SuperSite Blog

October 2008 - Posts

• A couple of Windows 7 wallpapers

  Here are a couple of wallpapers you may enjoy. The first blue on is the one Microsoft used during PDC 2008, but didn’t include in M3 for some reason. The second is a photo I took of the LACC roof, which you may remember from PDC 2003. (This is a new shot, however.) Click for the original version. Enjoy. :) Posted Oct 31 2008, 03:28 PM by pthurrott with 6 comment(s) Filed under: Windows 7

• Windows Live services factoid: New services coming in Wave 3

  I mention this in my Windows 7 Preview, but just in case you missed it, Microsoft will soon be rolling out the services half of its Windows Live Wave 3 product wave. (The other half is the Windows Live Essentials application suite.) There are going to be some new services coming soon. These include: Windows Live Photos, a new services for storing and sharing photos on the Web. Windows Live Profile, a Facebook-like solution for communicating your status and key personal information to people in your contacts list. Windows Live People, the new Live-wide contacts store. Windows Live Groups, a service that provides tools for clubs, teams, families, and other groups that wish to connect, communicate, and share online. In addition to these new services, Microsoft will be significantly updated existing Windows Live services during the Wave 3 timeframe, including Windows Live Spaces (which will pick up more social networking functionality), Windows Live Home, Windows Live SkyDrive, Windows Live Calendar, Windows Live Events, and Windows Live Hotmail. Posted Oct 31 2008, 03:06 PM by pthurrott with 4 comment(s) Filed under: Windows 7, Windows Live

• Windows 7 factoid: One logo program to rule them all

  Whereas Windows Vista has a confusing two-tiered logo program (with separate "Certified for Windows Vista" and "Works with Windows Vista" logos), Windows 7 will have a single logo program, so you either get the logo or you don’t. More info here. Posted Oct 31 2008, 03:04 PM by pthurrott with 23 comment(s) Filed under: Windows 7

• Windows 7 factoid: Improved Resource Monitor

  One of the coolest new features in Windows Vista is the Performance Monitor. In a similar vein, one of the coolest new features in Windows 7 is the revamped Resource Monitor. Here’s what it looks like: Note the gray part of the bar. That’s how much RAM you lose by using a 32-bit version of Windows with 4 GB of RAM. Yes, really. (With x64, it’s a tiny sliver.) Posted Oct 31 2008, 02:51 PM by pthurrott with 18 comment(s) Filed under: Windows 7

• Windows 7 factoid: Ultimate Extras is dead

  Just a quick note: At a reviewers workshop last Sunday, Microsoft confirmed that Windows Ultimate Extras will not be a feature of Windows 7. They would not discuss which product editions will make up that release, however. Posted Oct 31 2008, 02:48 PM by pthurrott with 22 comment(s) Filed under: Windows 7

• What's new in Windows Live Hotmail?

  Like many, I discovered I finally got the new Hotmail interface today. Here’s what’s new: It's faster and better! Enjoy a cleaner look and faster performance. A combined "classic" and "full" version of Hotmail means everyone gets access to all the great features Hotmail has to offer. One version = greater simplicity. You choose how to display your reading pane to preview messages - side, bottom, or off. A great new contact picker makes it easier to look up contacts when writing an e-mail. Type the first few letters of a friend's name or an e-mail address who you want to send an e-mail to, Hotmail fills in the rest. Dress up Hotmail with one of several new design themes. We're also building some new stuff in Hotmail (scheduled to be available by early 2009), including Ever-growing storage. Your inbox capacity will automatically increase as you need more space. IM through Hotmail. See if your Messenger contacts are online and say "Hi! " Helpful new calendar features that make it easier to share your calendar with friends and family. Posted Oct 31 2008, 02:32 PM by pthurrott with 7 comment(s) Filed under: Windows Live, Cloud computing

• Bad user interface, part 37

  I walked up to my laptop and saw this bit of OneCare-like stupidity: Here's the thing. If you’re going to perform background tasks, do it in the background. Obviously. And God help you if you pop-up a dialog later to inform me that whatever you were doing completed successfully. Put simply, let me know if something is really wrong, but get out of my face otherwise. Posted Oct 31 2008, 12:31 PM by pthurrott with 33 comment(s) Filed under: XP, Developer, Vista, Commentary

• Apple is evil, part 227

  This one kind of speaks for itself: Opera Mini for iPhone sits on sidelines due to App Store rules A professionally-developed alternative to Apple's Safari web browser for iPhone already exists in Opera Software's labs; Apple's guidelines for App Store submissions, however, are allegedly keeping it from seeing the light of day. Opera chief Jon Stephenson von Tetzchner recently [said that] Opera Mini, one of the company's mobile web browsers for smartphones, has already been ported to the iPhone but can't be released as Apple's rules for the App Store preclude software that replicate the core functionality of the iPhone or iPod touch. Ridiculous. Do you think we give away a little bit of our soul every time we use an Apple product? Posted Oct 31 2008, 12:24 PM by pthurrott with 72 comment(s) Filed under: iPhone, Apple, Developer, Commentary

• Back to the home page redesign

  At some point this week, it occurred to me that I could redesign the site header as part of the wider site redesign which will soon include, I hope, a home page redesign as well. Here’s one idea I was working on that I like quite a bit, if just for the top (i.e. “above the toolbar”) part of the site. This would appear on the top of all modern (i.e. 2008 and beyond) articles and pages on the site: The only thing is, we serve ads up there now as well. There are big ads and small ads, and the size of the big ad dictates the size of the header now. But when there’s a big ad, most of the imagery gets blocked out, like this: With a small ad, more shows through: So this is nice and all. I briefly considered having it randomly display one of five Windows 7 background images, but then it occurred to me that Microsoft still has a legal department, so I might just use my own image (or images). Or maybe I could get rid of the section badges (those image strips that appear below the toolbar on activity center pages and ID the site section) and use a custom top image for each topic. Maybe. Anyway, I’ll keep working on it. But I kind of like this style, even with the ads, which I can’t do anything about, sorry. You can see a live version of this page here. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the served ads are the big version. Posted Oct 31 2008, 11:51 AM by pthurrott with 14 comment(s) Filed under: Personal, SuperSite

• PDC 2008: I’m always in the way

  I was sitting in front of Alexander Schek at the Windows 7 reviewers workshop Sunday. Here’s a funny picture he took of this.   Sitting behind Paul Thurrott who takes 80% of my view :) Good stuff. Sorry about that, Alexander. :) Maybe if you were using a PC, I would have scrunched down a little. :) Posted Oct 31 2008, 11:12 AM by pthurrott with 8 comment(s) Filed under: Travel and events, PDC 2008

• Live from PDC 2008: Day 3

  10/29/2008 10:29 PM – Final update – Well, it’s finally over. After hitting a final session with Raf, a big group of us went out to dinner after taking a ride on the famed LA Metro (someone has to use it). Here are some pictures… I’m flying home early tomorrow so I should be offline most of Thursday. See you when I get back. 10/29/2008 2:15 PM – We just discovered they’re closing the press room at 3 today for some reason. I’m going to go see Raymond Chen after that, but here are a few random shots from the LACC today… 10/29/2008 12:16 PM – Just got back from a Windows Home Server meeting. Time for lunch… 10/29/2008 9:19 AM – And some pictures from the press room this morning… 10/29/2008 9:10 AM – OK, this keynote is (predictably) a yawn. So here are some pictures from last night’s press party at the Elevate lounge… Ed Bott, Halloween style! 10/29/2008 8:37 AM – LiveBlog is happening and the keynote is under way… 10/29/2008 8:21 AM – We’re at the press room … keynote will be on the Liveblog shortly… 10/29/2008 7:09 AM – A bit of a later start today, but no surprise there. Posted Oct 29 2008, 11:31 AM by pthurrott with 78 comment(s) Filed under: Travel and events, PDC 2008

• Live from PDC 2008: Day 2

  Latest updates are on the top…. 10/28/2008 3:28 PM – In a session with Raf and Stephen.. 10/28/2008 2:53 PM – Here we go. 10/28/2008 2:44 PM – I’ll try to get a better one later, but here’s a shot of the Windows 7 boot screen. 10/28/2008 2:07 PM – Stephen Chapman has published a Q&A with Steven Sinofsky. I’m playing around with some of Windows 7’s virtualization features. More info soon, I hope… 10/28/2008 1:13 PM – Some pictures from today… First, the All-Star Bloggers live-blogging from the press room. Todd, Raf, Tom, Maarten, Bob Mary Jo And let’s not forget “the goods”… 10/28/2008 10:20 AM – Bob Stein is here from Activewin and he just pinged me about his massive Windows 7 M3 review. Check it out! 10/28/2008 10:08 AM – The Windows 7 part of the keynote is done and my content is up. I’ll have part 2 of my Windows 7 preview up later today. But check the front page. There’s a lot there already. :) 10/28/2008 8:29 AM – OK, here we go. Get excited. Get very excited. Live coverage on the live blog throughout the keynote. 10/28/2008 8:01 AM – Our Liveblog is now available for today’s keynote. Check it out on the PDC 2008 page. 10/28/2008 8:01 AM – OK, we’re in the press room. Time for breakfast. And time to prep today’s big site update. :) 10/28/2008 7:03 AM – What’s shiny and new, and going to make a lot of people really happy today? 10/28/2008 6:48 AM – And because I never get tired of humiliating myself (and those silly enough to get caught in my blast radius), here are some pictures from the press and analyst party at The Standard Hotel last night. 10/28/2008 6:43 AM – Good morning from a still-dark Los Angeles. Keynote starts at 8:30, I think, but there should be a deluge of info then or soon thereafter… Posted Oct 28 2008, 10:45 AM by pthurrott with 59 comment(s) Filed under: Travel and events, PDC 2008

• PDC 2008: Windows 7 (M3) pre-beta features leak

  Long has a nice scoop about Windows 7 M3 features being leaked … by Microsoft. You gotta love legal. BitLocker™ Drive Encryption What this feature does BitLocker Drive Encryption (BitLocker) is available on computers running Windows 7 Enterprise Edition and Windows 7 Ultimate Edition. Should your computer be lost or stolen, BitLocker protects your data by helping to prevent offline software attacks. Turning on BitLocker encrypts the hard drive where Windows is installed, including all information that is stored on that drive. Device Stage You can turn this feature off by going to Devices and Printers in Control Panel. Right-click your computer icon, and then click Device Installation Settings. Select “No, let me choose what to do” and click to clear the “Display enhanced device icons…” check box. Driver Protection Driver Protection helps prevent the operating system from starting drivers that are known to cause stability problems. Gadgets Gadgets are programs that run on the desktop and provide at-a-glance information, and easy access to frequently used tools. HomeGroup A HomeGroup allows you to easily link Windows 7 computers on your home network so that you can share pictures, music, videos, documents and devices. It also makes them ready to stream media to devices on your home network such as a media extender. You can help protect your HomeGroup with a password, and you can choose what you want to share. Posted Oct 27 2008, 04:15 PM by pthurrott with 43 comment(s) Filed under: Windows 7, PDC 2008

• PDC 2008: Microsoft Unveils the Windows Azure Cloud OS

  This will be in WinInfo tomorrow, but in the interest of expediency… PDC 2008: Microsoft Unveils the Windows Azure Cloud OS During the opening keynote address for its Professional Developers Conference (PDC) 2008 in Los Angeles on Monday morning, Microsoft revealed that its cloud computing platform, which will be called Windows Azure. According to the software giant, Windows Azure will help developers build-next generation applications that span the Internet cloud and datacenter, the PC, the Web, and the smart phone. "Today marks a turning point for Microsoft and the development community," Microsoft chief software architect Ray Ozzie said. "The Azure Services Platform, built from the ground up to be consistent with Microsoft’s commitment to openness and interoperability, promises to transform the way businesses operate and how consumers access their information and experience the Web. Most important, it gives our customers the power of choice to deploy applications in cloud-based Internet services or through on-premises servers, or to combine them in any way that makes the most sense for the needs of their business." For the forward-leaning nature of cloud computing, Windows Azure sounds an awful lot like any traditional Microsoft platform. In fact, it seems that developers can simply approach Azure like a modern version of Windows Server: It exposes technologies like the .NET Framework ASP .NET, and applications are created in Visual Studio. This is all by design, of course. Windows Azure is part of a wider Azure Services Platform, which also includes a number of other familiar-sounding components, including SQL Services, .NET Services, Live Services, SharePoint Services, and Dynamics CRM Services. Presumably, companies will be able to mix and match between traditional, on-premises servers and cloud-hosted services going forward. Posted Oct 27 2008, 01:35 PM by pthurrott with 43 comment(s) Filed under: Windows Server 2008, Travel and events, Cloud computing, PDC 2008

• Live from PDC 2008: Day 1

  Latest updates are on the top…. 10/27/2008 5:48 PM – OK, they’re kicking us out of the press room soon. I’ve been working all day, so check back at 9:00 am PT tomorrow for some serious updates. Should be pretty decent. Up tonight: Another party on the rooftop of the Standard Hotel and then dinner with friends. 10/27/2008 2:46 PM – I just had a grueling Windows Azure briefing. I have to say, I’m having a hard time groking this. Part of the problem si that the announcement is only half-done: There will be more tomorrow around the Live Services. Part of the reason is that its just APIs they’re talking about now. More specifics later, I guess. 10/27/2008 12:46 PM – OK, I’ve actually been reasonably productive. Next up: A Cloud Computing Reviewers Briefing (90 minutes!!!) and then a meeting with the Oslo/Office folks. 10/27/2008 11:12 AM – Working on some articles that will post tomorrow. There’s a lot I can’t say yet. 10/27/2008 10:17 AM – So the keynote is over and … blech. Really unimpressive. Not the technology or the platform, but the presentation of it. Seriously, guys. I can’t say this enough: Pay attention to how Apple introduces things. Even their platform announcements are interesting. Bob Muglia and David Thompson were the most engaging. But most of it was pretty sad. And the Bluehoo thing. Cripes. 10/27/2008 10:03 AM – Random press room shot… And yes, that’s Raf violating my privacy.  :) 10/27/2008 9:15 AM – Make sure you’re following the keynote live blog! 10/27/2008 8:09 AM – Oh, and don’t forget to follow me on Twitter. I’ve been posting the occasional photo there as well. 10/27/2008 8:09 AM - Here’s a very short QIK video Tom shot yesterday at the, uh, event. 10/27/2008 7:38:24 AM – We're in the press room. I think Rafael, Tom, and I and a few others will be live blogging from here instead of going into the main hall. (Update: Tom couldn’t resist. He’s heading over to keynote hall.) 10/27/2008 6:16:44 AM – And PDC is finally upon us. I'm eager to talk about what we did yesterday, but that will have to wait a day or so for confidentiality reasons. In the meantime, here's a quickie WinInfo news story about the show starting. PDC 2008: Here Comes Windows 7 ... And Windows Server 2008 R2 ... And Windows Cloud OS ... We are heading into the LACC for the morning keynote in a just a bit. Note that the PDC 2008 live blog—with Ed Bott, Mary Jo Foley, Kip Kniskern, Rafael Rivera, Tom Warren, Long Zheng, and yours truly--should be up and running for the keynote (8:30 am to 11:00 am). Today’s keynote, disappointingly, deals not with Windows 7, but with Windows Server 2008 R2 and the Cloud OS. More when we get to the convention center…. Posted Oct 27 2008, 10:24 AM by pthurrott with 17 comment(s) Filed under: Video games, PDC 2008