microsoft have made 3 bing-themed ringtones, or Bingtones, available.

Go grab them here and see what you think 🙂 I’m a little worried to say that I quite like Bingtone 2!

Thanks to Pocket PC Thoughts.

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Hans Solo P.I


OMG-this is amazing! Some clever soul with a love of the 70’s has combined Star Wars with Magnum P.I to give us: Hans Solo P.I 🙂

On it’s own it’s excellent, but when played alongside the original-it’s even better…check it out!

On it’s own:

Side by Side:

Thanks to Gizmodo for this find!

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Windows 7 Free Training Courses


We’ve got an official release date for Windows 7 now (22/10/09) so there’s now a definite time by which you need to be up to speed/certified on the latest OS from Redmond. The Register is here to help, they’ve got 3 introductory courses available here:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06/02/free_windows7_training/

or you can go directly to the courses here:

http://cblms.com/ekp/servlet/ekp/pageLayout

that are completely free of charge and look pretty good 🙂 Although having said that-the self test on the Information Workers “Finding & Organization” module wouldn’t work for me!

I’d be interested to hear what you think…

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Windows 7 Release Date announced!


The Windows 7 Release Date has officially been announced by Microsoft. The most important OS related date for a LONG time is:

October 22nd 2009

That is the day that Windows 7 will be generally available…and I can’t wait! Less than 5 months to go until we can all get the latest & greatest OS in all it’s glory 🙂

Microsoft have confirmed that this is the General Availability date they are aiming towards and technology partners such as HP are confident it will happen. Phil Mckinney, CTO of HP said:

“We’re locked and loaded for the launch…The quality of code is just absolutely stellar.”

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Windows 7 and Video Transcoding


Windows 7 will natively support GPU accelerated video transcoding, Microsoft’s Murray Vince revealed yesterday.

From www.bit-tech.net:

“The implementation was seamless as Henry simply dragged and dropped the high definition video file onto a Sony Walkman portable media player in Windows Explorer, where it automatically started transferring the file onto the Walkman.

This is yet another feature that makes Windows 7 easier to use and more people friendly.

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