Windows 7 adds native Virtual Wi. Fi technology from Microsoft Research. Wi. Fi is an incredible technology that has transformed how and where people used computers, however besides advancements in speed, range and security, very little has changed how we use wireless networks. Since 2. 00. 2, Microsoft Research has been exploring a fascinating idea to virtualize the Wi. Fi adapter, turning a single piece of hardware and radio into virtually pun unlimited adapters. This is perfect for system administrators like myself who frequently need to connect to a private and a public wireless connection for diagnostic work too. Microsoft has a number of options to play around with. They have us like a ball in the palm of their enormous hands, waiting to be tossed, or shoved deeper into their. Reader comments Microsofts Windows 10 PC OS keeps evolving, but its future is uncertain. InformationWeek shares news, analysis and advice on operating systems, from Microsoft Windows 8 to Apple iOS 7. Years after the project was seemingly abandoned, it is now uncovered Virtual Wi. Fi technology has been baked into the Windows 7 networking foundations. In essence, how Virtual Wi. Fi works is very similar to how virtualization works for operating systems which most people are familiar with the transparent sharing of limited hardware resources to many operating systems. Microsoft A Bridge Too Far Download For Mac' title='Microsoft A Bridge Too Far Download For Mac' />There are a tremendous amount of Microsoft products that are cloudbased for building big data solutions. Its great that there are so many products to choose from. Get help, support, and tutorials for Windows productsWindows 10, Windows 8. Windows 7, and Windows 10 Mobile. Xbox One X will have a limted Project Scorpio edition available when it launches this fall Microsoft announced today at its preGamescom briefing. Virtual Wi. Fi, abbreviated to VWi. Fi, is a software layer that abstracts the wireless LAN card hardware into multiple virtual adapters. The software handles the connections of each adapter to ensure every adapter has an opportunity to connect to their respective networks limited by time. The result is an operating system none the wiser and acts as if you have multiple WLAN hardware adapters working independently. If you like to dabble in a little hardware jargon, heres an obligatory architecture diagram which explains how Virtual Wi. Fi works in Windows 7 in much more detail. If you got lost somewhere between the dotted lines, read on. You might be wondering why anyone would ever need multiple WLAN adapters on the same PC, well to be honest, you dont need but its sometimes good to have. In any case where youre connected to an existing wireless access point and want to connect to another network whether that be a separate access point or even set up an ad hoc connection, Virtual Wi. Fi will allow you to do just that. But perhaps the scenario that is more appealing is the idea of a mesh network. In a mesh network, every client becomes a repeater, growing the network organically as more clients connect. Virtual Wi. Fi enables this, since every client can become an access point too. Now you might be asking, Ive looked at every nook and cranny of Windows 7 RC, how come I havent seen this feature. Surprisingly, the feature is in Windows 7 today and has been for quite some time apparently, but hasnt been exposed due to a lack of driver support. WLAN hardware vendors are required to recompile their drivers with a couple new additions. The good news is that Virtual Wi. Fi functionality is going to be a requirement for WLAN drivers under the Windows 7 certification logo so expect to see it soon. Assuming it all goes to plan, the feature will be automatically exposed. On Windows 7 and later, the operating system installs a virtual device if a Hosted Network capable wireless adapter is present on the machine. This virtual device normally shows up in the Network Connections Folder as Wireless Network Connection 2 with a Device Name of Microsoft Virtual Wi. Fi Miniport adapter if the computer has a single wireless network adapter. This virtual device is used exclusively for performing software access point Soft. AP connections. The lifetime of this virtual device is tied to the physical wireless adapter. If the physical wireless adapter is disabled, this virtual device will be removed as well. Unfortunately as it seems, the implementation of Virtual Wi. Fi in Windows 7 is not as liberal as the research prototype. Ratchet And Clank Future A Crack In Time Ps2 To Usb. In Windows 7, you are limited to exactly one virtual adapter. However by looking at the impact of multiple virtual adapters on latency and performance from their original research report, this is probably for good reasons. More technical information aimed at hardware vendors and developers is available at the Win. HEC 2. 00. 8 session, Wireless LAN Enhancements In Windows 7, Power. Point downloadable here. You can also learn more about their original prototype and research paper here. Obviously this feature isnt as glamorous as the fancy new wallpapers or as practical as Aero Snap in Windows 7, but I think it represents one of the many silent revolutions in Windows that probably wont be recognized and taken for granted for releases to come. Id be interesting to see if Virtual Wi. Fi catches on, and how new networking scenarios can be enabled by developers and hardware vendors. Microsoft Announces Project Scorpio Edition Xbox One X Xbox One X will have a limted Project Scorpio edition available when it launches this fall Microsoft announced today at its pre Gamescom briefing. Whats so special about the 5. Scorpio edition, which leaked last Friday, you might ask Well theres the box which was made to resemble the original Xbox and also has the name of the system in a green font. That special typeface will be on the console itself as well, which also comes in a black, graphite textured casing. And finally theres the limited edition controller which will also have the words Project Scorpio Edition in green lettering, in case you ever forget. This edition also comes with a plastic stand but as far as I can tell theres not anything unusual about it. Really though, the best thing the Scorpio edition has going for it appears to be the name, which is way cooler, and always was, than Xbox One X. Reasonable people can disagree about this of course, but, I mean, come on, scorpions are way cooler than Xs. At todays event Microsoft also announced a Shadow of War Xbox One S bundle for when the game releases on October 1. Mine. Craft version which is painted in green and brown pixels as a tribute to the games crafting systems and dirt their explanation, not mine. The company also explained that games like Halo 5 and Gears of War 4 will be getting free, 4. K upgrades in the future to allow these games to take better advantage of the Xbox One Xs native 4. K and HDR capability. Around a 1. 00 existing games will apparently see some kind of patch to this effect. Finally, if you choose to pick up the new system, switching to it from your old Xbox One should be pretty straightforward. Microsoft explained that anything you have on an external hard drive can just be swapped over to the new hardware and games downloaded to the internal storage can be copied over via your in home network. Settings should automatically carry over from one console to the other as well. And while were on the subject of UI, the company also said that a future update will be bringing a light mode to the Xbox One dashboard, meaning youll finally be able to swap out those dark grays for something a bit more vibrant. The Xbox One X launches on November 7 with the Project Scorpio edition available to pre order starting today. You can re watch todays Microsoft event in its entirety here.