This is the boxshot of Windows Vista Ultimate - the black curved case with the genuine final DVD disc.

You may have 512MB of RAM memory on your system, but is any of it shared? The best way to determine whether you actually have 512MB of memory available (the minimum amount of memory required for Vista to even begin the installation) is to check the Windows Version.

1) Go to Start , Run, then type in winver and press OK.

As you can see in the image given above, it says 506,860KB which is 504MB. This means that 8MB of your system memory is being used elsewhere - and most likely it’s being used by your onboard graphics card. The key to this, is to either put in a much better graphics card which has it’s own memory unit (thus freeing up the system memory), or add more system memory.

It’s annoying I know - you do have 512MB memory, but some of it is being used and if it is onboard graphics, there’s little you can do about it, so get a memory upgrade or a graphics card upgrade. It’s what I had to do…

Very simple answer to this one and you probably won’t like it - 5600 was RC1 (Release Candidate 1, basically a possible candidate version of the operating system which is in such good quality it’s a possibility it could be shipped as that) but there was no 5601 - oh no, it skipped straight to 5700.

It’s just how the build branches work - they did it before with Beta 1, and they did it again! It didn’t improve by 128 different versions, in essence only 28 in total hence the build number now.

Windows Vista has been released as Beta 2, build number 5384.4. This is a significant milestone for the “Longhorn” program. As of 23rd May 2006, the following are available for download to MSDN Operating System subscribers and above, Microsoft technical testers via Microsoft Connect, and via TechNet Plus shipments available in the July shipment:

 Windows Vista Business Beta 2 (x86 and x64)
 Windows Vista Enterprise Beta 2 (x86 and x64)
 Windows Vista Home Premium Beta 2 (x86 and x64)
 Windows Vista Ultimate Beta 2 (x86 and x64)
 Windows Vista Home Basic Beta 2 (x86 and x64)
 Microsoft “Longhorn” Server Beta 2 (x86 and x64)
 Microsoft “Longhorn” Server Core Beta 2 (x86 and x64)

 These are available in English, German and Japanese. You can use a key from Windows Vista 5342 and above to activate your copy of Windows Vista Beta 2.

Updated for post-Beta 2
Windows Vista had released Vista for download at the Beta 2 stage of development, but now the site has closed. It will re-open to access the RC1 (Release Client 1) client later in the year.

Recently, Microsoft released “Build 5342″ of Windows Vista. Not many people are quite sure what it is, or where to get it so here’s the best answer I can give.

The latest build of Windows Vista is 5342, and because it’s not a CTP and because it’s not a beta build, it’s purely an “interim build”. Microsoft released it because they are heading towards the milestone of Beta 2 of which will be public. Due to the timeframe of Vista’s final release has been pushed back to January 2007, expect this in April/May perhaps.

They also wanted the technical testers (the guys who have access to Microsoft Connect and the beta newsgroups) to see that they have fixed loads of bugs ready for Beta 2… a bit like a confidence boost to the testers.

 MSDN and TechNet, TechNet Plus, and Microsoft Partners will not be getting this build either in download form or physical media form except the technical testers.

There’s a 32-bit and a 64-bit version waiting for those who haven’t downloaded it yet, but feedback is only valid until Beta 2 is released.

Microsoft have released a website which enables you to sign up to either: Beta 2 of Windows Vista, Beta 2 of 2007 Microsoft Office System, and Beta 2 of Microsoft Exchange “12″. These will be out from April onwards, and exact dates are not confirmed.

Technically you can only get these if you are from the United States, Canada, French Canada and Spanish (Latin America) regions. However, as this is all done via e-mail and the TechNet Flash newsletter in your inbox, you should be able to participate none the less.

Updated for post-Beta 2
Windows Vista had released Vista for download at the Beta 2 stage of development, but now the site has closed. It will re-open to access the RC1 (Release Client 1) client later in the year.

After Microsoft announced the final editions of Windows Vista, the question arose of which version will actually run on your computer depending on your processor architecture.

With the 7 editions they announced of Windows Vista (including the N Editions which come without Media Player), they will all support 32 bit and 64 bit computers. The only exception is Windows Vista Starter which is a very basic version of Windows Vista to be sold in developing countries and will only run on 32 bit systems.

Windows Vista Starter will not have Windows Aero or many of the advanced features of Vista as we will see. It will only be sold in separate language editions for emerging economies such as China, India, Brazil and Malaysia. It will not be sold in the USA or in Europe, whilst only the N Editions will be available in Europe.

Microsoft have learned their lesson from Windows XP – instead of having different versions which do different things, such as “Media Center Edition” for those who predominantly want to watch and listen to media, they have set different versions for different lifestyles. Within the editions of Windows Vista, they have separated them into two sets, “Home” and “Business”

This article was updated on 27th February 2006 - Microsoft announced the final editions that Vista will ship in, and because of rules and regulations within the European Community, Microsoft will offer an “N” product which means there will be “No Media Player” so that they can give other manufacturers a chance. You can still download Media Player afterwards, but it’s mainly for developing and smaller companies of which produce media players. Although the “N” editions are not listed here, there should be at least one of these versions as “N” available in the EU.

 Windows Vista Ultimate
If you want all of the best business features, all of the best mobility features, and all of the best home entertainment features that Windows Vista has to offer, Windows Vista Ultimate is the solution for you. With Windows Vista Ultimate you don’t have to compromise.

 Windows Vista Enterprise
Windows Vista Enterprise is designed to meet the needs of large global organizations with highly complex IT infrastructures. Windows Vista Enterprise can help you lower your IT costs while providing additional layers of protection for your sensitive data.

 Windows Vista Business
Regardless of the size of your organization, Windows Vista Business will help you lower your PC management costs, improve your security, enhance your productivity, and help you stay better connected.

 Windows Vista Home Premium
Whether you choose to use your PC to write e-mail and surf the Internet, for home entertainment, or to track your household expenses, Windows Vista Home Premium delivers a more complete and satisfying computing experience.

 Windows Vista Home Basic
Windows Vista Home Basic is designed to deliver improved reliability, security, and usability to home PC users who just want to do the basics with their PCs.

 Windows Vista Starter
A very basic version of Windows, only supporting Aero Express (no Glass or transparency) and is to be sold in developing countries. This edition will only ship in 32-bit and won’t be available to North America, Western Europe, or Australia.

Microsoft announced the new slogan for Windows Vista to be “Clear, Confident, Connected” but this has confused a lot of people because they don’t actually know what it means. Hopefully this article should clear things up a bit.

Clear
This is to signify the new user interface for the user. The word “clear” directly talks about the “clear-transparency” in Aero Glass which is one of the visually most important features of Vista, and also that you can find things easier and the general layout is more clear for the user. With better file management structure such as Virtual Folders which drags together all of the same file type from your hard drives together into a folder for easier viewing, and the new Windows Search and the later integration of WinFS (Windows File System).

Confident
This is to show that Vista is now “confident about security” basically. With Windows Defender (Microsoft AntiSpyware) being part of Vista as standard, as well as other virus and malware protecting technologies, it really is the most secure version of Windows to date (we hope). With Windows Internet Explorer being the main gateway between the computer and the potentially-virus-ridden-Internet, they have also boosted the security there so that it picks up phishing websites, potentially unsafe websites and blocks harmful codes.

Connected
With a brand new Network Center, Vista is meant to be the ultimate operating system for connectivity. It’ll be much easier to synch your mobile devices with the computer, you’ll have much quicker access to wireless networks and other connections, and you’ll be able to send files to someone the other end of the room like it was the simplest of tasks. With a new network stack as well to make networking much more efficient, IP protocol version 6.0 (IPv6) looks promising for the user, as well as the developer to create new applications using these technologies.

You’re looking quite ahead into the future if you are asking that question. There will be many releases of different bits of software, mainly operating systems but there will be quite a few that are directed at certain types of customer.

 Windows Vista Beta 1 – beta version of the next client operating system from Microsoft
Released to testers only 3rd August 2005.

 Windows Server “Longhorn” Beta 1 – beta version of the next server operating system
Released to testers only 3rd August 2005.

 Windows Server 2003 R2 – update from Windows Server 2003 and has many new features
Released 7th December 2005.

 Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 – update from Small Business Server 2003 for simple management
Released 1st half of 2006.

 Windows Server “Longhorn” Beta 2 – beta version updated from Beta 1
Released Q2-Q3 of 2006.

 Windows Vista – the released-to-manufacturers edition of the next client operating system from Microsoft
Released 2nd half of 2006.

 Windows Server “Longhorn” Beta 3 – beta version updated from Beta 2
Released Q1-Q2 of 2006.

 Windows Server “Longhorn” – won’t be called Longhorn, but it’ll be released none the less
Released 1st half of 2007.

 Windows Small Business Server “Longhorn” – the next generation of simple server management
Released Q3-Q4 of 2007.

 2008/9 onwards -
Service Pack for Windows Vista
Service Pack for Windows Server “Longhorn”
Windows “Vienna” (next client on)
Beta 1 of Windows Server “Blackcomb/Vienna” (next server on)

Microsoft has always stuck to their “vague schedules” quite well over the years; normally they will narrow down smaller products into the four quarters of the year. Windows Live Messenger will be out in Q3 of 2006 for example. Windows Server 2003 R2 was a big release for Microsoft, and because it is a larger beta and more important, it is vaguer in the target release and is usually segregated into halves of the year – they said it will be released in 2H of 2005 and it was.

Windows Vista has been pushed further and further away because of various things; security issues, getting mega bugs fixed, loads of things have pushed it back. However, at the moment the unconfirmed schedule looks like this:

 Beta 1: 27th July 2005 - 1pm (Pacific Standard Time)
 Beta 2: 20th May 2006 - 5pm (Pacific Standard Time)
 Release Client 1: 9th September 2006 - 5pm (Pacific Standard Time)
 Release to Manufacturer: Early November 2006
 Expect to see it in the shops: 30th January 2007

Obviously, things could change horribly and it might be delayed another few months… however now that RC1 is released, I think the schedule will stay fairly fixed as the main problems were getting a half-stable build out to testers in the first place. However, a lot of speculation has gone on about the holiday season of 2006; you should actually see Windows Vista finally arriving spring time of 2007.

If you already have a version of Windows Vista installed, you can upgrade it to any better edition of Vista really easily. If you are running Windows Vista Home Basic, Home Premium or Business, using the Windows Anytime Upgrade you can update to the Ultimate Edition and get every single feature that Vista has to offer, plus more with Ultimate Extras.

 Upgrade to a higher and better edition of Windows Vista (doesn’t apply to Vista Ultimate users)

1. Go to then Control Panel.
2. You may need to switch to Classic view in the left hand pane, then click Windows Anytime Upgrade.

 It is highly recommended that before you jump in straight away and upgrade to a new edition of Windows Vista, that you Compare the editions of Windows Vista just so you can make a thorough decision of what you need and don’t need, thus saving you money.

3. Check through the comparison matrix and decide what you need in an operating system, and then select one of the options at the bottom of the screen.
4. If Windows isn’t already activated, click the Activate Windows now button to activate online.
5. Click on the Begin upgrade process button at the bottom to go to one of Microsoft’s certified retailers websites and purchase a new edition of Windows Vista. 
6. Once you have bought the upgrade, you will need to download a small program which helps you upgrade your system before the upgrade. 
7. You will need a Windows Anytime Upgrade disc. This will probably be in the same box of which you originally bought Windows Vista in. Search around for it and keep it to hand. If you don’t have it, you may have bought it along with the upgrade.
8. Let the program you downloaded run, and follow the instructions on from there.

Vista being the new operating system wouldn’t be complete without certain hardware benefits as well - here you’ll be able to see webcams, keyboards and mice, and other technologies and hardware which will be available specifically for Windows Vista.

Amazon.com recently published prices for Vista of which it will be selling copies of. You can pre-order a copy of Vista of which will be available from 30th January 2007, and the different editions and versions stand as follows:

These prices are now official, but ultimately it’s up to how much the software vendor’s charge.  Above are the suggested retail prices only, so they will vary from place to place. The $ prices are taken from each page of the Windows Vista editions whilst the other conversions are simply taken from the original price.

These are some of the logos for Windows Vista and other related “Longhorn” applications and technologies. Some are likely to change, such as the Windows Server “Longhorn” and the .net Framework 3.0 logos, but these should do for the time being. Please take heed of the notes below.

	Large image - Transparent PNG - (Microsoft server download)
	Large image - Transparent PNG - (Local server download)
	Large image - Transparent PNG - (Local server download)
	Large image - Transparent PNG - (Local server download)

 Please note, this is very important. The “Windows Server Longhorn” and the “.net Framework 3.0″ logos are not official logos as Microsoft are still working on marketing and production images and other things. These can be used but they are still not official Microsoft logos. The other two, “Windows Vista” and “Windows Internet Explorer 7″ are official logos.

 If you wish to use these images, you can save any of the images even the thumbnails above and use them on your own server or website. Under no circumstances link back directly to this site, because it totally uses up all my bandwidth. If anyone does, I’ll simply take down the images.

 Remember, VistaBase has no affiliation with Microsoft - the Microsoft Windows trademark, the Windows flag, “Windows”, “.net”, “.net Framework”, “Internet Explorer” and “Longhorn” as well as other brands and images and such-like are copyright as well as loads of other things by Microsoft Corporation. VistaBase has nothing to do with Microsoft, except the owner works for them… and even then it’s actually nothing to do with Vista anyway. Don’t ask… long story…

With so many new features, graphics and general capabilities expected in Vista, it’s not easy to keep track of what’s actually useful to everyday users of the Windows operating system. Here’s 10 features of which I’ve thought of, which could very much make the difference for users who have Windows XP now to upgrade to Windows Vista when it’s released. OK so don’t bite my head off for mentioning the Sidebar or the new Windows Aero… but sometimes what things do are better than how they look!

1 Parental Controls
 There is a demonstration relating to this article. Click here to view it.
This feature will definitely be used by families all over the world. Not only can it restrict what your child (or user) does and see’s whilst logged into their account, it can limit which games they can play (even the standard ones in case you find that Solitaire is far too raunchy) but can also limit when the user logs in, which means you really can limit what time they go to bed!

2 Virtual Folders
 There is a demonstration relating to this article. Click here to view it.
This new technology enables you to search and store many of the same types of file. Even though you can search for files with specific names, you can now search and organise files that all have the same names of all types, varieties and over networked drives. You could create a virtual folder labelled “Italy” and it will search everywhere possible for files, pictures, videos and everything else for what you specified and then organise them… but doesn’t move a single file. Instead it acts as if you were where the actual file was, but all of them are together in that virtual folder (find out more here).

3 Image based installations
If you have a load of computers on your network and they are all the same - being video cards, hard drives, and other hardware, instead of having to install a copy of Vista on each machine and configure it, you can simply setup one computer with how it needs to run and create an image of it to install everywhere else. It can also be really useful for slipstreaming your application installations and you can automate these setup scenarios to save yourself time as well.

4 USB Memory as… memory
Set up using AutoPlay options, you can configure external memory such as USB flash memory drives to act as pagefile memory on your computer. Essentially, if you have 512MB RAM on your machine and things are starting to get slow, you can add a 512MB USB memory drive to your machine and essentially speed things up. Quite cool.

5 Faster installations
Windows Vista (on occasion in beta, but will be able to eventually) install in about 20 minutes depending on the type of installation you have. If you have a staged installation (find out more here) it’ll be even faster.

6 BitLocker Volume Encryption
Microsoft came up with a great idea… instead of letting each user decide what files and folders need protecting on their computers or their user accounts, Windows Vista will simply encrypt the lot which saves the user time and effort, but also helps in case your computer is lost or stolen because nobody else can access your work then (find out more here) The standard XP-based NTFS permissions are still available for now…

7 User Account Controls (UAC)
With Vista, you don’t need to keep logging in as an administrator to perform simple administrative tasks. The reason why most computers running Windows XP were attacked were because any user had access to system files and important operating-system files which then infected the entire system. Now in Vista, if you want to do something and it requires administrative privileges such as change certain settings, it will prompt for an administrator’s password.

8 Protected Administrator Account
Works very closely with UAC, it asks administrators when they are about to potentially make a huge mistake whether they want to do it or not. If you’re playing with the registry and see’s you playing with some really important strings, it’ll ask you whether you want to go through with the action. Computer courtesy… very similar to a patient asking a doctor in surgery, “are you sure you want to cut open my vena cava, or not, because if you do, I’ll almost certainly die a little bit…”.

9 Secure Bootup
If enabled, BitLocker hardware installed on the motherboard does a very quick check of whether the system has been modified or tampered with - if it has, it’ll “lockdown” and ask for the recovery key which was created when the administrator of that computer enabled the security.

10 Error Feedback Support for Administrators
There is new support for which when an error occurs with the system, a message will be flagged for the administrator even before the error occurs on the computer in question and before the user gets told. This means that essentially, by the time that you reload the application again and do the same thing, it could well be fixed.

Windows Server “Longhorn” Core is a much smaller, command line based operating system which has no user interface except for a command line and the wallpaper. It’s about 500MB in size because it doesn’t have any of the eye candy that Windows Vista has. The server core can still handle many of the server roles that Windows Server “Longhorn” has, such as DHCP server, DNS server, Active Directory and File servers. It also can handle subsystems for UNIX based applications, network load balancing, BitLocker volume encryption, backup and removable storage.

The good thing about Windows Server “Longhorn” Core is that it can be run on a very basic computer. Pentium 3 800Mhz, 256MB RAM, 5GB hard drive, onboard sound and graphics - it can run because it’s such a simple operating system, yet still powerful enough to maintain an entire network.

As described on the “Longhorn” Server Core TechNet blog, “Server Core is all about letting an administrator run the above roles with less installed, running, and needing to be managed on a server. For example, there is no GUI shell on Server Core, the local interface for managing the server is the command prompt. You can use MMC snap-ins to remotely manage a Server Core installation. All of this provides the following benefits including reduced maintenance, reduced attack surface area, reduced management and less disk space required to install”.

Windows “Longhorn” Server hasn’t had as much publicity as Vista because it’s got a longer time in beta as it’s a more comprehensive schedule and a lot more programming work to go into it. Once a name has been announced for it, no doubt more information will available for it in the public domain. However, here’s some links and information for you which you might want to check out.

Microsoft
Windows “Longhorn” Server Homepage
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s new in “Longhorn” Server?
“Longhorn” Server Beta 2 Whitepaper (.doc)
Windows Server Feedback

External links
Wikipedia entry for Windows “Longhorn” Server
ComputerPerformance.co.uk “Longhorn” Server section

Windows “Longhorn” Server has been released as Beta 2, build number 5384. This is a significant milestone for the “Longhorn” program. As of 23rd May 2006, the following are available for download to MSDN Operating System subscribers and above, Microsoft technical testers via Microsoft Connect, and via TechNet Plus shipments available in the July shipment.

• Microsoft “Longhorn” Server Beta 2 (x86 and x64)
• Microsoft “Longhorn” Server Core Beta 2 (x86 and x64)

Updated for Beta 2
Although, Windows Vista has been released for download at the Beta 2 stage of development, only “Longhorn” Server is available to MSDN Subscribers (Operating Systems and above), TechNet Plus (in the June/July shipment) and technical testers via Microsoft Connect. Unfortunately, even though “Longhorn” Server is at Beta 2, it will not be made public until the Beta 3 stage, which is expected to be released at the end of the year.

If you have a domain with Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003 with Active Directory installed on it, and are planning to install a Windows “Longhorn” Server domain controller to the network domain, you will need to update the schema on the current domain controllers before it’ll work. If you are going to perform an unattended installation, you’ll have to do this on the domain controllers before you actually install Windows “Longhorn” Server and Active Directory. You can do this by updating the schema on the domain controllers that either host the schema master or infrastructure master. If you are not going to install Windows “Longhorn” Server, please do not update the schema for the sake of it.

 To prepare a domain forest:

1. Logon to the computer which runs as the schema master as a Domain Administrator or Enterprise Administrator.
2. Copy what’s in the \sources\adprep folder on the Windows “Longhorn” Server DVD to a folder on the C: drive called schemaupdate.
3. Go to Start and Run (or press the Windows key+R) and type in cmd then press OK.
4. Type in cd c:\schemaupdate then press Enter.
5. Type in adprep /forestprep then press Enter.
6. Allow the installation to continue and the schema to be replicated on the other servers (if applicable)

 To prepare an entire domain:

1. Logon to the computer which runs as the infrastructure master as a Domain Administrator.
2. Again, copy what’s in the \sources\adprep folder on the Windows “Longhorn” Server DVD to a folder on the C: drive called schemaupdate.
3. Go to Start and Run (or press the Windows key + R) and type in cmd then press OK.
4. Type in cd c:\schemaupdate then press Enter.
5. Type in adprep /domainprep /gpprep then press Enter.
6. Allow the installation to continue and the schema to be replicated on the other servers (if applicable)

Microsoft announced during a beta chat with the Windows Vista beta team, that “Longhorn” Server will be released during the release and rollout of Windows Vista Service Pack 1. As a company, they try and release a new operating system every 3-4 years, whilst rolling out a Service Pack every 1 to 1½ years.

This current estimation, Windows Vista Business will be released in November whilst the rest of the editions released in early January, therefore Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server “Longhorn” will be released late 2007 or the first half of 2008.

Windows Server 2003 R2 was a major release for Microsoft, and they have worked off R2 as much as they have with Windows Server 2003 to try and get a brand new, stable working server operating system for Windows Server “Longhorn”.

Microsoft will offer all the standard server roles, Clustering, Active Directory Services (including Active Directory Application Mode and Active Directory Federation Services), File Services (with File Resource Storage Manager and Network File System), Print Services, Security Services, Terminal Services (Remote Desktop), Web and Application Services (including Internet Information Services (IIS) and Windows Media Services with advanced streaming support.

We can also look forward to Network Information Service for UNIX systems, Windows Rights Management Services, File Replication Services for synchronisation of files across domains and servers, and Storage Area Networks (SAN’s) and also should be able to see a new version of Windows Windows SharePoint Services as well but a SharePoint Server may ship with Microsoft Office 2007 (codenamed Office “12″) or not… we’ll have to wait and see.

1.  There is a demonstration relating to this article. Click here to view it.
2.  There is a demonstration relating to this article. Click here to view it.
3.  There is a demonstration relating to this article. Click here to view it.
4.  There is a demonstration relating to this article. Click here to view it.

Newer versions of Windows are built from the older predecessor, so Windows 98 would have sprouted from Windows 95, Windows Server 2003 sprouted from Windows XP, and Windows Server Codename Longhorn is sprouting from Windows Server 2003 with the R2 added pack.

Windows Server 2003 R2 has some brilliant new features to really enhance the server experience, such as Active Directory Application Mode, Automated Deployment Services, Windows SharePoint Services, Windows System Resource Manager, support for UNIX applications and environments, and Active Directory Federation Services. These will all go into Windows Server Codename Longhorn.

Not to mention, as Windows Server Codename Longhorn is being built up from Windows Server 2003, it will of course have the same old features as that. However, the new features include a next-generation of Web services including a brand new version of Internet Information Services (IIS) and ASP.NET as well as the Windows Communications Foundation (Indigo). It will support brand new hardware such as the long-awaited PCI Express slot as well as server partitioning, and will also have a new system to protect against attacks and systems for reducing maintenance. It will also have some features from Windows Vista and vice-versa so that they can interconnect with each other.

Windows Server Codename Longhorn is the server operating system that supports Windows Vista, Windows XP and probably back down to Windows 2000 Professional.

1.  There is a demonstration relating to this article. Click here to view it.
2.  There is a demonstration relating to this article. Click here to view it. 
3.  There is a demonstration relating to this article. Click here to view it.

Simple answer really – they do not have a name for the server side to Windows Vista yet, so they have to name it something so they just threw in the original codename for Windows Vista. With “Windows Server Codename Longhorn”, we know from the name it is a server operating system, and we also know that it’s codenamed still, which means they just haven’t thought of a name yet.

And by the way, it will not be called Windows Vista Server, or Windows Server Vista, or anything to do with Vista at all! Because it’s a business software, they tend to go along with more business style names. It’ll be most likely called Windows Server and then if it’s released the first half of 2007, it’ll be Windows Server 2007 or if it’s released in the second half of 2007, it’ll follow to the next year in name and be Windows Server 2008.

ICS files are brilliant. Mixing Apple’s iCal web page and the Windows Calendar, you can easily put all kinds of calendars into your Windows Calendar.

1. Go to Apple’s iCal Libary webpage whilst on Windows Vista.
2. Select a calendar to download, and click on it.
3. It’ll open up Windows Calendar - click Next and wait for it to subscribe.
4. Name your calendar accordingly, and set the update interval to Every week.
5. Click Finish.

Viola - you have a calendar installed into your Windows Calendar without having to type anything in!

Gadgets are the add-ins you see in the Windows Sidebar. You already have a few installed - the clock, stocks, calculator and calendar, but do you want more? You can get more!

Windows Live Gallery is the website full of gadgets for the Windows Sidebar, gadgets for your Windows Live Space and gadgets for your personalised Live.com. Most of them are submitted by the public who write them themselves and some are developed by separate companies and even Microsoft.

1. To download and add gadgets from the web:
2. Go to the Sidebar section of Windows Live Gallery.
3. Just above the first gadget listing, select All types then select Sidebar gadgets.
4. Browse through and search for a gadget you wish to install.
5. Select the Download button on the gadget’s page.
6. A small warning box will appear on-screen. If you are sure about the security risks and wish to install the gadget anyway, click OK.
7. Click Run on the download box, and as soon as it finishes downloading (usually a few seconds even on a slow connection), it should open up in the Sidebar automatically.

The new interface of Windows Media Player 11 lets you do a lot more with the media player, but what they’ve seemed to have kept hidden from us for a while are the cool little nifty tricks you can do using keyboard shortcuts. These work on Windows Media Player 11 for Windows Vista and Windows XP.

To slow down playback: Ctrl+Shift+S
To speed up playback: Ctrl+Shift+G
To return to 1x speed: Ctrl+Shift+N
To see more speed settings: Right click the Play/Pause button

 Why was Pinball removed?
 They had to make some tough choices on what to bring forward. Pinball was one of the least popular of the bunch so it was removed.

 I notice when Solitaire is maximized, the cards become blurry even with a high-end 128MB graphics card. Is this issue going to be resolved in future builds?
 The high-resolution artwork does not get used until your game window is maximized beyond 1024×768.

 Can all 32,000 FreeCell games really be won?
 That’s a question that’s been debated for a long time! They did keep the game seeds the same as they were in XP, as there are people that are working their way through each one.

 Is the games list now fixed, or are you still open to adding more titles to it?
 The games list is now fixed.

 Can all Spider Solitaire games be won?
 It is a random deal in Spider Solitaire just like Solitaire so the answer is no.

 Is it true that Vista won’t include single player online game just what we have on XP?
 There are no online games included in Vista. All of the games are single player only, with the exception of Chess Titans which can be played by 2 players on the same computer.

 Are there any more thoughts on adding to the current list of games, or is what available in the Games folder pretty much it?
 You can go buy Rise of Legends and Halo for PC or any other game and they will show up in Games Explorer.

 Any plans to extend the gaming experience beyond the desktop games?
 Gaming is an important part of Windows Vista. They’ve done a lot of work with the Games Explorer, Parental Controls, the XBOX 360 Controller for Windows, DirectX 10 and more that should make gaming even better.

 Apparently the games use a custom framework and pure Direct3D. Are there any plans to take advantage of Windows Presentation Foundation, or is this planned for the next major version of Microsoft Windows?
 No plans at this time.

 Moving forward, what can we expect to see in future builds of Vista such as Beta 2; will there be any additional surprises coming for in-boxed games?
 Beta 2 was a “feature complete” milestone for Microsoft, so from here on in, it is just bug fixing and stabilisation.

 Will you provide any extras in the Vista Ultimate Extras, such as additional background themes for Solitaire Classic and Spider, and additional Game Levels maybe?
 No set plans at this point, but you never know.

 Will there be any cheats in these games as there were some cheats by finishing any game of Solitaire by pressing a key combination in XP, so will these be available in Vista as well?
 No, there are no cheats in any of the games.

 Why is the gaming aspect so important for a new OS release ?
A There are statistics out there suggesting that games are some of the most heavily used applications on Windows, games drive hardware and new computer purchases, and gaming is still one of the major differentiators between Windows and other OS’s (Mac, Linux, etc).

 Will all Vista games will be available in all languages?
 The plan is to translate all the games for each language Vista ships in.

 I noticed some of the games have “Oberon Games and Microsoft” as developers. What part played Oberon Games in the development of the games?
 Oberon Games is the developer for all of the games. The games that list both developers are the legacy games that were brought forward. Oberon did the updates, Microsoft did the original code base.

 There is a demonstration relating to this article. Click here to view it.

 Some applications trigger the firewall prompt “keep blocking this app” although they don’t need to open local ports. Which behaviour exactly triggers a prompt?
 Windows Firewall prompt gets displayed when an application is listening on a TCP socket or binding to a non-wildcard UDP port and that application does not match any rule in the firewall policy.

 Does the Windows Firewall team have a blog?
 They don’t currently have a blog dedicated to Windows Firewall, but there are two networking blogs that contain information about Windows Firewall - http://blogs.technet.com/ianhamer and http://blogs.technet.com/jleznek.

 Can be firewall settings separated for low privileged administrator and high privileged administrator?
 The firewall settings are set globally for the machine.

 The user interface for the Windows XP Firewall looked like it was bolted on as an afterthought. Any plans for an rapid-access icon on the taskbar in Vista so that power users can get to the firewall settings quickly?
 There is no added taskbar access for the Firewall It is available in the Control Panel, through Windows Security Center, and in Administrative Tools (access to the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security MMC)
 Will there be more features in Windows Firewall like some of the features Sygate Personal Firewall has?
 We are mostly feature complete for Windows Vista. If there are particular features that you are interested in, they would like to hear about them for future planning purposes.

 Will the new Windows Firewall check outgoing traffic by default?
 No, but it can always be configured to perform outbound filtering.

 Will there be an option to remove Windows Firewall completely, and not just disable it?
 The Windows Firewall service is performing other system critical functions in the operating system like Windows Service Hardening. If you remove/disable this service, you end up with a less secure operating system so this is not a supported feature. The correct way is to simply disable Windows Firewall if you want to replace it with a third party firewall.

 Can we expect a backport for Windows XP?
 At this time, there are no plans to backport the new functionality.

 How do you test if the new Windows Firewall is really secure?
 That’s a great question:
    1 Throughout the planning design and coding phases they use security development guidelines developed at Microsoft;
    2 For the testing phase, the Windows Firewall undergoes internal & external security testing focused testing.

 Can the Firewall block access to/from a single website/IP address?
 Yes, you can create firewall rules to block access to a single IP Address.

 What exactly is the network categorisation dialog trying to achieve? At least on build 5365 you could just close it (without selecting private or public) and nothing appeared to happen What do you need the information for?
 Windows Firewall with Advanced Security is a host-based firewall that filters both incoming and outgoing traffic. Windows Firewall with Advanced Security uses the Network Location-Aware feature is to let Windows Vista administrators define a level of protection based on the network to which the user connects. As mobile users roam from their corporate network to a Private network, or to a Public network such as an Internet cafe, Windows Firewall with Advanced Security can enable and disable connectivity or features such as:
• File and Print Sharing
• eHome Media Center Extender
• Windows Connect Now Devices
• PnP-X (plug and play for networked devices)
• Network Explorer
• Peer To Peer Discovery

To achieve this, Windows Firewall with Advanced Security uses three separate profiles for filtering traffic. The computer automatically detects the network connection and uses the appropriate profile. Windows Firewall with Advanced Security supports the following profiles:

Domain - The domain profile is the set of Windows Firewall with Advanced Security settings needed when the computer is connected to an Active Directory domain in which the computer is a member. For example, you might configure rules for the domain profile for the programs needed by a managed computer in an enterprise network. The Network Location Service controls when settings for a profile apply.

Private - The private profile is the set of Windows Firewall with Advanced Security settings needed when the computer is connected to a private network. For example, a mobile user might take their computer home and connect it behind a private gateway device (such as a router) on their home network. When Windows detects the network, a dialog box will appear.

Public - The public profile is the set of Windows Firewall with Advanced Security settings needed when the computer is connected directly to the Internet. For example, a laptop computer might be taken on the road and connect to the Internet using a public broadband or wireless Internet Service Provider (ISP) or hotspot. Because the laptop connects directly to the Internet, this profile should contain more restrictive settings than the domain or private profile. Again, an end-user with administrator privileges selects whether a connection is Private or Public. If a user does not have administrator privileges and connects to any new network, Windows Vista uses the Public profile, which contains the most restrictive settings

 I wanted to know what is the difference between System Restore from Windows XP and now the new Windows Vista? What features have been added and enhanced?
 There have been lots of changes in the firewall since Windows XP SP2. Here are some of the favourites:
    1 Outbound filtering
    2 Filtering on services
    3 Integration between IPSec and firewall (e.g. allow only secure or encrypted traffic)
    4 New MMC snap-in with advanced security options
    5 New APIs

 Does it apply to the IPv6 protocol also?
 Yes - it fully supports IPv6.

 Can you explain or give me a link to Windows Service hardening so I can understand and context it?
 Windows Service Hardening is a feature for services providers. Since services in Windows Vista can be identified by their unique SID and Windows Firewall can allow/block traffic to services based on their SIDs, services can be sand-boxed to only allow the traffic they were designed to support.

 If the Firewall service fails, will the Firewall go in to lockdown by default and deny all inbound requests?
 Correct, if the firewall service fails, the system goes into a lockdown state similarly to the state its in when the system boots up.

 Is the Windows Firewall team a separate team or a subgroup of the Security Team at Microsoft?
 The Firewall team is part of the security division at Microsoft,

 Is it possible to configure firewall “per user”?
 The Windows Firewall policy is configured per computer, not per user

 There is a demonstration relating to this article. Click here to view it.

The Memory Diagnostic Tool (MDT) is a new device technology in Vista of which detects problems with memory in the computer. Memory problems can cause Windows to suddenly stop or lose information. Due to the nature of the tool, it cannot be run whilst Windows is running so it requires your computer to be restarted.

Simply save your work, and click the Start , go to Control Panel, then Administrative Tools, then click the Memory Diagnostic Tool. Select either the top option to start immediately, or the bottom option to load the tool on the next restart.

When the tool opens on startup, you’ll be presented with a blue screen and the tests immediately start. Press F1 to set the options - from here you can change the tests to either be Basic, Standard or Extended. Perform extended tests if you regularly get Blue Screen of Deaths or unexplained shutdowns.

Test results will be displayed for you when you logon and will give advice on what to do.

 How do you define Windows Mail?
 Windows Mail is the version of the Mail and News Client that ships with Windows Vista.

 Outlook has nice looking high colour message icons for new messages and read/replied/forwarded/etc… In Windows Mail, there are horrible looking icons that do not even look like mail messages! Will these be updated to Outlook style icons that look good?
 They have a great new set of icons that we are currently integrating into the app. You will see most (hopefully all) of these new icons in the Beta 2 release.

 Does the Windows Mail team plan on implementing RSS Feed into Windows Mail like they did with Office 2007?
 Windows Mail is not implementing RSS in Vista. This is a great idea though.

 Will Windows Mail be back ported to Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 like IE7 is expected to be?
 Windows Mail will is scheduled to only ship in the operating system. Windows Mail Live Desktop does run on Windows XP.

 Is it possible in a future release of Windows Mail to write email in ink on a Tablet PC (like in Outlook 2003 now for example)? It would be a great feature for tablet PC users
 Absolutely! Windows Mail does that now in the February CTP. We even have auto complete for the To: and CC: lines for tablet mode.

 Will “find” in Windows Mail be made better? If so will it be part of an indexed search?
 Yes, email is now indexed in Vista. You can find it with the explorer search feature and in Windows Mail in the world wheel (top of the main window). Finding mail is much easier now!

 Why won’t Windows Mail support Hotmail accounts anymore?
 Hotmail support was removed for a number of reasons within both Windows and the Hotmail organizations.

 How come Microsoft changed the name for Outlook Express to Microsoft Mail?
 One of the reasons for the name change is that it makes us more aligned with the Windows brand and reduces confusion with Outlook.

 Switching newsgroup is still sluggish. We were told this would improve. How far are we now?
 In fact this week we just finished a month long performance drive and this was a key thing addressed in it.

 When Windows Live Mail Desktop Beta is released, is it going to replace Windows Mail?
 No, we’ve worked too hard on it for it to be replaced now! These are two separate apps with different strategies and feature sets.

 What are the “Community features” present in Windows Mail, what do they provide that normal newsgroups don’t, and do beta newsgroups support that?
 Community features are the rating and ranking functionality that allow newsgroup users to mark a specific newsgroup post as useful or not useful. Ranking functionality allows Windows Mail to mark newsgroup posters as MVPs, and also takes the data from the newsgroup ratings and translates it into poster rankings. A person who historically posts ‘useful’ newsgroup feedback is ranked higher than a poster who has not ever posted a newsgroup answer that was marked useful.

 Will the splash screen ever be updated? The blue splash looks bad on Vista - please make something that looks better like the Office 2003 splash or something!
 This is in the works!

 Will Windows Mail be a part of “Longhorn” Server?
 No it is not part of the server package

 What are the the five top things you like in Windows Mail?
 1) Contacts experience is integrated with shell for a richer experience in or outside of Windows Mail;
    2) Better database, less corruption;
    3) It feels cleaner, has improved visuals;
    4) Search and wordwheel helps finding mail and contacts easier and more consistent with the rest of Vista;
    5) Junk mail and phishing integration and improvements.

The Digital Locker Preview (it may not be it’s final name, we’ll have to wait and see) is a new e-commerce site provided by Microsoft which enables downloads and download management straight to your machine. It’s essentially a download manager, with a locker storage area for your downloads. It also keeps tabs of what you have downloaded and gives you options to burn them to CD so that you don’t have to download them again. See the Digital Locker as a storage for downloads from Windows Marketplace. As the slogan says, it manages the software you buy online.

As you can sign in with your Passport account, it enables you to check downloads and the status from your machine, but also see what you’ve downloaded from any Vista machine out there. Some of the features in Digital Locker are as follows:

Shopping cart: you can buy as much software as you want and download it all in one go, or if you’ve purchased it and don’t have enough bandwidth or the time, you can download it another time.

Personal information manager: enabling you to save personal bank information such as card details securely, so you can transfer it to another machine or need to reinstall software.

Windows Live ID Network: runs seamlessly with your Windows Live ID so you can sign-in and sign-out from the locker whenever you like.

 There is a demonstration relating to this article. Click here to view it.

Updated for Windows Vista RTM
You can now access the Digital Locker by either downloading it from the website (Windows XP only) or go to Start , Control Panel, Programs and Features, then View your digital locker.

In Vista, there are five default gadgets which are already pre-configured for the standard user. An overview of the gadgets installed by default is seen below:

 A very simple RSS news aggregator (I always think of alligator when I write that…) which displays RSS or XML feeds from a website. Easily configurable and links in with Windows Internet Explorer 7 as well, so you can see all of your favourite feeds from inside this little gadget window.

 The Slide Show - you can configure it to find and display images in any particular folder you wish, and when you hover over the image that’s displayed, you can also scroll through them one by one.

 Even the Recycle Bin is mentioned - with a variety of bin designs to choose from, you can add this handy gadget to your Sidebar. Just by hovering over it can you tell how many files are there, how much space the files are consuming and you can even empty it with the click of a button. Not to mention, the bin actually looks empty when there are no files in there - how cool!

 The Sidebar Clock - only in analogue format, however you can configure it to have a second hand on it for more accurate timing. There are many styles of clocks and you can even change the timezone of it or have multiple clocks. This is ideal if you have to keep up with people in a different timezone.

Updated for Beta 2 (build 5384)
Since the Beta 2 release, they’ve added a calculator gadget capable of the Standard Calculator that ships with Vista, a CPU and memory monitor which visually changes depending on your system resources, a currency converter which updates itself with the latest exchange rates (as long as you have Internet connectivity). You also have a notes gadget which enables you to create and save quick notes on your sidebar, a number puzzle which you have to arrange the numbers from 1 to 15 by clicking on them as well as a similar picture puzzle which is based on the same concept. The slideshow has been enhanced to expand once you take it off the sidebar, as well as an added stocks and timer function to keep good track of time.

 What is the Sidebar and what are “gadgets”?
 The Sidebar is a vertical bar which sits either to the left or the right hand side of the screen, that contain “gadgets” which are small XML based plug-ins which can be easily written and easily installed. These gadgets can be anything, from clocks to Active Content. These gadgets and the Sidebar in general are meant to make things you access often more accessible and easier to use.

 How many gadgets will there be for the Windows Sidebar in the released version of Windows Vista?
 There will be loads of gadgets, ranging from clocks to updatable gadgets (such as the RSS aggregator), there will be a calendar one as well as the long awaited Windows Media Player 11 gadget. Of course there will be pre-configured ones that will ship with the operating system, however MicrosoftGadgets.com will be available from the website (at the bottom of this article) which enables anyone to write them and install them.

 MicrosoftGadgets.com already make gadgets for Live.com, so where do I find the section for gadgets for Vista?
 There will be a section on the MicrosoftGadgets.com website soon for Vista Sidebar gadgets. This is expected to be around the time of Beta 2 release in April.

 What are the Sidebar Gadgets actually made of?
 Gadgets at the moment are basically zipped or compressed folders with instead of the .zip extension, they have the .gadget extension. The gadget’s innards will consist of a XML file which describes the gadget’s resources, a .JS file which contains the gadget’s functionality and any other resources like images or Flash content if necessary, a HTML document which will represent what the gadget looks like on the Sidebar, and anything else that might relate to the gadget itself. There is a simple walkthrough guide to writing gadgets here.

 What is the shortcut key view the Sidebar when there are windows in the way?
 Pressing the Windows key + Space will bring the Sidebar to view.

 Which browsers will support the Sidebar?
 At the moment, Windows Internet Explorer 7 is required to be the default browser within Windows Vista to run the Sidebar properly and the gadgets within. However, the sidebar will work with Firefox as well as other popular browsers out there to give other’s a chance.

 What is the final name for the Sidebar?
 ”Windows Sidebar” - it’s as simple as that!

 Will other content be able to be run in gadgets, such as Flash and ActiveX controls?
 Yep, anything that can be displayed in Internet Explorer now should be able to be seen as a gadget. Flash runs fine, ActiveX runs fine - remember that the Windows Media Player gadget is mainly ActiveX.

 How do we install gadgets to the Sidebar?
 You can either copy the .gadget file into C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\Gadgets or you can double click on the .gadget file and it will automatically open (with security warnings) in the Sidebar.

 There is a demonstration relating to this article. Click here to view it.

 Will PMC on Vista manage printers that are installed on servers that use a different version of Windows?
 PMC manages print servers running Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003 (as well as Vista and Longhorn of course!)

 Also the con of my question — PMC on Windows Server interact with printers on Vista?
 Should work just fine.

 Will PMC be able to do send messages to the admin about low ink on a network printer etc
 Yes if the device supports print specifications defined in the RFC and updates this information to the port monitor or language monitor.

 Is there possibility to implement a way to give priority to some users to a printer
 You could give priority to a job that’s sent to the printer.

 Can PMC handle printers from multiple domains at once
 If you’re authenticated to another domain, yes.

 What reporting options and inventory tools are available
 The PMC will list all the printers on all the print servers in your enterprise. The PMC does not list the printer connections that are installed on client machines.

 Is it only up to vendor to provide the support for printer’s “special” features?
 Every printer manufacturer must decide what support they want to include in their printer drivers. On occasion they will decide to write a smaller basic driver and a larger more full-featured driver so that users have an option. You might check on their website to see if they have some more full-featured drivers available for your models.

 How does the ‘pushed printers’-option work from the PMC
 Please look up the help section for Deployed Printers connection. You basically push or deploy a printer connection to all the servers that belong to a GPO using Deployed Printer Connection.

 Can you record the job/user names of print jobs sent to each device?
 PMC does not support this in R2/Windows Vista; you can capture this information in the event log, however - See the ‘add informational events’ in our online documentation.

 If a technician replaces a printer at a site but the Admin isn’t aware it happened, what will the PMC do?
 If the admin is monitoring the print server, he should see the new printer that was added.

 If a technician replaces a printer at a site but the Admin isn’t aware it happened, what will the PMC do?
 PMC will monitor the print server that connects to the device.

 This may be an AD question, but will you be able to publish printers from several domains to a centralized printer server?
 Yes - assuming that the trust relationships between domains are set up correctly, and that the user/computer accounts have permissions to use the AD/Print server.

 Will it be possible to script the publishing of a printer and assigning it to a Group Policy without using MMC
 For publishing, check out rundll32 printui.dll,PrintUIEntry /? in Vista.

 Are there any updates on printer deploym