Migration, Packaging and Windows 8 News

Here's a taster of the latest industry news from Carl Bennett, Technical Specialist at ChangeBASE.

Migration news

A powerpoint presentation called “Life after Windows XP” containing some great arguments for upgrading to Windows 7.

Windows 7 has just passed XP as most widely used OS.

The Microsoft performance team explain the advantage of 64bit Windows.

Converter Technology look at whether it is worth skipping Windows7 and going straight to Windows8. Microsoft say 10 years is enough, just upgrade now will you?

Chris Jackson posted a link to his chat with Emily and Greg.

Packaging News

Symantec have announced that they will discontinue Wise. In my opinion they have never understood the asset that they had.  It’s not just a piece of software but the fuel for an entire industry.  It is still used by a vast proportion of all packaging teams.  Aaaagh I am so angry, upset and disappointed right now.

Can you pass the Windows 7 Deployment exam? I’ll admit that I scraped a pass by 1%.

After reporting last month that AppX may succeed, an article on why AppX Just Might Fail.

A Microsoft mindmap download is available on the topic of deployment.

A ThinApp guide to the Taskbar, and Start Menu Pinning gives you an insight into their virtualisation process.

The unattend file allows you to change some standard windows folders but not Program Files.

Windows 8 News

The Building Windows 8 Blog is a very well-written guide to the design philosophy behind the new features.  Learn about how the start menu has evolved into the start screen.

Translations are being sought for the new charm and app terminologies.

Desktop gadgets are being axed, but you never used them anyway.