Microsoft Introduces Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)

Sep 18, 2006 | blog

Microsoft Logo Interesting, I was wondering when Microsoft would include the recently purchased technologies of WinInternals/SysInternals into the Windows product.

Looks like the new “Windows RE Notes” blog details the upcoming components, though there is only an introductory post at this time.  Based on Windows PE, Windows RE will provide a recovery environment for Windows installations that have gone sour.

Neat stuff, and if this is based on some WinInternals technology, I wouldn’t be surprised.  This will be an awesome tool for system administrators and others who support desktop and server OS installations.  Check out at the link below.

Link to Windows RE Notes : Introducing Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE)

Finally – Windows Vista RC1 Customer Preview Program

Sep 15, 2006 | blog

Windows Vista LogoHave you been waiting for a chance to try out Windows Vista?  Missed out on the Beta 2 download?  Well, now’s your chance!

 Microsoft has opened up the Customer Preview Program for anyone to download and test Vista.  If you participated in the Windows XP CPP many years ago, this is  the same program.

The download is huge, and MSFN has some more information at the link below.

Link to MSFN – Windows Vista RC1 Available Through Customer Preview Program

Windows Vista 2007

Mar 22, 2006 | blog

So who out there hasn’t heard that the consumer release of Windows Vista has slipped again?

I’m not going to rant on Micrsoft about this – I’m one of those people that belives that any product destined to reside on hundreds of millions of computers worldwide should be as close to perfect as possible.

Kudos Microsoft!

The important thing with an OS upgrade with the scope of Vista is stability.  As both a corporate IT architect and a home consumer of MS producs, I have an expectation of technology.  Usually I’m the one that accepts the glitches, the anomolies, the problems with most software.  I simply either work around them, or understand that that is how the program simply “works”, or don’t even notice.  To be precise, I understand how it works and accept the faults as a matter of course.

This outlook of mine has started to change in the last few months or so, and with Vista I’ve changed my expectations more than I thought I ever would.  More and more, I am using technology for a reason, not simply because technology is cool.  There are tons of cool things out there, electronics, software, golf clubs, whatever… but this time cool isn’t going to cut it.  I am anticipating not just “the most stable version of Windows yet” (which incidentally I’ve already had several times – NT, Win98, W2K, XP), but the most usable system as well.

Well here is looking forward to the future – it’ll be closer to a year from now to walk into the store and pick up a retail version of Vista, but it should be worth it.

As an aside – when the public preview comes out, you should try the new OS out.  It is definitely different, though not radically so, and will take quite a bit of getting used to.

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