After years of success with Java tools, Borland Corp. is awarding equal time to Microsoft's C# language.
At the Visual Studio conference, VSLive, in Orlando, Fla., Borland demonstrated its first design and modeling tool that's fully integrated with Microsoft's development environment. The tool, called Together Edition for Microsoft Visual Studio .Net, is Borland's first built in C#, said Michael Faisst, director of product management. Together Edition was demonstrated during a Microsoft keynote on Wednesday.
The Wednesday introduction of Microsoft's new NAS operating system, Windows Storage Server 2003, is aimed at extending the company's OS lead into the storage market and chipping away at the enterprise space currently occupied by Network Appliance.
"The [networked-attached storage] market was dominated by proprietary systems like that of NetApp, which are sold in only one way," said Charles Stevens, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Enterprise Storage Division. "Now the market has a broad choice of configurations and applications that can be customized."
In the coming weeks, Microsoft will unveil its second-generation Broadband Networking product line, which will feature 802.11g wireless products that run at 54Mbps, a dramatic improvement over the current line's 802.11b-based 11Mbps. In addition to the standard desktop and notebook computer wireless adapters and wireless base stations, Microsoft will also unveil an Xbox Wireless Adapter that will let gamers access online multiplayer games wirelessly for the first time. The company will also unveil a new line of PC mouse devices and keyboards.
From Ditto...
Dear Microsoft Windows Update Beta Tester:
Testing Instructions for Update Rollup Beta packages - KB826939
The Windows Update (WU) customer experience is very important to Microsoft. And we believe the input you give us from your beta testing will help us release an update package that represents the best of what Microsoft offers.
Background Information:
This update consists of 22 previously released critical and security updates for Windows XP rolled into one convenient package. Installing this item provides the same results as installing the individual updates.
There will be two versions of the Update Rollup: Full and Express install packages.
- The Full Update Rollup package:
- Will be offered via the WU Catalog site and SUS
- Will only be offered to Windows XP RTM and Windows XP SP1 users
- The Express Update Rollup package:
- Will be offered to WU Consumer site
- Will only be offered to Windows XP SP1 users.
- Will only download and install any of the 22 items not previously been installed on your system. If one of the original 22 individual packages has already been installed on your system, the Express Update Rollup package will not download and install the same item again during the Update Rollup installation.
- Neither Full or Express packages will be offered via Auto Update channel - their detection design ensure that once an update rollup package is installed, neither AU nor the WU Sites will offer individual packages to users.
- The original 22 individual packages will continue to be offered through Auto Update, through SUS and through the WU Catalog.
- The packages' detection design has been established to ensure once the Update Rollup package has been installed either through Consumer or through the WU Catalog or SUS that the original 22 individual packages will not be reoffered through WU Site, Auto Update, or through SUS.
- The Update Rollup Express install package will only install the items which have not previously been installed on your system. If one of the original 22 individual packages has already been installed on your system, the Express Update Rollup package will not install this specific item again.
- Catalog channel will be refreshed with the Update Rollup Full install package. The Full install version of Update Rollup package can be installed on either Windows XP RTM or Windows XP SP1. Update.exe will determine which binary set to install based on SP level.
(NOTE On the WU site, the Update Rollup packages will supersede all 22 contained packages. If WU finds an Update Rollup package is installed, WU will not reoffered contained security and critical updates. If any one of the contained security or critical updates is missing from the customer's computer and user visits WU site, it will offer this update rollup package. Update.exe will only download onlythe required updates.)
Testing Scenarios I:
For this first sample scenario, the user has 10 of the 22 individual update packages installed on their system.
- User only has 10 out of 22 update packages installed - can be verified via Control Panel under Add/Remove Programs NOTE This is not always the case. Certain Updates are un-installable and therefore not showed in Add/Remove programs. In this case, there are two of the 22 items will not show in the Add/Remove Program:
- The Express install version of Update rollup package will still be offered in the Critical Update Category after the site scan.
- Once user has installed this Update rollup, a restart may be required.
- Verification after the install of the Update Rollup package:
- Control Panel / Add/remove programs = All 10 of the items in the Control Panel will be removed and replaced with one item: the Update Rollup package - Update Rollup 1 for Microsoft Windows XP (KB826939).
- WU Site Scan result = none of the 22 individual nor the Update Rollup packages will be offered.
- AU = none of the 22 individual packages will be offered via AU after the Update Rollup package is installed. How ever, for the current beta stage:
- All 22 individual update packages will continue to be offered via AU and SUS - September 10 through September 24. So users will continue to have AU offering anyone or all of the 22 individual update packages. Please see the update list below for your reference.
- Once this Update Rollup release to WU live, none of the 22 individual packages will be offered via AU or SUS.
Thank you!
Windows Update Beta Program
When it comes to failed investments, Microsoft's history of ventures in cable television ranks down there with the XFL, New Coke and "Gigli." The company has spent years wooing the cable industry with billions of dollars and the promise of high-tech innovation that would revolutionize the way people watch television. But after all this time, the closest it has come to getting into most televisions is through its own commercials.
Twenty-two critical security fixes to be part of the interim service-pack release. Microsoft has been wavering as to its Windows XP service-pack plans. But now it appears that the Redmond software maker is, indeed, going to issue a service pack prior XP Service Pack 2, which is expected around the third quarter of next year.
The full version is designed to provide users with either all of the security fixes since XP was introduced in 2001 or those released since XP SP1 was introduced in the fall of 2002. The express version will provide security updates issued since SP1 only.
The test period for the interim rollup is short; it runs through September 24. Company watchers expect Microsoft to make it available soon thereafter.
What a turn of events! First the blessed SCO case and now reports that Linux is much more expensive to run then Windows.
Only Microsoft users on older versions of its desktop operating systems are likely to get any benefit from migrating to Linux, according to a new report by Gartner.
The report said the operating system and PC represent less than a third of the total cost of ownership and that migration should only be considered in a few situations. Michael Silver, VP and research director at Gartner, said in a statement that other costs such as labour, training and external services should be taken into account.
He said organisations should compare the costs and savings of a move to Linux with the cost and savings to upgrade to a newer version of Windows as the total cost of ownership will vary depending on which version of Windows is being considered, according to Gartner.
Microsoft launched on Wednesday the Windows Storage Server 2003 operating system, accompanied by support from companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Veritas Software. Such backing gives momentum to Microsoft's bid to move into the higher end of the storage market through its new OS. Storage Server 2003 is designed for network-attached storage (NAS) devices, which are dedicated computers that serve up files and data to computer users on a network.
As part of Microsoft's announcement, HP unveiled the HP StorageWorks NAS 2000s, which runs Storage Server 2003. The product can handle up to 24 terabytes of data and is geared toward customers that have storage and server consolidation needs at the departmental or remote office level, according to HP. A version of the NAS 2000s with 580GB will cost $8,295, said Harry Baeverstad, director of HP's NAS business segment.
As expected, Microsoft announced Wednesday the availability of Windows Storage Server 2003. The file and print server solution, whose release was announced at the Storage Decisions 2003 conference in Chicago, will be available through OEMs including Dell, EMC, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Hewlett-Packard, Inline, Iomega, Maxxan Systems and NEC, the company said.
Microsoft has shipped two editions of the storage product, formerly known as Windows Powered Network Attached Storage (NAS). The enterprise edition is aimed at the corporate data center, while the standard edition is aimed at departments, branch offices and SMBs.
Sun Microsystems Chief Scientist and co-founder Bill Joy is leaving the company after 21 years of service. Joy's departure is amicable, and not related to any strategy disagreements, both Joy and Sun were quick to point out. However, the loss of such a brilliant and well-respected scientist at such a critical juncture in Sun's history will be hard on the company: Despite its reputation of supplying corporations with rock-solid UNIX-based solutions, Sun has struggled in recent years as low-cost upstarts based on Windows and Linux eat away at the company's revenues.