Microsoft Dynamics SL is one of Microsoft’s enterprise resource planning software products. It is part of the Microsoft Dynamics family.
Microsoft Dynamics SL provides businesses functionality in finance, project accounting, manufacturing, field service, supply chains, analytics, and electronic commerce and is primarily targeted for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.
Microsoft Dynamics SL, originally called Solomon IV for Windows was created by Solomon Software, which was co-founded by Gary Harpst. Solomon Software was an independent accounting software company headquartered in Findlay, Ohio.
In April 1999, Solomon Software refocused the product on an all Microsoft technology strategy. Microsoft SQL Server as the database technology, Visual Basic as the software language, and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) as the customization language.
Solomon was acquired by Great Plains Software in June 2000. Great Plains was subsequently acquired by Microsoft Corporation in May 2001.
In 2007, Microsoft released version 7 of Dynamics SL which included a complete port from the outdated Visual Basic to Microsoft.NET.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Microsoft Dynamics NAV
Microsoft Dynamics NAV is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software product from Microsoft.
The product is part of the Microsoft Dynamics family, and intended to assist with finance, manufacturing, customer relationship management, supply chains, analytics and electronic commerce for small and medium-sized enterprises. VARs can have have full access to the business logic source code, and it has a reputation as being easy to customize.
The company was founded in 1984 in Denmark as PC&C ApS (Personal Computing and Consulting).
In 2000, Navision Software A/S merged with fellow Danish firm Damgaard A/S (founded 1983) to form NavisionDamgard A/S. Later the name was changed to Navision A/S.
On 11 July 2002 Microsoft bought Navision A/S to go with its previous acquisition of Great Plains. The new division in Microsoft was named Microsoft Business Solutions and also included Microsoft CRM.
In September 2005 Microsoft rebranded the product and re-released it as Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
The product itself has gone through several name changes as the original Navision company or Microsoft has tried to decide on how it should be marketed. The names "Navision Financials", "Navision Attain", "Microsoft Business Solutions Navision Edition", and the current (2007) "Microsoft Dynamics NAV" have all been used to refer to this product.
Features
NAV comes in two versions: Business Ready Licensing (BRL) and Advance Management (AM).
The product gives administrators the option of using either a native database server or Microsoft SQL Server, as the DBMS. Native database performance degrades rapidly with increases in size.
Future
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009, with new role-based GUI, is currently expected to be released around December 2008. Microsoft originally planned to develop an entirely new ERP system (Project green), but has decided to continue development of all ERP systems (Dynamics AX, Dynamics NAV, Dynamics GP and Dynamics SL). All four ERP systems will be launched with the same new role based user interface, SQL based reporting and analysis, Share Point based portal, Pocket PC based mobile clients and clients for Microsoft Office.
The product is part of the Microsoft Dynamics family, and intended to assist with finance, manufacturing, customer relationship management, supply chains, analytics and electronic commerce for small and medium-sized enterprises. VARs can have have full access to the business logic source code, and it has a reputation as being easy to customize.
The company was founded in 1984 in Denmark as PC&C ApS (Personal Computing and Consulting).
In 2000, Navision Software A/S merged with fellow Danish firm Damgaard A/S (founded 1983) to form NavisionDamgard A/S. Later the name was changed to Navision A/S.
On 11 July 2002 Microsoft bought Navision A/S to go with its previous acquisition of Great Plains. The new division in Microsoft was named Microsoft Business Solutions and also included Microsoft CRM.
In September 2005 Microsoft rebranded the product and re-released it as Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
The product itself has gone through several name changes as the original Navision company or Microsoft has tried to decide on how it should be marketed. The names "Navision Financials", "Navision Attain", "Microsoft Business Solutions Navision Edition", and the current (2007) "Microsoft Dynamics NAV" have all been used to refer to this product.
Features
NAV comes in two versions: Business Ready Licensing (BRL) and Advance Management (AM).
The product gives administrators the option of using either a native database server or Microsoft SQL Server, as the DBMS. Native database performance degrades rapidly with increases in size.
Future
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009, with new role-based GUI, is currently expected to be released around December 2008. Microsoft originally planned to develop an entirely new ERP system (Project green), but has decided to continue development of all ERP systems (Dynamics AX, Dynamics NAV, Dynamics GP and Dynamics SL). All four ERP systems will be launched with the same new role based user interface, SQL based reporting and analysis, Share Point based portal, Pocket PC based mobile clients and clients for Microsoft Office.
Microsoft Dynamics GP
Microsoft Dynamics GP is a mid-market business accounting software package that runs on top of a Microsoft SQL Server database. It is a part of the Microsoft Business Solutions family.
The product was originally made by Great Plains Software, an independent company located in Fargo, North Dakota, which was founded by Doug Burgum. In late 2000, Microsoft announced the purchase of Great Plains Software for $1.1 billion. This acquisition was completed in April 2001.
Macros
Great Plains was one of the first accounting packages with capability to record and play back macros. Macros are saved in .MAC files in the Dexterity programming language. It is possible to export data from Excel or Access to Great Plains modules by programming a Visual Basic macro to create a MAC file using data from the spreadsheet or database. The MAC file would contain commands to enter specific data into Great Plains; for each set of data, a new MAC file would need to be created.
Analytics
Crystal Reports is widely used in building and designing reports with Microsoft Dynamics GP.
Microsoft Enterprise Reporting: a system for automating data collection (from multiple sources) and reporting processes to control consolidations, budgeting and financial analysis.
Microsoft Forecaster: extracts real-time data from General Ledger to create and manage accurate budgets and plans which can be shared across the management team via a Web-based interface. Easy to learn: has the look and feel of a spreadsheet.
Microsoft FRx Professional: applies a “building block” approach (row formats, column layouts and trees) to create with ease financial and management reports for instant use and rapid distribution. Reports can be based on any periods from the General Ledger and for unlimited budgets. Reports can be output to paper, drill-down viewer, e-mail, Excel, pdf or XML. Easy to create customized reports with appropriate access privileges.
Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services: offers eight sample customizable reports for Sales, Purchasing and Manufacturing. Data can be manipulated and presented in Web-based charts and graphs for sharing across the organization or with designated suppliers or contractors. An integrated architecture supports a range of common data sources.
SmartList Builder: easy to use, yet powerful query tool to output data (no matter where records reside) based on virtually any specified criteria into a user-friendly format for screen view, for print or for saving in Excel or Word (auto-formatted). Combine and link data from up to 32 separate tables, including third-party dictionaries. Many common data-analysis functions are available in pre-configured SmartList objects that can be downloaded from Microsoft.
Customization tools
Customization: comprehensive customization tools to enable .NET developers to create real-time, transactional connections between Microsoft Dynamics GP and other applications and expand potential for new features and functionality.
Integration: integrate and incorporate data with a high degree of safety, flexibility and speed from any source, even those not based on Microsoft platforms. Uses industry-standard technologies, such as Microsoft BizTalk Server, Component Object Model (COM), the Microsoft .NET Framework, Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ), Web services and XML.
Earlier versions of Greatplains were written in and dependent upon the Dexterity programming language.
Financial management
Analytical Accounting: enables transactions to be tagged and reported by limitless user-defined dimension codes – financial, date or statistical.
Bank Reconciliation: customizable summary and detailed views of bank account balances and all transactions: cash, check and credit card. Tools available to sort and mark transactions to improve reconciliation capabilities.
Cash Flow Management: calendar-based interface to view and manage cash inflows and outflows to improve day-to-day financial planning. Big picture and full drill-down options available.
Collections Management: customizable interface enabling you to enter and view all your collections in one central point. You can target and follow up on overdue customers with automatic delivery and tracking of collection letters, e-mails, statements and invoices.
eBanking: an essential aid to reduce administration costs and manual input error as well as improve productivity and cash management – all in a security-enhanced environment. Routine accounting tasks are moved online and bank transactions are electronically enabled and reconciled. Transactions are applied to accounts when they occur rather than days or weeks later, such as BACS payments or payment collections via Direct Debits or credit cards. Special feature verifies that sort codes and bank account numbers entered for suppliers and customers make sense.
eExpense Automated Expense Management: enable employees to create and submit expense reports via the Web at any time and from any location; features electronic receipt imaging.
Encumbrance Management: encumbrance accounting module specifically designed for Not for Profit and Public Sector organizations to ensure that actual expenditures and related commitments do not exceed available funds.
Fixed Asset Management: create, define and manage an unlimited number of assets. Features standard fields and up to 15 user-defined fields with graphical user interface. Numerous depreciation methods available to automate depreciation routines. Integration into General Ledger to post depreciation journals and into Payables Management to pull in purchase information to fixed assets. Location IDs to aid inventory management: matching actual with recorded location. Information-sharing enabled with standard and custom reports.
General Ledger: automates key accounting tasks to improve accuracy (includes automatic correction of posting errors) and streamlines your budget planning and financial decision-making with comprehensive reports and easy-to-use enquiry tools (features Excel wizard interface). Features up to 66 alphanumeric character codes, up to 10 segments and user-defined fields with 50 character descriptions.
Grant Management: tracks grants, demonstrates accountability and compliance and also assists with future funding applications. As grant transactions are entered, the Analytical Accounting module will automatically validate them against the budget. Affords real-time views of budget status and of grant transactions and allocations. Particularly useful in the public and Not for Profit domains.
Multi-currency Management: designed for multinational operations to effortlessly manage financial statistics and accounting operations involving multiple currencies and dealing with ever-changing exchange rates.
Payables Management: control expenditure, control payments (check and BACS runs) with flexible selection criteria and track supplier documents and information. Features include unlimited addresses/contacts per supplier, discounts, min/max payments, holds, returns, debit/credit notes, auto-allocation, performance and history reports.
Receivables Management: tracks customer-related documents and information, controls cash, generates simple invoices as well as creates, prints and e-mails statements. Produces sophisticated debtor related reports at any point in time and performance reports including turnover, gross profit and payment days. Other features are flexible credit limits, unlimited address/contacts per customer, min/max payments and ability to handle insufficient funds, interest charges, debit/credit notes, returns, write-offs and auto-allocation.
The product was originally made by Great Plains Software, an independent company located in Fargo, North Dakota, which was founded by Doug Burgum. In late 2000, Microsoft announced the purchase of Great Plains Software for $1.1 billion. This acquisition was completed in April 2001.
Macros
Great Plains was one of the first accounting packages with capability to record and play back macros. Macros are saved in .MAC files in the Dexterity programming language. It is possible to export data from Excel or Access to Great Plains modules by programming a Visual Basic macro to create a MAC file using data from the spreadsheet or database. The MAC file would contain commands to enter specific data into Great Plains; for each set of data, a new MAC file would need to be created.
Analytics
Crystal Reports is widely used in building and designing reports with Microsoft Dynamics GP.
Microsoft Enterprise Reporting: a system for automating data collection (from multiple sources) and reporting processes to control consolidations, budgeting and financial analysis.
Microsoft Forecaster: extracts real-time data from General Ledger to create and manage accurate budgets and plans which can be shared across the management team via a Web-based interface. Easy to learn: has the look and feel of a spreadsheet.
Microsoft FRx Professional: applies a “building block” approach (row formats, column layouts and trees) to create with ease financial and management reports for instant use and rapid distribution. Reports can be based on any periods from the General Ledger and for unlimited budgets. Reports can be output to paper, drill-down viewer, e-mail, Excel, pdf or XML. Easy to create customized reports with appropriate access privileges.
Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services: offers eight sample customizable reports for Sales, Purchasing and Manufacturing. Data can be manipulated and presented in Web-based charts and graphs for sharing across the organization or with designated suppliers or contractors. An integrated architecture supports a range of common data sources.
SmartList Builder: easy to use, yet powerful query tool to output data (no matter where records reside) based on virtually any specified criteria into a user-friendly format for screen view, for print or for saving in Excel or Word (auto-formatted). Combine and link data from up to 32 separate tables, including third-party dictionaries. Many common data-analysis functions are available in pre-configured SmartList objects that can be downloaded from Microsoft.
Customization tools
Customization: comprehensive customization tools to enable .NET developers to create real-time, transactional connections between Microsoft Dynamics GP and other applications and expand potential for new features and functionality.
Integration: integrate and incorporate data with a high degree of safety, flexibility and speed from any source, even those not based on Microsoft platforms. Uses industry-standard technologies, such as Microsoft BizTalk Server, Component Object Model (COM), the Microsoft .NET Framework, Microsoft Message Queuing (MSMQ), Web services and XML.
Earlier versions of Greatplains were written in and dependent upon the Dexterity programming language.
Financial management
Analytical Accounting: enables transactions to be tagged and reported by limitless user-defined dimension codes – financial, date or statistical.
Bank Reconciliation: customizable summary and detailed views of bank account balances and all transactions: cash, check and credit card. Tools available to sort and mark transactions to improve reconciliation capabilities.
Cash Flow Management: calendar-based interface to view and manage cash inflows and outflows to improve day-to-day financial planning. Big picture and full drill-down options available.
Collections Management: customizable interface enabling you to enter and view all your collections in one central point. You can target and follow up on overdue customers with automatic delivery and tracking of collection letters, e-mails, statements and invoices.
eBanking: an essential aid to reduce administration costs and manual input error as well as improve productivity and cash management – all in a security-enhanced environment. Routine accounting tasks are moved online and bank transactions are electronically enabled and reconciled. Transactions are applied to accounts when they occur rather than days or weeks later, such as BACS payments or payment collections via Direct Debits or credit cards. Special feature verifies that sort codes and bank account numbers entered for suppliers and customers make sense.
eExpense Automated Expense Management: enable employees to create and submit expense reports via the Web at any time and from any location; features electronic receipt imaging.
Encumbrance Management: encumbrance accounting module specifically designed for Not for Profit and Public Sector organizations to ensure that actual expenditures and related commitments do not exceed available funds.
Fixed Asset Management: create, define and manage an unlimited number of assets. Features standard fields and up to 15 user-defined fields with graphical user interface. Numerous depreciation methods available to automate depreciation routines. Integration into General Ledger to post depreciation journals and into Payables Management to pull in purchase information to fixed assets. Location IDs to aid inventory management: matching actual with recorded location. Information-sharing enabled with standard and custom reports.
General Ledger: automates key accounting tasks to improve accuracy (includes automatic correction of posting errors) and streamlines your budget planning and financial decision-making with comprehensive reports and easy-to-use enquiry tools (features Excel wizard interface). Features up to 66 alphanumeric character codes, up to 10 segments and user-defined fields with 50 character descriptions.
Grant Management: tracks grants, demonstrates accountability and compliance and also assists with future funding applications. As grant transactions are entered, the Analytical Accounting module will automatically validate them against the budget. Affords real-time views of budget status and of grant transactions and allocations. Particularly useful in the public and Not for Profit domains.
Multi-currency Management: designed for multinational operations to effortlessly manage financial statistics and accounting operations involving multiple currencies and dealing with ever-changing exchange rates.
Payables Management: control expenditure, control payments (check and BACS runs) with flexible selection criteria and track supplier documents and information. Features include unlimited addresses/contacts per supplier, discounts, min/max payments, holds, returns, debit/credit notes, auto-allocation, performance and history reports.
Receivables Management: tracks customer-related documents and information, controls cash, generates simple invoices as well as creates, prints and e-mails statements. Produces sophisticated debtor related reports at any point in time and performance reports including turnover, gross profit and payment days. Other features are flexible credit limits, unlimited address/contacts per customer, min/max payments and ability to handle insufficient funds, interest charges, debit/credit notes, returns, write-offs and auto-allocation.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a Customer Relationship Management software package developed by Microsoft. It is a part of the Microsoft Dynamics family of business tools.
The current version of Dynamics, 4.0, was released in December 2007.
The most notable updates of CRM 3.0 over the version 1.2 (version 2 was skipped entirely) are the ease of creating customizations to CRM, the switch from using Crystal Reports to Microsoft SQL Reporting Services to run reports, the ability to run on Windows Vista and Outlook 2007, and support for Exchange 2007.
Features
Microsoft CRM also supports integration with Windows Mobile devices via the Microsoft CRM Mobile Client. Third-party applications, such as Tendigits MobileAccess, provide integration with Blackberry devices.
The 4.0 edition adds a number of new features, including support for duplicate data detection and other enhancements. Perhaps most importantly, version 4.0 provides true multi-tenancy, which will allow the creation of multiple organizations on a single server.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 was released with the following improvements:
* More robust, scalable architecture
* Much improved remote access capability negating the need for VPN
* Improved performance especially with Outlook client
* Improved Outlook 2007 client with Ribbon interface
* Multi-currency
* More powerful and easier to configure Reporting and BI (now based on SRS instead of Crystal)
* More powerful and much easier to configure workflow - now based on the Windows Workflow Foundation (.Net 3) - the same engine as used in MOSS 2007
* Improved e-mail router now compatible with Exchange 2007 and with other POP3 e-mail systems instead of just Exchange 2003
* Improved 64 bit hardware support, for dramatic improvements in performance, if more than 4 Gig RAM available
* More powerful data import tools, de-duplication capability now included, data enriching capability (export and re-import with additional data)
* Improved mail-merge
* Faster lookups with auto-resolution
* Enhanced entity relationships – many to many, self-referential
* Improved programmability - enhanced Web Services, unified event model, plug-ins to replace callouts
* Light enquiry user licence now available - potentially reducing the costs associated with rolling out across larger organisations
* Microsoft Office Communicator/Windows Live Messenger presence integration support
The current version of Dynamics, 4.0, was released in December 2007.
The most notable updates of CRM 3.0 over the version 1.2 (version 2 was skipped entirely) are the ease of creating customizations to CRM, the switch from using Crystal Reports to Microsoft SQL Reporting Services to run reports, the ability to run on Windows Vista and Outlook 2007, and support for Exchange 2007.
Features
Microsoft CRM also supports integration with Windows Mobile devices via the Microsoft CRM Mobile Client. Third-party applications, such as Tendigits MobileAccess, provide integration with Blackberry devices.
The 4.0 edition adds a number of new features, including support for duplicate data detection and other enhancements. Perhaps most importantly, version 4.0 provides true multi-tenancy, which will allow the creation of multiple organizations on a single server.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 was released with the following improvements:
* More robust, scalable architecture
* Much improved remote access capability negating the need for VPN
* Improved performance especially with Outlook client
* Improved Outlook 2007 client with Ribbon interface
* Multi-currency
* More powerful and easier to configure Reporting and BI (now based on SRS instead of Crystal)
* More powerful and much easier to configure workflow - now based on the Windows Workflow Foundation (.Net 3) - the same engine as used in MOSS 2007
* Improved e-mail router now compatible with Exchange 2007 and with other POP3 e-mail systems instead of just Exchange 2003
* Improved 64 bit hardware support, for dramatic improvements in performance, if more than 4 Gig RAM available
* More powerful data import tools, de-duplication capability now included, data enriching capability (export and re-import with additional data)
* Improved mail-merge
* Faster lookups with auto-resolution
* Enhanced entity relationships – many to many, self-referential
* Improved programmability - enhanced Web Services, unified event model, plug-ins to replace callouts
* Light enquiry user licence now available - potentially reducing the costs associated with rolling out across larger organisations
* Microsoft Office Communicator/Windows Live Messenger presence integration support
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, Tablet PCs, and media centers. Prior to its announcement on July 22, 2005, Windows Vista was known by its codename "Longhorn". Development was completed on November 8, 2006; over the following three months it was released in stages to computer hardware and software manufacturers, business customers, and retail channels. On January 30, 2007, it was released worldwide to the general public, and was made available for purchase and downloading from Microsoft's web site. The release of Windows Vista comes more than five years after the introduction of its predecessor, Windows XP, the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft Windows.
Windows Vista contains many changes and new features, including an updated graphical user interface and visual style dubbed Windows Aero, improved searching features, new multimedia creation tools such as Windows DVD Maker, and redesigned networking, audio, print, and display sub-systems. Vista also aims to increase the level of communication between machines on a home network, using peer-to-peer technology to simplify sharing files and digital media between computers and devices. Windows Vista includes version 3.0 of the .NET Framework, which aims to make it significantly easier for software developers to write applications than with the traditional Windows API.
Microsoft's primary stated objective with Windows Vista, however, has been to improve the state of security in the Windows operating system. One common criticism of Windows XP and its predecessors has been their commonly exploited security vulnerabilities and overall susceptibility to malware, viruses and buffer overflows. In light of this, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates announced in early 2002 a company-wide "Trustworthy Computing initiative" which aims to incorporate security work into every aspect of software development at the company. Microsoft stated that it prioritized improving the security of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 above finishing Windows Vista, thus delaying its completion.
While these new features and security improvements have garnered positive reviews, Vista has also been the target of much criticism and negative press. Criticism of Windows Vista has targeted high system requirements, its more restrictive licensing terms, the inclusion of a number of new digital rights management technologies aimed at restricting the copying of protected digital media, lack of compatibility with certain pre-Vista hardware and software, and the number of authorization prompts for User Account Control. As a result of these and other issues, Vista has seen adoption and satisfaction rates lower than Windows XP.
New or improved features
End-user features
* Windows Aero: The new hardware-based graphical user interface is named Windows Aero, which Jim Allchin has said is an acronym for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, and Open. The new interface is intended to be cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing than those of previous Windows, including new transparencies, live thumbnails, live icons, and animations, thus providing a new level of eye candy. Laptop users report however that battery life is shortened with the feature enabled.
* Windows Shell: The new Windows shell is significantly different from Windows XP, offering a new range of organization, navigation, and search capabilities. Windows Explorer's task pane has been removed, integrating the relevant task options into the toolbar. A "Favorite links" pane has been added, enabling one-click access to common directories. The address bar has been replaced with a breadcrumb navigation system. The preview pane allows users to see thumbnails of various files and view the contents of documents. The details pane shows information such as file size and type, and allows viewing and editing of embedded tags in supported file formats. The Start menu has changed as well; it no longer uses ever-expanding boxes when navigating through Programs. The word "Start" itself has been removed in favor of a blue Windows Orb (also called "Pearl").
* Instant Search (also known as search as you type) : Windows Vista features a new way of searching called Instant Search, which is significantly faster and more in-depth (content-based) than the search features found in any of the previous versions of Windows.
* Windows Sidebar: A transparent panel anchored to the side of the screen where a user can place Desktop Gadgets, which are small applets designed for a specialized purpose (such as displaying the weather or sports scores). Gadgets can also be placed on other parts of the desktop.
* Windows Internet Explorer 7: New user interface, tabbed browsing, RSS, a search box, improved printing, Page Zoom, Quick Tabs (thumbnails of all open tabs), Anti-Phishing filter, a number of new security protection features, Internationalized Domain Name support (IDN), and improved web standards support. IE7 in Windows Vista runs in isolation from other applications in the operating system (protected mode); exploits and malicious software are restricted from writing to any location beyond Temporary Internet Files without explicit user consent.
* Windows Media Player 11, a major revamp of Microsoft's program for playing and organizing music and video. New features in this version include word wheeling (or "search as you type"), a new GUI for the media library, photo display and organization, the ability to share music libraries over a network with other Vista machines, Xbox 360 integration, and support for other Media Center Extenders.
* Backup and Restore Center: Includes a backup and restore application that gives users the ability to schedule periodic backups of files on their computer, as well as recovery from previous backups. Backups are incremental, storing only the changes each time, minimizing disk usage. It also features Complete PC Backup (available only in Ultimate, Business, and Enterprise versions) which backs up an entire computer as an image onto a hard disk or DVD. Complete PC Backup can automatically recreate a machine setup onto new hardware or hard disk in case of any hardware failures. Complete PC Restore can be initiated from within Windows Vista or from the Windows Vista installation CD in the event the PC is so corrupt that it cannot start up normally from the hard disk.
* Windows Mail: A replacement for Outlook Express that includes a new mail store that improves stability, and features integrated Instant Search. It has the Phishing Filter like IE7 and Junk mail filtering that is enhanced through regular updates via Windows Update.
* Windows Calendar is a new calendar and task application.
* Windows Photo Gallery, a photo and movie library management application. It can import from digital cameras, tag and rate individual items, adjust colors and exposure, create and display slideshows (with pan and fade effects) and burn slideshows to DVD.
* Windows DVD Maker, a companion program to Windows Movie Maker that provides the ability to create video DVDs based on a user's content. Users can design a DVD with title, menu, video, soundtrack, pan and zoom motion effects on pictures or slides.
* Windows Media Center, which was previously exclusively bundled as a separate version of Windows XP, known as Windows XP Media Center Edition, has been incorporated into the Home Premium and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista.
* Games and Games Explorer: Games included with Windows have been modified to showcase Vista's graphics capabilities. New games are Chess Titans, Mahjong Titans and Purble Place. A new Games Explorer special folder holds shortcuts and information to all games on the user's computer.
Windows Mobility Center.
* Windows Mobility Center is a control panel that centralizes the most relevant information related to mobile computing (brightness, sound, battery level / power scheme selection, wireless network, screen orientation, presentation settings, etc.).
* Windows Meeting Space replaces NetMeeting. Users can share applications (or their entire desktop) with other users on the local network, or over the Internet using peer-to-peer technology (higher versions than Starter and Home Basic can take advantage of hosting capabilities, Starter and Home Basic editions are limited to "join" mode only)
* Shadow Copy automatically creates daily backup copies of files and folders. Users can also create "shadow copies" by setting a System Protection Point using the System Protection tab in the System control panel. The user can be presented multiple versions of a file throughout a limited history and be allowed to restore, delete, or copy those versions. This feature is available only in the Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista and is inherited from Windows Server 2003.
Windows Update with Windows Ultimate Extras
* Windows Update: Software and security updates have been simplified, now operating solely via a control panel instead of as a web application. Windows Mail's spam filter and Windows Defender's definitions are updated automatically via Windows Update. Users who choose the recommended setting for Automatic Updates will have the latest drivers installed and available when they add a new device.
* Parental controls: Allows administrators to control which websites, programs and games each standard user can use and install. This feature is not included in the Business or Enterprise editions of Vista.
* Windows SideShow: Enables the auxiliary displays on newer laptops or on supported Windows Mobile devices. It is meant to be used to display device gadgets while the computer is on or off.
* Speech recognition is integrated into Vista. It features a redesigned user interface and configurable command-and-control commands. Unlike the Office 2003 version, which works only in Office and WordPad, Speech Recognition in Windows Vista works for any accessible application. In addition, it currently supports several languages: British and American English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified) and Japanese.
* New fonts, including several designed for screen reading, and improved Chinese (Yahei, JhengHei), Japanese (Meiryo) and Korean (Malgun) fonts. ClearType has also been enhanced and enabled by default.
* Problem Reports and Solutions, a control panel which allows users to view previously sent problems and any solutions or additional information that is available.
* Improved audio controls allow the system-wide volume or volume of individual audio devices and even individual applications to be controlled separately. New audio functionalities such as Room Correction, Bass Management, Speaker Fill and Headphone virtualization have also been incorporated.
* Windows System Assessment Tool is a tool used to benchmark system performance. Software such as games can retrieve this rating and modify its own behavior at runtime to improve performance. The benchmark tests CPU, RAM, 2-D and 3-D graphics acceleration, Graphics Memory and Hard disk space.
* Windows Ultimate Extras: The Ultimate edition of Windows Vista provides, via Windows Update, access to some additional features. These are a collection of additional MUI language packs, Texas Hold 'Em (a Poker game), BitLocker and EFS enhancements which allow users to backup their encryption key online in a Digital Locker, and Windows Dreamscene, which enables the use of videos in MPEG and WMV formats as the desktop background. On April 21st 2008, Microsoft launched two more Ultimate Extras; a new Windows sound scheme, and a content pack for Dreamscene.
* Disk Management: The Logical Disk Manager in Windows Vista supports shrinking and expanding volumes on-the-fly.
* Reliability and Performance Monitor includes various tools for tuning and monitoring system performance and resources activities of CPU, disks, network, memory and other resources. It shows the operations on files, the opened connections, etc.
Business technologies
While much of the focus of Vista's new capabilities has been on the new user interface, security technologies, and improvements to the core operating system, Microsoft is also adding new deployment and maintenance features.
* The Windows Imaging Format (WIM) is the cornerstone of Microsoft's new deployment and packaging system. WIM files, which contain a HAL-independent image of Windows Vista, can be maintained and patched without having to rebuild new images. Windows Images can be delivered via Systems Management Server or Business Desktop Deployment technologies. Images can be customized and configured with applications then deployed to corporate client personal computers using little to no touch by a system administrator. ImageX is the Microsoft tool used to create and customize images.
* Windows Deployment Services replaces Remote Installation Services for deploying Vista and prior versions of Windows.
* Approximately 700 new Group Policy settings have been added, covering most aspects of the new features in the operating system, as well as significantly expanding the configurability of wireless networks, removable storage devices, and user desktop experience. Vista also introduced an XML based format (ADMX) to display registry-based policy settings, making it easier to manage networks that span geographic locations and different languages.
* Services for UNIX has been renamed "Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications," and is included with the Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Vista. Network File System (NFS) client support is also included.
* Multilingual User Interface – Unlike previous version of Windows which required language packs to be loaded to provide local language support, Windows Vista Ultimate and Enterprise editions support the ability to dynamically change languages based on the logged on user's preference.
* Wireless Projector support
Developer technologies
Windows Vista includes a large number of new application programming interfaces. Chief among them is the inclusion of version 3.0 of the .NET Framework, which consists of a class library and Common Language Runtime. Version 3.0 includes four new major components:
* Windows Presentation Foundation is a user interface subsystem and framework based vector graphics, which makes use of 3D computer graphics hardware and Direct3D technologies. It provides the foundation for building applications and blending together application UI, documents, and media content. It is the successor to Windows Forms.
* Windows Communication Foundation is a service-oriented messaging subsystem which enables applications and systems to interoperate locally or remotely using Web services.
* Windows Workflow Foundation provides task automation and integrated transactions using workflows. It is the programming model, engine and tools for building workflow-enabled applications on Windows.
* Windows CardSpace is a component which securely stores digital identities of a person, and provides a unified interface for choosing the identity for a particular transaction, such as logging into a website.
These technologies are also available for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 to facilitate their introduction to and usage by developers and end users.
There are also significant new development APIs in the core of the operating system, notably the completely re-architected audio, networking, print, and video interfaces, major changes to the security infrastructure, improvements to the deployment and installation of applications ("ClickOnce" and Windows Installer 4.0) , new device driver development model ("Windows Driver Foundation") , Transactional NTFS, mobile computing API advancements (power management, Tablet PC Ink support, SideShow) and major updates to (or complete replacements of) many core subsystems such as Winlogon and CAPI.
There are some issues for software developers using some of the graphics APIs in Vista. Games or programs which are built solely on the Windows Vista-exclusive version of DirectX, version 10, cannot work on prior versions of Windows, as DirectX 10 is not available for previous Windows versions. Also, games which require the features of D3D9Ex, the updated implementation of DirectX 9 in Windows Vista are also incompatible with previous Windows versions. According to a Microsoft blog, there are three choices for OpenGL implementation on Vista. An application can use the default implementation, which translates OpenGL calls into the Direct3D API and is frozen at OpenGL version 1.4, or an application can use an Installable Client Driver (ICD) , which comes in two flavors: legacy and Vista-compatible. A legacy ICD disables the Desktop Window Manager, a Vista-compatible ICD takes advantage of a new API, and is fully compatible with the Desktop Window Manager. At least two primary vendors, ATI and NVIDIA provided full Vista-compatible ICDs. However, hardware overlay is not supported, because it is considered as an obsolete feature in Vista. ATI and NVIDIA strongly recommend using compositing desktop/Framebuffer Objects for same functionality.
Windows Vista contains many changes and new features, including an updated graphical user interface and visual style dubbed Windows Aero, improved searching features, new multimedia creation tools such as Windows DVD Maker, and redesigned networking, audio, print, and display sub-systems. Vista also aims to increase the level of communication between machines on a home network, using peer-to-peer technology to simplify sharing files and digital media between computers and devices. Windows Vista includes version 3.0 of the .NET Framework, which aims to make it significantly easier for software developers to write applications than with the traditional Windows API.
Microsoft's primary stated objective with Windows Vista, however, has been to improve the state of security in the Windows operating system. One common criticism of Windows XP and its predecessors has been their commonly exploited security vulnerabilities and overall susceptibility to malware, viruses and buffer overflows. In light of this, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates announced in early 2002 a company-wide "Trustworthy Computing initiative" which aims to incorporate security work into every aspect of software development at the company. Microsoft stated that it prioritized improving the security of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 above finishing Windows Vista, thus delaying its completion.
While these new features and security improvements have garnered positive reviews, Vista has also been the target of much criticism and negative press. Criticism of Windows Vista has targeted high system requirements, its more restrictive licensing terms, the inclusion of a number of new digital rights management technologies aimed at restricting the copying of protected digital media, lack of compatibility with certain pre-Vista hardware and software, and the number of authorization prompts for User Account Control. As a result of these and other issues, Vista has seen adoption and satisfaction rates lower than Windows XP.
New or improved features
End-user features
* Windows Aero: The new hardware-based graphical user interface is named Windows Aero, which Jim Allchin has said is an acronym for Authentic, Energetic, Reflective, and Open. The new interface is intended to be cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing than those of previous Windows, including new transparencies, live thumbnails, live icons, and animations, thus providing a new level of eye candy. Laptop users report however that battery life is shortened with the feature enabled.
* Windows Shell: The new Windows shell is significantly different from Windows XP, offering a new range of organization, navigation, and search capabilities. Windows Explorer's task pane has been removed, integrating the relevant task options into the toolbar. A "Favorite links" pane has been added, enabling one-click access to common directories. The address bar has been replaced with a breadcrumb navigation system. The preview pane allows users to see thumbnails of various files and view the contents of documents. The details pane shows information such as file size and type, and allows viewing and editing of embedded tags in supported file formats. The Start menu has changed as well; it no longer uses ever-expanding boxes when navigating through Programs. The word "Start" itself has been removed in favor of a blue Windows Orb (also called "Pearl").
* Instant Search (also known as search as you type) : Windows Vista features a new way of searching called Instant Search, which is significantly faster and more in-depth (content-based) than the search features found in any of the previous versions of Windows.
* Windows Sidebar: A transparent panel anchored to the side of the screen where a user can place Desktop Gadgets, which are small applets designed for a specialized purpose (such as displaying the weather or sports scores). Gadgets can also be placed on other parts of the desktop.
* Windows Internet Explorer 7: New user interface, tabbed browsing, RSS, a search box, improved printing, Page Zoom, Quick Tabs (thumbnails of all open tabs), Anti-Phishing filter, a number of new security protection features, Internationalized Domain Name support (IDN), and improved web standards support. IE7 in Windows Vista runs in isolation from other applications in the operating system (protected mode); exploits and malicious software are restricted from writing to any location beyond Temporary Internet Files without explicit user consent.
* Windows Media Player 11, a major revamp of Microsoft's program for playing and organizing music and video. New features in this version include word wheeling (or "search as you type"), a new GUI for the media library, photo display and organization, the ability to share music libraries over a network with other Vista machines, Xbox 360 integration, and support for other Media Center Extenders.
* Backup and Restore Center: Includes a backup and restore application that gives users the ability to schedule periodic backups of files on their computer, as well as recovery from previous backups. Backups are incremental, storing only the changes each time, minimizing disk usage. It also features Complete PC Backup (available only in Ultimate, Business, and Enterprise versions) which backs up an entire computer as an image onto a hard disk or DVD. Complete PC Backup can automatically recreate a machine setup onto new hardware or hard disk in case of any hardware failures. Complete PC Restore can be initiated from within Windows Vista or from the Windows Vista installation CD in the event the PC is so corrupt that it cannot start up normally from the hard disk.
* Windows Mail: A replacement for Outlook Express that includes a new mail store that improves stability, and features integrated Instant Search. It has the Phishing Filter like IE7 and Junk mail filtering that is enhanced through regular updates via Windows Update.
* Windows Calendar is a new calendar and task application.
* Windows Photo Gallery, a photo and movie library management application. It can import from digital cameras, tag and rate individual items, adjust colors and exposure, create and display slideshows (with pan and fade effects) and burn slideshows to DVD.
* Windows DVD Maker, a companion program to Windows Movie Maker that provides the ability to create video DVDs based on a user's content. Users can design a DVD with title, menu, video, soundtrack, pan and zoom motion effects on pictures or slides.
* Windows Media Center, which was previously exclusively bundled as a separate version of Windows XP, known as Windows XP Media Center Edition, has been incorporated into the Home Premium and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista.
* Games and Games Explorer: Games included with Windows have been modified to showcase Vista's graphics capabilities. New games are Chess Titans, Mahjong Titans and Purble Place. A new Games Explorer special folder holds shortcuts and information to all games on the user's computer.
Windows Mobility Center.
* Windows Mobility Center is a control panel that centralizes the most relevant information related to mobile computing (brightness, sound, battery level / power scheme selection, wireless network, screen orientation, presentation settings, etc.).
* Windows Meeting Space replaces NetMeeting. Users can share applications (or their entire desktop) with other users on the local network, or over the Internet using peer-to-peer technology (higher versions than Starter and Home Basic can take advantage of hosting capabilities, Starter and Home Basic editions are limited to "join" mode only)
* Shadow Copy automatically creates daily backup copies of files and folders. Users can also create "shadow copies" by setting a System Protection Point using the System Protection tab in the System control panel. The user can be presented multiple versions of a file throughout a limited history and be allowed to restore, delete, or copy those versions. This feature is available only in the Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions of Windows Vista and is inherited from Windows Server 2003.
Windows Update with Windows Ultimate Extras
* Windows Update: Software and security updates have been simplified, now operating solely via a control panel instead of as a web application. Windows Mail's spam filter and Windows Defender's definitions are updated automatically via Windows Update. Users who choose the recommended setting for Automatic Updates will have the latest drivers installed and available when they add a new device.
* Parental controls: Allows administrators to control which websites, programs and games each standard user can use and install. This feature is not included in the Business or Enterprise editions of Vista.
* Windows SideShow: Enables the auxiliary displays on newer laptops or on supported Windows Mobile devices. It is meant to be used to display device gadgets while the computer is on or off.
* Speech recognition is integrated into Vista. It features a redesigned user interface and configurable command-and-control commands. Unlike the Office 2003 version, which works only in Office and WordPad, Speech Recognition in Windows Vista works for any accessible application. In addition, it currently supports several languages: British and American English, Spanish, French, German, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified) and Japanese.
* New fonts, including several designed for screen reading, and improved Chinese (Yahei, JhengHei), Japanese (Meiryo) and Korean (Malgun) fonts. ClearType has also been enhanced and enabled by default.
* Problem Reports and Solutions, a control panel which allows users to view previously sent problems and any solutions or additional information that is available.
* Improved audio controls allow the system-wide volume or volume of individual audio devices and even individual applications to be controlled separately. New audio functionalities such as Room Correction, Bass Management, Speaker Fill and Headphone virtualization have also been incorporated.
* Windows System Assessment Tool is a tool used to benchmark system performance. Software such as games can retrieve this rating and modify its own behavior at runtime to improve performance. The benchmark tests CPU, RAM, 2-D and 3-D graphics acceleration, Graphics Memory and Hard disk space.
* Windows Ultimate Extras: The Ultimate edition of Windows Vista provides, via Windows Update, access to some additional features. These are a collection of additional MUI language packs, Texas Hold 'Em (a Poker game), BitLocker and EFS enhancements which allow users to backup their encryption key online in a Digital Locker, and Windows Dreamscene, which enables the use of videos in MPEG and WMV formats as the desktop background. On April 21st 2008, Microsoft launched two more Ultimate Extras; a new Windows sound scheme, and a content pack for Dreamscene.
* Disk Management: The Logical Disk Manager in Windows Vista supports shrinking and expanding volumes on-the-fly.
* Reliability and Performance Monitor includes various tools for tuning and monitoring system performance and resources activities of CPU, disks, network, memory and other resources. It shows the operations on files, the opened connections, etc.
Business technologies
While much of the focus of Vista's new capabilities has been on the new user interface, security technologies, and improvements to the core operating system, Microsoft is also adding new deployment and maintenance features.
* The Windows Imaging Format (WIM) is the cornerstone of Microsoft's new deployment and packaging system. WIM files, which contain a HAL-independent image of Windows Vista, can be maintained and patched without having to rebuild new images. Windows Images can be delivered via Systems Management Server or Business Desktop Deployment technologies. Images can be customized and configured with applications then deployed to corporate client personal computers using little to no touch by a system administrator. ImageX is the Microsoft tool used to create and customize images.
* Windows Deployment Services replaces Remote Installation Services for deploying Vista and prior versions of Windows.
* Approximately 700 new Group Policy settings have been added, covering most aspects of the new features in the operating system, as well as significantly expanding the configurability of wireless networks, removable storage devices, and user desktop experience. Vista also introduced an XML based format (ADMX) to display registry-based policy settings, making it easier to manage networks that span geographic locations and different languages.
* Services for UNIX has been renamed "Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications," and is included with the Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Vista. Network File System (NFS) client support is also included.
* Multilingual User Interface – Unlike previous version of Windows which required language packs to be loaded to provide local language support, Windows Vista Ultimate and Enterprise editions support the ability to dynamically change languages based on the logged on user's preference.
* Wireless Projector support
Developer technologies
Windows Vista includes a large number of new application programming interfaces. Chief among them is the inclusion of version 3.0 of the .NET Framework, which consists of a class library and Common Language Runtime. Version 3.0 includes four new major components:
* Windows Presentation Foundation is a user interface subsystem and framework based vector graphics, which makes use of 3D computer graphics hardware and Direct3D technologies. It provides the foundation for building applications and blending together application UI, documents, and media content. It is the successor to Windows Forms.
* Windows Communication Foundation is a service-oriented messaging subsystem which enables applications and systems to interoperate locally or remotely using Web services.
* Windows Workflow Foundation provides task automation and integrated transactions using workflows. It is the programming model, engine and tools for building workflow-enabled applications on Windows.
* Windows CardSpace is a component which securely stores digital identities of a person, and provides a unified interface for choosing the identity for a particular transaction, such as logging into a website.
These technologies are also available for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 to facilitate their introduction to and usage by developers and end users.
There are also significant new development APIs in the core of the operating system, notably the completely re-architected audio, networking, print, and video interfaces, major changes to the security infrastructure, improvements to the deployment and installation of applications ("ClickOnce" and Windows Installer 4.0) , new device driver development model ("Windows Driver Foundation") , Transactional NTFS, mobile computing API advancements (power management, Tablet PC Ink support, SideShow) and major updates to (or complete replacements of) many core subsystems such as Winlogon and CAPI.
There are some issues for software developers using some of the graphics APIs in Vista. Games or programs which are built solely on the Windows Vista-exclusive version of DirectX, version 10, cannot work on prior versions of Windows, as DirectX 10 is not available for previous Windows versions. Also, games which require the features of D3D9Ex, the updated implementation of DirectX 9 in Windows Vista are also incompatible with previous Windows versions. According to a Microsoft blog, there are three choices for OpenGL implementation on Vista. An application can use the default implementation, which translates OpenGL calls into the Direct3D API and is frozen at OpenGL version 1.4, or an application can use an Installable Client Driver (ICD) , which comes in two flavors: legacy and Vista-compatible. A legacy ICD disables the Desktop Window Manager, a Vista-compatible ICD takes advantage of a new API, and is fully compatible with the Desktop Window Manager. At least two primary vendors, ATI and NVIDIA provided full Vista-compatible ICDs. However, hardware overlay is not supported, because it is considered as an obsolete feature in Vista. ATI and NVIDIA strongly recommend using compositing desktop/Framebuffer Objects for same functionality.
Microsoft Forefront
Microsoft Forefront is the line of security products for both Windows Client and Windows Server titles. The line includes the following products:
Connected Business Computers
* Microsoft Forefront Client Security (formerly called Microsoft Client Protection)
Application Server Security
* Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange Server (formerly called Sybari Antigen for Exchange)
* Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint (formerly called Sybari Antigen for SharePoint)
* Microsoft Forefront Security for Microsoft Office Communications Server (formerly called Antigen for Instant Messaging)
Network Edge Security
* Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2006
* Microsoft Intelligent Application Gateway (IAG) 2007
Connected Business Computers
* Microsoft Forefront Client Security (formerly called Microsoft Client Protection)
Application Server Security
* Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange Server (formerly called Sybari Antigen for Exchange)
* Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint (formerly called Sybari Antigen for SharePoint)
* Microsoft Forefront Security for Microsoft Office Communications Server (formerly called Antigen for Instant Messaging)
Network Edge Security
* Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server 2006
* Microsoft Intelligent Application Gateway (IAG) 2007
Microsoft Dynamics AX
Microsoft Dynamics AX is one of Microsoft’s enterprise resource planning software products. It is part of the Microsoft Dynamics family.
History
Microsoft Dynamics AX was originally developed by Damgaard Data A/S as Axapta in Denmark before Damgaard was merged with Navision Software A/S in 2000. The combined company, initially NavisionDamgaard, later Navision A/S, was then ultimately acquired by the Microsoft Corporation in the summer of 2002. Before the merger, Axapta was initially released in March, 1998 in the Danish and U.S. markets. Today, it is available and supported in forty-five languages in most of the world.
Custom AX development and modification is done with its own IDE, MorphX, that contains various tools such as a debugger, code analyzer, and query interface. This development environment resides in the same client application that a normal day-to-day user would access, thus allowing development to take place on any instance of the client. The development language used in Axapta is X++.
On June 9, 2006, Microsoft completed developing the latest version (4.0) in facilities spanning the globe and including sites in Vedbæk, Denmark; Kiev, Ukraine; Fargo, North Dakota, USA; and Redmond, Washington, USA.
The history becomes apparent in the mixed concepts in design and programming and in the rudimentary documentation which has been removed to a large extent (which was deemed better than providing it with contradictions or wrong information).
MDCC
MDCC or Microsoft Development Center Copenhagen was once the primary development center for Dynamics AX. For a long time, the development of several key components of AX has been moving to other sites like Redmond and Fargo. MDCC is located in Vedbæk and also houses Microsoft Dynamics NAV and several other Microsoft Dynamics family products. MDCC employs about 900 people of around 40 different nationalities, with current hiring focus oriented towards Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Ukraine and Romania.
MorphX and X++
MorphX is an integrated development environment in Microsoft Dynamics AX that allows developers to graphically design datatypes, base enumerations, tables, queries, forms, menus and reports. MorphX supports drag and drop and is very intuitive. It also allows access to any application classes that are available in the application, by launching the X++ code editor.
Because MorphX uses referencing to link objects together, changes in, for example, datatypes of fieldnames will automatically be reflected in all places where they are used (such as forms or reports). Furthermore, changes made through MorphX will be reflected in the application immediately after compilation.
Microsoft Dynamics AX also offers support for version control systems (VCS) integrated with the IDE, allowing collaboration in development. There is also a tool for reverse-engineering table structures and class structures to Visio. The actual implementation limits the practical use of both these features.
X++ itself is the programming language behind MorphX, and belongs to the curly brackets and .-operator class of programming languages (like C# or Java).
History
Microsoft Dynamics AX was originally developed by Damgaard Data A/S as Axapta in Denmark before Damgaard was merged with Navision Software A/S in 2000. The combined company, initially NavisionDamgaard, later Navision A/S, was then ultimately acquired by the Microsoft Corporation in the summer of 2002. Before the merger, Axapta was initially released in March, 1998 in the Danish and U.S. markets. Today, it is available and supported in forty-five languages in most of the world.
Custom AX development and modification is done with its own IDE, MorphX, that contains various tools such as a debugger, code analyzer, and query interface. This development environment resides in the same client application that a normal day-to-day user would access, thus allowing development to take place on any instance of the client. The development language used in Axapta is X++.
On June 9, 2006, Microsoft completed developing the latest version (4.0) in facilities spanning the globe and including sites in Vedbæk, Denmark; Kiev, Ukraine; Fargo, North Dakota, USA; and Redmond, Washington, USA.
The history becomes apparent in the mixed concepts in design and programming and in the rudimentary documentation which has been removed to a large extent (which was deemed better than providing it with contradictions or wrong information).
MDCC
MDCC or Microsoft Development Center Copenhagen was once the primary development center for Dynamics AX. For a long time, the development of several key components of AX has been moving to other sites like Redmond and Fargo. MDCC is located in Vedbæk and also houses Microsoft Dynamics NAV and several other Microsoft Dynamics family products. MDCC employs about 900 people of around 40 different nationalities, with current hiring focus oriented towards Sweden, Denmark, Poland, Ukraine and Romania.
MorphX and X++
MorphX is an integrated development environment in Microsoft Dynamics AX that allows developers to graphically design datatypes, base enumerations, tables, queries, forms, menus and reports. MorphX supports drag and drop and is very intuitive. It also allows access to any application classes that are available in the application, by launching the X++ code editor.
Because MorphX uses referencing to link objects together, changes in, for example, datatypes of fieldnames will automatically be reflected in all places where they are used (such as forms or reports). Furthermore, changes made through MorphX will be reflected in the application immediately after compilation.
Microsoft Dynamics AX also offers support for version control systems (VCS) integrated with the IDE, allowing collaboration in development. There is also a tool for reverse-engineering table structures and class structures to Visio. The actual implementation limits the practical use of both these features.
X++ itself is the programming language behind MorphX, and belongs to the curly brackets and .-operator class of programming languages (like C# or Java).
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