Windows Vista Team Blog : MSDN

Announcing the Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 RC

Brandon LeBlanc — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:24:05 GMT

This week we are announcing that Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 has hit an important milestone in development: Release Candidate (RC).

Starting today, the RC of SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 will be available to TechNet and MSDN subscribers to test prior to final release. In the very near future, we will be making the RC broadly available for anyone to download and test. You can expect another blog post from me when that happens.

SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 include updates that have been delivered since the release of SP1, as well as support for new types of hardware and emerging standards. As we’ve described since we first talked about SP2, we’ve taken your feedback into account when developing SP2. Specifically, we expect SP2 to continue the security benefits of both products and simplify deployment for our customers.

For an outline of changes in SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, check out the notable changes document.

We are planning to release SP2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 in the second quarter of 2009.

Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0 Released

Peg McNicol — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 00:41:00 GMT

Hi I'm Peg McNicol, the product manager for application compatibility in Windows Vista.

In the midst of all the excitement around the general availability of Windows Vista, it's almost strange to talk about IT Pro & developer tools, but if you are an IT Pro, or developer, this should be pretty exciting too. Today the final version of the Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0 was released. If you are already familiar with ACT 5.0 make sure you download the new bits and the refreshed product guide here. If you want to learn more about the tools and resources around application compatibility for Windows Vista - please visit our TechNet site.

For people new to ACT, it is a single toolset that can help detect, diagnose, and mitigate compatibility issues found in Windows Vista. I think the single coolest feature of this tool is that you can deploy it in your current environment, Windows 2000 or Windows XP and get an inventory of your applications and see how they'll work with Windows Vista. Other highlights include the Standard User Analyzer (SUA) tool; there have been many changes made to improve overall security and reliability in Windows Vista, and this tool looks for possible issues resulting from those changes for users running as Standard Users, which is what every user in a business environment should be in this new paradigm we’ve delivered. There’s also the new Internet Explorer 7 Test Tool to test apps for use with the latest version of Internet Explorer, and the Setup Analysis Tool which detects any issues your setup packages might have with installing on Windows Vista. Finally, IT Pros can use the new and improved Compatibility Administrator to pull compatibility fixes from a database of existing fixes and apply them to apps one-by-one, or in predefined groups.

Overall, this toolkit is going to be a huge timesaver for the IT Pro community and a great resource for developers to analyze and test their apps. Even if you are just starting to think about planning or deploying Windows Vista, you should download ACT 5.0 and start taking an inventory of your current environment so can scope your workload and be ready to go when the time is right for your company.

Download ACT 5.0 now

For Developers: Windows Vista Readiness Hands-on-Lab

Nick White — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 17:36:00 GMT

Thom Robbins, Microsoft Director for Developer Marketing, points out a fantastic hands-on lab focused on helping developers create great experiences for customers running their applications in Windows Vista. Here's how the download page describes the lab:

Microsoft has put together a Hands-on Lab designed to educate developers on known Microsoft Windows Vista application compatibility issues. This process will walk the developer through specifics, focusing on solutions that will enable customers running your application to have a better experience on Microsoft Windows Vista. After completing this lab, the developer should be able to determine if and how the most commonly known application compatibility issues could affect their specific application.

Download the Lab here.

If you're a developer (or just interested in application compatability on Windows Vista), you can also head over to MSDN's Windows Vista Developer Center for a wealth of resources on developing applications specifically for the new OS.