Month: August 2014

Will the new version of Windows finally respond to customers and give us back our REAL Start button and menuing system? Yeah, I have heard it before, we’ll see!

Microsoft to deliver Windows ‘Threshold’ tech preview around late September

ZDNet – By Mary Jo Foley – “Microsoft is aiming to deliver a ‘technology preview’ of its Windows ‘Threshold’ operating system by late September or early October, according to multiple sources of mine who asked not to be named.

And in a move that signals where Microsoft is heading on the ‘servicability’ front, those who install the tech preview will need to agree to have subsequent monthly updates to it pushed to them automatically, sources added.

Threshold is the next major version of Windows that is expected to be christened ‘Windows 9′ when it is made available in the spring of 2015. Threshold is expected to include a number of new features that are aimed at continuing to improve Windows’ usability on non-touch devices and by those using mice and keyboards alongside touch.

Among those features — according to previous leaks — are a new ‘mini’ Start Menu; windowed Metro-Style applications that can run on the Desktop; virtual desktops; and the elimination of the Charms bar that debuted as part of Windows 8. Cortana integration with Windows Threshold is looking like it could make it into the OS, as well.

Microsoft has painted bold design strokes with Windows 8, but the business impact remains hotly debated. ZDNet and TechRepublic have the enterprise and SMB perspectives on Windows 8 covered from virtually every angle.

I’ve asked Microsoft officials for comment. To date, Microsoft execs have declined to comment on what will be in Threshold, when it will be available, how much it will cost or what it will be named.

When Microsoft was working on Windows 8, the company delivered three external ‘milestones’ before making the operating system generally available in October 2012. First there was a Windows 8 developer preview, which Microsoft released on September 13, 2011, followed by a Windows 8 ‘consumer’ preview on February 29, 2012. The operating system was released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012.

These days, Microsoft’s operating system team is on a more rapid release schedule, so I’d think there won’t be five or six months between any Threshold milestone builds Microsoft plans to make available externally.

I had heard previously from my contacts that Microsoft was aiming to deliver a public preview of Threshold available to anyone interested toward the end of calendar 2014. I’m not sure if there’s still a plan to make a public consumer preview available at that time or if this ‘technical preview’ is the only ‘preview’ Microsoft will release before Threshold is released to manufacturing.

Update: One of my contacts who has provided accurate information on Windows in the past said the Threshold tech preview will be public and available to all those interested.”

This week’s GSotW is Evalaze, an application virtualization platform, along the lines of another Geek Software of the Week, Cameyo.

Evalaze

“Software virtualization is a piece of technology that allows the running of applications, without having to install these in the ‘traditional’ way. The applications work in their own virtual environment and do not affect the operating system or other programs.

Amongst other features, this technology allows multiple identical applications to be run in parallel on the same system. This enables you to simultaneously run different versions of a browser on a system, for example. Outdated applications can be used on new and modern operating systems. A problem with non-virtualized applications is that they are firmly anchored to the system. The installation and configuration of applications is time-consuming. Uninstalling will not delete entries in the registry or file system and thus will put further strain on the system. This can lead to system slow-downs and crashes. Virtualized applications, however, are flexible. These can be run locally on a PC, on network drives, on terminal servers or on USB sticks. Evalaze also puts an application virtualization assistant at the users disposal to help with the software. In order to virtualize an application, Evalaze creates a snapshot of the system. Following this, the application of choice is installed and a second snapshot is taken. The installed files and registry entries are now converted into a new .exe file by Evalazes virtualization engine. This file can now be copied to an appropriate medium and executed.

Evalaze-Features

• Evalaze is cross-platform compatible with all 32 Bit/64-Bit operating systems like Windows XP (SP2), Windows Vista and Windows 7, as well as with servers running Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2008.
• 32-Bit/64-Bit Supports applications for 64-Bit Windows systems.
• A software ‘assistant’ guides the user through the virtualization of applications.
• During the process of creating the virtualized application there is a choice as to whether or not the sandbox will be automatically deleted each time the application is shut down. If so, the virtual application would automatically reset to its original state.
• The start-up screen can be customised to the user’s needs and wishes. This is ideal for software developers.
• The virtualized application does not need drivers, clients, or a server environment, as it runs completely independently.
• The system stays clean. A virtualized application is copied. If it is no longer required it can simply be deleted. It will leave no traces.
• Each virtualized application and any other elements will run in the same virtual environment.
• The virtual application runs entirely in user mode. Therefore, no administrator rights are required.
• The application is launched in a sandbox. This completely isolates the application from the operating system and any other applications.
• Business clients can take advantage of a simple licensing model and can now use Evalaze within their own IT environments.”

So, how cool is this! A flat sheet of material folding itself into a robot, and then going for a walk! Check out the YouTube video below to see it happen!

IBM has developed a new type of chip that processes data similar to the way that your brain processes data. It uses a million digital neurons and 256 million synapses which may allow IBM to build more intelligent computers. This new kind of computer chip consumes significantly less power and is suited processing images sound and other sensory data. IBM calls it the SyNapse chip and the over 1 million neurons which communicate with one another using electrical spikes are similar to the way actual neurons communicate, which allows it to mimic the connections and synapses of the human brain.

The synapse chip breaks with the design known as the Von Neumann architecture that has been used in computer chips for the last several decades.

Of course, one downside to this new chip is that it requires all new programming languages, since it operates very differently than ordinary computer chips. Of course, IBM has released software development kits so that development can begin on software that works with this chip.

The new SyNapse chip has more transistors than most desktop processors, or, in fact, any chip that IBM has ever made, with over 5 billion, but it consumes very little power. In fact, processors with a similar number of transistors consume tens of Watts of power which is around 10,000 times more power than the 63 mW consumed by the SyNapse chip.

Most modern web browsers block old, insecure and out-of-date ActiveX controls and things of that nature. Microsoft Internet Explorer, up to now, did not do this. This is actually to be expected since Microsoft Internet Explorer is the worst browser you can use if you want to protect your security. But now even lowly Internet Explorer will soon block ActiveX controls and Java.

Chrome and Firefox already block out-of-date and unsafe plug-ins. But, again, this is to be expected since they are much more secure than Internet Explorer.

This new blocking feature in Internet Explorer will begin operating around August 12 of this month. It should also be noted that this only applies to Internet Explorer 8.0 and above, and also those versions must be running on Windows 7 service pack 1 or Windows 8.x.

If you’re on an older version of the browser or an older version of the operating system then of course you are open to attack from all kinds of security bugs, hacks, exploits, and malware which you should expect if you’re using Internet Explorer anyway, so no big surprise there!