14 DAY TRIAL // Is your copy of Windows Vista acting up?! Does the operating system require constant nudging, fixing and attention even when completing the most basic and minor tasks? Does your Vista fail to play well with other devices? Does the platform fail to understand that there is no Vista in TEAM? Do you ever feel like if Vista were a dog, you would have been able to train it by now? Fear not! Because Microsoft has the right solution for you... a Windows Vista certified coach, who coincidentally loves his grandma.
Just have a look at the YouTube video embedded at the bottom, courtesy of Long Zheng. It was presented during Microsoft's Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC 2007) in Los Angeles, an aside from the humorous note, it is designed to emphasize Vista's connectivity capabilities.
Also at WinHEC 2007, Microsoft has brought to the center stage the Windows Rally technologies. The second video embedded in here, from Soapbox, made available by Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc features Program Managers Glenn Ward and Jim Barber demoing Windows Rally Technologies.
"Windows Rally is a set of technologies that ship as part of the standards for being a Certified for Windows Vista device. The core set of Windows Rally technologies are: Link Layer Topology Discovery (LLTD): is the protocol that enables the device to show in Windows Vista's Network Map including a specific device icon representing that device. Windows Connect Now (WCN): enables the ability to easily and quickly setup a wireless network. Devices Profile for Web Services (DPWS): allows devices to be easily discoverable on your network. Plug and Play Extensions (PnPX): USB-like plug-and-play experience extended to network devices," explained LeBlanc.
The sad part about Windows Rally Technologies, and therefore Microsoft's need to emphasize their importance at WinHEC, is the fact that developers have failed to jump on board. At this time, there are but 20 devices using the Windows Rally technologies that have also been labeled as Windows Vista certified.