Microsoft Reissues Outlook 2007 Update

By DustinPosted on

After a blunder in December over an update for Outlook 2007 which caused slow loading, connection issues and automatic archiving, Microsoft has re-released the update fixing the original issue without the major side effects. If you are using Office 2007 and Outlook 2007, be sure to grab this update.

Microsoft has pulled the plug on updates before. In April, it retracted a patch for Windows 2000 — which at the time was still supported — over what it called “quality issues.” And in early 2008, the company yanked an update designed to prep Windows Vista for Service Pack 1 (SP1) after users flooded support forums with tales of endless reboots.

Game Sales Down; XBox Sales Up

By DustinPosted on

While video game sales are generally down, the XBox 360 has been enjoying the extra sales. These are probably attributed to the Kinect system bringing in a lot of new customers. They sold so much in December that they ran out and had to eat into the production of January and February.

In order to make those numbers happen, Microsoft said it made available units from its January and February production runs. “Despite this, Microsoft still experienced out of supply situations in late December, and it expects supply constraint to continue in January and February as it works with retail and manufacturing partners to expedite production and shipments to replenish the channel,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement, confirming news of the shortages from earlier in the day.

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 RTM Coming

By DustinPosted on

Rumors have it that the RTM (Release to Manufacturer) of Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 and Server 2008R2 is finally being released to OEM’s today. This should be the final release of the SP, no more betas or release candidates.

In a blog posting on Thursday, Microsoft’s Russian Windows Virtualization team confirmed that the final build of Windows 7 SP1 is 7601.17514.win7sp1_rtm.101119-1850. The Russian site also explains that the Service Pack will be available publicly today. Microsoft generally releases Service Packs on a Tuesday so it’s not clear whether the Russian technet post is referring to a public release to select partners or a full web release. WinRumors understand the software giant will ship the release to its OEM partners today but that a web release is expected at a later date.

UPDATE: Apparently, the service pack has already hit the torrent sites. While I’m not going to post public links to the files, I can at least make sure you get the correct one. MD5 hashes:

X86: 4BF28FC00D86C936C89E2D91EF46758B

X64: 28D3932F714BF71D78E75D36AA2E0FB8

Microsoft Excel is Celebrating 25th Birthday

By DustinPosted on

Happy 25th Birthday, Excel! It’s been one heck of two and a half decades. I remember you from DOS days. I wasn’t very good at it then, either! I’m not bad, but nothing to call myself an expert. I have family & friends for that! I don’t use it for anything major. Follow the link for a nice history lesson on the great Microsoft Excel.

Here at Microsoft, we are celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Microsoft Excel by taking a look through its compelling and dramatic history, which is filled with great tech tidbits. In this video, we talk to Scott Oki, Charles Simonyi, Jeff Raikes, and other visionaries behind Excel. We go back to the beginning of the story with Multiplan, MS-DOS, and Lotus 1-2-3.  The initial codename for Excel was “Odyssey” and that project kicked off in 1983. Now, watch to learn more. Part Two will air tomorrow.

Microsoft Official Social Network Accounts

By DustinPosted on

Microsoft is active in many social networks, from Facebook to Twitter. However, finding their correct, official accounts can be a chore at times. This is a compilation on Twitter and Facebook accounts for the REAL Microsoft Corporation. If anyone has any more that should be added to this list, please feel free to let me know!

Twitter:

@MSWindows – Microsoft Windows.
@WindowsLive – Microsoft Windows Live.
@MajorNelson – Major Nelson, aka Larry Hryb of the Xbox 360 group.
@liveframework – Live Framework.
@livemesh – Sync, share, and access the information you want.
@SharePoint – SharePoint product group – managed by @LLiu.
@bizspark – Microsoft BizSpark for startup companies.
@zunemarketplace – Zune Marketplace for the Zune media player.
@wmdev – Windows Mobile development
@microsofttag – Microsoft Tag
@ch9 – listen to the cockpit, help us fly the plane
@ch10 – Channel 10 is Microsoft’s online community for the technology enthusiast.
@ch8 – Microsoft’s community for students.
@mixonline – Come check us out at www.visitmix.com
@MicrsftTech4All – News from the Microsoft accessability crew.
@MSDN – Updates from the MSDN site team.
@adCenterBlog – News, Tips, Tricks & Best Practices From Microsoft adCenter
@MVPBuzz – News and information from the MVP team (Microsoft Most Valuable Professional)
@Bing – Bing Search Engine
@MSFTnews – Official news for MSFT Corporation
@Microsoft_EDU – Microsoft Education
@msdynamicscrm – Microsoft Dynamics
@msftdynamicserp – Microsoft Dynamics ERP marketing team
@msdyncomm – Microsoft Dynamics Community
@MSproductivity – Productivity tips from the Enterprise team
@MSPlatformReady
@office365 – Microsoft’s online Office 365
@teched – TechEd, Microsofts annual conference
@mspartner – For Microsoft Partners
@msdn – Updates from the MSDN Site
@windowsphone – Windows Phone updates and tips
@sharepoint – Sharepoint Team
@ie – Internet Explorer
@windowsazure – Windows Azure
@visualstudio – Visual Studio
@WP7Expert – Windows Phone 7 information for retailers

Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/Microsoft – Microsoft US
http://www.facebook.com/MicrosoftCanada – Microsoft Canada
http://www.facebook.com/MSSharePoint – Microsoft Sharepoint
http://www.facebook.com/MicrosoftCareers – Careers at Microsoft
http://www.facebook.com/MicrosoftStore – Microsoft Store
http://www.facebook.com/sinofsky – Steven Sinofsky, head of the Microsoft Windows team
http://www.facebook.com/MicrosoftExpression – Microsoft Expression
http://www.facebook.com/microsofttag – Microsoft Tag
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Microsoft-NET/22354871088 – Microsoft .Net Developers
http://www.facebook.com/Office – The Microsoft Office page
http://www.facebook.com/MVPAwardProgram – The Microsoft MVP Program
http://www.facebook.com/Bing#!/pages/Microsoft-Community-Contributor/113784705335192 – Microsoft Community Contributor Page
http://www.facebook.com/Bing – Bing Search Engine

IE9 RC Features New Tabs Under Address Bar Feature

By DustinPosted on

One of the biggest complaints about IE9 Beta has been the location of the tabs in relation to the address bar. I haven’t had any issues with it, but Microsoft has responded by allowing users to move the tabs to below the address bar. Of course, this isn’t good enough for everyone, some of which would rather have it ABOVE the address bar.

Microsoft is currently testing builds of Internet Explorer 9 that include the ability to re-position the tabs to below the address bar. The current public beta build does not include this capability and Microsoft is expected to build this into the Release Candidate. Users can turn the functionality on by selecting “show tabs below address bar” after right clicking in the tab area of Internet Explorer 9 (see video below). The option will address some complaints from the public beta.

Microsoft’s Response To Google’s Removal of H.264

By DustinPosted on

Google’s removal of the H.264 codec in their browser, Chrome, has had some heated discussion online lately. Microsoft has responded to their goof in a humorous way, and in a very true way.

“We expect even more communication between people in the coming year and are therefore focusing our investments in languages that are created based on constructed language principles. To that end, we are changing the spoken and written language of this nation to make it consistent with the form of speech already supported by the Language Creation Society.

Specifically, we are supporting the Esperanto and Klingon languages, and will consider adding support for other high-quality constructed languages in the future. Though English plays an important role in speech today, as our goal is to enable open innovation, its further use as a form of communication in this country will be prohibited and our resources directed towards languages that are untainted by real-world usage.”

Windows Home Server “Vail” Expires – Workaround To Extend

By DustinPosted on

Microsoft’s new Windows Home Server edition beta 1, codenamed “Vail”, is set to expire very soon. But, with the release of Beta 2 still not on the schedule, Microsoft has released a workaround to extend the expiration date. Here is how they tell you to do it:

“Today the WHS beta expires, and as such moves into Windows Server 2008 R2 Expiry mode (where the server will reboot hourly).  It is important to note that – No data is lost during an expiry, and users will still be able to access the server if needed to.

“The beta is built on an evaluation copy of Windows Server 2008 R2, where the eval expiry is hard coded during beta development (and as such cannot be easily changed).  However working with our engineering team, there is now a workaround using Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 RC.  This will extend the expiry to mid-March.

“To extend the expiry, please follow the directions below

1.    Install WS08 R2 SP1 RC on the server from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?familyId=c3202ce6-4056-4059-8a1b-3a9b77cdfdda&hash=2SduI20oa3rGcMvoU%2bPV1TVHUik%2f3CNeLRmMuOcJXzz13kgszkD2VWTIpb%2bAS0in9K12Sc14FpC3sdT4PNXCUw%3d%3d
2.    Logon on https://connect.microsoft.com/WindowsHomeServer with your connect credentials
3.    Click on Product keys (in the left hand side column)
4.    Click on Request a new product key
5.    Click on Get Key
6.    In Windows Home Server, open a command prompt
7.    Type “slmgr.vbs -ipk ABCDE-FGHIJ-KLMNO-PQRST-UVWXY” (where ABCDE.. is your new key as requested above)
8.    Type “slmgr.vbs –ato”
9.    Reboot the server, and your beta timeframe has been extended.  You can check this by opening up a command prompt and typing winver.

More Microsoft Senior Shuffle: Bob Muglia Leaving

By DustinPosted on

More movement in the senior crew at Microsoft, with the President of Microsoft’s Server and Tools Business division (STB), Bob Muglia, leaving this summer. Who will be his replacement is up in the air, but there is speculation that Amitabh Srivastava, from Windows Azure fame, will take his place.

Image Courtesy of D. Begley (Flickr)

From: Steve Ballmer
Sent: Monday, January 10, 2011
To: Microsoft – All Employees
Subject: STB – Building on Success, Moving Forward

We enter this new decade with STB providing the platform for today’s business solutions, and uniquely well-positioned to drive the future of cloud computing.   I believe STB will continue to lead the industry with outstanding products and services for our customers and exceptional results for our business.

Thanks,
Steve

There are very few $15B businesses in the software industry, and Microsoft is the only company that has built three of them.  While Windows and Office are household words, our Server and Tools Business has quietly and steadily grown to be the unquestioned leader in server computing.  We have driven the industry forward and established the foundation for an entire generation of business applications.  We have overcome significant competitive challenges.  Over the past twenty years, the outstanding leadership from everyone involved in STB has made it a $15B business today.

We are now ready to build on our success and move forward into the era of cloud computing.  Once again, Microsoft and our STB team are defining the future of business computing.  In October, we completed an incredibly successful PDC where we detailed the future of the cloud, outlining Platform as a Service and demonstrating the rapid advancement of Windows Azure.

The best time to think about change is when you are in a position of strength, and that’s where we are today with STB – leading the server business, successful with our developer tools, and poised to lead the rapidly emerging cloud future.  Bob Muglia and I have been talking about the overall business and what is needed to accelerate our growth. In this context, I have decided that now is the time to put new leadership in place for STB. This is simply recognition that all businesses go through cycles and need new and different talent to manage through those cycles. Bob has been a phenomenal partner throughout this process, and he and his leadership team have the right strategy in place.

In conjunction with this leadership change, Bob has decided to leave Microsoft this summer. He will continue to actively run STB as I conduct an internal and external search for the new leader.  Bob will onboard the new leader and will also complete additional projects for me.

Bob has been a founder and leader of our server business from its earliest inception.  He has led our Developer, Office, and Mobile Devices Divisions, and key parts of Windows NT and our Online Services business.  I’ve worked with him in many capacities over the years and I’ve always appreciated his customer focus, technical depth, people leadership skills, and his positive energy. I want to thank Bob for his hard work, many accomplishments, and his focus on putting Microsoft first for 23 years.

Windows 8 Introduced At CES

By DustinPosted on

CES is always a great time of year, especially with all the announcements of new gadgets and software. Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer and Steven Sinofsky showcased some new features of Windows 8, mostly the SoC (System on a Chip) with ARM based processors. They haven’t name dropped Windows 8 yet, only referring to it as the New Version of Windows. Not much else has been mentioned with any new features or UI details, so hopefully those will come soon after CES at another trade show. With the ARM announcement, it shows that the New Version of Windows will run on more than just PC’s and Laptops, and will be focused on multiple devices like tablets and other portable devices.

“With today’s announcement, we’re showing the flexibility and resiliency of Windows through the power of software and a commitment to world-class engineering. We continue to evolve Windows to deliver the functionality customers demand across the widest variety of hardware platforms and form factors,” Sinofsky said.
“The announcement is just the start of our dialog with a broad community around Windows and, as with Windows 7, we will be engaging in the broadest pre-release program of any operating system. So there is a lot more to come,” He added further.