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Incremental updates to the latest Windows and Java technologies have been made available recently with Microsoft offering a new preview of its upcoming Longhorn server platform and Sun Microsystems adding a fix for daylight saving to Java.
Microsoft posted on April 4 a Community Technology Preview build of Windows Server Longhorn to serve as a precursor to an upcoming Beta 3 of the platform. Microsoft wants beta customers to test and evaluate the CTP, which is available to beta participants at the Microsoft Connect site.
"The April 2007 CTP is another milestone on the march to Beta 3, which is still on track for the first half of this year, and it includes a number of enhancements to existing server roles and features plus some UI changes, most notably in the Server Manager tool and the addition Powershell," said Helene Love Snell, Microsoft senior product manager in the Windows Server Division, in a statement released by the company.
Powershell is command-line shell and scripting language to boost IT productivity. It features more than 130 command line tools and consistent syntax and utilities.
The general release of Windows Server Longhorn is planned for the latter half of 2007.
On the client side of the Windows equation, a Harris survey of 2,223 U.S. consumers in March found that while 87 percent were aware of Windows Vista, only 12 percent of that number plans to upgrade to it. Microsoft, however, said more than 20 million copies of Vista were shipped from January 30 to February 28, which was the first month of general availability.
With Java, an upgrade to Java SE 6, identified as update 1, was issued last week. It adjusts to the new Daylight Saving Time change. The time change was moved up to last month instead of the first weekend in April, which was when it previously occurred.
Adjusting to the time change previously required use of a separate tool, said Bill Curci, Sun product marketing manager for Java SE. This fix ensures proper time settings in Java applications running on the platform.
Also featured in the update, available here , are various bug fixes. First released in December, Java SE 6 offers enhancements in such areas as performance, reliability, and availability for applications. Monitoring and management also have been improved.
Meanwhile, Sun is proceeding with plans to make the full Java platform available via open source later this year, possibly in late spring. Currently, the virtual machine, compilers, and help system are available in this manner. But libraries for such operations as display and building of interfaces have yet to be released.