An early version of Microsoft’s next Windows Home Server edition, “Vail”, has leaked online.
The build, marked 7360, is a community technology preview (CTP) that Microsoft shared privately with select beta testers. According to the description by Microsoft, “Vail” is the next generation version of Windows Home Server.
“Vail builds upon both on-premises and cloud technologies to deliver a best-in-class solution for home networks and SOHO. Out of the box, Vail provides simple file sharing, remote access, home computer backup, expandable storage through Drive Extender, and media streaming both inside and outside the home. Vail also contains an application catalog and product-wide extensibility model so that new services such as anti-virus, online sharing, and home automation can be seamlessly and easily added to the solution. Vail will be available pre-installed on systems by OEM partners, and a standalone software package will also be available for those who want to build their own systems.”
Mary Jo Foley is reporting that the build is already at CTP version 4 and may have been distributed to beta testers some time ago. The build is currently available on torrent and file sharing websites.
Today, more invitation e-mails were sent out to Microsoft Connect members for the Microsoft Office 2010 Technical Preview – a early look into the latest and greatest version of Microsoft Office. 32-bit and 64-bit versions of all programs are available.
Available for download from the connect site are:
- Microsoft Office Professional 2010
- Microsoft Word 2010
- Microsoft Excel 2010
- Microsoft PowerPoint 2010
- Microsoft OneNote 2010
- Microsoft Outlook 2010
- Microsoft Publisher 2010
- Microsoft Access 2010
- Microsoft Visio 2010
- Microsoft SharePointDesigner 2010
- Microsoft InfoPath 2010
- Microsoft SharePoint Workspace 2010
- Business Contact Manager for Microsoft Outlook 2010
- Microsoft Outlook Connector
- Microsoft Office Language Pack 2010 – English
- Microsoft Office Language Pack 2010 – Japanese
- Business Contact Manager for Microsoft Outlook 2010 Language Pack – Japanese
- Business Contact Manager for Microsoft Outlook 2010 Database Tool
Upgrades are available for the matching architecture – 32-bit Office 2007 can be upgraded to Office 2010, but Office 2007 running on a 64-bit Operating system cannot be upgraded to Office 2010 – you must uninstall Office 2007 first.
Hardware and software requirements are listed as:
- 500 MHz processor or higher
- 256 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher
- 2 gigabytes (GB). A part of this disk space is free after installation if the original download package is removed from the hard disk.
- CD-ROM drive or DVD drive
- 1024 x 768 or higher-resolution monitor
Operating Systems supported are Windows XP with SP3 (32-Bit Only), Windows Vista SP1 (32-bit or 64-bit), Windows Server 2003 R2 with SP2 (32-bit or 64-bit), Windows Server 2008 with SP1 (32-bit or 64-bit) and Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit).
Microsoft has also sent out invites to the “Click-to-run” technical preview, which is a “streaming” version of Office 2010. The program runs once, and streams Microsoft Office “bits” to the users PC. Streaming only needs to happen once, and the programs remain on the computer afterward – the connect site explains:
“The program provides a first look at the future of Internet application deployment. It delivers the products rapidly to the computer via streaming over the Internet. The following Office 2010 desktop applications are included: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote” – could this be the start of a subscription based model?
Microsoft originally announced it’s Azure cloud services and platform at last years PDC.
Azure provides businesses with a set of hosted services from Microsoft that allows developers to build rich web based applications that can scale well. Housed in Microsoft’s data centers, the service was initially released as a Community Technology Preview and free of charge during its testing phase.
Bob Muglia, president of the Server and Tools Business at Microsoft, announced the business and partner model for the company’s Windows Azure platform at the Worldwide Partner Conference in New Orleans today. Microsoft will offer Windows Azure, SQL Azure and .NET Services for purchase through a consumption-based pricing model, allowing partners and customers to pay only for the services that they consume. Microsoft partners also will benefit from special promotional offers and discounts.