This article briefly examines and compares the kernels of the three most widely used quasi-Unix operating systems using three axes of comparison: efficiency, evolvement, and user friendliness. The operating systems compared (kernel only) are: OpenSolaris, Windows Vista, and Linux 2.6.
Microsoft has made available Windows API Code Pack for Microsoft .NET Framework (v0.85), a library useful to access new Windows 7 features, including Vista ones, from managed code. This library is not included in .NET 4.0.
Microsoft has announced the public availability of Windows Server 2008 SP2 and Vista SP2 Customer Preview Program (CPP) starting Thursday December 4th on TechNet which is already loaded with information about the CPP. Besides fixes, Vista SP2 includes better searching, Bluetooth 2.1 and Blu-Ray support, an extension to the FAT file system to support UTC time stamps.
Microsoft has recently conducted an experiment, called Mojave, in an attempt to quantify the users' true perception of Windows Vista. The results are shedding some light on people's biases and misconceptions related to Vista.
Though released nearly a decade ago, Visual Basic 6 still remains a cornerstone for the IT department of many companies. With so many line of business applications, many no longer with source code, in use, upgrade paths to Windows Vista and Server 2008 needs to be considered carefully. The make the upgrade somewhat easier, Microsoft has committed to an "It Just Works" policy for VB 6 applications.
Task Scheduler is an useful addition to Windows Vista and the upcoming Windows Server 2008. This is a quick lesson on how to use the Task Scheduler from managed code.
This dialog provides a framework that covers most dialog scenarios while maintaining consistency across applications. But it also introduces a new problem in that it is not backwards compatible with Windows XP. Hedley Muscroft tackled this problem by creating a wrapper/emulator for the Task Dialog.
With the release of Service Pack 2, SQL Server 2005 finally has full support on Vista. This includes SQL Server Express, which had serious difficulties running on the new operating system. Several new features are also included in this release.
Windows assessment numbers are expected to be very useful for comparing computers in the store or for identifying performance bottlenecks in systems you already own. Other possible uses include altering an application's behavior depending on the system's capabilities. But using them from managed code isn't exactly easy, especially when you have to deal with raw pointers.
