Microsoft Pro Photo Tools (v2), Windows Search 4.0 and Windows Installer 4.5 Released!

The Pro Photo Tools allow you to add, change, and delete common metadata properties for digital photographs. You can place photos on the Live Earth map and then drag them to the right location. The GPS information will be stored back into the photos. If you have a GPS device, can load track route files from the most popular formats (NMEA, GPX, and KML) and see them on the map. Then you can place your photos on the track route. Again, the GPS info will be stored into your file. When you have the right GPS location for your photos, you can automatically generate location info like country, state, city and even street names. Or if you know the location where a picture was taken, you can type it in and get the GPS location information automatically.

More Information: Microsoft Pro Photo Tools
Download: Microsoft Pro Photo Tools version 2 [Validation Required]
Homepage: Microsoft Professional Photography

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Windows Search 4.0 lets you perform an instant search of your computer. Windows Search 4.0 helps you find and preview documents, e-mail messages, music files, photos, and other items on the computer.

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Windows Vista SP1 (Service Pack 1) Officially Released to Consumers

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) is an update to Windows Vista that addresses feedback from our customers. In addition to previously released updates, SP1 will contain changes focused on addressing specific reliability, performance, and compatibility issues; supporting new types of hardware; and adding support for several emerging standards. SP1 also will continue to make it easier for IT administrators to deploy and manage Windows Vista. Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Five Language Standalone version can be installed on systems with any of the following language versions: English (US), French, German, Japanese, or Spanish (Traditional).

Download: Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista 32 Bit [434.5 MB]
Download: Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista 64 Bit [726.5 MB]
View: Windows Vista SP1 Overview
View: Notable Changes in Windows Vista SP1
View: Hotfixes and Security Updates included in Windows Vista SP1

New compatibility, reliability, and stability update for Windows Vista

This update improves the compatibility, reliability, and stability of Windows Vista. This update includes the following improvements:

• It extends the battery life for mobile devices.
• It improves the stability of portable computers and of desktop computers that use an uninterruptable power supply (UPS).
• It improves the reliability of Windows Vista when you open the menu of a startup application.
• It improves the stability of wireless network services.
• It shortens the startup time of Windows Vista by using a better timing structure.
• It shortens the recovery time after Windows Vista experiences a period of inactivity.
• It shortens the recovery time when you try to exit the Photos screen saver.
• It improves the stability of Windows PowerShell.

This update also resolves the following issues in Windows Vista:

• A compatibility issue that affects some third-party antivirus software applications.
• A reliability issue that occurs when a Windows Vista-based computer uses certain network driver configurations.

Download: X86 | X64
View: Information

Microsoft Releases Windows Vista Performance and Reliability Updates

Microsoft today has released a performance and a reliability update for Windows Vista. This is one of the steps towards Windows Vista Service Pack 1.

Update for Windows Vista (KB938979)
This is a performance update. Install this update to improve the performance of Windows Vista in certain scenarios.

Download
More Information

Update for Windows Vista (KB938194)
This is a reliability update. Install this update to improve the reliability of Windows Vista in certain scenarios.

Download
More Information

I highly recommend installing both these updates.

Beyond Windows Vista. Fiji and Vienna: The next versions of Windows.

These are some highly interesting ideas from the Unnecessary blog:

Windows Vista has been released for a month now to business, and is going to be released to the general public in a month (January 30). For those who haven’t been following Vista’s development, it is worh noting that even though Vista comes 5 years after XP, it is a rushed product.

Originally set to be a relatively small update to XP, to be released in 2003, it was re-envisioned as a major release, with revolutionary technologies such as WinFS (a new file system), Palladium (security system), Avalon (graphics system) and Indigo (communications system).

As the years went on, the folks at Microsoft found out that they are in over their heads with it, and following numerous delays and feature-cuts and slimdowns and a complete development restart in late 2004 – early 2005, they finally got on track of a much simpler OS. Nonetheless Windows Vista is a huge improvement over previous versions, and has many great features that makes it a must have (despite what many might say).

It doesn’t really matter if Vista is a success or not, Microsoft cannot wait another five years to release another Windows. People are becoming more aware of the choices they have, and Linux is no longer a hobbyist OS, and that day isn’t far away when it becomes simple enough to be a viable alternative to Windows.

Happy New Year 2007!

Happy New Year 2007!

To kick-off 2007, Paul Thurrott has completed his Windows Vista RTM review.

Have a read:

Part 1: Introduction
Part 2: Vista Product Editions
Part 3: Installing Windows Vista
Part 4: The Vista Experience
Part 5: Windows Vista Features
   User Interface Features
   Security Features
   Performance Features
   Reliability Features
   Internet Features
   Bundled Applications
   Digital Media Features
   Networking Features
   Mobility Features
   Other Features
Part 6: Compatibility
Part 7: Where Windows Vista Fails
Part 8: Wrapping Up

Recently Released Microsoft Software

Microsoft Software:

Windows Vista RTM – Should be available to the general public around 30th January 2007.

Microsoft Office 2007 RTM – Should be available to the general public around November 2006.

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0 – Windows XP SP2 Or Windows Server 2003 SP1 Or Windows Vista Required

Windows Media Player 11 – Windows XP SP2 Required

Windows Defender – Windows XP SP2 Or Windows Server 2003 SP1 Required

Internet Explorer 7 – Windows XP SP2 Or Windows Server 2003 SP1 Required

Other Software:

Mozilla Firefox 2.0

Windows Vista Release Candidate One (RC1) Available To The Public!

The final major pre-release of Windows Vista—Release Candidate 1 (RC1)—is now available for priority access by Customer Preview Program (CPP) participants only. If you registered for this program in June, please look for a recent e-mail message from Microsoft (sent in early September) with information regarding RC1. If you are not registered but would like to receive Windows Vista RC1, the CPP will open to new participants in the coming weeks. Please check this site periodically for updates.

Microsoft notes on the website: Windows Vista RC1 is available for participants of the Windows Vista Customer Preview Program. Please go to the Customer Preview Program website to register and receive a Product Key, which is required to install and activate the software.

For those of you who are brave enough to update: Before upgrading from Beta 2 to RC1, please install any Critical Updates from Windows Update for Beta 2. Go to Start, All Programs, Windows Update, and click the “Check for Updates” button.

Download: Windows Vista RC1, Build 5600 English: 32-Bit Edition | 64-Bit Edition
View: Windows Vista RC1 Download Page

Update: Microsoft is only allowing the download if the referrer is the downloads page. This mean you must click on the link from the downloads page in order to download Windows Vista RC1. It will be blocked it you click the links from my blog.

Windows Vista Cursors on Windows XP

After so many years, Microsoft have finally updated the cursors on Windows. They were part of the Windows Vista Build 5465 but don’t worry you use them on Windows XP without problems. That also means they might not the final version. Strangely, they look more like Ubuntu Linux.

Get the new Windows Vista cursors from Build 5465 on your Windows XP machine. There are just a few aesthetic differences. The new cursors are antialiased and have a crisp look to them. The hourglass cursor is replaced with the loading indicator. I’ve included a screenshot of the cursors below.

Download: Windows Vista Build 5465 Cursors
View: http://www.gurudesign.no/index.php?categoryid=22
Source: Alan Le

Five Free Microsoft Betas To Tryout! Including Windows Vista Beta 2!

Here are a few well known Microsoft software betas, that you can get for absolutely free. Previously some of these betas were only available to Microsoft testers, but they recently released them to the general public. Such as, the Office 2007 Beta 2 and Windows Vista Beta 2.

I highly recommend installing the Windows Vista Beta 2 operating system and on top of that, installing Office 2007 Beta 2. This should only be done on a non-productive system. Windows Vista Beta 2 already has Windows Media Player 11 Beta installed along with Windows Defender Beta 2 and Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2. So there is no need to install them on Windows Vista unless a new build is released. You might want to order Windows Vista Beta 2 on DVD for a small fee, because downloading it can be extremely time consuming and Microsoft servers are under a super high load.

Note: This is beta code and should not be used in a production environment or on a main machine in the home. Beta 2 is intended for developers, IT professionals and technology experts to continue or begin their testing of Windows Vista. Before you decide to use Beta 2, you should feel comfortable with installing operating systems, updating drivers, and general PC troubleshooting. Some risks of using beta operating systems include hardware and software incompatibility and system instability. If you have concerns about installing this beta software on your computer, we encourage you to obtain the final release version of Windows Vista when it is available in 2007.

Office 2007 Beta 2: Homepage | Download
Windows Vista Beta 2: Homepage | Download
Windows Defender Beta 2: Homepage | Download
Windows Media Player 11 Beta 2: Homepage | Download
Windows Internet Explorer 7 Beta 2: Homepage | Download