Steven Sinofsky and Jon DeVaan (who’s office is about 5 doors down from mine… I wonder if he can hear me yelling at my test machines) have just started a new blog called Engineering Windows 7. 

There isn’t a lot of information over there right now, just a few introductory posts outlining the rules and the purpose of the blog, but I’d imagine that there will be some pretty good information going up on that blog as we approach WinHEC and PDC 2008.

If you’re interested in Windows 7, you should probably add this blog to your RSS aggregator.

Stay tuned here, as well.  Once we get some information about Seven out there, I’ll be posting talking about it and how it relates to Virtualization.

Fun times are ahead, everyone.

I haven’t updated my three part series about different ways to install Hyper-V for our RTM release.  I’ve been working on getting some step-by-step videos created, but it’s always been on the back burner, and I was waiting to update the posts until I had the videos ready.

Well, a discussion on an internal DL yesterday lit a fire under me, so now I’m going to sit down and do this.  The videos aren’t done yet, but I’ll add them when they are.

Since not much of the original content has changed, I’m just going to update the original posts with the new bits.  I’ll add some more descriptions about why I’m doing what I’m doing, and where I got certain things.

Hopefully, this will make the series more useful.

1. Sysprep and Hyper-V
2. Unattended Installation of Windows and Hyper-V
3. Integrated Installation and The Beauty of the Win6 Servicing Stack

When I was in High School, I remembered my father, a physics professor that time, he always talked about Physics in our house. One time, he asked my brother to put his hand and let him push a 4-5 inches thick concrete wall. Are you getting Crazy People? What the…

After several years, I understand what he is trying to say: The Law of Action and Reaction, Newton’s Third Law.

"For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction."

Or simply, In every force you exert there is always a force opposite and that’s equal or else when you push the wall it will break and your motion will not stop.

I began blogging 10 months ago and because of that it push me to the limits that I saw the reaction of users and I created WinBubble.

What I am saying? We can’t understand…

Me too… During the past few days, I am seeing something that should be done to this enormous data that we have. I saw a system that is not considered an A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) but the users are using it as something that can give the Right Answer (The Reaction).

I hope someone can unlock this by pushing it hard and provide an equal reaction that will give us a formula that will change everything and bring a new great product that can shape the future of computing.

A Formula Beyond E=mc2…

Even if I’m just a tiny, unnoticeable little guy in the Internet. I’m really proud that my little software WinBubble was reviewed by PCWORLD.COM and they have always time to send an email.

"it’s hard to find something that this remarkable tweaking program can’t do. Whether you’re a dedicated Vista tweaker, or just getting started, there’s something here for you. - Preston Gralla"

Recently, I sent an email to them and asking an apology why?

"Thank you very much for the quick reply. For the previous versions, I did not create a link back because I don’t know how to update the file."

I’m thinking differently! I thought I’m just a guy (you know…)

The Great Preston Gralla

"Recently, I read an XP book that he was the author and when I checked it, I was shock that I didn’t write anything to him…"

"After Reading the Book of Mr Preston, I was ashamed of myself. I’m really sorry…"

Now, I became one of your fans! He is a well-known technology expert and won number of awards for his writing.

Thank you very much Sir… It was a Dream Come True.

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Security Questions are asking a bit too much personal information that can be stolen by hackers.

Does it annoy or even scare you when certain websites ask you for additional login credentials to set up a security question in the case that you forget your password? Do you ever wish that you could create your own security questions so you do not feel like you are giving up too much of your personal information?

In today’s society where identity theft is knocking at our front door every day we go online, we have become a little more self-conscious as too what information that we willingly give over the internet. Some sites that have you create accounts will ask for an additional security question but most of them define what question you must answer. That is a bit controlling and on the verge of stealing your personal information without asking for permission.

In the case that a websites’ information is compromised or stolen, your security question and answer may be taken also. It has been reported on security blogs that a hacker can use this information in conjunction with other credentials to log into your account. If a website has defined security questions then hackers are in-the-know of how to use your answers or personal information against you. If you answer a simple security question of “your mother’s maiden name”, right off of the bat hackers are able to utilize that piece of information along with whatever else they steal from a sites database directly against you. Something like your mother’s maiden name is commonly used for credit or banking transactions. Just think what damage a hacker can do in knowing your mother’s maiden name.

What can you do if a site requires that you select and enter a pre-set security question?

One thing you can do is just lie. That’s right, if you lie then that is one big step in protecting your real information. There is no rule set in stone that you must tell the truth on a security question. However, if you forget your login or password and are required to retrieve it through entering the answer to one of your security questions, you must remember the lie that you entered. Some sites, such as Gmail, will allow you to setup your own security question. In this case you can pick something off-of-the-wall as to not identify you in any way that can be used against you by thieves. Remember, treat your security question just like you would a password because in some situations it can be just as powerful (or dangerous) as a login name and password.

Do you ever think that you could become a theft victim of your secret security questions?

From Windows 7 Engineering MSDN Blog

The Windows Team is building momentum towards the next major release of Windows, "7" which is expected sometime in early 2010. The blog will focus on engaging with Microsoft Partners and Customers in addition to enthusiast and bloggers. Teching It Easy will be there all the way, recreating the experience first started with 'Windows Longhorn'. Here is a quick quote:

"Welcome to our first post on a new blog from Microsoft—the Engineering Windows 7 blog, or E7 for short. E7 is hosted by the two senior engineering managers for the Windows 7 product, Jon DeVaan and Steven Sinofsky. Jon and Steven, along with members of the engineering team will post, comment, and participate in this blog.

Beginning with this post together we are going to start looking forward towards the “Windows 7” project. We know there are tons of questions about the specifics of the project and strong desire to know what’s in store for the next major release of Windows. Believe us, we are just as excited to start talking about the release. Over the past 18 months since Windows Vista’s broad availability, the team has been hard at work creating the next Windows product.

The audience of enthusiasts, bloggers, and those that are the most passionate about Windows represent the folks we are dedicating this blog to. With this blog we’re opening up a two-way discussion about how we are making Windows 7. Windows has all the challenges of every large scale software project—picking features, designing them, developing them, and delivering them with high quality. Windows has an added challenge of doing so for an extraordinarily diverse set of customers. As a team and as individuals on the team we continue to be humbled by this responsibility."

Read more here

I couldn't think of a better way to start this conversation. The team is focused on delivering accurate information and really present what's real and what's possible with this release of Windows. I personally believe in the focus on under promising and over delivering and that's definitely what I believe we can expect this next major release. Yes, during Vista's development there were promises and some disappointments along the way and the Windows Team is trying avoid that as much possible and I applaud them for the effort.

This early part of the conversation is targeted at developers and hardware engineers of course, and most persons interested will be able to get there first experiences with the OS this fall at the Public Developers Conference 2008 (PDC) and the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference 2008 (WinHEC).