theMSgeek

You have been eagerly waiting, and we have been working hard over the summer to deliver the latest Exchange Server 2010 enhancements as soon as possible. I am extremely happy to announce the availability of Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1, ready for download here.

We released the SP1 beta at Tech Ed North America in June. We also shared some of the SP1 enhancements in Yes Virginia, there is an Exchange Server 2010 SP1 back in April. Since then, almost 500,000 SP1 mailboxes have gone into production in Technology Adoption Program (TAP) customer environments.

Download At Source

At Hot Chips today, Microsoft’s Xbox team unveiled details of the system-on-a-chip (SoC) that powers the newer, slimmer Xbox 360 250GB model. Produced on the IBM/GlobalFoundries 45nm process, it’s fair to say that the new SoC (pictured above) is the first mass-market, desktop-class processor to combine a CPU, GPU, memory, and I/O logic onto a single piece of silicon. The goal of the consolidation was, of course, to lower the cost of making the console by reducing the number of different chips needed for the system, shrinking the motherboard, and reducing the number of expensive fans and heatsinks.

The SoC also makes the new Xbox design more power efficient, which is nice for consumers, but the real motivation behind boosting the console’s efficiency is to reduce the size and cost of the power supply unit, and to realize the aforementioned savings on cooling apparatus.

Microsoft engineers presented the new SoC and apparently did a lot of the layout (or perhaps all of it) themselves. Given the unique requirement of consoles—the system must perform exactly like the original Xbox 360—and despite a five-year gap and multiple iterations of Moore’s Law, the consolidation presented a few interesting challenges.

If you take a look at the block diagram, you’ll notice that most of the blocks are fairly obvious: the triple-core CPU is there, as is the ATI-designed GPU, and then you have the dual-channel memory controller and I/O. But the purpose of the “FSB replacement block” may not be obvious. This particular block essentially implements a kind of on-die “frontside bus” with the exact same latency and bandwidth characteristics as the older bus that connected the CPU and GPU when they were discrete parts.

Full Story at Ars

Windows Live Sync beta for Mac brings Live Mesh and the previous version of Windows Live Sync together into one product. With Windows Live Sync beta for Mac, you can keep the folders you choose in sync across your computers (Mac and PC) so the files you need are always right there with you.

• Supported Operating Systems: Apple Mac OS X; Apple Mac OS X v. 10.5 Leopard

• Supported Operating System Versions: Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard, Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard
• Supported Processor Architectures: Intel-based Mac computers only

Please note that Windows Live Sync beta for Mac will not run on a PowerPC-based Mac computer or a Mac computer with Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger or earlier.Download at Source

Forward-thinking companies continue to grapple with the realities of moving to the cloud. For every benefit comes a concern, for every answer a question. There are myriad considerations to resolve before actually pulling the plug on local storage and local hosting. Is cloud-based e-mail secure? How will I control access? Will I have access to e-mail archives? What happens if the hosting provider goes out of business or suffers a catastrophic failure? What’s my back-up plan? Read more…

Software Licensing: Track Software Usage with MAP Toolkit 5.0
Tracking software usage for large enterprise customers can be a challenge. This new tool helps provide more accurate assessments.

Office Communications Server 2007 R2: Backup and Restore Your OCS 2007 R2 Contacts
Export your OCS 2007 R2 contacts to an XML file with the Dbimpexp utility, and save yourself valuable time and effort.

Read (via http://blogs.technet.com/b/aralves/archive/2010/08/17/technet-magazine-august-edition-online.aspx)

August marks the six-month anniversary of the public unveiling of our next-generation mobile phone, Windows Phone 7. Six months is an interesting bit of time; it can fly by, or it can feel like it’s dragging on forever. The gating factor tends to be how much fun you are having. For us on the Windows Phone team, it feels like just yesterday that we first introduced Windows Phone 7 to the world. Now, just a blink of the eye and phones will be on shelves.

All of the work of the last six months is certainly paying off, as just about every conversation we have with developers focuses on their strategy for generating more business with Windows Phone 7. It’s amazing to see so many inspired developers looking to create experiences for Windows Phone 7. In fact, to date there have been north of 300,000 downloads of the Windows Phone Developer Tools.

Of course, it’s not just the big names in development who are going to bring great titles to Windows Phone 7 customers. There are many multiples more of lesser known developers who are looking to be in the Windows Phone Marketplace. Large or small, all developers will have equal opportunity to capitalize on the first mover advantage of having their apps or games ready at launch. In order to do that, there are a few things developers will need to do:

1. Register at the marketplace today
2. Finish you application or game using the Beta tools
3. Download the final Windows Phone Developer Tools when they are released on September 16^th
4. Recompile your app or game using the final tools
5. Have your XAP ready for ingestion into the marketplace in early October when it opens

The final tools will likely have some minor breaking changes from the Beta tools, so developers may have to fix some bugs that arise. The final tools will also include several highly requested Silverlight controls which will make it even easier for developers to deliver high quality Windows Phone 7 experiences. Also in the September 16^th final release, the panorama, pivot and Bing maps controls will all be available to drop into applications.

Continue here

Earlier this morning the W3C announced the formation of a new Web Performance Working Group chartered with making it easier to accurately measure web application performance. Enabling web developers to understand the real world performance characteristics of their applications is critical to the success of HTML5, and we’re excited to have been selected as co-chairs of the new working group alongside Google. We look forward to partnering with the W3C and the broader web community to enable these scenarios through an interoperable API.

The third Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview was the first browser to implement these portions of the WebTimings specification. Following standard conventions, we used a vendor prefix (ms) on the name because the specification was still under active development and hadn’t been brought into the charter of any working group. Google also recently provided an early implementation of these API’s inside Chrome using their vendor prefix (webkit). Through early collaboration between our engineering teams, we almost have interoperable implementations which is impressive for an API that has only been discussed for a few months. This is a great example of what’s possible through collaborative partnerships at the W3C.

Full Story at IE Team Blog

If you already want a hard drive for that 4GB Xbox 360 S you bought, you could wait patiently for Microsoft to announce the accessory … or you could just go to Gamestop and buy one. Reader Iain informs Joystiq that he spotted the 250GB hard drives for the redesigned Xbox in his local store — and they’re also available on GameStop.com right now. (We couldn’t find the item being offered by any other retailer yet.)

Of course, the $130 price for the drive completely obliterates any savings you might temporarily enjoy after buying the $200 4GB model (or the upcoming Kinect bundle), but it sure beats a mountain of USB flash drives.

Continue at joystiq

After listening to the rumor mills roar and authoring hundreds of emails with my friends at Facebook it can finally be said that Facebook has launched their location-based check-in service dubbed Facebook Places. And, while location-based services like this are certainly interesting to me I’m writing this for you because Facebook is using Bing Maps to pinpoint everyone’s location-based experiences on Facebook.com. When using Facebook Places from your mobile device, users will have the opportunity to check-in to a specific place such as a restaurant, hotel or other place of interest. No, you don’t need a reservation since this isn’t that kind of check-in. This is basically an update you provide your friends where you are.

So, fire up the Facebook for iPhone application or touch.facebook.com site on your mobile device. Select the Places button, find the location where you are and check-in. Just like that, the check-in will flow to your profile on Facebook.com complete with a Bing Map, a pin of your location and any commentary you’ve added to your check-in. Places also includes the ability to see where your friends have checked in, a link to get directions to a place (via Bing Maps) and a Like button for the respective place page.

Continue at Bing Community

This poster provides a visual reference for understanding key Remote Desktop Services technologies in Windows Server 2008 R2. It explains the functions and roles of Remote Desktop Session Host, Remote Desktop Virtualization Host, Remote Desktop Connection Broker, Remote Desktop Web Access, Remote Desktop Gateway, RemoteFX and Remote Desktop Licensing.

Start download

You can use this poster in conjunction with the previously published Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 component posters (see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=193499

and http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=179116) and the Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V Component Architecture poster (see http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=5567b22a-8c47-4840-a88d-23146fd93151)

It’s not official until Microsoft says it is, but the image above of the rumored Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse was just snagged off a German online store. Amazingly, the mouse arches its back for comfortable mousing before packing flat for easy transport. The mouse features touch-scrolling, a battery indicator, the ability to track on most any surface, and a 2.4GHz nano transceiver that no doubt plugs into your laptop’s USB port. Yours soon for €69.99 ($69.95 rumored).

Continue at Engadget

Today we’re releasing an update to Windows Live Essentials 2011 beta. One of the main reasons we release betas is to allow early adopters to enjoy our products and provide feedback on their experience. First, we want to say thank you for your help. For Messenger alone, we had over 3 million unique users, 3.5 million updates to display pictures, 6.2 million video calls, and 7.6 million updates to status messages.

Your beta feedback and usage has helped shape the many improvements we’ve made and continue to make across Messenger, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Writer, Mail, and Family Safety. Today I’d like to summarize some of the more visible changes you’ll see in today’s update, and we’ll follow up with more details in later posts.

Performance and quality of service improvements

Facebook chat in Messenger

Quick previews and improved tree view in Photo Gallery

Flickr video publishing and Snapshot in Movie Maker

Continue here for more info

Download here Windows Live Essentials 2011 beta

Late tonight here in Redmond, but very early over in Germany we took the wraps off our first wave of game titles making their way this holiday to Windows Phone 7.  I know there has been lots of anticipation about XBOX Live on Windows Phone 7 so I hope this first drop of news is welcome!  First, head over here to get all the latest on the announcement including titles like Crackdown 2: Project Sunburst. This is a tower defense game that uses real locations as the gaming world thanks the Bing maps. Defend the big landmark in your city or even your own house!

In addition to the games, we also announced enhanced Games hub functionality in store for Windows Phone 7 including a rich avatar experience, messaging using Xbox LIVE and the ability to see all your friends’ play status, Gamerscore and latest achievements. If you don’t have a Xbox LIVE account when you purchase a Windows Phone 7 you can sign and up and deck out your avatar all from the phone, no Xbox console required!

This is just the first in many great announcements we have planned for Xbox LIVE on Windows Phone 7 so be sure to stay tuned for the latest. I will drill into some of the specific titles announced today in the coming days, and also try to get some guest posts or interviews with our publisher friends in coming weeks. Also head over to the Windows Phone Developer blog to hear from Michael Klucher on the ground in Germany!

Continue here for full story

Windows Small Business Server Codename “Aurora” is part of the next generation of our award winning Windows Small Business Server, and represents a significant departure from our traditional fully on premise model. Aurora extends the ease of use of our traditional SBS products while simultaneously being a great platform for small businesses wanting to combine traditional and cloud computing.

We believe that most small businesses need a server; however not all of them know it yet. This is why we designed Aurora to be the ideal first server solution for those millions of Small Businesses worldwide who have less than 25 users and who are using a peer to peer network or have no network at all.

For these businesses, Windows Small Business Server Codename “Aurora” provides a cost-effective and easy-to-use way to simplify computing infrastructure, reduce cost and spend more time focusing on core business’ needs.

Aurora offers small businesses the help they need to ensure their data is safe through advanced backup and file restoration features. Aurora’s users can quickly set automatic, daily backups of every personal computer on the network. If problems with those files arise, small businesses can restore individual files, folders, or an entire PC or server with simple recovery tools.

In addition, Aurora gives users the power to utilize their files and documents to solve business challenges even when they’re away from the office. Using a personalized web address, Aurora’s users will also be able connect to the server from virtually anywhere and access their computers and documents from any common web browser.

The preview build of this release is available on our connect site and can be downloaded now. If you haven’t already signed up for the preview, you can visit our connect site and get signed up. We have setup a connect feedback form to capture your feedback, bugs and suggestions as well as a newsgroup where you can discuss the preview with other testers.

Download At Source (https://connect.microsoft.com/sbs)

Starting today, a select group of VIP web developers, designers, bloggers and press begin receiving their invitations to an event we’re holding in San Francisco on September 15th to celebrate the Beauty of the Web and to mark the launch of the IE9 Beta.

Reception for IE9 has been very positive since MIX with over 2.5 million downloads of the platform previews. The most recent platform preview – our 4th – was released last week.

Since space is limited at the event and not many invites have been sent out, I captured what the invite process looks like so everyone could see. Invitees get an e-mail invitation with a link to a special HTML5 website. To RSVP, they have to complete a word puzzle by typing the letters shown on the screen :

Unlock the _ _ _ _ _ _ web

Microsoft is preparing to deliver a second beta of the next version of its Windows Live Essentials suite next week.

That’s the word from blogger Francisco Martin Garcia, who posted about the coming beta on his blog on August 11. (Garcia’s had a good track record on predicting Microsoft delivery dates for various consumer wares.) Enthusiast site Neowin also is reporting the second beta will hit next week, naming Tuesday, August 18 as the likely delivery date. I am hearing the 18th is Microsoft’s target for the beta, as well.

According to Garcia, the new beta will incorporate new icons, new features and many bug fixes. He didn’t specify any of those features or fixes. One fix I’m personally hoping for is to remedy whatever is kept Windows Live Messenger Wave 4 Beta 1 from working on my Windows 7 PC. I got it to work twice but then kept receiving messages telling me the service was unavailable. When I did log in, Messenger froze my PC. Microsoft officials didn’t have a suggested fix for me, so I’m back to the Wave 3 Live Messenger for now.

Microsoft officials haven’t said when to expect the company to launch the final version of Live Essentials 2011/Wave 4. Originally it was expected this summer, but fall is now looking more likely.

Continue At Source

Have your kids ever asked you a question for a school paper or homework that you wish you knew?  Have you given an answer that you “think” you remember from your days in school, knowing that the information you were about to give might be very outdated? Now, with the latest release of new Bing answers through our collaboration with Wolfram|Alpha, you can get access to more types of answers quickly and confidently.

For example, maybe your child is doing a report on France and they need to find the country’s GDP or the capital, go to Bing and type in “gdp of France” or “what is the capital of France” or how about those science homework questions that you think you know but you just need to make sure, like what is the  boiling point of water? You can also use Bing to instantly compare geographical information, like comparing the current population in India to that of China or even how their literacy rates compare. Bing and Wolfram | Alpha make finding the answers to these common questions that much easier by proving this information to you right in the search results.

Full Story at Bing Community

Microsoft rolled out a new add-on to its Premier support program on August 10 that is aimed at companies with mission-critical needs.

That new add-on, “Premier Mission Critical,” is designed to provide the “fastest response times available from Microsoft” to get a business back up and running if an incident occurs.

The new Mission Critical add-on also has this “proactive” goal, and includes consulting time with Microsoft around the customer’s infrastructure. From the press release:

“After the initial consultation, customers receive a dedicated line for support, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with priority access to the most knowledgeable experts. If an incident occurs, Premier Mission Critical provides customers with the fastest problem resolution services available from Microsoft Corp., including a 30-minute response time and an engagement process that begins at an advanced support level.”

The products covered by Microsoft’s Mission Critical program are all on-premises ones, not cloud services or infrastructure. Products for which the program is available include the .NET Framework, BizTalk Server, Exchange Server, SharePoint Server, Dynamics CRM, System Center, SQL Server and Windows Server. Support is available worldwide in English only.

Full Story at All About Microsoft

he Windows Intune Team would like to thank you for your participation in the April release of the Windows Intune beta! As many of you may know, we announced the second public Windows Intune Beta on July 12th and we hope you have had a chance to sign up for an account and are evaluating this most recent release. If you haven’t signed up yet, you can get the second beta here.

Please be advised that the first Windows Intune beta which launched in April 2010 will be decommissioned on August 9th, 2010. After this date, you will no longer be able to manage computers with the April release. To use the second public beta, please sign up for a new account and install the new client software on each of the PCs that you wish to manage with Windows Intune. Please visit our TechNet forums for more information.

windowsteamblog

Microsoft released 14 security bulletins, addressing 34 vulnerabilities. Eight of those bulletins have a Critical severity rating, and Microsoft considers four of those to be high-priority deployments:

• MS10-052 This bulletin resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Microsoft’s MPEG Layer-3 audio codecs. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted media file or receives specially crafted streaming content from a Web site. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the logged-on user.

• MS10-055 This bulletin resolves a privately reported vulnerability in Cinepak Codec, which is used by Windows Media Player to support the .avi audiovisual format. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user opens a specially crafted media file, or receives specially crafted streaming content from a Web site. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the logged-on user.

• MS10-056 This bulletin resolves four privately reported vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office. The most severe vulnerabilities could allow remote code execution if a user opens or previews a specially crafted RTF e-mail message. An attacker who successfully exploited any of these vulnerabilities could gain the same user rights as the local user. Windows Vista and Windows 7 are less exploitable due to additional heap mitigation mechanisms in those operating systems.

• MS10-060 This bulletin resolves two privately reported vulnerabilities, both of which could allow remote code execution, in Microsoft .NET Framework and Microsoft Silverlight.

The six other bulletins offered this month are rated Important. Two of the Important-level bulletins, MS10-047 and MS10-048, are Windows Kernel updates.

As always, Microsoft recommends that customers test and deploy all security updates as soon as they can.

For a closer look at some of the issues involved in these bulletins, our Security Research & Defense (SRD) team writes about MS10-048, MS10-049, and MS10-054 today on its blog.

IE9 started from the premise that the modern web will deliver HTML5 experiences that feel more like native applications than sites. Building on hardware-accelerated SVG, canvas, video, audio, and text, developers will use the power of the whole PC to achieve great performance. On the modern web, developers will use the same markup across different HTML5 browsers.

The fourth Platform Preview of Internet Explorer 9, available now, shows the opportunity of fully hardware-accelerated HTML5. You can run new test drive samples that show modern SVG and native JavaScript integration in action. In March, we promised to deliver platform preview releases approximately every eight weeks. With this installment, you will find more performance and more support for same markup.

Getting sites ready for Beta

With the fourth Platform Preview, we strongly recommend developers, designers, and partners to start getting your sites ready for the IE9 Beta.

• Test your site in IE9 Standards Mode.  This mode provides the best performance and interoperability and will offer additional benefits in the IE9 Beta. We suggest using the HTML5 doctype. More details here and here.
• We recommend sending IE9 the same standards-based markup your site sends other browsers. More details here and here. From the feedback so far, and our experience with sites, the best way to get your site working in IE9 Standards Mode is to start from the same markup other browsers receive rather than IE6, IE7, or IE8 markup.
• Use feature detection, not browser detection to handle any cross browser differences in behavior or feature support.  This keeps your site working even as browsers change.
• Please continue to report issues on Connect if your site doesn’t look or work right, and you’re giving it the same code as you’re giving to other modern browsers. With IE9 Platform Preview 4, we’ve fixed over 100 community-reported issues. We will fix even more between now and the IE9 beta and want your feedback.
• Consider the experience for IE9 Beta users if you find that sending the same markup creates more issues than you can resolve in your production site. It is possible that running your site in Compatibility View is better for your users.
• Take advantage of HTML5, CSS3, SVG, DOM, ES5, and more… all described here in the developer guide.  We’re excited to run the amazing experiences you bring to the web using these new capabilities, taking advantage of hardware through IE9.

Continue at IE Engineering Blog