Windows OS

In order to use the Microsoft Touch Pack for Windows 7 – you’ll need a Windows 7 PC that supports multi-touch. The Microsoft Touch Pack for Windows 7 will be available to PC makers (OEMs) who will have the option to pre-install some, none, or all of the applications available in the Microsoft Touch Pack for Windows 7 on PCs designed for Windows Touch (PCs that meet the logo requirements for Windows Touch) – so you should start to see these applications showing up on some touch PCs around the time Windows 7 is made broadly available. After general availability of Windows 7, we will look at making the Microsoft Touch Pack for Windows 7 even more broadly available based on feedback from customers and partners.

Read more about it here.

Tons of sites have already announced it, but the links are not always easy to find, so here are the direct links:

Most of the users out there just need the "Five Language Standalone" version: x86 x64

To read what is new in SP2, go here.
To read what hot fixes and security fixes are included, go here.

Due to Server 2008 R1 and Vista sharing a common code base, the above links are for either Vista or Server 2008 R1.

Don't forget to reclaim hard drive space after installation with compcln.exe.

No catch - I just need a valid e-mail address to send the invite to. Not sure what Vine is? I'm still figuring that one out myself at the moment.

You can read what Vine is about here and check out the FAQ.

If you are looking the the latest version, as of today (05-20-09), version 1.0.2151.0, download the binary from here.

Earlier versions (1.0.2150.2/older) would sometimes crash when the update to v1.0.2151.0 was offered. This avoids that situation, which could get annoying.

The Vine also has a dedicated TechNet forum located here.

I'm guessing there will be more to this program once it gets closer to a full blown public release.

Update: I've seemed to have run out of invites because when I invite people now, they get sent to the sign up page for the waiting list. Either they are at capacity right now, or I've given out all I can for now. I will update when I have more info.

Finally a simple link that you can remember to grab the mobile edition of the Office Communicator, whether it is for your SmartPhone (WinMo Std), PocketPC (WinMo Pro), or a Java based phone.

Just go to http://www.getcomo.com.

There have been cases where the wireless chipset on Thinkpads have been disabled even though the hardware switch for wireless had been switched on. Before v12.4 of Intel's wireless drivers, there really wasn't a consistent way to re-enable the wireless radio inside the operating system.

If you only install the updated drivers for the Intel wireless chipset, you won't get the 'On/Off' functionality.



You need to install the 'MyWifi' aka 'Software mode Wireless AP' even if you don't plan on using that feature.



A nice side effect of the new My Wifi option is that there is a Wireless On/Off available from your taskbar.

If you are having trouble enabling the Bluetooth radio even though the hardware switch is 'On', you can use the workaround I detailed here.

A nice side note: The newer versions of the Intel Matrix Storage Manager and Intel Turbo Memory Panel seem to have support for Windows 7 out of the box. You no longer have to 'fool' the installers by saying that you are running Windows Vista.

I still get the CPU pegged from time to time from the Intel Application Pinning service, which is fixed with a simple service restart. It is as if the service is stuck inside a kernel mode loop. I still haven't been able to get the Turbo Ram (non-user pinning mode) to stay consistently enabled across reboots. I always end up with a 1.37GB partition that doesn't have a drive letter and isn't enabled for ReadyBoost, from what I can tell.

A great little program but was always a little sluggish on slower computers. I've noticed a huge difference in speed and performance compared to version 3.3x. Only for the daring, but so far I haven't run into any show stopping bugs for me. I even have it loaded up in my XP Mode VM so I can scan expenses with the old Epson USB scanner on my 64-bit host.

Changes since version 3.36:

Requires and uses! .NET Framework 3.5 SP1

Significant improvements to the installer. Prerequisites are now handled in a much more user-friendly fashion.

The auto-updater can now download in the background, and then install the update after you've exited Paint.NET. Compare this to v3.36 and earlier that jump in your face and require the download and installation to happen right now, and block you from using the program until it's done!

New effects: Blurs -> Surface Blur, Distort -> Dents, Distort -> Crystalize - by Ed Harvey

The responsiveness of effect dialogs has been greatly improved.

When zoomed-in, the rendering quality has been substantially improved.

When zoomed in, it is now much easier to correctly resize or move a selection.

Improved performance when opening multiple images, especially for systems with only 1 processor.

Memory usage has been greatly reduces when more than one image is open.

The selection outline is no longer animated, which substantially reduces CPU usage. It also uses XOR blending.

The middle mouse button can now be used to close an image tab.

Improved the Unfocus effect.

Fixed an issue with Gaussian Blur and its treatment of alpha values.

Fixed a crash with the "Units" selector in the toolbar area.

Added a "Utilities" menu, and moved the following menu items there: Check for Updates, Language chooser, and View Plugin Load Errors. For the alpha release, there are also menu items for "Force Crash" and "Perform Full GC" (you'll know what that means if you're a developer -- Otherwise it isn't interesting).

Installer now has a "Start Paint.NET" checkbox at the end. (On Vista and Win7 with UAC enabled, it will correctly start Paint.NET at non-elevated privilege.)

Renamed "Grid" to "Pixel Grid", to more accurately describe its functionality.

The DirectDraw Surface (.DDS) file type now allows you to select the resampling algorithm for auto-generated mip-maps.

Effect plugins now have access to a "Services" property which allows them to properly access certain internal Paint.NET functionality.

Fixed some very small memory leaks when opening many images.

Russian translation.

A processor that supports SSE is now required (almost all CPU's purchased this decade satisfy this).

You can read about it more and download it from here.

I'll be one of the few non-Microsofties helping out at the Windows 7 Springboard booth all week long. I may escape from time to time to see other sessions but overall I will be there to answer questions about Windows 7 and anything else that might be of interest to people.

I've never actually been to TechEd before, so for me to be a part of it for my first time is a bit of a daunting task, but I am excited!

I seem to be bouncing from coast to coast for the month of May, but it all will be worthwhile!

This is one of my favorite new features of Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2. Replace VPN in your enterprise with DirectAccess but still enjoy multi-factor authentication.

Wondering how to set it up to try it out? Download the step by step guide!

The official description:
This paper contains an introduction to DirectAccess and instructions for setting up a test lab to demonstrate DirectAccess with a simulated Internet, intranet, and home network.

DirectAccess is a new feature in the Windows® 7 and Windows Server® 2008 R2 operating systems that enables remote users to securely access intranet shares, Web sites, and applications without connecting to a virtual private network (VPN). This paper contains an introduction to DirectAccess and instructions for setting up a test lab to demonstrate DirectAccess with a simulated Internet, intranet, and home network using the Release Candidate versions of Windows 7 and Window Server 2008 R2.

TechNet and MSDN subscribers had it first. People on BitTorrent thought they had it before them, but the checksums/images are different.

Now, you can download the Windows 7 RC build from the Microsoft sites without a TechNet or MSDN subscription here.