Windows Archive

Microsoft announced on Tuesday US prices for Windows Vista, the long-awaited new version of the operating system that sits on more than 90 percent of the world's personal computers. The software maker set the retail price for Vista at between USD 100 and USD 259 for users upgrading from older versions of Windows. The prices range from the basic version of Vista to the top-end 'ultimate' edition. For consumers looking to buy Vista without an upgrade, the products will cost between USD 199 to USD 399, Microsoft said.

Few people know it, but when you boot off the Vista install DVD, you’re booting into a different version of Windows altogether: Windows PE 2.0. It’s based on the Vista kernel, but it’s extremely compact. It provides read/write access to NTFS filesystems, a wide range of 32- and 64-bit hardware drivers, network connectivity and the ability to run both 32- and 64-bit applications.

Paul Thurrott has posted the first two parts of his review of Windows Vista build 5600 (RC1) along with a list of five of his favorite features. Update: Vista has a long way to go to be finished, blogger says. RC1 is good, but it's not perfect, and NeoSmart lists the reasons. Plus, it still can't synchronize with mobile devices, even though it's supposed to be code-complete.

Microsoft's Windows Vista RC 1 is done. Now it's up to the estimated 6 million testers to which the company is planning to release the code to determine if it really is ready for prime time. Microsoft has posted the RC 1 build, Number 5600, on its TechBeta Web sites for select technical beta testers, including TAP partners, on September 1. Microsoft is planning to broaden the beta to include up to six million participants, total, some time next week, according to industry sources. Cnet has a video introduction to Vista RC1. Elsewhere, people are going bonkers over Vista's... Start up sound. Major Tom to ground control?

Microsoft is breathing more life into older versions of its products by offering businesses extended coverage for fixing security problems and bugs. Large companies running old favorites Windows NT 4.0, Exchange Server 5.5 and Windows XP Service Pack 1 can expect at least three more years of support from Microsoft after it decided to update the Custom Support Agreement program. There is even the suggestion support will go beyond three years.

Microsoft.com Canada has released pricing for Windows Vista. Windows Vista Ultimate is listed at $499 Canadian which translates into $450.36 in USD. Home Premium is listed at $299 or $269.86 USD, Vista Ultimate Upgrade is priced at $299 or $269.86 USD, while Home Premium Upgrade is $199 or $179.60 USD. At the same time, the first 100000 respondents can download Vista Build 5536. Microsoft is not giving out new keys, so you need your Beta 2 key. Update: Amazon.com now too sells Vista.

eWeek's review of the latest Vista build is pretty positive: "On Aug. 25, Microsoft released to testers Vista Build 5536, the latest in a long line of sneak peeks at Microsoft's forthcoming desktop operating system. eWEEK Labs' tests of Build 5536 show that the operating system is gaining speed and losing quirks as its release nears." They also made a pretty screenshot gallery. In addition, everybody's favourite Microsoft Apple Microsoft zealot is also positive about this build.

Vista will be the last version of Windows that exists in its current, monolithic form, according to Gartner. Instead, the research firm predicts, Microsoft will be forced to migrate Windows to a modular architecture tied together through hardware-supported virtualisation. "The current, integrated architecture of Microsoft Windows is unsustainable - for enterprises and for Microsoft," wrote Gartner analysts Brian Gammage, Michael Silver and David Mitchell Smith.

The web exploded yesterday with the news that Microsoft would cripple 32bit versions of Vista so they would not play protected high-definition content. However, Microsoft was quick to respond, stating: "The community is buzzing with reactions to APC Magazine's article regarding playback of protected High Definition content in 32-bit versions of Windows Vista. However, the information shared was incorrect and the reactions pervading the community are thus (understandably) ill-informed. The real deal is that no version of Windows Vista will make a determination as to whether any given piece of content should play back or not."

"I have been testing Microsoft operating systems since Windows 95, and this is the buggiest OS I've seen this late in development," says Joe Wilcox, an analyst with Jupiter Research. "Look at the older operating systems, and by Beta 2 there is a stable foundation on which the can build. Right now, Vista is like a ship on stormy seas."

After pushing the launch of Windows Vista to late 2006 for corporate customers and early 2007 for consumers, Microsoft insisted that quality, not timing, would dictate the product's release schedule. The company's loyalty to that guiding principle is soon going to be put to the test.

Microsoft is set to deliver a new Windows Vista build - possibly Build No. 5506 - to testers some time in the next few days, according to Vista testers who asked not to be named. The forthcoming build will embed links to a number of Microsoft's Windows Live services. Microsoft is gunning to release the new build some time the week of August 14, testers said. That build may be 5506 or a slightly later build, they said. On a related note, two of Microsoft's security patches this month are for Vista.

"Whether you ever plan on upgrading to Windows Vista or not, one thing is clear: Its impact on the world of PC hardware will be huge. We've written about how to build a Windows Vista system. This time we're not talking about building a Vista system today, but rather, about what new types of hardware Windows Vista will spawn. We'll also consider how this new generation of hardware will affect your future buying decisions."

"Apple has touted itself as the innovator in OS software; it has suggested that all the new additions in Windows Vista already exist in the most recent Mac OS X, Tiger. Microsoft might take issue with that, but there's no denying that it has struggled somewhat with Vista, which has had features cut and seen a series of delays. To find out what people on the street make of it, we asked our Vista Views panel, made up of ordinary readers, this question: Which feature in Leopard would you like to see in Vista?"