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http://redmondmag.com/articles/2009/11/17/office-2010-sharepoint-2010-betas.aspx

By Kurt Mackie11/17/2009
Microsoft on Monday released betas of Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010 to its MSDN and TechNet subscribers.

The new Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010 betas can be downloaded using links at this Microsoft blog. As for the general public, they just have to wait.

"Office 2010 has not yet officially released for the public and we have no further information to share at this time," a Microsoft spokesperson stated via e-mail. Presumably, SharePoint 2010 is also unavailable to the public.

Microsoft has typically said that its Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010 products will be available to the general public in the first half of next year.

Office 2010 is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. For those considering an upgrade, Microsoft is planning to release a series of tools as part of its application compatibility program for Office 2010. Upgrades aren't expected to require a hardware upgrade in most cases. However, those upgrading from Office 2000 or Office XP will need to meet Office 2010's minimum hardware and operating system requirements, according to a Microsoft TechNet article.

Office 2010 will include Office Web Apps -- browser-based versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Organizations will be able to host those applications on their own servers or pay for access through Microsoft's Business Productivity Online Suite (BPOS) offerings. The consumer versions will be ad-supported, at no additional cost.

IT organizations considering whether to upgrade to Office 2010 should poll users, according to a study released last week by Forrester Research, "Best Practices: Microsoft Office Enterprise Strategy." About 80 percent of companies surveyed earlier this year by Forrester use Office, but there are alternatives, including Google Apps, Zoho's hosted apps and OpenOffice.org, among others.

The SharePoint 2010 beta is available for download only for 64-bit machines (no 32-bit version is planned). A Microsoft blog describes four tips to note before installing the beta, which is actually referred to as "beta 2" (build 14.0.4536.1000). In addition, Microsoft provides some upgrade resources in this blog.

Microsoft is touting three areas of improvement in SharePoint 2010. IT pros get streamlined central administration, including PowerShell support with the addition of 500 commands. In addition, the infrastructure is more scalable, according to Microsoft, while allowing centralized management. Finally, there are flexible deployment options, such as a sandbox solution that allows code to be safely uploaded by users.

Microsoft also released the Project Server 2010 and Project Professional 2010 betas on Monday. The betas can be downloaded at this Tech Center page. Those using the technical preview version of Project Server 2010 cannot upgrade to the beta, according to Microsoft's notes. However, there will be an upgrade path from the beta to the final release of Project Server 2010.

Project Server 2010 uses the "ribbon" interface and features Web-based project editing with multiple undo support. Users can create dashboards and drill down into reports. Charts can be edited in Excel 2010 and saved back to a project. The server also includes a "demand management" feature that can capture "all work proposals in one single place," according to the Project team blog. Microsoft also integrated a "portfolio analysis" feature that allows users to make decisions based on assessing project costs.

Project Server 2010 is a 64-bit application and needs to be installed on Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2.

By AMY SCHATZ
WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission began to lay the groundwork for a bigger federal role in the broadband business Wednesday, outlining the hurdles the U.S. needs to overcome to improve the availability of high-speed Internet access.

The FCC identified a number of issues the government should address, including the high cost of laying new broadband lines in rural areas, a lack of airwaves for wireless Web access and ill-informed consumers.

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Feds Mull Rules, Fees to Spur Net Access "This focus on broadband is a reflection of a recognition that the U.S. is lagging behind," FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said Wednesday at the agency's monthly meeting.

The FCC is drafting a National Broadband Plan, which will lay out ways the government can improve broadband service in the U.S. The plan is scheduled to come out in February, and it's uncertain how many of its suggestions will ultimately be adopted. Already, some big cable and telecommunications companies are concerned the agency wants to impose rules that could undermine their business strategies and profitability.

FCC officials noted Wednesday that because more Americans are relying on smart phones to access the Internet, more airwaves need to be devoted to wireless broadband service. Agency officials have previously floated a plan to take some airwaves from television broadcasters and use them for wireless devices instead. Broadcasters are unhappy about that plan.

The agency took a step toward expanding wireless Web access by passing a new rule Wednesday to help wireless companies speed up local officials' decisions on new cellphone towers. Wireless companies asked the FCC for help, because they have had problems in the past getting state and local land-use regulators to make decisions on siting new cellphone towers.


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FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski testifies on Capitol Hill in October.
Of the 3,300 applications for new towers or to put a new antenna up on an existing tower, more than 700 have been pending for more than a year, FCC officials said. The FCC said local communities should have 90 days to consider applications from carriers who want to put an antenna up on an existing tower, and 150 days for new tower applications. The decision means that if local officials don't make a decision in that time, the wireless carriers can appeal to a court.

The FCC's latest broadband moves are part of a multi-stage process mapped out by Mr. Genachowski for examining whether American consumers have suffered from the largely hands-off approach the U.S. has taken on Internet infrastructure.

FCC officials said they are concerned consumers don't know enough about the actual speeds of broadband connections before they sign up with a provider. Often, the speed advertised by an Internet provider is much faster than the actual speed a consumer gets at home, which makes it harder for consumers to compare competing services. FCC officials Wednesday didn't say exactly what they would propose to address this.

The agency is also looking at how to increase the use of broadband among lower-income people and minorities, who subscribe at lower rates than the general population.

Write to Amy Schatz at Amy.Schatz@wsj.com

Windows Vista Service Pack 2 is now available for download. The Vista SP2 update includes new support for recording Blu-ray discs straight from the Vista OS, updated support for Bluetooth v2.1, and bug fixes that address slow shutdowns and mysterious crashes.

You can download Vista SP2 directly from Microsoft at its Web site (348MB) or it will be automatically delivered to your Vista system via Windows Update within a few weeks, according to Microsoft. You must have Vista SP1 installed on your system to install the SP2 Vista.

Additional Vista SP2 Updates

Besides Blu-ray and Bluetooth support, Vista SP2 also:

* Fixes Wi-Fi issues when Vista awakes from sleep mode.

* Improves performance of Vista desktop sidebar gadget, allowing for RSS feeds to perform better.

* Address overall Vista system performance issues. Microsoft says SP2 repairs nearly 700 nagging Vista bugs and security updates.

* Boosts power management efficiency by 10 percent.

* Gives your computer support for VIA Technologies' new 64-bit CPU

* Lets your system support exFAT, which can handle larger files and can also use UTC timestamps so you can synchronize files across different time zones.

America’s top securities regulator is understood to be investigating Apple’s recent disclosures about the health of Steve Jobs, its chief executive.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is thought to be responding to pressure from investors infuriated by the technology group’s surprise about-face on the seriousness of the illness affecting Mr Jobs.

Last night Apple reported a quarterly profit that beat Wall Street’s estimates over the crucial Christmas period, posting a record revenue of $10.17 billion (£7.27 billion) and record net quarterly profit of $1.61 billion, or $1.78 per diluted share. These results compare with revenue of $9.6 billion and net quarterly profit of $1.58 billion, or $1.76 per diluted share, in the same quarter last time.

The results cheered investors, who sent the shares up nearly 10 per cent in after-hours trading to $90.85. They closed up 6 per cent at $82.83 on Nasdaq before the results.

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