Windows Archive

Microsoft Next Generation Shell

Adam Scheinberg 2002-12-29 Windows 25 Comments

Need a job? This classified posting appears to confirm that Microsoft is developing a new, original "next generation" shell to take advantage of the .NET framework for its next version of Windows. The ad says experience with "shell languages like PERL, Python and Bash" are a plus - interesting, I'd bet most of the experts in these areas are UNIX users.

Windows 2000 SP4 Beta Leaked

Adam Scheinberg 2002-12-20 Windows 18 Comments

Adek wrote in to tell us about the leaked Windows 2000 SP4. The file weighs in at a about 136 MB. The preview release of the SP4 beta will run for approximately 1 month, according to WinBeta, who first reported on the release. More, including the download, can be found at techconnect.com.

Microsoft Unveils Windows XP Digital Media Edition

Eugenia Loli 2002-12-17 Windows 88 Comments

Microsoft will release a Plus expansion pack for Windows XP to enhance the digital media features in its desktop operating system. At the same time it will make available the final release of its Windows Media 9 software early next year.

It’s Curtains For Windows 95

Eugenia Loli 2002-12-17 Windows 30 Comments

Fred Langa bids farewell to Win95 and Win 3x, two operating systems that literally changed the world but will no longer be supported by Microsoft.

Microsoft on Custom XPs

Eugenia Loli 2002-12-15 Windows 25 Comments

"Last year, Microsoft merged its two Windows lines--9x/Me and NT/2000--into one, Windows XP. Now the company is launching three new XP-based products. To learn why, PC World editors Harry McCracken and Yardena Arar interviewed Microsoft's top Windows guy--Jim Allchin, vice president for Microsoft's Platforms Group. Here's a partial transcript of the conversation." Read it at PCWorld.

Microsoft Upgrades Flaw to “Critical”

Guest post by Kevin Adams 2002-12-13 Windows 50 Comments

"For the second time in a week, Microsoft acknowledged that its initial estimation of a software flaw underrated the true threat posed by the vulnerability. The Redmond, Wash., giant said Thursday it plans to change the severity of a vulnerability in software common to Internet Explorer and other Windows applications from "important" to "critical." The move was prompted by an in-depth analysis written by the security researchers who found the flaw." Read the rest at ZDNet.

Microsoft To Cut Off Dual-Boot Windows Option

Eugenia Loli 2002-12-11 Windows 37 Comments

PC Vendors that ship Windows-ready machine can currently offer two Windows flavors preloaded onto a hard-drive. New users can simply select the version they want, and then boot directly into that OS. But Microsoft is about to pull that option, and require PC vendors to only install a single Windows flavor on each PC they sell. Read the report at ExtremeTech here and here.

Microsoft Unveils Guides to Windows

Submitted by dave_sn 2002-12-11 Windows 20 Comments

Microsoft on Tuesday released blueprints designed to help technology managers install Windows more efficiently and at a lower cost. The software titan issued five guides that businesses can use for a variety of tasks, including patch management or installing new desktop applications companywide. The Redmond, Wash.-based company calls the suite of guides Microsoft Solutions for Management.

Windows Servers Cheaper to Run than Linux (Maybe)

David Adams 2002-12-03 Windows 42 Comments

A survey recently released by IDC finds that large networks of Windows servers are cheaper to run and maintain than Linux servers, even taking into account the higher software licensing costs for Windows. The catch? That survey was commissioned by Microsoft. A Reuters article about the study covers mostly how this study indicates a shift in Microsoft's marketing strategy toward Linux -- moving away from criticizing open source toward focusing on Windows' benefits.

Windows .NET Server 2003 Release Candidate 2 Released

Eugenia Loli 2002-12-03 Windows 14 Comments

Windows .NET Server 2003 Release Candidate 2 is released to beta testers. Upgrade or join the Customer Preview Program today and see what's new. Update: An anonymous sent us a link on Microsoft's site which describes at a high level how they migrated the entire site to .NET Server RC1. According to the article they are experiencing high levels of uptime and significant performance increase that they may even reduce the size of their cluster.

Microsoft to Loosen Licensing Clamps

Eugenia Loli 2002-12-02 Windows 18 Comments

When it issues a second Windows .Net Server 2003 release candidate, Microsoft also plans to announce a new, per-user licensing option. Plus, other tweaks are being offered. Additionally, major Longhorn revision shows AMD 64 support.

Next Microsoft Operating System will be Radical Change from XP

Eugenia Loli 2002-11-29 Windows 70 Comments

"The next version of the world's most popular desktop operating system, code-named "Longhorn," is due out in test form next year and in final form in 2004. It will have a new look and feel, very different from Windows XP's. Its guts will also be radically different from Windows XP's, because they're based on XML -- extensible markup language, the emerging lingua franca of the Internet. And it will be the first version that won't function fully without new hardware." Read the report at Seattle PI.

Windows Longhorn Alpha Preview Available

Eugenia Loli 2002-11-23 Windows 43 Comments

"For this preview, I had originally written a long-winded backgrounder about the history of Longhorn, and the ways in which this project has changed over time. I'll save the lengthy exposition for a future review, however, and get right to the point: Longhorn is now considered a major Windows release by Microsoft, and early alpha builds are now testing at the company's Redmond campus. Last month, some of those builds leaked to the Internet, causing a stir in the Windows enthusiast community. I take a look at one of those builds here." Read the preview and view screenshots at WinSuperSite.

Windows Longhorn Alpha Leaks to the Web

Eugenia Loli 2002-11-19 Windows 37 Comments

"An internal alpha build of Microsoft's next version of Windows, code-named Longhorn, made its way onto the Internet early Tuesday. The leaked build, which is numbered 3683, appears to be from late September and sports quite a few new feature concepts—although many are not yet functional. The oft-rumored Longhorn Sidebar can be enabled via Taskbar settings and uses XML to display customizable tiles such as a clock, virtual desktop manager and Internet search. The Start Menu can also be docked within the Sidebar, completely removing the Taskbar that has been a staple of Windows since 1995." Read the eWeek article for more information.

.Net Server: Three Delays a Charm?

Eugenia Loli 2002-11-18 Windows 13 Comments

Microsoft has for the third time delayed the launch of its Windows .Net Server 2003 high-end operating system. During his Comdex keynote address on Sunday, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates revealed that the company would launch Windows .Net Server 2003 in April, marking the third delay for the server counterpart to the company’s Windows XP OS. Read the report at News.com and the press release.

Microsoft Pushes Back Server OS Plans

Submitted by Joseph Childrose 2002-11-13 Windows 31 Comments

Microsoft has scratched plans for a major overhaul to an upcoming version of its Windows operating system for servers, the company confirmed Tuesday.

Microsoft Windows CE .NET Technical FAQ

Eugenia Loli 2002-11-13 Windows 4 Comments

Learn the answers to frequently asked questions about the Microsoft Windows CE .NET and Windows CE 3.0 operating systems, including questions regarding Windows CE Application Development.

Bill Gates: Windows Far Ahead of Linux

Eugenia Loli 2002-11-12 Windows 82 Comments

"Windows offers more than the Linux platform, which is just an operating system, Gates said at a news conference during his four-day tour of India, during which he said Microsoft would invest $400 million in expanding operations here. "The Windows system is far ahead of its competition and its market share is increasing both on the server side and the desktops," Gates said. He said Linux was gaining popularity in some areas and its market share was improving, but only at the expense of the operating system UNIX and others - not Windows." Read the report at IndiaTimes.

Next XP revision Longhorn a 2003, Client-only Product?

Eugenia Loli 2002-11-11 Windows 5 Comments

"The Grand Old Duke of York is clearly in charge of Microsoft's operating systems roadmaps for, having marched Longhorn up to the top of a distant (2005, said his Billness) hill earlier this year, he has now marched it straight back down again. Longhorn, the next version of Windows XP, will not after all be a 2005 product, but will quite possibly be a next year product after all." Read the article at TheRegister.

Tablet PCs Mix Science Fiction and Real-World Friction

Eugenia Loli 2002-11-10 Windows 23 Comments

"Put an absolute beginner in front of a computer and he'll try to touch the screen to make things happen. The revolutionary thing about Microsoft's new tablet PC is that it transforms this wishful-thinking behavior into reality: You can write on its screen and the thing will respond! This is the stuff of science fiction, and it makes the tablet PC an unusually ambitious venture for Microsoft. It's just not a successful one." Rob Pegoraro tells it like it is for WashingtonPost.