Windows 7
Five Windows 7 chapters free to all
At the Microsoft Learning Windows 7 portal, you’ll find links to numerous training resources related to Windows 7, including links to five free chapters from upcoming Microsoft Press books. You can grab these chapters now:
- Chapter 21, “Performing Routine Maintenance,” from Windows 7 Inside Out
- Chapter 23, “Support Users and Remote Assistance,” from Windows 7 Resource Kit
- Chapter 29, “Deploying IPv6,” from Windows 7 Resource Kit
- Chapter 1, “Explore Windows 7,” from Windows 7 Step by Step
- Chapter 2, “Navigate Windows and Folders,” from Windows 7 Step by Step
All of these books are forthcoming in 2009. Enjoy the topic and the coverage!
Source- Microsoft Press Blog
Windows 7:Talking About Windows
Talking About Windows is a new website that offers a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Windows 7 from the Microsoft engineers who helped build product as well as showcasing real IT Professionals talking candidly about their implementations and experiences in considering a more modern OS. This is done through a series of videos hosted within the Talking About Windows Website.
Through Talking About Windows, IT Professionals can listen as our engineers discuss why certain product decisions and feature trade-offs were made in Windows 7 from the likes of Mark Russinovich – a Technical Fellow here at Microsoft (and founder of Windows Sysinternals) - as well as Jon DeVaan, Senior Vice President for the Windows Core Operating System. A great line-up of videos with the people behind Windows 7 can be found at Talking About Windows to with more on the way!
Talking About Windows also features videos of IT Professionals offering real-world commentary on their Windows deployment and adoption experiences as well.
Source- Windows Team Blog
Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC for Windows 7
Windows XP Mode is specifically designed to help small businesses move to Windows 7. Windows XP Mode provides you with the flexibility to run many older productivity applications on a Windows 7 based PC.
All you need to do is to install suitable applications directly in Windows XP Mode which is a virtual Windows XP environment running under Windows Virtual PC. The applications will be published to the Windows 7 desktop and then you can run them directly from Windows 7.
Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC are best experienced on your new Windows 7 PC. We will be soon releasing the beta of Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC for Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate.
Source- Windows Team Blog
Windows 7 Release Candidate dates announced
Certainly after lot’s of leaks and rumours finally the Windows Team Blog has announced the dates for the release of Windows 7 RC.The RC version would be available to download by MSDN and TechNet subscribers on 30th April and would be available to public on May 5th.
Here is what the blog reads-
There certainly has been a lot of discussion about Windows 7 in the last few weeks. A lot of folks want to know when they can get their hands on the official RC, when we are going to RTM, and what I had for breakfast.
I’m pleased to share that the RC is on track for April 30th for download by MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Broader, public availability will begin on May 5th.
Windows 7 RC, build 7100 has been compiled
According to the latest information available Windows 7 Build 7100 has been compiled.The Build string is 7100.0.winmain_win7rc.090421-1700,which clearly states that the build was compiled on 21st April
According to the french site pinnula.fr the build is available to the OEM partners and would be available to public on 5th May.
The Chinese site cnbeta has further posted the time line for Windows 7
- RC (7100) May 2009
- RC2 (7200) August 2009
- RTM (7300) September - October 2009
- Public Release January 2010
Other builds compiled recently are-
7085.0.winmain_win7rc.090415-1900
7086.0.winmain_win7rc.090416-1900
7087.0.winmain_win7rc.090417-1900
7088.0.winmain_win7rc.090419-1500
7100.0.winmain_win7rc.090421-1700
6.1.7111.0.winmain.090415-1920
6.1.7112.0.winmain.090416-1820
6.1.7113.0.winmain.090417-1710
6.1.7114.0.winmain.090420-1603
6.1.7115.0.winmain.090421-1650
Download New Windows 7 Power Management Whitepaper
There is a new Windows 7 BETA power management whitepaper available. Key points from the whitepaper include:
- Improved idle efficiency - Windows 7 reduces resource utilisation when the system is idle and reduces or eliminates background activity on the system.
- Timer Coalescing - for background activity that cannot be reduced, Windows 7 has been modified to defer then execute non-critical background activity at once. It also defers non-critical background activity when on battery power.
- Trigger start services - when your computer boots it loads a number of system services in the background. In Windows 7 these services will now use ‘trigger start’ i.e. they require a physical event to occur before the service is started.
- Enhancing power processing management (PPM) - driver support for latest PPM technologies.
- Device power management - added the following low power enhancements:
Adaptive Display Brightness : dims the display after a period of time
Low Power Audio : support for latest Intel HD Audio low power specification
Bluetooth : "selective suspend" mode added
Networking
- Disconnecting the network cable = automatically goes into low power state & vice-versa
- Improved wireless low power mode configurable with group policy
- User Experience - includes enhancements including improved power troubleshooting and improved low battery alerting.
- Enterprise Power Management - more granular control integrated, including:
Event Tracing & power request inspection
integrated into powercfg.exe with HTML based reports
Group Policy
- more granular control of the new features like Device Power Management (table above)
- plus you can now use Group Policy Preferences as well as enforcement to provide more choice
New WMI power provider: allows Powershell 2.0 scripting of power data & settings
Power Policies :additional power policies built-in
- Diagnostics in-the-box - the Windows Performance Toolkit helps IT Pros diagnose issues associated with power management.
Source- Technet Blog
Partners Invited to Virtual Windows 7 Readiness Day
Please join us for Windows 7 Virtual Readiness Day online on May 9. The online meeting begins at 8 am Pacific, 11 am Eastern.
At this event you will have the opportunity to learn about Windows 7, the next-generation operating system from Microsoft. Online attendees can take advantage of the readiness and marketing tools made available specifically for partners to help prepare for the Windows 7 business opportunity.
Windows 7 Partner Readiness Day will provide the resources you need to become a Windows 7 expert and help better prepare you for customer conversations. Microsoft executives and product experts will be on hand to answer all your questions and to provide you with a look at the following Microsoft product strategies:
- Industry trends and how Windows 7 will affect the marketplace
- The business opportunities that Windows 7 brings for partners
- An overview of the key steps and programs to get ready for Windows 7
The ISV track includes information on the Windows 7 Compatibility Tool and the Windows 7 Logo Program.
Register here so you can be notified the day prior with the link to the live feed of the event.
For more information, see Windows Partner Readiness Day. This site is also a good resource for links for user tips and tricks, about how to test and verify your application, partner site about Windows 7. Your business decision makers may be interested in Gear Up, a document to help with customer conversations
Source- MSDN Blogs
Alpha of the Windows 7 Software Logo Toolkit Released
The alpha toolkit for the Windows 7 Software Logo Program is now available. The toolkit provides you with a quick and agile, automated, light weight command-line tool to verify their application’s compliance against the technical requirements.
The toolkit is being made available and supported through the Windows 7 Software Logo Connect site. Anyone can access the connect site, but to download the alpha toolkit or leave feedback, you need to have an invitation code. Sign up to receive updates to get the code.
More information about the alpha toolkit is available at the Microsoft Connect site for the software logo program. Be sure to read the readme file, release notes, the PowerPoint overview with step by step guidance on how to use the toolkit. All of this content can be found at the Connect site.
Source- MSDN Blog
