“There will be a Windows Vista service pack and our current expectation is that a beta will be made available sometime this year. Service packs are part of the traditional software life cycle — they’re something we do for all Microsoft products as part of our commitment to continuous improvement, and providing early test builds is a standard practice that helps us incorporate customer feedback and improve the overall quality of the product.

Service packs are just one example of the work we do to constantly improve the Windows experience. We also deliver improvements to Windows via Windows Update, which is an excellent channel for providing our customers with the most significant updates as they happen. And, since Windows Vista launched, we have continued working with partners to improve overall device coverage and application compatibility. There are now more than 2.1 million supported devices and more than 2,000 logoed applications for Windows Vista. We think customers will have a great experience using Windows Vista today.”

So the only release that’s occurring is a limited Beta to a very small, very select group of advance customers. A public version of the Beta is not being released this…

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Microsoft’s Blogging service got some nice updates yesterday, but still missing important ones that the service badly needs I believe. But here is a list of some of the new features in this update courtesy of the folks over at LiveSide.net

• Birthdays
• List Ordering
• New Photos Features
• Templates and Live Blog Titles

You will find more detailed information here

All are nice, welcome changes that truly enhance the user experience when browsing and managing Windows Live Space, but the issue remains sticky in one area, Search. I have come to realize, Microsoft still does not get or understand Search and what it means to have it setup right and work right. You can see the faults in Live Services such as Hotmail and Spaces. Why can’t I search within an individuals Space, instead of across Spaces? I would like people to find the content they want within my space, because they know its there. I notice I can’t search by Folders either in Live Hotmail or Category for instance on my Space, that’s something the Live Search folks need to think about fixing.

Another thing is, why isn’t Live Space taking advantage of tags to produce more relevant

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Hi all, For those of you who missed some of the actions and announcements at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference regarding key technologies and tools including SoftGrid, Windows Partner Solutions, Windows Vista Hardware Assessment and Windows Business Read More……(read more)

Hi all,

For those of you who missed some of the actions and announcements at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference regarding key technologies and tools including SoftGrid, Windows Partner Solutions, Windows Vista Hardware Assessment and Windows Business Value Assessment Tool, read on…

Baldwin

Interview with Heartland Technology Solutions at WPC 2007

On Day 3 of the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2007 (WPC)  in Denver, I caught up with IT veterans from the Heartland Technology Solutions (HTS) in Harlan, Iowa - CEO, Arlin Sorensen and Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Larry Hedin.  Here’s what they have to say about what’s they’ve seen at WPC.

Baldwin: “Arlin, it’s good seeing you and Larry again.  A few months ago, I met you and a few peer group members of the Heartland Technology Group (HTG) during a series of product and technology review meetings on Microsoft’s Redmond Campus.  Can you tell us a bit more about the Heartland Technology Group (HTG), how it started and what the charter is?”

Arlin: “Sure. Back in 2001, I recognized that there was a general lack of peer groups for Microsoft partners that serve the SMB space in the United States and Canada.  As

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