Monthly Archive for March, 2010

I had trouble locating the Flex 4 Beta Language Reference online today, although I had a location bookmarked (http://help.adobe.com/en_US/Flex/4.0/langref/), it no longer appears to work. Figuring other folks may have a similar problem, I got a hold of the latest language reference (4.1.0.14883) and uploaded it to eonflex: http://www.eonflex.com/flex/4.1/langref/package-summary.html I update it as much as possible until Adobe [...]

There are a million useful applications for the daily video gamer, from file archive software to video players. A lot of it has to do with taste, but since I consider myself with good taste - here is a list of different software I've found useful. Enjoy:



Hey, my bunker would be this cool ok?!

• WinDirStat - Where did all your hard drive space go?



• Winamp - For your Mp3 obsession.



• Fraps - For taking in-game screenshots and movies!



• Unlocker - Never be stopped from deleting a file again.



• CCleaner - Optimize & clean your gaming machine.



• WinRAR - Extract and compress *.rar and *.zip files.



• Avast Anti-Virus - A free anti-virus software for gamers.



• The GIMP - Outstanding graphic editing software, completely free!



• VLC Player - Media player able to read most video formats.



• 3DMark Vantage - A gamer benchmark tool, requires Vista/Windows 7.

One of the best parts of my job is talking with customers, and hearing directly from them the ways they’re using technology to strengthen their business. Based on these customer conversations, I can get an appreciation for what is top of mind among IT leaders.

I often hear concerns about managing an ever-evolving and complex IT environment. For example, Group Health Cooperative recently shared with me how they’re always trying to keep applications up to date while staying in compliance. And Expedia said they’ve been looking to centralize management to increase automation while also tightening security.

I know that each of you are in the trenches, managing an innumerable set of demands, working to keep end users productive no matter where they work, to keep data safe and controlled, and planning cautiously so your IT investments today pay off tomorrow. Alongside equally important items like IT and employees’ skills, defined security and compliance policies, integrated management, rationalized IT processes, standardized imaging, and standardized devices, virtualization is in our DNA and we believe our customers will be best set up for their future business and technology needs when it becomes a part of their DNA as well. For these reasons, I want to focus on virtualization and its role in your desktop management strategy.

Our approach to virtualization is different than others in the market. First and foremost we take a desktop to datacenter approach, and guide customers to view virtualization as a holistic component to managing their IT infrastructure and applications. Second, we believe building a foundation of centralized and integrated management is a key to making virtualization a reality and having the control of physical and virtual assets. Third, we believe that each customer needs flexible technology, so they can pair the right solution with their unique business and end-user need.

Virtualization is not “one size fits all,” which is why there’s a portfolio of virtualization technologies available to you. For example, most of you are already using solutions from Microsoft and Citrix to manage your desktops and enable your employees to be productive. We have seamlessly integrated the various virtualization capabilities into System Center so that you can take advantage of virtualization using the tools and infrastructure you already have deployed. The net result is faster time to value at a much lower cost than others in the industry.

I see lots of scenarios where virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) should be used – it’s just another way to deploy Windows. While doing so, I recommend you think about VDI in conjunction with your overall desktop management strategy, and how you will want a single solution and infrastructure to manage your distributed and centralized desktops. Think about desktop virtualization beyond a point solution or VDI; it is a portfolio of technologies that help virtualize applications, data and settings, and the operating system. These are important elements to your desktop management strategy.

For those of you who are looking at VDI, or considering application virtualization or remote desktop computing solutions, there may not be a need to rip and replace what you have, but rather build on top and improve upon it. We can help there. Our heritage across Windows and with System Center makes us uniquely suited to enable centralized management across Windows and non-Windows environments, physical or virtualized.

In terms of virtualization on the desktop, Microsoft has the most comprehensive set of capabilities that are strengthened even more with the deep partnership we have with Citrix. One piece of news that I’m most excited about that helps with this is the “Rescue for VMware VDI” promotion we’re offering with Citrix. Think of it as a Cash for Clunkers trade-in of VMware View licenses to Microsoft VDI Standard Suite and Citrix XenDesktop VDI Edition licenses at no additional cost.

This promotion is just the beginning of our expanded customer and partner engagements around VDI. As more and more of you deploy Windows 7, and seek new ways of managing desktop compliance, I know more and more of you are looking at VDI as a deployment option. I spoke with a telecom company that has deployed 20,000 VDI seats fast, using Hyper-V, System Center and Citrix XenDesktop. There’s also a large manufacturer who deployed App-V to save $200 per desktop, and the plan to move 75% of their 77,000 employees to virtualized desktops in 2012 using a combined Microsoft and Citrix solution.

Today at 9:00 a.m. PDT we’ll be hosting a webcast that kicks off a series of worldwide customer events that dive more deeply into desktop virtualization. Joining us to sift through the buzz and give practical next steps and guidance are several customers, Citrix and Gartner analyst Mark Margevicius. You’ll hear how Holland America is using App-V and System Center Configuration Manager for more automation and application isolation while saving money or how Expedia plans to virtualize about 90% of its applications.

We are also announcing several updates to VDI licensing, desktop virtualization technologies and partnerships to move customers to the next step of desktop virtualization. This news builds on traction we’ve made in server and application virtualization over the years, including the recent release of Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V, Microsoft App-V 4.6, and System Center Virtual Machine Manager R2.

Tune in today to learn more about building out your desktop management strategy using virtualization. Plan to attend one of our series of worldwide customer events and share your feedback through #MSVirt on Twitter.

Brad Anderson

Additional Resources:

• For more information about the SP1 release of Windows Server 2008 R2, check out the Windows Server Division Weblog.
• Additional details on the new WS08R2 SP1 Features (Dynamic Memory and Remote FX) are available on Jeff Woolsey and Max Hermann’s blog posts on the Virtualization Team blog.
• Details about the Windows 7 SP1 release and Windows XP Mode can also be found here on the The Windows Blog.
• Edwin Yuen’s take on today’s news is featured on the Because It’s Everybody’s Business expert blog.
• And as always, visit the Infrastructure PressPass site for all related materials from today’s announcement.

We’re announcing an update to Windows XP Mode today that will make it a more accessible to PCs in small and midsize businesses who want to migrate to Windows 7 Professional but have applications that still require Windows XP. Windows XP Mode will no longer require hardware virtualization technology to run. This change makes it extremely easy for businesses to use Windows XP Mode to address any application incompatibility roadblocks they might have in migrating to Windows 7. Windows XP Mode will of course continue to use hardware virtualization technology such as Intel VT (Intel Virtualization Technology) or AMD-V if available. You can find more information and download the update which will go live later today here.

Windows XP Mode is designed for small and midsize businesses. For enterprise customers, we recommend they use Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) which is part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance. MED-V provides deployment and manageability features better fit to address the needs of the enterprise customer. For more information on MED-V, click here. You can discover how MED-V works with deployment and management of virtual Windows desktops in key scenarios for the enterprise here on the Springboard Series on TechNet. And Stephen Rose recently blogged about our MED-V SP1 release here.

By Andrew Liszewski

I don’t know the first thing about making music, but that doesn’t stop me from lusting over cool looking retro music gear. Now sadly the original eBay auction for this Casio VL-10 VL-Tone mini synth has ended, but according to Retro Thing, back in the 80’s this was one of the smallest synthesizers, if not the smallest, you could get your hands on.

This Casio VL-10 is even smaller than its famous brother, the original VL-Tone. It includes the same cheesy sounds and 29-button chicklet keyboard, along with convenient calculator functionality so you can double-check your record company royalty payments.

Both VL-Tones feature five awful monophonic sounds (basically the same square wave bleep with different amplitude envelopes), a sixth programmable “ADSR” synth mode, and 10 drum rhythms that should be perfect for accompanying your next smash-hit waltz or bossanova.

It goes without saying that such a device could be easily replicated on any smartphone these days, but it just wouldn’t have the same charm without the VL-10’s faux-brushed aluminum finish. Oh and I’ve included a video if it in action, but after the jump this time.

[ MATRIXSYNTH - Casio VL-10 the smallest synthesizer in the world!!! ] VIA [ Retro Thing ]