News for Windows Hardware and Driver Developers Windows Summit 2010 Virtual Event: An Extended Device Track Launches on June 30! Windows Summit 2010 is a virtual event for software and hardware developers, designers, engineers, and testers, who build or want to build hardware and software solutions on the Windows 7 and Internet Explorer platforms. On June 30, the Device track will be extended with a new set of Windows Summit 2010 sessions and virtual workshops. The workshops will focus on Device Stage for all types of devices, and will cover a new tool that simplifies implementation of Device Stage for your products. Session topics include: - Network Device Pairing
- Submitting Device Metadata Packages
- Play To
- Windows Logo Program
Device, System, and Software Tracks Specialized content for the Device, System, and Software tracks is now available online. You can access tools, resources, and information about building great products on Windows 7 and Internet Explorer, from the convenience of your computer, including information that addresses the Windows Logo Program - from what you need to know to certify your product to what's new in Windows Logo Kit (WLK) 1.5. To begin, simply sign in at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-summit/default.aspx?ocid=sum10_mhnnews. Track content is available 24x7. You can watch all the sessions or choose the ones that interest you the most. In addition to track content and the opening talks, you can view questions that were submitted to the experts along with the experts' answers. To see a full list of sessions and to learn more, visit http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-summit/default.aspx?ocid=sum10_mhnnews.
Recently Published on WHDC Windows 7 Engineering Guidance for Slate PCs This paper describes touch in Windows 7 and provides guidance for OEMs that want to take full advantage of Windows on slate PCs. Included in this white paper is information about touch investments in Windows 7, Windows Live, and Internet Explorer 8; fundamentals; design principles; touch application design recommendations; and logo considerations. Read more: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/device/input/slate-pc-design.mspx
Energy Smart Software Energy efficiency has become an important consideration for the information technology (IT) industry. Improvements in efficiency must be made throughout the IT industry, and developers should play their part. Although long-term improvements require that energy efficiency concerns are part of the design and development process, application software can facilitate major savings in several areas. This information applies to the Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 operating systems. Read more: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/pnppwr/powermgmt/Energy-Smart_SW.mspx
The Science of Sleep This paper covers high-level best practices that software developers should follow to ensure that their application, service, or driver is compatible with and takes advantage of sleep and display power management in Windows. Developers of Windows applications, services, and drivers must ensure that their applications honor and work intelligently with power management-related user and IT administrator preferences and policies. Additionally, developers must ensure that their software works appropriately through frequent sleep/resume transitions. This information applies to the Windows 7 operating system. Although the APIs and tools are also available in Windows Server 2008 R2, most server-class hardware does not currently support or is not configured for automatic sleep. Many APIs and tools are also supported on earlier versions of Windows and Windows Server. Read more: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/pnppwr/powermgmt/Science-Sleep.mspx
Timers, Timer Resolution, and Development of Efficient Code This paper provides information about high-resolution timers and periodic timers for Windows operating systems. It provides guidelines for developers to use timers efficiently with platform power management. It assumes that the reader is familiar with concepts of periodic activity and scheduled timers. This information applies to the Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 operating systems. Read more: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/pnppwr/powermgmt/Timer-Resolution.mspx
What's New in Blogs for Hardware and Driver Developers "Making Sense of Sensor Permissions" in the "Sensor and Location Platform Team Blog" In this post, I will discuss sensor permissions. I'll cover clearing up some confusion around sensors and devices, what sensor permissions are, what permissions permit, and how the sensor platform uses permissions. Read more: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/sensorslocation/archive/2010/06/25/making-sense-of-sensor-permissions.aspx
"Coming Soon: Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta!" by Oliver Rist in the "Windows Server Division Weblog" Building on our commitment to provide customers with the right technologies to virtualize their IT environments, today we're announcing that the public beta of Service Pack 1 for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 will be released by the end of July. We've posted on the contents of SP1 before, but the beta release will be the first time you'll be able to actually get your mitts on the new code. In case you missed our earlier post, here's a recap. Read more: http://blogs.technet.com/b/windowsserver/archive/2010/06/07/coming-soon-windows-server-2008-r2-sp1-beta.aspx
"A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Keyboard" by Patman in his "My Travels with WDF" Blog So as I was crafting some UMDF HID driver code for your consumption, and I was working with one of you (and you know who you are *g*) during some of that time frame, we sort of discovered everything already exists between my earlier blog posts and some of the WDK samples. So rather than reinvent the wheel and the internal combustion engine, let's just dump all that information in a blog post. Read more: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/888_umdf_4_you/archive/2010/05/28/10017056.aspx
What's New in the WDK "How to Find the WDK Documentation You're Looking For" by Mark Lawler in the "Windows Driver Kit (WDK) Documentation Blog" The best way to find the right WDK documentation for your needs is to download the latest version of the WDK from http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/DevTools/WDK/WDKpkg.mspx. If you want, you can download only the docs. Or visit the WDK docs page at http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/wdk/wdkdocs.mspx to check for a newer version of the documentation download. We will also provide new versions of the full WDK CHM as it is available, if you prefer using the CHM Help format. When you install the docs you get rapid search as well as a full index. With the index all you have to do is type in the first few letters or words of a topic, or include typical keywords that describe the topic you're interested in, and you'll immediately see a list of all applicable topics. We build a set of keywords for each topic that allows for this rapid indexing capability. Read more: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/wdkdocs/archive/2010/06/08/how-to-find-the-wdk-documentation-you-re-looking-for.aspx
Windows Logo Program News Original Equipment Manufacturers Can Continue to Ship Unclassified Biometric Fingerprint Readers
Beginning with the release of Windows Logo Kit version 1.6, the Windows Logo Program will have a category for biometric fingerprint readers. In addition to meeting all device fundamentals and applicable connectivity requirements, these readers will need to meet INPUT-0066, INPUT-0067, INPUT-0068, and INPUT-0069 in order to qualify for a Windows 7 logo. In order to give the channel time to fill with logo-qualified biometric fingerprint readers, we will delay enforcement of these requirements for systems until December 1, 2012. We will post a clarification on Logopoint in the near future, and we will notify you when the clarification has been posted.
New Logo License Agreement 2011 Available for Signing on July 1 The new Logo License Agreement (LLA) 2011 is available for signing on the Windows Quality Online Services (Winqual) website (https://winqual.microsoft.com/) on July 1, 2010. The new LLA includes the following changes: - Smaller minimum size for the Windows 7 logo. Licensees now have the option to use a smaller minimum size (0.42") Windows 7 logo on systems where space on the casing is limited, for example, all-in-one PCs and smaller device form factors.
- Logo on the back or bottom of mobile devices permitted under limited circumstances. When the smallest logo size permitted under the LLA does not fit in a visible location, we will now allow placement of the Windows logo on the back or bottom of mobile devices, provided that:
- The logo is comparable in size and placement to third-party logos.
- The logo is not placed on a removable component of the device.
- Sublicense rights to logos. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and independent hardware vendors (IHVs) who work with retailers to promote their products and who want retailers to be able to utilize Windows logos in promoting OEM and IHV products need sublicense rights to Windows logos. These rights have been added to LLA 2011.
Windows 7 Logo Program Partner Marketing Guide Published As a participant in the Windows 7 Logo Program, your company can use logo artwork, messaging guidelines, and assets in association with products that have met program requirements. These assets allow you to take advantage of Microsoft's continued investment in promoting products that carry a Windows logo to consumers, businesses, and retail channel partners. To use these assets, you must participate in the Windows 7 Logo Program and accept the terms of the applicable Windows Logo License Agreement at https://winqual.microsoft.com/. The product(s) that you plan to advertise or distribute with these assets must be licensed under the applicable Logo License Agreement (LLA) and meet program requirements. To help drive purchase preference for "Compatible with Windows 7" products, Microsoft will generate awareness through Web advertising and retail point-of-sale (POS) materials. Customers will learn about the features and benefits of "Compatible with Windows 7" products from trained retail sales professionals, on Windows.com, and on the Windows Compatibility Center site. This guide is designed to help your company use the applicable logo and product messaging that confidently communicates the benefits of the "Compatible with Windows 7" logo. Read more: http://download.microsoft.com/download/7/E/7/7E7662CF-CBEA-470B-A97E-CE7CE0D98DC2/windows-7-logo-partner-marketing-guide.pdf
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