Windows 8.1 General announcements

• Link
  Windows 8.1 Now Available
  Anthony_Mann Thursday, October 17, 2013 11:11 AM

  See the Windows Team Blog and the Windows for your Business Blog.
• Link
  New Microsoft Press Windows 8.1 for IT Professionals eBook Available for Free Download
  Anthony_Mann Wednesday, October 16, 2013 11:16 AM

  http://blogs.msdn.com/b/microsoft_press/archive/2013/10/14/free-ebook-introducing-windows-8-1-for-it-professionals.aspx
• Link
  Windows 8 Availability to MSDN / TechNet subscribers
  Anthony_Mann Wednesday, August 15, 2012 5:23 PM

  Windows 8 is now avaialable to MDSN and TechNet subscribers. We are in the process of moving all the threads in the Windows 8 forums to a new "Pre-release" forum. This process is expected to happen today (8/15/2012) around 3pm Pacific time, so please bear with us as these are moved.

  Are you looking for Windows 8 Pro? See this forum post.

Windows 7 Installation, Setup, and Deployment announcements

• Link
  End of license approaching for some Windows 7 versions
  Carey Frisch Tuesday, September 16, 2014 3:58 PM

  
  October 31, 2014, is the end of license (EOL) date for Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 7
  Home Premium, and Windows 7 Home Basic. After this date, system builders will
  no longer be able to order these products from authorized distributors. Windows
  7 Professional will continue to be available from authorized distributors until
  its EOL date is announced.

  
  
  Learn about EOL and the Windows lifecycle.
• Link
  Now Available: Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit v.7.0
  Carey Frisch Wednesday, July 11, 2012 8:19 PM

  The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit makes it easy to assess your current IT infrastructure for a variety of technology migration projects. This Solution Accelerator provides a powerful inventory, assessment, and reporting tool to simplify the migration planning process.

  • Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit v.7.0

• Link
  Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2012 Now Available
  Anthony_Mann Wednesday, April 18, 2012 2:27 PM

  MDT 2012 is now available at http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&=tm&id=25175

Windows 7 Hardware Compatibility announcements

• Link
  Windows 7 Compatibility Center
  Anthony_Mann Thursday, December 10, 2009 6:40 PM

  Find Windows 7 compatibility status for thousands of hardware devices and direct links to drivers.
• Link
  Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 4.0 Available
  Anthony_Mann Tuesday, July 14, 2009 6:02 PM

  Determine if your hardware is compatibile with Windows 7 - - Details about the MAP toolkit can be found on this post.

Windows 7 Application Compatibility announcements

• Link
  MED-V removes application compatibility road blocks to Windows 7
  Anthony_Mann Thursday, June 24, 2010 10:12 PM

  Are you making plans to deploy Windows 7 in your enterprise in the next 6 – 18 months? Are your plans being delayed or complicated by applications that will not work on Windows 7? Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) can be used to address the “compatibility gaps” of your enterprise and accelerate the move to Windows 7. 

  Get an overview of the MED-V solution at www.microsoft.com/medv. To learn about the MED-V v.2 release and participate in TAP or Beta programs email medvtap@microsoft.com.

   

• Link
  Windows 7 Application Compatibility Downloadable list for IT Pros
  Anthony_Mann Thursday, December 10, 2009 6:59 PM

  Investigate the current compatibility status of third party applications using the downloadable Windows 7 Application Compatibility list for IT Pros in XLXS format.
• Link
  Windows 7 Compatibility Center
  Anthony_Mann Thursday, December 10, 2009 6:58 PM

  Find Windows 7 compatibility status for thousands of applications and direct links to updates.
• Link
  Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 4.0 Available
  Anthony_Mann Tuesday, July 14, 2009 6:02 PM

  Determine if your applications are compatibile with Windows 7 - Details about the MAP toolkit can be found on this post.
• Link
  Ready for Windows 7: Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) 5.5
  Anthony_Mann Friday, April 3, 2009 9:26 PM

  Inventory, assess, and prepare your applications for Windows 7!  ACT 5.5 allows you to assess Windows 7 and IE8 compatibility, control information sent to the Compatibility Exchange, and label data collection packages by role. Want the inside scoop? Check out this Springboard Series blog interview with Jeremy Chapman, Windows Senior Product Manager.
  
  You can download ACT 5.5 here.

Windows 7 Security announcements

• Link
  FYI: Security Vulnerabilities in Gadgets
  Carey Frisch Wednesday, July 11, 2012 8:14 PM

  • Security flaws signal early death of Windows Gadgets
  • Microsoft Security Advisory: Vulnerabilities in Gadgets could allow remote code execution

Windows 7 User Interface announcements

• Link
  FYI: Security Vulnerabilities in Gadgets
  Carey Frisch Wednesday, July 11, 2012 8:12 PM

  • Security flaws signal early death of Windows Gadgets
  • Microsoft Security Advisory: Vulnerabilities in Gadgets could allow remote code execution

Windows Virtual PC and XP Mode announcements

• Link
  MED-V removes application compatibility road blocks to Windows 7
  Anthony_Mann Thursday, June 24, 2010 10:42 PM

  Are you making plans to deploy Windows 7 in your enterprise in the next 6 – 18 months? Are your plans being delayed or complicated by applications that will not work on Windows 7? Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) can be used to address the “compatibility gaps” of your enterprise and accelerate the move to Windows 7. 

   

  Get an overview of the MED-V solution at www.microsoft.com/medv. To learn about the MED-V v.2 release and participate in TAP or Beta programs email medvtap@microsoft.com.

• Link
  Windows XP Mode will no longer require hardware virtualization technology to run
  Anthony_Mann Friday, March 19, 2010 6:15 PM

  Details can be found on the Windows Team Blog.

Windows Vista Announcements announcements

• Link
  Upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7
  Carey Frisch Tuesday, February 21, 2012 4:18 PM

  • Tutorial: Upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7

  
  
• Link
  Windows 7 Test Drive for IT Professionals
  Carey Frisch Sunday, November 28, 2010 4:57 AM

  Test drive the most advanced Microsoft operating system, instantly!

  Windows 7 Test Drive for IT Professionals

• Link
  End of support for Windows Vista RTM
  Anthony_Mann Thursday, February 25, 2010 10:14 PM

  More information can be found on the Windows Enterprise Product Support Page or the Support Lifecycle Blog.

Windows Vista Service Packs/Windows Server 2008 Service Packs announcements

• Link
  Announcing Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008
  Anthony_Mann Wednesday, April 29, 2009 12:08 AM

  Today we are proud to announce the Release to Manufacturing of Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.  Service Pack 2 (SP2) represents the latest step in Microsoft’s commitment to continuous improvement.  It includes all of the updates that have been delivered since SP1, as well as support for new types of hardware and emerging hardware standards.  And since it comes with a single installer for both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, SP2 will be easy for IT Pros to manage, deploy, and support.  For an overview of the changes introduced in SP2, check out the notable changes document.
  
  Business customers with Windows Vista will find that the transition to Windows 7 will be significantly more straightforward due to the high degree of compatibility between Windows Vista and Windows 7.  If your Windows Vista SP1 deployment is already underway we recommend you continue with SP1 as planned.  Then you can deploy SP2 using your systems management infrastructure.  If you are in the early stages of deployment or still planning Windows Vista deployment our best advice is that you plan on testing and deploying Windows Vista SP2.
  
  More information can be found on the Windows Team Blog.

Windows Vista Application Compatibility Toolkit announcements

• Link
  Ready for Windows 7: Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) 5.5
  Anthony_Mann Friday, April 3, 2009 9:24 PM

  Inventory, assess, and prepare your applications for Windows 7!
  
  ACT 5.5 allows you to assess Windows 7 and IE8 compatibility, control information sent to the Compatibility Exchange, and label data collection packages by role. Want the inside scoop? Check out this Springboard Series blog interview with Jeremy Chapman, Windows Senior Product Manager.
  
  You can download ACT 5.5 here.

Windows Vista Desktop UI announcements

• Link
  FYI: Security Vulnerabilities in Gadgets
  Carey Frisch Wednesday, July 11, 2012 8:05 PM

  • Security flaws signal early death of Windows Gadgets
  • Microsoft Security Advisory: Vulnerabilities in Gadgets could allow remote code execution

Windows Vista Security announcements

• Link
  Microsoft Security Essentials for Windows Vista
  Carey Frisch Monday, March 4, 2013 5:25 AM

  Microsoft Security Essentials for Windows Vista: Download
• Link
  FYI: Security Vulnerabilities in Gadgets
  Carey Frisch Wednesday, July 11, 2012 8:09 PM

  • Security flaws signal early death of Windows Gadgets
  • Microsoft Security Advisory: Vulnerabilities in Gadgets could allow remote code execution