Windows Archive

‘Ten Reasons You Should Get Vista’

Thom Holwerda 2007-01-22 Windows 69 Comments

Yesterday we reported on 'Ten Reasons Not to Get Vista', featuring two rebuttals. APCMag, the publisher of the first article, now also published a rebuttal. "I've been running Vista at APC since the earliest leaked builds, and witnessed its extraordinary evolution as Microsoft meandered its way towards the final product. Sure, the earlier versions included some bold features which were dropped for the sake of familiarity in the final version, but there's still lots to appreciate about the 'RTM' version of Vista. I'm not talking here about a nicer user interface or security - I figure APC readers already know how to run a secure XP box and how to de-Fisher-Price it. Here are the real benefits: things that will actually make a difference to you day-to-day." Instant Update: The original author has now published a rebuttal to the two rebuttals. Isn't the internet fun?

Submitted by danwarne 2007-01-21 Windows 146 Comments

"It's all too easy to get caught up in the million dollar marketing engine as we approach the consumer release of Windows Vista, so lets not forget that it isn't the second coming, and by all counts is an upgrade you can do without. There are many lists out there on why to get Vista, so here's ours on why not to." Update: I have written a rebuttal on my weblog. Update II: Another rebuttal.

Windows Vista Content Protection: Twenty Questions

Thom Holwerda 2007-01-20 Windows 56 Comments

"A conversation has cropped up since the recent publication of a paper scrutinizing how Windows handles digital rights management, especially for HD video. I've since looped back with Dave Marsh, a Lead Program Manager responsible for Windows' handling of video, to learn from him the implications involved and to learn to what extent the paper's assertions are accurate. The following is an article Dave has put together to address the misconceptions in the paper, followed by answers to what we expect will be the most frequent questions in the minds of our customers."

Submitted by jayson.knight 2007-01-20 Windows 33 Comments

Work by Microsoft's R&D group played a part in revamping Windows, a researcher said Friday, but not all the toil made it into Vista. Microsoft Research contributed to the SuperFetch effort, a feature within Vista that predicts which applications are used when, then pre-loads them so that they're instantly available. "As part of a long term set of projects, we want to teach the computer to learn from users to make the machine more proactive," says Eric Horvitz, a principal researcher with Microsoft's R&D as well as the president-elect of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence. "We want to use the system's idle time to make things punchier."

Submitted by Sphinx 2007-01-19 Windows 7 Comments

"On January 30th Microsoft releases to consumers the newest version of its operating system, called Windows Vista. Although the company said on January 17th that it would make Vista available for sale and download online, most people will buy the upgrade in old-fashioned boxes, just as they did back in 1995. But this time, despite plenty of razzmatazz, few customers will be queuing up to buy a copy."

Submitted by jayson.knight 2007-01-19 Windows 106 Comments

With the imminent release of Windows Vista to consumers this month, Linus Torvalds, the father of Linux, has claimed Microsoft's latest desktop effort is over-hyped and not a revolutionary advancement. "I don't actually think that something like Vista will change how people work that much," Torvalds told Computerworld. "I think it, to some degree, has been over-hyped as being something completely new and I don't actually think it is."

Submitted by tertiary_adjunct 2007-01-18 Windows 89 Comments

"Regardless of widespread skepticism, I was confident that Vista would dazzle me, and I looked forward to saying so in print. Ironically, playing around with Vista for more than a month has done what years of experience and exhortations from Mac-loving friends could not: it has converted me into a Mac fan."

Ultra-Mobile PCs To Get Vista Facelift

Thom Holwerda 2007-01-17 Windows 10 Comments

Origami, the top-secret Microsoft project that became the Ultra-Mobile PC, was finally unveiled last March, and devices utilizing the new form factor appeared shortly thereafter. The UMPC is a full Windows PC with a small touch-screen display and a virtual keyboard, and despite issues with short battery life, the early units were impressive. Now, Microsoft has announced a major upgrade for the young UMPC, which it calls the 'Origami Experience'.

Submitted by jayson.knight 2007-01-16 Windows 70 Comments

Even though the retail launch of Windows Vista just a couple of weeks away, Microsoft is still continuing to fine-tune its licensing and pricing details. Sources said that Microsoft will announce some time over the next few days that the two additional copies of Vista Home Premium for somewhere between USD 50 to USD 99 a piece. In order to qualify for the so-called 'Family Pack' promotion, customers will first need to purchase at retail a copy of Vista Ultimate, which carries an estimated retail price of USD 399. The deal will not be offered to those who purchase Ultimate preloaded on a new PC, sources said; it will be for customers buying and/or upgrading via retail channels only.

Built-in Vista Components a Problem

Submitted by Rohit Sharma 2007-01-13 Windows 45 Comments

The author of this article tells how tightly coupled are the Vista built in modules. As of date there is no known way to fix an individual component in case it gets corrupted.

Report: Vista’s Business Sales Stronger Than Expected

Thom Holwerda 2007-01-12 Windows 38 Comments

Sales of Windows Vista to businesses were stronger than expected during the operating system's debut month, according to a report from NPD Group. The sales outpaced the first month's tally for Windows 2000 and only slightly trailed that for Windows XP, the market researcher said Thursday. Commercial revenue from Vista in December was 62.5 percent above that racked up by Windows 2000 in March 2000, its first month after launch. But Vista's total is 3.7 percent below what Microsoft got in the commercial channel for Windows XP in November 2001, its first month on the market.

Submitted by jayson.knight 2007-01-11 Windows 70 Comments

A senior Microsoft executive says the company is concerned that uncertified third-party software loaded onto new computers by manufacturers could hurt the launch of consumer versions of its Windows Vista operating system later this month. In a discussion Tuesday night at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Microsoft official told CBC News Online, on condition of anonymity, that the world's largest software maker is frustrated by legal shackles that prevent the company from restricting what kinds of software major computer makers install on new PCs. "We can't do anything about it because it would be illegal," the executive said in reference to restrictions placed on the company following a U.S. federal anti-trust lawsuit against the company.

Offline Updater for Windows 2000, XP, 2003

Submitted by Niels Büttner 2007-01-11 Windows 12 Comments

"Looking for manageable Windows updates even without an internet connection? Our offline update 3.0 script collection downloads the entire body of updates for Windows 2000, XP or Server 2003 from Microsoft's servers in one fell swoop and then uses them to create patch packages on CD, DVD or USB stick. Those in turn allow you to update as many PCs as desired."

Government Agency Tells Schools to Shun Vista

Thom Holwerda 2007-01-10 Windows 44 Comments

In a surprise criticism of Microsoft, the UK government's schools computer agency, has warned that deploying Vista carries too much risk and that its benefits are unclear. Becta, the British Educational Communications and Technology Agency, said on Wednesday that it 'strongly recommends' schools do not deploy Microsoft's next operating system within the next 12 months. And in a further dig at Microsoft, Becta argues there are no 'must-have' features in Vista and that "technical, financial and organisational challenges associated with early deployment currently make a high-risk strategy."

For Vista Testers, It’s All in the Family

Thom Holwerda 2007-01-10 Windows 15 Comments

Millions of computer users participate in software beta programs every year, usually toiling away in anonymity, never quite sure if whatever they find or report will matter in the final product. Others find the experience a lot more fulfilling, such as the families that participated in Microsoft's Life with Windows Vista program. In addition to the more than 2 million testers of Vista, Microsoft selected 50 families from around the world and watched, in a reality TV kind of way, how they interacted with Vista, right out of the box with the first beta and all the way up to release to manufacturing.

For Windows Vista Security, Microsoft Called in Pros

Submitted by John Mills 2007-01-09 Windows 78 Comments

When Microsoft introduces its long-awaited Windows Vista operating system this month, it will have an unlikely partner to thank for making its flagship product safe and secure for millions of computer users across the world: the National Security Agency. For the first time, the giant software maker is acknowledging the help of the secretive agency, better known for eavesdropping on foreign officials and, more recently, U.S. citizens as part of the Bush administration's effort to combat terrorism. The agency said it has helped in the development of the security of Microsoft's new operating system to protect it from worms, Trojan horses and other insidious computer attackers.

Submitted by archiesteel 2007-01-09 Windows 71 Comments

Microsoft has been forced to acknowledge that a substantial number of PCs running the new version of its Windows operating system will not be able to play high-quality DVDs. The Vista system will be available to consumers at the end of the month. However, in an interview with The Times, one of its chief architects said that because of anti-piracy protection granted to the Hollywood studios, Vista would not play HD-DVD and Blu-ray Discs on certain PCs.

Gates Wants a Server in Every Home

Thom Holwerda 2007-01-08 Windows 113 Comments

As part of his keynote address on Sunday at the annual Consumer Electronics Show, Gates showed off Windows Home Server (more info at Ars) - a consumer device to serve as a central storage place for digital photos, music and other media. The first products are due out later this year from HP and others. The goal is to get devices that can cost less than USD 500. In the first of a two-part interview, Microsoft's chairman talks about why the average person wants a server, why they won't need a degree in computer science to run it and what hurdles remain before consumers reach the true digital home.

Thurrott Completes Vista Review

Submitted by anonymous 2007-01-06 Windows 153 Comments

Right before the end of 2006, Paul Thurrott completed his 8-part review of Windows Vista. His final conclusion: "Vista is a better operating system than the competition, for reasons that are both technical and practical. But for the hundreds of millions of people who will move to Vista in the coming years, all that will really matter is that it's a major improvement over XP. And it most certainly is that as well."

Coming Soon: Microsoft Windows Home Server?

Thom Holwerda 2007-01-05 Windows 70 Comments

"There's been radio chatter this week of a possible new addition to the Windows family: a 'Home Server'. If the chatter is right, Microsoft will unveil it at CES, which kicks off next week. 'Home Server', according to my sources, is about centralized storage, home automation and security."

Windows Archive

‘Ten Reasons You Should Get Vista’

‘Ten Reasons Not to Get Vista’

Windows Vista Content Protection: Twenty Questions

Microsoft Predicts the Future with Vista’s SuperFetch

Peaks, Valleys, and Vistas

Torvalds: Windows Vista ‘Overhyped’

‘Uninspiring Vista’