Howdy! Today is the day we’ve all been waiting for. I’m proud to announce that Windows Server 2012 has been released to manufacturing. That means the final code is complete and we are delivering it to our hardware and software vendor partners this week. We will also make the software available to our volume licensing customers in the next couple of weeks.   Get out your calendars and free up some time on September 4. That’s when Windows Server 2012 will be generally available for evaluati

Microsoft is continuing to eke out the Windows 8 news.     The latest tidbit is Windows 8's exact availability date is going to be October 26. (The last we heard at the Microsoft Partner Conference a week ago is it would be in "late October.")   October 26 will be the date Windows 8 will be available preloaded on new PCs and also to those purchasing it through one of the upgrade programs Microsoft has announced recently. Based on previous Microsoft statements, it also seems October 26 wil

Microsoft yesterday announced the availability of Office 2013 Customer Preview, you can download it here     clicking on Word 2013 brings you to the following page,     and then you can click on Try It to see what downloads are available, there aer versions for Home, Small Business, Enterprise and Enterprise Preview.     cheers niall

We set out to make it as easy as possible for everyone to upgrade to Windows 8. Starting at general availability, if your PC is running Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 you will qualify to download an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for just $39.99 in 131 markets. And if you want, you can add Windows Media Center for free through the “add features” option within Windows 8 Pro after your upgrade.   When you use Windows.com to purchase an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro, the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant

Summary: Microsoft’s new Surface tablets are exquisitely engineered, and no one can accuse them of being me-too products. Yesterday’s launch was impressive, but it also left many questions unanswered. Monday, at an invitation-only media event in Los Angeles, Microsoft got the tech press to do something almost unprecedented: wait with eager anticipation for a Microsoft product announcement.     Even more astonishing is that the reveal lived up to the hype.   They are exquisitely engineere

REDMOND, Wash. — May 31, 2012 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the availability of the Windows 8 Release Preview, the next milestone of the highly anticipated Windows 8 operating system. Available for download today in 14 languages at http://preview.windows.com, the Windows 8 Release Preview delivers a fast and fluid experience, along with a new user interface that responds equally well to touch as it does to keyboard and mouse. Since the February release of Windows 8 Consumer Preview, which

Microsoft appears to be taking steps to remove legacy code from its Windows 8 operating system that will prevent modifications and hacks to re-enable the Start button and Start Menu. Windows watcher Paul Thurrott reports that the company has been "furiously ripping out" legacy code in Windows 8 recently that lets third parties bring back the Start button, Start Menu, and other legacy parts of the desktop interface. Thurrott claims that several well-known UI hacks that enabled the Start Button in

yesterday Neowin blogged about a post that was made on the MSDN blogs about the release of Windows 8 Release Preview today, May 31st.     In anticipation of the availability of those files later today, i'm posting the download links here:   Windows 8 Release Preview: Download here Windows 8 Driver Kit: Download here Visual Studio 2012 Professional: Download here   cheers niall