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Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc reports that Microsoft has released Windows Search 4.0 which replaces Windows Desktop Search in Windows XP and Instant Search in Windows Vista as well as the relevant applications in Windows Server 2003, 2008, and Windows Home Server. Downloads of Windows Search 4.0 are now available and if you can wait a bit, it will show up on Windows Update.
Some notable enhancements in the new version include cross system searches (as long as they all run Windows Search 4.0) and improved Group Policy management for large organizations, but I expect that the greatest initial interest will be in ordinary desktop search. XP’s Windows Desktop Search was a resource hog that produced such mediocre results that disabling it figured prominently on most lists of XP performance improvement tips and had me pining for my old copy of Lotus Magellan. Vista’s Instant Search is certainly improved in both form and function so it will be interesting to kick the tires. Early reviews of Windows Search 4.0 indicate that there are still some rough edges and while it beats Google Desktop search in function, it still lags in speed.
Today Microsoft is cranking up the hoopla for the 2008 refresh of their mainline server and tools products: Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008, and SQL Server 2008. Visual Studio 2008 is already generally available and SQL Server 2008 won’t ship until 3Q, but some there is some claim to relevancy for the launch event beyond the marketing hype since Windows Server 2008 became generally available today.
Microsoft today unveiled Windows Server 2008 Release Candidate 1 and revealed some of the partner festivities for the February marketing celebrations of Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, and Visual Studio 2008:
The most controversial aspect of the original Windows Vista copy protection was the introduction of a “reduced functionality mode” better known as the “kill switch”. This was a state where users found themselves when they ran afoul of the Microsoft Software Protection Platform (also called Windows Genuine Advantage or WGA) and if their machines weren’t completely dead, they might as well have been. After many complaints, Microsoft today announced that with Vista Service Pack 1, the “kill switch” will be replaced by what can only be described as “nagware.”
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