Windows Archive

Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols has written article in which he wonders if your operating system isn't broke, why 'fix' it? If what you're running now works for you, why should you move 'up' to Vista? Joe Wilcox responds to SJVN: "Colleague Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols asks 'If your operating system isn't broke, why 'fix' it?' The very question is the problem. The question reflects a sentiment I hear too often as an excuse for keeping old technologies in place - long after their real usefulness is gone."

"It doesn't matter what you (or tech reviewers) think of Windows Vista; sooner or later, it's what most people will have on their PCs. In that light, it's fortunate that Vista is better looking, better designed and better insulated against the annoyances of the Internet. At the very least, it's well equipped to pull the world's PCs along for the next five years - or whenever the next version of Windows drops down the chimney." More here. Free registration might be required.

"Todd Bishop, Robert McLaws and even I have been keeping a close eye on Windows SideShow, one of the last remaining features in Windows Vista yet to be thoroughly explored. Largely due to hardware constraints, not many people have seen SideShow devices let alone play with one. So apart from the infamous Channel 9 video, a few screenshots and concept art, we really don't know much about the experience. Or should I say, until today."

This article discusses resolution independence while this article illustrates the per-application volume settings in Vista. Additionally, Microsoft released today the XNA Game Studio Express.

After my previous short first impressions 'review' of Windows Vista Build 6000, the final build, I promised you a full review which would look a bit deeper into the system, focussing on less obvious matters than appearance alone. Since there are so many new features in Windows Vista, it is very easy to lose track of them. Hence, this review will follow (where possible) a much linked-to page on Wikipedia: Features new to Windows Vista.

Microsoft announced the availability of Windows Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange 2007 for businesses on Nov. 30, an event company CEO Steve Ballmer said was the "biggest launch we've ever done." After delivering a media address at the Nasdaq Stock Exchange in New York to celebrate the product availability, Ballmer sat down with eWEEK Senior Editor Peter Galli to talk about why he feels this is a new day for Microsoft, developers and its customers. CNet has more.

"A comprehensive feature-by-feature guide to Windows Vista. With contributions from people who actually worked on the product, this is the definitive resource to learn about Windows Vista. The Windows Vista Product Guide is available in the new Microsoft Word 2007 or the new XPS format."

Microsoft will soon start pushing out a new version of its controversial Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications antipiracy tool to Windows XP users. The updated WGA Notifications package includes additional changes in response to continued criticism Microsoft has faced over the software, the company said Tuesday. Microsoft in June also updated the tool after critics likened it to spyware because it checked in with Microsoft after each Windows restart.

"eWEEK Labs has been testing Microsoft Windows Vista builds for more than three years, and our evaluation of the final code shows that the new operating system is a significant improvement over its predecessor, Windows XP. What's more, with a raft of subsystem and driver model improvements, Microsoft has laid out in Vista a solid foundation for stability and usability gains in future Windows versions. For enterprises running XP on their desktops and notebooks, however, a Vista upgrade is no slam-dunk. While Vista's new UAC facilities can make it easier for companies to appropriately lock down their desktops, for instance, it's quite possible to run a well-managed shop of XP machines, either out of the box or with the aid of lockdown tools."

"If you're doing any kind of animation or running a process that needs to poll another process or a particular piece of hardware on a regular basis, you need an accurate timer. Depending on your application, the timer might need to be accurate to within one second, or within a fraction of a millisecond. If your timer's resolution is too coarse or its margin of error is too large, your animations will appear jerky or uneven, and your program that's collecting data from custom hardware will miss data or will fail altogether. Windows has two primary methods of measuring elapsed time, and two ways to provide periodic events."

Russian web site Mobile-Review features today a thorough review of the upcoming version of Pocket PC: 6.0 aka Crossbow. The addition of VoIP SIP functionality by default is a welcome one.

"It's not often that something we classify as a 'really good' feature turns out to be a bit of a sham, but unfortunately, that's the case with Vista's symlinks. Just a couple of days ago, symlinks were our 'big Vista feature of the week', but now, we're not so sure."

Fresh from an almost missable US launch of Zune, Microsoft was back on familiar ground Tuesday touting server, security and admin software to reassure shareholders the company's future is bright. Bob Muglia, Microsoft's senior vice president for server and tools opened the company's IT Forum in Barcelona, Spain, by promising a third, and final, beta of Windows Longhorn Server during the first-half of 2007 with full product availability by years' end. Microsoft also officially launched its PowerShell.

"Security is the lens through which I always view products like Windows Vista, and in that view it looks good. But there is a bigger picture with Vista for the industry: It's really, really different from previous versions. At many levels it requires a different approach." The Inq took a look at Vista RTM, and they find: "Suffice to say we're impressed. Vista has come a significantly long way since the RC2 build. It's polished, speedy, and looks good on the eye."