Q:
What is Windows SteadyState?

A:
You know, I was wondering the same thing! I came across Windows SteadyState last week when I was writing a tip for the Windows Vista parental controls, but at that time, I didn't have a chance to look into it more. So, when I received this question in my e-mail Inbox yesterday morning, I knew I had to write about it right away! I'm sure there are several of you out there wondering what it is too, so we'll just all learn together! After you're done reading this article, I think you'll have a better understanding of what Windows SteadyState really is. Let's check it out!

To begin, SteadyState is mostly used with shared access computing. So, what is shared access? Well, it's basically when one or more computers serve multiple users all from one location. For example, the computers in schools, Internet cafes, libraries and even in a few homes. SteadyState was created by Microsoft for the main purpose of keeping all those shared access computers running smoothly and without any trouble. Also, with it, the computers will stay the way they're supposed to, no matter who uses them from day to day.

With shared access computers, you never know what sort of condition they will be in by the time everyone is done using them. Each computer probably has several users on it throughout the day and more than likely, each one did something different, depending on the type of work they had to do. So, by the end of the day, those computers could be filled with downloaded files, newly installed programs, the normal settings could be changed, there could be some viruses or spyware on the system and so on. Basically, a shared access computer is always filled with different items and it could be bogged down for various reasons.

Because of that, you need something that will be able to clean up those computers and get them ready for the next day. And that's where SteadyState comes into play. With SteadyState, you're given an easy way to manage multiple users, you can set in place a locked down platform that will make each computer more stable for shared computing and there's even an easy way to keep all of your settings in place, meaning no one will be able to alter them.

Like I said earlier, SteadyState really comes in handy for certain locations, including schools, Internet cafes and libraries. In a typical day, the computers at those types of places will be used by hundreds of people. Luckily, SteadyState comes with a design that fits each of those locations the best. So, for example, if you're managing the computers at a school, you can use the specialized part of SteadyState that generic cialis professional works the best for computers in a classroom. Or, if you have shared access computers in your home (maybe you have one for yourself and a couple for your children), there's also a special design in SteadyState for that. Each one really fits each location to a tee and it makes managing your computer so much easier!

So, how can you get SteadyState? Well, I will give you that information in a second, but there are a few things you'll want to do before you install it on your main computer. First, you'll want to double check the system requirements. SteadyState only works with Windows XP with the SP2 and Vista. It works for XP Professional, Home and even the Tablet PC edition. Now, you may already be using a utility called the Shared Computer Toolkit, but you'll want to upgrade to SteadyState, as it is the newer version. You'll want to uninstall the Shared Computer Toolkit first as well. You will also need to defrag your computer before you install SteadyState. That's just to ensure that your computer is optimized and ready to go.

When you're ready, you can click here to install SteadyState. Just click on the blue Download Now button and follow the directions. It will bring up a wizard for you to follow and it's not that long of a process. For more information on everything we've discussed today, you can visit this Web site. It should answer any additional questions you may have. Once you have SteadyState installed, you'll be all set and ready to go with your new shared access computers. Check it out today!

February 2nd, 2009

Posted by Ed Bott

Conventional wisdom says corporations have completely rejected Windows Vista. But I’m seeing evidence lately that Vista’s image is improving with age. A new report issued today by Benjamin Gray and his colleagues at Forrester Research confirms that Vista is getting a new lease on life in the enterprise.  Microsoft’s well-executed development of Windows 7 might be a big part of the reason.

Forrester surveyed 962 IT decision-makers at North American and European companies with more than 1000 seats (more than a quarter of the survey respondents represent organizations of 20,000 employees or more) and found that Vista is now installed on just under 10% of all PCs within enterprises. One-third of all respondents have already begun Vista deployments, and another 26% have plans to begin deploying Vista this year or next. Another 15% are going to skip Vista and go straight to Windows 7.

In other words, the supposedly despised Vista is about to do what its predecessors did and begin significant adoption after a few years of apparent snubbing. That’s what happened to XP, which had less than 10% total market share (corporate and consumer) after a year on the market and didn’t hit the 50% mark until four years into its lifecycle. Based on Forrester’s numbers, I would expect Vista to approach 50% share by the end of 2010, with IT pros watching Windows 7 to see whether its performance in the field justifies the great early reviews .

I remember reading surveys of IT pros about their intended adoption rates back in 2006 before Vista shipped. Most of those numbers predicted that Vista would be at least modest success for Microsoft. A year later, after Vista’s troubled launch and a tidal wave of bad publicity and devastating Apple ads, the numbers had swung to extreme pessimism.

And now, two years into Vista’s life, those opinions have swung back to a fairly normal adoption curve. Why? The number one reason is Service Pack 1, which made a big difference for Vista. The overwhelming generic cialis prices consensus among reviewers was that it fixed a long list of bugs, including some deployment blockers, and improved performance noticeably. SP2 is just around the corner, and anyone who’s doing their own testing instead of believing what they read on Slashdot has had plenty of time to decide whether it’s a smooth stable update (it is).

Vista is part of the same family as Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7, both of which have earned almost universal rave reviews. Server 2008 is built on the same code base as Vista SP1, which adds credence to the idea that Vista wasn’t fatally flawed, only badly botched at launch.

Another factor in Vista’s favor is that the same management team that is doing so well with Windows 7 is also in charge of keeping Vista running. By hitting a steady series of public milestones with Windows 7, Windows boss Steven Sinofsky is restoring corporate confidence in Microsoft’s ability to ship software on a reliable schedule with predictable quality. That confidence makes it easier for IT pros to conclude that the early troubles with Vista were a temporary glitch and not a sign of things to come.

Ironically, deploying Vista SP2 is the most conservative option for Windows shops. XP is about to enter the extended support phase (on April 14, 2009). By contrast, Vista has more than three years left in mainstream support, which runs until at least April 10, 2012. The same instincts that make an IT pro conservative enough to stick with XP for more than seven years will also prevent him from adopting Windows 7 too quickly, no matter how glowing its reviews. Caution dictates waiting at least one year or one service pack, whichever comes later. All of which makes the currently supported, well-documented Vista SP2 the surprisingly safe choice.

February 2nd, 2009

Posted by Mary Jo Foley

Whenever Microsoft releases a new version of Windows, there’s always some period of uncertainty when customers face the choice of moving to the current release or waiting for the new product. This year,  however, that transition period is especially uneasy.

Windows 7 is — by all accounts (except from the Microsoft honchos) — due out later this year and is looking faster, smaller and more stable than any Windows release out there. Windows Vista is here, but not a user favorite (to put it mildly). And eight-year-old Windows XP is still the dominant version of Windows out there.

So what’s a Windows user to do? Follow Microsoft’s corporate guidance and upgrade to Vista now in preparation for 7? Hang on a bit longer with XP? Try mixing and matching the three in your IT shop?

Microsoft’s Windows brass have been reticent to provide a detailed answer to the question “What should my desktop strategy be?” But Mike Fiorina, a Microsoft account tech specialist based in New England, grabbed the Windows-upgrade-confusion bull by the horns in a blog post this past weekend.

Fiorina explained that a perfect storm is brewing: XP SP2 mainstream support is set to end in July, 2010 April 2009 (and all support for it by July 2010).  XP SP3 extended support isn’t retiring until April 2014, which, Fiorina said, “gives XP environments some breathing room, but not necessarily as much as you might think.”

Even though Vista SP1 has been out for a year (and Vista SP2 is expected some time in the next few months), Vista still is suffering from both real and imagined limitations, Fiorina admitted. From his January 30 post:

“The one recurring theme in discussions with corporate customers is that (Vista) application compatibility is a problem. Applications may not run in Vista, or maybe they can, but it’s not supported by the vendor. Remediation will be costly and time consuming. We get it. Many of the acquisitions and investments we’ve made in the past few years are targeting that problem specifically (Application Virtualization – SoftGrid, Enterprise Desktop Virtualization – Kidaro, etc.)”

Fiorina noted that the generally positive beta reviews of Windows 7 has meant “we’re hearing from a lot of folks ‘Why should I upgrade to Vista when Windows 7 is right around the corner?’” His answer:

“If we look at it from the perspective of an enterprise with fairly unaggressive adoption cycles, then you’ll see that you may be putting yourself in an untenable situation a few years down the road.”

Untenable? Fiorina continued his line of reasoning with the caveat, “for the sake of argument, make these assumptions”:

• “Company A doesn’t deploy new operating systems or major applications until Service Pack 1 (or a similar bug-fix milestone) has been provided by the vendor
• Company A probably won’t even begin testing their application footprint against the new OS until said SP1 is available
• Windows 7 ships in the fourth quarter of 2009
• Service generic cialis overnight Pack 1 for Windows 7 would likely not be final until the first half of 2011, if not later (going by our historical timelines for SP1 releases)
• So, Company A would begin testing migration from Windows XP to Windows 7 SP1 in 2011 sometime. How long would it take to perform adequate testing of your application suite to certify\remediate it for Windows 7? For most, this is at least a 6 to 12 month process…so, now we’re in mid-2012.  At that point, you’re ready to start building an image (hopefully using the MDT to make your lives easier).  Maybe the image is ready to go in early 2013. Then you have a little over a year to get it out company-wide until Windows XP hits end-of-life. Is that enough time?  Perhaps…but is it worth backing yourself into a corner?”

Sure, you could argue that Fiorina is a sales guy and is looking for any way possible to chalk up a few more Vista sales while Windows 7 is gaining steam. But, to me, his post highlights what’s likely to be one of the biggest IT questions in 2009: On which version of Windows should I standardize as my corporate desktop?

Corporate users: What’s your thinking here? Has your first taste of Windows 7 led you to change your deployment plans?