Windows 7 SP1

Windows 7 has been the most stable Microsoft OS launch yet and as such SP 1 is perhaps not as eagerly anticipated as with previous versions.  However it has now passed quality tests and is likely to be deployed to the Windows 7 user base via automatic updates in January 2011.  The headline feature, aimed at those of us who are used to clunky graphics when using Remote Desktop, has been named "RemoteFX".  RemoteFX allows features like Windows Aero, full-motion video, and 3D graphics to persist over a Remote Desktop connection.

Skype's Christmas party hangover

The recent Skype outage, which lasted for approximately 24 hours on the 22nd/23rd December, has been explained by CIO, Lars Rabbe.  The issue was due to a bug in a particular version of the Windows Skype client.  This bug was exposed when an unusually high number of offline messages were in an undelivered state for longer than normal.  The bug caused the Windows Skype client to crash when receiving late messages.  Because of the P2P nature of Skype and it's reliance on supernode piers to maintain its infrastructure 40% of clients crashing lead to remaining supernodes becoming overloaded and the entire network grinding to a halt.  Skype have been very open about the causes of the issue and marked out the lessons learned:

1. Automatic update strategy to be reviewed (this bug was fixed in the latest Windows release of Skype by the time the outage occurred)
2. Testing - arguably the bug should have never got into a production version of the system
3. Server capacity, the offline IM servers delivering messages late was the reason the bug was exposed in this case

Since the detailed explanation from Skype, revealing the importance of supernodes in their infrastructure they have been hit with a patent infringement lawsuit by Gradient Enterprises which appears to be directly linked to the divulging of this information, another lesson learned perhaps…

Next SQL Server release

Microsoft used Seattle's PASS Summit 2010 in November to distribute an early "Community Technology Preview" release of the next version of their SQL Server product.  The release is code-named Denali (after the National Park in the U.S. state of Anchorage) but is likely to be released as SQL Server 2011 later this year.  The feature that seems to be causing most excitement among DBAs relates to high availability and is known as AlwaysOn.  The idea of AlwaysOn is to help simplify high-availability environments such as multi-site clusters.  From a developer's perspective an overhaul of the SQL Server Development Tools code-named Juneau will provide a single IDE incorporating current BIDS (Business Intelligence Development Studio) and SSMS (SQL Server Management Studio) functionality.  If it lives up to the promise this should improve productivity and slightly reduce development time/cost.

Windows on ARM processors on the horizon

Microsoft has demoed a development version of Windows 8 running on an ARM processor at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, confirming rumours that the new version of Windows will support the ARM architecture.  ARM processors are frequently used in mobile phones, netbooks and tablet PCs and offer significantly extended battery life when compared with most x86 processors.  The release of Windows 8 is still some distance off (likely to be at least 12 months) but once it hits the marketplace it will enable Microsoft to capture a much greater share of the burgeoning smartphone/tablet OS market.

Silverlight 5 unveiled

You could be forgiven for thinking the future of Silverlight is not that bright, particularly if you have been following the Microsoft Silverlight Product Manager, Scott Barnes on Twitter over the past year and read his posts in relation to an internal struggle between fully endorsing HTML5/Javascript (with IE9 support) over Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) and Silverlight.  This was echoed in comments made by Bob Muglia Microsoft President in charge of the company's server and tools business in October last year.  However on 2nd December at the Silverlight FireStarter event the new release was unveiled, a Silverlight 5 beta release will be available before the end of June, and the final release will be ready before the end of 2011.  We'll wait and see whether these dates slip, but in terms of features Silverlight 5 represents a major step forward for the platform with highlights including support for GPU-based graphics and video handling, 64-bit support and the ability to launch Office apps. 

Article written by Mark Reed, Technical Consultant, MSM Software.