WinInsider

Microprocessor giant Intel is developing a technology called Remote Wake that will allow users to remotely wake up their sleeping PCs via the Web on other PCs or mobile devices. The technology is aimed both at consumers and businesses, and can be used to remotely retrieve files or place Internet phone calls to PCs that would otherwise be unaware of the call.Remote Wake requires new Intel chips that will be included on a number of PC motherboards that will hit the market beginning next month. Given the supplier, the technology is expected to become a standard component of most PCs over the next year or so. For it to work, the PC must be in "sleep" mode and not completely turned off.

The Microsoft Learning Group has extended its popular "Second-Shot" exam retake program. According to information posted on the Microsoft Learning Web site, the program this time will continue until June 30, 2009.

The exam retake program provides MCP test takers with a second chance to pass a failed exam, and can be taken once for every paid exam. Test takers must register prior to taking an exam in order to obtain an electronic voucher for an exam retake if the tester fails an exam.

One of Microsoft's flashiest gizmos will be made available to guests of Sheraton Hotels & Resorts in five cities, including Seattle, under a pilot program that began Wednesday.

Sheraton has installed Microsoft Surface tabletop computers in selected U.S. hotel lobbies, with some specialized applications that take advantage of the touch-screen Surface machines.

One program, for example, is meant to let people explore the neighborhood around the hotel using Microsoft's Virtual Earth application.

Microsoft has been fairly reticent about the development of the next client version of its Windows OS, code-named Windows 7. But in a blog entry Thursday, Microsoft said it will finally give developers their first in-depth look at the OS at its forthcoming Professional Developers Conference in October.

"We, as a team, definitely learned some lessons about 'disclosure' and how we can all too easily get ahead of ourselves in talking about features before our understanding of them is solid," they wrote. "Our intent with Windows 7 and the pre-release communication is to make sure that we have a reasonable degree of confidence in what we talk about when we do talk."

Virtualization industry observers expect Microsoft to eliminate a licensing restriction that has hampered the mobility of virtual servers, perhaps as soon as next week.

Just this week, a Microsoft spokesperson said the company will announce licensing changes next Tuesday.

"As server virtualization becomes more mainstream, Microsoft will be announcing new licensing and support policies to help customers make their data centers and enterprise IT more dynamic on August 19," Microsoft said.

The exact changes haven't been revealed. Lifting the 90-day restriction would give Microsoft customers an ideal set of licensing policies for virtual environments, according to a January report written by Wolf titled "Virtualization Licensing and Support Lethargy: Curing the Disease that Stalls Virtualization Adoption.

Bill Gates showed he means to keep up with Microsoft's research efforts despite retiring from his day-to-day role earlier this summer by attending a ceremony in Hong Kong Tuesday night to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Microsoft Research Asia. The regional arm to Microsoft Research, which boasts a hefty budget of US$8.1 billion this year, was opened in 1998 to take advantage of local talent.

"When I visited China in 1997, I was deeply impressed by the talent, the enthusiasm and the creativity of the Chinese university students I met," Gates is quoted as saying on the Microsoft Research Web site.

Service pack releases for the .Net Framework and Visual Studio aren't always so substantial, but Microsoft claims significant improved performance to go along with a long list of new features in .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 and Visual Studio 2008 SP1, released Monday.

Microsoft product unit manager Shanku Niyogi said in an interview that developers will see a "significant increase" in the scalability of .Net applications written for both client and server. On the server side, improvements in the Windows Communication Foundation allow servers to host applications that are 10 to 20 times larger than they were in the past via new support for asynchronous Web services.

Microsoft has announced that the Xbox 360 will come with 60GB of storage capacity as standard from Friday.The new model, featuring a 200 percent increase in storage, will cost the same as the 20GB model it replaces - 200 (US$400).

"Now the Xbox 360 has triple the space to house all your entertainment needs at no extra cost," said Neil Thompson, senior regional director, Entertainment and Devices Division, Microsoft. "We know consumers need increasingly more and more space to store the amazing digital entertainment content we provide.

"Microsoft offers three Xbox 360s in the U.K. As well as the 60GB version, the Xbox 360 Arcade - which come with 256MB of memory and five Xbox LIVE Arcade games - is available for 160, while the Xbox 360 Elite - featuring a 120GB drive - costs 260..

Reaffirming its commitment to interoperate with open source software and other platforms, Microsoft recently announced its partnership with the Commission on Information and Communications Technology and the National Computer Center for the establishment of the first Microsoft open source Interoperability laboratory in Asia-Pacific.

Scheduled to be operational in September, the interoperability lab is expected to promote the development of interoperable technologies that would allow Filipino developers to come up with more creative and innovative solutions that cater to a wider audience.

Microsoft has decided not to release a 2009 version of its personal finance application Money Plus and would release future versions only on the Web.

Microsoft Money VP Bob Peel said in a company blog this week that feedback from customers indicated that incremental updates didn't merit a new product every year.

"We are moving off of an annual release cycle for Microsoft Money Plus (no Money 2009 version in the fall), with future release dates TBD [to be determined]," Peel said.