It must be a busy time for all the boys and girls at Redmond this week. At the same time that Windows Vista SP1 RC was released to Connect users, Microsoft also announced the public availability of Windows Server 2008 RC1.
Users can download Windows Server 2008 Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter or Web Server RC1 packages, both for x86 and x64 platforms, or for Itanium-based systems.
There are two download options available
Filed in: Windows
In case you missed it, Firefox 3 Beta 1 went live in late November. As a regular Firefox user I've been using it and have been extremely impressed with the speed and reliability of the latest release. So impressed in fact, that I deleted Firefox 2 from my Mac today.
Before we get on to the version 3 enhancements, I have to say that on my Mac running Leopard, Firefox 3 is much more stable than version 2 ever was. For instance, when using version 2 I used to have to force-quit at least once a day, with version 3 I've had to force-quit about once a week.
Firefox 3 looks much more 'Mac' like now, without the use of skins
Like all other Firefox installations getting Firefox 3 up and running was a cinch. Simply grab a copy from here, and drag it to your applications folder. If you do want to keep an older version just create a folder within your Applications folder called 'Firefox Old' and copy the old version in to the folder before installing the new version. I'd also recommend backing up your preferences folder (On a Mac located in /User/Library/Application Support/Firefox and on a PC at C:\Documents and Settings\[User Name]\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\).
Apart from stability, Firefox 3 offers a raft of other improvements according to Mozilla including:
Mozilla is recommending Firefox 3 Beta 1 for developers and testers only however in my experience I'm using it as my main browser, and having great success. That said, if you use a lot of Firefox add-ons, most of them are not yet compatible with Firefox 3 yet, so you may want to hold off until the initial release.
Filed in: Windows
Web apps are great, except for one thing — they only run on the web. That means you can't use them for development of interactive CD-ROMs, or standalone PCs.
And if you're a web developer stuck behind a restrictive corporate firewall, or you simply want to test applications on your PC before uploading them to your website, it can be a hassle to set up a local webserver.
So, how do you like the sound of a fully portable, standalone web server which will run from a USB key, local folder or CD-ROM with no installation? Server2Go is for you.
Server2Go is a fully-featured web server based on the WAMP software combo (Windows, Apache, MySQL, PHP). It was originally designed for distribution on CD-ROM, the primary advantage being that it runs entirely in system memory so there
Filed in: Windows
The ABC today released a widget that lets users access ABC content directly from their desktop PC.
"ABC Now " pulls together most of ABC's popular multimedia content into one desktop app, where users can get latest news headlines, ABC radio streams, podcasts and watch highlights of TV programs over the internet.
ABC Now is split into two windows, the left window lets you browse and select content, while the right window displays content
ABC Now also lets users bookmark their favourite content within the ABC Now widget by simply clicking the 'heart' icon next to the program. This is billed as the best feature of ABC Now, as it gives users instant access to their favourite streams.
'Favourites' is a 'top feature' of ABC Now
The ABC Now widget gets content directly from ABC's main website at abc.net.au but according to the FAQ doesn't actually include all available multimedia, or live cricket streams (due to a technical issue).
Users have the choice of listening to audio streams as either Real or Windows Media.
Choose your poison; Windows Media or Real Player for audio settings
As ABC Now provides a simplified interface to abc.net.au, content gets updated at different time intervals. For example News is updated every few minutes, podcasts are updated after the program goes to air and vodcasts go live after the episode has been on TV.
In its current incarnation, ABC Now only works XP or Vista, however a Mac version is 'coming soon', hopefully in the form of a Dashboard widget, because a stand-alone program would be complete overkill.
Of course, most people sophisticated enough to download and install a widget would probably already be able to view the same content in a web browser, but at least ABC Now pulls everything together into one convenient interface that sits outside your browser and can stream away in the background while you get on with other work.
Filed in: Windows
Microsoft has taken the wraps off its a new cut of Windows Server, targeted squarely at midsize businesses, promising to make life easier for system admins who are stretched thin and short on time.?
I was fortunate enough to travel to the Windows Server 2008 Technical Workshop at Microsoft's campus in Redmond to learn about it and bring the news back to APCers.
Previously codenamed
Filed in: Windows
Has your PC suddenly started running slowly for no obvious reason? You can thank Microsoft for that.
Windows XP and 2003 users and administrators were recently bewildered by the sudden appearance of the Windows Desktop Search toolbar on their systems.
But it was the resulting machine slow-downs as WDS commenced indexing of local content that has made users see red.
Surprise!
It turns out that Windows Desktop Search
Filed in: Windows
When an application or set of data is captured into a Virtual Software Package, everything that is captured is contained in a "layer." The "layer" represents all the files and registry settings that make up the virtualized application or data.
The files and settings captured in a layer are stored in the SVS redirection area on the computer's hard drive. When a layer is active, all files and settings appear in the system just as they would if the application or data was installed on the computer. This is accomplished through redirection using the SVS File System Filter Driver.
When a VSP is imported onto a computer, the contents of the VSP (both files and registry settings) are placed in the redirected folder, such as C:\fslrdr\1. When the VSP is activated on a client computer, the contents of the VSP are made available to the user. The files and settings appear to the user in the location they would be in if the application had been installed on the computer.
Example: You have a VSP for Mozilla Firefox. When the Firefox VSP is activated, all the contents of the VSP are "layered" over the base file system and registry to make it visible to the user. The user then sees it's appropriate folders, files, registry settings, and shortcuts. When the contents are made visible, they are not displayed in the hidden area, but they are displayed in the locations that the user would see them had Firefox been installed on the computer. Example: Even though the Firefox application file may physically be located at
C:fslrdr1PROGRAMFILESMozilla Firefoxfirefox.exe
to the user, it is visible as
C:Program FilesMozilla Firefoxfirefox.exe
The FSLDR folder can be hidden completely through a simple registry change if desired.
On the base computer, make sure you have access to the setup files for the application you will be creating a layer for. Example: Firefox Setup verXXX.exe. On the base computer, open the SVS Admin tool by clicking the SVS Admin icon onthe desktop. Select File > Create New Layer.
Choose Install application and click Next.
Give the new layer a name. Example: Firefox 1_5.The maximum name length is 50 characters. Click Next.
Find the setup files.
Select the capture method. For this exercise, choose Single program capture.
Click Finish.
Firefox begins its setup
The animated icon at the bottom right of the screen shows that SVS is capturing the Firefox setup to the layer.
Then a nice clean installation of Firefox opens up (assuming you went with the Firefox install default, which launches the browser when it's installed).
But the installation of Firefox to the layer is not finished yet. Don't close the application. Once Firefox opens, you will also notice that the animated capture icon (yellow lightning, below ) appears in the system tray. The icon is animated, signifying that it is still capturing.
What this means is that even though Firefox has installed and has opened, SVS is still in capture mode to capture any configuration changes you make to Firefox.
When Firefox launches you now have a choice. Do you keep just the basic Firefox you have installed into the layer, or do you also capture any configuration settings that you would normally make to Firefox so that these are available next time you open the Firefox layer?
This decision is necessary because SVS layers (like the Firefox one you're creating) actually consist of two sub-layers. One sub-layer is read-only, and the other writable.
The read only layer contains any files and settings that were captured during the initial layer creation. Any changes that occur after the layer has been created (including additions, changes and deletion of files and registry settings) are put into the writeable sublayer.? Both layers are retained when you deactivate the layer (deactivation makes a layer invisible to the system, but does not delete it).
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If, at any time you want to return the layer to the initial capture state, you can simply reset the layer and the read/write sublayer is deleted.? Be careful not to store data in the read/write layer if you plan to reset it.? Check the SVS help files for details on how to 'Exclude' data files.
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If you save the configuration data to the read-only layer, it will be retained when you reset the layer.? Any configuration settings applied AFTER layer creation will be placed in the writeable layer, which will be wiped out if you reset the application.
To write configuration changes permantly to the read-only layer
To keep the configuration changes and put them in the read -only layer, make the required configuration changes to the application (Firefox in this case) while it's still open on your screen. Then close it. The capture will stop and the little animated capture icon will disappear from the system tray. You can always tell if you're capturing the settings because the animated capture icon will be present. (You can alway modify layers to add or remove files and settings later on).
To keep just the base application
If instead you want to keep just the base Firefox program, close it when it first fires up after being created as a layer. Then all configuration and setup changes made when it's reopened will be written to the writable layer, which will be lost when you deactivate the layer.
(In a corporate environment where Firefox or any other virtualized application layer might be rolled out to several client desktops, the sys admin would include all approved configuration settings in the read-only layer. End users would only be able to write any changes to the way the app works to the writeable layer, which would not be retained once the application is deactivated).
Once Firefox is installed it will be listed in the SVS Admin panel. If it's in bold, it's active. That means the application appears like any other application to your system. It even puts its icon on the desktop.
Confusion warning: when the application in the layer is active, it's not necessarily open. It's just available and visible to your system. To open it, click on its icon on the desktop or in the program list.
To temporarily remove the application you've just installed, deactivate it. This is not like deleting it, which would physically remove it. Deactivation simply makes it invisible to the system so that it can be reactivated later when you need it. To deactivate, go File > Deactivate Layer.
CREATING VIRTUAL SOFTWARE ARCHIVES (VSAs).
If you want to make a layer portable so that it can be used on another computer, the contents of the layer are exported to a single Virtual Software Archive (VSA) file. These archive files have a .VSA extension. When a VSA is imported on a computer, the layer (the files and registry settings in the VSA) are installed to the SVS redirection area on the client computer's hard drive.
All the contents of the layer are exported to the VSA file.
Go to the Altiris Community site Juice for more information on SVS, including full documentation , particularly if you want to run it in a corporate environment.
Back to tutorial home
Filed in: Windows
After four years in the making, Windows XP Service Pack 3 is almost ready for release. We've taken an in-depth look at it — and one aspect of it jumps out as being particularly interesting: the ability to install XP without a serial number.
But first, a little background: Windows XP SP3 was recently released for public beta testing —
Filed in: Windows
Microsoft is, for the first time, making Internet Explorer 7 available to users of pirated copies of XP.
One thing's been obvious since the release of IE7 — its uptake hasn't been as good as Microsoft would have hoped, regardless of the spin the company has put on things.
IE6 is still the dominant browser on the Windows platform, and IE overall continues to lose market share to Firefox.
In the last month, for example, APCMag.com only registered 50.38% Internet Explorer usage. Firefox accounted for 39.9% of users, Safari 5% and Opera 4%. Of the Internet Explorer users, nearly half — 45.61% are still using IE6.
That's despite Microsoft instituting an automatic download program that pushed a copy of the massive IE7 installer onto every XP PC via Windows Update.
The fact that Microsoft is now removing its "Windows Genuine Advantage" anti-piracy requirement indicates that it is facing the reality that a large proportion of Windows users are running pirated copies of Windows, and if the software giant wants to achieve market domination with its new browser, it can't neglect its "black market customers".
It has also made a couple of other fine-tuning tweaks to IE7, making the menu bar show automatically rather than the user ? having to switch it on manually. Presumably, the radically pared-down interface for IE7 must have caused more support issues than it solved.
Microsoft has also added more "how-tos" to IE7 and made it available as an MSI installer to make it easier for network administrators to deploy it across their networks.
You can read the blog post from Microsoft about it here.
Filed in: Windows
