Gus Pinto's TechBlog (Microsoft / Citrix / .NET)

FRAMEWORKX.COM IS LIVE

2006-03-19T14:23:00.000-08:00

FRAMEWORKX.COM IS LIVE.

Finally after several months of work Frameworkx.com is live.

www.frameworkx.com

and if you are used to visit www.guspinto.com I have moved my blog over there and now that the website is online I'll have a lot more time to blog !!!!

have a hectic day!
Gus

GoToMyPC 5.0 Released.

2006-01-07T12:07:00.000-08:00

Citrix has released GoToMyPC 5.0 on 1/4/2006.

These are the new features included in the new version:

Up to 4X Faster Performance: Connect quickly to a remote PC for fast remote desktop access.
True Color: View a remote PC desktop in brilliant true color – Like Being There™

Drag-and-Drop: Transfer files and folders quickly from one PC to another by simply dragging and dropping between screens. Access e-mail attachments instantly and securely across platforms-an exclusive technology breakthrough.

Performance Tuning: Adjust the speed and screen display settings to the performance that bests suits user needs.

Multi-Monitor Support: Use GoToMyPC with multiple monitors connected to a single PC to enhance productivity.

Performance Monitoring: Self-diagnose connection speeds, review performance levels and learn how to enhance performance to gain even greater levels of productivity.

Here's the link to the Citrix website press release:
http://www.citrix.com/English/NE/news/news.asp?newsID=23230&ntref=hp_article_headlines_US

I sort of missed the offical release...
I was too busy watching Bill Gates keynote speech at CES :)

//Gus

2006-01-03T01:21:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since my last post. I'm busy, trying to bring the best of my work to life.

But since it's holiday and I really took the day off I decided share with you guys my GREAT experience with Windows Vista 5270 (Dec CTP).

First of all, this build simple proved that Microsoft is 100% on track with Vista.

It's looking better than ever, faster, fewer bugs in fact I have not seen any on my machine other than the ones I read online.

But one the greatest things I'm taking advantage of is its IPv6 implementation.

I'm using it with my "twisted" Linksys router and established my first 1.0 Gbps Wireless network.

Yep you read it right, 1.0Gbps Wireless network! FAST FAST FAST!

//Gus Pinto

Windows OneCare BLOCKS ICA connections by default!

2005-11-30T19:13:00.000-08:00

I was selected to be one of the few Microsoft beta testers for the new Windows OneCare product.

Once it was installed I rebooted my computer (which is required) and like I always do I connected to my citrix applications and it failed! I immediately associated the "PROTOCOL ERROR" message to my brand new AntiVirus/Firewall/Tune-Up/Back-up software. LOL

I tried again but this time I was making sure I was monitoring all events using my awesome Spy++ :) but for my surprise this time around I got this very cute window:

How cool is that? Microsoft said all major vendors had opportunities to register with their program to certify their products and make sure they were 100% validated to be added by default to OneCare's safe list, what did Citrix do not to be in this list? LOL even Sun got their Java run-time there :)

Oh well, the important thing is you will (or should be) always prompted by this little window asking you if you trust the publisher and select either you will allow them to have connectivity in the future or you wish to keep blocking it, just like Symantec's Internet Security software and other 3rd party security software.

Gus

Pictures of Access Manager 2.0 for PNAgent (former Profile Manager)

2005-11-29T11:11:00.000-08:00

These are screenshots of the final version of Access Manager 2.0, former Profile Manager.

New look with collapsible side bar.

Built-in security preventing other people to use your saved access info.

Now all PNAgent options available on your profile settings.

Realtime updates available right out of the web! :)

Access Manager 2.0 by FRAMEWORKX ? What's Framework X ? Tons and tons of free Citrix and VMware tools, does it sounds good? More details soon.

Sorry for the lack of updates latelly, but I've been really really busy at Entisys and working to bring you guys Framework X.

Thanks,

Gus

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and Visual Studio 2005 launch Worldwide

2005-11-08T06:32:00.000-08:00

The wait is over...Today worldwide events will take place to launch SQL 2005 and Visual Studio 2005.

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp., the world's largest software maker, launched on Sunday its corporate database software program aimed at taking market share from Oracle Corp..

Microsoft's SQL Server 2005, delayed several times as engineers sought to make the software more reliable and secure, is a corporate database program designed to store and retrieve business data.

Apart from databases, both Microsoft and Oracle are investing in business software, which allows companies to track customer accounts, manage payroll, finances and human resources.
Along with SQL (pronounced "sequel") Server, Microsoft also launched Visual Studio 2005, a software tools program used to create applications, and said it would launch a program for tracking business processes, called BizTalk Server 2006, next year.

"These three together continue to provide much better capabilities for the biggest enterprises," said Microsoft vice president Steve Guggenheimer. "For enterprise customers (these) give them another reason to look at Microsoft technology."

In order to promote the use of SQL Server and Visual Studio, Microsoft also said that it would offer free versions of the two programs for personal use so that individuals can create their own databases, Web sites and software programs.

2005-11-07T06:37:00.000-08:00

Today has been a big day, with the official launch of Visual Studio 2005, SQL Server 2005 and BizTalk Server 2006.

We've seen some questions today in blogs and forums about our servicing plans for VS 2003 and VS 2005, and I thought it would be a good idea to communicate them here. We use "hot fixes" to address time-critical issues, and periodically release service packs that have multiple fixes.

By having the combination of these methods, we hope to provide timely fixes for critical issues and also make it easy for customers to deploy fixes broadly.

We have plans for two service pack releases for the first part of 2006:

VS 2003 SP1 is scheduled for April 2006. We have done much of the work for this release already, and are anxious to get it to you.
VS 2005 SP1 is scheduled for the first half of 2006. We will be more specific about the date in a few months, once we have more customer data.

Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 Final Available for Download

2005-10-28T09:52:00.000-07:00

Microsoft have finally released the final version of their .NET Framework 2.0

The .NET Framework version 2.0 improves scalability and performance of applications with improved caching, application deployment and updating with ClickOnce, support for the broadest array of browsers and devices with ASP.NET 2.0 controls and services.

Download: Microsoft .NET Framework Version 2.0 Redistributable Package (x86)
Download: Microsoft .NET Framework Version 2.0 Redistributable Package (x64)
Download: Microsoft .NET Framework Version 2.0 Redistributable Package (IA64)

Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 RTM will on MSDN within days

2005-10-25T23:20:00.000-07:00

Rumors have been flying everywhere that Microsoft's Visual Studio 2005 will be RTM (Released to Manufacturing) and on MSDN in a matter of days. Orginally thought to be on MSDN for download on October 14th, the release supposedly got slipped because the final RC build failed a regression test. Many developers are hopeful that it will be released weeks before the official marketing launch to get a head start on coding. Note that this information is straight from the mouth from the VP of Development on Visual Studio 2005. SQL Server 2005 will release at the same time as well from what we understand.It's also been rumored that many of the developers who worked on creating Visual Studio 2005 have already moved on to other projects, including a Service Pack 1 for VS 2005 due out by late 2006. There is also a lot of talk surrounding another version of the .NET Framework to be released around the Vista timeframe with a version of 2.1, killing the chance of the next Visual Studio codenamed "Orca" being released at that time.Note that Visual Studio Team System 2005 and BizTalk 2006 will be out in Q1 of 2006.

Web-based software challenges Windows

2005-10-25T23:08:00.000-07:00

A quiet revolution is transforming life on the Internet: New, agile software now lets people quickly check flight options, see stock prices fluctuate and better manage their online photos and e-mail.

Such tools make computing less of a chore because they sit on distant Web servers and run over standard browsers. Users thus don't have to worry about installing software or moving data when they switch computers.

continue at source...

Microsoft to threaten VMware?

2005-10-23T21:16:00.000-07:00

With the arrival of Russian software company Parallels, the virtualisation marketplace is maturing rapidly.
There's a clear leader in VMware, the 800lb gorilla that's setting the pace in a number of areas. But can it stay ahead? Naturally, the company's president Diane Greene thinks so, but there's a number of challenges ahead.

Continue at source...

Windows Vista Sidebar and Gadgets Video

2005-10-20T11:50:00.000-07:00

SideBar is BACK on Windows Vista, a new video was published today on Channel 9.

Check it out!
http://channel9.msdn.com/showpost.aspx?postid=128231

//Gus

Exchange Server 2003 SP2 Released

2005-10-19T10:12:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 SP2 has been released on Microsoft.com! What Is SP2?

SP2 is a cumulative update that enhances your Exchange Server 2003 messaging environment with:

• Mobile e-mail improvements

• Better protection against spam

• Mailbox advancements

Download: Exchange Server 2003 SP2

New IE, Media Player Features Expected to Debut in Windows Vista Refresh

2005-10-18T14:35:00.000-07:00

Testers will soon have a new Community Technology Preview build, the second one that Microsoft has issued for its next-gen Windows client. Beta 2 is looking like December, sources say.

Microsoft is poised to release to testers the second Community Technology Preview (CTP) release of Windows Vista, paving the way for a second full-fledged beta, which is now expected in December.

Among the new features which could find their way into the updated build are a number of Internet Explorer 7.0 enhancements; the resurrected "Sidebar" task pane; Windows Media Player 11.0; and new networking functionality.

TechNet Webcast: Microsoft Virtualization Roadmap

2005-09-30T06:18:00.000-07:00

Start Time:

Tuesday, October 04, 2005 1:00 PM Pacific Time (US & Canada)

End Time:

Tuesday, October 04, 2005 2:00 PM Pacific Time (US & Canada)

Today's information technology organizations are under pressure to reduce costs and prioritize spending on new equipment. Virtualization technology is emerging as an effective way to increase both productivity and deployment flexibility. Virtualization technology can play a key role in uncoupling workloads from server resources and enabling a dynamic and automated datacenter. Microsoft is investing heavily in the next generation of virtualization technology and the management tools that will drive it. This session presents Microsoft's virtualization roadmap and strategy, starting with Microsoft Virtual Server 2005. We then discuss the Windows hypervisor technology, which will be incorporated into the next release of Microsoft Windows Server.

Presenter: Mike Neil, Product Unit Manager, Microsoft CorporationMike Neil is the product unit manager of the Microsoft Windows Virtualization team. His team is responsible for Microsoft Virtual PC, Microsoft Virtual Server and the next-generation Windows virtualization technology. He joined Microsoft with the acquisition of Connectix, where he was vice president of engineering.

Register for this webcast.

Meet the Terminal Services team.

2005-09-27T07:44:00.000-07:00

Channel 9 (my favority website) has published on the 9/20 a video so we can meet some of the developers and members of the Visual Studio team.

Awesome opportunity for everyone to learn more about how TS works and its future.

http://channel9.msdn.com/Showpost.aspx?postid=118318

Gus

How to change the time out on a Web Interface session

2005-09-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

I have got lots of friends asking me how to change the page time-out on a Web Interface page.

Rich Crusco has emailed me a link to a Citrix KB article that explains in great details how to change the time out for Web Interface 3.0 and 4.0.

http://support.citrix.com/kb/entry.jspa?externalID=CTX103672

Hope this helps,

Gus Pinto

MSN Web Search for System Tray

2005-09-15T17:44:00.000-07:00

My little MSN Web Search app has reached 70.000 downloads and it's the most viewed sandbox application at MSDN.COM

That's so awesome, thanks everyone !

Thanks Brian Keller at Microsoft for publishing it on MSDN.com

Thanks everyone who downloaded it

Thanks to all the QA testers

Thanks everyone who emailed me with critics and suggestions.

________________________________________________________

I'm realy busy in my lab and soon I will release some new tools!

Gus

Windows Vista website re-launched

2005-09-15T17:34:00.000-07:00

The Windows Vista website has been updated with a fresh, slick new look.

Check it for yourself.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/default.mspx

Gus

The Code Project

2005-09-13T22:42:00.000-07:00

The Code Project website is a very powerful resource for delelopers.

If you need code snippets or samples this is the place to find them!

www.codeproject.com

Definetly my favority website for development research and learning.

Gus

Finally BILL GATES on Channel 9 @ MSDN

2005-09-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

Bill Gates. Do we need to say anything more?Visit Bill in his office for a few minutes to talk about where he sees the future going. This is a fun interview, prepares you for the PDC that's coming next week. It's going to be a fun next week, make sure to come back on Tuesday when we'll have tons of videos from teams showing off their secret stuff for the first time. Next Tuesday morning not only will his keynote at the Professional Developer Conference...

http://channel9.msdn.com/showpost.aspx?postid=111598

// Gus Pinto
// Channel 9 @ MSDN

Citrix Access Suite Communication Flow

2005-09-06T15:37:00.000-07:00

Rich Crusco has created a simple visio document that explains in great detail the Citrix farm communication flow.

Download it here

Gus

Download Windows Server 2003 R2 Release Candidate 0

2005-09-01T15:30:00.000-07:00

Windows Server 2003 R2 release candidate software is available to download for evaluation in both x64 and x86 versions. Windows Server 2003 R2 RC0 software cannot be installed on anything other than software versions of Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 (SP1). Installing the RC0 software for Windows Server 2003 R2 does not extend the time that you can use the trial version of Windows Server 2003 SP1. The Windows Server 2003 R2 release candidate software is available for evaluation for 180 days.

Microsoft unveils Freeze Dry for Windows Vista

2005-09-01T13:41:00.000-07:00

Windows Vista will include a new technology known as Freeze Dry designed to maintain application states and unsaved documents even when patches are automatically applied and PCs are rebooted. Speaking at the Australian Tech Ed conference on the Gold Coast in Queensland this week, senior product manager Amy Stephan offered a preview of the Freeze Dry technology. Many IT managers plan to automatically install patches and updates on machines during periods when they are inactive, such as overnight or on weekends. However, as some patches require machines to reboot, users who leave documents open and unsaved run the risk of losing that data if the machine is automatically updated. Freeze Dry eliminates that problem by automatically saving application state and documents and then restoring them once the system restarts, Stephan said. Microsoft has promoted the general concept of saving application state in earlier discussions of Windows Vista, formerly codenamed Longhorn, but hasn't previously revealed the Freeze Dry moniker. A new point release of Vista is expected at the Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles later this month. Officials said this week that beta 2 of the operating system is on target for a wider release before the end of the year. The software giant isn't the first company to try and grab the Freeze Dry name. In 1999, Hewlett-Packard released a Java compression technology called FreezeDry, and took out a US trademark on the name.

Update Rollup 1 for Windows 2000 SP4 v2 beta released

2005-08-31T08:37:00.000-07:00

Update Rollup 1 for Windows 2000 SP4 V2 beta is released to beta testers, Microsoft plans to release the new pack September 13th.

Gus

PREVIEW: Profile Manager 2.0 for Citrix PNAgent

2005-08-21T17:29:00.000-07:00

Brian launches "BrianMaddenLive" Internet radio show

2005-08-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

This is really cool, Brian has released this week his new online radio show named "BrianMaddenLive".

His first show was based on a nice interview with Kevin Goodman, creator and patent-holder of Citrix's virtual memory optimization technology.

I highly recommend you to check this one out. You can either stream or download the show.

www.brianmadden.com/live

Gus Pinto
gusp@entisys.com

Family comes FIRST !!

2005-08-19T19:26:00.000-07:00

I'm publishing bits of my birthday party on 8/11/2005. My birthday is actually 8/16 but who cares!? lol

Family is the most important thing we have. Even more important than the bus speed or the CPU clock... :)

Microsoft to re-release bugged SP4 update

2005-08-09T09:53:00.000-07:00

MICROSOFT WILL BE re-releasing the Update Rollup 1 for Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 because of problems users are encountering with the current version, it was confirmed Monday. Microsoft said on its web site that some users are having trouble making connections to servers running Citrix, as well as compatibility problems with third party security software. Peter Houston, senior director of servicing strategy at Microsoft, said that the problems affect only "a small fraction of the downloads."

Gus

MSN SysTray Web Search made it to MSDN.com

2005-07-31T18:32:00.000-07:00

I love doing stuff for free, just for fun and yesterday my little app called "MSN Web Search for System Tray" made it to http://msdn.microsoft.com/

I'm very very happy!!!!

Thanks Brian Keller (Visual Studio - Product Manager)
http://blogs.msdn.com/briankel

//Gus

Windows Vista issues over VMware?

2005-07-31T15:31:00.000-07:00

I have heard from several people they had problems installing Windows Longhorn (Vista) Beta 1 on VMware.

I will be posting soon, some tweaks I had to make in order to install it on my ESX server. I just need to validate them, on my lab.

Gus

Profile Manager for Citrix PNAgent 2.0 is comming soon.

2005-07-31T15:21:00.000-07:00

Ivo and I have being working on Profile Manager for Citrix Program Neighborhood Agent 2.0

I will be soon posting some screenshots and the list of new features.

Gus

What's hot this summer? A quick guide for Citrix innovations...

2005-07-18T17:57:00.000-07:00

I love new stuff :)

I have a quick list of the new technologies Citrix is releasing this summer to customers and partenrs via MyCitrix.com

Project ARGO: Argo or Citrix Presentation Server x64 is a 64-bit application designed to run on Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions and is based on the very same functionalities of Presentation Server 4.0 (Colorado).

Project WISP: WISP stands for Web Interface for SharePoint, Citrix's project that integrates Web Interface to Microsoft's Sharepoint server, allows organizations to consolidate information and content stored on a Microsoft SharePoint Server with Presentation Server published applications and content, delivered from a single point.

Project IRIS: IRIS provides Citrix Administrators with the following abilities: Policy-based recording of the Presentation Server ICA session, secure and reliable logging to persistent storage, management of log files on persistent storage, and playback of the recorded ICA sessions. IRIS tech preview will only work with Presentation Server 3.0 and 4.0

Project NASSAU: Citrix's version 4.1 for Password Manager including SSPR (Self-Service Password Reset), ARK (Automatic Key Recovery), and a version of Password Manager data (profile) reset written by me :)

Project PINTA: PINTA is simply the new version of Citrix's management pack for Microsfot MOM. PINTA will only work with Presentation Server 3.0 and 4.0 Enterprise Edition.

Microsoft Security Advisory (904797):Vulnerability in Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) Could Lead to Denial of Service!!

2005-07-17T07:32:00.000-07:00

Microsoft is investigating new public reports of a vulnerability in Remote Desktop Services. We have not been made aware of attacks that try to use the reported vulnerability or of customer impact at this time, but we are aggressively investigating the public reports.

Our initial investigation has revealed that a denial of service vulnerability exists that could allow an attacker to send a specially crafted Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) request to an affected system. Our investigation has determined that this is limited to a denial of service, and therefore an attacker could not use this vulnerability to take complete control of a system. Services that utilize the Remote Desktop Protocol are not enabled by default, however if a service were enabled, an attacker could cause this system to restart.
Note Remote Desktop is enabled by default on Windows XP Media Center Edition.

Upon completion of this investigation, Microsoft will take the appropriate action to help protect our customers. This may include providing a security update through our monthly release process or providing an out-of-cycle security update, depending on customer needs.

Microsoft continues to encourage responsible disclosure of vulnerabilities. We believe the commonly accepted practice of reporting vulnerabilities directly to a vendor serves everyone's best interests by helping to ensure that customers receive comprehensive, high-quality updates for security vulnerabilities with no exposure to malicious attackers while a security update is being developed.

Mitigating Factors:

• Firewall best practices and standard default firewall configurations can help protect networks from attacks that originate outside the enterprise perimeter. Best practices recommend that systems that are connected to the Internet have a minimal number of ports exposed.

• By default, services that utilize the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) are not enabled.
Note Remote Desktop is enabled by default on Windows XP Media Center Edition.

Continue At Source

The Father of C# on the Past, Present and Future of Programming

2005-07-17T06:49:00.000-07:00

Anders Hejlsberg is one of Microsoft Corp.'s handful of distinguished engineers. He is known for having developed the Borland Turbo Pascal compiler and for having been chief architect of Borland's Delphi technology. Hejlsberg left Borland, where he last served as chief engineer, to join Microsoft in 1996. Since joining Microsoft, Hejlsberg's greatest claim to fame has been fathering the C# programming language. Originally code-named Cool, C# was designed to be Microsoft's Java killer.

Hejlsberg chatted with Microsoft Watch Editor Mary Jo Foley and eWEEK Senior Editor Darryl K. Taft at the recent Microsoft Tech Ed conference in Orlando, Fla., about the past, present and future of the C# programming language, among other programming-language-related topics.

In [Microsoft Vice President] Paul Flessner's keynote at Tech Ed, we heard about how Visual Studio, SQL Server and BizTalk Server are getting more and more tightly integrated. What are the implications of that increasingly tight integration for tools and languages?

For tools, it's that the cockpit you sit in gets more and more capabilities. My particular interest for the past couple of years has been to really think deeply about the big impedance mismatch we have between programming languages, C# in particular, and the database world, like SQL—or, for that matter, the XML world, like XQuery and those languages that exist there.

If we just take languages like C# and SQL, whenever I talk to the C# programming crowd—and I tried it in my session [at Tech Ed]—I ask them, "How many of you access a database in your applications"? They laugh and look at me funny, and then they all raise their hands.

So from that I take away that when you're learning to program in C#, you're actually not just learning to program in C#. You're also learning SQL. And you're also learning all the APIs that go along with bridging that gap. And you're learning a whole style of writing a distributed application. But interestingly, we've come to accept that that's just how it is. But it doesn't necessarily have to be that way. The two worlds are actually surprisingly unintegrated.

On the tools side, we're making tremendous progress on getting deeper integration between these two worlds. But I think on the language side, we also could make an enormous amount of progress.

So, there's so much stuff that we could do there to make these worlds better integrated. And that's what we've been thinking about deeply over the past couple of years. And I think you see some of the fruits of that thinking in the "Whidbey" release. Specifically, a feature like generics [which will be part of Whidbey, or Visual Studio 2005] is not only a great tool for programmers because it allows you to parameterize your types and have much more code sharing, and get better compile-time type safety and all of these things that are goodness. But it also strengthens the type system, or makes it more expressive.

(read full article @ Microsoft-watch.com)

GoToMyMAC anytime soon?

2005-07-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

We all know that GoToMyPC rocks, most of us love it, and few IT Security Managers hate it :) ...Let's not go there.

"Something" tells me Citrix will soon be releasing the GoToMyMAC service which will allow Mac users will be able to access their computers from anywhere, even from their PCs :)

If you want to figure this one out by yourself go to http://www.gotomyMAC.com then tell me where you have landed ;)

Best regards to all,

Gus Pinto

Citrix Access Essentials (tm) 1.0 - RELEASED

2005-07-06T07:15:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys,

Citrix today (7/6/2005) is releasing the Citrix Access Essentials Suite 1.0

Citrix Access Essentials is a All-In-One version of Presentation Server + Web Interface + Citrix Secure Gateway, basically aiming the small business market.

So what's Citrix Access Essentials(tm) 1.0 a.k.a. Project Tamar?

Citrix Access Essentials is a simple stripped down version of the Access Suite that combines in one server the Presentation Server + Web Interface + Citrix Secure Gateway.

So what's difference from the version we know today?

The difference is the fact that this can only be sold to small businesses.

This version does NOT interact with the Access Suite meaning that you can't have a Citrix Access Essentials server in a regular Citrix farm.

The server only work as a standalone server, supporting up to 75 CCU (or named users).

Every Citrix Access Essentials' license sold already includes a Terminal Services CAL.

There's no CMC.

To install and configure it, the engineer has to use a very simple wizard-driven console, which installs all the required components, and a "next, next, finish" type of configuration menu. It couldn't be simpler :)

The next few days I will be working on a full review of the product, just stay tuned.

You can find more info about Citrix’s new product on the following links.

Citrix Access Essentials 1.0 web page

Citrix Access Essentials 1.0 Overview Document

Best regards,

Gus Pinto

Microsoft extends IP protection for partners, and that includes CITRIX

2005-07-01T06:01:00.000-07:00

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) said on Thursday it is strengthening the intellectual property protection it provides to PC manufacturers as it tries to fend off competition from Linux, a freely available operating system, has gained popularity among cost-conscious companies. But there are lingering intellectual property concerns as illustrated by software company SCO Group Inc.'s (Nasdaq:SCOX - news) numerous lawsuits against large companies claiming ownership technology used in Linux.
The Microsoft protection package provided to large partners such as Dell Inc. (Nasdaq:DELL - news) and an array of small resellers shields them from exposure to legal costs and damage claims. It also covers some software companies such as Citrix Systems (Nasdaq:CTXS - news), which provides secure Internet access products.
It includes protection for patent, copyright, trade secret and trademark and the coverage extends to current and future versions of software such as the Windows Server System, Microsoft Office System, and Windows client software.
Linux distributors also offer some protection for the users.
Microsoft shares were up 20 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $25.27 in early morning trade.

Microsoft Plans Support For Ajax

2005-06-29T11:32:00.000-07:00

Microsoft said late Monday it's developing a tool code-named Atlas that programmers will use to quickly write fast-loading Web sites. A do-it-yourself approach to Web software called Ajax has led to a new breed of fast, highly interactive sites and includes Google and Yahoo developers among its adherents. Now large technology vendors that rely on keeping software developers in their fold are either downplaying the trend--or in Microsoft's case, trying to capitalize on it. Microsoft said late Monday it's developing a tool code-named Atlas that programmers will use to quickly write fast-loading Web sites that employ code running in a Web browser. Examples of this approach using Ajax are Google Maps and Yahoo's Flickr photo-sharing site, which are written using a home brew of JavaScript, Dynamic HTML, and XML. Ajax stands for "Asynchronous JavaScript plus XML." Sites that employ it can update their contents in the background while a user is at the site, then have new text or graphics ready to load in an instant, instead of waiting for pages to reload. Ajax sites don't rely on special media players, since the underlying technologies work with nearly all Web browsers. The result is applications like Google's maps site, which lets users zoom and scroll around a map of North America with uncommon speed for the Web. "There are a lot of people using Ajax," says Mike Gilpin, an analyst at Forrester Research. While Ajax apps don't have the interactivity of software written with Microsoft's Windows technologies, Macromedia's Flash player, or the open-source Eclipse tools for Java, Ajax doesn't require developers to download a set of tools or media players from any one software vendor. That's attractive to some savvy programmers, but makes Ajax programming labor intensive. "Not everyone can justify the amount of effort it takes to create that kind of user interface," says Gilpin. "Not everyone is Google."

Full Story

Microsoft virtually supports Linux

2005-06-27T18:54:00.000-07:00

Microsoft plans to support Linux for the first time with the delivery of Virtual Server 2005 Service Pack 1 this year, indicating the company's commitment to interoperability, according to chief executive officer, Steve Ballmer.

"As much as that hurts my eyes, I know that is an important capability for the Virtual Server technology for our customers," said Ballmer as the company demonstrated Red Hat Enterprise Linux running on Virtual Server during his speech at the Microsoft Management Summit in Las Vegas."

We have added support for non-Windows virtual machines being hosted on top of our Virtual Server products, including support for Linux," he said. "We know folks are going to want to run Windows systems, and Linux systems, and other systems together on top of our Virtual Server and Windows. You will see support for that later in the year.

"Virtual Server 2005 Service Pack 1 is in beta testing now, and will be generally available by the end of the year as the company continues to develop the virtual machine technology it acquired with Connectix in February 2003. Ballmer also looked further ahead to technologies that will be delivered 'in the Longhorn timeframe.

"You will see us introduce hypervisor technology around Windows, that is important," he said. "We have virtualisation technology today, but really this notion of a smaller, thinner hypervisor and what that can mean is very important.

"This is one of the most significant areas of R&D investment for us because we think this is a core enabler to help us improve our enterprise management and help us deliver to you the lowest TCO platform," he told the Microsoft Management Summit audience.

He admitted, however, that the company has some way to go to improve its virtualisation functionality. "For people looking to do data centre consolidation for production applications, we have a very good product but we also have a list as long as my arm of requests for enhancement, improvement, additional features, more performance, and we are working, and we are working," he added.

news source: www.networktimes.co.za

Google Video search ready for playback

2005-06-27T18:43:00.000-07:00

Google on Monday launched its new Web-based video search service, which allows people to use keywords to search the company's indexed database of video from Unicef, Greenpeace, CNET Networks and others that have uploaded content since April.

full article here

MSN System Tray Web Search (WebTray) continued...

2005-06-27T13:35:00.000-07:00

I'm publishing the latest build of the MSN® WebTray Search.

Please I won't be counting downloads and won't control the list of testers, it will be just wide open to everyone.

But please, if you download it, leave a comment and let me know later if you like it, or if you have found bugs.

Keep in mind this requires .NET Framework 2.0

New features:

- Movable display.
- Local, News, Images, and Music search.

Download here.

Study Shows Windows Beats Linux on Security

2005-06-27T07:42:00.000-07:00

A survey of 90 enterprises finds better total cost of ownership and fewer risks with Microsoft’s streamlined security tools.

Security is one of the chief concerns of IT decision makers. Along with purchase price, interoperability, maintainability and deployment costs, security is a critical factor in determining which platform to deploy across an enterprise or to serve a particular role.

For proprietary and open source software (OSS) alike, administering security updates are a reality in the enterprise and a significant factor in total cost of ownership (TCO). In order to get an accurate picture of how costs associated with patch management figure into the TCO equation, Microsoft recently commissioned Wipro Technologies Ltd., an independent consulting firm, to study the cost of updating Microsoft and open source software in a real-world environment for desktops, servers and database servers.

Wipro surveyed 90 companies in the U.S. and Western Europe with 2,500 to 113,000 employees where both the Windows and open source operating systems were simultaneously being run. When the costs of updating are distributed across the size of the environment and evaluated on a per-asset basis, the study shows Microsoft software to be less expensive to patch than open source equivalents. These findings confirm what many customers are experiencing in their deployment scenarios.

View Full Article

First public pictures of IE 7

2005-06-27T07:31:00.000-07:00

This one of the new pictures of IE 7 that made our to the public.

more pictures here

Microsoft shows the new RSS feature (IE 7) on Longhorn

2005-06-26T19:50:00.000-07:00

" Microsoft announced the addition of several new RSS features in the next version of Windows, code-named Longhorn. The Longhorn Browsing and RSS team (the one we interviewed here) is also are announcing a new RSS extension, to be released into Creative Commons, that lets you do lists in subscriptions... "

Watch the video (59min)

http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=80533

Phoebe

2005-06-26T19:37:00.000-07:00

This is little Phoebe, I know my blog is all about technology, however I couldn't resist the oportunity of publishing her picture! :)

MSN System Tray Web Search (MSN WebTray)

2005-06-25T18:51:00.000-07:00

This simple app allows you to use the MSN web search.

Instead of taking space off of your taskbar it simply seats on the notification area and can be invoked by double-clicking the "systray" icon or via right-click menu.

It will also work as a web address bar, meaning that you can type an http address and will be redirected directly to that page.

It also uses the feature of suggesting websites by using a list of your previously visited websites.

It requires .NET Framework 2.0

enjoy it,

Gus.