Looks like Vista release is just there - Amazone is taking pre-sale orders already

Microsoft's new operating system, Vista, was originally due for release before the 2006 holiday season started, but its release was postponed until next year. In June, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates noted that there was still a chance that it would not be shipped on time.
Amazon.com is taking pre-sale orders on several versions of Microsoft's upcoming Windows Vista operating system to be fulfilled on January 30 when the software giant says the consumer product will be available.
The online retailer's move grabbed attention only a day after the Internet was abuzz with Vista pricing information that was accidentally leaked on Microsoft's Canadian Web site.
Although the pricing data was quickly taken down, the Canadian site listed the Home Basic edition at $233, the same price as Windows XP Home.
On Amazon, the Home Basic is $199, with the feature-rich Vista Ultimate priced at $399. According to news reports, Microsoft is not confirming the pricing structure and will not comment on Amazon's early offer of Vista on its site. However, the online retailer has stated that it is certain that the pricing is accurate.
In terms of the pricing itself, Silver pointed out that the higher rate is for the Ultimate version, which will have more limited appeal. It is likely that most consumers will opt for an upgrade and would qualify for one unless they are working on a PC running Linux or a Mac OS.
According to Amazon, the upgrade to Vista Home Basic is $99.95, Vista Premium's upgrade is $159, and Vista Ultimate's upgrade is $259. Business customers, which should get their versions in November if Microsoft's schedule holds, would be able to upgrade for $199. The full package will cost $299.
"The upgraded prices for the other versions are more telling," Silver said. "Microsoft would be very happy if they can get a lot of people to spring for an extra $60 to buy Home Premium instead of Home Basic."

Microsoft Declares WAN War on Cisco

Microsoft's recent alliance with Citrix Systems to develop wide area network (WAN) optimization technology represents a declaration of war on Cisco in the "critical battleground" of the branch office, Gartner has reported. Gartner believes that Microsoft's tie-up with Citrix will change the selling dynamic for WAN optimization controllers, branch office boxes and, to a lesser degree, application delivery controllers. However, the analyst firm went on to predict that the Microsoft/Citrix partnership will face "some challenges" as the published product delivery date is "very aggressive."
Gartner said that this product is scheduled to ship in the second quarter of next year and will be based on Citrix's WANScaler product line gained through its recent acquisition of Orbital Data, and on Microsoft's Windows Server and Internet Security and Acceleration Server.
"Microsoft clearly considers Cisco a significant threat to its dominance in the enterprise software market, and views the branch office as a critical battleground for application and network architectures," stated a Gartner advisory.
"Microsoft is building a team of networking vendors to compete with Cisco. Citrix brings credibility in branch office application delivery through its Presentation Server and NetScaler products," the Gartner report stated.
"When combined with Microsoft's marketing might and strategic customer relationships, this product is likely to quickly appear on prospective customers' shortlists once it is released."
Gartner believes that Microsoft's tie-up with Citrix will change the selling dynamic for WAN optimization controllers, branch office boxes and, to a lesser degree, application delivery controllers.

Dash's Commuter-Friendly Technology

Looks like i have done overdoze of .net microsoft related posting. sorry for making yo'l bore if i have... :)

I have came across this article during my usual browsing and thought yo'l may like it so here are some extract and as usual link at the end.

In the process of getting from one point on the map to another in a car, knowing where you are and how far you have yet to go is only part of the picture, as anyone who regularly drives a crowded urban roadway can tell you.

An accident, construction, or a ballgame at Shea Stadium can slow you down and make a mockery of the "expected time" for your trip. Yet reliable information about what's happening on the road isn't easy to come by, and it's especially hard to get in a timely manner. When you're stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, of course, it's way too late.

In-car navigation systems from companies such as Garmin, Magellan, and TomTom all handle the point-to-point part pretty well and are increasingly able to give you some information about traffic conditions and weather through a variety of means. And then there's the local radio traffic report, which doesn't always cover the area you need to know about.

Problem Solved?

A new company called Dash Navigation based in Mountain View, Calif., is out to fix that problem with a new navigation device that will not only get you from one place to another, but will also help you route around tangled traffic conditions. Funded by Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital, and Skymoon Ventures, Dash has been running in stealth mode for two years and will announce some of its plans today. It will also demonstrate its device at the DEMOfall Conference in San Diego on Sept. 26

you may want to visit http://www.cio-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=13100003KCH9&page=1 for the full article.

Windows Presentation Foundation

MSDN Tv has this nice episode broadcasted. you may want to see this nice presentation where two microsoft programmer show how the Windows Presentation Foundation's adaptive reflow technology formats content into columns and pages for optimal readability to match screen size and resolution as well as user comfort.

its mind blowing

Here is the link:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/msdntv/episode.aspx?xml=episodes/en/20060817WPFKG/manifest.xml

Replacing the DHTML Editing Control in Windows Vista and Beyond

The DHTML Editing Control will not be included in Windows Vista. Web pages and Windows applications that use the control must be modified to continue to provide a WYSIWYG HTML Editor.

The DHTML Editing Control is an ActiveX control designed for WYSIWYG HTML editing in Web pages and Windows applications. It was originally released to the ActiveX Control Gallery in early 1998 by the Microsoft Visual InterDev development team. It quickly became apparent that the tight coupling between Internet Explorer and the control made it desirable to ship the control as part of each Internet Explorer update, and the control has been shipped as part of Internet Explorer since the release of Internet Explorer 5 in early 1999.
Several factors combined to make continued support of the control less desirable over time. Internet Explorer has continued to evolve, incorporating WYSIWYG editing features of its own in Internet Explorer 5.5 and Internet Explorer 6. At the same time, security has become a major focus for Internet Explorer. To increase security, the browser restricts access to potentially dangerous content, but the editor focuses on ensuring that its changing content is safe to persist. Several security bulletins resulted in a more locked-down browser environment, which reduced the utility of the DHTML Editing Control and raised its cost of ownership significantly.
The decision was therefore made to remove the control from Windows Vista. The control was present in the Beta 1 version of Windows Vista, but is absent in subsequent Beta releases and in the final release of Windows Vista.

you may get how to work around moving forward here http://msdn.microsoft.com/windowsvista/default.aspx?pull=/library/en-us/dnlong/html/htmleditinfuture.asp

Customizing the Office (2007) Ribbon User Interface for Developers

The Ribbon UI replaces menus, toolbars, and most of the task pane UI in the 2007 release.
Many of the applications in the 2007 Microsoft Office system have a new look. The Ribbon user interface (UI) feature replaces the current system of layered menus, toolbars, and task panes with a simpler system of interfaces optimized for efficiency and discoverability. The new UI has improved context menus, ScreenTips, a Mini toolbar, and keyboard shortcuts that improve user efficiency and productivity.

The Ribbon UI feature is implemented in the 2007 Microsoft Office release, which includes Microsoft Office Access 2007, Microsoft Office Excel 2007, Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007, Microsoft Office Word 2007, and Microsoft Office Outlook 2007. It is also implemented in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 when a user creates or edits e-mail messages or works with contacts and in the Calendar. You can customize the Ribbon UI through a combination of XML markup and any Microsoft .NET–based language supported in Microsoft Visual Studio. You can also customize the Ribbon UI using Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), Microsoft Visual C++, and Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0.

Application developers have taken advantage of the tools and programming structures in earlier versions of Office to extend the UI in creative ways. For example, the CommandBars object model enabled developers to build rich solutions in their custom Office applications. Continuing in that tradition, the 2007 Office release introduces an innovative model that developers can use to enhance the user experience. You use extensible markup language (XML) and one of several conventional programming languages to manipulate the components that make up the Ribbon UI. Because XML is plain text, you can create customization files in any text editor, which simplifies work with the UI. You can also reuse custom Ribbon UI files with a minimum of adjustments because each application uses the same programming model. For example, you can reuse the custom Ribbon UI files that you create in Word 2007, Excel 2007, Access 2007, or PowerPoint 2007.

Its cool... and its also customizable...

i have found this MSDN document might intrests yol.

for full documentation you may want to visit - http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms406046.aspx

Contents

• An Improved User Interface
• New Ways to Enhance the User's Experience
• Customizing the Ribbon UI for Most Office Applications
• What About Existing Solutions?
• Using Callbacks
• Two Ways to Customize the Ribbon UI
• General Format of XML Markup Files
• UI Customization in Access 2007
• Creating an Access Application-Level Custom Ribbon
• Creating an Access Custom Ribbon UI for Multiple Forms
• Other Office 2007 Application Ribbon Customization Scenarios
• Using COM Add-ins to Modify the Ribbon UI
• Adding Document-Based Add-ins to the Ribbon UI
• Working with Legacy Command Bar COM Add-Ins
• Dynamically Updating the Ribbon UI
• Loading Images
• Conclusion
• Additional Resources