Windows Archive

Statistics are fun, aren't they? Contradictions all over the place. "Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system is proving far less popular with new PC buyers than Windows XP did during XP's first year on the market, if statements by company chairman Bill Gates at this week's Consumer Electronics Show are any measure."

"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."

Microsoft has posted the release candidate of Windows XP Service Pack 3 to its download site. The move marks the first opportunity for all users of the six-year-old operating system to try out its final upgrade. Previously, several thousand users were given access to test builds of SP3 only by Microsoft's invitation. Update: I just installed the RC on my Windows XP MCE installation, and it all went fairly painless. I haven't noticed anything radically different either yet.

"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...)."

"All promised features were cut from Vista." This is a commonly heard complaint about Windows Vista on the internet. While there certainly is a lot to complain about when it comes to Windows Vista, the mythical 'cancelled features' certainly is not one of them. Let me explain why.

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 has released a toolkit to let businesses block service pack updates for Windows XP, Vista and Server 2003. Although service packs - particularly in the case of Vista - are keenly awaited by many users, some businesses prefer to test the packs before upgrading to assure compatibility with existing hardware and applications.

"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 is doing away with “reduced functionality mode” for individuals that its WGA activation and validation scheme deems to be running “non-genuine” software. The company also is plugging two WGA loopholes that pirates have been exploiting successfully.Microsoft is attributing the changes it is making to “feedback from customers and partners.”

"Almost a year on from the release of Microsoft's Windows Vista, only 13 percent of companies say they expect to move all desktops to the operating system, according to a survey released this week. Furthermore, adoption of Linux continues to gather pace, with a particular emphasis on the desktop emerging." As always, be sure to read these with a bag of salt on your desk.

Microsoft has released a preview release candidate for Windows Vista SP1 to a large group of beta testers. The RC preview beta , which was released late Nov. 14 and includes changes to the setup and installation experience made as a result of tester feedback, was made available to 15000 pre-selected beta testers, just 3000 more than the first beta. Additionally, Microsoft has released a new build of Windows Server 2008.

Microsoft has released the first public beta of Microsoft Windows HPC Server 2008, a server operating system for the high-performance computing market. The company has also announced the Parallel Computing Initiative, a programme aimed at creating a set of common development tools across multi-core desktops and clusters. The beta is available for download here and the final version is scheduled for launch in the second half of 2008.

A Community Technology Preview of Microsoft's PowerShell has been announced. PowerShell is a re-imagining of the command line interface in a fully object oriented environment. Run libraries like executables, cryptographically sign your scripts, extend your functions through full .NET integration.

Microsoft has apologized for a Windows Server update that automatically installed the Windows Desktop Search tool on users' desktops without approval. The mistake happened because Microsoft reused the same update package for when WDS was first published in February as an optional update that was only applicable to systems with the search tool previously installed.