Windows Archive

"Windows Vista from Microsoft takes a lot of resources, we all know that. vLite provides you with an easy removal of the unwanted components in order to make Vista run faster and to your liking. This tool doesn't use any kind of hacking, all files and registry entries are protected as they would be if you install the unedited version only with the changes you select. It configures the installation directly before the installation, meaning you'll have to remake the ISO and reinstall it. This method is much cleaner, not to mention easier and more logical than doing it after installation on every reinstall."

"Looks like Microsoft is not planning to release Windows 7 in 2009. Microsoft's official response, by an email dated 26th January, 2008, to WinVistaClub states that Windows 7 is still in the planning stage and will take approximately 3 years to develop." So there.

Supposedly, we are looking at screenshots of Windows 7 here. Anyone who has ever looked at Vista will realise these are exactly the same - and that actually makes a lot of sense, so early in a development cycle. In any case, the version number in the winver screenshot actually corresponds to the version number supposedly assigned to the supposedly released M1 build of Windows 7 - but hey, that's just a Photoshop away. Do with this as you please.

Rumour has it that Microsoft is pushing forward Windows 7 for a 2009 release. The first milestone build has supposedly already been shipped to select partners, according to APCMag. They claim to have access to a roadmap for Windows 7, but whether that claim holds any water remains to be seen. The Inq seems to believe APCMag, but that means about as much as a politician's word, so whether this is anything more than a rumour is difficult to say. CNet has more.

Microsoft has made Vista's Service Pack 1 near-final 'release candidate' available for download to the general public, after initially choosing to restrict it to 15000 beta testers when it debuted last week. According to a blog by ZDNet.com's Mary Jo Foley, a Microsoft representative said the build contained a "number of bugs that testers encountered in previous prerelease versions of SP1". The update is largely a collection of bug fixes and performance and compatibility improvements, but includes some minor new features.

Gizmodo has been running an interesting series of videos (part I | part II | part III) where they interview Bill Gates. They chopped the interview up into smaller pieces (as in, 2 minutes a pop), but the fourth installment only lasts 16 seconds. Bill Gates does say something very honest and open, though. After Gizmodo asked him what product of the last five years he would've wanted polished a little more, Gates answers: "Ask me after we ship the next version of Windows. Then I'll be more open to give you a blunt answer."

"Windows Vista didn't make a smooth market entrance; in fact, nearly every aspect of the operating system has been attacked since its release on January 30, 2007. Multiple SKUs allegedly confused customers, anti-DRM groups disliked Vista's Protected Video Path and its overall DRM friendliness, and Microsoft's definition of 'Vista Capable' got the company sued. Toss in a plethora of bugs and the usual consumer backlash over GUI changes, and you'd think consumers would be avoiding Vista in droves. According to new information, however, they aren't - Vista's adoption rate over the past year actually exceeded XP's in 2001, and consumers apparently choose Vista over XP by a 7:1 margin."

Users who install Windows XP Service Pack 3 will not be required to enter Microsoft's product activation key before they use the operating system, according to a Microsoft white paper. Instead they will get a 30-day period of grace - the same as users of Windows Vista - after which they will have to enter the key to prove that the product is genuine. Problems can occur if a user legally obtains the software and, for some reason, a problem occurs with validation. By allowing a 30-day period, users have a chance to get the problem fixed while they are using the software.

"I recently sat down with Technical Fellow and SysInternals founder Mark Russinovich to dig a bit into what's new in the Windows Server 2008 kernel. Of course, we talk about many things including HyperV, application virtualization, kernel architecture (not everybody defines an OS kernel in the same way - tune in to understand why this is the case. Mark has his own definition that may not be the same as yours...)."

The first publicly available test release of Vista SP1 has been released a few days ago, release candidate 1. "The Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Release Candidate is now available to the public. In addition to previously released updates, SP1 contains changes focused on addressing specific reliability and performance issues, supporting new types of hardware, and adding support for several new technologies. SP1 also addresses some management, deployment, and support challenges." Ars reports that it finally enables the hotpatching support in Vista.

APCMag sums up the information we already have on Windows 7. "We're still in the long dark before 7's dawn, but the earliest signs are encouraging: a new streamlined kernel, an inbuilt VM for running old software, a revised and simplified UI... There's every chance that Microsoft intends Windows 7 to rise from the ashes of Vista and be what Mac OS X was for Apple."

"Microsoft's Hilton Locke, who used to work on the Tablet PC team and now works on the Windows Shell team, let us know today that if we are impressed with touch on the iPhone, then we'll be blown away by the touch features of the upcoming Windows 7." More here.

"Leading up to next week's public beta-test release of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Release Candidate, Microsoft today has published a 17-page document outlining in fine detail exactly what difference SP1 makes to Vista. Some of the contents has been shared in bits in the past, but this is so far the most comprehensive 'changelog' we've ever seen and probably will see as the final version is not expected to differ much from the RC, with the exception of WGA modifications."

"Microsoft has started printing up the invites for the launch of Windows Server 2008 as it finally sets loose release candidate 1 of the long-awaited server operating system. Microsoft's decision to put a red ring around 27 February came as it released another test version of Vista Service Pack 1, the update it is banking on to breathe some life into the so-far zombified desktop operating system."