Windows Archive

"Windows XP Embedded with Service Pack 1 is the newest version of the Windows XP Embedded tools and database. New tool features are available, as are new embedded enabling components. Every Service Pack 1 binary is reflected in an updated component, and some new components have been added to make the entire system more flexible." Read the article at MSDN.

"Although Microsoft Corp. doesn't anoint Windows .Net Server 2003 Release Candidate 2 as "feature-complete," this edition shows that Microsoft's next operating system revision will be a significant, incremental upgrade compared with the massive overhaul that took place going from Windows NT to Windows 2000." The article is at eWeek.

I ran across an "unofficial" list of proposed fixes for Windows XP SP2, so if there's a bug or hole that's been bothering you, see if it's on the list. Ethan, who is apparently maintaining the list, says that he's going to keep it up to date as SP2 comes closer to beta.

According to this New York Times article, Lindows.com, Inc. is suing Microsoft over the Windows trademark. Says Lindows.com attorney Clifford Chance, "No company, no matter how powerful, no matter how much money it has spent, should be able to gain a commercial monopoly on words in the English language." Read more at nytimes.com.

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 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.

"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.

"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 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.

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.

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.

"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.

"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.

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.