How will the Print Management Console in Vista differ from that in Windows Server 2003 R2?
 PMC (Print Management Console) has a couple of new features in Windows Vista - it contains a new printer import/export tool (to move printers between servers and do backups), a new add printer wizard. Also, PMC now takes a comma-delimited list of servers in the ‘Add Server’ dialog PMC will soon support six filters for filtering printers (in R2 it only supported 3).

 Are there any plans to include Novell Netware Print servers into PMC?
 At this point we only support Windows print servers, and there are no plans to add other operating system support.

 In Windows Server 2003 R2, to take full advantage of the PMC, the guides recommend you be logged in as an administrator on the print servers that your managing, with the removal of access to an administrator account, has this changed with Vista for security?
 It hasn’t changed in Vista. Just to administer the print server, you don’t need to be an administrator.

 Can PMC be used for usage monitoring and print quotas?
 If usage means the volume of jobs coming into the queue, you could use PMC to monitor. PMC does not support print quotas yet.

 The new print manager in 2003 R2 is really nice. Will the tool in Vista/Longhorn Server be similar, and will we be able to grant non-administrators access to Printer Management?
 What are the permissions, PMC in R2 and Vista are similar. To use PMC, a user must be admin on the print server to make any changes. To just monitor a print server, regular read-only permissions are sufficient.

 Are there plans to enhance client location and selection of printers by providing a web-based enterprise-wide overview?
 We provide this today through our Internet Print Provider and Web Management solutions. Please see more information at Microsoft TechNet.

 Will the Print Management Console see or be able to access a printer connected on an MSN TV 2 that is attached to the network?
 PMC was designed to work with Windows print servers - so anything that shows up on the network as a Windows print server will work.

 In the “Add Printer” wizards, will their be methods to determine closest printers other than freeform data fields? (i.e. IP, site, etc.)
 Figuring out what “closest” means is a challenging thing. Does it mean closest on the network, closest physically, closest in terms of where the server is, or something else entirely? Right now the best way to determine close printers is by using the AD schema and planning it well - please see more information at Microsoft TechNet Library. In the Add Printer Wizards in Vista you’ll also be able to see all printers that support Web Services for Devices on your subnet as well, so you can easily find those. (That functionality will be turned off on a domain)

 Will we be able to override default driver settings Per Application using PMC to print to Tray 2 when you specify Tray 3 when using X App
 No, unfortunately the PMC does not allow you to do per-application settings. Some applications do enable this themselves, however (Office saves per user per app defaults). PMC is a tool that you monitor the printers on the server and can do any action you normally can do via accessing the server through \\servername\printers

 What is an ICC profile?
 ICC stands for the International Color Consortium, which help specify within drivers specific characteristics in terms of image management. You can have an ICC profile which specifically helps with black and white printing, scanning as well as colour printing and scanning.

 Will PMC be able to manage printer’s ICC profiles?
 ICC profiles for a printer can’t be changed remotely (you have to be logged on locally on the print server to add/remove/change them) - however, on Vista, once users connect to a shared printer, they can change the ICC profiles (for their local copy of the shared printer - this is a new feature in Windows Vista)

 Will we be able to override default driver settings Per Application using PMC such as a Savin PCL6 driver tends to print to tray 2 when you specify tray 3 when using X App
 PMC is a tool that you monitor the printers on the server and can do any action you normally can do via accessing the server through \\servername\printers, you probably will be able to achieve setting default settings through printer defaults

 Can someone explain the function of the XPS printer in the printer’s folder in Vista?. It was the default printer in Vista when it loaded. I didn’t have any trouble printing with the XP Brother printer though except notepad. I want to sort out this. I
 XPS is the printer for creating the new document format (XPS) that Microsoft came up with. Please refer to www.microsoft.com/xps for more info

 Has there been an update to PMC for printers that have http administration pages, specifically a way to work with them besides the workaround from Server 2003 of having to add them to the trusted sites or disabling IE Enhanced Security Configuration?
 PMC will invoke the HTTP pages the same as IE. We do not change any of the current security settings. If the IE setting is secure we will prompt. In Vista client you can view the pages without prompts in the default configuration

 Must all printers have a new Vista driver or will XP drivers be good ?
 Almost any version 3 (designed for Windows 2000/Windows XP/Windows Server 2003) driver should work on Windows Vista.

 What is MFP?
 Multi-functional printers.

 Will we be able to install 32-bit driver drivers on 64-bit Windows Vista? Lots of printer drivers will not be updated from the vendor. Lots of people would love to upgrade to 64-bit today, but missing printer drivers often stop the project.
 You can install 32-bit drivers on 64-bit Windows in order to share with 32-bit clients, but you cannot run a 32-bit driver natively on 64-bit. We’ve been working with all the printer manufacturers to encourage them to write 64-bit drivers and you should continue to see better support over time.

 Will PMC exist in Windows Starter Edition?
 No, PMC (and other network management tools) are not included in Windows Starter edition.

 How well does PMC works with wireless printers?
 Through Add Network Printer Wizard, we should be able to add wireless printers (IP, Bluetooth) as well.

 From a home perspective, I do not think that you would have many individuals know what driver to install with the 1284 request.
 We try to automatically figure out the right driver to install but if we can’t we’ll give as much information as possible. Most printer drivers are named after the device name so it shouldn’t’ be too hard to figure out which is the appropriate one to select.

 What advantages does PMC have over vendor supplied tools or web based management capabilities
 The PMC is a tool focused on monitoring your print servers rather than your printers directly. It will give you good generic information and will work for printers from all manufacturers.

 We have a need to cluster a print server, but grant non-Administrators privileges to manage queues, add printers, create ports, etc. Is this something that will be available in Vista/Longhorn as we have been unsuccessful with this scenario in R2
 Yes, in Vista, with introduction to LUA, you don’t need to be an administrator to add a printer.

 Is there any advantage on using the PMC with only one printer on one computer?
 If you are managing your own printer on your own machine…then the Printers folder is probably more useful.

 Ive read that PMC works with Samba and AppleTalk. Are there any plans to include rendezvous?
 The PMC monitors print queues on a server. Our print servers support Samba clients through the services for Unix and Apple clients through Services for Mac. Rendezvous (aka Bonjour) is somewhat different as it’s a connection protocol to the printer itself. Windows Vista will support Web Services for Devices, which includes a discovery protocol similar to Bonjour but one that includes security and is enterprise-ready.

 How is x64 driver development progressing? I’m still running on hacked drivers on XP x64 and I’m disenchanted that manufacturers are not embracing x64.
 We’re working closely with printer manufacturers to develop x64 drivers and I believe you’ll continue to see better support as time progresses.

 Will the PMC detect version mismatches of printer drivers in the domain?
 The drivers are specific to the server on which they’re installed.

 What is the minimum number of printers you recommend in order for PMC to be worth using?
 There is no such minimum number. I guess it’d be worth to have at least one printer so that you’ll be able to monitor a printer

 How can PMC improve the printer driver upgrade process in client-server scenarios?
 The PMC does not affect client/server driver updates. However, we have made print spooler changes that will allow the entire driver package to move from Longhorn server to Vista and thereby preserve the driver signatures.

 The new print manager in 2003 R2 is really nice. Will the tool in Vista/Longhorn be similar, and will we be able to grant non-Administrators access to Printer Management?
 Bandwidth about the same.

 What is the maximum number of printers the PMC manage?
 We have tested PMC with thousands of servers and tens of thousands of printers and the performance was really great!

 Will the new functions in PMC consume more bandwidth than the current setup of R2? How much of a difference is there between the two versions?
 new stuff PMC has a couple of new features in Windows Vista - it contains a new printer import/export tool (to move printers between servers, and do backups), a new add printer wizard.

 How much bandwidth does PMC use? Can you give us any real-world numbers?
 We tested PMC with thousands of servers and tens of thousands of printers and bandwidth usage was really minimal.

 Is there any hopes of getting more print drivers from HP? Their response to us has been worse than dismal
A We are working with HP to get many of their print drivers on the Windows DVD. Aside from that, please continue to work with them directly for additional driver support.

 Does the network traffic data between the printer and the monitoring print server travel encrypted?
 If you have a printer that supports IPSEC, then it should.

 Is it possible to save user defaults when you push out an updated printer driver
 If the Device Mode settings are compatible between the old driver and the new driver, the per user dev. mode settings will be retained

 this might be a UI question will the PMC in Vista get updated Icons verses the 16 colour ones there are in today (I know this is probably way down the list of things to do)
 Yes, new icons will be available shortly!

 I just joined so I don’t know if this has been asked yet. What facilities are available for shipping drivers to various machines and for getting the latest versions of the software?
 The existing point and print architecture has been extended in Windows Vista to allow driver signatures to be checked on the client. That’s the best way of distributing drivers.