TechEd 2007: UAC in Focus

I just got back from TechEd where much of the buzz in back alleys was about User Account Control (UAC). If fact, I counted no less than a dozen different break-out sessions covering some aspect of UAC in the enterprise. Microsoft had even set-up a special “Compatibility Lab” where ISVs and in-house developers could bring their UAC-dysfunctional applications and get an expert opinion on what they needed to change in order to coexist with the newer, more restrictive Vista security model.

Since, like most developers, I’ve run into a few UAC hurdles with my own projects, I decided to pay the lab a visit. The Microsoft personnel were quite welcoming and, after installing my troubled applications and brainstorming the cause of the failure, I was on my way with a list of suggested changes to bring the products into compliance (most involved moving several temporary folders out of the now write-restricted Program Files folder structure). A special shout-out to Vishal Singh and Maarten Van De Bospoort for lending their invaluable expertise during the debugging process!

Note: I’m uploading new versions of the affected products – Clarity Tracker and Clarity Studio – to the exo.performance.network web site. Anyone wishing to use these tools under Vista with UAC enabled should download the updated versions at www.xpnet.com.

Another bright spot at the show was my new 8GB Corsair Flash Survivor series USB thumb drive. This ruggedized (it comes with an integrated aluminum sheath that looks curiously “Mag-Lite-ish”) device combines blazing performance (32MB/sec reads, 24MB/sec writes) with the durability needed for true road warrior duty. With all that speed it served as a great ReadyBoost compliment to the 4GB of RAM in my mobile 64-bit Vista development system. Check it out at www.corsair.com.

Note: I’ll be featuring the Flash Survivor in the upcoming multi-generational analysis of Windows desktop platform performance I’m developing for the InfoWorld Test Center. Stay tuned.