Extending its reach into the hardware and handheld-device realms, Microsoft this week will detail plans for the forthcoming Longhorn version of Windows, Windows CE .Net 4.2, and its Windows RTC (Real-Time Communications) Server.
Microsoft executives are also expected to demonstrate early prototypes of computers that use the company’s NGSCB (Next-Generation Secure Computing Base) technology at WinHEC (Windows Hardware Engineering Conference) 2003 in New Orleans .
Formerly known as Palladium, NGSCB is a combination of new hardware and software that Microsoft says will boost PC security. Critics, however, fear that NGSCB — which is to be included in a future version of Windows, possibly Longhorn — could be a scourge for user freedom.
NGSCB includes a software component for Windows called a “nexus” and a chip — dubbed the Security Support Component — that can perform cryptographic operations. The technology creates within a PC a second operating environment that is meant to protect the system from malicious code by providing secure connections between applications, peripheral hardware, memory, and storage.
Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates will use his keynote at the show to highlight Microsoft’s vision for the datacenter, mobile applications, and the home.
Next-generation PC prototypes will also be featured by Gates, as will innovations in machine provisioning, application deployment, and systems management, according to Microsoft.
Gates is also expected to discuss details of Microsoft’s efforts in the embedded arena. Company officials declined to offer additional details, but the news will reportedly emerge from Microsoft’s Embedded and Appliance Platforms Group, the team responsible for XP Embedded.
Executives will also detail the multimedia capabilities in Longhorn, the code name for the next version of the Windows XP OS. Longhorn, expected to ship in 2005, will enable deployment of applications with rich media types such as video.
A third internal test version of Longhorn was leaked onto the Internet in late April. Build 4015, also referred to as Milestone 5, has its own startup logo, a screen that shows a user’s settings are being loaded, and a more refined search interface, according to testers who have posted screenshots of the software on various Web sites.
Microsoft is also expanding features that will support the new WinFS (Windows Future Storage) file system. WinFS, which will be part of Longhorn, will allow users to view files indexed from various physical locations instead of displaying the contents of specific folders or directories such as My Music or My Images.
Windows CE .Net 4.2, an embedded OS, will also be under discussion. Released to manufacturing last month, Version 4.2 includes VOIP (voice over IP) and STB (set-top boxes) features for device manufacturers to build “compelling” devices with communication, data, and voice requirements, according to Microsoft.
Windows CE .Net 4.2 is reported to provide improved API compatibility across CE-based devices. Other features for the forthcoming OS will include improved security and kernel enhancements.
Windows Real-Time Communications Services is also expected to be a key topic at the show. Microsoft's upcoming RTC Server, formerly dubbed Greenwich and due to ship this fall, is described by Microsoft in a statement as an IM server that empowers companies to collaborate on new information more quickly and to take advantage of industry-standard protocols such as SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) and SIMPLE (SIP for Instant Messaging and Presence Leveraging Extensions) when deploying and structuring real-time communications tools.
Analyst Dwight Davis said he wanted to hear more about Microsoft's Dynamic Systems Initiative at the conference. "They've been closed-mouthed about some of the broader ramifications of that initiative, and they talked about it primarily in the context of the software model that they're going to be promoting, so I don't understand the ramifications for hardware vendors," Davis said.
This initiative, featured in the recently released Windows Server 2003 operating system, attempts to unify hardware, software, and service vendors around a software architecture designed to leverage industry-standard hardware and simplify IT operations.
WinHEC's primary objective is to map out the strategic direction of Windows-based technologies for hardware manufacturers in order to accommodate the long lead times their products require, explained Michael Cherry, lead analyst of operating systems at Directions on Microsoft in Kirkland, Wash.
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Microsoft to get technical on Longhorn, 'Palladium'
Microsoft will demonstrate its much debated Next-Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB) security initiative for the first time next week at an event in New Orleans, and will also provide further details on its plans for managing IT systems.
At WinHEC {Windows Hardware Engineering Conference), an annual event where Microsoft tells hardware makers what it is doing with Windows, the software maker also plans to share more information on Longhorn, the next version of its operating system for desktops planned for release in 2005.
Other topics on the agenda include the recently announced Windows CE .Net 4.2 for handheld devices and embedded systems, and Windows Real-Time Communications Server, Microsoft's instant messaging server formerly called Greenwich.
New to WinHEC this year is an "innovation room" which will have about 14 products that Microsoft and its hardware partners are working on for release over the next one to three years. They include large, high-resolution displays and an "ultra mobile PC," as well as what Microsoft referred to as an "advanced communications PC," according to a statement.
With 18 hours of technical sessions devoted to NGSCB, WinHEC will be key in the development of Microsoft's hardware-based security technology, better known by its former code name Palladium. NGSCB is a combination of new hardware and software that Microsoft says will greatly improve the security of PCs, although critics have raised concerns about user privacy. NGSCB may be included in Longhorn, Microsoft has said.
"This new security product is important for Microsoft and it is important to get a demo out. This is the first time we will see what it is going to look like and we will be able to estimate what kind of an investment it is going to take to deploy Palladium," said Mike Cherry, a lead analyst at Directions on Microsoft, in Kirkland, Wash.
NGSCB includes a new software component for Windows called a "nexus" and a chip that can perform cryptographic operations called the Security Support Component. The technology creates a second operating environment within a PC that is meant to protect the system from malicious code by providing secure connections between applications, peripheral hardware, memory, and storage.
Future anti-virus applications, for example, would be able to run in a secure execution environment to guarantee that the application is not corrupted, according to Microsoft.
The technology has attracted critics, however, who have said it could be a scourge for user freedom. NGSCB would enable stricter enforcement of DRM (Digital Rights Management) technologies, for example, and the security chip carries a unique security key that could potentially be used to identify a user's PC.
Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates in his opening keynote is expected to mention advances in Microsoft's Dynamic Systems Initiative (DSI), the company's response to autonomic computing plans that IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Sun Microsystems are promoting for self-healing, self-configuring and self-optimizing systems.
IT managers face a profusion of data, devices, applications, and personnel, and need technology that will help them integrate and run their intricate environments more efficiently, freeing up resources to invest in new initiatives, according to Microsoft.
"One of the chief concerns of most CIOs today is that there is too much complexity in the IT environment," said Eric Berg, technical product manager for the Windows Server Group at Microsoft. The first product that is part of DSI was Microsoft's Windows Server 2003 software, launched last week. Other components will be rolled out over the next several years.
WinHEC also is one of two key shows where Microsoft will provide further details about Longhorn, Directions on Microsoft lead analyst Cherry said.
"There are really two conferences that define Longhorn, the first is WinHEC and the second is Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference in October. To me it is not really interesting until October what Longhorn is going to be, until we know what is coming out of WinHEC and the Professional Developers Conference it is speculation," Cherry said.
IDC Research Analyst Alan Promisel sees WinHEC as sort of a "coming out party" for Longhorn.
"For many it will be the first opportunity to sit down and get briefed on the finer aspects of Longhorn," he said.
Other future technologies Microsoft will talk about include three-dimensional user interfaces that will boost productivity by eliminating the need for printing when working with large documents, according to Gartner Fellow Martin Reynolds. The large, high resolution displays that Microsoft will show in the new Innovation Room may be a prelude to the 3D user interface.
WinHEC is a highly technical conference aimed at hardware makers who need to make products that work with Microsoft's software. The hardware makers usually are among the first to hear about Microsoft's new plans because they need long lead times to develop products. Driver development, for example, is a topic also addressed at WinHEC.
At WinHEC {Windows Hardware Engineering Conference), an annual event where Microsoft tells hardware makers what it is doing with Windows, the software maker also plans to share more information on Longhorn, the next version of its operating system for desktops planned for release in 2005.
Other topics on the agenda include the recently announced Windows CE .Net 4.2 for handheld devices and embedded systems, and Windows Real-Time Communications Server, Microsoft's instant messaging server formerly called Greenwich.
New to WinHEC this year is an "innovation room" which will have about 14 products that Microsoft and its hardware partners are working on for release over the next one to three years. They include large, high-resolution displays and an "ultra mobile PC," as well as what Microsoft referred to as an "advanced communications PC," according to a statement.
With 18 hours of technical sessions devoted to NGSCB, WinHEC will be key in the development of Microsoft's hardware-based security technology, better known by its former code name Palladium. NGSCB is a combination of new hardware and software that Microsoft says will greatly improve the security of PCs, although critics have raised concerns about user privacy. NGSCB may be included in Longhorn, Microsoft has said.
"This new security product is important for Microsoft and it is important to get a demo out. This is the first time we will see what it is going to look like and we will be able to estimate what kind of an investment it is going to take to deploy Palladium," said Mike Cherry, a lead analyst at Directions on Microsoft, in Kirkland, Wash.
NGSCB includes a new software component for Windows called a "nexus" and a chip that can perform cryptographic operations called the Security Support Component. The technology creates a second operating environment within a PC that is meant to protect the system from malicious code by providing secure connections between applications, peripheral hardware, memory, and storage.
Future anti-virus applications, for example, would be able to run in a secure execution environment to guarantee that the application is not corrupted, according to Microsoft.
The technology has attracted critics, however, who have said it could be a scourge for user freedom. NGSCB would enable stricter enforcement of DRM (Digital Rights Management) technologies, for example, and the security chip carries a unique security key that could potentially be used to identify a user's PC.
Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates in his opening keynote is expected to mention advances in Microsoft's Dynamic Systems Initiative (DSI), the company's response to autonomic computing plans that IBM, Hewlett-Packard, and Sun Microsystems are promoting for self-healing, self-configuring and self-optimizing systems.
IT managers face a profusion of data, devices, applications, and personnel, and need technology that will help them integrate and run their intricate environments more efficiently, freeing up resources to invest in new initiatives, according to Microsoft.
"One of the chief concerns of most CIOs today is that there is too much complexity in the IT environment," said Eric Berg, technical product manager for the Windows Server Group at Microsoft. The first product that is part of DSI was Microsoft's Windows Server 2003 software, launched last week. Other components will be rolled out over the next several years.
WinHEC also is one of two key shows where Microsoft will provide further details about Longhorn, Directions on Microsoft lead analyst Cherry said.
"There are really two conferences that define Longhorn, the first is WinHEC and the second is Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference in October. To me it is not really interesting until October what Longhorn is going to be, until we know what is coming out of WinHEC and the Professional Developers Conference it is speculation," Cherry said.
IDC Research Analyst Alan Promisel sees WinHEC as sort of a "coming out party" for Longhorn.
"For many it will be the first opportunity to sit down and get briefed on the finer aspects of Longhorn," he said.
Other future technologies Microsoft will talk about include three-dimensional user interfaces that will boost productivity by eliminating the need for printing when working with large documents, according to Gartner Fellow Martin Reynolds. The large, high resolution displays that Microsoft will show in the new Innovation Room may be a prelude to the 3D user interface.
WinHEC is a highly technical conference aimed at hardware makers who need to make products that work with Microsoft's software. The hardware makers usually are among the first to hear about Microsoft's new plans because they need long lead times to develop products. Driver development, for example, is a topic also addressed at WinHEC.
Microsoft exec says Longhorn future 'fluid'
LAS VEGAS -- Despite recent claims to the contrary, there may be a Windows server operating system code-named Longhorn after all, a Microsoft executive said Tuesday.
Just last November, Microsoft officials said that the next major Windows operating system, code-named Longhorn, would be a client-only release. But Brian Valentine, senior vice president of Microsoft's Windows division, told Computerworld that that announcement was "a bit premature" based on engineering planning.
During an interview at the Microsoft Management Summit here, Valentine said that some of the new client capabilities being enabled in Longhorn, such as richer collaboration and integrated storage, will require infrastructure services on top of the server operating system. How those server operating system additions will be packaged and delivered has yet to be decided, he said.
The Longhorn client operating system is due sometime in 2005, according to Valentine. But it's too early to tell if there will be a Windows Server 2005 release, he added. "We'll do whatever makes the most sense and is easiest on our customers," Valentine said.
With Longhorn targeted for 2005, the successor to Longhorn, code-named Blackcomb, is now loosely pegged for 2007 or 2008, said Valentine. "We think that these waves can't be consumed any faster than two- to three-year cycles in the enterprise," he said.
Until yesterday, Microsoft officials had said that Longhorn wouldn't ship before mid-2004 and that Blackcomb wouldn't ship before late 2005 or early 2006. The dates that Valentine supplied yesterday clearly extend those predicted time frames.
Valentine said a new server kernel will probably be required for the Blackcomb release, so he expects there will be both client and server operating releases. But he was quick to add that no commitments have been made yet. "Just as the Longhorn stuff is still fluid, the further out you look, it even gets more fluid," he said.
With regard to the server operating system updates needed in the Longhorn time frame, Valentine said minor or simple services could be delivered as part of an optional installation of a service pack CD. But, he said, the Windows team wants to keep service packs primarily targeted at bug fixes.
Valentine said more extensive changes will likely be delivered separately. Citing one example, he pointed to the real-time communications capabilities being enabled in the next version of Office, something likely to spur the need for a real-time communications infrastructure involving the server operating system.
Any additions or changes made to the Windows server operating system in the Longhorn time frame will be done on top of the kernel for Windows Server 2003, which is due to ship next month, said Valentine. He said he views the server kernel as more than a memory manager and I/O subsystem. To him, the kernel also encompasses core services such as Active Directory and public-key infrastructure technology.
"Those things aren't going to dramatically change for the Longhorn wave," he said. "There will be some new management infrastructure that comes out in there, but that'll be overlaid on top of the server kernel."
Because the kernel won't change, customers who choose to migrate to Windows Server 2003 won't lose their investment in the event that Microsoft does decide to release a Longhorn server operating system, Valentine said.
In November, when Microsoft announced that Longhorn would be a client-only release, a Microsoft official cited the delayed shipping date for Windows .Net Server 2003 as the impetus for the change in plans. Bob O'Brien, a group product manager in Microsoft's Windows server division, called it a "common-sense decision" to scratch the server version, based on customer feedback that Longhorn would emerge too soon after Windows .Net Server 2003.
"Servers are certainly a bit of an expensive implementation for our customers, and giving them server releases that are too close together makes it difficult for them to deploy them," O'Brien said at the time. "We always have to balance our schedules against what the customers feel is the right schedule for them."
Just last November, Microsoft officials said that the next major Windows operating system, code-named Longhorn, would be a client-only release. But Brian Valentine, senior vice president of Microsoft's Windows division, told Computerworld that that announcement was "a bit premature" based on engineering planning.
During an interview at the Microsoft Management Summit here, Valentine said that some of the new client capabilities being enabled in Longhorn, such as richer collaboration and integrated storage, will require infrastructure services on top of the server operating system. How those server operating system additions will be packaged and delivered has yet to be decided, he said.
The Longhorn client operating system is due sometime in 2005, according to Valentine. But it's too early to tell if there will be a Windows Server 2005 release, he added. "We'll do whatever makes the most sense and is easiest on our customers," Valentine said.
With Longhorn targeted for 2005, the successor to Longhorn, code-named Blackcomb, is now loosely pegged for 2007 or 2008, said Valentine. "We think that these waves can't be consumed any faster than two- to three-year cycles in the enterprise," he said.
Until yesterday, Microsoft officials had said that Longhorn wouldn't ship before mid-2004 and that Blackcomb wouldn't ship before late 2005 or early 2006. The dates that Valentine supplied yesterday clearly extend those predicted time frames.
Valentine said a new server kernel will probably be required for the Blackcomb release, so he expects there will be both client and server operating releases. But he was quick to add that no commitments have been made yet. "Just as the Longhorn stuff is still fluid, the further out you look, it even gets more fluid," he said.
With regard to the server operating system updates needed in the Longhorn time frame, Valentine said minor or simple services could be delivered as part of an optional installation of a service pack CD. But, he said, the Windows team wants to keep service packs primarily targeted at bug fixes.
Valentine said more extensive changes will likely be delivered separately. Citing one example, he pointed to the real-time communications capabilities being enabled in the next version of Office, something likely to spur the need for a real-time communications infrastructure involving the server operating system.
Any additions or changes made to the Windows server operating system in the Longhorn time frame will be done on top of the kernel for Windows Server 2003, which is due to ship next month, said Valentine. He said he views the server kernel as more than a memory manager and I/O subsystem. To him, the kernel also encompasses core services such as Active Directory and public-key infrastructure technology.
"Those things aren't going to dramatically change for the Longhorn wave," he said. "There will be some new management infrastructure that comes out in there, but that'll be overlaid on top of the server kernel."
Because the kernel won't change, customers who choose to migrate to Windows Server 2003 won't lose their investment in the event that Microsoft does decide to release a Longhorn server operating system, Valentine said.
In November, when Microsoft announced that Longhorn would be a client-only release, a Microsoft official cited the delayed shipping date for Windows .Net Server 2003 as the impetus for the change in plans. Bob O'Brien, a group product manager in Microsoft's Windows server division, called it a "common-sense decision" to scratch the server version, based on customer feedback that Longhorn would emerge too soon after Windows .Net Server 2003.
"Servers are certainly a bit of an expensive implementation for our customers, and giving them server releases that are too close together makes it difficult for them to deploy them," O'Brien said at the time. "We always have to balance our schedules against what the customers feel is the right schedule for them."
Leaked Longhorn gets lukewarm reviews
A second build of the successor to Microsoft's Windows XP appeared on the Internet late last week but Windows watchers who tested the software don't see major advances to get excited about yet.
When it hits the stores at the end of 2004 or in 2005, the software, code-named Longhorn, should be one of the most important new releases of Windows that the company has ever put out. A big change will be the new Windows Future Storage (WinFS) file system, based on SQL Server technology and designed to give users a direct route to data, making the physical location of a file irrelevant.
The new file system wasn't part of Longhorn build 3683 that surfaced in November and neither is it part of the latest leaked version, build 4008. The new build shows mostly evolutionary, not revolutionary, improvements over the earlier build, according to Windows experts including testers with BetaNews (http://www.betanews.com), Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows (http://www.winsupersite.com).
WinFS replaces the NTFS and FAT32 file systems used in current Windows versions. Before appearing in Longhorn, WinFS technology is expected to premiere in a new version of Microsoft's SQL Server database, code-named Yukon , due later this year.
Bits of WinFS functionality, however, are in build 4008, and can be seen for example when browsing media files. Instead of displaying the contents of specific folders or directories, such as "My Music" or "My Images," Longhorn lets users view files indexed from various physical locations, the testers report. The search feature has also been simplified.
Although all testers mentioned the emerging WinFS functionality, they are more impressed by the improved setup utility and procedure for the software. Installation is handled by the new Windows Preinstallation Environment, a small operating system that is loaded into the RAM of a PC. Longhorn installs without user interaction in about 20 minutes, a big improvement over current Windows versions, which takes about an hour to install.
Also apparent in Longhorn is Microsoft's multimedia push. The latest leaked alpha version has an incomplete "My TV" application, deeply integrated media player and support for creating photo albums, akin to Apple Computer Inc.'s iPhoto, testers reported.
The missing file system is only part of the unfinished work on Longhorn. Another part is the user interface, which is expected to be 3D and video-based.
Testers agree that the final version of Longhorn will look very different from build 4008. That is also why Microsoft, which confirmed the authenticity of the leaked Longhorn build, won't talk about the product.
"The technology at this stage in no way represents what the final version of the product will be. The release is still far away," said a spokeswoman for Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash.
When it hits the stores at the end of 2004 or in 2005, the software, code-named Longhorn, should be one of the most important new releases of Windows that the company has ever put out. A big change will be the new Windows Future Storage (WinFS) file system, based on SQL Server technology and designed to give users a direct route to data, making the physical location of a file irrelevant.
The new file system wasn't part of Longhorn build 3683 that surfaced in November and neither is it part of the latest leaked version, build 4008. The new build shows mostly evolutionary, not revolutionary, improvements over the earlier build, according to Windows experts including testers with BetaNews (http://www.betanews.com), Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows (http://www.winsupersite.com).
WinFS replaces the NTFS and FAT32 file systems used in current Windows versions. Before appearing in Longhorn, WinFS technology is expected to premiere in a new version of Microsoft's SQL Server database, code-named Yukon , due later this year.
Bits of WinFS functionality, however, are in build 4008, and can be seen for example when browsing media files. Instead of displaying the contents of specific folders or directories, such as "My Music" or "My Images," Longhorn lets users view files indexed from various physical locations, the testers report. The search feature has also been simplified.
Although all testers mentioned the emerging WinFS functionality, they are more impressed by the improved setup utility and procedure for the software. Installation is handled by the new Windows Preinstallation Environment, a small operating system that is loaded into the RAM of a PC. Longhorn installs without user interaction in about 20 minutes, a big improvement over current Windows versions, which takes about an hour to install.
Also apparent in Longhorn is Microsoft's multimedia push. The latest leaked alpha version has an incomplete "My TV" application, deeply integrated media player and support for creating photo albums, akin to Apple Computer Inc.'s iPhoto, testers reported.
The missing file system is only part of the unfinished work on Longhorn. Another part is the user interface, which is expected to be 3D and video-based.
Testers agree that the final version of Longhorn will look very different from build 4008. That is also why Microsoft, which confirmed the authenticity of the leaked Longhorn build, won't talk about the product.
"The technology at this stage in no way represents what the final version of the product will be. The release is still far away," said a spokeswoman for Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash.
MSN to stream Times Square fete
If you can't make it to Times Square for the famed locale's 100th New Year's Eve celebration, you can watch it from start to finish online. Microsoft's MSN portal said Tuesday it will provide an online broadcast of the historic party. The Webcast starts at 3 p.m. Pacific Standard Time when event organizers plan to raise their trademark crystal ball and runs until 9:15 p.m. PST after the ball's drop. Visitors to the MSN Video site will be able to follow the action in New York City via three live streams.
The company said it arranged for the Webcast through a collaboration with the nonprofit Times Square Alliance, as well as with Countdown Entertainment and Clear Channel Entertainment TV. Celebration organizers noted that Times Square has long pushed the envelope in the broadcast-technology arena, from its signature "zipper" newswire, introduced on the New York Times Building in 1928, to huge LED displays called Jumbotrons, first seen in the 1980s.
The company said it arranged for the Webcast through a collaboration with the nonprofit Times Square Alliance, as well as with Countdown Entertainment and Clear Channel Entertainment TV. Celebration organizers noted that Times Square has long pushed the envelope in the broadcast-technology arena, from its signature "zipper" newswire, introduced on the New York Times Building in 1928, to huge LED displays called Jumbotrons, first seen in the 1980s.
Monday, December 27, 2004
Microsoft offers glimpse of the future
Microsoft will attempt to whip up enthusiasm among its nation of developers next week when it shows off many of the pieces that will serve as the foundation of its technology vision of the future for corporate users.
At its 10th annual Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles, the company hopes to stoke that enthusiasm among 7,000 developers by delivering to them early versions of its long-awaited next generation operating system, development suite of tools, database, and Web services framework.
The show figures to be the first of many come-to-Jesus gatherings as a way to entice developers to start working on development and to win early mindshare. Given that some of the finished versions of the products such as Longhorn, the Windows XP successor, will not be available until 2006, it figures to be a long religious crusade.
The company will finally release early code of Longhorn to developers, which will include a SDK, which should allow them to begin working with some of the new features of the upcoming operating system. Company officials cautioned, however, that it is merely a preview version.
"Developers should be able to start working with all the cool fundamental things that will be in Longhorn. I think they will like the breadth and depth of what they see. But if you were to pop this onto your home PC you would not be super happy with the experience," said Adam Sohn, product manager at Microsoft's Platform Strategy group.
Microsoft will show off the latest work it has done on Longhorn's graphical interface, saying that developers should walk away with a deeper understanding of what the company is trying to help developers accomplish within the new presentation layer. He said they will show off some interface prototypes and lay out their thinking on what "user interface experiences" should be.
A key ingredient in the early version of Longhorn is its new Windows Future Storage (WinFS) file system that promises to take a new approach to the way data is stored on hard drives and other physical media and make it easier to find and visualize data.
"The story [with WinFS] is, what is in there is pretty solid, and developers will be able to start programming against it," Sohn said.
Microsoft will also release early code of the next version of its Visual Studio development platform, code-named Whidbey, which should give a good feel for what will be in the finished version. Sohn cautions again that it is still early days for the product and it has a ways to go before all the pieces are polished and put in place.
"I think they will get a sense for the innovations we are trying to push into the platform technology, but it is not production-level stuff. It is for developers to get a first peek at what we are up to. We want to get their feedback and their creative juices flowing, and maybe to start some very early work," Sohn said.
Another early version of a long-awaited program to be released is Yukon, the company's next-generation version of its SQL Server database that will include a Services Broker that makes use of asynchronous queuing and reportedly has guaranteed messaging. The product also has built-in support for Web services.
"In terms of Yukon there will be a hard focus on what developers should be doing to utilize the full power of the data-driven section of the platform. You will hear more about our storage vision and how data needs to be managed at different levels inside an organization," Sohn said.
Microsoft will show off Indigo, its upcoming framework for building Web services and creating applications that can be inherently connected across environments and that can flexibly scale to meet whatever computing requirements individual corporate users have. Company officials will talk about their ongoing commitment to compatibility with existing applications and platforms relative to Indigo and will make it clear they intend to leave no existing investment behind.
"We see the value of getting folks onto the next wave, but we also know the platform rises and falls on the success of other developers. You can't leave people behind. You must have compatibility," Sohn said.
The combination of Whidbey and Indigo are intended to make it easier to build Web services.
Although Sohn said he was unaware of specific show references to accommodating Java applications in Microsoft's development scheme, he said the company does intend to keep supporting multiple programming languages.
"I think you'll hear us continue to [have] support for multiple languages inside not only the framework but more broadly in the tool set," he said. Microsoft acknowledges heterogeneity of user environments, said Sohn.
Sohn acknowledged there is a session planned on migrating Java applications to Microsoft's development framework.
There will not be much new to report on Microsoft's Office System 2003 suite of desktop applications, formally launched on Tuesday in New York, nor on its Jupiter suite of server-based applications, according to Sohn. The company, however, will address how those suites of applications have been designed so developers can build solutions on top of them and how both the applications and solutions can work together via Web services.
"We will be more focused on enabling developers to be successful, and a big chunk of that is how Office takes advantage of the different platforms. We will be talking more about underlying plumbing and what that means for developers writing enterprise applications," Sohn said.
At its 10th annual Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles, the company hopes to stoke that enthusiasm among 7,000 developers by delivering to them early versions of its long-awaited next generation operating system, development suite of tools, database, and Web services framework.
The show figures to be the first of many come-to-Jesus gatherings as a way to entice developers to start working on development and to win early mindshare. Given that some of the finished versions of the products such as Longhorn, the Windows XP successor, will not be available until 2006, it figures to be a long religious crusade.
The company will finally release early code of Longhorn to developers, which will include a SDK, which should allow them to begin working with some of the new features of the upcoming operating system. Company officials cautioned, however, that it is merely a preview version.
"Developers should be able to start working with all the cool fundamental things that will be in Longhorn. I think they will like the breadth and depth of what they see. But if you were to pop this onto your home PC you would not be super happy with the experience," said Adam Sohn, product manager at Microsoft's Platform Strategy group.
Microsoft will show off the latest work it has done on Longhorn's graphical interface, saying that developers should walk away with a deeper understanding of what the company is trying to help developers accomplish within the new presentation layer. He said they will show off some interface prototypes and lay out their thinking on what "user interface experiences" should be.
A key ingredient in the early version of Longhorn is its new Windows Future Storage (WinFS) file system that promises to take a new approach to the way data is stored on hard drives and other physical media and make it easier to find and visualize data.
"The story [with WinFS] is, what is in there is pretty solid, and developers will be able to start programming against it," Sohn said.
Microsoft will also release early code of the next version of its Visual Studio development platform, code-named Whidbey, which should give a good feel for what will be in the finished version. Sohn cautions again that it is still early days for the product and it has a ways to go before all the pieces are polished and put in place.
"I think they will get a sense for the innovations we are trying to push into the platform technology, but it is not production-level stuff. It is for developers to get a first peek at what we are up to. We want to get their feedback and their creative juices flowing, and maybe to start some very early work," Sohn said.
Another early version of a long-awaited program to be released is Yukon, the company's next-generation version of its SQL Server database that will include a Services Broker that makes use of asynchronous queuing and reportedly has guaranteed messaging. The product also has built-in support for Web services.
"In terms of Yukon there will be a hard focus on what developers should be doing to utilize the full power of the data-driven section of the platform. You will hear more about our storage vision and how data needs to be managed at different levels inside an organization," Sohn said.
Microsoft will show off Indigo, its upcoming framework for building Web services and creating applications that can be inherently connected across environments and that can flexibly scale to meet whatever computing requirements individual corporate users have. Company officials will talk about their ongoing commitment to compatibility with existing applications and platforms relative to Indigo and will make it clear they intend to leave no existing investment behind.
"We see the value of getting folks onto the next wave, but we also know the platform rises and falls on the success of other developers. You can't leave people behind. You must have compatibility," Sohn said.
The combination of Whidbey and Indigo are intended to make it easier to build Web services.
Although Sohn said he was unaware of specific show references to accommodating Java applications in Microsoft's development scheme, he said the company does intend to keep supporting multiple programming languages.
"I think you'll hear us continue to [have] support for multiple languages inside not only the framework but more broadly in the tool set," he said. Microsoft acknowledges heterogeneity of user environments, said Sohn.
Sohn acknowledged there is a session planned on migrating Java applications to Microsoft's development framework.
There will not be much new to report on Microsoft's Office System 2003 suite of desktop applications, formally launched on Tuesday in New York, nor on its Jupiter suite of server-based applications, according to Sohn. The company, however, will address how those suites of applications have been designed so developers can build solutions on top of them and how both the applications and solutions can work together via Web services.
"We will be more focused on enabling developers to be successful, and a big chunk of that is how Office takes advantage of the different platforms. We will be talking more about underlying plumbing and what that means for developers writing enterprise applications," Sohn said.
Update: Longhorn gets first showing at PDC
LOS ANGELES -- Proclaiming that the digital decade is just dawning, Microsoft Corp. Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates on Monday gave the first official peek at Longhorn, the next version of Windows expected out in 2006.
Longhorn will be "the biggest release of this decade, the biggest since Windows 95," Gates said in his opening keynote at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in Los Angeles.
With Longhorn, Microsoft will introduce a unified storage system dubbed WinFS for Windows Future Storage. The unified file system is the "Holy Grail" for Gates. "I have been talking about it for over a decade and finally here it is," he said
Together with a new engine underlying the Longhorn user interface code-named Avalon, WinFS should make it easier for users to find and organize files on their PCs. The familiar directories and folders will be replaced with XML (extensible markup language) metadata, allowing users to easily find documents that relate to a specific project or topic, or all communications with one person, for example.
Also, Longhorn will pull data out of the "silos" that are the individual applications, Gates said. Data will reside at the platform level, instead of at the application level. E-mail address book information, for example, will be accessible from multiple applications, instead of just the e-mail client, Gates said.
WinFS will be based on technology from Yukon, the code name for the next version of Microsoft's SQL Server database due out next year. "Until we had a lot of this database technology we could not organize these things," Gates said.
Hillel Cooperman, product unit manager for the Windows user experience, demonstrated an early version of Longhorn. The user interface at first glance looked much like current Windows versions, though with transparent Windows and a transparent sidebar that includes a clock, instant messenger contacts list and other information.
Cooperman also demonstrated new features of the file system. The "My Documents" icon on the desktop no longer opens a specific folder on the hard disk drive, but displays documents located anywhere on the system tagged with XML data. He displayed documents by project and sender.
Cooperman also opened a DOS application in Longhorn, demonstrating Microsoft's "over 20 years of commitment to interoperability."
Other enhancements in Longhorn will include the hardware-based security technology called Next-Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB) and Indigo, the code name for a Web services technology. Indigo will connect applications on a system as well across networks, Gates said.
Software is what held back the digital decade in the past 10 years, according to Gates. "The expectations of the last decade required more time," he said. "It is simple to say where the constraint is in this era… It is software," not hardware. And Longhorn, of course, will deal with those constraints.
After Gates' presentation, Microsoft Group Vice President Jim Allchin took the stage and delved into Longhorn specifics key to software developers, the target audience for the PDC.
Allchin, who heads the Platforms group, introduced a new application programming model called WinFX, the next step from Microsoft's .Net Framework model. WinFX offers improvements in security and reliability, while also allowing a developer to work more effectively, according to Allchin. He also announced XAML, a new markup language for Avalon.
New performance-improving technologies in Longhorn include SuperFetch, which helps an application launch faster, and ClickOnce installation, which allows a user to install an application with one click and should speed up and simplify application deployment, Allchin said.
PDC attendees will get a CD containing an early version of Longhorn. However, developers have to wait to look at the new development tools. The preview handed out Monday lacks WinFX application programming interfaces, Allchin said. Microsoft has said a Longhorn first beta is planned for next year. The company has not given an official product release date.
Following the keynote, Microsoft officials said that Allchin had misspoken in his speech and that the WinFX interfaces were, in fact, included in Microsoft's preview CD.
Longhorn will be "the biggest release of this decade, the biggest since Windows 95," Gates said in his opening keynote at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in Los Angeles.
With Longhorn, Microsoft will introduce a unified storage system dubbed WinFS for Windows Future Storage. The unified file system is the "Holy Grail" for Gates. "I have been talking about it for over a decade and finally here it is," he said
Together with a new engine underlying the Longhorn user interface code-named Avalon, WinFS should make it easier for users to find and organize files on their PCs. The familiar directories and folders will be replaced with XML (extensible markup language) metadata, allowing users to easily find documents that relate to a specific project or topic, or all communications with one person, for example.
Also, Longhorn will pull data out of the "silos" that are the individual applications, Gates said. Data will reside at the platform level, instead of at the application level. E-mail address book information, for example, will be accessible from multiple applications, instead of just the e-mail client, Gates said.
WinFS will be based on technology from Yukon, the code name for the next version of Microsoft's SQL Server database due out next year. "Until we had a lot of this database technology we could not organize these things," Gates said.
Hillel Cooperman, product unit manager for the Windows user experience, demonstrated an early version of Longhorn. The user interface at first glance looked much like current Windows versions, though with transparent Windows and a transparent sidebar that includes a clock, instant messenger contacts list and other information.
Cooperman also demonstrated new features of the file system. The "My Documents" icon on the desktop no longer opens a specific folder on the hard disk drive, but displays documents located anywhere on the system tagged with XML data. He displayed documents by project and sender.
Cooperman also opened a DOS application in Longhorn, demonstrating Microsoft's "over 20 years of commitment to interoperability."
Other enhancements in Longhorn will include the hardware-based security technology called Next-Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB) and Indigo, the code name for a Web services technology. Indigo will connect applications on a system as well across networks, Gates said.
Software is what held back the digital decade in the past 10 years, according to Gates. "The expectations of the last decade required more time," he said. "It is simple to say where the constraint is in this era… It is software," not hardware. And Longhorn, of course, will deal with those constraints.
After Gates' presentation, Microsoft Group Vice President Jim Allchin took the stage and delved into Longhorn specifics key to software developers, the target audience for the PDC.
Allchin, who heads the Platforms group, introduced a new application programming model called WinFX, the next step from Microsoft's .Net Framework model. WinFX offers improvements in security and reliability, while also allowing a developer to work more effectively, according to Allchin. He also announced XAML, a new markup language for Avalon.
New performance-improving technologies in Longhorn include SuperFetch, which helps an application launch faster, and ClickOnce installation, which allows a user to install an application with one click and should speed up and simplify application deployment, Allchin said.
PDC attendees will get a CD containing an early version of Longhorn. However, developers have to wait to look at the new development tools. The preview handed out Monday lacks WinFX application programming interfaces, Allchin said. Microsoft has said a Longhorn first beta is planned for next year. The company has not given an official product release date.
Following the keynote, Microsoft officials said that Allchin had misspoken in his speech and that the WinFX interfaces were, in fact, included in Microsoft's preview CD.
Security and Web integration key to Longhorn
LOS ANGELES -- Microsoft Corp. let loose early bits of Longhorn at its Professional Developer Conference (PDC) here and for the first time provided more extensive details around the key components of its next Windows operating system expected out in 2006.
Though Microsoft repeated that it would release a server version of Longhorn, the company would only discuss the client operating system. It is early days for the Longhorn client and way too early for the Longhorn server, Microsoft officials said here.
Longhorn is build up of three components on top of a layer of "fundamentals" that includes security and technology to make sure applications and drivers don't conflict. On top of those fundamentals sit Avalon, WinFS and Indigo, the codenames that with the Longhorn name itself have fed the rumor mills for the past years.
Avalon is the presentation subsystem of Longhorn, WinFS is the unified storage system built on top of Windows' existing file system NTFS, and Indigo combines all Windows communication technologies.
Microsoft officials, visibly happy that they could now talk about what they have been working on in secrecy, provided lengthy and deeply technical explanations of the technology behind the codenames. To be brief, Longhorn promises to give users a secure operating system with a new way to store files, revamped graphics and tight links to the Web.
For software developers, the operating system, though bringing a myriad of changes, should be easier to develop for and it will also run existing applications, dating all the way back to the days of DOS, the disk operating system.
Other than security and conflict prevention, the Longhorn fundamentals will also offer technology called SuperFetch that helps start an application faster, ClickOnce that makes it easy to install applications on a single PC or across a network, as well as technology that makes it easy to migrate from one machine to another, Microsoft Group Vice President Jim Allchin said in a keynote address on Monday.
"ClickOnce is the ability to just do an Xcopy, the equivalent of an Xcopy, to a machine," Allchin said.
Avalon, the Longhorn presentation system, had been little talked about until the PDC. With Avalon, Microsoft is leaving the bitmap behind it and is moving to vector-based graphics and a single graphics system. This promises better graphics and performance, said Darryn Dieken, group program manager for Windows client, speaking on Tuesday.
Today, Windows uses three different graphics APIs (application programming interfaces), to display video, two-dimensional or three-dimensional images, Dieken said. This slows down the system and requires software developers to write more code, which makes the system more error prone, he said.
Whether users will get the full benefits of Avalon will depend on the hardware, Dieken said. The new transparent windows feature, for example, will only work with hardware that is better than the average graphics card and processor in today's PCs, Dieken said.
Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates during his keynote Monday gave Microsoft's expectation of a PC in 2006. The PC is to sport a 4GHz to 6GHz processor with two cores, over 2GB of RAM, more than 1TB of disk storage, and a graphics processor three times as powerful as those found in today's PCs, he said.
Details on WinFS, the unified storage system for Longhorn, had leaked before PDC. However, some confusion about the technology Gates referred to as a "Holy Grail" was cleared up Tuesday. It is not a new file system, but the acronym nevertheless stands for Windows File System and not Windows Future Storage.
"We built WinFS on top of NTFS," said Gordon Mangione, corporate vice president for SQL Server at Microsoft , in a keynote presentation Tuesday. "We have 15 years investment in building streams on NTFS. ...There's no way we're going to throw all that out and start over again."
WinFS uses the relational engine technology that Microsoft also uses in Yukon, the next version of its SQL Server database due next year. The storage system promises to make it easier for users to find documents and e-mail messages, for example, by tagging those with XML (Extensible Markup Language) metadata.
WinFS data will no longer reside in specific folders on a hard disk drive. The "My Documents" icon on the desktop no longer opens a specific folder on the hard disk drive, but displays documents located anywhere on the system tagged with XML data. Also, certain data, such as the e-mail address book, will reside at the platform level, instead of at the application level, making it accessible from multiple applications, Microsoft said.
Existing Windows applications will work with systems running Longhorn. However, vendors will have to recode their applications if they want to take full advantage of WinFS and other Longhorn features, Microsoft officials said. The Redmond, Washington, software maker itself is planning a wave of new product releases in the Longhorn timeframe, including a new Office release.
Indigo has grown at PDC. Prior to the event, the definition was restricted to technology that enables Web services. Now Indigo stands for basically all of Windows' communications technologies, including peer-to-peer, instant messaging and Web services support, Microsoft officials said.
While Windows users will experience Avalon and WinFS first hand when Longhorn comes out, Indigo sits behind the scenes and is more interesting for developers of Windows applications.
"What we are doing is giving developers a higher level to make it less complex and more productive to write an application for Windows that communicates," said Steven Van Roekel, director of platform strategy at Microsoft. "Many of these technologies will be at a certain level an afterthought for end-users."
PDC attendees not only received a technical preview version of Longhorn, but also a Longhorn SDK (software development kit), Longhorn driver kit, and a preview of Whidbey, the next version of Microsoft's Visual Studio developer tools.
Allchin, who heads the Platforms group, also introduced a new application programming model at PDC called WinFX, the next step from Microsoft's .Net Framework model. WinFX offers improvements in security and reliability, while also allowing a developer to work more effectively, according to Allchin. He also announced XAML, a new markup language for Avalon.
Microsoft has not given a release date for Longhorn, but insiders expect the software to be out in 2006. A first beta of the product is planned for the third quarter of next year.
Though Microsoft repeated that it would release a server version of Longhorn, the company would only discuss the client operating system. It is early days for the Longhorn client and way too early for the Longhorn server, Microsoft officials said here.
Longhorn is build up of three components on top of a layer of "fundamentals" that includes security and technology to make sure applications and drivers don't conflict. On top of those fundamentals sit Avalon, WinFS and Indigo, the codenames that with the Longhorn name itself have fed the rumor mills for the past years.
Avalon is the presentation subsystem of Longhorn, WinFS is the unified storage system built on top of Windows' existing file system NTFS, and Indigo combines all Windows communication technologies.
Microsoft officials, visibly happy that they could now talk about what they have been working on in secrecy, provided lengthy and deeply technical explanations of the technology behind the codenames. To be brief, Longhorn promises to give users a secure operating system with a new way to store files, revamped graphics and tight links to the Web.
For software developers, the operating system, though bringing a myriad of changes, should be easier to develop for and it will also run existing applications, dating all the way back to the days of DOS, the disk operating system.
Other than security and conflict prevention, the Longhorn fundamentals will also offer technology called SuperFetch that helps start an application faster, ClickOnce that makes it easy to install applications on a single PC or across a network, as well as technology that makes it easy to migrate from one machine to another, Microsoft Group Vice President Jim Allchin said in a keynote address on Monday.
"ClickOnce is the ability to just do an Xcopy, the equivalent of an Xcopy, to a machine," Allchin said.
Avalon, the Longhorn presentation system, had been little talked about until the PDC. With Avalon, Microsoft is leaving the bitmap behind it and is moving to vector-based graphics and a single graphics system. This promises better graphics and performance, said Darryn Dieken, group program manager for Windows client, speaking on Tuesday.
Today, Windows uses three different graphics APIs (application programming interfaces), to display video, two-dimensional or three-dimensional images, Dieken said. This slows down the system and requires software developers to write more code, which makes the system more error prone, he said.
Whether users will get the full benefits of Avalon will depend on the hardware, Dieken said. The new transparent windows feature, for example, will only work with hardware that is better than the average graphics card and processor in today's PCs, Dieken said.
Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates during his keynote Monday gave Microsoft's expectation of a PC in 2006. The PC is to sport a 4GHz to 6GHz processor with two cores, over 2GB of RAM, more than 1TB of disk storage, and a graphics processor three times as powerful as those found in today's PCs, he said.
Details on WinFS, the unified storage system for Longhorn, had leaked before PDC. However, some confusion about the technology Gates referred to as a "Holy Grail" was cleared up Tuesday. It is not a new file system, but the acronym nevertheless stands for Windows File System and not Windows Future Storage.
"We built WinFS on top of NTFS," said Gordon Mangione, corporate vice president for SQL Server at Microsoft , in a keynote presentation Tuesday. "We have 15 years investment in building streams on NTFS. ...There's no way we're going to throw all that out and start over again."
WinFS uses the relational engine technology that Microsoft also uses in Yukon, the next version of its SQL Server database due next year. The storage system promises to make it easier for users to find documents and e-mail messages, for example, by tagging those with XML (Extensible Markup Language) metadata.
WinFS data will no longer reside in specific folders on a hard disk drive. The "My Documents" icon on the desktop no longer opens a specific folder on the hard disk drive, but displays documents located anywhere on the system tagged with XML data. Also, certain data, such as the e-mail address book, will reside at the platform level, instead of at the application level, making it accessible from multiple applications, Microsoft said.
Existing Windows applications will work with systems running Longhorn. However, vendors will have to recode their applications if they want to take full advantage of WinFS and other Longhorn features, Microsoft officials said. The Redmond, Washington, software maker itself is planning a wave of new product releases in the Longhorn timeframe, including a new Office release.
Indigo has grown at PDC. Prior to the event, the definition was restricted to technology that enables Web services. Now Indigo stands for basically all of Windows' communications technologies, including peer-to-peer, instant messaging and Web services support, Microsoft officials said.
While Windows users will experience Avalon and WinFS first hand when Longhorn comes out, Indigo sits behind the scenes and is more interesting for developers of Windows applications.
"What we are doing is giving developers a higher level to make it less complex and more productive to write an application for Windows that communicates," said Steven Van Roekel, director of platform strategy at Microsoft. "Many of these technologies will be at a certain level an afterthought for end-users."
PDC attendees not only received a technical preview version of Longhorn, but also a Longhorn SDK (software development kit), Longhorn driver kit, and a preview of Whidbey, the next version of Microsoft's Visual Studio developer tools.
Allchin, who heads the Platforms group, also introduced a new application programming model at PDC called WinFX, the next step from Microsoft's .Net Framework model. WinFX offers improvements in security and reliability, while also allowing a developer to work more effectively, according to Allchin. He also announced XAML, a new markup language for Avalon.
Microsoft has not given a release date for Longhorn, but insiders expect the software to be out in 2006. A first beta of the product is planned for the third quarter of next year.
SQL Server 'Yukon' to get XML data type
LOS ANGELES -- Microsoft at its Professional Developers Conference 2003 here on Tuesday will discuss intentions to add an XML data type to its SQL Server database, with the Yukon release of the product planned for late 2004.
Plans for integration of the database with Microsoft's Common Language Runtime (CLR) also will be featured.
XML plans involve letting developers treat XML and relational data alike, said Stan Sorensen, director of product management for SQL Server at Microsoft, in an interview on Monday.
"The way that we're going to enable that is by creating a native XML data type," Sorensen said.
Queries can be run on XML data just as they could on relational data, he said. An example of a query would be to retrieve news articles written by a specific author and attaching an XML schema to the query, enabling retrieval specifically of deeper, analytical articles.
"By creating an XML data type, we're going to enable that data to fit into that rows-and-columns format" common in relational databases, he said. Support of the XQuery language in Yukon provides for a query mechanism, said Sorensen.
Including the CLR in the database will enable developers to write database applications using a language other than the native Transact-SQL language featured in SQL Server, Sorensen said.
"It's all about developer productivity in Yukon," Sorensen said. By running the CLR engine inside Yukon, developers can write database applications in languages such as C# or Visual Basic. Third parties are expected to write drivers that enable applications to be developed in additional languages, said Sorensen, who added that he would expect such a driver for the rival Java language.
The CLR enables translation of code into a common language to be executed by the CLR engine. "What's good about that is language choice for developers," Sorensen said.
Also to be highlighted in Yukon is more integration with the Visual Studio toolset and the ability to write a Web service in Yukon. Microsoft Reporting Services enable this functionality now, but this ability will be increased in Yukon by writing a lot of the database in "managed code," Microsoft's term for code that features common and consistent object and security models as well as a common and consistent set of APIs, Sorensen said. Managed code is offered via the company’s .Net Framework.
The Service Broker planned for Yukon will enable more inter-process communications between database components, Sorensen said.
Plans for integration of the database with Microsoft's Common Language Runtime (CLR) also will be featured.
XML plans involve letting developers treat XML and relational data alike, said Stan Sorensen, director of product management for SQL Server at Microsoft, in an interview on Monday.
"The way that we're going to enable that is by creating a native XML data type," Sorensen said.
Queries can be run on XML data just as they could on relational data, he said. An example of a query would be to retrieve news articles written by a specific author and attaching an XML schema to the query, enabling retrieval specifically of deeper, analytical articles.
"By creating an XML data type, we're going to enable that data to fit into that rows-and-columns format" common in relational databases, he said. Support of the XQuery language in Yukon provides for a query mechanism, said Sorensen.
Including the CLR in the database will enable developers to write database applications using a language other than the native Transact-SQL language featured in SQL Server, Sorensen said.
"It's all about developer productivity in Yukon," Sorensen said. By running the CLR engine inside Yukon, developers can write database applications in languages such as C# or Visual Basic. Third parties are expected to write drivers that enable applications to be developed in additional languages, said Sorensen, who added that he would expect such a driver for the rival Java language.
The CLR enables translation of code into a common language to be executed by the CLR engine. "What's good about that is language choice for developers," Sorensen said.
Also to be highlighted in Yukon is more integration with the Visual Studio toolset and the ability to write a Web service in Yukon. Microsoft Reporting Services enable this functionality now, but this ability will be increased in Yukon by writing a lot of the database in "managed code," Microsoft's term for code that features common and consistent object and security models as well as a common and consistent set of APIs, Sorensen said. Managed code is offered via the company’s .Net Framework.
The Service Broker planned for Yukon will enable more inter-process communications between database components, Sorensen said.
Longhorn backs thick client model
Call it the revenge of the Windows client — or the revelation of Microsoft's three new technology pillars.
Longhorn, the forthcoming version of Windows, made its first public outing at last week's Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in Los Angeles.
Not due until 2005 or 2006, Longhorn represents Microsoft's determination to strengthen its desktop stronghold by fostering a new generation of Internet-aware applications.
Underpinning that strategy are Longhorn's three main technology pillars: Avalon, the glossy new 3D GUI; WinFS, a new, XML-based storage scheme; and Indigo, a messaging technology based on Web services. All three fall under the moniker WinFX, an upgrade of the .Net Framework and the new Longhorn application development environment.
Avalon's role can be seen as an attempt to raise the desktop ante with compelling 3D extensions to the Windows GUI so that browser apps pale even more in comparison.
For years, Microsoft has argued that browser-based apps are a step backward. The company has suggested these apps be replaced by smart, Internet-aware client applications that exploit all that excess processing power at the edge of the network — that is, desktop computers running Windows.
Greg Sullivan, lead product manager at Microsoft's Windows development group, acknowledged that "we now live in a world where the dominant application model is living in a Web page" despite the fact that the client must always be connected, that the server becomes a bottleneck, and that HTML apps are clunky to build and use. He noted that even in current desktop applications, hardware is not fully utilized, particularly the GPU (graphics processing unit) now mostly used for games.
Avalon will need all the computing power it can find. Although a subset of the new Avalon graphics subsystem will run on today's hardware, Microsoft technical evangelist Darryn Dieken said developers will need hardware not yet available if they "want a rich visual experience with all the 3D controls."
According to Sullivan, programming will actually be easier with Avalon than with current Windows GUI development thanks to XAML (XML Application Markup Language), which will simplify the creation of graphical interfaces. Moreover, XAML code can be passed from other apps.
Greg DeMichillie, lead analyst at Directions on Microsoft, explained that enterprise customers will have "the possibility of letting graphic artists more directly create the user interface either by entering the markup themselves or by using graphics tools as opposed to programmer tools."
DeMichillie added that the Avalon proposition hinges on a simple question. "Will consumers go out and buy another PC and upgrade, or will corporations buy a new PC and upgrade to get Avalon? Well, the answer to that will depend largely on whether there's some great Avalon app that's so compelling that they say, 'Yeah, I gotta have it,' " DeMichillie said.
One example of Avalon's capabilities was a shopping application developed by Amazon and demonstrated at PDC by Jim Allchin, vice president of Microsoft's platforms group. This downloadable, smart 3D client applied a Rolodex-like metaphor that illustrated the power of WinFS, the new unified storage model. When a user looks up information in a desktop calendar app, for example, it suggests a gift for mom's imminent birthday.
Microsoft revealed previously that WinFS will run on top of rather than replace its existing NTFS (NT File System). But last week the company revealed WinFS will tie into XML-based data storage, enabling developers to exploit standard XML interfaces to data previously locked up in desktop applications.
"The fact that we can start to view information in a consistent way and sort in a consistent way is important," said Ted Schandler, research director at Forrester Research. "Instead of five different storage formats on the client, you've got one. And that's a big deal."
But Schandler and several others reserved their highest praise for Indigo. According to Microsoft Director of Web Services Marketing Steven VanRoekel, Indigo is "a comprehensive implementation of messaging technology" that includes such draft Web services protocols as WS-Policy, WS-Security, WS-Trust, WS-Federation, WS-ReliableMessaging, WS-Coordination, and more.
"Indigo is the closest thing I've seen to XML-based middleware, pure Web-services-based middleware," said John Rhymer, vice president of Giga Research. "People have been talking about this for four years, and here you've got it. It looks like a really good piece of work."
VanRoekel insisted that Indigo goes beyond conventional middleware in its ability to provide standardized, message-based communications to desktop applications. As a part of the Longhorn environment, it changes the way developers view the applications they build from the bottom up, enabling them to assume secure, coordinated, message-based connectivity to other applications from the outset.
"If you're thinking about Web services, you're immediately faced with the kinds of problems that Indigo is meant to solve," Directions on Microsoft's DeMichillie said. "How do I do secure Web services? How do I do Web services that participate in business transactions? So Indigo is the piece I think most corporate developers are going to go home and … immediately start playing with it, at least in an early form."
Make that "very early." Questions as to why Indigo, WinFS, and Avalon were being unveiled years before Longhorn will ship circulated throughout the conference. The darker view was summed up by Giga's Rhymer: "Any discussion of Longhorn at this stage of the game is so, so early that it looked to me like freezing-the-market tactics. It really looked like this is part of the [anti-]Linux campaign."
According to Microsoft representatives, the company used PDC to solicit developer feedback in order to refine its plans. Microsoft also needs developers to create killer Longhorn apps to make the platform's benefits crystal clear — and to drive upgrades to yet another new generation of Windows-based computing.
Longhorn, the forthcoming version of Windows, made its first public outing at last week's Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in Los Angeles.
Not due until 2005 or 2006, Longhorn represents Microsoft's determination to strengthen its desktop stronghold by fostering a new generation of Internet-aware applications.
Underpinning that strategy are Longhorn's three main technology pillars: Avalon, the glossy new 3D GUI; WinFS, a new, XML-based storage scheme; and Indigo, a messaging technology based on Web services. All three fall under the moniker WinFX, an upgrade of the .Net Framework and the new Longhorn application development environment.
Avalon's role can be seen as an attempt to raise the desktop ante with compelling 3D extensions to the Windows GUI so that browser apps pale even more in comparison.
For years, Microsoft has argued that browser-based apps are a step backward. The company has suggested these apps be replaced by smart, Internet-aware client applications that exploit all that excess processing power at the edge of the network — that is, desktop computers running Windows.
Greg Sullivan, lead product manager at Microsoft's Windows development group, acknowledged that "we now live in a world where the dominant application model is living in a Web page" despite the fact that the client must always be connected, that the server becomes a bottleneck, and that HTML apps are clunky to build and use. He noted that even in current desktop applications, hardware is not fully utilized, particularly the GPU (graphics processing unit) now mostly used for games.
Avalon will need all the computing power it can find. Although a subset of the new Avalon graphics subsystem will run on today's hardware, Microsoft technical evangelist Darryn Dieken said developers will need hardware not yet available if they "want a rich visual experience with all the 3D controls."
According to Sullivan, programming will actually be easier with Avalon than with current Windows GUI development thanks to XAML (XML Application Markup Language), which will simplify the creation of graphical interfaces. Moreover, XAML code can be passed from other apps.
Greg DeMichillie, lead analyst at Directions on Microsoft, explained that enterprise customers will have "the possibility of letting graphic artists more directly create the user interface either by entering the markup themselves or by using graphics tools as opposed to programmer tools."
DeMichillie added that the Avalon proposition hinges on a simple question. "Will consumers go out and buy another PC and upgrade, or will corporations buy a new PC and upgrade to get Avalon? Well, the answer to that will depend largely on whether there's some great Avalon app that's so compelling that they say, 'Yeah, I gotta have it,' " DeMichillie said.
One example of Avalon's capabilities was a shopping application developed by Amazon and demonstrated at PDC by Jim Allchin, vice president of Microsoft's platforms group. This downloadable, smart 3D client applied a Rolodex-like metaphor that illustrated the power of WinFS, the new unified storage model. When a user looks up information in a desktop calendar app, for example, it suggests a gift for mom's imminent birthday.
Microsoft revealed previously that WinFS will run on top of rather than replace its existing NTFS (NT File System). But last week the company revealed WinFS will tie into XML-based data storage, enabling developers to exploit standard XML interfaces to data previously locked up in desktop applications.
"The fact that we can start to view information in a consistent way and sort in a consistent way is important," said Ted Schandler, research director at Forrester Research. "Instead of five different storage formats on the client, you've got one. And that's a big deal."
But Schandler and several others reserved their highest praise for Indigo. According to Microsoft Director of Web Services Marketing Steven VanRoekel, Indigo is "a comprehensive implementation of messaging technology" that includes such draft Web services protocols as WS-Policy, WS-Security, WS-Trust, WS-Federation, WS-ReliableMessaging, WS-Coordination, and more.
"Indigo is the closest thing I've seen to XML-based middleware, pure Web-services-based middleware," said John Rhymer, vice president of Giga Research. "People have been talking about this for four years, and here you've got it. It looks like a really good piece of work."
VanRoekel insisted that Indigo goes beyond conventional middleware in its ability to provide standardized, message-based communications to desktop applications. As a part of the Longhorn environment, it changes the way developers view the applications they build from the bottom up, enabling them to assume secure, coordinated, message-based connectivity to other applications from the outset.
"If you're thinking about Web services, you're immediately faced with the kinds of problems that Indigo is meant to solve," Directions on Microsoft's DeMichillie said. "How do I do secure Web services? How do I do Web services that participate in business transactions? So Indigo is the piece I think most corporate developers are going to go home and … immediately start playing with it, at least in an early form."
Make that "very early." Questions as to why Indigo, WinFS, and Avalon were being unveiled years before Longhorn will ship circulated throughout the conference. The darker view was summed up by Giga's Rhymer: "Any discussion of Longhorn at this stage of the game is so, so early that it looked to me like freezing-the-market tactics. It really looked like this is part of the [anti-]Linux campaign."
According to Microsoft representatives, the company used PDC to solicit developer feedback in order to refine its plans. Microsoft also needs developers to create killer Longhorn apps to make the platform's benefits crystal clear — and to drive upgrades to yet another new generation of Windows-based computing.
Microsoft eyes Web services design tool
LOS ANGELES -- Microsoft, at its Professional Developers Conference 2003 here, plans to reveal details of a Web services design tool that is intended to be similar, albeit superior, to BEA Systems' WebLogic Workshop platform, a Microsoft official said.
Generically referred to as "Visual Studio Web Services Design Tool," the product enables visual design and drag-and-drop functionality for modeling and connecting Web services systems, said Prashant Sridharan, lead product manager for Visual Studio at Microsoft. Developers will be able to model operations infrastructure such as routers and datacenter systems for use in Web services applications, according to Sridharan.
Part of the company's Indigo Web services platform, the design tool is due to ship as part of the Whidbey version of the Visual Studio developer tool in 2004.
Generically referred to as "Visual Studio Web Services Design Tool," the product enables visual design and drag-and-drop functionality for modeling and connecting Web services systems, said Prashant Sridharan, lead product manager for Visual Studio at Microsoft. Developers will be able to model operations infrastructure such as routers and datacenter systems for use in Web services applications, according to Sridharan.
Part of the company's Indigo Web services platform, the design tool is due to ship as part of the Whidbey version of the Visual Studio developer tool in 2004.
Microsoft riding Whitehorse for developers
LOS ANGELES -- Microsoft in the "Whidbey" version of the Visual Studio tool, due in 2004, will feature a set of design tools called "Whitehorse," to enable building of services-oriented systems.
Whitehorse enables visualization of relationships between services, according to Rick LaPlante, a general manager in the Microsoft developer division. He spoke during a presentation at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2003 here on Tuesday.
LaPlante showed a three-step demonstration in which information is communicated to an engineering team, a view of the datacenter is presented, and a service is validated to conform to policies. Web services can be incorporated or restricted via Whitehorse.
An audience member said the idea of Whitehorse, to unite network operators and developers, is a good one.
"I think that Whitehorse is kind of a great technology, to integrate those two [technology areas]," said attendee John Conger, assistant vice president and senior development analyst at Ivy Asset Management.
Microsoft Senior Vice President Eric Rudder and other Microsoft officials on Tuesday stressed ease of development features planned for Whidbey for both client and Web development.
Print management will be simplified, as will user management. "Whidbey has a feature to deal with objects to simplify printing," Rudder said.
"In Whidbey, we've also taken a dramatic step forward and built in a user management system to ASP .Net," he added.
Visual Basic development is eased in Whidbey, said Ari Bixhorn, lead product manager in the Microsoft developer division. "We really are able to take productivity to new heights, particularly for Visual Basic developers," Bixhorn said.
He gave a demonstration in which he built an insurance claims processing form, which featured guides telling where to drag and drop a particular tools window.
"In Whidbey, we can click on a field; in this case it's a service. We drag and drop it onto our form and boom -- automatically generate a data-bound UI," Bixhorn said.
Also highlighted in Whidbey is a new help system called My Help, providing better searching, a hierarchical view of data, and integrated community features. Help notes are updated as well.
The smart tag feature in Whidbey enables customization of a look and feel of an interface without writing any code, Bixhorn said. Advanced data binding enables binding of a picture to data in SQL Server, for example.
Web application development functions planned for Whidbey enable the product to be combined with ASP .Net for faster development of Web applications, said Scott Guthrie, product unit manager in the Microsoft developer division.
When building new pages on a site, master templates can be used to add content directly to the page. Web services can be accessed for information such as user IDs. Control technology also is used for functions such as providing a login screen, according to Guthrie.
Microsoft also is planning enhancements to its mobile development offerings to dramatically reduce the lines of code required for development, company officials said.
Microsoft's planned Indigo Web services framework also was touted Tuesday. Using Indigo, a Web service that initially took 50,000 lines of code to build in Visual Studio .Net and 27,000 lines of code in the company's Web services enhancements toolkit will be reduced to three lines, according to Rudder.
Additionally, Microsoft plans to release to developers its internally used Prefast tool for checking buffer overruns. The company also plans to release a Longhorn Server update to Windows Server, planned for release in 2004. Longhorn also is the name of the company's client operating system planned for release in 2006.
Whitehorse enables visualization of relationships between services, according to Rick LaPlante, a general manager in the Microsoft developer division. He spoke during a presentation at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2003 here on Tuesday.
LaPlante showed a three-step demonstration in which information is communicated to an engineering team, a view of the datacenter is presented, and a service is validated to conform to policies. Web services can be incorporated or restricted via Whitehorse.
An audience member said the idea of Whitehorse, to unite network operators and developers, is a good one.
"I think that Whitehorse is kind of a great technology, to integrate those two [technology areas]," said attendee John Conger, assistant vice president and senior development analyst at Ivy Asset Management.
Microsoft Senior Vice President Eric Rudder and other Microsoft officials on Tuesday stressed ease of development features planned for Whidbey for both client and Web development.
Print management will be simplified, as will user management. "Whidbey has a feature to deal with objects to simplify printing," Rudder said.
"In Whidbey, we've also taken a dramatic step forward and built in a user management system to ASP .Net," he added.
Visual Basic development is eased in Whidbey, said Ari Bixhorn, lead product manager in the Microsoft developer division. "We really are able to take productivity to new heights, particularly for Visual Basic developers," Bixhorn said.
He gave a demonstration in which he built an insurance claims processing form, which featured guides telling where to drag and drop a particular tools window.
"In Whidbey, we can click on a field; in this case it's a service. We drag and drop it onto our form and boom -- automatically generate a data-bound UI," Bixhorn said.
Also highlighted in Whidbey is a new help system called My Help, providing better searching, a hierarchical view of data, and integrated community features. Help notes are updated as well.
The smart tag feature in Whidbey enables customization of a look and feel of an interface without writing any code, Bixhorn said. Advanced data binding enables binding of a picture to data in SQL Server, for example.
Web application development functions planned for Whidbey enable the product to be combined with ASP .Net for faster development of Web applications, said Scott Guthrie, product unit manager in the Microsoft developer division.
When building new pages on a site, master templates can be used to add content directly to the page. Web services can be accessed for information such as user IDs. Control technology also is used for functions such as providing a login screen, according to Guthrie.
Microsoft also is planning enhancements to its mobile development offerings to dramatically reduce the lines of code required for development, company officials said.
Microsoft's planned Indigo Web services framework also was touted Tuesday. Using Indigo, a Web service that initially took 50,000 lines of code to build in Visual Studio .Net and 27,000 lines of code in the company's Web services enhancements toolkit will be reduced to three lines, according to Rudder.
Additionally, Microsoft plans to release to developers its internally used Prefast tool for checking buffer overruns. The company also plans to release a Longhorn Server update to Windows Server, planned for release in 2004. Longhorn also is the name of the company's client operating system planned for release in 2006.
Developers get their hands on Microsoft's NGSCB
LOS ANGELES -- In addition to showing off its next-generation Longhorn operating system this week, Microsoft Corp. for the first time handed out code that underlies its closely watched Next-Generation Secure Computing Base (NGSCB) security technology.
The company also further narrowed its focus for NGSCB, previously known by its Palladium code name, saying it is focused on putting the first version of the hardware-based security technology to work for specific business applications only, not consumer software.
Attendees at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in Los Angeles received a developer preview of NGSCB. Developers can use this preview to get a feel of what it is like to develop an application that uses NGSCB security.
"This is the first code that we have put out there. It is very early stuff," said Mario Juarez, a product manager at Microsoft's Security Business Unit. "View it as an educational opportunity."
Developers who write code based on the preview get no guarantees that their code it will actually work when NGSCB Version 1 ships as part of Longhorn, Juarez said.
NGSCB is a combination of hardware and software that creates a second operating environment within a PC that is meant to protect the system from malicious code by providing secure connections between applications, peripheral hardware, memory and storage. NGSCB will make its debut as part of Longhorn, the code name for the next version of Windows expected in 2006.
Microsoft is working with software makers, system integrators and large customers in the financial services, healthcare and government areas to create business applications that use NGSCB, Juarez said. These applications include document signing, secure instant messaging, viewing secure data and secure e-mail, he said.
In the past, Microsoft had also pitched NGSCB as an important technology for consumers. It would be part of the cure for the seemingly endless stream of viruses, worms and security bugs that also hits consumer PCs.
"We’re not going to have a consumer story until version two of NGSCB," said Mario Juarez, a product manager at Microsoft's Security Business Unit. No schedule has been set for the release of version two.
Microsoft says the technology could be a boon for PC users, though critics have argued that it is merely a way to deliver strong digital rights management technology that will curtail users' ability to control their own PCs and could erode fair-use rights for digital music and movie files.
NGSCB includes a new software component for Windows called a "nexus," and a chip that can perform cryptographic operations called the Security Support Component (SSC). NGSCB also requires changes to a PC's processor, chipset, video and input hardware, Microsoft has said. Because of the hardware requirements, users will have to buy a new PC to take advantage of NGSCB.
The company also further narrowed its focus for NGSCB, previously known by its Palladium code name, saying it is focused on putting the first version of the hardware-based security technology to work for specific business applications only, not consumer software.
Attendees at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in Los Angeles received a developer preview of NGSCB. Developers can use this preview to get a feel of what it is like to develop an application that uses NGSCB security.
"This is the first code that we have put out there. It is very early stuff," said Mario Juarez, a product manager at Microsoft's Security Business Unit. "View it as an educational opportunity."
Developers who write code based on the preview get no guarantees that their code it will actually work when NGSCB Version 1 ships as part of Longhorn, Juarez said.
NGSCB is a combination of hardware and software that creates a second operating environment within a PC that is meant to protect the system from malicious code by providing secure connections between applications, peripheral hardware, memory and storage. NGSCB will make its debut as part of Longhorn, the code name for the next version of Windows expected in 2006.
Microsoft is working with software makers, system integrators and large customers in the financial services, healthcare and government areas to create business applications that use NGSCB, Juarez said. These applications include document signing, secure instant messaging, viewing secure data and secure e-mail, he said.
In the past, Microsoft had also pitched NGSCB as an important technology for consumers. It would be part of the cure for the seemingly endless stream of viruses, worms and security bugs that also hits consumer PCs.
"We’re not going to have a consumer story until version two of NGSCB," said Mario Juarez, a product manager at Microsoft's Security Business Unit. No schedule has been set for the release of version two.
Microsoft says the technology could be a boon for PC users, though critics have argued that it is merely a way to deliver strong digital rights management technology that will curtail users' ability to control their own PCs and could erode fair-use rights for digital music and movie files.
NGSCB includes a new software component for Windows called a "nexus," and a chip that can perform cryptographic operations called the Security Support Component (SSC). NGSCB also requires changes to a PC's processor, chipset, video and input hardware, Microsoft has said. Because of the hardware requirements, users will have to buy a new PC to take advantage of NGSCB.
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Exploits released for new Windows flaws
A Chinese security group has released sample code to exploit two new unpatched flaws in Microsoft Windows.
The advisory comes in the week before Christmas, a time when many companies and home users are least prepared to deal with the problems. Security firm Symantec warned its clients of the vulnerabilities on Thursday, after the Chinese company that found the flaws published them to the Internet.
One vulnerability, in the operating system's Load Image Function ( http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/winui/winui/windowsuserinterface/resources/introductiontoresources/resourcereference/resourcefunctions/loadimage.asp ), could enable an attacker to compromise a victim's PC when the computer displays a specially crafted image placed on a Web site or in an e-mail. The other vulnerability, in the Windows Help program, likewise could affect any program that opens a Help file.
Because the flaws are in a library used by Windows programs, almost all browsers and e-mail clients are likely affected by the flaws, said Alfred Huger, senior director of engineering at Symantec.
"They are rather serious," Huger said. "Both can be exploited by anything that processes images or reads help files."
Because the flaws were accompanied by sample code--known as exploit code--that shows how to take advantage of the security holes, Huger expected the exploits to be quickly incorporated into the tools of malicious Internet users.
"The fact that there is an exploit out there is very concerning," he said. "I think you will see it in phishing scams and spyware in very short order."
A mass-mailing computer virus could also quickly begin using the vulnerabilities to spread.
Microsoft could not immediately be reached for comment on the issues.
The flaws came to light on Thursday, when a Chinese security forum, XFOCUS TEAM ( http://www.xfocus.org/ ), posted the issues to its Web site. The vulnerabilities were found by Chinese firm VenusTech and posted on Monday to the Internet, according to the Xfocus posts.
Software companies and corporate information technology departments are often short-staffed during the holiday season. That could mean that the response to this latest threat will be slow, Huger said.
"It is a bad time of year for this to come out," he said.
The advisory comes in the week before Christmas, a time when many companies and home users are least prepared to deal with the problems. Security firm Symantec warned its clients of the vulnerabilities on Thursday, after the Chinese company that found the flaws published them to the Internet.
One vulnerability, in the operating system's Load Image Function ( http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/winui/winui/windowsuserinterface/resources/introductiontoresources/resourcereference/resourcefunctions/loadimage.asp ), could enable an attacker to compromise a victim's PC when the computer displays a specially crafted image placed on a Web site or in an e-mail. The other vulnerability, in the Windows Help program, likewise could affect any program that opens a Help file.
Because the flaws are in a library used by Windows programs, almost all browsers and e-mail clients are likely affected by the flaws, said Alfred Huger, senior director of engineering at Symantec.
"They are rather serious," Huger said. "Both can be exploited by anything that processes images or reads help files."
Because the flaws were accompanied by sample code--known as exploit code--that shows how to take advantage of the security holes, Huger expected the exploits to be quickly incorporated into the tools of malicious Internet users.
"The fact that there is an exploit out there is very concerning," he said. "I think you will see it in phishing scams and spyware in very short order."
A mass-mailing computer virus could also quickly begin using the vulnerabilities to spread.
Microsoft could not immediately be reached for comment on the issues.
The flaws came to light on Thursday, when a Chinese security forum, XFOCUS TEAM ( http://www.xfocus.org/ ), posted the issues to its Web site. The vulnerabilities were found by Chinese firm VenusTech and posted on Monday to the Internet, according to the Xfocus posts.
Software companies and corporate information technology departments are often short-staffed during the holiday season. That could mean that the response to this latest threat will be slow, Huger said.
"It is a bad time of year for this to come out," he said.
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Microsoft readies scaled-back Windows
Less is less.
Microsoft seemed to put that message right into the name of its latest Windows version: Windows XP Reduced Media Edition.
Ordered by European regulators to sell a version of Windows without a built-in media player and denied a stay on Wednesday from an appeals court, Microsoft said it will deliver both Home and Professional versions of the scaled-back operating system to computer makers in January. The Reduced Media editions will be available only in Europe.
Microsoft group product manager Matt Pilla said the company wanted to be as clear as possible about what customers are--or aren't--getting. "As descriptive as we can be in the name, to reduce confusion, the better," Pilla said.
In addition to lacking a copy of Windows Media Player, the new version of Windows won't be able to do things like play a CD or MP3 file or transfer music to a portable device--at least not without additional software from another company. Among the limited media features that do remain are the ability to play .wav files using Sound Recorder as well as a moviemaking program that is separate from Windows Media Player.
"This is the first time we are being required to offer to consumers a version of Windows that provides them with less value rather than more," Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said in an interview Wednesday.
Customers who opt for the media-player-free version won't be getting a bargain. The EU ordered that Microsoft couldn't charge more for the version sans player, but it didn't say that Microsoft had to charge less.
"I am anticipating that it will be offered on exactly the terms that the court's--I should say that the commission's--decision permits it to be offered, which is the same price as the version of Windows that we offer today," Smith said during a conference call with reporters.
Those who do want the version will also have to head to Europe, as Microsoft said it does not plan to offer the software elsewhere.
"We have no plans to offer this version of Windows outside of the European Economic Area at this time, and I don't expect we'll have any such plans in the future," Smith told reporters. The EEA includes the European Union countries as well as Switzerland and Norway.
Smith said Microsoft has been working on developing the stripped-down version of Windows in advance of Wednesday's ruling.
"We've had technical teams working very hard over a series of months now on all of those steps, and there will be some additional work for the final stages of testing this additional version of Windows, but I think it's fair to say that most of the technical work is behind us," Smith said. "We do have some final stages ahead."
Microsoft said that all of the things that are supposed to work do work, though it still expects support calls from customers expecting features that aren't there.
"There's things that a customer is going to expect that won't work," said Dave Fester, general manager of Microsoft's Windows consumer unit, in an interview. "Customers (using) all operating systems have come to expect certain base functionality, whether it is Windows, Mac or Linux."
Smith did not say what the exact price tag will be for complying with the EU order, but did say "It's not the kind of cost figure that one would consider to be material for a company the size of Microsoft."
Microsoft seemed to put that message right into the name of its latest Windows version: Windows XP Reduced Media Edition.
Ordered by European regulators to sell a version of Windows without a built-in media player and denied a stay on Wednesday from an appeals court, Microsoft said it will deliver both Home and Professional versions of the scaled-back operating system to computer makers in January. The Reduced Media editions will be available only in Europe.
Microsoft group product manager Matt Pilla said the company wanted to be as clear as possible about what customers are--or aren't--getting. "As descriptive as we can be in the name, to reduce confusion, the better," Pilla said.
In addition to lacking a copy of Windows Media Player, the new version of Windows won't be able to do things like play a CD or MP3 file or transfer music to a portable device--at least not without additional software from another company. Among the limited media features that do remain are the ability to play .wav files using Sound Recorder as well as a moviemaking program that is separate from Windows Media Player.
"This is the first time we are being required to offer to consumers a version of Windows that provides them with less value rather than more," Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said in an interview Wednesday.
Customers who opt for the media-player-free version won't be getting a bargain. The EU ordered that Microsoft couldn't charge more for the version sans player, but it didn't say that Microsoft had to charge less.
"I am anticipating that it will be offered on exactly the terms that the court's--I should say that the commission's--decision permits it to be offered, which is the same price as the version of Windows that we offer today," Smith said during a conference call with reporters.
Those who do want the version will also have to head to Europe, as Microsoft said it does not plan to offer the software elsewhere.
"We have no plans to offer this version of Windows outside of the European Economic Area at this time, and I don't expect we'll have any such plans in the future," Smith told reporters. The EEA includes the European Union countries as well as Switzerland and Norway.
Smith said Microsoft has been working on developing the stripped-down version of Windows in advance of Wednesday's ruling.
"We've had technical teams working very hard over a series of months now on all of those steps, and there will be some additional work for the final stages of testing this additional version of Windows, but I think it's fair to say that most of the technical work is behind us," Smith said. "We do have some final stages ahead."
Microsoft said that all of the things that are supposed to work do work, though it still expects support calls from customers expecting features that aren't there.
"There's things that a customer is going to expect that won't work," said Dave Fester, general manager of Microsoft's Windows consumer unit, in an interview. "Customers (using) all operating systems have come to expect certain base functionality, whether it is Windows, Mac or Linux."
Smith did not say what the exact price tag will be for complying with the EU order, but did say "It's not the kind of cost figure that one would consider to be material for a company the size of Microsoft."
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
IMAGINE CUP 2005
The wait is finally over. As you must have allready seen in the announcements -
Imagine Cup 2005 Software Design India - will be launched shortly (this week).This year's SDI theme is
"Create technology that dissolves boundaries between us"
This year's Round 1 will involve you writing code to get a Mate in One for a chess game
Lots of hints have been provided to help you get started.
Log on to http://www.thespoke.net and regsiter yourselves.
Imagine Cup 2005 Software Design India - will be launched shortly (this week).This year's SDI theme is
"Create technology that dissolves boundaries between us"
This year's Round 1 will involve you writing code to get a Mate in One for a chess game
Lots of hints have been provided to help you get started.
Log on to http://www.thespoke.net and regsiter yourselves.
Microsoft buy comes with strings attached
A software company that Microsoft acquired this week to help beef up computer security may come with a bug of its own--a company claiming ownership of the programs.Sunbelt Software of Clearwater, Fla., on Friday confirmed reports that it has exclusive rights over certain aspects of the anti-spyware programs Microsoft gained in its acquisition of Giant Company Software on Thursday.
The exclusive rights claimed by Sunbelt mean only Sunbelt can legally create and distribute software development tools for Giant's programs. If legitimate, the claim means Microsoft would need permission from Sunbelt before letting software partners build links to Giant's programs, which are designed to combat spyware and spam. Without such links, the software may not work well with programs from third parties.
Sunbelt President Alex Eckelberry said he and executives from Microsoft are in cordial talks about a number of "business and technical issues" relating to the Giant acquisition. So far, the companies have had no disagreements or disputes, he said.
Microsoft issued a statement on Friday saying it will be the sole owner of all new versions of the Giant anti-spyware system that it develops, regardless of previous legal agreements between Giant and Sunbelt.
"There's nothing about these pre-existing commitments that will prevent us from bringing to market the product we think is needed and is right for our customers," said Amy Carroll, director of product management in Microsoft's security business and technology unit.
In addition, the company does not expect Sunbelt to restrict its ability to let other software developers tap its programs, Carroll said.
"We're very comfortable we will be able to offer software developer kits without running afoul of these agreements; we don't see that as an issue at all," she said.
Microsoft plans to honor a Giant contract and furnish Sunbelt with special updates through mid-2007 that enable Giant's programs to spot new kinds of spyware.
When it announced the acquisition, Microsoft said it planned to use Giant's technology to block spyware from infecting Windows PCs. Because of its popularity, Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser is a favorite target of spyware developers.
Spyware monitors people's activity on the Internet in order to steal passwords and log-in information. Another variety, called adware, delivers pop-up advertisements. The unwelcome software has become a huge annoyance for many unwitting computer users who've inadvertently downloaded the stuff while surfing the Web.
Programs from Giant, a 12-person company based in New York, can scan a person's PC for spyware and remove it. Microsoft intends to incorporate the technology into its products and expects to release a new version of the Giant product next month.
Some reports have said that Microsoft may eventually charge customers to use the tools to clean spyware off Windows, but the company has not yet made any announcement about pricing.
The exclusive rights claimed by Sunbelt mean only Sunbelt can legally create and distribute software development tools for Giant's programs. If legitimate, the claim means Microsoft would need permission from Sunbelt before letting software partners build links to Giant's programs, which are designed to combat spyware and spam. Without such links, the software may not work well with programs from third parties.
Sunbelt President Alex Eckelberry said he and executives from Microsoft are in cordial talks about a number of "business and technical issues" relating to the Giant acquisition. So far, the companies have had no disagreements or disputes, he said.
Microsoft issued a statement on Friday saying it will be the sole owner of all new versions of the Giant anti-spyware system that it develops, regardless of previous legal agreements between Giant and Sunbelt.
"There's nothing about these pre-existing commitments that will prevent us from bringing to market the product we think is needed and is right for our customers," said Amy Carroll, director of product management in Microsoft's security business and technology unit.
In addition, the company does not expect Sunbelt to restrict its ability to let other software developers tap its programs, Carroll said.
"We're very comfortable we will be able to offer software developer kits without running afoul of these agreements; we don't see that as an issue at all," she said.
Microsoft plans to honor a Giant contract and furnish Sunbelt with special updates through mid-2007 that enable Giant's programs to spot new kinds of spyware.
When it announced the acquisition, Microsoft said it planned to use Giant's technology to block spyware from infecting Windows PCs. Because of its popularity, Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser is a favorite target of spyware developers.
Spyware monitors people's activity on the Internet in order to steal passwords and log-in information. Another variety, called adware, delivers pop-up advertisements. The unwelcome software has become a huge annoyance for many unwitting computer users who've inadvertently downloaded the stuff while surfing the Web.
Programs from Giant, a 12-person company based in New York, can scan a person's PC for spyware and remove it. Microsoft intends to incorporate the technology into its products and expects to release a new version of the Giant product next month.
Some reports have said that Microsoft may eventually charge customers to use the tools to clean spyware off Windows, but the company has not yet made any announcement about pricing.
Microsoft Office developers get own venue
Microsoft next year plans to host its first developers conference dedicated to the Microsoft Office System, underscoring the company's strategy to make Office a foundation for customized business applications.The conference will take place Feb. 2 through 4 in Microsoft's home town of Redmond, Wash., and will feature Microsoft chair Bill Gates as its keynote speaker. The company said Monday that it expects about 800 developers from independent software vendors, consulting partners and corporate customers to participate.
Microsoft created a conference dedicated to the Office System to promote the creation of add-on products and specialized applications that use popular applications, such as Word and Excel, as a front-end. The Office System is a package of products designed to make what Microsoft calls "information workers" more productive.
For example, a consulting house could create an application for administrative tasks in a medical practice using Office. Microsoft itself has started to create closer linkages between its own customer relationship management applications and Office.
The company estimates that there is about $100 billion in business available to partners that build off of the Office System.
With the launch of Office System 2003 in October of last year, Microsoft sought to create tighter linkages between the individual desktop applications as well as with Windows Server 2003. For instance, people can now more easily share documents on a Web server.
Microsoft has also boosted XML and Web services support in the Office System. This allows people to write applications that access data from company networks and funnel the information into Office documents.
"This is our first developer conference for the entire Microsoft Office System, signifying the transformation of Microsoft Office from a suite of products to a platform on which developers can build valuable solutions for Microsoft Office System customers," Adam LeVasseur, group product manager of Microsoft's Information Worker Product Management Group, said in a statement.
In the next version of Office System, currently called Office 12, Microsoft said it will seek to find other areas to link together desktop and server software components.
Another significant change to the Office System was the introduction of Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office System nearly two years ago, which allows programmers familiar with the company's flagship development environment to write Office applications. In the past, people wrote scripts, or macros, that were difficult to maintain and not suitable for large-scale applications.
Microsoft said 70,000 partners are trained on Office and that about 400 custom applications based on Office System 2003 have been built since last year.
Microsoft's rival IBM, meanwhile, is also pursuing partners in a client software initiative. Big Blue has developed software, called Workplace, that uses a Web portal approach to deliver documents and data to front-end applications.
Microsoft created a conference dedicated to the Office System to promote the creation of add-on products and specialized applications that use popular applications, such as Word and Excel, as a front-end. The Office System is a package of products designed to make what Microsoft calls "information workers" more productive.
For example, a consulting house could create an application for administrative tasks in a medical practice using Office. Microsoft itself has started to create closer linkages between its own customer relationship management applications and Office.
The company estimates that there is about $100 billion in business available to partners that build off of the Office System.
With the launch of Office System 2003 in October of last year, Microsoft sought to create tighter linkages between the individual desktop applications as well as with Windows Server 2003. For instance, people can now more easily share documents on a Web server.
Microsoft has also boosted XML and Web services support in the Office System. This allows people to write applications that access data from company networks and funnel the information into Office documents.
"This is our first developer conference for the entire Microsoft Office System, signifying the transformation of Microsoft Office from a suite of products to a platform on which developers can build valuable solutions for Microsoft Office System customers," Adam LeVasseur, group product manager of Microsoft's Information Worker Product Management Group, said in a statement.
In the next version of Office System, currently called Office 12, Microsoft said it will seek to find other areas to link together desktop and server software components.
Another significant change to the Office System was the introduction of Visual Studio Tools for the Microsoft Office System nearly two years ago, which allows programmers familiar with the company's flagship development environment to write Office applications. In the past, people wrote scripts, or macros, that were difficult to maintain and not suitable for large-scale applications.
Microsoft said 70,000 partners are trained on Office and that about 400 custom applications based on Office System 2003 have been built since last year.
Microsoft's rival IBM, meanwhile, is also pursuing partners in a client software initiative. Big Blue has developed software, called Workplace, that uses a Web portal approach to deliver documents and data to front-end applications.
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Microsoft, Autodesk sign patent pact
As part of its plan to gain access to a broader portfolio of intellectual property, Microsoft has signed a patent swap deal with design software maker Autodesk.
Under the pact, the two companies will gain access to each other's patents in a variety of areas, including data management, collaboration, digital effects, digital rights management, project management, computer-aided design and location-based services.
Microsoft has been stepping up its activity on the patent front, ramping up its own filings and at the same time trying to ink cross-license deals with other tech companies. Microsoft has been using the combined power as a marketing vehicle against Linux, noting that it indemnifies its customers against potential patent infringement claims.
"This is part of a pretty broad effort we've got going on," said David Kaefer, Microsoft's director of intellectual property licensing. Microsoft has signed similar deals with Cisco Systems, SAP and Siemens and has hopes of inking as many as 30 such pacts in the next five years. Microsoft is currently in talks with about a dozen companies on potential patent-swapping alliances, Kaefer said.
The stepped-up intellectual property effort began a year ago this month, when Microsoft moved to simplify the process of licensing its technology.
Microsoft and Autodesk had been negotiating the deal for about six months. That makes the agreements among the quicker ones to be ironed out, Kaefer said, noting that it sometimes takes as long as two years to reach a deal.
Kaefer noted that the two companies were already close partners and talking regularly and that Microsoft's top lawyer, Brad Smith, is close friends with Autodesk general counsel Marcia Sterling.
Neither company would discuss financial details of the cross-licensing arrangement, including whether any money changed hands. Kaefer has said that Microsoft currently spent about $1.4 billion last year on patent licensing, but noted the company has an opportunity to narrow those losses by more aggressively licensing its own portfolio.
Autodesk CTO Scott Borduin said the arrangement with Microsoft is the first major cross-licensing deal Autodesk has done. Such deals are an improvement for the industry, he said, which often uses patents to stifle innovation.
"This represents a positive step in terms of software companies getting together and cooperating on these things rather than using patents to try and slow each other down," he said.
Earlier this week, Sony and Samsung signed a cross-license deal of their own,.
"That deal is interesting," Kaefer said, noting that it covered most, but not all, of the two rivals' patent portfolios.
Under the pact, the two companies will gain access to each other's patents in a variety of areas, including data management, collaboration, digital effects, digital rights management, project management, computer-aided design and location-based services.
Microsoft has been stepping up its activity on the patent front, ramping up its own filings and at the same time trying to ink cross-license deals with other tech companies. Microsoft has been using the combined power as a marketing vehicle against Linux, noting that it indemnifies its customers against potential patent infringement claims.
"This is part of a pretty broad effort we've got going on," said David Kaefer, Microsoft's director of intellectual property licensing. Microsoft has signed similar deals with Cisco Systems, SAP and Siemens and has hopes of inking as many as 30 such pacts in the next five years. Microsoft is currently in talks with about a dozen companies on potential patent-swapping alliances, Kaefer said.
The stepped-up intellectual property effort began a year ago this month, when Microsoft moved to simplify the process of licensing its technology.
Microsoft and Autodesk had been negotiating the deal for about six months. That makes the agreements among the quicker ones to be ironed out, Kaefer said, noting that it sometimes takes as long as two years to reach a deal.
Kaefer noted that the two companies were already close partners and talking regularly and that Microsoft's top lawyer, Brad Smith, is close friends with Autodesk general counsel Marcia Sterling.
Neither company would discuss financial details of the cross-licensing arrangement, including whether any money changed hands. Kaefer has said that Microsoft currently spent about $1.4 billion last year on patent licensing, but noted the company has an opportunity to narrow those losses by more aggressively licensing its own portfolio.
Autodesk CTO Scott Borduin said the arrangement with Microsoft is the first major cross-licensing deal Autodesk has done. Such deals are an improvement for the industry, he said, which often uses patents to stifle innovation.
"This represents a positive step in terms of software companies getting together and cooperating on these things rather than using patents to try and slow each other down," he said.
Earlier this week, Sony and Samsung signed a cross-license deal of their own,.
"That deal is interesting," Kaefer said, noting that it covered most, but not all, of the two rivals' patent portfolios.
Gates joins board of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates was elected Tuesday to serve on the board of directors of prominent investment company Berkshire Hathaway.
In doing so, Gates will serve as an advisor to longtime friend and BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY CEO Warren Buffett.
In a statement, Gates said he hoped his years of experience at Microsoft would prove to be of value to Berkshire's shareholders.
"I am delighted and honored to have been asked to serve on the board of this very successful company," Gates said. Gates also serves on the board of Bothell, Wash.-based biotech company Icos.
Despite being close to Gates, Buffett has long eschewed investing in technology companies, concentrating much of his investment in the insurance business.
In 1997, top Microsoft Office executive Jeff Raikes sent Buffett an e-mail urging the billionaire to consider investing in Microsoft, noting the economic "moat" between Microsoft and its competitors was stronger than other Hathaway investments, such as Coca-Cola.
The e-mail came to light during a consumer class-action trial in Minnesota.
In doing so, Gates will serve as an advisor to longtime friend and BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY CEO Warren Buffett.
In a statement, Gates said he hoped his years of experience at Microsoft would prove to be of value to Berkshire's shareholders.
"I am delighted and honored to have been asked to serve on the board of this very successful company," Gates said. Gates also serves on the board of Bothell, Wash.-based biotech company Icos.
Despite being close to Gates, Buffett has long eschewed investing in technology companies, concentrating much of his investment in the insurance business.
In 1997, top Microsoft Office executive Jeff Raikes sent Buffett an e-mail urging the billionaire to consider investing in Microsoft, noting the economic "moat" between Microsoft and its competitors was stronger than other Hathaway investments, such as Coca-Cola.
The e-mail came to light during a consumer class-action trial in Minnesota.
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Microsoft testing subscription Outlook
Microsoft has started private testing of a service that would offer consumers, on a subscription basis, access to the company's Outlook e-mail and calendaring program, along with 2 gigabytes of e-mail storage.
Microsoft Office Outlook Live, as the service is being called, would be a paid service that would let consumers use Outlook to manage Hotmail-based e-mail, calendar and contact information. In the current beta, customers are being given 2GB of mail storage, the ability to send individual messages with up to 20MB of attachments, as well as a downloadable version of Outlook.
Outlook Live, which the company began testing last week, is similar to the Outlook Connector feature Microsoft currently includes as part of its MSN Premium service, which costs $9.95 a month.
A Microsoft representative said Outlook Live would be a separate paid service but declined to comment on what it might cost. The company said it hopes to ship Outlook Live in the first half of next year.
Microsoft first demonstrated a version of the Outlook connector at a meeting with financial analysts in July 2003. The Outlook Connector feature was added when Microsoft debuted the MSN Premium service at the end of last year.
One of the key differences is that the Outlook connector does not include Outlook and is aimed at customers who already use Outlook 2002 or later. Outlook Live subscribers get a subscription version of Outlook 2003 as part of the package.
Microsoft also said it hopes to have additional features by the time it is ready to launch Outlook Live. The company had an animated Flash presentation about the program on its Web site for a time.
Some details about Outlook Live were earlier reported by BETA NEWS.
Earlier Monday, Microsoft launched a public test version of its desktop search program but did not mention Outlook Live during a conference call with reporters.
Microsoft Office Outlook Live, as the service is being called, would be a paid service that would let consumers use Outlook to manage Hotmail-based e-mail, calendar and contact information. In the current beta, customers are being given 2GB of mail storage, the ability to send individual messages with up to 20MB of attachments, as well as a downloadable version of Outlook.
Outlook Live, which the company began testing last week, is similar to the Outlook Connector feature Microsoft currently includes as part of its MSN Premium service, which costs $9.95 a month.
A Microsoft representative said Outlook Live would be a separate paid service but declined to comment on what it might cost. The company said it hopes to ship Outlook Live in the first half of next year.
Microsoft first demonstrated a version of the Outlook connector at a meeting with financial analysts in July 2003. The Outlook Connector feature was added when Microsoft debuted the MSN Premium service at the end of last year.
One of the key differences is that the Outlook connector does not include Outlook and is aimed at customers who already use Outlook 2002 or later. Outlook Live subscribers get a subscription version of Outlook 2003 as part of the package.
Microsoft also said it hopes to have additional features by the time it is ready to launch Outlook Live. The company had an animated Flash presentation about the program on its Web site for a time.
Some details about Outlook Live were earlier reported by BETA NEWS.
Earlier Monday, Microsoft launched a public test version of its desktop search program but did not mention Outlook Live during a conference call with reporters.
MSN joins in search frenzy
Microsoft's MSN has unveiled desktop-search technology, entering a hotly contested race to dominate information access on the PC.
The Web portal introduced its MSN TOOLBAR SUITE in a beta, or test version, on Monday. The software lets people search the contents of their hard drive, including Microsoft Outlook e-mail, calendar items, contacts and Office documents. It also lets them navigate the Web with MSN's proprietary search technology, released last month, from points within e-mail and within Windows.
"We've been doing a lot to catch up (in search), but this is an area where we go beyond," Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president for MSN Information Services, said in a conference call announcing the service. Mehdi added that MSN could reach as many as 100 million people with the new software, which the company expects to launch in a finished version next year.
The move pits Microsoft against Google, among others, in a battle for presence on consumers' PCs. Microsoft has long planned to introduce technology for mining files on the desktop, but it has come later to the market than its top search rival Google, which introduced a beta service in October. Yahoo said last week that it will debut software in early January, and Ask Jeeves plans to come out with a product this week.
Desktop search is the latest frontier of development for major search providers, Web portals and software makers. Desktop files can be cumbersome for people to navigate using the search features in current operating systems, and all the companies believe they can improve users' ability to organize or find massive amounts of personal data on the PC. For search companies such as MSN, Yahoo and Google, the desktop could also eventually become a venue for delivering contextual or personalized advertising.
Christopher Payne, a vice president at MSN, said the company will not immediately display ads on the desktop, but if people perform a Web search, it will deliver sponsored search ads.
The MSN Toolbar Suite, which is free, includes an updated version of a toolbar plug-in for Internet Explorer and new toolbars for Windows Explorer, Outlook and the MSN Deskbar.
MSN will eventually embed desktop and Web search into its other applications, too. The company has already added a Web search box to the 7.0 version of its instant messenger service. However, that Web search box queries the current MSN search site, which is still powered by Yahoo technology. Once Microsoft throws its weight entirely behind MSN search, it will be an even more powerful threat to Google's dominance.
MSN said the suite is superior to rival software because it searches more file types, including calendar items, contacts and documents such as music or photo files that contain "metatags." It also includes more points to search for information within Outlook or via the desktop, unlike Google's search technology, which displays results within a Web browser only.
The search software also helps people find information they're looking for by suggesting answers as soon as the user begins to type a letter.
Finally, information is kept private and secure on the PC, Payne said. The software preserves privacy by not caching by default Web pages that people visit, unlike rival tools, Medhi said.
The technology indexes the user's hard drive over hours at first, then it continuously adds to the index as documents are created.
MSN does not plan to add the technology to other Windows environments at this time, Payne said. But he said the company will introduce the tool in other languages sometime next year.
Ultimately, Microsoft plans to build an information tool to answer all people's questions, Medhi said. Such a tool will be developed with great investment over a 10-year span, he said.
The Web portal introduced its MSN TOOLBAR SUITE in a beta, or test version, on Monday. The software lets people search the contents of their hard drive, including Microsoft Outlook e-mail, calendar items, contacts and Office documents. It also lets them navigate the Web with MSN's proprietary search technology, released last month, from points within e-mail and within Windows.
"We've been doing a lot to catch up (in search), but this is an area where we go beyond," Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president for MSN Information Services, said in a conference call announcing the service. Mehdi added that MSN could reach as many as 100 million people with the new software, which the company expects to launch in a finished version next year.
The move pits Microsoft against Google, among others, in a battle for presence on consumers' PCs. Microsoft has long planned to introduce technology for mining files on the desktop, but it has come later to the market than its top search rival Google, which introduced a beta service in October. Yahoo said last week that it will debut software in early January, and Ask Jeeves plans to come out with a product this week.
Desktop search is the latest frontier of development for major search providers, Web portals and software makers. Desktop files can be cumbersome for people to navigate using the search features in current operating systems, and all the companies believe they can improve users' ability to organize or find massive amounts of personal data on the PC. For search companies such as MSN, Yahoo and Google, the desktop could also eventually become a venue for delivering contextual or personalized advertising.
Christopher Payne, a vice president at MSN, said the company will not immediately display ads on the desktop, but if people perform a Web search, it will deliver sponsored search ads.
The MSN Toolbar Suite, which is free, includes an updated version of a toolbar plug-in for Internet Explorer and new toolbars for Windows Explorer, Outlook and the MSN Deskbar.
MSN will eventually embed desktop and Web search into its other applications, too. The company has already added a Web search box to the 7.0 version of its instant messenger service. However, that Web search box queries the current MSN search site, which is still powered by Yahoo technology. Once Microsoft throws its weight entirely behind MSN search, it will be an even more powerful threat to Google's dominance.
MSN said the suite is superior to rival software because it searches more file types, including calendar items, contacts and documents such as music or photo files that contain "metatags." It also includes more points to search for information within Outlook or via the desktop, unlike Google's search technology, which displays results within a Web browser only.
The search software also helps people find information they're looking for by suggesting answers as soon as the user begins to type a letter.
Finally, information is kept private and secure on the PC, Payne said. The software preserves privacy by not caching by default Web pages that people visit, unlike rival tools, Medhi said.
The technology indexes the user's hard drive over hours at first, then it continuously adds to the index as documents are created.
MSN does not plan to add the technology to other Windows environments at this time, Payne said. But he said the company will introduce the tool in other languages sometime next year.
Ultimately, Microsoft plans to build an information tool to answer all people's questions, Medhi said. Such a tool will be developed with great investment over a 10-year span, he said.
Monday, December 13, 2004
Windows work hits a snag
Microsoft's long-awaited new Windows file system is still a work in progress.
Although Microsoft hopes to ship a test version of WinFS in late 2006, it could be several more years before the revamped storage mechanism finds its way into Windows Server.
The software maker has already decided that WinFS will ship separately from Longhorn, the new desktop version of Windows that is due in 2006. On Friday, Windows Server Chief Bob Muglia said that WinFS will also not be a part of the server version of Longhorn that ships in 2007.
"WinFS in not in the Longhorn client," he said in an interview. "It is also not in Longhorn Server."
It is not even clear if Microsoft will include it with the Longhorn update that is scheduled to follow a couple of years later.
"That would be the earliest," Muglia said. "We have to look and see if that is possible still, because it is a major new file system."
Instead, WinFS may not debut in the operating system until the next decade, when the version of Windows beyond Longhorn, code-named Blackcomb, is slated to ship.
"In terms of something major like WinFS, we still need to figure it out," Muglia said.
When it removed WinFS from Longhorn earlier this year, Microsoft said it would offer developers a beta version of the file system at the same time as Longhorn, but separate from the new OS.
Muglia said he is confident that Microsoft's advanced file system, a decade-old dream, will eventually make it into the operating system. However, he said the company did err by talking about plans before it knew it could deliver.
"We've been working on this for a long time, and this team is going to deliver," he said. "Our mistake, frankly--and it was a mistake--was to go out and talk about it before we really had clarity as to how we would be able to deliver it and all the complexities there."
He stressed that Microsoft is trying to do things with WinFS that no one has ever done before.
"This isn't a relational database," he said. "This is a brand-new data model, and it satisfies a whole class of applications that frankly have been unsatisfied from a data model perspective since the beginning of history. We've been working on things like this for a long time."
Meanwhile, Microsoft's server unit has plenty of things to work on in the nearer term. First up are two updates to Windows Server 2003, which are in various stages of testing. Service Pack 1 of the OS, which reached the "release candidate" stage earlier this week, should ship by March, Muglia said.
A set of additional features for the OS, known as Windows Server 2003 "R2," entered a private beta this week and is slated to ship in the second half of next year. Microsoft was more specific about its release in a note to testers, promising an October ship date.
"I just heard that we said that, and I was annoyed that we actually sent that out," Muglia said. "I feel good about the second half. We'll find out about October as we get closer."
The R2 release includes several already available features, such as Windows SharePoint Services and Active Directory Application Mode, or ADAM. It also has new features such as Active Directory federation services and a basic storage area network (SAN) management feature. With R2, Microsoft is adding features designed to make it easier for companies to manage branch servers with centralized file and print services as well as remote hardware management.
Leading up to Longhorn ServerAt the same time, Microsoft is working to get the server version of Longhorn to the beta stage. The company plans to have a test version of Longhorn Server ready in the second half of 2005. Earlier this year, Microsoft expressed hope that a beta might ship in the first half.
With Longhorn Server, the company has several priorities, one of which is to make the operating system more easily tailored to specific roles. Large businesses will be able to customize their installation of the OS to tailor a server to a particular task, such as an application server or media server.
Windows Server 2003 has limited ability to dedicate a server to the role it is performing. Longhorn Server will enable much finer-tuning of setups. "In Longhorn, it is possible to create images that can then be deployed to a given server with just the roles configured in it and just the software that's needed to run that role," Muglia said.
The goal, Muglia said, is to make the operating systems more secure, by exposing only the code needed for the tasks being performed. Such servers should also be easier to manage, because Microsoft should be able to make it simpler to automate tasks unique to each type of server.
However, Muglia said that the goal is not to create a host of different packages scaled to different tasks and sold at a lower price.
"It's not the cost side," Muglia said. "Most of our customers, frankly, are asking for more flexibility in terms of what they deploy on servers, not focusing on cost-reduction through specific editions."
Although the company has separate Web server and storage versions of its OS, Muglia said he doesn't see each of these roles becoming a separate product, although he stressed that packaging decisions for Longhorn Server have not yet been made.
In addition, Muglia said there will be some new management features and changes that will reduce the need for system reboots. Improvements in terminal services and rights management are also planned.
He said Microsoft is still on track for its 2007 launch but noted that the company is "still in the earlier stages on Longhorn."
"We're working in lockstep with our client brethren," he said, noting that the release date for Longhorn Server is later primarily because more testing time is needed for a server release. "It's still a little early to know exactly what will be in the release."
Microsoft still has work cut out for it moving its customers from Windows NT 4 to current versions of Windows Server. Although Muglia said he is pleased with efforts so far, 20 percent of that customer base still has not switched, he said.
The operating system will reach the end of formal support at year's end, though Microsoft is offering paid custom support to customers that are still developing their transition plans.
Although Microsoft hopes to ship a test version of WinFS in late 2006, it could be several more years before the revamped storage mechanism finds its way into Windows Server.
The software maker has already decided that WinFS will ship separately from Longhorn, the new desktop version of Windows that is due in 2006. On Friday, Windows Server Chief Bob Muglia said that WinFS will also not be a part of the server version of Longhorn that ships in 2007.
"WinFS in not in the Longhorn client," he said in an interview. "It is also not in Longhorn Server."
It is not even clear if Microsoft will include it with the Longhorn update that is scheduled to follow a couple of years later.
"That would be the earliest," Muglia said. "We have to look and see if that is possible still, because it is a major new file system."
Instead, WinFS may not debut in the operating system until the next decade, when the version of Windows beyond Longhorn, code-named Blackcomb, is slated to ship.
"In terms of something major like WinFS, we still need to figure it out," Muglia said.
When it removed WinFS from Longhorn earlier this year, Microsoft said it would offer developers a beta version of the file system at the same time as Longhorn, but separate from the new OS.
Muglia said he is confident that Microsoft's advanced file system, a decade-old dream, will eventually make it into the operating system. However, he said the company did err by talking about plans before it knew it could deliver.
"We've been working on this for a long time, and this team is going to deliver," he said. "Our mistake, frankly--and it was a mistake--was to go out and talk about it before we really had clarity as to how we would be able to deliver it and all the complexities there."
He stressed that Microsoft is trying to do things with WinFS that no one has ever done before.
"This isn't a relational database," he said. "This is a brand-new data model, and it satisfies a whole class of applications that frankly have been unsatisfied from a data model perspective since the beginning of history. We've been working on things like this for a long time."
Meanwhile, Microsoft's server unit has plenty of things to work on in the nearer term. First up are two updates to Windows Server 2003, which are in various stages of testing. Service Pack 1 of the OS, which reached the "release candidate" stage earlier this week, should ship by March, Muglia said.
A set of additional features for the OS, known as Windows Server 2003 "R2," entered a private beta this week and is slated to ship in the second half of next year. Microsoft was more specific about its release in a note to testers, promising an October ship date.
"I just heard that we said that, and I was annoyed that we actually sent that out," Muglia said. "I feel good about the second half. We'll find out about October as we get closer."
The R2 release includes several already available features, such as Windows SharePoint Services and Active Directory Application Mode, or ADAM. It also has new features such as Active Directory federation services and a basic storage area network (SAN) management feature. With R2, Microsoft is adding features designed to make it easier for companies to manage branch servers with centralized file and print services as well as remote hardware management.
Leading up to Longhorn ServerAt the same time, Microsoft is working to get the server version of Longhorn to the beta stage. The company plans to have a test version of Longhorn Server ready in the second half of 2005. Earlier this year, Microsoft expressed hope that a beta might ship in the first half.
With Longhorn Server, the company has several priorities, one of which is to make the operating system more easily tailored to specific roles. Large businesses will be able to customize their installation of the OS to tailor a server to a particular task, such as an application server or media server.
Windows Server 2003 has limited ability to dedicate a server to the role it is performing. Longhorn Server will enable much finer-tuning of setups. "In Longhorn, it is possible to create images that can then be deployed to a given server with just the roles configured in it and just the software that's needed to run that role," Muglia said.
The goal, Muglia said, is to make the operating systems more secure, by exposing only the code needed for the tasks being performed. Such servers should also be easier to manage, because Microsoft should be able to make it simpler to automate tasks unique to each type of server.
However, Muglia said that the goal is not to create a host of different packages scaled to different tasks and sold at a lower price.
"It's not the cost side," Muglia said. "Most of our customers, frankly, are asking for more flexibility in terms of what they deploy on servers, not focusing on cost-reduction through specific editions."
Although the company has separate Web server and storage versions of its OS, Muglia said he doesn't see each of these roles becoming a separate product, although he stressed that packaging decisions for Longhorn Server have not yet been made.
In addition, Muglia said there will be some new management features and changes that will reduce the need for system reboots. Improvements in terminal services and rights management are also planned.
He said Microsoft is still on track for its 2007 launch but noted that the company is "still in the earlier stages on Longhorn."
"We're working in lockstep with our client brethren," he said, noting that the release date for Longhorn Server is later primarily because more testing time is needed for a server release. "It's still a little early to know exactly what will be in the release."
Microsoft still has work cut out for it moving its customers from Windows NT 4 to current versions of Windows Server. Although Muglia said he is pleased with efforts so far, 20 percent of that customer base still has not switched, he said.
The operating system will reach the end of formal support at year's end, though Microsoft is offering paid custom support to customers that are still developing their transition plans.
Friday, December 10, 2004
LEARNING MICROSOFT.NET 1
What is Microsoft.NET ?
Microsoft .Net is the first software development platform to be designed from the ground up with the internet in mind although .NET is not exclusively for internet development rather it provides a consistent programming model that can be used for many types of applications.
Microsoft’s .NET initiative is broad based and very ambitious. It includes the .Net Frame work, which encompasses the languages and execution platform, plus extensive class libraries providing rich built-in functionality. Besides the core .Net Frame work, the .Net Initiative includes protocols ( such as SOAP, simple object access protocol) to provide a new level of integration of software over the internet, and a set of pre built web based services called .Net My services.
Goals behind Microsoft .NET are :-
Many of the goals Microsoft had in mind when designing .NET reflect the limitations identified from earlier tools and technologies.
1. Creating Highly Distributed Applications:-
The trend in business applications is towards a more highly distributed model. The next generation of applications may have their elements distributed among various organizations. This contrasts with today’s dominant model in which all the elements of an application ( except possibly a browser based client) are located solely within a single organization.
2. Simplifying Software Development :-
Developers need to be able to concentrate on the business logic in their applications, and to stop writing logic for things like state management and scalability. Writing software for the internet should not require expertise in a long list of internet specific technologies. A related goal is to have development for other platforms. A Component accessed over a local network or over the internet should be manipulated with code very much like that for a component accessed on the local machine. The software platform should be able to take care of the details in transmitting the information to and from the component.
3. Better user interfaces over the web :-
User interfaces development also needs to be as similar as possible for the Internet compared to local access. While local, platform specific interfaces will always of offer more flexibility than a browser based interface. .Net makes those 2 types of interfaces as similar to develop as possible. By making web based user interfaces richer and more flexible than they are now, bringing them as close as possible to the richness of local, forms-based interfaces.
4. Simplifying Deployment :-
The problems of DLL Hell, and the need for large installs of forms based applications, are just two examples of current deployment issues. .Net makes it easier by just copying a compiled module over to a system and run it. No registration, no GUIDs, no special installation procedure.
5. Support for a variety of Languages :-
While the idea of one grand, unifying language sounds good in theory, in the real world, different types of developers need different tools. Microsoft .NET designed to support a multitude of languages, from Microsoft and third parties. This allow the development community to evolve languages that best fir various development needs.
6. An Extendable Platform for the Future :-
A new platform needs the capability to adapt to changing conditions through various extensions and variations. .Net is designed with greater extendibility and flexibility than any previous software development platform.
7. Future Portability of Compiled Applications:-
Operating Systems will make major changes and perhaps entirely new ones will be introduced in the future. Investments in software development need to be carried forward to those platforms. The goal of .Net is to allow applications to move from current platforms to future platforms, such as 64-bit operating systems with a simple copy, and no recompilation.
Microsoft .Net is the first software development platform to be designed from the ground up with the internet in mind although .NET is not exclusively for internet development rather it provides a consistent programming model that can be used for many types of applications.
Microsoft’s .NET initiative is broad based and very ambitious. It includes the .Net Frame work, which encompasses the languages and execution platform, plus extensive class libraries providing rich built-in functionality. Besides the core .Net Frame work, the .Net Initiative includes protocols ( such as SOAP, simple object access protocol) to provide a new level of integration of software over the internet, and a set of pre built web based services called .Net My services.
Goals behind Microsoft .NET are :-
Many of the goals Microsoft had in mind when designing .NET reflect the limitations identified from earlier tools and technologies.
1. Creating Highly Distributed Applications:-
The trend in business applications is towards a more highly distributed model. The next generation of applications may have their elements distributed among various organizations. This contrasts with today’s dominant model in which all the elements of an application ( except possibly a browser based client) are located solely within a single organization.
2. Simplifying Software Development :-
Developers need to be able to concentrate on the business logic in their applications, and to stop writing logic for things like state management and scalability. Writing software for the internet should not require expertise in a long list of internet specific technologies. A related goal is to have development for other platforms. A Component accessed over a local network or over the internet should be manipulated with code very much like that for a component accessed on the local machine. The software platform should be able to take care of the details in transmitting the information to and from the component.
3. Better user interfaces over the web :-
User interfaces development also needs to be as similar as possible for the Internet compared to local access. While local, platform specific interfaces will always of offer more flexibility than a browser based interface. .Net makes those 2 types of interfaces as similar to develop as possible. By making web based user interfaces richer and more flexible than they are now, bringing them as close as possible to the richness of local, forms-based interfaces.
4. Simplifying Deployment :-
The problems of DLL Hell, and the need for large installs of forms based applications, are just two examples of current deployment issues. .Net makes it easier by just copying a compiled module over to a system and run it. No registration, no GUIDs, no special installation procedure.
5. Support for a variety of Languages :-
While the idea of one grand, unifying language sounds good in theory, in the real world, different types of developers need different tools. Microsoft .NET designed to support a multitude of languages, from Microsoft and third parties. This allow the development community to evolve languages that best fir various development needs.
6. An Extendable Platform for the Future :-
A new platform needs the capability to adapt to changing conditions through various extensions and variations. .Net is designed with greater extendibility and flexibility than any previous software development platform.
7. Future Portability of Compiled Applications:-
Operating Systems will make major changes and perhaps entirely new ones will be introduced in the future. Investments in software development need to be carried forward to those platforms. The goal of .Net is to allow applications to move from current platforms to future platforms, such as 64-bit operating systems with a simple copy, and no recompilation.
Microsoft eyes bigger financial services software mart pie
Microsoft India plans to increase its presence in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) solutions segment.
The company has for the last two quarters been working on Experience Banking, its integrated solutions for the banking sector.
Tarun Malik, applications server and enterprise marketing manager with Microsoft India, said the idea is to provide end-to-end solutions right from the back office to the end user (the customer).
With banks profiling and segregating customers even within the broader categories of affluent, high income and low income groups, the idea is to provide solutions so that the banks can serve customers "ready to pay the extra service charge" better.
According to IDC, the opportunity for packaged software in BFSI is projected to rise to $500 million by 2008.
The other players in this segment include Oracle and IBM, but Malik pointed out that while Oracle was strong in database and IBM in services, Microsoft was providing end to end solutions.
Some of the customers to whom Microsoft is providing solutions include HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Punjab National Bank, Saraswat Bank and Shamrao Vitthal Bank. "We are aiming to address the whole ecosystems of the customer's needs," said Malik.
He pointed out that several co-operative banks were showing interest in the solution.
Experience Banking is supposed to helps banks change the customer, employee and operations experience so that they can achieve increased market share and profitability.
It is expected to help banks differentiate their brand and achieve a competitive advantage with increased employee satisfaction and productivity, faster response to changing market needs, and reduced total cost of ownership.
Malik pointed out that the idea is to provide this across all classes of cities and towns including the rural markets. In the insurance sector, Microsoft is waiting for the players to get their act together before making a comprehensive move.
The company has for the last two quarters been working on Experience Banking, its integrated solutions for the banking sector.
Tarun Malik, applications server and enterprise marketing manager with Microsoft India, said the idea is to provide end-to-end solutions right from the back office to the end user (the customer).
With banks profiling and segregating customers even within the broader categories of affluent, high income and low income groups, the idea is to provide solutions so that the banks can serve customers "ready to pay the extra service charge" better.
According to IDC, the opportunity for packaged software in BFSI is projected to rise to $500 million by 2008.
The other players in this segment include Oracle and IBM, but Malik pointed out that while Oracle was strong in database and IBM in services, Microsoft was providing end to end solutions.
Some of the customers to whom Microsoft is providing solutions include HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Punjab National Bank, Saraswat Bank and Shamrao Vitthal Bank. "We are aiming to address the whole ecosystems of the customer's needs," said Malik.
He pointed out that several co-operative banks were showing interest in the solution.
Experience Banking is supposed to helps banks change the customer, employee and operations experience so that they can achieve increased market share and profitability.
It is expected to help banks differentiate their brand and achieve a competitive advantage with increased employee satisfaction and productivity, faster response to changing market needs, and reduced total cost of ownership.
Malik pointed out that the idea is to provide this across all classes of cities and towns including the rural markets. In the insurance sector, Microsoft is waiting for the players to get their act together before making a comprehensive move.
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Microsoft nears release of 64-bit Windows
Microsoft said Tuesday that it has released a near-final test version of updates to its Windows and Windows Server operating systems.
The company said it has reached the "release candidate" stage for Service Pack 1 of Windows Server 2003. Microsoft is also at a similar point with several 64-bit Windows versions that use the same code base, including Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition.
Microsoft reiterated that all three products are slated for final release in the first half of next year, with a second release candidate in between. A second update for Windows Server 2003, known as R2, is also planned for next year. Microsoft is shooting for a private beta of that release later this month, with a goal of having about 1,000 testers. The company said it hopes to release a public beta of R2 in the first half of next year, with the final release some time in the second half of the year. For some time, Microsoft has been promising to deliver 64-bit versions of Windows to support AMD's Opteron and Athlon 64 processors, but final releases of the server and desktop operating systems were delayed until next year. The same version of Windows will also accommodate chips from Intel that support 64-bit extensions to the longstanding x86 architecture. Microsoft said it hopes the new versions of Windows will help make 64-bit computing a mainstream activity by next year. "There's a need for a mainstream 64-bit solution that is fast to deploy and easy to grow into," senior product manager John Borozan said in a statement. "Volume deployment of x64 will spur new opportunities for innovation that were previously limited by 32-bit barriers." The biggest advantage of 64-bit computing today is the ability to directly access more than 4GB of physical memory. Those who own a 32-bit version of Windows XP Professional or Windows Server 2003 will be able to exchange it for a license for the 64-bit edition, Microsoft has said. Microsoft already has separate versions of Windows that support Intel's 64-bit Itanium processor, which has a completely distinct instruction set from the Opteron and the Athlon 64. The release candidate for Windows Server 2003 SP1 is now available from Microsoft's site. The code for the 64-bit Windows versions is available now for those who take part in Microsoft's technical beta, or test, program. Within 30 days, Microsoft said, it will make the release candidate of those versions part of its Customer Preview Program. The Windows Server update adds a number of the security enhancements Microsoft added to Windows XP with Service Pack 2. New features for Windows Server include an enhanced firewall, support for "no execute" hardware from AMD and Intel, and a new Security Configuration Wizard that blocks ports and services not being used by a particular server.
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Windows NT 4 support to come at price in '05
Microsoft reiterated on Friday that companies still using Windows NT Server 4 going into 2005 will have to sign up for a custom contract to get support.
Microsoft is offering up to two years of custom support to companies still using the OS when Microsoft ceases its extended support for the program at the end of 2004.
The company has decided to expand the for-free program to cover more security issues. Microsoft is now pledging to offer fixes for vulnerabilities rated either as "critical" or "important." Previously, the software maker had only committed to fixing critical flaws.
Those fixes will be available only to those that take part in the paid custom-support program, though Microsoft has said it would offer a patch publicly were there to be another virus on the order of Blaster.
"We will act to protect the integrity of the Internet," said Peter Houston, senior director of Windows serviceability.
At the same time, the company stressed that it is not changing the Dec. 31 end-of-life date for NT 4 Server. The desktop version of NT 4, NT 4 Workstation, reached end of life in June.
"My recommendation is that if you haven't done so already, begin your migrations immediately," Houston said. Those who need more time should take part in the custom service program, he said.
After spending much of this year talking to customers, Microsoft has decided to commit to offering the custom support for up to two years, though customers can purchase as little as three months' worth--an incentive for those that migrate quicker. The company has been trying to convince as many customers as possible to upgrade to newer versions, offering, among other things, a step-bystep migration guide on its Web site.
Microsoft would not say how much the program costs but said it is a flat fee regardless of how many servers a company has, with the fee based on the length of the contract.
Houston said he did not know the exact number of customers that have signed up for the custom support program, but he said it is on the order of 100--mostly businesses and government agencies that are among Microsoft's largest customers.
Microsoft also said Friday that it will offer a similar plan for its Exchange 5.5 e-mail server software when that program ends extended support at the end of 2005. Custom support for that program will run through the end of 2007.
Microsoft is offering up to two years of custom support to companies still using the OS when Microsoft ceases its extended support for the program at the end of 2004.
The company has decided to expand the for-free program to cover more security issues. Microsoft is now pledging to offer fixes for vulnerabilities rated either as "critical" or "important." Previously, the software maker had only committed to fixing critical flaws.
Those fixes will be available only to those that take part in the paid custom-support program, though Microsoft has said it would offer a patch publicly were there to be another virus on the order of Blaster.
"We will act to protect the integrity of the Internet," said Peter Houston, senior director of Windows serviceability.
At the same time, the company stressed that it is not changing the Dec. 31 end-of-life date for NT 4 Server. The desktop version of NT 4, NT 4 Workstation, reached end of life in June.
"My recommendation is that if you haven't done so already, begin your migrations immediately," Houston said. Those who need more time should take part in the custom service program, he said.
After spending much of this year talking to customers, Microsoft has decided to commit to offering the custom support for up to two years, though customers can purchase as little as three months' worth--an incentive for those that migrate quicker. The company has been trying to convince as many customers as possible to upgrade to newer versions, offering, among other things, a step-bystep migration guide on its Web site.
Microsoft would not say how much the program costs but said it is a flat fee regardless of how many servers a company has, with the fee based on the length of the contract.
Houston said he did not know the exact number of customers that have signed up for the custom support program, but he said it is on the order of 100--mostly businesses and government agencies that are among Microsoft's largest customers.
Microsoft also said Friday that it will offer a similar plan for its Exchange 5.5 e-mail server software when that program ends extended support at the end of 2005. Custom support for that program will run through the end of 2007.
Unisys, Oracle, Microsoft team on business software
Unisys, Oracle and Microsoft are expanding a joint engineering program to boost the performance of Oracle's software running on Windows, the companies plan to announce Monday at Oracle's annual trade show.
Oracle's software, including its flagship database and its higher-level business software, are available for Unix, Linux and Windows, but the Windows versions have been something of a second priority, said Tom Manter, program director for enterprise database applications at Unisys. The companies now hope to turn that around.
"From what we're seeing and what we're going to see next week at Oracle OpenWorld, that's going to change. Oracle is embracing Windows and made a commitment to work with Microsoft and with Unisys," Manter said. The result should be better performance and more bang for the buck for those running Oracle software on Unisys' ES7000 server, which can accommodate as many as 32 Intel Xeon processors and 16 Intel Itanium processors.
Unisys has been changing its own database strategy. Two years ago, the company was focused chiefly on Microsoft's SQL Server database, but now Unisys has 50 engineers and marketing staff working on the Oracle project, up from zero a year ago, Unisys said.
Unisys' database directions diverge somewhat from Oracle's recent marketing efforts. Where Unisys has emphasized large multiprocessor servers, Oracle has been touting groups of lower-end machines sharing the same database, and while Unisys has been heavily advocating Windows, Oracle has been promoting Linux.
A tight Microsoft-Unisys partnership loosened somewhat in recent months as Unisys embraced Linux. Unisys argues its common foes still are machines from companies such as IBM, Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard that use RISC, or reduced instruction set computing, processors.
Unisys also plans to announce on Monday several customers running Oracle software on Windows. They are Wetherill Associates, Calgary Co-op, the Chicago Parks District and the Nevada Department of Public Safety. Wetherill replaced four older Sun 4500 servers with two ES7000 models.
Oracle's software, including its flagship database and its higher-level business software, are available for Unix, Linux and Windows, but the Windows versions have been something of a second priority, said Tom Manter, program director for enterprise database applications at Unisys. The companies now hope to turn that around.
"From what we're seeing and what we're going to see next week at Oracle OpenWorld, that's going to change. Oracle is embracing Windows and made a commitment to work with Microsoft and with Unisys," Manter said. The result should be better performance and more bang for the buck for those running Oracle software on Unisys' ES7000 server, which can accommodate as many as 32 Intel Xeon processors and 16 Intel Itanium processors.
Unisys has been changing its own database strategy. Two years ago, the company was focused chiefly on Microsoft's SQL Server database, but now Unisys has 50 engineers and marketing staff working on the Oracle project, up from zero a year ago, Unisys said.
Unisys' database directions diverge somewhat from Oracle's recent marketing efforts. Where Unisys has emphasized large multiprocessor servers, Oracle has been touting groups of lower-end machines sharing the same database, and while Unisys has been heavily advocating Windows, Oracle has been promoting Linux.
A tight Microsoft-Unisys partnership loosened somewhat in recent months as Unisys embraced Linux. Unisys argues its common foes still are machines from companies such as IBM, Sun Microsystems and Hewlett-Packard that use RISC, or reduced instruction set computing, processors.
Unisys also plans to announce on Monday several customers running Oracle software on Windows. They are Wetherill Associates, Calgary Co-op, the Chicago Parks District and the Nevada Department of Public Safety. Wetherill replaced four older Sun 4500 servers with two ES7000 models.
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Microsoft rushes out critical IE fix
Microsoft published a patch for Internet Explorer on Wednesday, aiming to close a month-old hole that has been used by viruses to spread and by an ad banner attack to compromise PCs.
The vulnerability, dubbed the Internet Explorer Elements flaw by Microsoft, had previously been called the iFrame vulnerability. The issue--which does not affect Microsoft's major Windows XP security update, Service Pack 2--could allow an attacker to take control of a victim's PC, if the user is logged on as an administrator. Most home users tend to log onto Windows as administrators.
A Microsoft representative said the software giant had released the update before its next scheduled patch day, Dec. 7, because it had already been used by malicious software to compromise Windows users' PCs.
"That's one of the things that we factor in--when the customers are affected or there are active attacks," said Stephen Toulouse, security program manager at Microsoft's security response center.
An attacker can use the vulnerability to gain control of a person's computer when the victim clicks on a simple Web link. The attacker would then have complete control of the system, and could install programs, view, modify or delete data and create new accounts.
The patch arrived more than a month after news of the vulnerability was first posted on public security mailing lists. The move garnered criticism from Microsoft, which has led a drive to convince security researchers to give software makers at least 30 days to fix issues before outing the problem in public forums.
The IE flaw underscores that online criminals are all too willing to use the latest vulnerabilities to take illicit control of users' PCs. Two computer viruses appeared on the Internet in early November, using the vulnerability in Microsoft's browser to infect PCs after their users clicked on a simple Web link. The viruses, called Bofra.A and Bofra.B by antivirus companies, were loosely based on the source code of MyDoom.
In addition, online intruders breached the security of at least one server at advertising host Falk last week and used the computer to distribute an attack to the service's clients, including The Register, a technology news and opinion site.
The IE Elements flaw affects PCs with IE version 6 installed, but does not affect computers that have been upgraded to Service Pack 2. The software, the latest version of Windows XP, has been downloaded more than 130 million times, Microsoft's Toulouse said.
The latest update for IE 6 can be downloaded from Microsofts security site or through Windows Update.
The vulnerability, dubbed the Internet Explorer Elements flaw by Microsoft, had previously been called the iFrame vulnerability. The issue--which does not affect Microsoft's major Windows XP security update, Service Pack 2--could allow an attacker to take control of a victim's PC, if the user is logged on as an administrator. Most home users tend to log onto Windows as administrators.
A Microsoft representative said the software giant had released the update before its next scheduled patch day, Dec. 7, because it had already been used by malicious software to compromise Windows users' PCs.
"That's one of the things that we factor in--when the customers are affected or there are active attacks," said Stephen Toulouse, security program manager at Microsoft's security response center.
An attacker can use the vulnerability to gain control of a person's computer when the victim clicks on a simple Web link. The attacker would then have complete control of the system, and could install programs, view, modify or delete data and create new accounts.
The patch arrived more than a month after news of the vulnerability was first posted on public security mailing lists. The move garnered criticism from Microsoft, which has led a drive to convince security researchers to give software makers at least 30 days to fix issues before outing the problem in public forums.
The IE flaw underscores that online criminals are all too willing to use the latest vulnerabilities to take illicit control of users' PCs. Two computer viruses appeared on the Internet in early November, using the vulnerability in Microsoft's browser to infect PCs after their users clicked on a simple Web link. The viruses, called Bofra.A and Bofra.B by antivirus companies, were loosely based on the source code of MyDoom.
In addition, online intruders breached the security of at least one server at advertising host Falk last week and used the computer to distribute an attack to the service's clients, including The Register, a technology news and opinion site.
The IE Elements flaw affects PCs with IE version 6 installed, but does not affect computers that have been upgraded to Service Pack 2. The software, the latest version of Windows XP, has been downloaded more than 130 million times, Microsoft's Toulouse said.
The latest update for IE 6 can be downloaded from Microsofts security site or through Windows Update.
Microsoft Research to open lab in Bangalore
Microsoft Research will open a laboratory in Bangalore, India, the company's third research installation overseas and a sign of India's increasing importance in tech.
The lab, set to open in January, will initially focus on four areas: multilingual systems, technology for emerging markets, geographical information systems and sensor networks. Over time, however, the direction of the lab's research will be largely determined by the people it recruits.
"As a research organization, you want to hire the best and brightest people. That's what we did in China six years ago," said Rick Rashid, senior vice president of Microsoft Research. "Ultimately, the work that will be going on there will be based on the people we hire."
In the past few years, the Redmond, Wash., software giant has become more active in immersing itself in emerging markets. It has released budget versions of the Windows XP operating system in Thailand, for example, as well as specially priced software bundles for educational institutions in developing countries. Last year, Microsoft created an internship program geared toward recruiting doctoral students in India. It also supports five technical labs in Latin America, Rashid said.
Although the lab will work on projects with global impacts, two of the initial areas of research--multilingual systems and technology for developing nations--will nonetheless dovetail to a certain extent with some day-to-day tech problems many Indians face. There are 15 official languages in India, and that doesn't count English, one of the most important languages for government and business. Additionally, there are variants, such as Hindustani, according to the Central Intelligence Agency's World FactBook. The research conducted by the lab will focus on machine translation and on software for allowing users to more easily access information written in different languages on the same computer.
Rapid PC growth, combined with a fairly low per capita income, has also made India a popular place to try out cheap PCs that require little training. Hewlett-Packard has tested solar power printers and cameras in India. Advanced Micro Devices, meanwhile, is promoting what it calls the Personal Internet Communicator, a $185 PC, on the subcontinent.
Geographical information systems revolve around better managing data about the Earth. In this field, Microsoft has developed SkyServer and TerraServer to enable scientists to share astronomical and geological data. Erected in 1998, TerraServer gets 20 million hits a day.
Other companies, such as GeoFusion and MetaCarta, meanwhile, are looking at ways to correlate information in databases to points on a map. In this way, users can get a visual image of complex or lengthy sets of data: Data-feeds from a tagged tuna become a line on a map, while police reports can be plotted by time and space to reconstruct a person's movements.
Bangalore is India's tech capital, but rapid growth has led to traffic jams and power outages, according to many.
P. Anandan, a computer vision specialist who has been working at Microsoft Research since 1997, will head up the laboratory. Initially, the Bangalore lab will employ about 12 scientists. Overall, Microsoft has about 700 researchers employed at Microsoft Research. Other labs are located in Redmond, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Beijing, and Cambridge, England.
Things weren't always so rosy in India. Microsoft had to recall 200,000 copies of Windows 95 from the country because a pixilated map showed Kashmir as a disputed area and not part of India proper.
The lab, set to open in January, will initially focus on four areas: multilingual systems, technology for emerging markets, geographical information systems and sensor networks. Over time, however, the direction of the lab's research will be largely determined by the people it recruits.
"As a research organization, you want to hire the best and brightest people. That's what we did in China six years ago," said Rick Rashid, senior vice president of Microsoft Research. "Ultimately, the work that will be going on there will be based on the people we hire."
In the past few years, the Redmond, Wash., software giant has become more active in immersing itself in emerging markets. It has released budget versions of the Windows XP operating system in Thailand, for example, as well as specially priced software bundles for educational institutions in developing countries. Last year, Microsoft created an internship program geared toward recruiting doctoral students in India. It also supports five technical labs in Latin America, Rashid said.
Although the lab will work on projects with global impacts, two of the initial areas of research--multilingual systems and technology for developing nations--will nonetheless dovetail to a certain extent with some day-to-day tech problems many Indians face. There are 15 official languages in India, and that doesn't count English, one of the most important languages for government and business. Additionally, there are variants, such as Hindustani, according to the Central Intelligence Agency's World FactBook. The research conducted by the lab will focus on machine translation and on software for allowing users to more easily access information written in different languages on the same computer.
Rapid PC growth, combined with a fairly low per capita income, has also made India a popular place to try out cheap PCs that require little training. Hewlett-Packard has tested solar power printers and cameras in India. Advanced Micro Devices, meanwhile, is promoting what it calls the Personal Internet Communicator, a $185 PC, on the subcontinent.
Geographical information systems revolve around better managing data about the Earth. In this field, Microsoft has developed SkyServer and TerraServer to enable scientists to share astronomical and geological data. Erected in 1998, TerraServer gets 20 million hits a day.
Other companies, such as GeoFusion and MetaCarta, meanwhile, are looking at ways to correlate information in databases to points on a map. In this way, users can get a visual image of complex or lengthy sets of data: Data-feeds from a tagged tuna become a line on a map, while police reports can be plotted by time and space to reconstruct a person's movements.
Bangalore is India's tech capital, but rapid growth has led to traffic jams and power outages, according to many.
P. Anandan, a computer vision specialist who has been working at Microsoft Research since 1997, will head up the laboratory. Initially, the Bangalore lab will employ about 12 scientists. Overall, Microsoft has about 700 researchers employed at Microsoft Research. Other labs are located in Redmond, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Beijing, and Cambridge, England.
Things weren't always so rosy in India. Microsoft had to recall 200,000 copies of Windows 95 from the country because a pixilated map showed Kashmir as a disputed area and not part of India proper.
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