Windows Archive

Service Pack 2 for Windows XP has finally been released and is now available for people to download and install on their systems. The file, at just over 265 Megs, is a hefty download yet is packed with new updates well worth getting. Microsoft's new focus on security is paying off, but the company still has a long way to regain its customers' trust, according to the company's security program manager.

As I'm sure many have noticed, there's been a flurry of articles recently regarding the Linux desktop and the direction it "needs" to go in. A few have been insightful and offered up valuable information regarding the future of desktop computing. Most, however, have been painfully ill-informed or even confrontational. After sitting back and watching the fighting break out in the trenches, I decided to pen something from the opposite side of the fence.

Great news for beta testers, Windowsbeta has just put Windows XP SP2 final for beta testers to download. The final build number is 2180 with digital signature, here is a screenshot of the build on WindowsBeta. Update: Windows XP SP2 ships to manufacturing.

Microsoft has issued a warning that the newest version of its software for managing customer relations will not work with the company's next Windows update. Also, Microsoft will finalize the code for Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) sometime today, release it via Microsoft Download Center and MSDN on the Web tomorrow, and then ship it to customers via Windows Update beginning August 25, though Automatic Update users will get it immediately on a staggered basis.

This chapter covers the wealth of tools and options available to administrators in Windows Server 2003, including many enhancements to tools that existed in previous versions of the system.

The Evaluation Edition software enables you to build Windows XP Embedded with Service Pack 1-based operating systems for 120 days from the day of installation.

From games to the desktop itself, 3D graphics will be everywhere in the new Windows Longhorn OS. Take a sneak peek at Microsoft's forthcoming WGF architecture that will make it happen.

When it finally ships, the Longhorn release of Windows will include a number of interesting new technologies. But it is the technology currently code-named “Indigo” that stands out as the most important product for anyone who cares about how diverse systems are glued together. To understand Indigo, however, there are four points you need to get your mind around. Elsewhere, .NET luminaries discuss themselves, their technology expertise, and whatever else comes to mind, released twice a month. Elsewhere, the Longhorn Driver Kit is a fully integrated driver development system for Windows.

Microsoft said Tuesday that it was delaying an update to its Windows Server software as well as the first version of Windows to support 64-bit x86 chips such as Advanced Micro Device's Athlon 64.

This material explains the different requirements to secure three distinct environments, as well as what each prescribed server setting addresses in terms of client dependencies. The three environments considered are called Legacy Client, Enterprise Client, and High Security.

In its first preview at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference last year, Windows XP successor Longhorn was shown running a 20-year-old copy of Visicalc. Ancient DOS software won't be the lone occupant of the Longhorn compatibility box. Win32, the Web, and even WinForms -- the .Net era's first GUI framework -- are all legacy APIs from Longhorn's perspective. Their replacements, Microsoft says, will jointly deliver "the best of Windows and the best of the Web."

"Many people note that 2007/8 is so far away that without an excellent crystal ball, nobody could predict what the update will contain. But one thing I reckon for certain about Longhorn is that it will be able to run Linux software." Read the article at VNUNet.

Microsoft Corp. has expanded the Source Licensing Program under which its Most Valued Professionals get access to the source code for the Windows operating system. The Redmond, Wash., company said on Monday that all the MVPs within the Microsoft platforms community and living within the 27 eligible countries worldwide will now be able to access Windows source code at no cost.

The success of Microsoft's Windows operating system is inextricably tied to its strong developer division. Since its founding, Microsoft has supplied programmers with the tools to build applications for Windows, the company's crown jewels. Read the rest of the editorial here.