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They also clearly haven't used Windows 7 as it has the ability to mount VHDs as well. (Windows 8 improves upon that by adding ISO mounting support) The way they wrote that "feature" is as if the VHD mounting is absent in previous versions.

Hello. here is a direct link to the XP Virtual CD Control Panel, which has been there at Microsoft downloads since the dawn of time, allowing XP users to mount ISO and other suppported virtual filesystems. You may not have heard of Windows XP... its really Windows 2000 with more pretty colors, which is really Windows NT with more pretty colors... now that I think about... Windows 7 is also really XP with more pretty colors... ha ha... you dummasses are actually using a decrepid OS from the mid-90's! Fools!
/posted using a BSD-derivitive, the One True Modern OS! OS X!!

Half of those "new" features are already in Windows 7, like AppLocker. I have USB3 support now. Sure, it's not "native", but it works, so who cares?

A lot more interesting are the new features under the hood of Windows 8 server. Take a look at this article for example: Optimizing for Latency-Sensitive Applications: scenario overview.

Sure, it's not visible or shiny, but wow those are some big changes!

Microsoft Office has had that ability since at least 2003.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/track-changes-while-you-edit-HP005188855.aspx

There's your instructions on how to do it. I would be very surprised if other office software doesn't have the same ability, but since you capitalized the O in Office, I presume it was a proper noun.

This might reduce some writes (not all): http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc959914.aspx

Warning: it could break apps that rely on having correct "last access times". Windows does not have Linux's relatime stuff yet.

But many Linux systems would also constantly write something to the drive. Especially if they have services that log stuff to a local syslog.

Why do you claim it is "unsafe"?

He may be using unsafe in the same way as Microsoft. See this.

From that page:
... code that makes low-level API calls, uses pointer arithmetic, or carries out some other unsavory operation, has to be placed inside blocks marked with the unsafe keyword.

Heh, "unsavory". Personally, I think pointer arithmetic is delicious!

Yes, they should just use the standard.

Stupid microsoft.

This has always reminded me of Microsoft's spoofing of Mozilla early in IE history, which they introduced and everyone followed suit. Rendered User-Agent pointless without tricky parsing logic. So yeah, I'll be happy to extend some of the blame for this to Microsoft.

Worse, they're STILL DOING IT.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms537503(v=vs.85).aspx

User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MSIE 9.0; Windows NT 6.1; Trident/5.0)
[...] For historical reasons, Internet Explorer identifies itself as a Mozilla browser. [...]

They use a lot of electricity. Unless Microsoft is planning to buy "carbon offset" credits, so they can pollute and yet just handwave it away.

It seems they're taking the obvious step of trying to make sure that the power comes from carbon-neutral sources. From TFWhitepaper linked from TFA:

we are considering a portfolio of approaches, including: Signing long-term renewable power purchase agreements... Investing capital in new renewable energy projects... Connecting data centers directly to innovative energy sources...

Read all about it here.

They lock it on ARM for the same reason Google does it with ChromeOS, because if you can just bypass the boot security on a mobile device ALL security is as easy to bypass as "Hey want a free copy of "Plants VS Zombie" well just run this!" which then installs itself into the boot and ur pwned.

What's interesting about the Microsoft associates on this site is how ignorant they are about computing, even their own operating systems.

There's this principle of having different execution contexts which is implemented (among other places) in the NT kernel at the heart of Windows operating systems. This is just as applicable in a mobile environment under ARM as anywhere else. You can mark one context as "administrator" which has access to the boot loader and another context as "user" which doesn't. This means that even if the user runs the "Plants VS Zombie" trojan it will not be able to take over the system, just the single user account. You can then provide a simple "restore to defaults" function which restores the user's account or even you can provide a proper anti-virus solution which runs in the administrator context but cleans up the user's context. This allows us to set up concept known as "defence in depth" where there is more than one layer of security protecting your system and you can even opt out of certain security features that aren't suitable for your application without compromising your overall security.

The great thing about using multiple execution contexts is this is that it can even be layered over a secure boot mechanism which is part of why Google ChromeOS is able to have a secure boot mechanism and still allow you to take total control of your system safely. Some systems like Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Fedora even provide multiple security contexts within one user context through advanced mechanisms like SELinux. For normal users this works out of the box, but if you want to achieve special effects there can be some considerable time investment. I'd advise you to install a new version of Fedora and spend the next ten years or so building custom secure execution environments so that you can keep yourself entertained for life.

It's nice to see this happening just before the UEFI change-over as well to help ensure than Microsoft doesn't lock out other OS options,

Why so worried about this? Microsoft's own hardware certification process requires this is not the case on x86 systems. Page 116:

MANDATORY: On non-ARM systems, the platform MUST implement the ability for a physically present user to select between two Secure Boot modes in firmware setup: "Custom" and "Standard". Custom Mode allows for more flexibility as specified in the following:

a) It shall be possible for a physically present user to use the Custom Mode firmware setup option to modify the contents of the Secure Boot signature databases and the PK.
b) If the user ends up deleting the PK then, upon exiting the Custom Mode firmware setup, the system will be operating in Setup Mode with Secure Boot turned off.
c) The firmware setup shall indicate if Secure Boot is turned on, and if it is operated in Standard or Custom Mode. The firmware setup must provide an option to return from Custom to Standard Mode which restores the factory defaults.

Did you go to Windows answers and submit a minidump? While I would assume that if you are running 2K8 you would have a support contract and thus be able to open a ticket even if you do not have a contract you can go here and tell them your problem and after submitting a minidump they will often escalate it within MSFT and get you a patch if its a Windows problem. I had this done myself when I found a weird little bug with WMP 12 where it would refuse to downconvert a WMA file from one bitrate to a lower bitrate. Once it was established that several other had replicated the problem it ended up getting a patch issued and was rolled into SP1 for Windows 7.

Anyway considering how many tens of thousands of third party drivers Windows has to interact with having all drivers work perfectly is pretty much impossible but these are a great bunch of guys that have the ear of the MSFT dev teams and can get things escalated pretty quickly if they can reproduce the error or don't already have a hotfix for the issue.

As for the restart I have found logs in customers PCs of restarts for video and audio (in those cases they were running badly out of date drivers) but I can't recall it happening with a network driver. Now that may be that I've never come across one with a buggy network drivers, as most of my customers often use the Windows default drivers, or it may mean that subsystem is simply too low a level for the silent restart to function. in any case register at the above site and you will often get a reply in a couple of hours max which for a free service is pretty damned good IMHO.

Copying features from Microsoft products again.

And ripping off open source without credit.

I'd love to hear what business model can possibly compete with stealing.

A predatory monopoly. http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx

When you say "retiring" - do you mean in the sense that you're drawing from your IRA/SS/ or getting your income from somewhere other than a 8-6 corporate job?

And you want to program again?

Oooooookay.

GO back to 'C'. C development environments are pretty much free on all platforms - even from Microsoft. And they also have C# and VB. I would stay away from iTouch or iPad development though because you have to pay ($100) to join the Apple developer network in order to be able to put your software on your own device - unless they've changed in the last year since I looked. And they use that spawn of Satan - Objective C - sister demon to managed C++.

If I were retired, the last thing I'd want to do is program. Gardening and cooking would be it. And the interesting thing is that gardening and cooking has a shit load of science involved. In my spare time, I'm constantly teaching myself chemistry and botany. And the nice thing is that there are a shit load of free resources all over the net. I get to work with my hands, get outside, and get plenty of physical exercise moving bags of shit around - literally and figuratively. I've become a hell of a cook too. When my wife go out now, one of her comments is "it's better at home." We only go out to eat when she wants to give me a break or when the cook is awesome. There's this Thai place that I have not (yet) been able to do better.

Copying features from Microsoft products again.

Flashback isn't nearly as bad as most on windows

Yes. Macs are vulnerable to intrusion. But the problem with analyzing OSX's security versus windows isn't that windows is popular, but windows has gone its own way for permissions and security for the last two decades. Everyone else is running a UNIX-like. While UNIX-likes aren't completely safe, the security model was designed to treat user land as inherently untrustworthy.

While a root priv escalation exploit might in theory be trivial, I doubt we'll see one used due to the finicky nature of such exploits.

I keep hearing that Windows 8 is going to have some added benefits

1. Download and install the Windows 8 Consumer Preview;

2. Realize that the Windows 8 Metro UI is the worst product Microsoft has ever made - worse than Bob or Clippy;

3. PROFIT from your new-found experience.

4. SELL Windows 8 product to unsuspecting eBay victim.

5. BUY an iPad or an Android tablet.

6. ASK wife if you can start sleeping in the bed again.

I keep hearing that Windows 8 is going to have some added benefits

1. Download and install the Windows 8 Consumer Preview;
2. Realize that the Windows 8 Metro UI is the worst product Microsoft has ever made - worse than Bob or Clippy;
3. PROFIT from your new-found experience.

or xperf?

if you want the full compiler, just download the free windows SDK.

As for your BIOS/RAM comparisons: not even remotely valid. No 3rd party entity gets to claim patent fees for either of those abilities

You seem unaware that Windows 7 charges people $100 to CHANGE THE BACKGROUND ON THEIR DESKTOP.
Or am I just ignorant of the 3rd party patent fee of changing the background on a desktop? After all, the average person with Windows 7 Starter installed doesn't care about only: Surfing the web, playing solitaire, storing family photos, and CHANGING THE BACKGROUND ON THEIR DESKTOP. Something like that isn'[t one of the most basic, easy-to-implement features of a modern-day graphic OS!

Microsoft has shown itself as downright-fucking-hostile to its casual userbase, which is ridiculous considering that the casual userbase is who gives Microsoft all their fucking money.

1) If you're installing Linux, you're by definition not a novice.
2) Microsoft provides its own Windows USB installation tool. Very easy to use.

Google much?

http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/best-free-microsoft-downloads.htm

http://www.techradar.com/news/software/applications/60-best-free-pc-software-downloads-from-microsoft-914749

http://blakehandler.wordpress.com/2006/08/01/ultimate-list-of-free-windows-xp-software-resources-from-microsoft/

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/results.aspx?freetext=free&displaylang=en&pf=true

Multithreading for C/C++ and 64 bit are both available in VS Express.
Multithreading: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb157784(v=vs.100).aspx
For 64 bit, you have to install the Windows SDK, but it works.

    HoTMaiL was launched in 1996, running Solaris and FreeBSD.

    Microsoft acquired HoTMaiL in 1997.

    They migrated to Windows 2000 in June and July of 2000. (citation)

    HoTMaiL was rebranded to Hotmail, and then a few various MS names.

    I know some of you kids haven't been on the Internet quite so long, but I remember when it happened, and many outages during the migration.

    Just because a company buys another company, even if it's Microsoft doing the purchasing, it doesn't mean that they will migrate to Microsoft platforms overnight.

    I can't comment on Danger, as I've never heard of them, never used them, and honestly don't care. I know the Hotmail history, because I was an early user, and still have a few accounts. They collect spam, which jumped substantially when the MS acquisition happened.

Start here

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_vista-windows_programs/what-are-the-copyright-rules-concerning-use-of/741f069b-a52e-4688-b19e-dee05180fc3a

And now here

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-live/microsoft-service-agreement

Pay particular attention to section 17. You may not use Microsoft included artwork to create "obscene" material.

Which is fairly ill-defined. Could be considered offensive material.

I could give other citations, but that should do.

Start here

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_vista-windows_programs/what-are-the-copyright-rules-concerning-use-of/741f069b-a52e-4688-b19e-dee05180fc3a

And now here

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-live/microsoft-service-agreement

Pay particular attention to section 17. You may not use Microsoft included artwork to create "obscene" material.

Which is fairly ill-defined. Could be considered offensive material.

I could give other citations, but that should do.

What better product is available for Linux?

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/home

Yeah I think ms has been making some good products recently, but it can't get over the cloud of its past crap. Win7 is really good. Office 2010 and 2011 are really good. Ie9 is really good. Bing is really good. I'mm a Mac and iPad user at home, but I'm really impresse d by their recent work

O RLY? Windows 7 still has a hard limit on network devices (8 by default, 14 maximum) citation. And Office 2010? Fire up Outlook, make a rule that places a copy of every sent message into an archive located in a network drive. Shut down Outlook. Disconnect the network drive. Fire up Outlook. Watch it shit the bed as it doesn't know how to handle not being able to access an archive, even though it can still chat with Exchange.

And those are just two quite common ones right off the top of my head, not even digging into the slew of other embarassments like how Win7 still doesn't support the very concept of a virtual desktop or window edge resistance for manual placement, mysteriously dropping network connections whenever it feels like it, Excel 2010 not supporting multiple open instances of spreadsheets onscreen concurrently (How DARE you want to look at two spreadsheets side-by-side! Go back to LibreOffice!), and a long host of other bullshit.

Win7's a toy and so's Office. When they move past the 90's I'll be happy for them, but "impressed" is something I reserve for Linux and OS X. If it works for some people I'm happy for them, use the tool that works for you, but don't try to say their work is anything better than mediocre.

In what world do you live in that publishing proprietary information on the internet doesn't get you fired? Google isn't in the habit of firing employees on a whim, so while might have thought he had approval, he clearly didn't from the people that mattered.

As for M$'s "research", most of it involes solving problems they created, or trying to clone Google's technologies. This is largely why you don't see any innovation coming out of their R&D, just Microsoft branded rehashes of existing and better things.

You got to be kidding me: http://research.microsoft.com/apps/dp/areas.aspx

Your part of the woods is wrong then:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/microsoft.csharp.aspx

Official microsoft namespaces for the underlying compiler are "microsoft.csharp".

You can pronounce c++ as "see tee tee" but you look like an idiot doing so.

Pshaw, you're still using MVVM? All the cool kids already switched to Model, View, ViewModel and ViewModelMetaData (MVVMVMMD, or MV3)

Microsoft clearly says it's pronounced C Sharp.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/kx37x362.aspx

C# (pronounced "C sharp") is a programming language that is designed for building a variety of applications that run on the .NET Framework. C# is simple, powerful, type-safe, and object-oriented. The many innovations in C# enable rapid application development while retaining the expressiveness and elegance of C-style languages.

-wmbetts

The phone's network stack was probably written by the same fine folks responsible for several million angry, frustrated, and miserable users with laptops and new installations of Vista who found themselves unable to connect to most wi-fi access points courtesy of the "feature" that ultimately led to KB928233 ( http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928233/en-us ) -- usually, when they were someplace where they couldn't easily get online to look up the solution.

Beowulf anyone?

Ha.. I prefer Windows HPC Server... A little more hobbyist orientated and it provides such easy entry!

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/hpc/cc453771

So reading this I went hrmmm that seems dumb like how could Skype work over http? (I'm sure it could but that would be really weird), quick google search shows it has full sockets support http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh202874(v=vs.92).aspx

The SkyDrive and other Live APIs are indeed opened -- for Windows Phone, iOS, Android, and Windows.

Microsoft support lifecycles

Windows 2000 - From 2000 to 2010 (10 years)
Windows XP - From 2001 to 2014 (13 years)
Windows Vista - From 2007 to 2017 (10 years)
Windows 7 - From 2009 to 2020 (11 years)

Source

From the press release:

Barnes & Noble and Microsoft have settled their patent litigation, and moving forward, Barnes & Noble and Newco will have a royalty-bearing license under Microsoft’s patents for its NOOK eReader and Tablet products.

I doubt the state would miss the ~1000 job loss out of millions of jobs.....

I think it's a lot more than 1000 jobs: a quick duckduckgo search gets me this link, where the number of employees in the Puget Sound area is quoted to be 40,686. You also need to add the employees in other WA locations, like Quincy, and you end up with a lot of people directly employed by MS. I expect many of those get paid over medium wage too, so they probably provide a considerable percentage of the business of other local companies as well.

Therein likely lies the problem. Monochrome is pretty decently looking in dark theme, especially since people who use it want to focus on the code in the first place in any case (and the point of monochrome is really to let you do that - let the editor be the focal point due to its syntax highlighting being the only blot of color in the IDE). But have you tried the light theme for any considerable period of time?

I have to admit I never did spend much time in the light theme. I was hit by the bug where I ended up with a light editor window though. Easy enough work around and I was motivated to change it quick as I'm not a fan of sitting in front a white screen of long periods. Dark is so much easier on the eyes. When you are in front of a computer all day the little things make a difference (treating your eyes well, , having a good keyboard (such as a mechanical to ease strain) etc).

For VS2010, there was this. It doesn't do all, but at least it lets you change colors. Matthew said in a comment there that he'll try to find the time to update it for VS11 sometime after the release.

Thanks for pointing out the "Visual Studio Color Theme Editor". I'll keep an eye out for when that's updated. Hopefully Matthew gets a chance to work on it before RTM.

As one of the guys who works on it (and especially the "smooth" part... I hope you do like the new background solution load experience!), I'm really glad to hear it. Just keep filing those bugs for when it's not stable, or when performance is not on par with what you'd expect in some specific scenario, or when you see something obviously silly in the UI - especially the new or revamped stuff (e.g. like this).

Kudos to the VS11 team. I'm using VS11 on two machines right now. One is an old desktop with a Pentium Dual-Core E6700 which was running 2008 Pro and 2010 express. VS11 feels quicker and smoother than the previous version on that machine. It absoluteness flies on my laptop (i7-2670qm). So far I haven't found any real bugs, but if I do I'll be sure to file reports (and attempt to file good ones, as we know how rare those are).

It's funny. Straight out of University I was pretty anti-MS. I ran linux primarily through University and even after graduating my wife (girlfriend at the time) and I ran Ubuntu and OS X at home exclusively. I ended up having to use Windows and MS tools when I took a job doing .Net development (some embedded, some desktop, some server). I ended up really loving Visual Studio and .Net. At the time we were targeting 2.0CF (for embedded) and I pushed them into 3.5 on the desktop so I could use linq. Now with projects I'm working on (my own company) we're targeting 4.5 and it's great. .Net just keeps getting better and better. It amazing what I'm able to do with less code (which means less bugs) and yet still have it readable and maintainable.

I'll admit I'm still not a big fan of Windows, but Win7 is pretty usable and leaves little to complain about (lack of built-in virtual desktop solution is a bummer). I just view windows as a necessary evil if I want to use VS (just as MonoDevelop is necessary if I want to set breakpoints for Unity3d).

Therein likely lies the problem. Monochrome is pretty decently looking in dark theme, especially since people who use it want to focus on the code in the first place in any case (and the point of monochrome is really to let you do that - let the editor be the focal point due to its syntax highlighting being the only blot of color in the IDE). But have you tried the light theme for any considerable period of time?

I have to admit I never did spend much time in the light theme. I was hit by the bug where I ended up with a light editor window though. Easy enough work around and I was motivated to change it quick as I'm not a fan of sitting in front a white screen of long periods. Dark is so much easier on the eyes. When you are in front of a computer all day the little things make a difference (treating your eyes well, , having a good keyboard (such as a mechanical to ease strain) etc).

For VS2010, there was this. It doesn't do all, but at least it lets you change colors. Matthew said in a comment there that he'll try to find the time to update it for VS11 sometime after the release.

Thanks for pointing out the "Visual Studio Color Theme Editor". I'll keep an eye out for when that's updated. Hopefully Matthew gets a chance to work on it before RTM.

As one of the guys who works on it (and especially the "smooth" part... I hope you do like the new background solution load experience!), I'm really glad to hear it. Just keep filing those bugs for when it's not stable, or when performance is not on par with what you'd expect in some specific scenario, or when you see something obviously silly in the UI - especially the new or revamped stuff (e.g. like this).

Kudos to the VS11 team. I'm using VS11 on two machines right now. One is an old desktop with a Pentium Dual-Core E6700 which was running 2008 Pro and 2010 express. VS11 feels quicker and smoother than the previous version on that machine. It absoluteness flies on my laptop (i7-2670qm). So far I haven't found any real bugs, but if I do I'll be sure to file reports (and attempt to file good ones, as we know how rare those are).

It's funny. Straight out of University I was pretty anti-MS. I ran linux primarily through University and even after graduating my wife (girlfriend at the time) and I ran Ubuntu and OS X at home exclusively. I ended up having to use Windows and MS tools when I took a job doing .Net development (some embedded, some desktop, some server). I ended up really loving Visual Studio and .Net. At the time we were targeting 2.0CF (for embedded) and I pushed them into 3.5 on the desktop so I could use linq. Now with projects I'm working on (my own company) we're targeting 4.5 and it's great. .Net just keeps getting better and better. It amazing what I'm able to do with less code (which means less bugs) and yet still have it readable and maintainable.

I'll admit I'm still not a big fan of Windows, but Win7 is pretty usable and leaves little to complain about (lack of built-in virtual desktop solution is a bummer). I just view windows as a necessary evil if I want to use VS (just as MonoDevelop is necessary if I want to set breakpoints for Unity3d).

Therein likely lies the problem. Monochrome is pretty decently looking in dark theme, especially since people who use it want to focus on the code in the first place in any case (and the point of monochrome is really to let you do that - let the editor be the focal point due to its syntax highlighting being the only blot of color in the IDE). But have you tried the light theme for any considerable period of time?

I have to admit I never did spend much time in the light theme. I was hit by the bug where I ended up with a light editor window though. Easy enough work around and I was motivated to change it quick as I'm not a fan of sitting in front a white screen of long periods. Dark is so much easier on the eyes. When you are in front of a computer all day the little things make a difference (treating your eyes well, , having a good keyboard (such as a mechanical to ease strain) etc).

For VS2010, there was this. It doesn't do all, but at least it lets you change colors. Matthew said in a comment there that he'll try to find the time to update it for VS11 sometime after the release.

Thanks for pointing out the "Visual Studio Color Theme Editor". I'll keep an eye out for when that's updated. Hopefully Matthew gets a chance to work on it before RTM.

As one of the guys who works on it (and especially the "smooth" part... I hope you do like the new background solution load experience!), I'm really glad to hear it. Just keep filing those bugs for when it's not stable, or when performance is not on par with what you'd expect in some specific scenario, or when you see something obviously silly in the UI - especially the new or revamped stuff (e.g. like this).

Kudos to the VS11 team. I'm using VS11 on two machines right now. One is an old desktop with a Pentium Dual-Core E6700 which was running 2008 Pro and 2010 express. VS11 feels quicker and smoother than the previous version on that machine. It absoluteness flies on my laptop (i7-2670qm). So far I haven't found any real bugs, but if I do I'll be sure to file reports (and attempt to file good ones, as we know how rare those are).

It's funny. Straight out of University I was pretty anti-MS. I ran linux primarily through University and even after graduating my wife (girlfriend at the time) and I ran Ubuntu and OS X at home exclusively. I ended up having to use Windows and MS tools when I took a job doing .Net development (some embedded, some desktop, some server). I ended up really loving Visual Studio and .Net. At the time we were targeting 2.0CF (for embedded) and I pushed them into 3.5 on the desktop so I could use linq. Now with projects I'm working on (my own company) we're targeting 4.5 and it's great. .Net just keeps getting better and better. It amazing what I'm able to do with less code (which means less bugs) and yet still have it readable and maintainable.

I'll admit I'm still not a big fan of Windows, but Win7 is pretty usable and leaves little to complain about (lack of built-in virtual desktop solution is a bummer). I just view windows as a necessary evil if I want to use VS (just as MonoDevelop is necessary if I want to set breakpoints for Unity3d).

Therein likely lies the problem. Monochrome is pretty decently looking in dark theme, especially since people who use it want to focus on the code in the first place in any case (and the point of monochrome is really to let you do that - let the editor be the focal point due to its syntax highlighting being the only blot of color in the IDE). But have you tried the light theme for any considerable period of time?

I have to admit I never did spend much time in the light theme. I was hit by the bug where I ended up with a light editor window though. Easy enough work around and I was motivated to change it quick as I'm not a fan of sitting in front a white screen of long periods. Dark is so much easier on the eyes. When you are in front of a computer all day the little things make a difference (treating your eyes well, , having a good keyboard (such as a mechanical to ease strain) etc).

For VS2010, there was this. It doesn't do all, but at least it lets you change colors. Matthew said in a comment there that he'll try to find the time to update it for VS11 sometime after the release.

Thanks for pointing out the "Visual Studio Color Theme Editor". I'll keep an eye out for when that's updated. Hopefully Matthew gets a chance to work on it before RTM.

As one of the guys who works on it (and especially the "smooth" part... I hope you do like the new background solution load experience!), I'm really glad to hear it. Just keep filing those bugs for when it's not stable, or when performance is not on par with what you'd expect in some specific scenario, or when you see something obviously silly in the UI - especially the new or revamped stuff (e.g. like this).

Kudos to the VS11 team. I'm using VS11 on two machines right now. One is an old desktop with a Pentium Dual-Core E6700 which was running 2008 Pro and 2010 express. VS11 feels quicker and smoother than the previous version on that machine. It absoluteness flies on my laptop (i7-2670qm). So far I haven't found any real bugs, but if I do I'll be sure to file reports (and attempt to file good ones, as we know how rare those are).

It's funny. Straight out of University I was pretty anti-MS. I ran linux primarily through University and even after graduating my wife (girlfriend at the time) and I ran Ubuntu and OS X at home exclusively. I ended up having to use Windows and MS tools when I took a job doing .Net development (some embedded, some desktop, some server). I ended up really loving Visual Studio and .Net. At the time we were targeting 2.0CF (for embedded) and I pushed them into 3.5 on the desktop so I could use linq. Now with projects I'm working on (my own company) we're targeting 4.5 and it's great. .Net just keeps getting better and better. It amazing what I'm able to do with less code (which means less bugs) and yet still have it readable and maintainable.

I'll admit I'm still not a big fan of Windows, but Win7 is pretty usable and leaves little to complain about (lack of built-in virtual desktop solution is a bummer). I just view windows as a necessary evil if I want to use VS (just as MonoDevelop is necessary if I want to set breakpoints for Unity3d).

Therein likely lies the problem. Monochrome is pretty decently looking in dark theme, especially since people who use it want to focus on the code in the first place in any case (and the point of monochrome is really to let you do that - let the editor be the focal point due to its syntax highlighting being the only blot of color in the IDE). But have you tried the light theme for any considerable period of time?

I have to admit I never did spend much time in the light theme. I was hit by the bug where I ended up with a light editor window though. Easy enough work around and I was motivated to change it quick as I'm not a fan of sitting in front a white screen of long periods. Dark is so much easier on the eyes. When you are in front of a computer all day the little things make a difference (treating your eyes well, , having a good keyboard (such as a mechanical to ease strain) etc).

For VS2010, there was this. It doesn't do all, but at least it lets you change colors. Matthew said in a comment there that he'll try to find the time to update it for VS11 sometime after the release.

Thanks for pointing out the "Visual Studio Color Theme Editor". I'll keep an eye out for when that's updated. Hopefully Matthew gets a chance to work on it before RTM.

As one of the guys who works on it (and especially the "smooth" part... I hope you do like the new background solution load experience!), I'm really glad to hear it. Just keep filing those bugs for when it's not stable, or when performance is not on par with what you'd expect in some specific scenario, or when you see something obviously silly in the UI - especially the new or revamped stuff (e.g. like this).

Kudos to the VS11 team. I'm using VS11 on two machines right now. One is an old desktop with a Pentium Dual-Core E6700 which was running 2008 Pro and 2010 express. VS11 feels quicker and smoother than the previous version on that machine. It absoluteness flies on my laptop (i7-2670qm). So far I haven't found any real bugs, but if I do I'll be sure to file reports (and attempt to file good ones, as we know how rare those are).

It's funny. Straight out of University I was pretty anti-MS. I ran linux primarily through University and even after graduating my wife (girlfriend at the time) and I ran Ubuntu and OS X at home exclusively. I ended up having to use Windows and MS tools when I took a job doing .Net development (some embedded, some desktop, some server). I ended up really loving Visual Studio and .Net. At the time we were targeting 2.0CF (for embedded) and I pushed them into 3.5 on the desktop so I could use linq. Now with projects I'm working on (my own company) we're targeting 4.5 and it's great. .Net just keeps getting better and better. It amazing what I'm able to do with less code (which means less bugs) and yet still have it readable and maintainable.

I'll admit I'm still not a big fan of Windows, but Win7 is pretty usable and leaves little to complain about (lack of built-in virtual desktop solution is a bummer). I just view windows as a necessary evil if I want to use VS (just as MonoDevelop is necessary if I want to set breakpoints for Unity3d).

As for the strength of the Australian dollar, that is purely a rubbish argument, because US companies typically price their software in US dollars, and let the exchange rate take care of itself.

They clearly don't. 10 years ago the AUD was worth US$0.50, now it's worth US$1. Software prices in Australia are not 50% less than they were (relative to US prices).

For example Office Professional Edition 2003 was announced at US$499 in 2003 in the US, but at AUD$899 in Australia. The AUD was worth USD$0.65 at the time. So the Australian version was USD$584 and USD$53 of that is GST giving a $32 or 6% premium over the US price which no one complained about since that's reasonable.

Now Microsoft Office Professional 2010 (2 PC/1 user version) is AUD$849 in Australia. It is USD$499.95 in the US. The AUD is currently worth USD$1.05. So the Australian version is USD$891 of which USD$81 is GST giving a USD$310 or 62% premium.

Notice even though the AUD has increased in value by about 60% in that time frame the relative USD/AUD prices have essentially remained unchanged (wooho a $50 reduction in Oz).

Australians wish they priced in USD, since then prices would have fallen by almost half over that time frame.

So how do you explain a 6% premium turning into a 60% premium? What massive changes product liability and taxation systems do you think happen in Australia?

Australia has a GST tax. Just figuring out if you are liable for this will cost you a bundle. Collecting it and dealing with it from Chicago will cost you more in terms of staff time, and hiring work done in Australia.

Oh sure. It's real hard. If you are you selling it in Australia then you add 10% to the price and send that in to the government. If you are selling it outside of Australia then you do nothing. Wow, that's so complicated! All software qualifies for the GST making it even simpler to work out.

As for the strength of the Australian dollar, that is purely a rubbish argument, because US companies typically price their software in US dollars, and let the exchange rate take care of itself.

They clearly don't. 10 years ago the AUD was worth US$0.50, now it's worth US$1. Software prices in Australia are not 50% less than they were (relative to US prices).

For example Office Professional Edition 2003 was announced at US$499 in 2003 in the US, but at AUD$899 in Australia. The AUD was worth USD$0.65 at the time. So the Australian version was USD$584 and USD$53 of that is GST giving a $32 or 6% premium over the US price which no one complained about since that's reasonable.

Now Microsoft Office Professional 2010 (2 PC/1 user version) is AUD$849 in Australia. It is USD$499.95 in the US. The AUD is currently worth USD$1.05. So the Australian version is USD$891 of which USD$81 is GST giving a USD$310 or 62% premium.

Notice even though the AUD has increased in value by about 60% in that time frame the relative USD/AUD prices have essentially remained unchanged (wooho a $50 reduction in Oz).

Australians wish they priced in USD, since then prices would have fallen by almost half over that time frame.

So how do you explain a 6% premium turning into a 60% premium? What massive changes product liability and taxation systems do you think happen in Australia?

Australia has a GST tax. Just figuring out if you are liable for this will cost you a bundle. Collecting it and dealing with it from Chicago will cost you more in terms of staff time, and hiring work done in Australia.

Oh sure. It's real hard. If you are you selling it in Australia then you add 10% to the price and send that in to the government. If you are selling it outside of Australia then you do nothing. Wow, that's so complicated! All software qualifies for the GST making it even simpler to work out.

As for the strength of the Australian dollar, that is purely a rubbish argument, because US companies typically price their software in US dollars, and let the exchange rate take care of itself.

They clearly don't. 10 years ago the AUD was worth US$0.50, now it's worth US$1. Software prices in Australia are not 50% less than they were (relative to US prices).

For example Office Professional Edition 2003 was announced at US$499 in 2003 in the US, but at AUD$899 in Australia. The AUD was worth USD$0.65 at the time. So the Australian version was USD$584 and USD$53 of that is GST giving a $32 or 6% premium over the US price which no one complained about since that's reasonable.

Now Microsoft Office Professional 2010 (2 PC/1 user version) is AUD$849 in Australia. It is USD$499.95 in the US. The AUD is currently worth USD$1.05. So the Australian version is USD$891 of which USD$81 is GST giving a USD$310 or 62% premium.

Notice even though the AUD has increased in value by about 60% in that time frame the relative USD/AUD prices have essentially remained unchanged (wooho a $50 reduction in Oz).

Australians wish they priced in USD, since then prices would have fallen by almost half over that time frame.

So how do you explain a 6% premium turning into a 60% premium? What massive changes product liability and taxation systems do you think happen in Australia?

Australia has a GST tax. Just figuring out if you are liable for this will cost you a bundle. Collecting it and dealing with it from Chicago will cost you more in terms of staff time, and hiring work done in Australia.

Oh sure. It's real hard. If you are you selling it in Australia then you add 10% to the price and send that in to the government. If you are selling it outside of Australia then you do nothing. Wow, that's so complicated! All software qualifies for the GST making it even simpler to work out.

I want you to go home, turn off any thing on your network that might be sending broadcast traffic, fire up a computer running a freshly installed copy of a Windows that was legally obtained and theoretically shouldn't contain any rootkits or backdoors. Then fire up a frame capture and watch all the odd traffic flowing from the box, even after you turned off things like automatic updates and netBIOS to ensure you aren't picking up legitimate services.

Define "odd traffic".

I certainly thought it strange that there was a DNS request and then traffic to http://www.msftncsi.com/ncsi.txt when I brought the machine up. Plug in an Ethernet cable, and every Win7 box will phone home to see whether or not "http://www.msftncsi.com/ncsi.txt" contains a string saying "Microsoft NCSI", even if you're not running a web browser.

It's the way the little network icon "knows" whether you (a) have TCP/IP connectivity, and (b) can resolve DNS. It's used for network location awareness - despite the Orwellian name, it means "does your PC know it's plugged into a network". NCSI isn't some spooky buzzword beginning with "National" and having some conglomeration of Newspeak words typically associated with "CSI", it actually stands for Network Connectivity Status Indicator.

/tinfoil Or does it :)

I hate the fact that it's hidden from the naive user, because it looks indistinguishable from evil. It's fully documented behavior to the public.

For an interesting time, check out HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NlaSvc\Parameters\Internet\EnableActiveProbing

The problem is, Windows isn't geared towards the middle ground of technical users who are smart enough to know how to use a network sniffer, and who know why unsolicitied network traffic should be treated as evil-until-proven-good, but not so completely obsessive as to know every Microsoft TechNet and KB article.

So please, define "odd traffic". It's very difficult to keep a Windows machine quiet on a network. I'd like to hear what others have discovered, so I can cross some of the others I've missed off the list. (I know there are other things that make routers wake up in the night.) But the quieter our LANs can be made, the less noise we need to filter out, and the louder we can set the alarm bells on the router or IDS.

Wait, what, they made the buttons in VS11 flat and greyscale?

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/visualstudio/archive/2012/02/23/introducing-the-new-developer-experience.aspx
http://visualstudio.uservoice.com/forums/121579-visual-studio/suggestions/2623017-add-some-color-to-visual-studio-11-beta
https://connect.microsoft.com/VisualStudio/feedback/details/726448/make-proposed-monochromatic-ide-changes-optional-in-vs11

If it's vital to government, it's mission critical to Microsoft.