Windows Archive

Microsoft has cut PC-to-PC synchronization from Vista. Vista Beta 2, which is slated to go to as many as two million testers, does not include the P2P synchronization technology. Microsoft officials said they cut the feature due to quality concerns, but the functionality is still "something we plan to deliver to our customers in the future," according to a company spokeswoman.

Microsoft released Vista Beta 2 for public consumption. It does not require a Key but will expire on June 1 2007. You can download the 3GB ISOs (or from here) for 32bit and 64bit architectures.

Microsoft plans to make several significant tweaks to the next beta of Windows Vista to make a key security feature less annoying to users. In response to widespread criticisms that the implementation of the UAC (User Account Control) feature triggers too many privilege elevation prompt pop-ups, the software maker will make changes in Windows Vista RC1.

Computerworld's Scot Finnie details 20 things you won't like in Windows Vista, with a visual tour to prove it. He says that MS has favored security over end-user productivity, making the user feel like a rat caught in a maze with all the protect-you-from-yourself password-entry and 'Continue' boxes required by the User Account Controls feature. "Business and home users will be nonplussed by the blizzard of protect-you-from-yourself password-entry and 'Continue' boxes required by the User Account Controls feature, for example." Update: Apparantly, Vista Beta 2 sucks up battery juice much faster than XP does.

The inevitable flood of Vista Beta 2 reviews are starting, and today there are two prominent reviews. Tom's Harware UK has spent 500 hours with Vista and given it a general thumbs up in its screenshot heavy review. Ars Technica also takes a look at the progress of Vista, but trivializes some larger Vista features, such as the completely rewritten Windows Mail.

Microsoft is to overhaul Windows' graphic driver model after realising that the one that will ship with Windows Vista - Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 1.0 - needs improvement in the way it shares GPU resources between programs and Windows itself.

"Windows Vista Beta 2 includes a new defense against buffer overrun exploits called address space layout randomization. Not only is it in Beta 2, it's on by default too. Now before I continue, I want to level set ASLR. It is not a panacea, it is not a replacement for insecure code, but when used in conjunction with other technologies, which I will explain shortly, it is a useful defense because it makes Windows systems look 'different' to malware, making automated attacks harder." On a related note, Microsoft is having difficulties in reaching parity between the 64bit and 32bit version of Vista concerning the amount of drivers shipped.

With the first Origami devices out the door, Microsoft is setting its sights on the next generation of tiny tablet PCs - products known within the company as "Vistagami" devices. The new minitablets are likely to resemble the first of the ultramobile PCs, though they will run Windows Vista, rather than XP.

Don't expect Microsoft to talk much about the Basic edition of Windows Vista when the operating system ships. The software maker wants you to go Premium. Microsoft is readying its marketing efforts for Vista, the successor to Windows XP slated to be broadly available in January. In its consumer campaigns, the company plans to highlight specific uses - which it calls 'scenarios' - of the operating system. In each case, Windows Vista Home Premium will be the product Microsoft tries to sell.

At WinHEC, Microsoft CEO said Vista might be pushed back a few weeks, depending on the feedback received on Vista Beta 2. "We think we are on track for shipping early in ," the Microsoft CEO said. "We've talked about the month, but we get a chance to critically assess all of the feedback we'll get from this beta release then confirm or move a few weeks. We put the beta out today... So we should start getting feedback right away." Other than that, Bill Gates said Microsoft will focus its products on 64bit, starting later this year.

"It's been a long and arduous journey, but Microsoft continues to make progress in its plan to release Windows Vista. This week, at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Seattle, Microsoft is unveiling Beta 2 of its next-generation operating system, marking a critical milestone on the release plan. Because Vista code, at this point, is essentially feature-complete, Beta 2 - also known as build 5384.4 - doesn't contain a lot of readily visible changes from the builds we've covered previously. But in the months since the February CTP release, Microsoft has continued to improve Vista's fit and finish, flesh out the capabilities of bundled programs, and clean up bugs (though there are still plenty)."

It's the hour of reckoning for Windows Vista. After five years of course changes, false starts and a host of beta and CTP builds, Microsoft is set to deliver a broad-scale build of Vista to two million testers. Microsoft is likely to drop the build - known by multiple names, including the consumer Vista CTP and Vista Beta 2 - as early as the week of May 22 at the WinHEC in Seattle, according to company watchers. And on a related note, if you want the fancy Vista look on your XP machine, check out this transformation pack.

Brad Wardell writes us: "Windows Vista Beta 2 is nearly here and now seems as good a time as any to take a look at where things stand with Microsoft's next-generation operating system. As this article makes clear, Windows Vista has a lot of potential - it is a major upgrade. But it also has some major issues to overcome prior to release."

As expected, the software giant on May 18 unveiled its Windows Vista Get Ready Web site, along with a set of minimum PC hardware guidelines for Vista Capable PCs - which call for at least an 800MHz processor, 512MB of RAM and a DirectX 9-capable graphics processor, but ask for more for those who seek to use all of Vista's features - and a Windows Upgrade Advisor application as part of a campaign to prepare people. on a related note, the WinFS team whetted the appetites of advocates of Microsoft's next-generation file system by sharing information on plans for a new, Microsoft-developed application for WinFS, code-named "Project Orange".