On December 4, 2008 Microsoft is opening it’s Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 service pack 2 customer preview program to a broader range of people. MSDN and TechNet subscribers will also have access to download, install and test the beta of service pack2.  Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 service pack have fixes issue that are reported by customers and partner driven feedback surveys.  Service pack 2 contains all previously released updates, SP2 will contain changes focused on addressing reliability and performance issues, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several emerging standards.

Read more…

Sunidhi Chauhan, The famous Indian singer recently joined the Windows Vista “WOW Campaign”. Sunidhi Chauhan sung the complete song of Windows Vista’s “WOW is now”. Let’s we have to see is this help Microsoft to sell more copies of Windows Vista in India. Mobile phone users can get Windows Vista’s WOW song as their ringtone by simply  SMS “WOWR to 8888” and get the Windows Vista’s WOW as your mobile ringtone.

Download Windows Vista’s WOW Song by Sunidhi Chauhan

On 9^th October, 2008 Microsoft has released a list of 4000 software applications that are compactable with Windows Vista. According to Microsoft 9000 products are fully compatible with Windows Vista operating system including 5,500 hardware devices and more then 3,500 software programs.

The Application Compatibility List for IT Professionals is a Microsoft Office Excel-based spreadsheet containing software applications which have earned the status of “Certified for Windows Vista” or “Works with Windows Vista.” Additionally, this list contains applications with a status of “Compatible.” “Compatible” means that the application has been reported by the publisher as compatible with, or supported on, Windows Vista. These applications have not gone through the Microsoft Windows Vista Logo Program.

Download Windows Vista Application Compatibility List  

To find Cookies folder on Windows Vista system click Start, type

C:\Users\Lincoln\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Cookies\Low,

and then press Enter. That should take you to the real Cookies folder. Once you’ve found it, you can make it easily accessible:

To Access Cookies folder in Windows XP just type “Cookies” in run window.

Today Microsoft announce three new Windows Ultimate Extras are now available for installation via Windows Update! This is the 6th wave of Ultimate Extras released by Microsoft exclusively for Windows Vista Ultimate users. Users will find the following Ultimate Extras waiting to be installed:

Microsoft ® Tinker (TM): Microsoft Tinker is a casual game that provides players with short puzzle game play sessions set in a warm, calming environment.

Ultimate Extras Sounds from Microsoft Tinker: Based on the positive feedback we received from the release of additional Windows Sound Schemes in April, we’ve integrated the unique audio sounds from Microsoft Tinker into a new sound scheme.

Windows ® DreamScene (TM) Content Pack #4 Windows DreamScene Content Pack #4 which adds three additional nature-setting Windows DreamScenes. 

Microsoft Tinker was developed for Microsoft as an Ultimate Extra by our Partner Fuel Industries.

Windows Ultimate Extras are only for Windows Vista Ultimate users and designed to add to their Windows experience. We will be shipping new Windows Ultimate Extras in the near future and will post additional information here on the blog when that occurs.

Thanks to Windows Vista Team Blog

SyncToy helps you copy, move, rename, and delete files between folders and computers quickly and easily. SyncToy 2.0 for Windows is available as a free download from the Microsoft Download Center. The easy to use, customizable application helps you copy, move, rename, and delete files between folders and computers.

There are files from all kinds of sources that we want to store and manage. Files are created by our digital cameras, e-mail, cell phones, portable media players, camcorders, PDAs, and laptops. Increasingly, computer users are using different folders, drives, and even different computers (such as a laptop and a desktop) to store, manage, retrieve and view files. Yet managing hundreds or thousands of files is still largely a manual operation. In some cases it is necessary to regularly get copies of files from another location to add to primary location; in other cases there is a need to keep two storage locations exactly in sync. Some users manage files manually, dragging and dropping from one place to another and keeping track of whether the locations are synchronized in their heads. Other users may use two or more applications to provide this functionality.

Now there is an easier way. SyncToy, a free PowerToy for Microsoft Windows, is an easy to use, highly customizable program that helps users to do the heavy lifting involved with the copying, moving, and synchronization of different directories. Most common operations can be performed with just a few clicks of the mouse, and additional customization is available without additional complexity. SyncToy can manage multiple sets of folders at the same time; it can combine files from two folders in one case, and mimic renames and deletes in another case. Unlike other applications, SyncToy actually keeps track of renames to files and will make sure those changes get carried over to the synchronized folder.

We have collected feedback from the discussion forum on the Windows XP Professional Photography web site, from customer feedback surveys, from a large number of professional and hobbyist photographers at Microsoft, and from various world-wide forums, sites, reviews and blogs on the web. Based on your feedback, the following features were added to this release of SyncToy:

• Dynamic Drive Letter Assignment: Drive letter reassignment will now be detected and updated in the folder pair definition.
• True Folder Sync: Folder creates, renames and deletes are now synchronized for all SyncToy actions.
• Exclusion Filtering Based on Name: File exclusion based on name with exact or fuzzy matching.
• Filtering Based on File Attributes: The ability to exclude files based on one or more file attributes (Read-Only, System, Hidden).
• Unattended Folder Pair Execution: Addressed issues related to running scheduled folder pairs while logged off.
• Folder Pairs With Shared Endpoints: Ability for folder pairs associated with the same or different instances of SyncToy to share end-points.
• Command line enhancements: Added the ability to manage folder pairs via the command line interface.
• Re-Architect Sync Engine: The SyncToy engine has been rearchitected to provide scalability and the ability to add significant enhancements in future releases.
• Sync engine is also more robust insomuch that many single, file level errors are skipped without affecting the entire sync operation.
• Sync Encrypted Files: Sync of Encrypted files works when local folder and files are encrypted, which addresses the common scenario involving sync between local, encrypted laptop PC folder and remote, unencrypted desktop PC folder.
• 64-Bit Support: SyncToy now has a native 64-bit build (x64 only) for 64-bit versions of Windows.
• Folder pair rename
• Sub-folder Exclusion Enhancements: Descendents created under excluded sub-folders are automatically excluded. Usability improvements for the sub-folder exclusion dialog.
• Folder Pair Metadata Moved: Folder pair metadata removed from MyDocuments to resolve any issues with server-based folder pair re-direction setup.
• Setup Improvements: Integrated setup with single self-extracting archive file and no extra downloads if you already have .NET Framework 2.0 installed. Enabled silent install for the SyncToy Installer file (see readme.txt file for more information). Removed combine and subscribe actions.
• Removed combine and subscribe actions.

Download SyncToy

The complete post is taken Microsoft Download website

SyncToy, a free PowerToy for Microsoft Windows, is an easy to use, highly customizable program that helps users to do the heavy lifting involved with the copying, moving, and synchronization of different directories. Most common operations can be performed with just a few clicks of the mouse, and additional customization is available without additional complexity. SyncToy can manage multiple sets of folders at the same time; it can combine files from two folders in one case, and mimic renames and deletes in another case. Unlike other applications, SyncToy actually keeps track of renames to files and will make sure those changes get carried over to the synchronized folder.

Following features were added to this release of SyncToy:

• Dynamic Drive Letter Assignment: Drive letter reassignment will now be detected and updated in the folder pair definition.
• True Folder Sync: Folder creates, renames and deletes are now synchronized for all SyncToy actions.
• Exclusion Filtering Based on Name: File exclusion based on name with exact or fuzzy matching.
• Filtering Based on File Attributes: The ability to exclude files based on one or more file attributes (Read-Only, System, Hidden).
• Unattended Folder Pair Execution: Addressed issues related to running scheduled folder pairs while logged off.
• Folder Pairs With Shared Endpoints: Ability for folder pairs associated with the same or different instances of SyncToy to share end-points.
• Command line enhancements: Added the ability to manage folder pairs via the command line interface.
• Re-Architect Sync Engine: The SyncToy engine has been re-architect to provide scalability and the ability to add significant enhancements in future releases.
• Sync engine is also more robust insomuch that many single, file level errors are skipped without affecting the entire sync operation.
• Sync Encrypted Files: Sync of Encrypted files works when local folder and files are encrypted, which addresses the common scenario involving sync between local, encrypted laptop PC folder and remote, unencrypted desktop PC folder.
• 64-Bit Support: SyncToy now has a native 64-bit build (x64 only) for 64-bit versions of Windows.
• Folder pair rename
• Sub-folder Exclusion Enhancements: Descendents created under excluded sub-folders are automatically excluded. Usability improvements for the sub-folder exclusion dialog.
• Folder Pair Metadata Moved: Folder pair metadata removed from My Documents to resolve any issues with server-based folder pair re-direction setup.
• Setup Improvements: Integrated setup with single self-extracting archive file and no extra downloads if you already have .NET Framework 2.0 installed. Enabled silent install for the SyncToy Installer file. Removed combine and subscribe actions.
• Removed combine and subscribe actions

Download SyncToy

SyncToy Discussion Forum

The more you search, the more searches you save, and the more likely you have saved most of the search you want, but you may want to narrow the criteria. To build from an existing search:
1. Browse to your Searches folder.
2. Double-click the existing search.
3. Click Search Tools, and then click Search Pane.
4. Click the Advanced Search expansion arrow.
5. Modify the criteria (use wildcard characters).
6. Click Search. You can even save this new search for reuse.

Recently some days back my friend Rich has written one very good book Windows Vista named as Windows Vista – The Pocket Guide. Vista Pocket Guide is very good and easy read book for all Windows Vista users. Vista- Pocket Guide help Vista users to find solutions for their day-to-day Vista issues as well as how they can get most out of Windows Vista.

Windows Vista- The Pocket Guide consists of 134 page in 9 chapters. First chapter of this book gives an introduction to computers and here author strongly recommend that first go to Getting Started chapter then after jump to any other chapter in this book.

Getting Started is very useful and a must read section of this book, before start reading the book. Here I find some very useful content like how to dual boot XP with Windows Vista, Which version of Vista is best for you, What to choose between Vista 32 and 64bit and many more.

Rest of the book deals with specific guide and issues in each chapter. Security and System maintenance and Management section I find very useful for Vista users.

1. Getting Started
2. Backing Up Early and Often
3. Security
4. System Maintenance & Management
5. Increasing Performance
6. Working Efficiently
7. Personalizing Vista
8. Taking Control of Your Files

Vista Pocket Guide download

Recently Microsoft has published a white paper, regarding five misunderstood features in Windows Vista and how these five features can benefit your laptop, desktop or organizations computers. 

1. User Account Control
2. Image management.
3. Display Driver Model
4. Search
5. 64 bit architecture

Adopting these feature is not straightforward as it’s seen, because these five features affect two key areas: application compatibility and hardware performance. This White paper explains all these five feature in a very effective manner.

User can download and view Five Misunderstood Features in Windows Vista here