Are You Ready For Vista Graphics?
Windows Vista will offer varying levels of functionality depending on what kind of video card you have. When you upgrade, will your PC be up to the challenge?
Windows Archive
Microsoft Removes Transfer Limitations From Vista
Responding to the myriad complaints over ambiguities and outright uncool (that's a technical term) licensing terms, Microsoft has revised the Vista retail license to remove some of the most major causes of complaint. A previous version of the Windows Vista retail license restricted the number of times you may transfer Vista from one device to another. The license read: "The first user of the software may reassign the license to another device one time. If you reassign the license, that other device becomes the 'licensed device'." The new license has removed this language relating to device transfers.
Vista Gets Official Release Dates: Nov 30 and Jan 30
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Microsoft has set November 30 as the release date for Vista (and Office 2007) to business customers and January 30, 2007 as the date for the official launch to consumers and The World At Large. ApproachingZero, are you still here? If this were a blog, I'd put a smiley here.
Query Composition: Building a Search Upon Another Search
"Today, I'd like to share with you a hidden gem inside of Windows Vista's search capabilities. It's a neat little feature that lets you build one saved search on top of another, and we call it Query Composition. Think composition in the mathematical sense, not in the context of writing an English paper. To explain this feature, I'd like to start by talking a bit about Libraries."
Vista Nears Completion
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While Ars looks into the facts behind the recent flurry of license concerns over Windows Vista, several websites are reporting that Microsoft has internally released Vista and Office 2007 final builds. In related news, Microsoft has also released shots of the packaging for Vista and Office 2007. Meanwhile, other people have noted that there seems to be no upgrade path to Windows Vista Ultimate.
Surprises Inside Microsoft Vista’s EULA
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"The next version of Windows is just around the corner, so the next time we discuss software licensing in my course, the EULA for Vista will be front and center. You can read the Microsoft Vista EULA yourself by going to the official Software License page from Microsoft page and searching for Vista. I know many of you have never bothered to read the EULA - who really wants to, after all? - but take a few minutes and get yourself a copy and read it. I'll wait. Back? It's bad, ain't it? Real bad. I mean, previous EULAs weren't anything great - but the Vista EULA is horrendous."
Windows XP SP3 Suffers Uncertain Future
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Microsoft last week said that it is pushing back the next major service pack for Windows XP until the first half of 2008. The news came just ahead of reports that Vista’s RTM is being pushed back once again, from late October to early November, complicating matters for PC makers. The latest delay has some wondering whether the upgrade will ever see the light of day. "The fear is Service Pack 3 will just get killed off," said Jeff Centimano, an IT consultant at Levi, Ray & Shoup.
The Background on Backgrounds in Vista
"There has been a lot of attention in the last few weeks about the discrepancy in the desktop background appearance between the control panel and Windows Photo Gallery. This is something that we have been tracking internally for quite a while, so I thought I would clue in everyone on the issue here and how we are addressing it for RTM.
PC Maker Fumes at Vista Price Hike
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"Leading PC manufacturer Acer has accused Microsoft of ratcheting up the cost of Windows by effectively forcing consumers to opt for the Premium version of Vista. Acer claims that the Vista Home Basic - the new entry-level Windows - is so poorly featured that consumers will simply reject it. "The new experience you hear of, if you get Basic, you won't feel it at all," said Jim Wong, senior corporate vice president at Acer. "There's no graphics, no Media Center, no remote control."
Microsoft’s Top Exec Talks About Vista
Microsoft is about to release the Windows Vista operating system, its biggest software upgrade in years. The commercial versions will be out in November and the consumer version will be ready in January. Steve Ballmer, chief executive of Microsoft, sat down to talk with Mercury News Staff Writer Dean Takahashi about the Vista launch.
Security Vendor Bypasses Microsoft’s Vista PatchGuard
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The company maintains that it has built a version of its Authentium ESP Enterprise Platform that can bypass PatchGuard without setting off the desktop alarms produced by the security feature when the Vista kernel is compromised. ESP Enterprise, an SDK sold by Authentium to telecommunications carriers and so-called managed services providers, offers virus protection, anti-spyware, data recovery, firewall and transaction security capabilities.
Which Vista Is the Right Vista?
"Eventually, we're going to see Vista come out. Yes, I know, even at this late date, Vista is still getting unexpected delays - it was set to go to manufacturing Oct. 25, but it's not going to make it - but it is on its way. My question, though, is: What version will actually work for you come that day?"
Windows Defender Final Released
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"Yes, as a complete suprise it seems that Microsoft has released the final version of their long-time-in-the-making Anti-Spyware program, Windows Defender. The build is marked as 1.1.1592.0 and it seems it can be installed over previous versions (beta 2 that is; it cannot be installed over beta 1, previously known as Microsoft Anti-Spyware Beta)."
One Week Back to Windows
Among the few things I'm proud of in my life, not having had contact with Windows when I first "met" a computer is somewhere around the top. Indeed, the first computer I used ran Unix, and I have been using Unices myself for some time.
Microsoft Blocks Vista Rootkit Exploit
Microsoft has blocked the attack vector used to slip unsigned drivers past new security policies being implemented in Windows Vista, according to Joanna Rutkowska, the stealth malware researcher who created the exploit. Rutkowska, who demonstrated the exploit at the Black Hat conference in August, said she tested the attack against Windows Vista RC2 x64 and found that the exploit doesn't work anymore. "The reason: Vista RC2 now blocks write-access to raw disk sectors for user mode applications, even if they are executed with elevated administrative rights," Rutkowska wrote on her Invisible Things blog.
Windows XP SP3 Pushed to 2008
Microsoft has further delayed the release of Service Pack 3 for Windows XP, moving expected availability from the second half of 2007 to the first half of 2008. The change came silently in an update to the company's service pack roadmap. Although that date is still listed as 'preliminary' a similar delay for Windows Server 2003 SP2 seems to be finalized. Initially planned for the end of this year and currently in beta testing, SP2 will now arrive in the first quarter of 2007.
Vista, Office 2007 To Launch Last Week of November
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The long-touted Microsoft Vista/Office 2007 tandem launch is on for the last week in November in New York, sources said. This event will focus on business usage and scenarios. The new client Windows operating system and Office client and server applications have been promised for volume business customers by year's end and for consumers by early 2007. Jeff Raikes, president of the Microsoft Business Division, would not comment on a specific launch timing or venue but said the company remains on track for the two promised delivery windows. He applied the usual caveat: Microsoft will not ship the code if it's not ready.
Microsoft Capitulates on Vista
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Microsoft has agreed to make a number of changes to Windows Vista in response to guidance from the European Commission, the EU's competition regulator. It has also had successful talks with competition authorities in Korea who raised concerns about Microsoft's business practices. It expects to ship Vista on time in that country as well. Here's a summary of Microsoft's explanation of the changes that will be made in Windows Vista. Microsoft says the changes will apply worldwide.
Microsoft Opening up Vista Kernel to Security Vendors
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"Microsoft has compromised with security vendors who've been demanding access to the kernel of the upcoming Vista operating system so that they can update their security offerings, two analysts confirmed Friday. Following conversations with the European Union, Microsoft will make two security-related changes to Vista. First, it will create a new set of APIs, which will let third-party security vendors access information from the kernel. Microsoft will also build additional APIs to make sure Vista's security status dashboard - Windows Security Center - doesn't send duplicate alerts to users who have installed a rival dashboard."
Vista General Release Date Revealed
Microsoft has revealed a general release date for its upcoming operating system Vista - 5 December, 2006. Speaking to IT professionals, parliamentarians and senior law-enforcement officers at the Parliament and Internet conference in London on Thursday, Microsoft revealed its release plans. "We will officially launch Vista, Microsoft Office 2007 and Exchange 2007 on 5 December," said David Hipwell, a Windows client sales professional at Microsoft. On a very, very related note, the EC says that Vista will not be delayed due to regulatory issues. Also, the Shell: Revealed weblog has an item explaining why Aero Basic looks the way it looks. Update: ZDNet has removed the release date story, and since they are being rude by not offering an explanation, I have no idea what is going on.