InstallAware has open sourced the library it built for Microsoft’s Desktop Bridge APPX creation at www.installaware.com/gnu.asp.

InstallAware is the only vendor giving developers a free ride across Microsoft’s Desktop Bridge to the Universal Windows Platform Highway!

As we prepare to welcome 2017 in excitement of the coming holidays, we thought we’d put together a small holiday gift for you, our loyal developers – without whom we wouldn’t have lasted 12 years, save contributing to open source!

Free DiskZIP File Compression:

1) DiskZIP is our favorite tool to work with the 7ZIP Web Media Block files created by InstallAware.

2) It is also the best all around compression app for Windows, with patent pending Windows disk compression which they invented.

3) Take $100 worth file compression functionality, including Outlook integration, WinZip compatible ZIPX/JPEG compression, and WinRAR compatible RAR5 support; for free with DiskZIP InstallAware edition:

www.installaware.com/diskzip.msi (leave the serial field empty when installing)

Choose the software installer used by timeless software products such as Microsoft Office, Crytek Crysis, and Borland Delphi – brought to you by the largest independent software installation toolkit vendor.

From all of us at InstallAware, thanks once again for all your support over the years, and Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving! There’s a lot we’re thankful for this year at InstallAware:

o Start Menu and Taskbar Pinning: If you’d rather not play the Windows Store/Universal Windows Platform game, InstallAware still gives your apps direct, unfettered access to prime Windows Desktop real estate!

o Native Engine Eclipses MSI: If Windows Installer is not your cup of tea, use InstallAware‘s Native Engine for faster, more resilient, and more flexible installers which work even in Windows Safe Mode.

o 64-bit Super Compression: Build the smallest setups while retaining full compatibility with 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems at the same time. Segment optional features off to optional web downloads.

o Transition FX and Aero: Support custom Aero translucent regions even on Windows 10, and make a lasting positive impression on your potential clients with app-savvy wizard transition special effects.

o Testing Automation: Spawn any number of virtual machine instances (local or remote) directly from your InstallAware IDE, and run (custom) unit tests to validate your integration engineering.

InstallAware elevates your apps to the limelight like no other!

It’s been an exciting year at InstallAware. Take a look at our latest 2016 awards:

– Visual Studio Magazine Reader’s Choice 2016 Award.
– ComponentSource Top 50 Publisher 2016 Award.

We’re also now shipping inside-the-box with Delphi, C++ Builder, and RAD Studio. InstallAware Express is available on versions XE8 through XE10.1 for free! If you’re one of the lucky users of Embarcadero compilers, help yourself using the GetIt Package Manager in your IDE.

It’s been an exciting year indeed, with everything from InstallAware X5 offering one-click Universal Windows Platform compilation for your existing Win32/Win64 apps, to latest Windows Redstone, .NET 4.6.2, SQL Server 2016 eco-system support.

Our launch of InstallAware X5 was a huge success two weeks ago.

InstallAware is the first – and only – installer with support for Windows 10.1 Redstone:

1) Build APPX Universal Windows Platform packages from existing (or new) setup projects.

2) Convert any existing MSI or EXE setup (even if you don’t have its source) to an APPX.

3) Target MSI, EXE, App-V, and InstallAware Virtualization formats from a single source.

InstallAware X5 is launching on Friday this week, with zero-day support for the latest summer hits from Microsoft:

APPX Builder: Build any InstallAware setup as a Windows 10 Redstone Universal Windows Platform application! Effortlessly carry your Win32, Win64, and .NET apps to the future.

Windows 10 Redstone: Detect and run setups on Windows 10 Redstone.

Visual Studio 15: Integrate with Visual Studio 15 and generate setup projects – and even build them – without ever leaving the Visual Studio 15 IDE.

New Runtimes: .NET Framework 4.6.2, SQL Server 2014 with Service Pack 2, [b]SQL Server 2016[/b] – you name it! If its included in the latest Redstone update cycle, InstallAware X5’s got it.

Touch Enabled and Snappy: The InstallAware X5 IDE is now touch-enabled, so feel free to fire it up on anything from handheld tablets to ultra high resolution displays (did we mention High DPI support too). Design views have been accelerated, helping you do more than before in less time.

Only InstallAware X5 generates APPX, App-V, InstallAware Virtualization, MSI Windows Installer, and EXE Native Code setups from a single source!

Join us in celebrating 4th of July this year – Freedom for all setup builders worldwide!

o Independence: Past the point of your initial software and license downloads, you do NOT need to connect to any InstallAware server to install or activate your software.

o Self-Governance: Got a floating or multi-user license? You do NOT need to set up or administer a license server. Everything “just works” after your installation.

o Equal Rights Under Law: Pin your Win32, Win64, and .NET apps directly to the Windows 10 Start Menu/Taskbar! Enjoy equal rights for your Native Apps vs. Universal Windows apps.

o System Membership: Your MSI files are always logo compliant, no matter how they’ve been authored. You may even submit your Desktop installers to the Windows Store.

o Get Rid of Tyranny: Join the revolution against obsolete installers worldwide! Setups are smaller and faster, AND easier to develop and debug with InstallAware.

Claim your Freedom as a setup builder with InstallAware!

InstallAware, the only alternative to InstallShield, failed to get its Wikipedia article published despite years of trying.

Even after hiring a specialist, conducting months of revisions, and ensuring that the InstallAware article has more quantity and quality of citations than InstallShield (which does have a Wikipedia article), Wikipedia editors merely wrote “You may as well give up,” as seen on http://www.installaware.com/wikipediatalkpage.asp.

Wikipedia first claimed InstallAware was advertising on Wikipedia. Then, InstallAware‘s citations were not good enough. The final excuse? InstallAware was not “significant enough”, failing to meet Wikipedia’s notability criteria.

InstallAware‘s significance is beyond question:

100,000+ strong user base.

12+ years in the business.

Most Advanced Installer Technology: Prompting multiple hostile takeover attempts and parasitic SEO attacks.

Faster, Smaller, More Stable Installers than InstallShield: Also a more robust build environment as illustrated in a recent acid test (http://www.installaware.com/news-instal … taller.htm).

More Secure than InstallShield: Never opened up end-user systems to attack vectors, or adversely affected by Windows Security Updates (http://www.installaware.com/news-Micros … Shield.htm).

Tens of Awards: Including Microsoft’s Visual Studio Sim-Ship Award, ComponentSource’s Top Product and Top Publisher Awards, Visual Studio Magazine’s Reader’s Choice Awards, SD Times’s “Leader of the Software Development Industry” Awards, and the Windows IT Pro Community Award, among other recognition from the press, industry analysts, and most importantly, the testament of thousands of real-world software developers who have coined the term “InstallAware is the Convenience of Obviousness,” in comparing InstallAware to other Windows Installer solutions.

Wikipedia has been receiving increasing coverage in academia, where the double standards and unaccountable dispositions of Wikipedia editors have been demonstrated with scientific rigor. See, for example, https://www-users.cs.umn.edu/~halfak/pu … d_Decline/ and http://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/8/2/14/html.

All of us at InstallAware are deeply saddened that, as observed elsewhere (https://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?s … d=52114135), Wikipedia is out of touch with its original egalitarian ideals, serving as a source of disinformation for interests outside of itself.

The obstinacy of Wikipedians are even driving their own ranks to suicide:

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/wikipedia-editor-says-sites-toxic-community-has-him-contemplating-suicide

Innovation is relentless at InstallAware. We’re launching InstallAware Virtualization 6 on Friday this week, more than three years in the making:

Brand New IDE: Built from the ground up, the new InstallAware Virtualization 6 IDE is easier, faster, and more resilient than before.

Windows 10 Support: The InstallAware Virtualization 6 engine now produces bullet-proof virtualized apps for Windows 10.

Bug Fixes: Stability is key with application virtualization! Three years and tens of fixes bring you the most stable app virtualization.

Compressed Apps: You’ve asked and we’ve delivered! Compress your virtual apps and save time and space during publishing.

Splash Screen: Show a splash screen while your virtualized apps are loading, closing on a pre-set timeout interval or when your app is ready.

InstallAware X4 Support: Import the latest version InstallAware projects, and build them as virtual apps in a single click.

Virtualize Any App: You don’t even need setup sources to virtualize an app. Simply run the app installer through our sequencer, and you’re set!

InstallAware Virtualization 6‘s agentless architecture is the easiest way to virtualize any type of app for Windows today.

You could even combine InstallAware Virtualization with InstallAware X4‘s Windows Store Bridge to get your virtualized apps in the Windows Store!

InstallAware X4 brings you tomorrow, without throwing away today:

1) Windows Store Bridge: InstallAware X4 has been the first to launch with a live, fully functional Windows Store Bridge that gets Desktop app installers in the Windows 10 Store, today; with full elevation and privileges.

2) Social Networking: InstallAware X4 has also been the first to launch with social networking plug-ins; making posts to Twitter and Facebook an optional or mandatory part of your installation.

3) SHA256: Microsoft has made it clear that installers must support SHA256 code signing; with double signing required in places. InstallAware X4 single, double, or null signs your files in automatic compliance.

4) Script Functions: InstallAware X4 is the first ever InstallAware release to allow for construction of script functions, using the enhanced Include Script and brand new Return from Include Script commands.

5) Teamwork: InstallAware X4 now integrates with Team Foundation Server 2015 Update 1, enabling global collaboration with seamless source-control integration directly inside the InstallAware X4 IDE.

InstallAware X4 is launching on Friday this week, following the conclusion of a nine month intensive R&D cycle and crowning InstallAware‘s 12th year in the business:

Windows Store Bridge: Get your Win32, Win64, and .NET apps in the Windows Store TODAY – including elevation, admin level wizardry, and full system access. Microsoft underwhelmed us a bit at Build 2016 with their progress on Project Centennial and its limitations – so skip the wait and get all your native and managed applications in the Windows Store today.

Social Plug-Ins: Tweet to Twitter and Share on Facebook at any point during your installation. InstallAware X4 automatically invokes REST APIs to authenticate your end-users on their social networks, and then completes postings on their behalf. You may even make postings mandatory before allowing your end-users to proceed.

SHA 256 Code Signing: We’ve solved Microsoft’s code signing riddles for 2016 and beyond. InstallAware X4 analyzes your files for existing signatures, their type, size, and the underlying operating system powering your build platform. Based on this information, it selects the Microsoft compliant code signing strategy, automatically.

Team Foundation Server 2015: InstallAware X4 now integrates with Team Foundation Server 2015 Update 1, enabling globally distributed project collaboration.

IDE Zoom: Zoom in and out of your script with eagle eyes to find exactly what you are looking for. Comes with quick previews to find your ideal zoom level, too!

Updated Theme Assets: Both the IDE and the setup engine have been updated with the latest Windows 10 graphic assets, ensuring a smoother look for your setups.

Script Functions: Every InstallAware programmer’s dream is here. Using the new Return from Include Script command and the enhanced Include Script command, its a snap to build your own script functions – with their own custom return values.

Get your apps in the Windows Store today, go social with your installers, and attain 100% standards compliance with InstallAware X4.