Buy a PC Now, Upgrade to Windows Vista After Launch 25 Oct 2006, 12:23 am

Today we're announcing something you've all been waiting for -- information on the upgrade process for those of you who are planning to buy a new PC in the coming months but prior to the Windows Vista launch.  Well, now you can have both (and Office to boot)!

Here's the scoop:

PCs loaded with Windows XP or pre-installed with 2003 Microsoft Office software can be upgraded via the Express Upgrade to Windows Vista and Microsoft Office Technology Guarantee program.  Express Upgrade will be available to consumers and small businesses from 26 Oct 2006 through 15 March 2007.

Check out the Express Upgrade site for details.

Windows Vista 

Windows Vista upgrades may be offered for free or at a discounted price (shipping and handling charges may also apply), so it pays to check with the particular PC manufacturer for details specific to their offer.

Consider looking for "Windows Vista Capable" PCs designated as "Premium Ready," as these PCs are designed to deliver the core Windows Vista experience.  PCs carrying only the "Windows Vista Capable" logo may be eligible for the program, but the offer may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer.  Go here for more information about Windows Vista Capable and Premium Ready PCs. 

If you purchase a PC running Windows XP this holday, you should remember to take into account the upgrade path of the SKU you purchase.  In the US, the upgrade path looks like this (but will vary by region):

Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 --> Windows Vista Home Premium (nominal fee)

Windows XP Professional --> Windows Vista Business (nominal fee)

Windows XP Tablet PC Edition --> Windows Vista Business (nominal fee)

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition --> Windows Vista Business 64 (nominal fee)

Meanwhile, upgrades of this type:

Windows XP Home Edition --> Windows Vista Home Basic

Windows XP Home Edition --> Windows Vista Home Premium

... are both available at 50% discount from the boxed product upgrade price, plus shipping and handling.

Office

You can upgrade to the comparable edition of 2007 Microsoft Office when you purchase a PC pre-installed with qualifying Microsoft Office 2003 software.  More details are at the Express Upgrade site.

Boxed Product (FPP)

Similar programs are available region-by-region for upgrading both Microsoft Office 2003 and Windows XP FPP to Windows Vista and 2007 Microsoft Office; your local retailer will have the particulars.

So with this program, you can buy a PC with Windows XP now and upgrade it to Windows Vista once we've launched commercially.  How's that for making your purchasing decision a little easier?

Microsoft LifeCam Support Coming for Windows Vista 23 Oct 2006, 5:26 pm

I've noticed a few discussions out in the community on how Microsoft’s great new LifeCams don’t quite work yet with Windows Vista.

Well, to find out for myself, I just bought the Microsoft LifeCam VX-3000 this weekend.  I’m happy to say I am currently testing beta drivers for the LifeCams, to which Windows Vista Technical Beta testers also have access to (via Microsoft Connect).  No need to worry if you're not part of that program -- drivers are coming full-speed ahead for these neat new webcams which will work very well on Windows Vista.

Have You Seen the Windows Vista Tips and Tricks Website? 20 Oct 2006, 2:02 am

Looking for a handy resource for tips and tricks to get the most out of Windows Vista?  No need to wait for RTM -- we've provided the Windows Vista Tips and Tricks Website for you to get acquainted with all the resources needed for making Windows Vista run exactly the way you want it.  Check it out at the Windows Vista Tips and Tricks Website.

My favorite tip is under the Top 10 Tips and Tricks:  #6 is on Windows Meeting Space, which allows two Windows Vista users to create an ad hoc network and share documents or desktops without connecting to the Internet.

What's your favorite tip or trick?  Got one that's not listed on the Website?  Let me know via the Comments section ...

IE7 for Windows XP Launches Today 19 Oct 2006, 3:55 am

After lots of late hours and a few pre-release builds, the IE Team is happy (and a bit relieved) to say that the final version of Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP has arrived.  You can now download  IE7 for Windows XP in English from either the IE site or the Windows Download Center.  Look for IE7 in other Windows-supported languages over the coming weeks.

We expect millions of customers will upgrade to IE7 because it’s safer and easier.  Some e-commerce and financial services companies like Paypal and VeriSign are endorsing IE7 because of its improved security for online transactions.

For those of you who haven’t heard yet, we’re going to start distributing IE7 in English as a high-priority update thru Automatic Updates.  If you're an IT professional and have customers who want to manage their internal deployment of IE7, you should recommend they have blocking measures in place by 1 November.  We think it’ll take several months to complete the distribution worldwide.

The IE Team still encourages Windows XP users to upgrade to Windows Vista when it becomes available to receive the additional benefits of IE7 in Windows Vista, such as parental controls and Protected Mode.  Windows Vista is targeted to be available to volume license customers in November and all other customers in January 2007, although as we’ve said before, the exact delivery date will be driven by the quality of the final product.

And finally, if you run into any glitches with IE7, we’ll be supporting it with free, unlimited phone support for consumers throughout the product life cycle.  So upgrade with confidence and let your friends and family know how secure and easy the web can be with IE7.

eWeek Labs Praises Windows Vista’s UAC 18 Oct 2006, 4:39 am

eWeek Labs recently took some time to dig deeper into Windows Vista’s User Access Control (UAC), praising Microsoft for their dedication to securing Windows Vista.  "With Vista's UAC, Microsoft has finally gotten serious about securing the Windows operating system by limiting a user's rights during day-to-day computer usage," Andrew Garcia from eWeek writes.  Andrew also says that UAC "finally brings the Windows operating system up to speed with just about every other major operating system available today."

Check out more of eWeek's findings on UAC. 

Whatever happened to… ? 17 Oct 2006, 9:46 pm

Over the past several months Microsoft has acquired some incredible desktop management technologies including those from Softricity, Winternals, DesktopStandard, and AssetMetrix. Since then, many of you have wanted know how we are going offer these capabilities in a Microsoft solution.

Today we are happy to announce the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance. A desktop management solution designed to complement Windows Vista Enterprise to provide even higher levels of manageability for desktops and software assets.

Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance includes:

·         Microsoft SoftGrid, an application virtualization and streaming solution that can deliver applications to users in seconds, without being locally installed, on any PC they login to. Virtualization also resolves many application compatibility conflicts because each application can run with the version of a supporting file that it needs.

·         Microsoft Asset Inventory Services, which analyzes all programs on employee PCs, reducing the labor and guesswork that often stymies attempts to inventory the applications on the PCs within an organization and turns that into intelligent reports and analysis.

·         Microsoft Advanced Group Policy Management, which provides versioning, history, and rollback of Group Policy settings, along with delegation and role based administration.

·         Microsoft Diagnostic and Recovery Toolset, designed to help IT departments quickly pinpoint the causes of PC troubles, recover lost data, and reduce future downtime with post-crash analysis.

Like Windows Vista Enterprise, Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack will only be available to customers who have PCs covered by Microsoft Software Assurance or a Microsoft Enterprise Agreement. This is another example of delivering on our commitment that Software Assurance will continue to provide the most cost-effective and flexible means of managing the Windows desktop.

This pack will be available worldwide in January 2007. For those already planning your Windows Vista deployments in your enterprise, it should reassuring to know that you will have an even richer set of tools available to you to manage those deployed desktops. You can learn more about the Optimization Pack in this article and at http://www.windowsvista.com/optimizeddesktop.

-          Alex Heaton

Managing your Photos with Windows Vista 17 Oct 2006, 8:06 am

I have over 2 years' worth of digital camera photos taken from events and travels -- managing that with Windows XP is next to impossible outside organizing them in folders by date.  Windows Vista right out of the box offers incredible ways to manage your digital photos using Windows Photo Gallery -- so I can now organize my photos exactly the way I want.

Import and Fix Your Photos

Windows Photo Gallery gives you full control over your photos.  Import your photos from your camera or scanner and "fix" them directly within Windows Photo Gallery.  Crop your photos or fix "red-eye" or adjust the coloring.  Let’s say I want to crop a picture I took from my recent vacation to Greece:

What if I don’t like the changes I've made to a photo?  Windows Photo Gallery allows you to "roll back" to the original file by choosing the "Revert to Original" command.  This way you can make sure you adjust your photos to exactly the way you want them, and are free make any and all changes you may wish to, and recover from those changes you don't wish to apply.

Tag Your Photos With Information

Windows Vista allows for extensive file tagging to organize files, and Windows Photo Gallery takes full advantage of this.  Add captions to your photos or tag the files themselves very easily in Windows Photo Gallery.  All you have to do is click "Info" on the top toolbar after selecting the desired photo to which you’d like to add information.

You can add as many tags as you’d like to any given photo.  Here I’ve added three tags.  Once you add tags and a caption to your photo, those settings stick with that specific photo in Windows Photo Gallery and throughout Windows Vista.  If you browse to that photo in Windows Explorer, Windows Vista’s enhanced shell will display the tags, ratings and captions you've set in Windows Photo Gallery.  Tagging your files also provides faster search results for the specific types of photos you’re looking for.

Stay tuned for part 2 of my two-part post on managing your photos with Windows Photo Gallery.  In the meantime, you can also check out the Microsoft Photography Blog and get the low-down from the team that brought you Windows Photo Gallery.

Windows Connections 2006: Are you ready for a new day? 15 Oct 2006, 12:58 am

More news for IT Pros from Alex Heaton:

I wanted to let you know about an upcoming opportunity to get in-depth information on Windows Vista to help IT professionals planning their deployments.  The Windows Connections 2006 event is happening November 6-9^th in Las Vegas, Nevada.  This is one of many events happening around the world to help business get ready for the arrival of Windows Vista, the 2007 Microsoft Office System, and Exchange Server 2007.

This conference will cover:

• Keynote presentations from Ron Markezich, Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Managed Solutions at Microsoft; Steve Riley, Senior Security Strategist at Microsoft; and Mark Minasi.
• 10 Windows Vista Sessions
• And 15 demo sessions that cover Windows Vista, the 2007 Microsoft Office System, and Exchange Server 2007.

This event is sure to sell out so book now if you want to go.  I’ll  be providing details about other events happening too.

-          Alex Heaton

Visiting Digital Life this Week? Come by the Microsoft Blogger Lounge 12 Oct 2006, 8:11 am

If you find yourself in New York City this week, perhaps attending Digital Life, I invite you to come by and meet some of the team in person.  We're putting on a Blogger Lounge specifically for members of the community who write commentaries of their own, as well as read this blog.

The great thing is that we've scheduled the Lounge to be open all day, with special emphasis on the early morning and late afternoon, so as not to interfere with the show.

Here's the scoop:

Unwind at the
Microsoft Blogger Lounge

New York Marriott Marquis
1535 Broadway, New York, NY 10036
Suite 4410

The Lounge is open all day Oct. 12th & 13th
7 a.m. for breakfast postings
4 p.m. for happy hour blogging
 
Chill before or after a day at Digital Life and post stories in the Blogger Lounge

Savor a cold drink, sink into a bean bag chair, sample some technology and snack away
 
In the Blogger Lounge you can find:

• Wireless access
• The newest from Windows Vista & AMD
• Logitech gear
• Nvidia gaming systems
• As always, food and drinks

Drop by!

Virtual PC 2007 Beta: Free and Available Now 12 Oct 2006, 1:15 am

Alex Heaton has some news to share with Virtual PC 2007 beta that was released today.  In his own words....

Virtual PC 2007 Beta is now available as a free download from connect.microsoft.com.  Virtual PC 2007 is optimized to work well for Windows Vista as both the host and guest OS.  This version works with both 32-bit Vista and 64-bit Vista as the host operating system as well as Windows XP and has improved performance including support for hardware virtualization technologies from AMD and Intel.  So now you have an easy way to try out Windows Vista, even if you are reluctant to replace the OS on one your existing PCs; or if you have already taken the plunge you can spin up a legacy operating system in a virtual machine on your Windows Vista machine. 

To install Windows Vista in a virtual machine

Dig out your Windows Vista RC DVDs or downloaded ISOs and I’ll show you how to get them up on running using Virtual PC (VPC) 2007.

1.       Download VPC 2007 and install it. Start Virtual PC and select New to start the New Virtual Machine Wizard.  As you go through the wizard: select Create a virtual machine, specify where you want to store the virtual machine file, select Windows Vista as the operating system, you can keep the default memory, select new virtual hard disk, specify where you want to save the virtual hard disk (you can keep the defaults), and click Finish.

2.       In the Virtual PC Console, select the virtual machine you just created, and click Start.  Now you are basically booting up a PC with no OS installed, and you need to install Windows Vista onto this virtual image.  You should see the follow prompt in your Virtual PC window:

What you do next depends on what type of Windows Vista media you have. 

·         If you have a DVD, put it into your drive now and press ENTER.

·         If you downloaded an ISO, go to the CD menu and choose Capture ISO image.  Now browse to and open the Windows Vista ISO.

Now follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation and you’ll have Windows Vista running on Windows XP!

Note: VPC is a great way to experiment with some of the functionality of Windows Vista.  But it should not be used to judge the full experience of Windows Vista as some features virtualize better than others.  For example, performance of any operating system will typically not be as high in a virtual environment as it would be when running natively.  Also note that while you can try out many of the great new features such as user account control, integrated search, the sidebar etc. virtualization technology is not yet suitable for use with 3D graphics so Aero Glass is not available and save the DirectX 10 gaming to your physical PC.

To install Windows XP in a virtual machine

For those not familiar with Virtual PC, it also works the other way around—you can run Windows XP or an earlier OS on Windows Vista.  This can be helpful if you have an older application that does not work well in Windows Vista.  Follow a similar process to that described above except choose the operating system you want to install, capture the ISO or insert the DVD and you are off and running.

Keep in mind that while Virtual PC 2007 is a completely free program Windows is not.  You will need to have a license for any Windows OS that you run in a virtual environment.  This is not an issue if you are using beta versions of Windows Vista but in a production environment you need a license.  If you use virtual machines a lot and you are an enterprise customer you may consider obtaining Windows Vista Enterprise, which also includes rights to run up to 4 additional copies of Windows in a virtual machine using a technology such as Virtual PC for a single license price.

You can learn more about Virtual PC http://www.microsoft.com/virtualpc and Virtual PC Guy's Weblog.

-          Alex Heaton

Closure of RC2, Feedback Handling in the New York Times, and Licensing Information for Windows 11 Oct 2006, 2:08 am

As you've probably already surmised, downloads of Windows Vista RC2 for the Customer Preview Program (CPP) have now closed and the links are no longer active.  We were bowled over by your response to RC2 -- in fact, we hit our download target (200K+) within 72 hours of propping the files!  This is an incredible response.

Special thanks go out to everyone who participated in the CPP by downloading and installing this new build, and please keep the feedback coming -- it makes a huge difference.

If you want another take on how your feedback helps and how the team tracks it, check out this story in the tech section of the New York Times.  (The story also has a good photo of the Life Cycle team -- that’s Sven Hallauer, Director of the Life Cycle team, in the black t-shirt, second from the left.  For more from Sven on the process of getting builds out to the public and what RC2 is all about, check out this podcast).

The amount of information coming out of the Windows Team between now and business availability in November is going to be daunting, but we’re really excited about Windows Vista and we know you are, too, so we’ll do our best to give you as much detail as soon and as often as we can.

On that note, today MS.com published the retail license terms for Windows Vista; you can find them here.  Two notable changes between Windows Vista license terms and those for Windows XP are: 1) failure of a validation check results in the loss of access to specific features (this is the SPP news you’ve likely been reading about this past week); and 2) an increase in our warranty period from 90 days to 1 year, which brings Windows in line with most other Microsoft products.

More News on Windows Mobile Device Center Beta 3 11 Oct 2006, 12:54 am

You already know that a new version of the Windows Mobile Device Center (WMDC) Beta has been released for Windows Vista RC1; its build number is 6.0.6526.  WMDC Beta 3 enables you to setup new partnerships, synchronize content and manage music, pictures and video with any Windows Mobile 2003- or Windows Mobile 5-powered device.

The Windows Mobile Device Center Beta is currently available as a stand-alone installation here.  In a few weeks it will be available through Windows Update.

Although formal support is not offered for this Beta release, you're encouraged to use newsgroups to help answer your questions.  The Windows Mobile also welcome your feedback at dcinput@microsoft.com.

Introducing Alex Heaton, Our New IT and Business Blogger 10 Oct 2006, 11:57 pm

As we get close to the business availability of Windows Vista, we'll want to provide more information specifically for IT professionals to help them get ready for their Windows Vista deployments.  To help out, one of my teammates, Alex Heaton, will become a regular contributor here on the blog, focusing on issues that impact organizational IT professionals (IT pros) and decision-makers who plan how and when to deploy Windows Vista in their organizations.  Previously, Alex has been managing the Windows Vista Security and User Account Control blogs.  Alex’s first post will be the initial in a series about upcoming events that will help IT pros get ready for Windows Vista.

Windows Mobile Device Center for Windows Vista Now Available 7 Oct 2006, 1:50 am

Windows Mobile Program Manager Mel Sampat tells us that Windows Mobile Device Center (Beta 3) is finally here for Public Download for Windows Vista RC1 and higher.

Head over to the Windows Mobile Device Center webpage at Microsoft.com to download!

Windows Vista RC2 is now available to technical beta testers! 6 Oct 2006, 11:15 pm

Today, Microsoft is excited to announce the availability of Windows Vista RC2 to Technical Beta Testers, TAP Testers, and MSDN/TechNet subscribers. This new build of Windows Vista offers users a higher level of performance and stability – improving what was established in Windows Vista RC1. We were able to also fix many of your bugs reported from RC1 and implement them for RC2. Thank you to our beta testers for the bugs and feedback you submitted for RC1. The improvement shows as we raised our quality bar even higher!

Platforms and Services Co-President Jim Allchin has just posted a special announcement letter of RC2 to Microsoft Connect for the Windows Vista Technical Beta Testers. I’d like to reproduce the letter here for all to read:

People asked for it, and here it is, Windows Vista RC2! We wanted you to be the first to get these bits; next week they’ll be available to a broader set of customers via MSDN and TechNet.

All your great feedback has helped us focus on nothing but bug fixes over the past month since RC 1 — each and every day. There are thousands of quality improvements since Windows Vista RC1. You’ll probably notice improvements in performance, application compatibility, as well as fit and finish work. We will continue improving quality until RTM. If you are an ISV, please use this build (certainly at least RC1 or later) to get certified. Visit www.innovateonvista.com for more information on logo certification.

You are integral to this creation and refinement process. We are just around the corner from RTM and shipping this great product to the world. This will be the last build made available prior to RTM, so please keep the feedback coming so we can hit the finish line. Thanks for your help in finishing the job!

jim

I encourage you to download and install Windows Vista RC2. We’re almost finished with Windows Vista – RTM is almost here. Submit as many bugs as you can as we continue to work hard toward shipping.

UPDATE: Windows Vista RC2 is now available to Customer Preview Program participants for a limited time. If you’re in the CPP use these links to access RC2:

Download: Windows Vista RC2 (x86 and x64) English
Download: Windows Vista RC2 (x86 and x64) German
Download: Windows Vista RC2 (x86 and x64) Japanese

Examples of Fit-and-Finish in Build 5728 5 Oct 2006, 8:58 am

In Build 5728, we got to see examples of the kind of fit-and-finish the Windows Shell Team is making to Windows Vista as they progress toward RTM. I'd like to show you a few that I found. I imagine there is quite a bit more.

In “Computer”, you will notice that the “System Properties” and “Map Network Drive” icons have been changed from RC1.

The “Folder Options” dialog now has new icons instead of the old icons seen from Windows XP.

And when you access your user profile (“C:Users\<Your Name>”) you will notice new blue-style icons for the important system directories that are used to organize your data in your profile.

These are just a few examples and more to come as the Windows Shell Team is really working hard to make Windows Vista look stunning!

Windows Vista Imaging and Installation Performance 2 Oct 2006, 11:18 pm

PC World got the conversation going on installation times in Windows Vista.  While they quote Jim Allchin that Windows Vista can take as little as 15 minutes to install, my installs have been more like 20 minutes (still rocking fast), so I thought I would talk with David D'Souza who manages our Deployment and Installation team to get some more information about the different deployment scenarios and their installation time.  In his own words ...

Hi, my name is David D’Souza and I am the Director of Development in the Windows Core OS Division. I run the development team responsible for the deployment technologies in Windows Vista.

Windows Vista Setup has dramatically improved since Windows XP.  This has been one of the deepest and most comprehensive investments Microsoft has made in deployment.  Our goal was to dramatically enhance the reliability and performance of OS deployment across end users, OEM, and Corporate scenarios.   Windows Vista deployment had to be fast and reliable across a wide variety of scenarios and it had to easily integrate into the deployment processes our customers already used. Generally, our internal goal that rolled this all together was “15 minute OS installation using imaging”.  Technically, we focused on three things:

1)       End to end tool set for local and remote image based deployment of Windows Vista.

2)       Reduction in number of images due to easy addition/removal of language packs and drivers.

3)       Modularization to facilitate agility in engineering, deploying, and servicing all the new Windows Vista flavors.

In this note, I will cover the first item.

 

Why Imaging

Ideally, installation of an operating system is two fairly simple steps. First, copy all the OS files to the hard disk. Second, configure the machine dependent files & registry settings such as security identifiers, machine name, and specific hardware drivers required for the system.  Install time should scale with the size & number of files in the operating system.

However, the software development process is structured around smaller, isolated, components – kernel, file system, shell - that combine to produce the full OS. Thus, our developers create an installation script that is a long list of individual components, each with their own state, configuration, and instructions for installation.  Each component copies its files, builds its databases, and individually adds its registry keys. This makes it easy for Windows developers to change one component without disturbing other components.  Unfortunately, this means install time scales with the number of components, files, and registry keys.  This is the process we used to install Windows XP.

Imaging allows us to execute the “slow” installation process internally at Microsoft and capture the resultant files and a list of machine dependent state.  Subsequent installs simply copy all the files – the OS image - and reconfigure the machine dependent state.  The imaging process allows us to have the best of both worlds – an agile internal software development process that is component centric and a final installation process that optimizes towards installing the full operating system. Additionally, imaging is highly reliable because significantly fewer & simpler operations are performed to install an image.  Imaging is the default installation process we use in Windows Vista.

How We Image

Windows Vista supports a collection of imaging tools & file formats to enable image based deployment by OEMs & Corporations.

Windows Imaging technologies (WIM) –  Also includes the Windows Image Format that contains all the files required to install the operating system.  WIMGAPI is an API set developers can use to read or write WIM image files so more tools can be developed around this. This is a file based imaging technology that enables a greater degree of hardware independence.

ImageX is the tool that allows users to capture a WIM image, edit certain files offline, deploy it onto a harddisk, and configure the machine dependent state so the OS boots & runs.

Setup provides a friendly user interface around ImageX to install the Windows image stored on the DVD. Setup can do a clean install or upgrade an existing operating system such as Windows XP or Windows Vista. When doing an upgrade, Setup first captures all your documents, settings, drivers, & applications, lays down the clean image, and then reapplies your state into the new OS.  Supporting upgrade scenarios via imaging ensured our imaging technology worked across a huge variety of hardware configurations.  This helps reduce the number of images corporations & OEMs need to maintain.

Windows Deployment Services (WDS) – is a server product that allows you to boot your bare metal PC from the network and install an image onto your hard disk.  This is primarily used by corporations & OEMs for large scale, remote image deployment.

Performance

Let’s first look at the overall performance numbers we are seeing from our latest RC builds:

Overall “Mode” External Installs		% of RC1 installs	Mean Time	Comments
All Clean Installs		100%	20 minutes	Overall clean installs using any mechanism described below
Clean Installs starting from XP		17%	26 minutes	Overall clean installs starting from XP (DVD, Net)
Clean installs starting from WinPE		82%	20 minutes	Boot from DVD or boot from external media (USB etc.)
Clean installs using WDS		1%	8 minutes	Windows Deployment Services (network boot) installs

 

This data represents Windows Vista Ultimate clean installation times across hundreds of thousands of RC1 installations on diverse hardware with varying DVD drives and network traffic. The time is based on the start of copying the files to the disk to the time the OS is ready to run – the time to enter the product key (PID), select your drive, and enter the language and do the performance check during OOBE is not included.

Overall, we come very close to our 15 minute install time goal across a broad array of hardware and installation mechanisms using the Windows Vista Ultimate product. There are many things that influence this time - speed of the network or dvd drive, the flavor of Windows Vista you install (Home is smaller than Ultimate), and the number of PnP devices on your system.

Additionally, we also support in place upgrades from Windows XP to Windows Vista. During an in place upgrade, we install the image and ensure your applications, drivers, settings, and documents are properly moved into Vista.  This process of finding and moving your state adds at least 30 minutes to the upgrade process. And some machines with large numbers of files, applications, or drivers can take up to 120 minutes.

The deployment team has put a lot of effort into the install process, and in some scenarios installation is going to be as short as 20 minutes and in others, it will be longer. I hope you all have a better understanding of installation and the great progress we have made. Please install RC1 and try it for yourself.  To get all the deployment tools I mentioned, go to connect.microsoft.com and download the Business Desktop Deployment solution (BDD 2007) – this has best practice guidance on how to use these tools as well.

Windows Mobile Device Center Beta Coming Soon 28 Sep 2006, 9:34 pm

A lot of folks have been pinging us with questions regarding release of the Windows Mobile Device Center.  Today I’d like to personally give you the heads-up that next week you will get your chance to download the new WMDC Beta and sync your mobile devices up with newer builds of Windows Vista.

When the Beta goes online, it will first be available only in English, with more language supported in short order.  Don't worry on this last count, as language support is indeed a priority.

In the meantime, here's an image of the start-up screen for your viewing pleasure:

Once the beta is available for download, I will let you know -- keep your eyes open!

Understanding the Feature Design Process at Microsoft 27 Sep 2006, 3:27 pm

Yet another fantastic post from Vinny Pasceri, Program Manager for the Windows Shell Team, appears over at the Windows Shell blog.  Vinny sheds some light on what is involved in the feature design process here at Microsoft.  He separates the process into three different parts:  Page 1, The Spec and Building the Feature.  Definitely a great way to understand the process we follow here at MS when designing and developing the features in our products.

Even better: Vinny's post actually includes a real feature spec for all to see!  Check out the original feature spec for the Windows Aero Wizard UI.

Another Update on Interim Windows Vista Build 5728: Japanese Version Available 27 Sep 2006, 3:17 am

Another follow-up to my original post on Build 5728:  the Japanese download page for both 32- and 64-bit versions is live.

That means that this link is now active!

New York Times Reader Download Now Available to All 27 Sep 2006, 2:57 am

As a follow-up to last week's post on the WinFX version of the New York Times Reader, I've learned that the link allowing access to non-MS and non-NYT emails addresses is finally live -- phew!  Go here to see NYT's "First Look" page on the Reader, which will lead you to this page, where it's necessary to pre-register in order to gain access to the download.  (Unless you're already an NYT subscriber, that is.)

Update on Interim Windows Vista Build 5728: 64-bit Version Available; Build Availability Window Closing Soon 26 Sep 2006, 5:11 pm

Per my post from last week, I've got some news for you regarding the release of interim build 5728:

1. The 64-bit version of build 5728 is now availabile in both German and English.
2. The window is rapidly closing for download of the English build, as we're nearing our targeted download quantity.  If you've not yet downloaded the build, I would suggest doing so today.

Thank you to all of our beta testers who've downloaded this build to date -- we didn't expect your response to be so rapid and enthusiastic!

Interim Windows Vista Build 5728 Released Today 23 Sep 2006, 6:12 am

Today we released an interim build of Windows Vista, also known as an EDW, or External Developer Workstation.  This build is number 5728 and serves as an update to RC1 and runs in parallel with that release.  The build is available to the public. 

Here's our official message to our testers:

Updated Test Build Available (September 2006):  Microsoft is looking for volunteers to help test an updated, interim release of Windows Vista.  This build (5728) has a number of improvements and updates from RC1, but has not been put through the same internal testing process as RC1.  We are making this release available for a limited time only in order to get broad distribution and testing in a variety of PC configurations.  Click here if you are interested in testing this release. Otherwise, please use the links below to download RC1 (build 5600).

You can get the new build in the following languages:

• English
• German
• Japanese

(Due to localization lead times, links to the German and Japanese downloads will not be ready at the same time as English, so please be patient.)

Links to ISO files for the new build will be labeled in this fashion: "Windows Vista RC1 update (5728), English 32-Bit Edition."

One more thing to note:  users of Toshiba models M400, M4 and M5 should do a clean install (not upgrade) of this build.

If you're interested in the seeing the changes that have been made since the release of RC1 on 1 September, then I'd encourage you to check out build 5728.

Update on Ability to Mute the Windows Vista Start-up Sound 23 Sep 2006, 6:01 am

We heard you loud and clear when it came to discussing our plans to include a default start-up sound that plays as you boot-up Windows Vista:  you said you wanted to have the opportunity to mute it if and when you felt it necessary.  Your collective voice truly made a difference in this matter, as we've incorporated a way for users to turn off the start-up sound when it's more appropriate to boot silently -- be it when you're mobile, at home or in the office.

Here's a shot of the control panel that will allow you to enable/disable the start-up sound:

Check out the New York Times Reader for Windows Vista 22 Sep 2006, 8:47 pm

You may have read about the Times Reader back in April when it was previewed at the American Society of Newspaper Editors convention.  It’s now available for download to Windows Vista beta users!  The Times Reader enhances the onscreen reading experience through Windows Presentation Foundation, Microsoft’s advanced display technology in Windows Vista.  As readers change font or window size, the text dynamically redraws to optimize both readability and on-screen layout.  With WPF, the Times Reader can completely replicate the "look" of the print version of the NY Times, including fonts, typeface and layout, much more closely than its Web site now does.

It’s very cool; here are some hi-res screen shots.