httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe3ksR8zgXg Symbian is dead, long live Windows Phone. Nokia is now an major player in the Windows Phone ecosystem, and all Microsoft had to do was let of one their people become the CEO. Not a bad deal.

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Microsoft has officially announced that Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 will be released to the general public on February 22, 2011. Volume License customers, TechNet and MSDN subscribers will get access to the download on February 16. OEM and other Microsoft partners got access to the bits yesterday. For server admins, one of the more interesting features of Service Pack 1 is Dynamic Memory. From the Windows Server Blog:

Our first new feature, Dynamic Memory, takes Windows Server’s Hyper-V feature to a whole new level. Dynamic Memory lets you increase virtual machine density with the resources you already have—without sacrificing performance or scalability. In our lab testing, with Windows 7 SP1 as the guest operating system in a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) scenario, we have seen a 40% increase in density from Windows Server 2008 R2 RTM to SP1. We achieved this increase simply by enabling Dynamic Memory.

For desktop users, RemoteFX will be a boost for users who frequently RDP into their clients, or are running desktops in virtual machines.

RemoteFX is an exciting technology that lets you virtualize the Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) on the server side and deliver next-generation rich media and 3D user experiences for VDI.

Microsoft has posted the bits for the Windows Internet Explorer 9 Release Candidate, and thanks to our pal Tom Warren at WinRumors, we have the web installer downloads for you.

• Windows 7 x86
• Windows 7 x64
• Windows Vista x86
• Windows Vista x64

We're downloading and installing this now, to let you know what has changed from the last beta and from Internet Explorer 8. Just a note, there are links posted for Windows 7 and Windows Vista, but not XP. Why? Because there will be no Internet Explorer 9 for Windows XP. All good things must end. Download and consume at your own risk.

Get ready to start patching systems, according to Tom Warren at Winrumors, Windows 7 Service Pack 1 will be released on Tuesday and is being pushed out for last minute testing to OEMs today. Tom explains:

In a blog posting on Thursday, Microsoft’s Russian Windows Virtualization team confirmed that the final build of Windows 7 SP1 is 7601.17514.win7sp1_rtm.101119-1850. The Russian site also explains that the Service Pack will be available publicly today. Microsoft generally releases Service Packs on a Tuesday so it’s not clear whether the Russian technet post is referring to a public release to select partners or a full web release. WinRumors understand the software giant will ship the release to its OEM partners today but that a web release is expected at a later date.

Along with Windows 7, Microsoft will likely release Service Pack 1 for Windows Server 2008 R2 at the same time, as the code base is the same and testing for that update has been inline with the client version.

I'm a huge fan of Evernote. It ranks right up there with Gmail in terms of applications I live my life in. When people sit down with it for a while and begin to use it, or have someone explain all the interesting ways it can enhance their productivity, it doesn't surprise me that they become as hooked to it as I am. I first became exposed to it when I got an iPhone 3G in 2008. It had existed as a platform a couple years before that and was popular with the Windows Mobile & Tablet PC crowd, but wasn't really on my radar. At the time, I dismissed it as nothing more than a note taking app for the iPhone. The only reason I started using it was because I wanted something that would sync the notes on my iPhone to another system, since iTunes didn't do it at the time. Not really something I'd adjust my workflow around. Sure I'd used it off and on, but it hasn't been until the last few months that I've come to realize all the ways it can be used. It's more than just a simple mobile app, it exists on nearly every platform and helps sync your documents, notes, images and throughts between computers and between mobile devices. Their cloud keeps all your clients linked together and helps put the data and knowledge you keep in their service ready for use at any time. I've decided to share some of the exciting ways I use (or have seen it used) to make myself more organized, more productive and less scatter brained. Evernote has begun to replace my normal Windows file system for keeping track of data. Now obviously, when I say everything I don't mean put your iTunes library in Evernote, or your Adobe Lightroom catalog. No, I'm talking about all your text files, PDFs and screenshots. The stuff that the normal system administrator has scattered all around their hard drives, but would greatly benefit from a centralize repository.

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httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YbmK3Zu0Os Note to Apple: This is how you can do a Mac vs PC ad, but in a less aggressive way. You can be cute, funny, point out the deficiencies in the other product (like the fact Steve Jobs hates Blu-Ray) but still all be friends in the end.

Microsoft doesn't want you fiddling with your fancy Windows Phone 7 and its storage. Why? The micro-SD you choose is probably going to suck, at least according to Microsoft. However they'll let your carrier pick a good one for you... as long as they'll support it. From Paul Thurott at Windows Phone Secrets:

The issue, apparently, is the micro-SD card format. The cards are unreliable and inconsistent, even between batches made by the same manufacturer, and in Microsoft’s tests, there was no way to “certify” that any would work properly. “Even with high end cards, we have seen wild differences in IO and performance,” he said. “There is just no standardization there.” Put simply, if you expand the storage in a compatible Windows Phone device, it may work, and it may not. “In most cases, users will have issues,” he told me.

However, at least one carrier, and it's not one you'd expect, is taking a laissez-faire approach to the whole thing. With AT&T Senior Vice President of Devices Jeff Bradley telling customers:

The devices will support the addition of up to a 32GB class 2 (or higher) microSD card. You need to insert the card before you power up the device the first time so that the operating system can map it as available memory to maximize its utilization. This is outlined in the Quick Start Guide you receive in the box. I encourage you to read this before you launch the device the first time to have the best experience with a microSD card.

So Microsoft says don't mess with it, and AT&T, of all companies, says go right ahead. The best advise we can give is to pick a card from a solid vendor like San Disk and see what happens... caveat emptor

Windows XP just won't die. Like the living dead, it has come back to haunt Microsoft. Despite Microsoft's best efforts to kill it twice with Windows Vista and Windows 7, enterprise IT administrators have continued to allow it to run free on their systems and have no plans to stop. According to Dimensional Research, 48% of companies surveyed say they plan to continue using Windows XP even after the 2014 date at which Microsoft will no longer support it. By 2014, Windows 8 should be out and Microsoft will be very close to plotting the release of Windows 9. But almost half of the enterprise world will still be on a nearly 14 year old operating system that by then will be four versions old. Microsoft has already pushed back the drop dead date for Windows XP support multiple times and allowed OEMs to continue offering it on new PCs much longer than they should have. Microsoft contributed to their problem by not making Vista a functional upgrade for a lot of businesses. However, Microsoft has actually delivered some innovation and compelling reasons for total adoption of Windows 7, which is still at about 6% of businesses. Is the problem that Windows XP is just so dang good that no one wants to move? That Vista and 7 were horrible? Or that the majority of system administrators are lazy? via Computer World

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04jsncsgrjo You know what, the weekends don't have a monopoly on funny technology videos. Enjoy. Thanks @foodgeekery

Remember back in 2000 when Steve Ballmer called Linux communist? Turns out it's not that far from the truth.