I just learned about this neat editor for creating and editing Windows Installer packages (.msi files) and merge modules (.msm files). Orca is just one of many cool installer tools by Microsoft. It provides a graphical interface for validation, highlighting the particular entries where validation errors or warnings occur. This KB255905 article explains more.

Orca is part of the platform SDK and locating the correct download was difficult - a lot of redirected pages and dead ends, but I found it as part of the Vista SDK download as well as the Windows Server 2003 SDK download. Once you install the SDK, look for Orca.msi and install it separately.

Here is a screenshot of running Orca on the Orca.msi file ...

If you are running Vista and VS 2005, you need to install this SP1 update.

It's referenced by KB929470, and you can download it here.

What a better place to run Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 than at the 50 yard line of the Boise State University Broncos.

If you haven't heard, we won the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl championship last night with a series of do-or-die trick moves, including the high-school favorite State of Liberty play!

Go Broncos!

Mark your calendars! Microsoft's Boise launch of Windows Vista, Office 2007, and Exchange 2007 will be on January 30.

The event is broken-down into two, half-day events, one for develpers and one for IT professionals. Here are the registration links: Developer track | IT Pro track.

If you can't make that event, then the one in Seattle on February 26 might be a better choice, because it is the only launch with a keynote by Bill Gates.

I just noticed that there is a December update to the SQL 2005 samples. The December 2006 update is identical to the July 2006 update, except that support for Windows Vista has been added. If you already downloaded the July update and do not run on Windows Vista, then you do not need to download this update.

I'm getting more and more questions regarding running Visual Studio 2005 on Vista. Here's the summary from Microsoft:

"Visual Studio 2005 is supported on Windows Vista. We recommend that developers install Visual Studio 2005 Service Pack 1 and the Visual Studio 2005 SP1 Update for Windows Vista as they become available (SP1 end of this year, VS Update for Vista Q1 next year). We also recommend that Visual Studio 2005 be run with elevated administrator privileges. Visual Studio 2003 & 2002 are not supported on Windows Vista. The underlying frameworks (.NET Fx 3.0, 2.0 & 1.1) are supported and applications using them will run on Windows Vista."

(Update 14 Dec) Here are some more resources ...

• Visual Studio 2005 on Windows Vista Issue List
• Heath Stuart's blog

You can read more on Soma's blog.

As for SQL Server 2005, I've heard that you won't have any problems installing the Developer edition, but if you want to install Standard or Enterprise versions, you'll need to install the CTP of Beta 2. If you are wanting to use Reporting Services, remember that RS uses IIS and IIS 7 + Vista are different. Here is a blog post (in Spanish but the screens are pretty self-explanatory), instructing on how to properly configure IIS on Vista for RS. Beyond that, there is guidance in an older June article.