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Last week Windows 7 RTM came availible for MSDN and Technet Plus subscribers. Today also Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM is availible on MSDN and Technet Plus. Some of the new features like Direct Access require both new operating systems. Go get both new Windows versions!

Steve Bink wrote about some new Exchange 2010 rumors. On his weblog he wrote about rumors from partners telling him Exchange 2010 will be RTM soon. Microsoft responded on his article, telling him it’s not finished yet. Before Exchange 2010 RTM release there will be at least 1 Release Candidate (RC) release, which will be publicity available. On October 12, Exchange 2010 will be officially launched together with Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 at “the new efficiency” launch event. So I expect a Exchange 2010 RC release very soon!

Th Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 7 RTM have been released. These tools enable IT administrators to manage there servers remotely. RSAT can be compared with the old adminpak.msi which was needed the manage your Windows 2003 servers. RSAT contains all the needed tools to manage your Windows 2003, 2008 and 2008 R2 servers remotely from a Windows 7 client.

Download the tools here

It’s official, Microsoft have reached the RTM mileston with Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2.

Windows Team Blog:

As I mentioned previously, RTM officially happens only after sign-off occurs. What happens is a build gets designated as a RTM contender after going through significant testing and meeting our quality bar for RTM. Then, it goes though all the validation checks required for RTM including having all languages of that build completed. If all the validation checks have passed – sign-off for RTM can occur. Today after all the validation checks were met, we signed off and declared build 7600 as RTM.

Windows Server Division WebLog:

The acronym stands for Release to Manufacturing, and it means this latest release of Windows Server 2008 R2 is now blessed by engineering as ready for the manufacturing process. We’re talking final code. Sun shining, birds singing, children dancing in the streets.

With evaluation software available for download in the first half of August and the full product available to customers with Software Assurance in the second half of August, RTM is more than just an engineering milestone. Occurring in lock-step with the release of the Windows 7 RTM, these two platforms are now ready for our partners to start testing and installing on their hardware. And that lock-step isn’t a coincidence, it’s a design goal.

Everybody is waiting for Microsoft’s next client OS Windows 7. A lot of rumors about the RTM availability have been going around the internet. I’ve seen many fake versions/buildnumber of Windows 7 RTM. Finally there is more clarity about the availability dates. The guys from Windows Team Blog posted the exact release dates. There are various release dates depending on your license type or if you are a MS partner.

The Windows Team Blog post:

When will I get Windows 7 RTM?

I recognize this is an important question to have answered. Many of you have said you want to know exactly when you will be able to get your hands on RTM. Last Monday, I gave an update on RTM to close out some myths. In that update, I also gave a broad timeline on when different groups of people – or “audiences” – would get the final RTM code.

While I have nothing new to add regarding RTM today, I do however have more precise information to give on when you will be able to get RTM. Again, when you can get RTM depends on who you are.

For Partners & OEMs:

ISV (Independent software vendor) and IHV (Independent hardware vendor) Partners will be able to download Windows 7 RTM from Microsoft Connect or MSDN on August 6th. There is already a lot of momentum from ISVs and IHVs in the ecosystem today for Windows 7 as Mike Nash blogged last week. If you are a partner who has been working on Windows 7 for a while, now is the time to complete your testing with final version of Windows 7. For partners that haven’t gotten started yet with Windows 7, now is the time to get involved. You can also visit www.readyset7.com to learn more about getting ready for Windows 7.

Microsoft Partner Program Gold/Certified Members will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English through the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) Portal on August 16th. By October 1st, the remaining languages will become available to download.

Microsoft Action Pack Subscribers will be about to download Windows 7 RTM in English starting August 23rd. By October 1st, the remaining languages will become available to download.

OEMs will receive Windows 7 RTM software images beginning approximately 2 days after we officially RTM, as a little time is required to release and distribute these images. This will allow them to begin preparing images for new PCs to ship with Windows 7 on them. We know our OEMs are excited for Windows 7 and we can’t wait to hand them the final RTM bits!

For Business Customers:

If you are a Volume License (VL) customer with an existing Software Assurance (SA) license you will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English starting August 7th via the Volume License Service Center (VLSC). The rest of the languages for Windows 7 RTM should be available within a couple of weeks after that.

Volume License customers without a SA license will be able to purchase Windows 7 through Volume Licensing on September 1st as we announced last week at WPC09. Mark these dates on your calendar and start making your deployment plans!

For IT Professionals:

There are a few ways you can get Windows 7 RTM. IT Professionals with TechNet Subscriptions will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English on August 6th and remaining languages by October 1st.

IT Professionals at companies with Volume Licensing see above on how you can get Windows 7 RTM.

We have quite a bit of resources for IT Professionals to use to become experts on Windows 7 and to aid in their deployments. Those resources can be found at the Springboard Series.

For Developers:

Developers with MSDN Subscriptions will be able to download Windows 7 RTM in English on August 6th and remaining languages by October 1st.

To help developers who are developing applications for Windows 7 or updating existing applications to take advantage of new Windows 7 features, check out the Windows 7 for Developers Blog. Also, be sure to check out the Windows 7 Developers Guide on MSDN. Oh and there are also some fantastic videos on Channel 9 too!

For Beta Testers & Enthusiasts:

A special thank you to our beta testers is needed for their time and effort in helping make Windows 7 a solid release. The special pre-order offer we did offering Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional at almost 50% discount was done with our beta testers in mind. And many of you jumped at the chance to take advantage of this deal – thank you!

I know there have been some rumors going around about a “family pack” for Windows 7. We have heard a lot of feedback from beta testers and enthusiasts over the last 3 years that we need a better solution for homes with multiple PCs. I’m happy to confirm that we will indeed be offering a family pack of Windows 7 Home Premium (in select markets) which will allow installation on up to 3 PCs. As I’ve said before, stay tuned to our blog for more information on this and any other potential offers.

Beta testers will not automatically receive a free copy of Windows 7. Many beta testers are already subscribers to TechNet; those of you who fit that description will be able to download Windows 7 RTM shortly after RTM happens for free as part of your subscription.

However, if you don’t have TechNet and are waiting for GA (to either purchase Windows 7 or wait for your pre-order to arrive) you can continue to use the RC. In fact, you can continue to use it until it expires on June 1st, 2010 (expiration actually starts March 1, 2010, this is when the reboots start).

While our special pre-order offer with the near 50% has ended, Windows 7 can still be pre-ordered today from the various online retailers (including the Microsoft Store).

We are also going to release an evaluation of Windows 7 Professional for IT Professionals via the Springboard Series shortly after RTM. Over 40% of beta testers are IT Professionals and this will allow them to quickly access the RTM code and plan for deployments.

For Consumers:

Windows 7 will be in retail stores and shipping on new PCs starting October 22nd. If you pre-ordered Windows 7, it should be delivered sometime around the October 22nd timeframe (depends on the retailer).

 Source: http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/archive/2009/07/21/when-will-you-get-windows-7-rtm.aspx

This week is all about the Microsoft WPC09 (World Partner Conference 2009). It started today on 13 July and will end on Tuesday 16 July. To view all the video’s and key notes sessions visit the WPC site at http://www.digitalwpc.com. The first keynote is available for watching right now. Check the site for further updates during this week.

Microsoft has release a Communicator Mobile 2007 R2 update  for Windows Mobile 6.0 Pocket PC and Smartphone. The new release includes the following fixes:

• Homescreen support for new homescreens in Windows Mobile 6.5+ phones.
• Integration within the phone dialer for Windows Mobile 6.5+ phones.
• Communicator Mobile 2007 R2 now recognizes when the phone is roaming, and by default does not sign in to roaming networks.
• Additional support for joining conference calls from a Windows Mobile appointment. To do this, press Menu, and then press Join Conference.
• Enables users to log on with a username of the format user@example.com, in addition to domain\user.
• When placing Call via Work calls, callbacks are now automatically accepted.
• Microsoft Installer (MSI) installation on Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) fails. In this situation, users should install Communicator Mobile 2007 R2 by using a .Cab installation.
• AT&T FUZE devices set for High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) connection cannot handle voice and data at the same time. This causes Call via Work calls to fail unless the device is reverted to 3rd Generation (3G) by disabling HSDPA.

 Download here:

Communicator Mobile 2007 R2 for Pocket PC

Communicator Mobile 2007 R2 for Smart Phone

Today I spotted a post on a friends weblog: http://virtualfuture.info.
Mostly when I write about virtualization my posts are about VMware. VMware is still leader in the world of virtualization, but Microsoft doesn’t sit still. The Windows 2008 R2 Hyper-V release will be better than the current release. To learn more about Hyper-V, Microsoft released a free training.

The course contains the following modules:

1. An overview of the Hyper-V technology
2. Creating a virtual environment
3. Deploying systems in a virtual environment
4. Configuring high availability in a virtual environment
5. Administering a virtual environment with SCVMM

Register for it here : https://www.microsoftelearning.com/eLearning/enterCode.aspx
Use this free code : 9350-Y2W6-3676

If you are an OCS administrator you probably already know there are a lot of server roles. Depending on your company you will implement some or all the server roles. To find out which roles can and can’t be combined, I’ve posted a simple overview table. This speed up your search in the various OCS 2007 R2 whitepapers.

One of the new features that will be included with the next release of Microsoft Exchange Server (2010) is anwsering rules. A mailbox user will be able to create his personal auto attended from within Outlook Web Access (also know as Outlook Live).  With a anwsering rule you can dicate how a call should be handled. The guys from the MS Exchange Team wrote a nice blog post about this new feature.

Click here to read the blog post.