Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK)

What Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) Can Do For You

Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) enables the most efficient way to deploy and manage Web-based solutions. IEAK is designed to be used by three main customers: Corporations, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Internet Content Providers (ICPs), and Internet Software Vendors (ISVs). Learn how to tailor a custom browser to meet your customers' needs.

Corporations

Internet Explorer Administration Kit provides administrators with powerful, easy-to-use options designed to save you time and money in deploying and managing Web solutions.

IEAK allows you to:

• Establish version control across your organization.
• Centrally distribute and manage browser installations.
• Configure automatic connection profiles for users' machines.
• Customize virtually any aspect of Internet Explorer, including features, security, communications settings, and other important elements.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) programs and tools make it easy for you to create and deploy custom browser packages and to manage the browser after the installation.

As an ISP, you can customize Internet Explorer and make it easy for customers to sign up for your services. The IEAK works faster and more reliably to help you save time distributing your browser, get more users to the Web, and reduce your support costs.

IEAK allows you to:

• Customize the browser and other features to match your business objectives.
• Brand Internet Explorer and the dialer software you distribute.
• Flexibly deploy and distribute the browser.
• Include third-party add-ons with installation.
• Include Search Providers and Custom Components.
• Additionally with IEAK 8, you can also include Web Slices and Accelerators as a part of your package.

The Internet Explorer Administration Kit makes it easy for you to generate a custom browser with Internet Explorer that can be deployed via Web download or CD to your subscribers.

Internet Content Providers (ICPs)

As an Internet Content Provider, you can choose customization options for Internet Explorer that help showcase your content in a number of ways. The Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) enables you to customize the appearance of the browser and the Setup program. You can add your organization's name or other wording to the title bar. For example, the phrase "Windows Internet Explorer Provided by Proseware, Inc." could appear on your title bar.

You can preset the following Web pages and links:

• Customer support page
• Users' home page
• Users' search providers
• Links in the Favorites bar
• Links to Explorer Bars
• Add-on Components page (for optional components)
• Add Web Slices and Accelerators (IEAK 8)
• Set which mode IE renders in (Internet Explorer 8 or Internet Explorer 7 mode using IEAK 8)

You can also customize the appearance of the browser software so that your organization's content is more prominent when the user browses the Internet. For example, you may want to customize the user's home page with content and links related to your business. By continually updating the content on your Web sites, you can keep your customers interested and informed about your products or services.

Customization Examples for ICPs
To showcase your organization's information and services on the Internet, you may want to consider the following customization options:

• Add links to your organization's Web sites. For example, if your organization is a radio station, you could add links to Web pages that highlight play-lists and composers' biographies. If you are deploying Internet Explorer 8, you can additionally add a radio station Web Slice with the daily top 20 songs.
• Update the browser interface with your organization's branding. You can add your organization's name to the title bar.
• Track information about your customized browser software by using a user agent string -- a string of characters that a Web browser sends when it visits an Internet site. The custom string that you append to the user agent string enables Web sites to compile statistics about how many of your customers are using your browser to view those sites.

Independent Software Vendors (ISVs)

As an Independent Software Vendor, you can easily distribute your custom program with Internet Explorer. By using the Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) programs and tools you are able to create custom browser software packages that include your own components and controls for how your users install the packages.

Using the IEAK, you can include Internet Explorer technologies, such as the Web Browser control, with your custom program and easily create Internet Explorer distribution media. You can also specify home and search providers and add Web sites to the Favorites list when you create your custom browser software packages.

You can also redistribute Internet Explorer. By using setup scripts or command-line switches, you can reduce or eliminate the user interaction required to install Internet Explorer and Internet Tools. This helps ensure smooth installation when users set up your custom program with Internet Explorer.

Internet Explorer Customization Wizard 8 Modes

IEAK Customization Wizard displays pages based on which version of the wizard you are running: ISP, ICP, or Corporate. The following table displays which pages are available in the latest release of IEAK, IEAK 8, for the different licensing modes:

IEAK 8 Wizard Pages	ISP	ICP	Corp
Welcome to the IEAK	Yes	Yes	Yes
File Locations	Yes	Yes	Yes
Platform Selection	Yes	Yes	Yes
Language Selection	Yes	Yes	Yes
Media Selection	Yes	Yes	Yes
Feature Selection	Yes	Yes	Yes
Automatic Version Synchronization	Yes	Yes	Yes
Custom Components	Yes	Yes	Yes
Corporate Install	No	No	Yes
CD Autorun Customizations (if CD is select as Media)	Yes	Yes	Yes
More CD Options (if CD is select as Media)	Yes	Yes	Yes
User Experience	No	No	Yes
Browser User Interface	Yes	Yes	Yes
Search Provider	Yes	Yes	Yes
Important URLs - Home page and Support	Yes	Yes	Yes
Accelerators	Yes	Yes	Yes
Favorites, Favorites Bar and Feeds	Yes	Yes	Yes
Browsing Options	No	No	Yes
First Run Wizard and Welcome Page Options	Yes	Yes	Yes
Compatibility View	Yes	Yes	Yes
Connection Manager	Yes	No	Yes
Connection Settings	Yes	No	Yes
Automatic Configuration	No	No	Yes
Proxy Settings	Yes	No	Yes
Security and Privacy Settings	No	No	Yes
Add a Root Certificate	Yes	No	No
Sign-up Method	Yes	No	No
Sign-up Files	Yes	No	No
Sign-up Server Information	Yes	No	No
Internet Connection Wizard	Yes	No	No
Programs	Yes	Yes	Yes
Additional Settings	No	No	Yes
Wizard Complete	Yes	Yes	Yes

Gamata IT Road Show Nivithigala Pallama

Stepping up in a big way to support the need of the hour to take and empower rural Sri Lanka with ICT skills, especially during this Year of English and IT, Microsoft Sri Lanka has launched ‘Gamata IT’ – a series of initiatives that focus on the central goal of taking ICT to the islands’ most remote rural communities. This far reaching program heralds a new era of hope for the country’s most rural communities as the Gamata IT initiative aims to touch several remote villages and also launch multiple initiatives aimed at the key stakeholders who are engaged in rural development. All of these initiatives will be provided completely free of charge, as part of Microsoft’s contribution towards the enhancement of local IT skills and Microsoft envisions that the next generation of IT Thought Leaders and Developers would emerge from the villages of rural Sri Lanka. The activities lined up under Gamata IT are poised to transform the IT industry in Sri Lanka with the long term goals of helping the people of these areas find sustainable sources of income and better their living standards through the use of modern ICT skills; opening the doors for people in rural communities to learn computers in their local language, and to access the Internet; as well as tackling the fear of, and reluctance to use, computers, due to a lack of proficiency in the English language. Going a long way to bring about the latter objective, is one of the key initiatives under the Gamata IT umbrella, the groundbreaking Sinhala Language Interface Pack (LIP). The LIP software now available for the Windows Vista Operating System and Microsoft Office 2007, provides a primarily localized user experience with menus, buttons and instructions in Sinhala. Recently introduced by Microsoft Sri Lanka and the Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) of Sri Lanka, LIP is set to revolutionize the local IT landscape. Recently, his Excellency, President Mahinda Rajapaksa accepted a Plaque incorporating the first copy of the Sinhala Language Interface Pack (LIP), from Microsoft and ICTA. commenting on the occasion, His Excellency said “I take this opportunity to congratulate Microsoft Sri Lanka in making IT more accessible to the Rural Community, especially through the launch of the Sinhala LIP for Microsoft Office 2007 and Windows Vista” Microsoft Sri Lanka will make 10,000 copies of the new Sinhala LIP accessible free of charge across various Government institutions, Nenasala and Vidatha Centers, rural community centers and other stakeholders around the island. The company has made the software truly accessible to anyone, anywhere as it can be downloaded free of charge from www.microsoft.com/srilanka. Along with the launch of this exceptional software, the Gamata IT initiative will also see the company donating 5000 copies of a comprehensive Sinhala Glossary of IT Terms used in Windows Vista & Office 2007 that has been created to accompany the software, along with 20,000 Sinhala keyboard stickers. Other activities under this grand initiative include reaching the villages through the Nenasala and Vidatha centers, where the Sinhala Interfaces for Office 2007 and Windows Vista will be made accessible through the existing infrastructure at the centers. Commenting on the introduction of LIP, Chief Guest at the launch ceremony for the software, Minister for Science and Technology Professor Tissa Vitarana congratulated Microsoft Sri Lanka and ICTA saying “My ministry and I look towards working closely with them, in disseminating these Technologies to all parts of Sri Lanka, and towards their effective adoption, and I am appreciative of the initiatives they have planned in this regard”. In addition Gamata IT includes the launch of an exclusive, locally developed Tamil Input Method Editor (IME) which conforms to the Tamil Unicode Standard, which will be also available for free download from the Microsoft Sri Lanka website www.microsoft.com/srilanka. The training and technical assistance that representatives from Microsoft and their partner organizations will provide when they visit rural communities includes teaching the residents about the use of a computer using their preferred local language Sinhala or Tamil, introduction to the latest technologies available, the benefits of usage and the opportunities available to them. Microsoft Sri Lanka will play a major role in linking these previously isolated communities with the rest of the world. To enable teaching IT in Sinhala, the Sinhala translation of Microsoft Unlimited Potential curricular will be distributed free of charge to key stakeholder organizations, who could opt to use them for training purposes. Other aspects such as Career guidance, hands on user exposure, and awareness creation sessions would further enhance the programs in these villages. Microsoft Sri Lanka will also deploy Multipoint technology at a school in each of the 24 districts. Multipoint allows for all the children in a class to use one computer via individual mice – creating an interactive learning environment through the use of the latest technological advances. Speaking on Gamata IT, which is their latest multi million Rupee CSR initiative Country Manager, Sriyan de Silva Wijeyeratne, said “We chose the theme ‘Gamata IT’ because our objective is to reach out to the really rural areas of Sri Lanka, into those communities that hitherto have received little, or indeed no, aid or development in terms of dissemination of, and education in, Information Technology. This is crucial during this Year of English and IT, and even more important in this era of post conflict in Sri Lanka. While Gamata IT builds on the launch of our Sinhala Language Interface Pack for Windows Vista and Office 2007, which was designed to benefit the entire population and have a wide spread impact, some other objectives of Gamata IT are very specific and targeted and you will see Microsoft Sri Lanka going to the most remote areas of the country and providing access and training to communities who have no access to IT whatsoever. We are expecting to partner very closely with the ICTA, the Government of Sri Lanka, the Ministry of Science and Technology, several Community based organization, our Business Partners, and many others in this initiative. My team at Microsoft Sri Lanka is very excited and energized with this initiative and we look forward to making an indelible mark on rural Sri Lanka through these efforts.”

All-Women Teams Display Tech Skills, Solutions at Imagine CupAll-Women Teams Display Tech Skills, Solutions at Imagine Cup

Seven all-women teams are among those competing at this year’s Imagine Cup 2010 World Finals being held in Warsaw, Poland.

Team MAA from Kuwait wants to help disabled students use computers, and Bulgaria’s Team IThink wants to give travelers and parents helpful, on-the-go health information.

Team MAA from Kuwait (from left): Abrar Amin, Aysha Al-Rowaished and Mariam Al-Najdi. Click for larger image

Both competed in this year’s Imagine Cup 2010 World Finals, and they both happen to be all-women teams, two of seven competing in this week’s Microsoft-sponsored student technology competition.

“There are no restrictions on what you can do as a woman,” says Aysha Al-Rowaished, one of the three members of Team MAA. Teammate Mariam Al-Najdi agrees: “If women see themselves in this field, then they should go for it.”

Evgenia Milcheva of Team IThink from Bulgaria says more women are getting into the field, but thinks there are still too few. “There should be more women in this competition here,” she says. “It’s about mindset.”

Opportunities do exist for women in the technology sector, says Janet Bailey, an associate professor from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and mentor to Team Vaccine of the U.S.

“It’s an outstanding field for women,” says Bailey, who has seen the number of women entering computer science and information system fields actually decreasing despite efforts to attract them.

Bailey says many women don’t realize how many opportunities are available for them, adding that more women role models in the field would help change that.

Evelina Dimova, mentor Martin Damyanov, Veronica Milcheva, and Evgenia Milcheva of Team IThink from Bulgaria. Click for larger image

“I think there are a lot of women who think they can’t succeed, and that’s not true,” she says, noting that the Imagine Cup is a good way to get women interested in technology. “Letting them know that they have an opportunity is the biggest thing.”

Members of Team IThink say it’s no big deal that their team is all women – they formed because they work well together, not because they are women.

“We are not only friends, but we are partners,” says Evelina Dimova. “We are a very good team. I believe if I weren’t with them, then I wouldn’t be here.”

IThink’s project aims to help travelers use smartphones to easily find critical health information. For example, in restaurants being able to access ingredients to see if an item they want to order has something they or their children are allergic to.

The goal is to build something like Wikipedia, where people who are certified can update the database, Milcheva says.

Over at Team MAA, members have built software to help disabled people use computers when they don’t have the coordination or even the limbs to do so with existing technology. The team’s project involves putting one to three sensors on a disabled person’s limb so that when they move it, the cursor moves with it across the screen.

“It’s like a virtual mouse,” says Mariam Al-Najdi, who notes that the team tested the technology in several schools. Administrators say they want to use the program, and the team has received interest in using it on a countrywide scale.

Aysha Al-Rowaished says she was struck by the reaction of kids who employed the team’s software to use a computer for the first time. “It was amazing to see how much they wanted to try something new,” she says.

Both teams say just getting to Imagine Cup is helping them get a valuable head start in their careers.

Design A New Logo For Windows 8 News And Win $200

To celebrate the launch of Windows 8 News we’ve decided to run another competition! We need two logos, one for Windows 7 News and one for Windows 8 News, that will look amazing in the header and also as a thumbnail image. The competition offers any budding designers not only an opportunity to win $200, but to also display their talents to a large base of users, as all entries will be displayed on the site because readers will choose the best logo and the winner.

Rules:

1. No limit to the number of entries
2. Entries to be submitted via logomyway
3. Thumbnail logo must be 120×120
4. Main logo must be no bigger than 250 x105
5. Must work on white background
6. Decision of the editors will be final

If you’re not a designer, then don’t forget you’ve still got a week to enter our competition to win a funky $200 beanbag.

Windows 8 ‘Confirmed’ for 2012 Launch

More and more evidence is emerging that Windows 8 will be released in 2012. At this years Professional Developer’s Conference (PDC 2009), budding attendees managed to get their hands on two Windows roadmap slides that show ‘Windows 8′ launching in 2012:

Now these slides don’t really provide any information that we didn’t know; Microsoft typically leave 3 years between each release and with Windows 7 launching this year, Windows 8 was always likely to be in 2012. It is unlikely that Microsoft would pull Windows 8′s launch forward to 2011 because it would impact Windows 7 sales with customers delaying upgrades, and unlikely they would delay until 2013 as Windows 8′s development seems to be progressing quite nicely.

Intel to Integrate USB 3.0 into Windows8

One of the problems with talking about a future operating system is 1) the little news that comes out of Microsoft about it, but 2) it is hard to speculate two years out about technology that might change considerably between now and then. So we are left with rumor and wish lists and the like. Unless some company actually says something worth noting. In this case, Intel has announced that USB 3.0 will be an embedded product within the Windows 8 Operating System.

What is USB 3.0?

The original specification USB was released by a combination of manufacturers in 1996. These included, Intel, Compaq, Microsoft, Sony, Digital Equipment Corporation, IBM, and Northern Telecom.

On September 18, 2007, at the Intel Developer Forum a demonstration of USB 3.0 was presented. Two months later the USB 3.0 Promoter Group announced that the specifications for version 3.0 were complete and was ready for the USB Implementers Forum, the managing body of USB specifications to decimate the specifications and monitor implementation.

A new feature is the bus, which provides a fourth transfer mode at 4.8 Gbit/s. This gives is a “Superspeed.” With the raw throughput at 4 Gbit/s, and the new specifications, it is possible to achieve a speed of 3.2 Gbit/s, which translates to 0.4 GByte/s or 400 MByte/s or more after protocol overhead.

USB 2.0 maxes out at 480 MBits/s. USB 3.0 is expected to max out at 5 Gbits/s. This dramatic performance improvement over version 2.0, makes it more desirable. However, these new data transfer rates while attainable by the USB hardware, my not be easy to implement.

The USB 3.0 Icon

Current Timeline of Release

Consumer products are expected to become available sometime in 2010. With commercial controllers are expected to enter into volume production by April 2010.

In September 24, 2009 Freecom announced a USB 3.0 external hard drive.
Following that on October 27, 2009 Gigabyte Technology announced new P55 chipsets motherboards for computers that included an onboard USB 3.0.

On January 6th, 2010 ASUS release a USB 3.0-certified motherboard. . They had to comply with spesifications approved by the USB Implementors Forum to ensure compatibility between motherboards and peripherals.

Windows 7 and Linux

Drivers are under development for Windows 7, but initial support was not included with the initial release of the operating system. But on the other hand, the Linux kernel has supported USB 3.0 since version 2.6.31. That version was released in September 2009. This means that for the time being one complete system for end-to-end testing and development for USB3 is now available on the market.

USB 3.0 Super Speed Certified

Intel and AMD

Intel will not support USB 3.0 until next year, 2011. This will undoubtedly have the effect ofl slowing down mainstream adoption. These delays are related to problems in the CMOS manufacturing process.

AMD indicates that the new southbridges released in the beginning of 2010 will not support USB 3.0. Some market research from In-Stat predicts the relevant market share of USB 3.0 not begin to take hold until 2011.

Windows 8

At the CeBIT Global Conference in Hannover, Germany, Intel Manager Steve Peterson, attending said that USB 3.0 would become mainstream with the implementation of the next iteration of the Windows client operating system, Windows8. Intel is working with Microsoft to make sure that the hardware will work with Windows 8. It will fully support USB 3.0 Windows 8 integration. Although products featuring the USB3.0 technology have been release after the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the current expectations for USB 3.0 are that only high-end PCs will feature USB 3.0, as a general rule.

Intel expects Windows8 and the continuing evolution of computers to make USB 3.0 readily available. But, Intel, however, is not optimistic when it relates to the mainstream adoption of the technology. Apparently the technical details and specification to overcome are still problematic.

New Windows 8 Feature: My PC My Way

My PC My Way is a new feature of Windows 8. It makes heavy use of sensor technologies to improve the user’s interaction with the operating system.

Microsoft’s leaked documents, which we are not showing for obvious reasons, details several scenarios how My PC My Way makes working with Windows 8 more comfortable.

The first scenario describes a gaming session that gets interrupted by a visitor. Windows 8 will automatically pause the game if the player moves the head or moves away from the PC. Games can make use of location awareness and accelerometer based gaming.

The same scenario describes the adaptive brightness technology that automatically adjusts the brightness of the screen depending on the lighting conditions.

The second scenario mentions a user who is reading an online magazine on the PC. Key features in this scenario are touch support (Microsoft says great touch support), location awareness, e-reading and wireless connectivity.

Face recognition based login to PC is the new feature in the third scenario. Windows 8 can automatically recognize the user, perform the login and show the desktop, all without any form of user interaction other than coming nearer to the PC.

Several key scenario features and opportunities are described including gaming, high definition video, e-reading, communication (social networking and Instant Messaging), media consumption and Web browsing.

My PC My Way could become a selling point, providing that the feature offers enough customization and options to prevent unwanted changes to the operating system.