To help in your evaluations we've released a new white paper, The Business Value of Windows Vista: Five Reasons to Deploy Now. (Download the XPS or PDF.)  This document summarizes the top enterprise features, latest customer case studies, and research on the capabilities of Windows Vista all in one place.

What are the top 5 reasons? Here's a peek at what's inside the doc:

• 1. Improves the Security of PCs and Confidential Data. Windows Vista Enterprise had 20% fewer security vulnerabilities than Windows XP SP2 did in 2007-and it includes BitLocker Drive Encryption to help protect your confidential data.
• 2. Unlocks the Potential of Today's Mobile PCs. Windows Mobility Center helps users quickly access key mobility settings all in one place and research shows that Windows Vista can help customers save as much as $251 per mobile PC, per year.
• 3. Makes You and Your People More Productive. Find the information you need on your computer and reduce time spent searching for information by up to 42%.
• 4. Speeds ROI with Rapid Deployment and Migration. New imaging technologies and free deployment tools make the process of deploying Windows Vista easier than with any previous version.
• 5. Reduces Support and Management Costs. The costs saving can come from multiple places including reduced help desk calls, less time spent on image maintenance, or a lower energy bill.

This document is designed for you to use and share with others in your organization that may have questions about Windows Vista. You can also find this whitepaper and others on the Windows Vista Enterprise Web site.

Read more at: http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2008/06/04/new-whitepaper-the-business-value-of-windows-vista.aspx

Not necessarily a "Windows Experience" (although it does improve the Windows Experience) - I'm making this post on behalf of the Windows Search Team. Oh and I am really excited for this release.

Today we released the final version of Windows Search 4.0 to Microsoft Download Center. Windows Search 4.0 updates search in Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Home Server. This release comes after a public Windows Search 4.0 Preview, which was a success thanks to great community participation - with around 300,000 downloads.   Since the Preview was released, a number of quality improvements have been made to the product based on feedback provided by the community.

Download: Windows Search 4.0 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 (x86)

Download: Windows Search 4.0 for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 (x64)

More download packages are available on http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940157.

So, what's new in this release?

First and foremost: we've introduced some performance and reliability improvements. Queries are faster, as is indexing - how much faster depends on your machine and your data. Improved reliability means that system failures won't get in the way of the indexer and all of your data will be scanned and available for searches.

We've also extended remote index discovery, also known as PC-to-PC searches, which allows data to be searched quickly and efficiently across machines running Windows Search 4.0. This means that Windows Vista-to-Windows XP or Windows Vista-to-Windows Server 2008 queries are now possible.

Additionally, Windows Search 4.0 offers manageability improvements that IT Pros should take note of.

For starters, we have extended Group Policy to control more aspects of search functionality and made this control more granular with per-user policies. You can use Group Policy Objects to control how desktop search accesses remote resources - such as Microsoft Exchange Server resources or file shares - to manage network utilization.

Speaking of accessing Microsoft Exchange Server - if your organization selects not to use Microsoft Office Outlook in cached mode, you can set a Group Policy to index Exchange in online mode.  Windows Search 4.0 will then index with minimal impact to the server. Our internal testing of this configuration shows significant decrease in the load on the server and the network as compared to Windows Desktop Search 3.01.

IT Pros can deploy a new link that will be added to the Instant Search UI of Windows Vista (or Windows Search UI on Windows XP) on client PCs and allow the query entered in the search box to access your company's search server, by opening the search UI of the server in your browser and executing the query in it. With this functionality, users get a single launch pad for all of their searches. For more information on how to add customized links into the instant Search UI, click here.

Based on a large amount of customer feedback, we have added support for indexing files encrypted with EFS. Users in an organization can now encrypt files and still be able to search their contents. When running on Windows Vista, they also can get an additional level of data protection by using BitLocker and storing their index on the protected drive.

Today, Windows Search 4.0 can be downloaded for installation (download links from Microsoft Download Center listed above). If you need Windows Search 4.0 deployed in a large organization, you can use System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) or other infrastructure solutions.

In the future, we will make Windows Search 4.0 available on Windows Update as well. At that time you will be able to install Windows Search 4.0 off the update site directly or deploy it in your organization using WSUS.

Once Windows Search 4.0 becomes available on Windows Update various Windows users will experience the following:

• Windows XP users will see it as an "optional" update, which requires users to select the update for installation.
• Users running Windows Vista will see the update as "recommended." By default, recommended updates are installed automatically; however, users can prevent automatic installation of Windows Search 4.0. We will publicly post specific instructions prior to publishing Windows Search 4.0 on Windows Update.
• On Windows Server 2008, the update will be applicable only if the File Server Role is enabled.

More on the improvements in Windows Search 4.0 can be found here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/940157.

Read more at: http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsexperience/archive/2008/06/03/windows-search-4-0-released-to-web.aspx

Microsoft Connect: Windows Home Server

Power Pack 1 for Windows Home Server contains numerous bug fixes - including the data corruption issue - as well as many new enhancements to Windows Home Server many users will enjoy:

• Support for PCs running Windows Vista x64 editions
• Backup of Windows Home Server Shared Folders
• Easier, enhanced remote access capabilities
• Better energy efficiency
• Improved performance
• Chinese and Japanese versions

I'm currently running the Power Pack 1 Release Candidate on my HP MediaSmart Server and enjoying new functionality Power Pack 1 adds to my Windows Home Server. I recently added several harddrives putting my storage at 1.1TB. Having more storage allows me to utilize Folder Duplication for my Shared Folders. I also have 1 drive setup specifically for backups of my Shared Folders. I utilize my Shared Folders for quite a bit of data storage so I really appreciate having this functionality to ensure the data is safe (on top of Folder Duplication). Having more storage also lets me store my CompletePC Backups from my Windows Vista PCs on my Windows Home Server as well - but I will talk more about this in a later blog post. I am also enjoying the ability to backup my PCs to my Windows Home Server running Windows Vista Ultimate x64 with the Windows Home Server Connector that now runs on 64-bit versions of Windows Vista. On top of data storage and backups, I utilize my Windows Home Server for remote access when traveling as well.

Your testing of the Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 Release Candidate is very important to the Windows Home Server Team. They will not ship the final release of Power Pack 1 until the community validates their work in Power Pack 1.

Remember - Power Pack 1 is a Release Candidate and is not the final version - essentially it's a beta. If you choose to run the Release Candidate on your main Windows Home Server (aka your "production" Windows Home Server) you should make a backup of everything prior to installing the Power Pack 1 Release Candidate.

To leave feedback for the Windows Home Server Team - you can head on over to the public Windows Home Server Forums. Make sure you file any bugs you find with Power Pack 1 on Microsoft Connect.

Read more at: http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsexperience/archive/2008/06/09/try-out-and-help-test-windows-home-server-power-pack-1.aspx

This year at TechEd we are launching the new unified Windows Client TechCenter. The new TechCenter is now the official new home to the Springboard Series of online resources (www.microsoft.com/springboard). This is a critical component of the Windows Vista deployment and management story. With Windows Vista we built a number of capabilities into the product itself, as well as number of tools to prepare for implementation. The piece that's been missing is structured guidance along adoption path that helps IT Professionals learn how new features and capabilities can assist common tasks and also how to pre-empt and address key challenges upfront... We're aiming to deliver this final piece through the new Windows Client TechCenter, which shares candid best practices from real-world experiences. For instance, check out Springboard Series articles such as Five Windows Vista adoption "Gotchas" and how to get beyond them. The new site offers a consolidated repository of resources across the adoption lifecycle, new troubleshooting zones and community components.

Exclusive to readers of this blog, I was lucky enough to catch up with our very own Microsoft Technical Fellow, Mark Russinovich, a widely recognized desktop guru in his own right and a major sponsor of this effort, to understand more.

Chris Flores: Some of us know you from your previous work with Sysinternals and the Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT) what have you been working on more recently?
Mark Russinovich: I spend a lot of time working with the software engineering team on designs and specifications as we evolve Windows.  I also continue to build complementary tools to help IT Pros better manage and troubleshoot Windows environments.  We release Sysinternals utilities that aren't necessarily tied to the latest product release or service pack like our recent ShellRunas utility for launching programs under different accounts.  Our focus here is to help IT professionals solve arising technical issues and that has led me to work on the Springboard Series which I see as a key element for connecting with the needs of desktop specialists.

Chris Flores:  So what is behind recent efforts with the new unified Windows Client TechCenter and the Springboard Series?
Mark Russinovich: Well to set some context, in the past it has been a bit of a tax to be interested in and to adopt our technologies. Not because we did not have a lot of content or tools but because very often when you are adopting something new, you don't know what you don't know and it's hard to find what you need in the context of what you are trying to do or where you are in terms of point-in-time tasks, like planning, deploying and managing an OS.

In the case of implementing a new operating system there are lots of questions and issues along the road to getting broadly deployed into production.  The new Windows Client TechCenter and Springboard resources help offer more openness and empathy to these real-world challenges - so that we can more proactively help IT Professionals better understand both what they are up against and what's in it for them personally as they go down the technology adoption path.

Chris Flores: I think you just hit on something that really seems central to this effort - empathy -- can you explain what you mean?
Mark Russinovich: First imagine that you personally are in a position where you have to have the answers, and you have to spend your work day and often your weekend looking for them just to support the needs of your organization.  50% of your time is spent trying to keep the organization up and running another 10% of what you do are fixed tasks (backups and reports) but a good portion of your day goes on random stuff - say 40% on break/fix, helpdesk stuff etc. Well that's what desktop IT Professionals often have to go through and the last thing that you would want is for it to be difficult to get the answers you need or even for your needs not to be acknowledged when you try to search for solutions to your pains.

With that in mind, our goal here was to offer a more straight-forward and practical way of looking at things and give them a managed experience. Whether you are a Windows XP user today deciding whether or not to migrate or already on the path to Windows Vista, we offer one destination where you are able to proactively see recommended Springboard Series resources regardless of what OS your are managing and where you might be on the deployment or management trajectory. The new site also lets you connect with Microsoft and community subject matter experts and get answers and advice more easily on known challenges and the ones that you encounter.  In this case, you'll see that we have added new task zones on Application Compatibility - where you can see more dynamic information on the most recent compatible third-party applications as well as tips and tricks and guidance on Performance and Hardware Requirements; Imaging and Security.

Chris Flores: Seems like there are new content assets too, such as the Springboard Virtual Round Table on Windows Vista Adoption where you took on some tough questions. How does that fit in?
Mark Russinovich: It's another way of connecting with the IT Pro community in a real way and to be proactive in addressing their questions and challenges. These are live virtual interactive events, broadcast over the Internet. Think of "Meet the Press for IT Pros". We take live email questions and answer them via an expert panel comprising IT Pro peers in the industry. We try to do these quarterly, the next one we are running is called "Let's talk Windows Vista security" on June 18th.

Chris Flores: Why are you personally so passionate about the community connection?
Mark Russinovich: It's the community feedback, open discussions and connection to the people doing the real work that helps keep me grounded and learn where we can do better in marketing, support, and in the product itself.

Chris Flores: Thanks Mark. Good luck with your sessions at TechEd and thank you for spending the time today.
Mark Russinovich: Thanks, sorry you weren't able to make it to Tech Ed this year. It's going to be a great event.

Read more at: http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2008/06/09/need-answers-about-windows-vista-new-windows-client-techcenter-launches.aspx

This summer HP is launching a brand new Extender for Windows Media Center device - the HP MediaSmart Connect. The HP MediaSmart Connect will let you wirelessly stream your Windows Media Center experience including content such as Live TV, Recorded TV Shows, Music, Photos and Videos to any TV in your home using your wireless or wired home network. And I've got some information below on how you can attend online webinars put on by HP and Microsoft giving you a first-hand look at the HP MediaSmart Connect! Read on...

Extenders for Windows Media Center are devices that are designed to "extend" the Windows Media Center experience from a centralized Windows Media Center PC running Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate to any room in your home with a TV using a personal home network.

The HP MediaSmart Connect packs quite a punch. You can stream recorded or live HD content from your PC to your TV as well as take advantage of Windows Media Center's Internet TV Beta - which I blogged about here a few months ago. With Internet TV Beta - you can watch movie clips, movie trailers and even music videos such as Weezer's brand new single "Pork and Beans" (a personal favorite!). The HP MediaSmart Connect is also capable of searching all the PCs on your home network and creating a single list for all digital media such as photos, music, and videos and as well as access to great entertainment from services like CinemaNow, Snapfish and Live365. There is much more to the HP MediaSmart Connect but I'll save the rest for a later post!

I'm personally very excited to get my hands on the HP MediaSmart Connect myself because I have a Windows Vista PC that serves as my digital media hub in my living room using Windows Media Center that is connected to my HDTV. However with the HP MediaSmart Connect - I can now "extend" my digital media I have on this centralized Windows Media Center PC to any room in my house such as the master bedroom. I'll be able to stream recorded HD TV shows such as Discovery Channel's When We Left Earth series to my bedroom for late-night-geeking-out to stunning video of NASA's early missions. And the form factor is perfect for sitting right next to my TV (whisper quiet - no fans!) in the bedroom.

To celebrate the launch of the HP MediaSmart Connect - HP and Microsoft are putting on 4 webinars this summer to demonstrate the capabilities of the HP MediaSmart Connect. HP's Director of Marketing for their Connected Entertainment group Brian Burch will be headlining the demos along with industry experts who will share their own experiences during the webinars.

• Tuesday, June 24th - 10:00 am PST with Ed Bott, http://www.zdnet.com/
• Thursday, June 26th - 1:00 pm PST with Ian Dixon, http://www.thedigitallifestyle.com/
• Tuesday, July 8th - 10:00 am PST with Patrick Norton, http://www.tekzilla.com/
• Thursday, July 10th - 1:00 pm PST with Mike Garcen, http://www.missingremote.com/

And I of course will be attending the webinars myself as well! Click here to register for the webinar you would like to attend!

I will also be talking about the HP MediaSmart Connect here on the Windows Experience Blog in the coming weeks as well. Stay tuned!

Read more at: http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsexperience/archive/2008/06/10/upcoming-webinars-on-the-new-hp-mediasmart-connect.aspx

Carbon Grove is a carbon footprint reduction reminder service that empowers users to reduce their impact on the environment, and through the use of Windows Internet Explorer 7 with Dynamic Security Protection, users can also help improve the internet environment. Internet Explorer 7 is architected with security features that help defend against malicious software (also known as malware) and better protect against the theft of personal data by fraudulent websites.

By participating in Carbon Grove's campaign, internet users nurture a virtual tree seedling and after six weeks of continued commitment to carbon reducing efforts, Internet Explorer will then sponsor the planting of a tree in a region of need around the world. 

To participate in the campaign, users register at www.carbongrove.com and follow the simple steps to plant a virtual tree.  Users can then visit their tree once a week and watch it grow. As part of the campaign, Carbon Grove will send weekly reminders to users with updates on their trees' growth and how it has become shelter for virtual animals.  The weekly email reminder will feature a link to the user's tree, as well as "green" tips on ways to help the environment in simple but meaningful steps. 

Carbon Grove is built on Windows technology and Silverlight, and works with Internet Explorer 7 or Internet Explorer 8 Beta.  If IE7 or IE8 Beta is not already installed on the user's PC, both are available as free downloads. You can download IE7 here and IE8 Beta here. With a Beta version of Internet Explorer 8, users can also take advantage of IE8's new WebSlice feature to monitor their tree's progress no matter where they are browsing.

Microsoft encourages employees, customers and partners to understand and embrace sustainability and learn how to improve the Earth's environment and foster a safer internet ecosystem.  To plant your virtual tree and help our eco-system, visit www.carbongrove.com.

Read more at: http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsvista/archive/2008/06/09/ie-partners-with-american-forests-for-green-carbon-grove-campaign.aspx

Below are links to download the Certified for Windows Vista wallpaper for your desktop (depending of course on your screen resolution) courtesy of Windows Live SkyDrive:

Enjoy the wallpaper!

For those not really interested in this wallpaper - you might check out another wallpaper of mine I released last month. I also hope to create some more wallpapers for you here in the coming months.

Read more at: http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsexperience/archive/2008/05/12/put-certified-for-windows-vista-on-your-desktop.aspx

I caught up with Deryl McCartney, Marketing Manager for the Windows Vista Logo Program, to get a general update on Certified for Windows Vista products as of today.

Just to re-cap: Certified for Windows Vista products are products that carry the above logo. This logo represents a group of applications and hardware that have gone through an extensive certification process that means they work great with Windows Vista. We want users who are looking for devices, applications, or PC components to easily be able to identify the ones that will give them the best experience in Windows Vista today. When I go into a store looking for something for my PCs I always "look for the logo".

As of April, we currently have over 5,000 products that are Certified for Windows Vista. Since last July, the amount of Certified for Windows Vista products has almost doubled!  As you can see - we've seen quite a bit of growth with new Certified for Windows Vista products entering the market.

Deryl is very excited about some of the new Certified for Windows Vista products hitting the market today and wanted me to share a few with you:

• Logitech Quickcam Ultra Vision SE & Logitech Quickcam Orbit AF (Logitech has quite a bit of Certified for Windows Vista webcams)
• Philips Webcam SPC900NC
• Gigabyte GA-EX38-DS4 Motherboard (perfect for building your own PC)
• Epson Stylus Photo R1900
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio PCI Express Sound Card

He also tells me that there is a special section off http://www.windowsvista.com/ designed to showcase all the great Certified for Windows Vista products (right-hand side) worth checking out.

And there is even a Sidebar Gadget for you to add to your Windows Vista desktop that keeps you up-to-date with all the Certified for Windows Vista products and lets you search for specific products to see whether they are certified or not. Download the Gadget here.

I've covered my experiences with several Certified for Windows Vista devices here on the Windows Experience Blog recently:

• Roadtrip around Central Washington with Canon Digital Rebel XTi (with several panoramic shots created with Windows Live Photo Gallery).
• ATI TV Wonder 600 USB to watch TV shows in Windows Media Center.
• Logitech Cordless Desktop S 510 (keyboard and mouse set).
• Microsoft LifeCam VX-7000.

I expect to be talking about some hot new Certified with Windows Vista devices in the very near future. And of course I expect to get regular updates from Deryl too!

And stay tuned as I have something else planned in regards to Certified for Windows Vista I think you'll like as well.

Read more at: http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsexperience/archive/2008/05/09/looking-for-the-logo-update-on-certified-for-windows-vista.aspx

To download, just head on over to this URL on your Windows Mobile phone:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/mobile/wl/download-en-us.mspx

UPDATE: Folks wanting a shorter URL to access Windows Live for Windows Mobile can go to the following URL - http://wl.windowsmobile.com/

Just download the .cab file for the version of Windows Mobile you are running (Standard or Professional). Windows Live for Windows Mobile works on phones running both Windows Mobile and Windows Mobile 6 (and 6.1).

Let me explain how I use Windows Live for Windows Mobile today on my BlackJack II. Because Windows Live for Windows Mobile syncs up my Windows Live Contacts - I encourage many of my contacts to edit their profiles and make sure their email addresses and phone numbers are correct. When their Windows Live Contact is synced to my phone - their name appears under my Contacts on my Windows Mobile phone (Windows Mobile has a centralized "contact directory"). Information my Windows Live Contacts fill out in their profiles appear on my phone. Users can have multiple phone numbers entered into their profiles for a variety of locations such as Mobile, Home, or Work. When I choose to call a Windows Live Contact - I choose any of the numbers they provided to me that is in their profile. Of course I can also edit their contact information either in Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Mail or via the web in Windows Live Hotmail.

Speaking of Windows Live Hotmail - Windows Live for Windows Mobile also lets my sync my email to my Windows Mobile phone as well. With Push-Email - you can get your email from Windows Live Hotmail account as it comes in.  The sync features for email in Windows Live for Windows Mobile let me view the same unread/read email messages on my Windows Mobile phone, desktop PC with Windows Live Mail, or via the web with Windows Live Hotmail. If I read an unread message on my phone, it not only becomes unread on my phone but also becomes unread in Windows Live Mail and on the web in Windows Live Hotmail.

Windows Live for Windows Mobile however does not come with a Windows Live Messenger client for your Windows Mobile phone.  We've chosen to do this to support carrier's plans for IM services for their phones. If there is no IM client on your phone, you can try our browser based version of Windows Live Messenger to chat with friends or ask your carrier about IM options for your phone.

For me - Windows Live for Windows Mobile has become a huge asset for me in staying connected with Windows Live and is essential for my Windows Mobile device.

For more information on Windows Live for Windows Mobile - check out the Windows Live for Windows Mobile Team's new blog!

Read more at: http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsexperience/archive/2008/05/14/put-windows-live-on-your-windows-mobile-phone.aspx

Download: WorldWide Telescope Spring Release

WorldWide Telescope is an application designed to turn your PC into a "virtual telescope" by stitching together terabytes (soon to be petabytes) of high-resolution images of the universe. Massive amounts of data are generated by the various scientific and research facilities and WorldWide Telescope brings the catalog of that data together for anyone to access using the power of the Internet. This new application is particularly exciting for me being someone really heavy into astronomy.  You can also use WorldWide Telescope and connect an ASCOM-capable Telescope to your PC to watch the night sky.  

WorldWide Telescope lets me connect to Communities, access Collections of celestial objects such as the Solar System or Constellations, or take Guides Tours.

Using my mouse, I can navigate the cosmos zooming in and out to any object in the rich catalog of celestial objects. I can right-click to access quick information on any celestial object.

I can use WorldWide Telescope for 4 different "looks" - Panorama, Sky, Earth, or Planets.  By default you are looking into the Sky when WorldWide Telescope but you can change the "look" in the lower left-hand corner of the application. You can view planets of the Solar System in 3D or view a panoramic shot as if you were standing on Mars (my favorite view so far!) taken from one of the NASA's Opportunity and Spirit rover missions.

I can also use WorldWide Telescope to browse the Earth using Virtual Earth.

WorldWide Telescope also lets you copy a view to your clipboard. In browsing the universe tonight with WorldWide Telescope I spotted several of these weird reflection-like images that I'm not entirely sure what they are:

Looks like a reflection from the telescope (or device) that took the image but I'm no expert.

By default, WorldWide Telescope is configured to view the night sky as if you were standing at Microsoft Building 99 in Redmond.  But you can change your Observing Location very easily via View options.

WorldWide Telescope observes the night sky in real-time (which is awesome) however there are controls that let you move backward or forward as well as pausing at any given moment.

There are so many features in WorldWide Telescope that it would be hard for me to go through them all tonight in this post. Give WorldWide Telescope a try yourself and let me know what you think. And if anyone has any suggestions for ASCOM-capable Telescopes I might go out and buy that might work with WorldWide Telescope - let me know!

Read more at: http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsexperience/archive/2008/05/12/browse-the-sky-with-worldwide-telescope-from-microsoft-research.aspx