Windows SteadyState 2.5 Beta

Windows SteadyState 2.5 Beta supporting Windows Vista is now available for testing. Whether you manage computers in a school computer lab or an Internet cafe, a library, or even in your home, Windows SteadyState helps make it easy for you to keep your computers running the way you want them to.

Along with the Beta, be sure to download the updated Windows SteadyState Handbook.

Features

• Windows Disk Protection
• User Restrictions and Settings
• User Account Manager
• Computer Restrictions
• Schedule Software Updates

Download SteadyState 2.5

Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2

This is an incremental release to Windows Embedded CE 6.0. Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2 provides the latest breakthrough technologies that help Windows Embedded CE 6.0 device makers efficiently build small footprint devices that connect to Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

• Support for Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) 6.0
• Support for Web Services on Devices (WSD) protocol stack and application programming interfaces (API)
• Support for Video over IP telephony calls
• Additional Voice over IP (VoIP) functionality, including a VoIP boot loader application and resources for QVGA landscape and QVGA portrait user interfaces
• Support for the Pocket Outlook Object Model (POOM) and ActiveSync in the VoIP Home Screen and VoIP Contacts applications
• New sample board support packages (BSPs)
• Support for Auto Proxy Configuration Support in Internet Explorer 6 for Windows Embedded CE
  
• Support for USB CCID Smart Card readers
• Support for Windows Media Player OLE Control Extension (OCX) 7
• Support for flash media management
• A new pluggable font engine framework
• Secure Digital (SD) bus driver that supports SDHC specification 2.00 functionality, such as Secure Digital High-Capacity (SDHC) cards
  

Download Windows Embedded CE 6.0 R2

Windows Live Photo Gallery

Get creative and share your photos and videos.

Windows Live Photo Gallery makes it easy to organize, share and edit your photographs. Upload creative photo slideshows to your Windows Live Space with just a few clicks. Download entire albums from Windows Live Spaces at high resolution. Create a cool panoramic view by combining multiple photos. Enhance your photos by adjusting things like color and exposure. Improve them with simple crop and red-eye fixes.

This application supports Windows Vista, Windows XP Service Pack 2.

Download Live Photo Gallery

Windows Live Mail

A faster, easier, and safer way to manage your e-mail accounts.

Windows Live Mail is a desktop application that lets you access multiple e-mail accounts in one place, even Yahoo and Gmail accounts. Search for messages across multiple accounts. Drag, drop, and organize your mail with one click. Preview messages in the Reading Pane. Get powerful virus scanning and cleaning. Block suspicious messages and destroy junk e-mail with a single click. Help protect your e-mail accounts from harmful phishing scams. Create and edit photo e-mails in a snap.

This application supports Windows Vista, Windows XP Service Pack 2 and need Windows Internet Explorer 6 SP1 or later.

Download Live Mail

Microsoft SQL Server Compact 3.5 for Windows Desktop Beta 2

SQL Server Compact 3.5 is a small footprint in-process database engine that allows developers to build robust applications for Windows Desktops and Mobile Devices. This download contains the files for SQL Server Compact 3.5 and Microsoft Synchronization Services for ADO.Net for Windows Desktop platform

• SQL Server Compact 3.5 includes a host of new features including the following:
  
• LINQ to SQL enabling developers to integrate data access directly into their code
  
• Side-by-side installation together with SQL Server 2005 Compact Edition (version 3.1)
  
• Support for newer and more secure encryption algorithms
  
• Additional timestamp (row-version) data type
  
• Enhanced support for Transact-SQL statements including:
  
  • Nested query in SELECT FROM clause
  • CROSS APPLY and OUTER APPLY
  • CAST and DECIMAL
  • TOP
  • SET IDENTITY INSERT
• Microsoft Synchronization Services for ADO.NET providing the ability to synchronize data from disparate sources over two-tier, N-tier, and service-based architectures
  
• Support for System.Transactions

Download SQL Server Compact 3.5

Internet Explorer Administration Kit 7

Internet Explorer 7 Administration Kit (IEAK 7) enables the most efficient way to deploy Internet Explorer 7 and manage Web-based solutions.

This administration kit supports Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1; Windows Vista; Windows XP Service Pack 2.

Download Administration Kit

Microsoft Windows Server 2000/2003 Operating System Management Pack

The Microsoft Windows Server 2000/2003 Operating System Management Pack provides monitoring of the basic health indicators of a Windows Server system, such as processor, memory, disk health, availability, and key performance metrics. Optional rules and monitors can be enabled to provide in-depth discovery and monitoring of the Windows Operating System.

Features

• Key Processor performance indicators
• Logical and Physical Disk performance and free space
• Memory utilization
• Network health
• Health monitoring of key Windows Operating System Services
• Comprehensive performance collections
• Availability, and Event reports

Download Management Pack

Microsoft Works 6–9 File Converter

Open, edit, and save documents in the Works Word Processor file format supported by Works versions 6, 7, 8 and 9. This download requires Windows Installer version 3.1 or higher. (Should be installed with Office applications)

Supports Windows 2000 Service Pack 3; Windows Server 2003; Windows Vista; Windows XP and Office 2003 Service Pack 2 or greater; Office 2007.

download Works 6–9 File Converter

Windows Vista Devices and Drivers

This is a growing collection of driver resources for users of Windows Vista, this will be updated periodically as others become available:

Assess Your Organization's Device Compatibility Coverage for Windows Vista
Repairing or updating a Windows Vista driver
Check the Windows Vista Hardware Compatibility List—a comprehensive list of hardware products that work with Windows Vista
Microsoft hardware support for Windows Vista
Driver compatibility for Windows Vista (White Paper)
Getting started with hardware, drivers and devices for Windows Vista
More Windows Vista help for hardware, devices, and drivers

Here the original site

IE Tab for Mozilla Firefox

This is a great tool for web developers, since you can easily see how your web page displayed in IE with just one click and then switch back to Firefox.

Behavior:

Toolbar button and statusbar icon:
- Left click: Switches the rendering engine for the current page
- Middle click: Switches the rendering engine in a new tab
- Right click: Pops up Option dialog (for adding the URL of the current page to the "always view in IETab" list)
- [Ctrl] + Left click: Same as middle click or Open Current URL in External Application.

Context Menu:
- On page: Switches the rendering engine for the current page
- On link: Switches the rendering engine in a new tab

Install IE Tab

Fun Extras for Windows Media Player 11

Skins
With skins, you can easily customize the look of Windows Media Player to match your mood. Skins are quick and easy to download, and they automatically install directly in your Player. It's easy to switch back and forth between skins by clicking Skin Chooser in the View menu of Windows Media Player 10 or later (click the Skin Chooser tab in Windows Media Player 9 Series or earlier).

Visualizations
Add a visual experience to your music by adding visualizations to Windows Media Player. Visualizations move to the beat of the music. You can make your computer a digital jukebox at your next party by setting a visualization in the Now Playing view and enlarging the Player to full mode.

Plug-ins
Plug-ins are optional components that you can add to Windows Media Player to extend its functionality. For example, you can add audio, video, or rendering effects as well as DVD playback capabilities.

Download Fun Extras for Windows Media Player 11

Microsoft Expression Media Reader

Microsoft Expression Reader, a free application that enables you to share Microsoft Expression Media catalogs with anyone on the Macintosh or Windows platform who may not own Expression Media.

Expression Media users create catalogs that they can subsequently save and distribute, along with the original images, if they choose. Users, who do not own Expression Media can then use Expression Media Reader to view, label, rate, and add comments to the distributed catalogs.

Expression Media Reader opens catalogs written by Expression Media, iView Media, and MediaPro 1.5, 2.x or 3.x. and is also compatible with all the files that Expression Media can open. In addition, Expression Media Reader features the Slide Show function included in Expression Media.

Download Microsoft Expression Media Reader

Microsoft Windows Search 3.x SDK

The Microsoft Windows Search 3.x SDK includes sample applications demonstrating the key concepts and functionality areas described in the Windows Search Developer's Guide on MSDN. A managed code assembly is also included for .NET development support.

Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1; Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2; Windows Server 2003 x64 editions; Windows Vista; Windows XP 64-bit; Windows XP Service Pack 2 support for this.

Download Version 1.0

Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile (2007 Release)

Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile is a unified communications client for Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007. Communicator Mobile runs on Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0 or 6.0 software for Pocket PC and smartphone devices.

Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile (2007 Release) extends the reach of Office Communications Server 2007 to information workers who use Windows Mobile powered devices. Communicator Mobile provides presence and communication features that are similar to the desktop version of Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 when users are away from their desks.

Download Microsoft Office Communicator Mobile

Windows Live ID Client 1.0 SDK

The Windows Live ID Client 1.0 software development kit (SDK) provides a managed API for Windows Live sign-in from within desktop client applications. Included in the release is a sample application together with its source code so that you can build your own client applications.

Benefits:

• No need to worry about the technical details of authentication! The Windows Live ID authentication service manages this process for you.
• Don’t bother worrying about how to store and retrieve user account information! The Windows Live ID service uses the same functionality as Messenger to cache the user name and/or password for use in later user sign-ins.
• By enabling Windows Live accounts to directly sign in to your site, any of the hundreds of millions of users who have a Windows Live ID can become a user of your site.

Download Windows Live ID Client 1.0

Internet Explorer 7 Readiness Toolkit

The Internet Explorer 7 Readiness Toolkit provides an easy way for any audience that is involved in the development, test, deployment or support of Web sites, extensions, and/or applications to prepare for Internet Explorer 7. The Toolkit provides the following,

~ Testing guidance and tips for isolating and identifying a particular compatibility problem.

~ Improved navigation to help find information.

~ Pointer to the latest publicly available build of Internet Explorer 7.

~ Developer Checklist including new features and changes of interest to application and Web developers should be aware of.

~ Tools for development and testing.

~ Links to resources, technical articles, and helpful blog posts.

~ Various methods for providing feedback to Microsoft.

Download IE7 Readiness Toolkit

Windows Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP SP2

Internet Explorer 7 has been designed to make everyday tasks easier, provide dynamic security protection and improve the development platform and manageability. End user improvements include a streamlined interface, tabbed browsing, printing advances, improved search functionality, instant feeds (RSS), dynamic security protection, and more.

Version 7.0 of Internet Explorer has been renamed Windows Internet Explorer (as opposed to Microsoft Internet Explorer) as part of Microsoft's rebranding of component names that are included with Windows. It is available as part of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, and as a separate download via Microsoft Update for Windows XP with Service Pack 2 and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1. Internet Explorer 7 can also be downloaded directly from Microsoft's website. Large portions of the underlying architecture, including the rendering engine and security framework, have been significantly reworked. Partly as a result of security enhancements, the browser will be a stand-alone application, rather than integrated with the Windows shell, and thus will no longer be capable of acting as a file browser.

On Windows Vista, Internet Explorer operates in a special "Protected Mode", which runs the browser in a security sandbox that has no access to the rest of the operating system or file system, except the Temporary Internet Files folder. When running in Protected Mode, IE7 is a low integrity process; it cannot gain write access to files and registry keys outside of a user profile's folder.

Download the latest version of the world's most popular Web browser. here