Focusing on development of data-centric applications, Microsoft released on Thursday Beta 3 of the ADO.Net Entity Framework
and plans to release shortly a preview of ASP.Net 3.5 Extensions.
ADO.Net Entity Framework is designed to make it easier to build data-centric applications and services regardless of the underlying
data source, Microsoft said.
"This provides a new modeling framework that enables developers to define a conceptual model of a database schema that closely
aligns to a real world view of the information," said Microsoft's Scott Guthrie, a general manager within the company's Developer
Division, in his blog.
The second release candidate (thus the number "1") for Windows Server 2008 is slated for availability this afternoon, and this version will finally include a new tool that Microsoft took an interest in back in 2005.
The latest RC1 for Windows Server 2008 will finally incorporate a tool Microsoft has had in its stable by way of acquisition for well over a year: What was once sold separately as PolicyMaker Standard Edition -- a tool for extending the range and function of group policy objects -- will now be incorporated into Windows Server, as Group Policy Preferences.
Microsoft is now offering a very early release version of a new toolset it says will ease development of multi-tier applications.
The tool, code-named Volta, basically an extension to Visual Studio 2008, aims to streamline development of apps that run on many client devices including those that do not run Microsoft software, says Erik Meijer, architect of the Microsoft Live Labs project.
"This is focused on the idea of building distributed multi-tier development using only existing tools and techniques and patterns from .net. People can use C sharp, Visual Basic, other .Net languages to get the best experience without having to tailor their app for a particular target," says Alex Daley, senior product manager for Microsoft Live Labs told Redmond Developer News.
Microsoft released a release candidate of the long delayed Windows XP SP3 to Microsoft MSDN and TechNet subscribers on Dec. 3. The release comes about a month after a beta release of SP3 was made available to about 15,000 users.
With customers still showing no eagerness to move to Vista, interest has been building in XP SP3. While there's little when it comes to new features in SP3, it does include a roll-up of the several hundred fixes that Microsoft has published for XP since XP SP2 arrived in August 2004, significant security and stability fixes, and a handful of new features.
Michael Toutonghi is headed back to Microsoft after selling his Seattle Internet startup, WebFives, to the software maker in a deal of undisclosed size.
Toutonghi described the deal as an asset sale, declining to comment when asked if it was a positive financial result for him or his investors.
"I am happy with the outcome," said Toutonghi, who launched the startup under the name Vizrea in early 2006.
WebFives, which allowed users to share videos, photos and other Web content between devices, will be shut down by the end of the year. Some of the technology will be incorporated into Microsoft services.
For many of the security researchers who trek to Microsoft's twice-yearly Blue Hat conference, one of the big highlights doesn't happen until after the event itself ends. The Limo Races--a scavenger hunt through Seattle that teams Microsoft security folks with outside researchers--have become a Blue Hat tradition.
Blue Hat itself, and the Limo Races, are part of a broad effort by Microsoft to forge closer relationships with the security community. The role of those relationships in Microsoft's security strategy is the topic of Day 2 of my special report: "Securing Microsoft: A long road." Monday, I wrote about how Microsoft's security practices have evolved over the years. Wednesday, I'll take a look at the emerging threats that could challenge all the work that the company has done.
Microsoft said Monday that it's seeing piracy rates for Windows Vista that are half those of Windows XP. Now cynical me wanted to write this up as "even pirates prefer XP two to one over Vista," but that wouldn't be fair. In reality, the decline in piracy rates is largely due to the fact that Vista is much tougher to fake than XP.
There are a variety of reasons for that, including the fact that businesses no longer have volume license keys that can be used to activate an unlimited number of machines. Another is the fact that Vista machines that aren't properly activated pretty quickly become basically unusable once they enter "reduced functionality mode."
Microsoft plans to eliminate the most controversial of its Windows Vista anti-piracy features in the OS's upcoming Service Pack update.
The company now plans to ax Vista's "kill switch", which disables features of the operating system when it appears to be counterfeit.
"Although our overall strategy remains the same, with SP1 we're adjusting the customer experience that differentiates genuine from non-genuine systems in Windows Vista and later in Windows Server," Mike Sievert, Microsoft's vice president of Windows product marketing, said in a statement.
I have to admit to a certain bias here. I hate Facebook and its ilk, hate it with a burning disdain that is hard to clarify but easy to feel. So the news this week that Facebook has been messaging users' friends about the purchases they've made, to me, is just another indication that these over-hyped and well over-valued social network sites are just a flash in the pan as I've always suspected. Facebook has already responded to huge public outrage over this issue--which many claimed ruined their holidays when presents they purchased online were broadcasted to the intended recipients--but you know, it's too. And frankly, anyone who relies on a site like Facebook almost deserves to be punished.
Tired of having to fight for a free conference room, Microsoft's security chief, Mike Nash, decided in early 2005 that the company needed a dedicated "war room" where his team could handle emergency responses.
And while he was at it, why not have two? That way, the folks working on fixing a security crisis could have a little breathing room from those drafting the public and customer communications around the issue.
"They were tired of the communications people hearing of things that were half-baked," Nash said.