From the perspective of a platform developer, Microsoft has to maintain an equilibrium between the innovation it introduces with its software products and support for legacy applications. Both Windows Vista and Internet Explore 8 offer an ample example of the Redmond giant struggling to achieve such a balance. This is why the company is lending a helping hand to customers migrating to its latest products. In this regard, the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit 5.0 is designed to sniff out and permit the mitigation of incompatibility issues. The collection of tools, as well as the adjacent documentation included in the toolkit, are tailored to Windows Vista releases via Windows Update and Internet Explorer.

 

"ACT helps customers lower their costs for application compatibility testing, prioritize their applications, and deploy Windows Vista more quickly. You can use the ACT features to: verify an application's compatibility with a new version of the Windows operating system, or a Windows Update, including determining your risk assessment; become involved in the ACT Community, including sharing your risk assessment with other ACT users; and test your Web applications and Web sites for compatibility with new releases and security updates to the Windows Internet Explorer Internet browser," reads an excerpt from the toolkit's description.

 

In tandem with the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit, Microsoft has also made available for download Internet Explorer Application Compatibility documentation. The resource delivers an intimate insight into the application compatibility events logged by both Internet Explorer 7 and Internet Explorer 8. The documentation accompanies the Internet Explorer Compatibility Test Tool which is included by default with the Application Compatibility Toolkit.

 

"The Internet Explorer Compatibility Test Tool logs information about your browsing session in Internet Explorer. As you browse Web pages, Internet Explorer logs events that indicate potential application compatibility issues for Internet Explorer 8. The tool logs the name of each event along with a short description of what each event is. Each description also contains a link to this document. The intention is that users of the Internet Explorer Compatibility Test Tool use this document to find out more about each event and what they can do to remediate the identified compatibility issue," Microsoft indicated.

 

Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit is available for download here.

 

Internet Explorer Application Compatibility can be downloaded from here.