Windows Vista 2006

Transform Windows Xp Into Vista Look.

2007-10-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

Overview :

I’m pretty sure you must know and have seen Windows Vista before. It looks really nice for major GUI updates. Many people who have seen it and wish to get Vista-style looks for their operating system and you can actually make your windows XP look exactly like windows vista without having to install it.

Vista Transformation Pack, this program will transform your Windows user interface to ultimate Windows Vista alike looks that everyone will never notice it’s the same old Windows XP (or 2003)

Features:

Vista Transformation Pack will replace many of the resources in Windows XP/Windows Server 2003. It can change such things as:

Boot screen
Welcome Screen / Logon Screen
New msstyles files (visual styles)
New desktop and fie icons.
New toolbar icons
Progress Dialogs
Sounds scheme
System Tray icons
New Wallpapers
Windows Media Player Skins
And much more

Screenshots :

Below are some screenshots that will show you how your operating system will look after installing the vista transformation pack.

So if you want to experience the features of Windows Vista on your Windows XP/Server 2003 then this is what you need!

Download Vista Transformation Pack and Discuss.

Note : The newest version of Vista Transformation Pack will not run if you have the Hotfix KB925902 installed. There's an alternate to this, though, you can download Vista Inspirat which has the same features as Vista Transformation Pack and will cause no errors.
Hire A Designer

Download Vista Inspirat 2.

Microsoft Vista 20 Hidden Vista Tools

2007-10-13T14:56:00.001-07:00

The default installation of Windows Vista weighs in at approximately 8 GB. In fact, Microsoft's latest operating system won't even install with less than 15 GB of space available on the hard drive. This is valid for both the low-end and the high-end editions of the platform. A full Vista installation will take up no less than 40 times more hard disk space compared to Windows 95's 200 MB and five times more than Windows XP's 1.5 GB. Part of the reason why Vista hugs so much hard disk real estate space is the fact that the operating system brings to the table a plethora of built-in administrative tools that ship by default with the platform.

In this context, the term hidden, is not entirely accurate. Advanced users and system administrators have no problems tracking down and using the administrative tools in Vista. But at the same time, an average user could pass right by them, just because of their low footprint in the operating system's fabric, as they simply have a way to go by virtually undocumented and unnoticed. But this does not mean that the tools are not there, it just requires a bit of digging under the surface. And you will be surprised of how many long-time Windows users have failed to take a deeper look under the hood of the operating system, even if it would make their life so much easier.

You'll be surprised of what is lying beneath. But at the same time you have to understand that a large part of these utilities are not new to Vista, although they all suffered enhancements. Some of them are obviously survivors from older editions of Windows. But this is besides the point. You should at least be aware of the luxuriant resources within your grasp, provided of course that you are running Windows Vista. Also, while the tools exemplified in this article are to a certain degree common to all SKUs of Vista, you would do better to focus on the high-end editions of the operating system, such as Business, Enterprise and Ultimate, and less on Home Basic and Home Premium, as some items might be missing or limited in functionality on the latter two examples of the platform.

1. Task Manager

Right, I thought I would debut with something as common as the Start Menu. The Windows Task Manager can be launched via Ctrl + Shift + Esc, or by Alt + Ctrl + Delete, as well as by right clicking the Taskbar and choosing Task Manager from the options in the contextual menu that pops up. The Windows Task Manager in Vista is designed to run with standard user privileges, and as such, will not deliver a User Account Prompt. The tool will permit you to manage Applications, Processes, Services, and to monitor Performance, Networking and the active Users through the corresponding tabs. If you are looking to kill a program that is not responding, identify the process associated with a certain program or simply check the CPU cycles or the amount of system memory cached, then Task Manager is the simplest and most accessible tool.

2. Network and Sharing Center

"The Network and Sharing Center puts you in control of your network connectivity. It's a place where you can check your connection status, view your network visually, and troubleshoot connection problems. The Network and Sharing Center informs you about your network and verifies whether your PC can successfully access the Internet—then summarizes this info in the form of a Network Map," reads a fragment of Microsoft's description of the resource.

But the Network and Sharing Center is only the surface of the Windows Network Diagnostics tool in Windows Vista, an automated utility designed to identify, diagnose and resolve connectivity problems. And in its turn, the Windows Network Diagnostics tool is just a part of the Network Diagnostics Framework (NDF) in Vista. Every time you will run into connectivity issues, NDF can provide a way out. The Network and Sharing Center is located under Control Panel, Network and Internet.

3. Backup, Shadow Copies, System Restore

There is an intimate connection between backup, shadow copies, system restore and restore points in Windows Vista. And there are two locations that will permit you to both have a general perspective of the status of the capabilities mentioned and to configure them, the Backup Status and Configuration and the Backup and Restore Center. Both can be launched by entering "Backup" in the search box under the Start Menu.

Via the Backup Status and Configuration you will be able to manage automatic file backup and handle the settings, as well as perform advanced restore or a complete PC backup. The Backup and Restore Center offers basically the same functionality but is additionally focused on creating system restore point and activating the shadow copies’ features.

4. Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption

Available exclusively in Windows Vista Enterprise and Ultimate, Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption is designed to help ensure the privacy of sensitive data by encryption. Although the default configuration of BitLocker requires a Trust Platform Module, the fact of the matter is that TPMs are rare in use outside of corporate environments, but users will be able to use the tool nonetheless, although without some functionality. With Windows Vista SP1, the Redmond company will also allow users to encrypt additional volumes on top of the operating system drive, protected by default.

"During computer startup, if BitLocker detects a system condition that could represent a security risk (for example, disk errors, a change to the BIOS , or changes to any startup files), it will lock the drive and require a special BitLocker recovery password to unlock it. Make sure that you create this recovery password when you turn on BitLocker for the first time; otherwise, you could permanently lose access to your files", is the warning Microsoft provides with the use of BitLocker.

5. Program Compatibility Wizard

The Program Compatibility Wizard under Control Panel and Programs will permit you to use an older program with Windows Vista. The tool is designed to help users that are experiencing functionality issues with an application in Vista, although the problems were not there with a prior version of Windows. The wizard will detect all the programs installed, and also permit the selection and testing of compatibility settings. Everything from display settings, to desktop composition and to administrative privileges can be set through the wizard.

6. Microsoft Management Console 3.0

"Microsoft Management Console (MMC) hosts administrative tools that you can use to administer networks, computers, services, and other system components," reads an excerpt of the Redmond company's description of the resource. The Microsoft Management Console 3.0, also known as Console Root or Console 1, has been around since Windows 2000. You can open it by typing "mmc" in the Search box under the Start menu, in a Run dialog box or in a command prompt window. MMC is essentially not an administrative tool, as it does not perform any such tasks, but it does provide hosting for various components including: Local security Policy, Computer Management, Event Viewer, and the Reliability and Performance Monitor as snap-ins which can be added for local or remote computers on the network.

7. Computer Management

Computer Management is a collection of administrative components. Accessible by entering "Computer Management" in the Search box under Start Menu, you can find items placed in three categories: System Tools, Storage and Services and Applications. Computer Management comes with the Task Scheduler, Event Viewer, Shared Folders, Local Users and Groups, the Reliability and Performance Monitor, Device Manager, Disk Management, as well as Services and WMI Control.

8. WMI - Windows Management Instrumentation

"Effective management of PC and server systems in an enterprise network benefits from well-instrumented computer software and hardware, which allow system components to be monitored and controlled, both locally and remotely. Microsoft is committed to simplifying instrumentation of hardware and software under Microsoft Windows operating systems. Microsoft is also committed to providing consistent access to this instrumentation for both Windows-based management systems and legacy management systems that are hosted in other environments. The foundations for manageability in Windows operating systems are Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI; formerly known as WBEM) and WMI extensions for Windows Driver Model," reveals the company's introduction on WMI.

9. Services

Typing "Services" in the Search box under the Start Menu will open the tool with exactly this name. Essentially, the utility will provide an exhaustive list of all the processes in Windows Vista complete with name, description, status and startup type. The console will allow you to stop, restart or start various services across the operating system, as well as getting an insight into all the properties of the services enumerated by the tool.

10. Disk Management

Disk Management in Windows Vista is under Control Panel, System and Maintenance, Administrative Tools, Computer Management, Storage. A breeze to navigate if you were to ask me. The system utility will help you manage partitions and hard disks. Disk initialization, creating volumes, and formatting with the FAT, FAT32, or NTFS file systems are all tasks offered by Disk Management.

11. Device Manager

"Device Manager provides you with a graphical view of the hardware that is installed on your computer. All devices communicate with Windows through a piece of software called a device driver. You can use Device Manager to install and update the drivers for your hardware devices, modify hardware settings for those devices, and troubleshoot problems", is the overview Microsoft provides of the tool. Device Manager permits users to modify hardware configuration settings, get a complete overview of all devices, perform device drivers installation and uninstallation actions, as well as enable and disable certain items.

12. Windows Reliability and Performance Monitor

Under Control Panel, System and Maintenance, Administrative Tools, the Windows Reliability and Performance Monitor is the big brother of the monitoring features provided by the Task Manager. The tool will offer a closer view at the CPU, the hard disk, Network activity and System Memory. Users can both monitor the system's performance in real time or choose to create logs of data collected and stored for further analysis.

13. Local Users and Groups

This is the perfect location to manage accounts in Windows Vista. You will be able to create and handle user accounts and the details related to them such as Groups and privileges. The Local Users and Groups console offers a location to activate the two built-in accounts that ship with Vista: Guest and Administrator. While Guest can be all but ignored, I am sure that the account for the Absolute Administrator of Vista is the kind of freedom some users will want.

14. Event Viewer

"The Event Viewer is a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in that enables you to browse and manage event logs. It is an indispensable tool for monitoring the health of systems and troubleshooting issues when they arise. Event Viewer enables you to perform the following tasks: view events from multiple event logs; save useful event filters as custom views that can be reused; schedule a task to run in response to an event and create and manage event subscriptions", reads the tool's overview.

15. Task Scheduler

The Task Scheduler is also hosted under Control Panel, System and Maintenance, Administrative Tools and the name is pretty much explanatory. You can use the tool to schedule automated tasks in concordance with a specific time or a certain event. The utility will also offer a complete library of scheduled tasks allowing you to delete unnecessary items, in addition to options such as run, disable and modify.

16. Memory Diagnostics Tool

Normally, you will access the Memory Diagnostics Tool via the Windows Vista installation disk. But there is also another way. The utility can be found under Control Panel, System and Maintenance, Administrative Tools and, when launched, it will offer to restart immediately and check for RAM problems, or analyze the system memory the next time the computer is started. This is a very useful tool that will identify and diagnose memory problems.

17. System Configuration

System Configuration can be launched by entering "msconfig" in the Search box under the Start menu. It will offer users five tabs and with them the possibility to manage the startup process, boot options, the services across Vista, a reduced list of start-up items as well as providing shortcuts to a range of tools in the operating system. Under the Tools tab, you will be able to find some more hidden Vista goodies such as Internet Protocol Configuration, UAC and easy access to the registry.

18. System Information

"System Information (also known as msinfo32.exe) shows details about your computer's hardware configuration, computer components, and software, including drivers," reads the general description of the tool. System Information offers users a view over System Summary, the Hardware Resources and the Software Environment. The tool will display information about the operating system and its general settings, hardware and programs. Just type "msinfo32.exe" in the Search box under the Start Menu in order to launch it.

19. Windows Firewall with Advanced Security

Windows Firewall with Advanced Security is a bit of a hidden gem in Windows Vista. Located under Control Panel, Administrative Tools the tool is a bundle between a host firewall and Ipsec. If you want control over packets for IPv4 and IPv6 traffic, then this utility is the right answer for you, no doubt about it. You will be able to configure rules that will then apply to all incoming and outgoing traffic.

20. Local Security Policy

Also placed under Control Panel, Administrative Tools, the Local Security Policy will allow you to configure policies for the Vista Accounts, Local Policies, Public Key Policies, Software Restrictions Policies, IP Security Policies on Local Computer and the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security.

Source: http://news.softpedia.com/

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) Looking Good So Far, Due in Q1 '08

2007-10-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

The first service pack for Windows Vista is on its way, and PC Magazine has a preview of an early private beta version. The good news is that reviewer Neil Randall found the service pack to be faster overall than the shipping version of Windows Vista, and also noticed more drivers available and improved encryption. Randall also experienced applications within Adobe Creative Suite CS2 running faster, dialog boxes popping up more rapidly and other file copying speedups. This bodes well for the shipping version of SP1, which should be available along with Service Pack 3 of Windows XP (the last service pack for XP) in Q1 of 2008. [PC Magazine]

Windows Vista System Restore Tips And Tricks

2007-09-30T02:25:00.000-07:00

Vista's System Restore is set to erase restore points after 136 years :)

Windows uses up to 15 percent of hard drive’s available space to save restore points. In Windows XP, the option to change this figure was configurable from the ‘System Restore’ tab of the ‘System Properties’ dialog box. But this option is no longer available in Vista.

Steps To Set Up System Restore

Open regedit and go to
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\
SystemRestore\Cfg Double-click the DiskPercent.
The default is f (in hexadecimal) which is 15 in decimal. For making it say 10% type ‘a’
Now again, how frequently you’d like to have your SystemRestore points auto-created can also b configured as follows :
Open regedit and go to
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore
You can change the value RPGlobalInterval from its default setting of 86,400 seconds (24 hours) to, say, 43200 (a8c0) if u want it created every 12 hrs.

As and how your new restore points get created, the older ones get deleted due to the available space constraint.
Otherwise by default, in Vista, System Restore is set to delete restore points after roughly 4,294,967,295 seconds or 136 years, which was a mere 90 days in XP! The idea apparently, is to delete them only when absolutely necessary due to space constraint!!! But err…136 years !!!
But if you’d like to, you can also change this interval too. Change the value of RPLifeInterval in the same key; a setting of 7,776,000 seconds (or 76a700 in hexadecimal) is equivalent to 90 days.
To create System Restore Points on the fly, try System Restore Point Creator. Using this utility, you can create System Restore Points in one click. Works on Vista! To change the frequency of the System Restore Points formation, without using the Registry Editor, you can download CSRF Utility.

Enjoy It;)

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Beta

2007-09-27T01:40:00.000-07:00

Today Microsoft is releasing the Beta of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 which was announced by Nick White few weeks ago. I'd like to take the opportunity to share my very own experiences with Windows Vista SP1 Beta running on several PCs of my own.

"I decided to test SP1 on a variety of hardware which allows me to test a variety of scenarios:

Desktop PC (Custom-made) running Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit.
Laptop (HP tx1000) running Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit.

The most common way the user will get SP1 will be through Windows Update. That is how I installed SP1 on the HP tx1000. Before getting to the SP1, a series of 3 prerequisites had to be installed first (It was 3 for me since I'm running Windows Vista Ultimate, but users who aren't running Ultimate or Enterprise will only have 2 to install since BitLocker is not included in the other Windows Vista SKUs). I talked to Product Manager David Zipkin who explained what these prerequisites are for. The first prerequisite includes updates to the servicing stack. The second prerequisite is an update for BitLocker-capable PCs (Windows Vista Enterprise and Windows Vista Ultimate) to ensure proper servicing of Bitlocker. And the third and final prerequisite includes some updates to Windows, necessary to install and uninstall the service pack.

With me being a power user, I went into the Windows Update control panel to install the service pack and prerequisites manually but most users have Windows Update configured to automatically install updates and so the prerequisites-like other updates-will automatically install, typically overnight.

Once the prerequisites are installed, you will then be able to proceed with updating to SP1 via Windows Update. David told me that Microsoft also intends to release some of these prerequisite updates ahead of the service pack, as part of normal monthly updates, so you shouldn't see all these when you install the Service Pack."

Read Full Article

http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsexperience/archive/2007/09/24/experiencing-windows-vista-service-pack-1-beta.aspx

12 Vista Tweaks - Squeeze Every Last Drop of Performance Out of Windows Vista

2007-09-16T02:55:00.000-07:00

12 Vista Tweaks - Squeeze Every Last Drop of Performance Out of Windows Vista

And yet, there are scenarios in which Vista will eat away CPU cycles, huge amounts of random access memory, completely hug a ReadyBoost USB device and still underperform. The operating system will choke even on the most common of tasks, abandoning the user to slowdowns in system performance and to unresponsive processes catalyzed by nothing more than routine and mundane actions. No doubt, Vista has a few rough corners in terms of reliability and performance, but there are a few solutions available, until Microsoft delivers the first Service Pack in 2008.

1. Hardware
Is there something you can do beforehand to boost Windows Vista performance? Well, of course there is. Build or choose a hardware architecture to tailor fit the resource-hungry operating system. If you can buy a new system along with the platform, or if you can upgrade, do it. We have all seen the minimum Vista system requirements, and they are completely unrealistic. I mean, 800 MHz 32-bit or 64-bit processors, together with 512 MB of RAM, with at least 448 MB of system memory that has to be available to the operating system before the rest up to 512 MB is allocated to an on board graphics solution, DirectX 9 graphics card with 32 MB of graphics memory and a 20 GB hard disk will deliver only minimum performance.

1 GHz 32-bit and 64-bit processors, 1 GB of system memory, Windows Aero-capable graphics card – a DirectX 9 item with WDDM driver, Pixel Shader 2.0 in hardware, 32 bits per pixel, and 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum) and 40-GB hard disk. I wouldn't settle for less than a 2 GHz processor, with 2 GB of RAM, and at least 256 MB of graphics memory. Just trust me on this one.

2. Give Vista a Couple of Tries
This is another pseudo-tweak, but do get ready for the real thing! Believe it or not, you actually have to train Windows Vista. The operating system's Memory Manager handles physical memory different from past versions of Windows, courtesy of SuperFetch. Essentially, the memory management technology in Vista will keep track of usage patterns across the operating system and will store content in memory, optimizing both frequently accessed applications but also handling low-priority I/O background processes. In order for SuperFetch to create a pattern of behavior, you will have to actually use the machine. One area where you will notice a definite improvement over XP is on continuing your work after the operating system has performed background tasks on an idle computer. Unlike the Standby List management in Windows XP, SuperFetch will repopulate memory with evicted data and code whenever it is available. But even this process will take place with a very low priority I/Os.

3. Windows Vista Aero-Less
The Windows Aero graphical user interface in Windows Vista is a breath of fresh air. But the extensive visual effects will take their toll on the general performance of the operating system. The best solution in this regard is to turn Aero off altogether and to opt for using the rudimentary Windows Vista Basic or Windows Standard GUIs. Such a move will boost performance, and as you have already undoubtedly noticed, Aero can slow down your workflow quite a lot. But if you've got a sweet tooth and simply cannot do without eye candy, then Windows Aero can be tweaked in order to hug less resources.

Open Control Panel and type the following in the Instant search box in the right hand side corner: "advanced system settings". Open the result Control Panel and click on the Settings button in the performance area, just under visual effects, processor scheduling, memory usage and virtual memory.

4. Kill Desktop Window Manager
"The new Windows Vista desktop composition feature fundamentally changes the way applications display pixels on the screen. When desktop composition is enabled, individual windows no longer draw directly to the screen or primary display device as they did in previous versions of Microsoft Windows. Instead, their drawing is redirected to off-screen surfaces in video memory, which are then rendered into a desktop image and presented on the display. Desktop composition is performed by the Desktop Window Manager (DWM), a new component of Windows Vista", Microsoft explained.

5. Virtual Memory and Processor Optimization
While personalizing Windows Aero is among the few modifications you can make to the surface of the operating system, the System Properties dialog box also offers you the best place to configure the amount of virtual memory for Vista. To the right of the Visual Effects, you will notice the advanced tab. The area towards the bottom is reserved for virtual memory. Vista even delivers a small definition, revealing that virtual memory is a paging file in an area on the hard disk that Windows users use as if it were RAM. Right, all you have to understand is that virtual memory is an extension of the physical memory of your system. It is a very good idea to have a paging file for all the physic hard drive on your machine, but not for all the drives on a single disk.

6. Trim the Startup Monster
An ideal performance scenario would involve Windows Vista running under the default installation. This is of course not possible. The invariable problem with adding applications to the operating system is that they will impact the overall results of the operating system, and nowhere is this more visible than in the startup process. There is no comparison between Vista booting up in the default deployment, and a startup after you have installed countless applications. First off, always make sure that applications you no longer use are uninstalled. There's no point in having them hanging around just to slow down Vista.

7. Mute User Account Control Elevation Prompts
User Account Control is a security mitigation introduced in Windows Vista as a measure to train users and software developers to use standard privileges only as opposed to administrative rights. The UAC's presence is necessary as it will permit the users to have control over how services, processes and applications access critical areas of the operating system. While the feature is not even close to the nagging monster it was "advertised" to be, it will deliver an impact on performance. Follow this link in order to learn how you can switch it off.

8. The Windows Error Reporting Service
Microsoft, in all its wisdom, has built Windows Vista in such a manner that the operating system will generate error reports after error reports in response to various exceptions across the platform. The Redmond company claims that error reports are an integer and essential part of the automatic feedback process designed to ultimately improve user experience on Windows Vista. The reality is that you can send tons and tons of error reports to Microsoft, and there is absolutely no guarantee that the company will address any of them.

9. Disk Defragmentation and Hard Drive Management
With Windows Vista, Microsoft has virtually taken the user out of the disk defragmentation equation. Defrag is now pretty much and automated process designed to run in the background. But even though it is performed with the most basic level of system resources, it will make itself felt in terms of overall performance. All you have to do is uncheck the "Run on schedule" option of the feature. Still, it is an excellent idea to defragment your hard drive and also to make sure that there is sufficient free space. Keeping the files stored in discontinuous sectors and ensuring a healthy amount of free space will help boost Windows Vista performance.

10. The System Restore and Volume Shadow Copy Services
System Restore is an essential element of the back-up infrastructure of Windows Vista. Right click on My Computer, choose Properties, and click on the System Protection option in the left hand side menu. Windows Vista can create automatic restore points for all the partitions on your hard drive. In this manner, you will be able to restore the operating system to an earlier point in time or use the Volume Shadow Copy service in order to revert a file or folder to a previous version. Building restore points does affect Windows Vista. In my opinion, this is a trade-off that you should learn to live with because of the virtual inestimable value of System restore. However, if you prefer a more hands-on approach to back-up, then you can uncheck all the boxes for the specific volumes on your hard drives in order to prevent the creation of restore points.

11. The Indexing and Search Service
"Windows Vista includes an indexing service that enables Windows Desktop Search to provide fast searches for documents, photos, e-mail messages, and other data. The service runs by default and uses the NTFS file system’s unique service name (USN) journaling feature to track changes in file system content. By default, only portions of the main system volume are actually indexed. Some of the indexing service I/O is performed at low priority, which means that it is delayed when normal-priority work is accomplished. If Windows Vista detects user activity such as mouse movement or keyboard input, it can throttle this activity," Microsoft stated.

In order to turn off Vista's Indexing and Search service in Windows Explorer right click each drive and select Properties from the contextual menu. The last option on the bottom of the General tab is "Index this drive for faster searching". Uncheck it to stop the indexing service.

12. Turn Off Windows Ballast
Windows Vista comes with a set of features that are nothing more than excess ballast in certain situations, managing to reverberate on the operating system's performance. Some you don't need at all, and some you simply don't want dragging along. Microsoft provides in Vista the option to switch them off without actually removing them from the platform. In Control Panel choose "Uninstall a program" under Programs and then "Turn Windows features on or off". The Indexing Service, Remote Differential Compression, Tablet PC Optional Components, Windows DFS Replication Service, Windows Fax & Scan and Windows Meeting Space, ActiveX Installer Service etc. can all pretty much be disabled, with the exception of Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0. The beauty of this feature is the fact that none of the items is lost. In case you change your mind, or discover that you need a component, revisit the location and check the box next to it. It's that simple.

Take Matters into Your Own Hands

In addition to the examples featured above, you can further take matters into your own hands. All you will need is a 2+ GB Flash drive to use with Vista's ReadyBoost option. "Windows ReadyBoost-capable Flash Devices extend the disk caching capabilities of Windows Vista main memory. ReadyBoost-capable devices can be implemented as USB 2.0 flash drives, Secure Digital (SD) cards, or CompactFlash cards. Using ReadyBoost-capable flash memory devices for caching allows Windows Vista to service random disk reads with performance that is typically 8-10 times faster than random reads from traditional hard drives," Microsoft explained.

Last but definitely not least, while you are waiting for Windows Vista Service Pack 1 to be delivered in the first quarter of 2008, you can get a taste of the refresh on you copy of the operating system today. Since early August, Microsoft has made available a couple of Compatibility, Performance and Reliability packs designed precisely to smoothen some of the rough edges of the platform. You will be able to download both from here, but the company has also pushed them via Windows Update.

Speed Up Vista 10 Windows Vista Speed Performance Hack

2007-09-01T02:26:00.000-07:00

10 Windows Vista Speed Performance Hack

The Best Windows Vista Speed Performance Tips!

Turn off Remote Differential Compression

Remote Differential Compression measures the changes in files over a network to transfer them with minimal bandwidth rather than transferring an entire file that has previously been moved. By constantly checking for file changes, this service can hinder system performance.

To disable it:

· Open Control Panel

· Switch to Classic View

· Select Program Features

· Choose Turn Windows features on and off

· Scroll down and uncheck Remote Differential Compression

2. Turn off Automatic Windows Defender Operation

Windows Defender real-time protection against malware continues to run despite having Automatic operation disabled.

To disable it:

· Open Control Panel

· Select Windows Defender

· Choose Tools from the top menu

· Select Options

· Uncheck Auto Start at the bottom of the window

3. Turn off Windows Search Indexing

Windows Vista search indexing is constantly reviewing files on your system to make their contents available for quick searching. This is handy, but can severely impact system performance.

To disable indexing:

· Click Start then Computer

· Right Click the C: Drive

· On General Tab, Uncheck Index this drive for faster searching

· On the subsequent dialog box, Select Include subfolders and files

4 . Turn off Automatic Disk Defragmentation

Windows Vista and its always-on defragment feature isn’t really that necessary and can cause system slow down. Just remember to run a defrag manually every week or so.

To disable it:

· Click Start then Computer

· Right Click the C: Drive

· Select the Tools Tab

· Uncheck Run on a schedule

5.Turn off Windows Hibernation

Windows hibernation background services can use a large amount of system resources. If you don’t use the Hibernate feature on a regular basis you may want to disable it to give Vista a performance boost.

To disable Hibernation:

· Select the Control Panel then Power Options

· Click Change Plan Settings

· Click on Change Advanced Power Settings

· Expand the Sleep selection

· Expand the Hibernate After selection

· Crank the selector down to zero

· Click Apply

6.Add a 2GB or higher USB Flash drive to take advantage of Windows Ready Boost

(Additional Memory Cache)

Ready Boost is Microsoft’s name for using a USB thumb/flash drive to provide some quick access memory the operating system can use as extra RAM. The Ready Boost system can significantly improve system performance.

To set this up:

· Insert a USB Flash Drive

· Click Start then Computer

· Right Click the USB Drive in My Computer

· Select the Ready Boost Tab

· Choose Use this device

· Select as much space as you can free up for RAM usage vs. Storage

7.Turn off System Restore

Analysis and restore point creation by Windows Vista can eat a fair amount of system resources. Disabling this service will obviously mean the system restore feature in Vista will not be available in the event of a system crash. Change this at your own risk.

To disable this service:

· Control Panel>System

· Click System Protection on the left panel

· Uncheck the main system drive

· Agree to the confirmation

8.Disable Excess Windows Features

Windows ships with other features that are listed separately in the Vista operating system from the startup services.

You can view and disable these features by:

· Clicking Start then Control Panel

· Select Program Features

· On the left panel, select Turn Windows Features on or off

· You can safely deselect:

1. Indexing Service

2. Remote Differential Compression

3. Tablet PC Optional Components

4. Windows DFS Replication Service

5. Windows Fax & Scan (unless you use a modem for faxing)

6. Windows Meeting Space (unless you use the Live Meeting Service)

9.Disable User Access Control (UAC)

This much-loathed new Vista feature attempts to protect your system from malware infection by making you manually confirm a whole host of everyday user operations. While it doesn’t directly impact performance, it can be annoying and might be more hassle than good.

To disable User Access Control:

· Click Start then Control Panel

· Select User Accounts

· Select Turn User Account Control on or off

· Uncheck User Account Control Box

· Restart as recommended

10.Disable excess Windows Services that Auto-Launch at Startup

Just like Windows XP, Vista ships with all kinds of services enabled that load at startup and may never be used by most users.

To see what loads at startup and disable the ones you likely won’t be needing (they can always be started manually later):

· Click Start then Control Panel

· Select Administrative Tools

· Choose System Configuration

· Click the Services Tab

· You can safely deselect:

1. Offline Files (unless you’re using Offline File Sync)

2. Tablet PC Input Service (unless you have a tablet PC)

3. Terminal Services

4. Windows Search (If you have already disabled indexing)

5. Fax (unless you’re using a fax modem)

Now you should enjoy vista on your laptop;)

How 2 Make Vista Start, Run and Shutdown Faster

2007-08-17T01:14:00.000-07:00

Tips To Make Vista Start, Run and Shutdown Faster

While the discussion pertains to Vista particularly, the same applies to Windows in general too ! For a general user the first three are usually more than sufficient to make your Vista faster. The remaining are some more which a tweak enthusiast may wish to consider. Utilities like WinPatrol or Tune-Up Utilities can help you in most of the cases.

1. Restrict the no. of start-ups. Why have programs starting up when you dont really use them. Even those you use can always be started manually by clicking on the. I personally prefer not to have ANY starups. I click on my Internet Defense Suite manually, before connecting to the Internet. So decide for yourself which one's you really need as start-ups.

2. Disable services which one may not require. For example, if your pc is a stand-alone one, there may be sevral services which you can disable or switch over to manual mode. Auto-starting and closing down of services takes time & resources. These can be saved. BlackViper's Vista Service Configurations Windows Vista Service Configurations by Black Viper is an excellent guide to follow.

3. Reducing visual effects (eye candy). Right-click on “My Computer” > Properties > Advanced > Performance-Settings > Visual Effects > Adjust for best performance > Apply > OK.
To allow the themes and the glass effects, you may have to check on the boxes : enable transperant glass and use visual styles; this way atleast the spirit of Vista will be preserved- else be prepared for a really bland Vista ! Use your discretion. I know disabling all can actually negate the purpose of 'eye-friendly' Vista.

4. Ensure that boot defragmentation is enabled, so that files used during start-up are clubbed together.
Start Regedit. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction . Select Enable from the list on the right.
Right Click on it and select Modify. Change the value to Y to enable and N to disable. Reboot.

5. Disable : "clear page file on shutdown" option. Cleaning the page-file on every shutdown means overwriting the data by zeros, and it takes time.
To clear/not clear page file you can apply this reg tweak. Back up registry before trying this.
Start->run->regedit [enter]
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Session Manager\Memory Management
Modify (if not present, rt click in open space and create) the Value Data Type/s and Value Name/s :
Data Type: REG_DWORD [Dword Value]
Value Name: ClearPageFileAtShutdown
Setting for Value Data: [0 = Clear Page File Disabled / 1 = Clear Page File Enabled]
Exit Registry and Reboot.

6. Defragment your System Disk & Fine Tune your Registry. If you find the Vista's in-built defragger slow, you can try SysInternals Power Defragmenter Download Power Defragmenter 2.0.125 - Power Defragmenter takes defragmentation process to a whole new level - Softpedia which works on Vista too ! Use the freeware CCleaner to clear up your PC Junk and clean up the Registry. Compacting the Registry occasionally is a good idea too !

7. Generally people also recommend emptying the Prefetch directory once in a while. But Windows uses this directory to speed up launching
applications. It analyzes the files you use during startup and the applications you launch, and it creates an index to where those files and applications are located on your hard disk. Using this index, Windows can launch files and applications faster. Nevertheless clearing the Prefetcher say once a month is what I do !

8. Go to BIOS settings, by pressing del key during boot-up, and disable 'seek floppy drive' option. This saves time for those who do not use floppy drives. There are also some BIOS hacks like Enabling Quick Post, Disabling Boot Daly, etc but best to refrain from these.

9. Change Boot-Order Sequence : Normally, the bios is set to boot from floppy first, then CD and then Hard Disk. Changing the Boot-Order to be: Hard Disk first, then maybe CD/Floppy, could possibly "shave" a second, I guess !

10. Disable windows startup/shutdown/logon/logoff sounds. Go to control panel, sounds & audio devices, sound tab, in program events select 'no sound' for these events.

11. Disable the ScreenSaver if you dont need it. Rt-Click desktop>ScreenSaver>None>OK.

12. Fonts take time to load. Removing some can save on resources. But one must be careful in deciding which fonts to remove. If you delete some system fonts, you may b in for trouble. Tweak VI Pro is a good shareware to manage fonts. It uninstalls fonts without physically removing them. Open its help file. It lists down the system fonts which must not be deleted ! use the list; and then decide what to delete and what to keep.

13. To REALLY reduce your shutdown time.
Start Regedit. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Control.
Click on the "Control" Folder. Select "WaitToKillServiceTimeout"
Right click on it and select Modify. the default value is ( i think) 12000.
Setting it to a lower 4 digit value,( say 1000) will make your PC shutdown faster, but you could end up losing data, so use this tweak judiciously.

14. Get rid of all the extra programs Windows Vista installs. You may not be using some like WLM, Calculator, Games, Meeting Space, Fax, etc. Go To Control Panel\Programs\Programs and Features > Turn windows On or Off and do the needful.

15. Go To Control Panel\System and Maintenance\Performance Information and Tools. On the LHS you will see options to Adjust Indexing options, visual effexts, power Settings, etc. These all help directly and indirectly.

Microsoft reacts to kernel hacks, defends Vista

2007-08-17T01:05:00.000-07:00

Patches PatchGuard to keep 64-bit Vista safer from unsigned code

Microsoft quietly beefed up a key defensive feature of 64-bit Windows Vista Tuesday to better protect the operating system against hacks that have plagued it for weeks.

The update to Vista's Kernel Patch Protection, a.k.a. PatchGuard, was issued through Windows Update as a high-priority download, but not as a patch per se. Microsoft, in fact, denied that it was a security fix. "While this updates adds additional checks to the Kernel Patch Protection system, it does not involve a security vulnerability," an advisory posted Tuesday by the Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) stated. "The update does increase the reliability, performance, and resiliency provided by Kernel Patch Protection."

Full Article Arnet --> http://www.arnnet.com.au/index.php?id=124023042&eid=-4152

Microsoft Launches Beta Vista Service Pack

2007-07-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

Sources close to the Redmond software company said that while users will have to wait until November for a full release of the Vista Service Pack 1, a beta version will be available shortly, possibly even this week. What will be included in Windows Vista Service Pack 1 aside from the usual operating system updates is not yet known, as Microsoft declined to comment on it.

“There will be a Windows Vista service pack and our current expectation is that a beta will be made available sometime this year. Service packs are part of the traditional software life cycle they’re something we do for all Microsoft products as part of our commitment to continuous improvement, and providing early test builds is a standard practice that helps us incorporate customer feedback and improve the overall quality of the product. Service packs are just one example of the work we do to constantly improve the Windows experience. We also deliver improvements to Windows via Windows Update, which is an excellent channel for providing our customers with the most significant updates as they happen. And, since Windows Vista launched, we have continued working with partners to improve overall device coverage and application compatibility. There are now more than 2.1 million supported devices and more than 2,000 logoed applications for Windows Vista. We think customers will have a great experience using Windows Vista today” the Windows oriented Web site Winbeta.org cited Microsoft sources.

During the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Denver, Mike Sievert, corporate vice president of the Windows business group, made a few comments about Vista SP1, but did not mention any certain date for its release or about its software components. He also hinted that Microsoft’s own plans for Vista SP1 are yet to be finalized. Sievert also said that he doesn’t think that Vista SP1 will attract a large number of customers and inspire them to upgrade to Windows Vista, even if it’s a well known fact that many enterprise, business and corporate customers are waiting for the first service pack before upgrading from Windows XP to Windows Vista.

“Most companies are still in the evaluation phase,” he said in an interview. “Service pack or no service pack, they’re still looking at what they will deploy.” This comes as no big surprise since Microsoft’s planned number of Vista users was never achieved, most Windows users still preferring the more hardware-friendly Windows XP

Windows Vista Tips & Tricks collection

2007-07-03T01:35:00.000-07:00

Hey Vista is 6 months old;)

Tips from adcosta's live blog.
http://adacosta.spaces.live.com/Blog

Hi everyone,
As we approach Windows Vista's 6 month anniversary, I decided to provide a summary of tips and tricks I have written and collected for the operating system from various sources since the start of the year so far. Its small and the intention is to grow it. The list covers a range of topics, from tweaking to securing Windows Vista. In addition to this, there is already my popular Windows Vista Quick Start Guide and FAQ, which covers preparing for the operating system, getting up and running with it, be sure to check that out.
Thanks, Andre

News Microsoft Answers Vista Ultimate Extras Critics

2007-07-03T01:20:00.000-07:00

Looks like Microsoft has finally commented on the much criticized Ultimate Extras

“We want to let our Windows Vista Ultimate customers know that we are actively working to deliver the remaining Extras that we identified in January. Our goal is to provide the highest-quality, most secure and reliable offerings, and as a result we are continuing our work on these offerings. We apologize for taking so long to provide a status update to customers.”

Neowin says, “Microsoft intends to ship Windows DreamScene and the remaining 20 Language Packs by the end of the summer. The company also confirmed the ultimate extras team expect to disclose a schedule of further Extras releases after the release of DreamScene and the remaining 20 language packs.”

Link http://windowsultimate.com/blogs/announcements/archive/2007/07/02/update-on-the-windows-ultimate-extras.aspx

Gadget monitoring tricks

2007-06-16T23:15:00.000-07:00

Some Cool applications to monitor your gadgets in Vista.

The new sidebar in Windows Vista provides many opportunities to present the user with information. For those of you that like to monitor your system performance, the sidebar is the perfect place to run various performance monitoring gadgets. Windows Vista ships with a simple CPU and Memory usage gadget, however, there are many more gadgets out there that are much more useful and help you monitor almost every aspect of Windows.

1. Wireless Signal and IP Address Gadget

This gadget displays your wireless network information such as it's status, signal strength and security. This gadget also displays your internal IP and gives you a direct link to your router's / wireless gateway's web based control panel.

2. Battery Meter Gadget

Monitor the battery level of your laptop with this gadget. This gadget provides a much more accurate level reading than the tiny system tray icon.

3. Multi-Meter Gadget

Info shown: - Cpu usage % ( 2 cores ) - Ram Usage % - Ram info ( Total, used, left size) - Status bars animated above 90% - 100 Skins + background selection

4. Uptime Gadget

This gadget allows you to see how much time has passed since you last restarted your computer.

5. Free Space Gadget

This gadget monitors your PC's drives and shows you the available space for those you've selected

Free Wi-Fi Internet for Vista users at Apple Mac stores

2007-06-16T23:13:00.000-07:00

Got a Vista-powered notebook? Need a free Wi-Fi Internet connection while you're out and about? Just drop into the Genius Bar at your local Apple Mac store!

In order to demonstrate all the features of Macs, Apple has, in a number of its stores an open WiFi connection and LAN connections on their desktops. Any PC user with a notebook can drop by; take care of their business and leave - as you can see Derek doing in the picture.

It’s a wonder that other PC users haven't already set up camp in Apple stores. But now that the trend is starting, it won't be long before Apple stores are packed with hordes of PC users connecting to the glorious and free Apple Wi-Fi network.

Just look at this PC user, Derek, who very calmly and confidently set up his Vista laptop in the Apple Mac store. He checked his mail, caught up with the news, and even played Final Fantasy XI.

Or, if the thought of actually walking into an Apple store makes you sick then it is possible to get a very strong signal just outside the store. It may be a bit uncomfortable if there aren’t any benches or tables nearby.

What is the world coming to when any average PC user can just walk into the Apple store, plop down their laptop and connect to the network. Perhaps Apple should start checking the operating system of computers before allowing them to connect to its Wi-Fi network.

This is enough to make any Apple fan sick. Someone make it stop!

Source Blorge

40 Million Vista Licenses Sold In 100 Days

2007-06-10T02:57:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -- Microsoft has sold nearly 40 million Windows Vista licenses in the first 100 days that the latest version of the operating system has been available, Chairman Bill Gates said Tuesday.

Gates said an accelerating consumer shift to digital lifestyles had helped make the operating system the fastest selling in history, and that premium editions have accounted for 78 percent of Vista sales.

Windows operating systems run on more than 95 percent of the world's computers and represent the Redmond, Washington-based company's biggest profit driver.

Vista, which Microsoft introduced on Jan. 30, also marks the first major operating system upgrade in more than five years from the world's biggest software maker.

During a speech in Los Angeles, Gates said the company named its next-generation Windows Server software -- formerly known as "Longhorn" -- Windows Server 2008.

Windows Server is the server operating system equivalent to the Vista PC operating system, with an emphasis on many of the same features, such as better security.

Via

Vista Tips - 5 Ways to Fix a Non Booting Vista Installation

2007-06-05T01:33:00.000-07:00

NOTE: Be sure to unplug all un-necessary USB devices (everything except mouse/keyboard) before attempting any of these steps, as crazy as it sounds many people can not get the Vista install CD to recognize their Windows install to repair it unless USB devices are unplugged. Don’t ask me why. Now you’ve unplugged them haven’t you? You better have. Great, lets go.

Go ahead and get out that Vista Boot disk that you have, insert it into your CD drive and then turn on your computer. Hold down “F12″ while booting to open up your “Boot To” menu prompt. Select “CD-ROM” and then continue by pressing enter. Now depending on several random factors Vista could take almost a full 10 minutes to get to the point where it shows its install screen. But seeing as tutorials work outside the constraints of time, let’s just assume you are already there. First you will see a screen that has some time/region info on it, go ahead and click the next button. Now instead of clicking the big shiny button in the middle, go ahead and click down at the bottom left hand side that says, “Repair your computer”. Now you should see an old Windows 95 stylistic menu and a list of all the operating systems the install disk detects. If your list is empty, try waiting a few moments or removing all but your master hard-drive. And if that fails, just go ahead and hit next anyway. Now highlight your Vista OS and click Next. Now it should start up automatic recovery at this point and most problems can be fixed through this method. But if startup recovery cannot fix the problem go ahead and click on the “Command Prompt” option from the System Recovery Options.

Trick: If you know what your problem is, but just can’t get into an explorer view to delete the files or change a setting, such as compressing your bootmgr ;), at the command prompt just type in “notepad” without prompts and then select File>Open and now you will be in a simple explorer and can make changes as necessary. Back to the original solutions.

Now that you are in the command prompt, type the following commands, pressing enter after each line. NOTE: step 5 could take around 2-3 hours depending on how big your hard drive is.

1. bootrec /fixmbr
2. bootrec /rebuildbcd
3. bootrec /fixboot
4. bootrec /scanos
5. chkdsk /r

Now you should be able to reboot your computer and have everything start up normally. If not, feel free to email me using my contact page and I will try to help you out as best as I can.

How To Boost Disk Drive Performance In Windows Vista

2007-05-27T03:12:00.000-07:00

Great Tip Found At raymond's Blog

Here's a quick tip for Windows Vista on how you can boost your hard disk drive performance. It is not enabled by default because there's a risk of loosing your data if the disk loses power. Meaning do NOT enable this option if you don't have a battery backup (UPS). If you're using laptop, then enabling this option wouldn't pose any risk since there's a battery attached on every laptop.

Just follow the steps below on how to boost your disk drive performance.

1. Go to Start, Control Panel -> Device Manager.

2. Expand Disk Drives.

3. Right-click on your hard disk drive and select Properties.

4. On the Policies tab, check Enable Advanced Performance.

5. Click OK and close Device Manager.

This option only available in Windows Vista. I've checked Windows XP and there's no such option.

A bit Humour About Windows Vista

2007-05-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

Windows Vista The Humor Unleashed

Source Sizlopedia

Though Microsoft’s new Operating System Windows Vista is gaining a lot of popularity these days but this fact can not be neglected that it has been a subject of big criticism at the time of its release.

Windows Vitsa : The Humor Unleashed

Due to its huge requirements and not-up-to-the-mark performance and stability users and people have created a lot of acronyms for the word “Vista” most of which are dead funny and really humorous.

Funny acronyms of “Vista”

Here go some of the funny acronyms that I found randomly on the Internet:

Very Inconsistent Software - Try Again

Virus Instability Spyware Trojans Adware

Virus Intrusions Spybots Trojans Adware

Very Irritating System - Try Another

Vista Is Stupid To Attempt

Volatility Isn’t Something To Admire

Virtually Impossible Source To Avoid

Vastly Inferior Software To Apple’s

Vaguely Innovative - Sucks The Ass

Venereal Infectious Sexually Transmitted Ailment

Vista Is Shittier Than Anything

Vastly Improved Solitaire Tiling Algorithms

Vista is helping boost PC sales!?

2007-05-24T01:56:00.000-07:00

Speaking to a crowd of hardware engineers last week, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates trumpeted the fact that the company has sold 40 million copies of Vista since the operating system hit the market.

But does that milestone mean the operating system is causing more PCs to be sold?

It's a natural question to ask, but a difficult one to answer. One reason it's hard to suss out Vista's impact on PC sales is that consumers don't really decide whether they prefer a new operating system. When Microsoft releases a new operating system, it becomes the default on nearly all machines sold at retail stores. So if consumers want a new PC, they basically get Vista.

That makes it tough to gauge whether Microsoft's latest creation is actually spurring people to buy new PCs. Market researcher In-Stat issued a report Wednesday saying Vista is not having a major impact on the PC market. The firm said some people delayed purchases last year to wait for the new operating system, a move that added some sales to this year, but that the software is not leading others to speed up their new PC purchases.

"My view is that, as a motivating factor to go buy a PC, Vista is not enough," said Ian Lao, the In-Stat analyst who wrote the new report.

But there hasn't been a groundswell of grumbling over the new operating system either. "It's not the scenario like (new) Coke and Coke Classic," Lao said. "There isn't a big revolt going on."

Dell did see enough demand for XP that it has brought back the older operating system as an option on some consumer machines. Dell, Hewlett-Packard and others still offer XP for small- and medium-business customers as well.

As for the PC market as a whole, Lao said it's shaping up largely as expected, something he said he foresees continuing.

"I see the rest of the year panning out, for the most part as it would have originally," he said. Consumers "will purchase a PC if they were already planning to."

NPD Techworld analyst Stephen Baker said that the market has shifted somewhat during the early part of this year. While the trend toward notebook computers has continued, desktop sales and pricing have finally stabilized some, although Baker said he doesn't attribute either those changes or overall consumer sales patterns to Vista's release.

"That would require you to believe that on the consumer side, people actually buy their PC based on what operating system is inside, and I really don't believe that is the case," Baker said.

Microsoft, for its part, says Vista has helped the overall PC market as well as the company's own business, noting that the operating system was a key part of its strong quarterly earnings report and contributed to a PC market that grew 10.9 percent worldwide in the first quarter, according to IDC.

"Though it's very early in the product lifecycle, we're pleased with the market response to date for Windows Vista," Microsoft said in an e-mailed statement. "We're looking forward to continued growth and broad adoption of Windows Vista around the world."

The corporate factor
An influential factor in the PC market is businesses upgrading their machines, and there has been little indication that corporations are buying large numbers of PCs as part of a rush to Vista. Microsoft has maintained that the corporate move to Vista will outpace prior transitions, most notably when it claimed in September that business adoption of Vista in its first 12 months would be twice that of Windows XP.

An HP representative said Wednesday that the company is starting to see increased interest from some corporate customers in Vista, perhaps a sign that some businesses have completed the testing needed to qualify the new operating system. "There is now growing evidence that transitions are under way in large corporate accounts," the HP representative said.

But others are predicting a far slower pace of Vista adoption, looking to next year as the time when most businesses will start to consider buying Vista. Even in the PC business, some of Microsoft's closest partners, notably chipmaker Intel, have yet to push Vista out to their own employees.

Lao said many businesses upgraded large numbers of PCs in 2005 and 2006, making them unlikely to move to Vista this year or even next year.

"I'm seeing this more like a 2009, 2010 thing, where corporations will start to make wholesale conversions," Lao said.

Another reason Vista may not be having much of an impact on PC sales is a lack of software and hardware targeted specifically for the new system.

While Microsoft has put a lot of effort into ensuring compatibility with existing software, it will take time before there are any killer apps specific to Vista. While some of Vista's benefits, such as built-in desktop search, are available out of the box, many of its advances, such as its new presentation engine or its peer-to-peer sharing technology, really only come alive once developers write programs that take advantage of those features.

On the hardware side, there have been a few showcase Vista-optimized PCs, most notably HP's TouchSmart all-in-one and a sleek, white Toshiba Portege with a secondary "SideShow" display. But many of the computers on the market largely resemble their XP predecessors both inside and out.

"There are certainly things you can do with Vista," Baker said. "The computer makers certainly have not pushed the envelope on any of those things quite yet."

Some additional PCs that harness Vista features are expected in the second half of this year, as computer makers gear up for the back-to-school and holiday buying seasons.

"We're going to see new industrial designs from almost all the major computer makers," said Samir Bhavnani, research director at Current Analysis West. "I think you are going to see Vista spur growth in the back half of this year."

Source Pc210

Stunning News Microsoft May Acquire Yahoo! For $50 Billion

2007-05-05T04:46:00.000-07:00

Microsoft May Acquire Yahoo! For $50 Billion

Microsoft May Acquire Yahoo! For $50 Billion
Stung by the loss of Internet advertising firm DoubleClick to Google last month, Microsoft has intensified its pursuit of a deal with Yahoo!, asking the company to re-enter formal negotiations, The Post has learned.

While Microsoft and Yahoo! have held informal deal talks over the years, sources say the latest approach signals an urgency on Microsoft's part that has up until now been lacking.

The new approach follows an offer Microsoft made to acquire Yahoo! a few months ago, sources said. But Yahoo! spurned the advances of the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant. Wall Street sources put a roughly $50 billion price tag on Yahoo!.

"They're getting tired of being left at the altar," said one banking source who has recently had talks with Microsoft. "They now seem more willing to extend themselves via a transaction to get into the game."

Part of the reason for that is because Google keeps trumping Microsoft on the deal front, beating out the company on not just DoubleClick, but also for a renewed search advertising pact with AOL in 2005 that Microsoft lusted after.

Moreover, with Google developing Internet-based software that directly competes with Microsoft Office, sources said Microsoft has no choice but to go on the offensive.

"The minute you hear Microsoft start arguing against something on antitrust grounds, you know they are desperate and need to do something big," said one source.

Sources said Microsoft is working with Goldman Sachs.

News of Microsoft's latest approach comes as Yahoo!'s new search advertising platform Project Panama is just getting off the ground.

The long-awaited platform posted disappointing first-quarter results, but sources said that was more a function of difficult comparisons to the year-earlier period and less a sign that the system wasn't working. That said, another quarter or two of similar results and investors might begin renewing calls for a sale or for CEO Terry Semel to step down.

As it stands now, a deal between Microsoft and Yahoo! would up the combined companies' share of the all-important search advertising market to 27 percent against Google's 65 percent. It would also narrow the gap in overall online ads with Google to just 13 percent.

More importantly, a deal would create what one source described as "the dominant force on the Internet" in terms of eyeballs. That's an important consideration as more and more content flows online - as the equations goes, eyeballs equal advertising.

Microsoft and Yahoo! also feature complimentary offerings on the content side, with MSN drawing an older audience with its news focus. By contrast, Yahoo! attracts a younger demographic with its entertainment coverage.

Aside from cost savings, a deal would also create opportunities to use Yahoo! content on Microsoft devices, such as making music exclusively provided to Yahoo! Music available on Microsoft's Xbox game console and Zune music player.

Source http://www.nypost.com/seven/05042007/business/bills_hard_drive_business_peter_lauria_and_zachery_kouwe.htm

Windows Vista Themes Wallpapers Icons Skins Information, Topic: Themes Wallpapers Icons Skins

2007-04-14T14:41:00.000-07:00

Windows Vista Themes Wallpapers Icons Skins Information, Topic: Themes Wallpapers Icons Skins

Free Vista Themes At

http://www.adni18.com/gallery/
http://www.windows-vista-update.com/Windows_Vista_themes.html
http://en.softonic.com/search/windows-vista-themes
vistastyles.org/

Vista News - Windows Vista Speech Recognition fully tested: Passed with flying colors!

2007-04-14T14:35:00.000-07:00

Much less typing for Windows Vista users! I am writing this post right now by speaking into my microphone.

Additionally, I have just spent my first day using Windows Vista Speech Recognition engine to do the typing for me in several live chats today. Its accuracy is amazing. Furthermore, I tried something very cool! Turn on LANGUAGE TRANSLATION and use it in conjunction with speech recognition, and you can literally speak another language.

One of the next revolutionary things with speech recognition will be to blend it with on the fly language translation, and then speak it back out on the VISITOR side using TEXT TO SPEECH!

We are working on this technology now. So you can truly speak in other languages through the internet!

Here is an article to help you get started with speech recognition and live chat using the ChatStat customer engagement system:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsvista/aa905128.aspx

Most Frequently Asked Vista Question: How Do I Open The Box?

2007-03-25T04:41:00.000-07:00

The Windows Vista box opens with a swing-out section that holds your DVD and manuals. The box has two security seals that need to be cut or removed before it can be opened.

Microsoft made a really good tutorial about this

Visit Microsoft Help Center For Article

Get Advanced Vista Codec Package 4.3.4 for free

2007-03-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

Codecs have always been a pain in the butt. This package takes from the best, all the big name creators, several small guys too, and compiles all this into a single pack. All possible conflicts are already dealt with, many user suggested default settings are implemented.

This package does not contain a media player. This package does not associates filetypes. With this package installed, you will be able to use any media player to play DVD´s, movies and video clips such as quicktime, realmedia, avi, mpeg, Flv, swf, wmv, etc. Streaming video can be played within web browsers. By default, you shouldn´t need to make any adjustments to enjoy playback immediately.

Users now have the ability to choose what is installed using the public redistributable and after an unattended install, you can select to remove specific portions without removing the entire package. Future releases will recognize previous releases and perform upgrade installations.This package contains QuickTime v7.1.3 components with the tray icon permanently disabled.
This package currently supports 15 localized installations: The default install is English including support for the following other languages; Chinese Simplified/Traditional, Japanese, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Polish and Turkish.

changelog:

fix black+white issues with some .avi files
fix .WMV support broken in alternate players after installing WMP11
add new component, Koepi´s XviD Codec 1.1.2
update Haali components to v1.6.338.23
update FFDshow components to t494
fix Vobsub shortcut

Download Link

Microsoft the most secure OS on the market

2007-03-23T05:59:00.000-07:00

Symantec today released a statement that listed Microsoft Operating Systems to be the safest on the market. They came to this conclusion after analyzing the number of vulnerabilities found, patches released, and the time it took the firm’s to publish the security fixes.

Symantec today released a statement that listed Microsoft Operating Systems to be the safest on the market. They came to this conclusion after analyzing the number of vulnerabilities found, patches released, and the time it took the firm’s to publish the security fixes.

P.S.: Mac should be coming to a sad realization. Accept or Decline????

Edit: The original press release can be found here. My blog post is based on a news story I found on Internews.com:

“Microsoft is frequently dinged for having insecure products, with security holes and vulnerabilities. But Symantec said in its latest research report that when it comes to widely-used operating systems, Microsoft is doing better overall than its leading commercial competitors.”

“The report found that Microsoft Windows had the fewest number of patches and the shortest average patch development time of the five operating systems it monitored in the last six months of 2006.”

“Then there’s Mac OS X. Despite the latest TV ads ridiculing the security in Vista with a Matrix-like Agent playing the UAC in Vista, Apple has nothing to brag about. Symantec found 43 vulnerabilities in Mac OS X and a 66 day turnaround on fixes.”

Symantec’s report is based on extensive research that was done over a period of 6 months (beginning in July 2006) and included the close monitoring and analyzing of a huge range of security and vulnerability issues, including Operating Systems.

Get the Vista Look on Windows XP.

2007-02-24T00:17:00.000-08:00

With all the talks of Vista going around, its human that we all want the looks and feel of it running on our xp machines.There are some solutions like Style XP and Windows Blind but they all don’t change everything completely.

One of the magazines i was going through caught my eyes.They have tested it and this is what they say “Windows Vista Transformation pack does all that and without any system crash”

I wanted to try on my system but then It will slow my system.So i just wen to the orginal site and saw those pic.Amazing.So take a look at them below and think

Vista Transformation Pack Affect

Above Figure: Desktop

Above Figure:Logon Screen

So what do you think? Awsome right!! Ok here are some quicktips and then you can follow the link ot the original site itself.

Tips for Installing Vista Transformation Pack

You need a better hardware configuration, specifically better ram of around 512 will be good.You can still try but it might slow down your system.

It will take 200MB of space for complete installation and 2-5 minutes.

It has a preview thumbnail feature and sidebar is heavy…so if it takes a little time to install be patient.

Download link

Top Ten Windows Vista Facts

2007-02-18T07:17:00.000-08:00

Top 10 Interesting and Informative Facts about Windows Vista :D

Windows Vista

1. Complete Name:
It is the only Windows ever with a complete name. (All others were either named after the years they were released in e.g Windows 95/98/2000 or named in short formed abbreviations e.g. Windows NT, Windows XP)

2. Largest Operating System Ever:
It is the largest Windows OS coming out. It is 1.4 times bigger than Windows XP (Meaning if you rate Windows Vista as 5 stars, then Windows Vista gets 7 stars definitely). Windows Vista will have the maximun number of editions too.

3. Graphics Hardware:
It will be the only Windows OS that will make use of the available hardware for its graphics needs.

4. Windows Sidebar:
It is the first Windows OS to have a integrated sidebar and widgets in it.

5. Aero Styles:
Though Aero Themes and Glassy Windows Styles are not uncommon. Windows Vista would still be the first Windows OS ever to use the Aero Style as default Windows Style.

6. Logon Music:
As Informed by Vista developers, It is the the only Windows OS to have the longest Startup/Logon Music ever.

7. Logoff Music:
Just as Vista is unique regarding the new logon music feature, it is also unique in the sense that it is the first Windows OS ever to have a human voice in Logoff/Shutdown music (Yes, Vista will have Female voice in Logoff Music).

8. Vista Beta Versions:
Vista boasts to own the most BETA versions as an OS (Windows XP got less).

9. Error Detection:
Windows Vista, if hangs, will tell us the reason why Windows has hung. It will be the only OS to tell us why it has hung up.

10. Microsoft Claim:
According to a claim by Microsoft, Vista cannot be hacked and it is difficult for Viruses to infect it. But with all those security holes it doesnt seem like a true fact now does it?

Windows Mobile 6

2007-02-17T00:08:00.000-08:00







Microsoft has reportedly unveiled a bounteous fable of it's
Windows Mobile operating habit (OS), Windows Mobile 6, which has the
hinge of Windows Vista, goodness disposition that were earlier
available reserved on PCs.Windows Mobile 6 promises to boost yield
of essentiality connections Exchange Server 2007, because and arrange a
richer e-mail maturity on devices.Reportedly, the also recital
includes Windows Live, bestowal topical messaging with supplementary
than sole implement at a time, owing to positively whereas sending
files/images again record/send rumor notes.Another in addition sort
that comes from Exchange Server 2007 is the know-how to shine to thump
requests imaginary monopoly Microsoft Outlook weight altered ways
equaling since email rebound also forwarding the scoop to someone
exceeding from the pliable device. Presently, a user importance either
germane credit or reject the invite. It due to again supports govern
e-mail invasion technology to obtain and pipe e-mails faster.Windows
Mobile 6 and introduces the talent to concept e-mails connections their
innovative HTML Internet institution with serviceable Web links from
apt phones.Moreover, physical allows viewing, navigating, besides
editing documents prominence ingenious Word, Outlook, Excel, besides
Powerpoint format, without entertaining tables, images, or text. Other
attributes annex support owing to synchronisation with Vista via the
increased Windows Mobile Device Center, exceptional search, encryption
of data stored on removable camera-eye cards, .NET Compact Framework,
SQL Server, besides cause of the equipment being a modem seeing daybook
PCs.According to Microsoft, Windows Mobile 6 consign produce
available access the succour station of 2007. And, manufacturers that
are expected to issue superficial with numerous devices supporting
Windows Mobile 6 possess Toshiba, Lenovo, LG Electronics, and Samsung
Electronics.

Our Swicki ;)

2007-02-05T07:56:00.000-08:00

Eurekster is a company based in Christchurch, New Zealand, with an office located in San Francisco, California, that builds social search engines for use on websites, the search engines are called swickis.

Launching to the public on January 21, 2004^[1], Eurekster hosts around 50,000 swickis^[2] (or search plus wiki^[3])for various different websites, which have around a total of 20 million searches per month,^[4] or around 500,000 searches per day.^[5]

Mark Cuban on Blog Maverick explained the swicki: "Add their search engine to your site. They will rank results based on what actions people who search from your site take... and show results that maximize relavance to the sites' community."^[6]

According to their chief executive officer, Steven Marder: "Eurekster pioneered vertical, social search..."^[2]

The co-founder and chief scientist of Eurkester is Dr Grant Ryan^[7], who is also the co-founder and chairman of Christchurch-based company, SLI Systems, who specialize in search engines that learns from the users.

In May, 2006, Red Heering selected Eurkester as one of their favorite companies that push the technological limits in North America. Marder told WebProNews, "We are honored to have been selected by Red Herring for this prestigious award that serves as a testament to Eurekster's vision, technology and business model."^[8]

Eurekster was, on January 17, 2007, announced one of the 100 best companies by AlwaysOn Media 100. The selection was made by focusing on "innovation, market potential, commercialization, stakeholder value creation, and media attention or 'buzz'"^[9]

About Eurekster From Wikipedia

Now You can help me building the best Vista Search Engine by writing answers, adding the most revelant keywords and submitting sites.

Thx a lot.

Cheers hunter

http://windows-vista-swicki.eurekster.com/

Ten Reasons to Buy Windows Vista

2007-02-03T05:32:00.000-08:00

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few months, you probably know that the latest version of Windows--called Vista--is due to hit store shelves later this year (in time for the holidays, Microsoft tells us).

Windows XP offers a little something for everyone, from eye-catching graphics and new bundled applications to more-rigorous security. In fact, there is so much in the new operating system that it can be tough to get a handle on it all.

I've been noodling around with a recent beta version of Windows Vista (Build 5270) and had a chance to make some observations. While the sleek new look and polished interface caught my eye, it's what's under the covers that impressed me most. Microsoft's done a great job of improving security across the board. Things like Windows and spyware library updates are streamlined, and I definitely appreciate the more robust Backup software.

Still, there's plenty of unfinished work left to do. Internet Explorer 7 struggled to properly render some Web pages, and I found local network connectivity to be a hit-or-miss affair. And then there's the stuff that isn't even in there yet--like the intriguing Windows Sidebar, which will put real-time weather info, stock quotes, system status, RSS feeds, and other information on the display.

So during my time with Windows Vista, I kept an eye out for the reasons I--and you--might ultimately want to lay my hands on the new OS when it's available. And frankly, if you buy a new Windows-based PC at the end of this year or any time in, say, the next five years, you'll probably end up with Vista by default.

Keep in mind, this is based solely on my experience with prerelease software (and a whole new beta could be out by the time you read this). Features get tweaked, they come and go, but from what we can tell, Vista is now starting to harden into the product that will be running many, many desktops for the foreseeable future. And by and large, that's a good thing.

Here's what to be excited about:

1. Security, security, security: Windows XP Service Pack 2 patched a lot of holes, but Vista takes security to the next level. There are literally too many changes to list here, from the bidirectional software firewall that monitors inbound and outbound traffic to Windows Services Hardening, which prevents obscure background processes from being hijacked and changing your system. There's also full-disk encryption, which prevents thieves from accessing your data, even if they steal the PC out from under your nose.

Perhaps most crucial (and least sexy) is the long-overdue User Account Protection, which invokes administrator privileges as needed, such as during driver updates or software installations. UAP makes it much more convenient for users to operate Vista with limited rights (meaning the system won't let them do certain things, like load software, without clearance from an administrator). This in turn limits the ability of malware to hose your system.

2. Internet Explorer 7: IE gets a much-needed, Firefox-inspired makeover, complete with tabbed pages and better privacy management. There's also the color-coded Address Bar that lets you know if a page is secured by a digital key, or, thanks to new antiphishing features, if it's a phony Web site just looking to steal information about you.

These features will all be available for Windows XP users who download IE7. But Vista users get an important extra level of protection: IE7 on Vista will run in what Microsoft calls "protected mode"--a limited-rights mode that prevents third-party code from reaching your system. It's about darn time.

3. Righteous eye candy: For the first time, Microsoft is building high-end graphics effects into Windows. The touted Aero Glass interface features visually engaging 3D rendering, animation, and transparencies. Translucent icons, program windows, and other elements not only look cool, they add depth and context to the interface. For example, hover your cursor over minimized programs that rest on the taskbar and you'll be able to see real-time previews of what's running in each window without opening them full-screen. Now you can see what's going on behind the scenes, albeit at a cost: You need powerful graphics hardware and a robust system to manage all the effects.

4. Desktop search: Microsoft has been getting its lunch handed to it by Google and Yahoo on the desktop, but Vista could change all that. The new OS tightly integrates instant desktop search, doing away with the glacially slow and inadequate search function in XP. Powerful indexing and user-assignable metadata make searching for all kinds of data--including files, e-mails, and Web content--a lot easier. And if you're running Vista on a Windows Longhorn network, you can perform searches across the network to other PCs.

5. Better updates: Vista does away with using Internet Explorer to access Windows Update, instead utilizing a new application to handle the chore of keeping your system patched and up-to-date. The result is quicker response and a more tightly streamlined process. The update-tracking mechanism, for instance, is much quicker to display information about your installation. And now key components, such as the Windows Defender antispyware module, get their updates through this central point. Like other housekeeping features, a better Windows Update isn't a gee-whiz upgrade, but it should make it easier--and more pleasant--to keep your PC secure.

6. More media: Over the years, one of the key reasons to upgrade versions of Windows has been the free stuff Gates and Company toss into the new OS, and Vista is no exception. Windows Media Player (perhaps my least favorite application of all time) gets a welcome update that turns the once-bloated player into an effective MP3 library. The Windows Photo Gallery finally adds competent photo-library-management functionality to Windows, so you can organize photos; apply metatags, titles, and ratings; and do things like light editing and printing. The DVD Maker application, which was still very rough when I looked at it, promises to add moviemaking capabilities--along the lines of Movie Maker--to the operating system. There are even some nice new games tucked into the bundle.

7. Parental controls: Families, schools, and libraries will appreciate the tuned-up parental controls, which let you limit access in a variety of ways. Web filtering can block specific sites, screen out objectionable content by selected type, and lock out file downloads. You can also restrict each account's access by time of day or day of the week. As a dad, I can tell you this will be great for keeping kids off the PC while you're at work, for instance. You can even block access to games based on their Entertainment Software Rating Board ratings.

8. Better backups: When Windows 95 first came out, the typical hard disk was, maybe, 300MB in size. Today, desktops routinely ship with 300GB or 400GB hard drives. And yet, the built-in data-backup software in Windows has changed little in the past decade. Windows Vista boasts a much-improved backup program that should help users avoid wholesale digital meltdowns. Microsoft also tweaked the useful System Restore feature--which takes snapshots of your system state so you can recover from a nasty infection or botched software installation.

9. Peer-to-peer collaboration: The Windows Collaboration module uses peer-to-peer technology to let Vista users work together in a shared workspace. You can form ad hoc workgroups and then jointly work on documents, present applications, and pass messages. You can even post "handouts" for others to review.

10. Quick setup: Beta code alert: There are some Vista features I hope dearly for even though they haven't been built yet. This is one of them. Jim Allchin, Microsoft's co-president, says that Windows Vista boasts a re-engineered install routine, which will slash setup times from about an hour to as little as 15 minutes. Hurray! The new code wasn't in the beta version of Vista that Microsoft sent to me--my aging rig took well over an hour to set up--so I'll believe it when I see it. Still, any improvement in this area is welcome.

Five Things That Will Give You Pause

All this is not to say that Vista is a slam-dunk and everyone should be running out to buy it as soon as Microsoft takes the wraps off. Heck, Windows XP has developed into a fairly stable, increasingly secure OS. Why mess with that?

Yes, during my time with Vista, I've found more than enough features to get excited about--features that will make a sizable chunk of Windows users want to upgrade. So why would anyone in their right mind stick with what they've got? Here are a few reasons:

Pay that piper: Vista is an operating system. It's the stuff your applications run on. But it'll cost $100 or more to make the switch. Unless you're buying a new PC and starting from scratch, you may be better off saving the money for something else.

Where's my antivirus?: For all the hype about security in Windows Vista, users may be disappointed to learn that antivirus software will not be part of the package. There's every indication that an online subscription service--possibly under the OneCare rubric--will offer antivirus protection to Vista users down the road. But for the time being, you'll need to turn to third-party companies like Symantec, McAfee, Grisoft, and others for virus protection.

Watch that hourglass: Vista is a power hog. Unless you have a top-end PC with high-end graphics hardware, for instance, you won't see one of the coolest parts of the new OS--the Aero Glass interface. Microsoft did the smart thing by offering Aero Basic and Windows Classic looks as well, which will let older and slower PCs run Vista. It just won't look as pretty.

Curse the learning curve: Microsoft has already ditched some aggressive ideas--such as the whole "virtual folders" thing--because the concepts proved too confusing for users. Even so, you'll find that the new Windows changes a lot of old tricks, and not always for the better. Heck, it took me almost five minutes to find the Run command, which used to show up right in the Start menu. And many users may struggle with the new power scheme, which defaults to putting the PC into hibernation rather than shutting down. I know it frustrated me the first time I wanted to power down the system to swap out a disk drive.

Meet the old boss, same as the new boss: Microsoft has added lots of new stuff to Vista, but some features are just warmed-over fare. Windows Mail is nothing more than a rebranded Outlook Express, and Windows Defender is simply an updated version of Microsoft AntiSpyware.

So keep your eyes peeled for future previews of Vista. It may not be perfect (what software is?), but in a lot of ways, it's a giant leap forward.

Michael Desmond writes about technology from his home in Colchester, Vermont.

Source Yahoo news

Ultimate Vista Review

2006-12-04T01:59:00.000-08:00

Please note that I will not discuss each of the points presented in that Wikipdia page, therefore my paragraph numbers will be incomplete. Other than that, some sections overlap one another. I will use the page as a guide to, well, guide us through Windows Vista. Let's start.

As you will notice, I did not attach any screenshots to this review. There are so many good screenshot galleries out there that I find it rather over done to duplicate all those.

The machine used for this review is a Dell Inspiron 6000 with a Pentium M 1.73Ghz, 512MB of DDR2 RAM, and an Ati Radeon x300 with 128MB of dedicated video RAM. For notes on the installation of Vista on this machine, please read the first impressions article.

1. User Interface

1.1 Windows Aero

I have already said quite a bit about the flashy effects that come with Windows Vista. Microsoft has clearly restrained itself with the effects; they are not used during every little task, and they are unobtrusive. After only a few hours of usage, you actually forget they are there; however, as soon as you switch 'back' to XP or something similar, you do miss the effects. This is because unobtrusive as they may be, the effects do add visual cues as to what is happening on the screen. For instance, when you close a window in Vista, it dissolves while falling slightly backwards. This is an extra visual aid.

Compare all this to all the new technological gadgets on the new Mercedes S class, more specifically, the night view cameras. The S class has two night vision cameras on the front of the car, which will, at night (obviously) display its images on a screen right behind the steering wheel, greatly enhancing what you can see on the road, making it much easier and safer to drive at night. Now, this is typically one of those features which many people will claim are pointless, but at the same time, all the people who actually used it, will say they never want to go back to a car without this extra safety precaution. Vista's Aero effects fall into the same category.

Microsoft actually put more thought into Aero than many anti-Microsoft people will want us to believe. For instance, when an application is incompatible with Aero (all applications using Java, such as Azareus), Windows will automatically turn Aero off, switching back to Aero Basic. When you close the application, Windows will turn Aero back on. Nice touch.

The main drawback, of course, of Aero is that it requires a DirectX 9 compatible card. A substantial group of people will need a new graphics card for this, but I do not see this is a problem, since most people will get their hands on Vista via OEM channels anyway (meaning, when they buy a new computer).

1.2 Shell

The new Explorer interface is, as far as I'm concerned, the least successful change in Windows Vista. Explorer is a very messy application to use now; buttons and widgets everywhere, and it is kind of hard to find out which does what. To give you an idea, the sidebar on the left side can show two things: a directory tree, or a 'Favourites' section (links to common folders such as Pictures and Music). The problem: they can overlap. When you open the tree view, which is basically a drawer opening upwards, it draws over the favourites section, which is just, well, weird. Why not do what everyone else is doing, and simply give a drop-down menu or tabs or something, so that you can select which of the two you want, instead of trying to cram both of them into the same tiny space?

Another problem, as noted in the superficial look, is that for one reason or the other, almost every folder on your computer will default to a detailed listview, which is just plain overkill; it makes the individual folders too hard to distinguish, and it shows way too much irrelevant information, which will distract you from whatever you want to do (manage files, probably). This also makes dragging a box around multiple items problematic, since clicking whatever point in the row of an item will make you drag the item, instead of drawing the selection box.

Basically, I want an option which will allow me to set the icon size/detail level system-wide, after which I can tune individual folder's settings. And lo and behold, it's there: click the 'organize' button on the toolbar, click 'folder and search options', go to the 'view' tab, and click 'apply to all folders', which will make every folder look like the one currently open. Good.

The 'breadcrumbs' style location bar is a definitive improvement, as it makes navigating through deep directory structures much easier. The 'stacks' feature, which allows you to create stacks of files based on whatever you want (i.e. stacks of pictures based on date taken), is not what I had expected of it. When I tested the really early Longhorn builds in 2003, this feature actually had visual cues in the stacks (the more files in the stack, the larger it was), but in Vista, this is not the case. The stacks are basically glorified directories. Not a feature as useful as it could've been.

1.3 Search

Vista's search does what it is supposed to do. It searches files, finds them, and lists them. The biggest problem remains the fact that the actual start menu contents get replaced by your initial search results. If you press enter after entering your query, an Explorer window shows you all the results, including tabs to see the results per file type. You can obviously save the query; however, when you open this query later, Vista will not give you the search pane (which allows you to view by filetype, as mentioned). You'll have to enable it by hand; not a showstopper, but sloppy, still.

1.4 Sidebar

Vista's new sidebar is not at all much different from other, similar implementations in other operating systems. The sidebar can house gadgets (or widgets or applets or replicants or whatever you prefer), but the gadgets can also be dragged onto the desktop.

What I like about it is that the sidebar and its gadgets are always visible, so you are not forced to interrupt your workflow if you want to look them. Apple's Dashboard widgets are only visible after hitting a shortcut key, and this interrupts your workflow (only cli magic enables you to permanently display widgets on the desktop in OS X). In Dashboard's defense, the Microsoft implementation does lack a bring to front shortcut key or button.

Of course Vista's sidebar has one major disadvantages: lack of gadgets. The gadgets database is still fairly empty, and the ones that are there, are of debatable quality (especially in the visual department). I am sure that after the consumer release of Vista, the amount of gadgets will explode, but for us early adopters the sidebar remains pretty empty.

I feel compelled to touch on the originality issue often being referred to on the net. Is Sidebar similar to Dashboard? Yes. Is Dashboard similar to Konfabulator? Yes. Are all of those similar to Microsoft's Longhorn sidebar, which I first used in 2003? Yes. Are all of those similar to BeOS's replicants? Yes. You get the idea.

2. New and upgraded applications

Obviously, Vista comes with the latest release of Internet Explorer, version 7. I have already expressed my thoughts on Internet Explorer 7, and those complaints generally remain for Windows Vista. It is not a bad browser per se; it just is not my thing, and this is mostly caused by the highly confusing interface. The browser is my most-used application, and hence I want an interface that leaves me with little to desire (to give you an idea of how far this obsession goes, the fact I cannot remove the 'Go' arrow in Firefox 2.0 was almost a breaking point for me).

Windows Mail, however, is a completely different story. This is a really good email client, and it inherits the best feature Microsoft ever devised from Outlook 2003: the vertical preview pane; I refuse to use email clients that do not have this feature (save for BeOS's BeAM). For the rest, Windows Mail has a very clean interface, which focuses completely on the task at hand: reading and sending email. Contacts and emails are now individual files, meaning you can manage both using Explorer. Annoyingly, emails are given gibberish numeric names, meaning you can only know what an email is about by hoovering over the .eml file, showing a tooltip which will give you the subject field.

Problems remain with Outlook Express, err, Windows Mail; especially creating rules directly from a message is very cumbersome (it refuses to copy the information from the selected message, meaning you have to manually enter all your filtering conditions). Another annoyance is that even though I tried to set all fonts on incoming messages to a standard font, lots of messages still display custom fonts. Other than that, the junk mail filtering is a bit too enthusiastic at times.

Windows Photo Gallery is nothing to write home about; it does what it is supposed to do, and that's it, basically. It is surely no match for Apple's iPhoto, so let alone it being a match for Google's Picasa2 (the best in its class, if you ask me). Picasa2 is faster than Windows Photo Gallery, it has a cleaner interface, and it supports Picasa Albums; the choice is easy if you ask me. Photo Gallery badly misses export features; it cannot export photos to the popular photo sharing sites (Flickr, Picasa Albums, etc.). This is really a bad thing, and I hope Microsoft improves upon this issue in a service pack or update.

Windows Media Player 11 shines on Vista. The application is to the point, and centrered around what really matters: content. Where I could easily get lost in pre-11 version of the application, Media Player 11 is much more user-friendly and usable. Nothing revolutionary (it's just a media player), but I enjoy using it much more than iTunes 7 (which is, I'm sorry to say, a really bad application (slow, buggy, and just plain weird), especially compared to the outstanding version 6).

Since this is Ultimate I am using, I also have the new Media Center installed. Windows XP Media Center Edition may very well have been Microsoft's best product user-interface wise (Office 2007 might be better though), and this trend continues in this new version. It is very difficult to explain exactly why MCE is such a good interface; the only way of ever understanding this is to actually use it for a while. It simply makes so much sense.

3. Security and safety

3.2 User Account Control

Security-wise, Microsoft touts various improvements in Windows Vista. The biggest and most visible of those is User Account Control; this means that whenever anything tries to do something that requires administration privileges, the user must specifically allow this. Any user, even those with admin rights, run in standard user mode all the time now, meaning that a malicious program cannot just install itself anymore to system directories or similar places.

Is UAC annoying? Yes. Is it any more annoying than entering your password each time you need to do something admin-related in, say, Ubuntu? No. At least Windows Vista allows you to edit system files and directories without launching a file manager window as root; Vista will just prompt you to grant admin rights when trying to edit system directories. Of course you can turn UAC off, but that really is a bad thing to do if you ask me.

If you want to know more about security features in Windows Vista, the related Wikipedia article is a good starting point. Many of the measures are technical changes transparent to the user, which is a good thing.

5. Audio

The audio department is where Windows Vista really is far ahead of any other mainstream operating system. The new audio stack allows for a feature I have only ever previously seen in BeOS: per process control of audio volume. Gone are the days where you could get a heart attack from MSN Messenger when someone sent you a message while you were listening to loud music. In Vista, you just set the volume for Messenger lower than for Media Player, and gone is that problem. A major advance, and surely something I would like to see in OS X and Linux.

8. Mobile computing

On my laptop, Vista is a much better fit when it comes to mobile computing than XP ever was. The biggest improvement is that sleep now actually works; when using XP, waking from sleep would regularly fail. It was a known issue on the Dell support forums, but a working fix was never found (although I must say I stopped monitoring the thread after a few weeks). The problem was not hardware related, as sleep/wake in Linux worked just fine (ironically). It's good that this apparent bug in Windows is now fixed.

In the first look article, I mentioned how the various test and beta builds of Vista had a huge bug in the bcm43xx driver; it would randomly disconnect, refusing to work for literally hours on end. This problem now seems fixed, and wireless networking is working perfectly. A bit of a nuisance, though, is that after waking from sleep reconnecting to a wireless network takes fairly long. My Macs reconnected in mere seconds, while in Vista this process can take up to and well over 30 seconds.

One of the really big mysteries in the final Vista build is the apparent lack of syncing with Windows Mobile devices. I have an iPaq Windows Mobile 2003 device, and upon attaching the device, an autoplay dialog pops up asking me what I want to do (browse device, sync media files, import pictures), but there is no option to actually sync the things that matter: contacts mostly, in my case. I tried to use the Sync Center, but my device refuses to show up.

After asking Google for advice, I found out you needed to manually download the third beta of the Windows Mobile Device Center before you can really do anything with your Windows Mobile PDA and Vista. Installing went fine, and everything seems to work; however, it became clear quite quickly that the Mobile Device Center only supports syncing with Outlook, and not Windows Mail or Windows Contacts. Unacceptable, if you ask me, and something that needs to be fixed before Vista goes to consumers.

Some words before the conclusion

Many of the features and improvements mentioned in the Wikipedia article are directed to developers, and probably deserve a review of its own, done by a developer. Other changes are too abstract to put into a review, and hence have been left out. All in all this review has only touched on so many features; there are many more to be found in Windows Vista but somewhere you have to draw the line, as a reviewer. If your pet feature was excluded, feel free to explain why it should have been included in the comments section.

Conclusion

After a few weeks of intensive usage (I haven't even touched my various other machines and installations), I think I have a pretty clear picture of what Vista has become. I had my serious doubts about the system, caused not only by its many delays, but more so by the highly debatable quality of the many test builds released by Microsoft in the past years.

When I first tested what was then called Longhorn back in 2003, I wrote a review of it for OSNews. The final line of that review read: "People might say that this release is just XP with a new coat. They are completely right, in my opinion. But darn, that new coat looks nice." That line is completely misplaced for this final build of Vista, no matter how much anti-Microsoft folk who never used Vista in the first place want you to believe. Vista is a huge step forward for the Windows world.

How does Vista stack up compared to its competition, most notably, Mac OS X? Well, feature-wise, they are pretty much on-par, if you ask me. Stability- wise, XP was already on par with OS X, and left little to improve upon. In the looks department, it all depends on your taste, of course. I like the Glass theme better than I like the Aqua look, but that is so totally personal it is irrelevant for this discussion. Security-wise; now that is where only time will tell. On paper, they seem to be on par, but theory is always different from practice. When it comes to personality, I would still say the Mac has the advantage - clearly.

In total, Vista is a pretty convincing argument for buyers of computers to stick to the Windows side of the pond. Assuming the security will turn out to be as good in the real world as it is on paper, Vista will enable buyers to stick with what they know, using all the same applications they are used to, but all in a much better interface and many other features many users will certainly appreciate.

All in all, I am impressed by Windows Vista, and I will surely move my two Windows installations to Vista (obviously leaving the XP partitions in tact). Windows Vista is better than XP, and definitely more than just an improved look as many say.

Thanks To Osnewss

Why Upgrade to Windows Vista?

2006-11-04T08:04:00.000-08:00

Why Upgrade to Windows Vista?

Key reasons to upgrade to Windows Vista

Windows Vista helps companies be more successful by:

Empowering users to find and use information

Enabling mobile workers to stay connected and productive in and out of office

Helping companies to make corporate systems and information more secure

Making it easier to deploy and manage company PCs

Find and Use Information
The success of a business depends on the success of its people. Making your employees more productive and facilitating communication is the main reason you invest in Information Technology. Yet, with most tools today, it is difficult for employees to quickly find the information they need and leverage information technology to its full potential. Windows Vista is designed as a People-Ready solution so they can easily find and use information.

The fast, integrated desktop search in Windows Vista helps make it easier for users to find the information they need, even if it is on a shared drive or other network resource. Windows Vista Desktop Search is integrated throughout the operating system—in the start menu, control panel, and their document folders—making it easy to find the information they are looking for. Users can also tag a file with "metadata" to indicate that it belongs to a certain project or other category, making it easier to search, filter and organize their files.

Once the user has entered the search information, Windows Vista helps make it easier to identify the right data by displaying high-resolution thumbnails of the content. Users can dynamically adjust the size of these thumbnails to make them large enough for users to know whether they've found the right document without opening it. The user can then store the search results in a "search folder" to be recalled for later use.
Windows Vista helps make users more productive managing online information as well. With tabbed browsing in Internet Explorer 7, users can visually scroll to the right page. Web page printing is also improved so you can capture all of the information, without cutting off part of the page.
The most recognizable improvement in Windows Vista is the new, Windows Aero interface—its glass-like, transparent windows allow users to multi-task bringing focus to current window while allowing easy access to the rest of the desktop. Live icons that give users a preview of the document and new ways to navigate the windows on the desktop help users find what they are looking for in less time.

Enable Mobile Workforce
While mobile PCs can help improve employee productivity, supporting mobile users in the enterprise can add complexity to the IT environment. Securely granting access to employees when and where they need it often required multiple sign-ons. Additionally, laptops can pose risks to sensitive business information. New tools in Windows Vista can enable your organization to realize the benefits of mobile computing while helping to reduce complexity and risks.

Windows Vista is built with mobility in mind, the new Windows Mobility Center puts the most commonly used controls, such as battery, brightness, and presentation settings, all in one place. Improved power management lets your mobile work force be productive longer and reduces boot-up delays when resuming from stand-by.
Great ideas are often the result of collaboration. Windows Vista helps make it easier to effectively communicate and collaborate with co-workers, partners, and customers, anywhere your business takes you. Features like the Network Center and Network Setup Wizard make it easier to get connected. The Windows Meeting Space technology enables you to broadcast and share documents and presentations with multiple users, making meetings more productive.
To help address the risks of mobile computing, Windows Vista includes the latest wireless security protocols so users can connect more securely. BitLocker Drive Encryption in Windows Vista Enterprise helps protect your company data on the mobile PC, in case a laptop is lost or stolen.

Improve Security and Compliance
Unfortunately, in today’s digital world, computers are becoming an increasingly attractive target for criminals hoping to steal information or do harm to your business, people, or customers. Sophisticated social engineering attacks can trick your employees into revealing confidential information, or target your customers and damage your reputation. On top of that, new government regulations require high standards for security and data protection to avoid penalties. To help your company address the risk and expense associated with security and compliance, we are committed to providing multiple layers of protection in Windows Vista.

Windows Vista is the first desktop operating system released since we began the Microsoft Trustworthy Computing Initiative. Microsoft developers now receive ongoing security training and we hire leading security experts to perform thorough security audits and testing. The end result is a fundamentally more secure platform, harder to exploit, with less need for patching.
To mitigate threats from malicious software such as viruses, malware, and root kits, Windows Vista includes Internet Explorer 7 Protected Mode, which is unique to Windows Vista and prevents the silent install of malicious code. Windows Defender provides built-in malware protection for your PCs.
In order to maintain a more secure, compliant environment, is it important to identify who is attempting to use the computer and control what resources they have access to. Windows Vista helps make this much easier by having built-in support for strong user authentication. Additionally, Windows Vista helps make it easier for companies to comply with internal and external regulations through granular event logging, auditing and tracking for security events.
To control access, companies face a difficult tradeoff: Do they give users full administrator permission and accept the security and compliance risk? Or do they limit the privileges of the users and face lower application compatibility and user productivity? Windows Vista User Account Control capability helps make the choice easy giving users the power to do more things on their own, with greater application compatibility than on previous versions of Windows while reducing the attack surface area of your company PCs.
Windows Vista has multiple ways to help protect your data, and recover it when you need to. Shadow Copy technology automatically stores versions of files as users work on them—even without configuring a formal backup—so they can easily retrieve an earlier version of a document they may have accidentally deleted or if they made changes they want to undo.

Optimize Desktop Infrastructure
Windows Vista helps empower people to make a greater impact, but are the benefits outweighed by the costs of upgrading and maintaining a new operating system? Windows Vista enables IT efficiencies by providing technology, tools, and best practices to optimize your desktop infrastructure and help reduce IT costs.

Managing desktop images may be expensive today because IT departments may maintain and test separate OS images for each language and type of computer in their company. With Windows Vista’s new imaging technology, companies can deploy a single OS image to different types of computer hardware and machines in different languages. New deployment tools not only simplify migration to Windows Vista, but provide ongoing costs savings because the new images are easier to maintain, update, and deploy to new users.
To ease the initial migration to Windows Vista, Microsoft provides the Application Compatibility Toolkit version 5.0, aligning its release with the release of Windows Vista. The availability of this tool, as well as the online community we are building for customers, partners and vendors to share their testing results, will significantly ease application compatibility testing for enterprise customers.
Windows Vista also has new tools to manage your desktops after they are deployed. We are providing over 500 new group policy objects to address the most critical management scenarios. For example, you can now centrally manage Power Settings, which can save as much as $50 per PC a year in energy costs, or even which types of devices users can and cannot install.
When a system error occurs caused by an application or device, in many cases, Windows Vista will automatically attempt to heal itself, avoiding user interruptions and unnecessary help desk calls. If Windows cannot fix the problem automatically, a built-in diagnostics log is created that can walk the user through step by step to solve the problem. For instance, the new Startup Repair Tool can automatically repair many cases of unbootable systems. If users do need support, Vista also includes tools such as the Reliability and Performance Monitor, improved Remote Assistance, and the new Event Viewer so the helpdesk staff can get the user up and running in less time.
The new network stack in Windows Vista can make it easier for your IT department to secure the network through the use of security policies based on IPsec. Built-in network diagnostics enable the end-user to resolve many connectivity issues without having to call the Help Desk, increasing productivity and reducing the cost of support.

This article was taken from the Microsoft Vista Website

Windows Vista Licensing Restrictions Eased

2006-11-04T08:02:00.000-08:00

Microsoft’s initial licensing policies for Windows Vista upset a pretty vocal constituency: PC and hardware enthusiasts. The original policies restricted you to a one time reassignment of the license from one machine to another, or if you upgraded enough specific components within the machine. According to Microsoft this was aimed at combating piracy. But folks smelled a real gotcha here and where upset and expressed those concerns with quite a bit of volume. Well, Microsoft heard the outcry and has revised the license terms. Now an end user can transfer a license from one computer to another or make upgrades with a few conditions.

Ed Bott who has been following this has clear description of the terms here. And you can read more about it on the newly updated Windows Vista Team Blog.

Source KnowYouRSS

Windows Vista Licensing Restrictions Eased

2006-11-04T07:55:00.000-08:00

Windows XP Features Dropped In Vista

2006-10-22T06:47:00.000-07:00

Windows XP Features Dropped In Vista
Mary Jo Foley points out that Wikipedia has a list of features that were present in Windows XP, but have been dropped from Windows Vista.

They include:

Windows Messenger (replaced with a link to download Windows Live Messenger).
Netmeeting (replaced by Windows Meeting Space, which people might actually use).
Internet Explorer no longer integrates with Windows Explorer.
MS-CHAP v1 for VPN authentication.
The Pinball game (also, removed links to online MSN games).
Advanced Power Management support.
Support for HTTP email access in the system email client (Windows Live Mail Desktop download required).
IP over 1394
Web Publishing Wizard
HyperTerminal
SerialKeys
Viewing and editing metadata in a file’s Summary tab.

Windows Vista Prices are Out

2006-09-21T06:38:00.000-07:00

The official launch of Microsoft Windows Vista will be on January 30 2007 and the prices, according to Amazon.com, will be as follows:

$199.00 for Windows Vista Home
$399.00 for Windows Vista Ultimate edition
$99.00 - $259.00 for upgrades from Winows Xp

You can pre order Windows Vista at Amazon.com or download Windows Vista pre-RC1 here.

10 First Tweaks to Windows Vista After Installation

2006-09-13T03:41:00.000-07:00

Is Your Hardware Ready for Windows Vista? Ways to check.

2006-09-13T03:34:00.000-07:00

Microsoft has updated their Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor with an enhanced its UI and device support in order to help users successfully determine which version of Windows Vista best suits their particular hardware configuration. If you've not heard of it, this app advises which parts of a system may need to be upgraded in order to support Windows Vista. If you're unsure whether your PC is prepared for the news OS or not, then this tool is a must.

link http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upgradeadvisor/default.mspx

ATI Graphics has also released their Windows Vista Readiness Advisor tool designed to assess the upgradeability of your computer to Windows Vista and can provide you with guidance for your computer’s unique configuration and the minimum, recommended, and optimal user experience.

link http://www.ati.com/technology/WindowsVista/GetReady.html

Windows Client Team Launches the Windows Shell Blog

2006-09-13T03:25:00.000-07:00

The Windows Shell Team, responsible for Windows' core user interface, has launched a blog called shell: revealed. This new site has blogs from several team members and also includes galleries and a forum to discuss Windows shell-related topics, such as Windows Aero and organization.

If you are one of those who is concerned with the user interface in Windows, this blog is for you. Keep your eye out as the team has some cool things planned.

link http://shellrevealed.com/

File management with Vista Explorer

2006-07-16T04:28:00.000-07:00

Takeaway:

Vista Explorer features some significant changes in both layout and functionality. Take a tour of the new Explorer's redesigned interface.

One of the most significant changes to Vista's interface is
the new look of the Windows Explorer file management tool. Explorer has undergone
much more than just cosmetic changes. It's now more intuitive and easier to use
in many ways--although it may take a little getting used to for those who have
become set in the ways of its Windows 2000/XP predecessors. In this article,
we'll take a look at the new Explorer and how you can use it to make everyday
tasks easier.

Exploring the Explorer interface

The first thing you'll notice when you open the new Explorer
is that it's a bit busier than the default XP Explorer window. As shown in Figure
A, the left pane is now divided into two sections, and another toolbar appears
under the Standard Buttons toolbar (Back, Forward, Up, Search, Folders, and View)
that's displayed by default in XP. This new toolbar, which offers Organize,
Views, Share, and Burn buttons, can't be turned off. (You can opt to not display
the Standard Buttons bar in XP.)

Figure A

The default view of Explorer has a slightly busy look.

Additional buttons appear on this toolbar depending on the
type of folder or file that's selected. For instance, when a music file is
selected, Play and Play All buttons appear. If a folder containing picture
files is selected, Preview, SlideShow, Print, and
E-mail buttons appear.

There's also a section at the bottom that displays when the
status bar isn't turned on. It shows the number of items in the selected folder--information
that was part of the status bar in XP.

Another difference is the way the file path is displayed in
the address bar. In XP, if you want to back up to a folder above the one you're
in, you can either click the Back button (sometimes repeatedly) or press [Backspace]
to erase the part of the folder structure below the one you want to go to. In
Vista, you simply click in the address bar on the folder you want to go to,
regardless of where it is in the hierarchy. It's a small thing, but it makes
navigation a lot quicker.

A subtle but much appreciated enhancement is the behavior of
the left tree as you navigate through it. As you expand folders in XP, you have
to scroll horizontally to see the deeply nested folders as they are farther to
the right. In Vista, the UI automatically scrolls for you as you expand
folders. How cool is that?

A pane in the pane

That Favorite Links pane on the left side gives you a
quick-click way to get to-your Documents, Pictures, and Music folders, recently
changed files (including e-mail messages), and search folders. A number of
default search folders already populate this link, including

Attachments

Favorite Music

Fresh Tracks

Important E-mail

Last 7 Days E-mail

Last 30 Days Documents

Last 30 Days Pictures And Videos

Recently Changed (also directly accessible as a
Favorite Link)

Shared By Me files and folders

Unread E-mail

User's Files

Saved searches

In addition to using the default searches, you can create and
save your own. For example, if you regularly need to search for e-mails that
contain the word Vista, you can search for that character string and
select E-mails from the filters in the Show Results For box that appears under
the Search box.

The search function contains a large number of filtering
options, including:

Attachments

Calendar items

Contacts

Documents

E-mail

Folders

Games

Instant Messages

Items

Links

Movies

Music

Notes

Pictures

Programs

Recorded TV (Vista Home Premium and Ultimate
Editions that include Media Center)

Tasks

Videos

Web History

You can further filter a search using the Where, Title, and
Contains menus on the search bar. For example, you can specify that the
document contains or doesn't contain a particular word (Figure B), that
it start with a certain word, or that it's greater than or less than a
specified value. Or you can search very specific attributes, such as cc or bcc
names or addresses, birthdays, date accessed or created, cell phone numbers,
audio formats, and many, many more. Vista's search filtering functionality is
far more sophisticated than XP's.

Figure B

The Contains menu lets you refine your search criteria.

To save a search, just click Save Search on the toolbar and
give it a name. It will be saved as a Search folder with the .search extension
and added to the Saved Searches folder.

You can set Search options on the Tools | Folder Options |
Search tab.

A window with a view

The XP Explorer gives you five ways to view the folders and
files in the right details pane: as thumbnails, tiles, icons, a list, or a
detailed list. Vista gives you six options: extra large icons, large icons,
medium icons, small icons, details, or tiles.

The thumbnails option is gone because now graphics display
as thumbnails regardless of what view you choose. Even in Details view, they
appear as tiny thumbnails, as shown in Figure C.

Figure C

Graphics are now displayed as thumbnails in all views, eliminating the need
for a thumbnail view.

Explorer will even show you a miniature display of your
Office 2007 documents, as shown in Figure D (in Extra Large Icons view).

Figure D

Office 2007 documents are displayed as thumbnails, along with picture
files.

You'll also notice that the List
view is missing, and the default Details view shows more columns/fields than XP
does. (It includes Author and Tags fields.) As with XP, you can choose from a
long list of additional columns to display by right-clicking in the column
title area. You can also reorder the columns and set column width in pixels.

Another way to modify the view is with the Organize button,
which lets you select the layout of the Explorer window. As shown in Figure E,
you can select whether to display Classic Menus, a Search Pane, a Preview Pane,
a Reading Pane, and/or the Navigation Pane.

Figure E

You can further customize the Explorer view with the Organize | Layout
options.

If you select the Preview Pane, you'll see information about
the selected file or folder above the status bar. For example, for a Word
document it shows you the filename, document type, title, author(s), file size,
date last modified, and offline availability.

You can see details and edit this information by clicking
the Edit... link, which opens the
document's properties dialog box. Here, you can change many (not all) of the
fields or remove properties and personal information, as shown in Figure F.

Figure F

You can change some of the file details or remove properties and personal
info.

If you select Reading Pane, you can examine the contents of
your documents without opening them. For example, you can scroll through an
entire Word document in the Reading pane without opening it in Word, as shown
in Figure G.

Figure G

With the Reading pane, you can examine the contents of a document without
opening it.

Share and share alike

Vista Explorer also makes it easier for users to share
folders and files with others by using the Sharing Wizard. Click to highlight
one or more folders or files you want to share and then click the Share button
on the toolbar. A dialog box will open asking you to type the username of the
person on the network with whom you want to share. You can also share with a
Group or with Everyone.

If you don't know the name, you can select to find a user or
group. Vista will search the specified location (local computer, a specified
domain, or the entire Active Directory). By default, those you add will be
given Reader permission, but you can change that to Contributor or Co-owner by
clicking the dropdown arrow as shown in Figure H.

Figure H

Sharing files and folders is easier in Vista.

After the file or folder has been shared, you can
automatically e-mail the links to the people you selected for sharing. Just
click E-Mail These Links in the File Sharing dialog box and Vista will open up
a mail message addressed to that person with the message and link already
inserted in the body.

If you don't want to use the Sharing Wizard, you can turn it
off by deselecting a check box in Advanced Settings list on the Tools | Folder
Options | View tab.

Burn, baby, burn

Vista also makes adding a file to a temporary folder for
burning to disk a one-click operation by including the Burn button on the
toolbar. You can also burn DVDs through Windows Media Player and Windows
Movie Maker or using the dialog box that opens automatically when you insert a
writeable CD or DVD into your recorder.

Summary

Vista's Explorer has a different look and feel, and at first
you may get a little frustrated when everything's not in the same old familiar
place. But after working with it for a while, I have found it easy to adapt to.
I think it will make file management and navigation easier for novice users
(and those experienced users who give it a chance).

Source techrepublic.com

Windows VistaBootPRO 2.0 Beta

2006-07-16T04:26:00.000-07:00

Today, PROnetworks announced that VistaBootPRO 2.0 Beta, the newest version of the original program developed by the PROnetworks Betas Team and the Beta Testing Forum, is now available for download. This is an update to the original VistaBootPRO 1.0 Beta. There are lots of new features and improved GUI interface. Full support for Windows Vista Beta 2 and Build 5456 has been added as well.

VistaBootPRO has proven quite popular because it is used to make changes to the Windows Vista Boot Configuration Data (BCD) registry quickly and easily, doing the job in a fraction of the time it would take using the alternative. The only other way to edit the BCD is to use the command prompt application bcdedit.exe, located in the Windows\system32 folder of Windows Vista. bcdedit.exe requires users to become familiar with the ins and outs of the bcdedit.exe application switches and options, leaving many frustrated users in its path.

The Vista Boot Configuration Data (BCD) Store has replaced the boot.ini file from Windows XP and earlier. In multi-boot scenarios where users have both Windows Vista and an older version of Windows installed, the BCD "interfaces" with the boot.ini file to perfect multi-booting.

VistaBootPRO 2.0 Beta, while being feature complete and fully functional, is still a Beta application and is an ongoing project. VistaBootPRO's continued development and functionality will need input from all Windows Vista users. PROnetworks invites the public to use VistaBootPRO and give feedback on your experience with it.

VistaBootPRO can be used to make some basic "cosmetic" changes to the Vista Boot Menu in a dual boot scenario, such as renaming the entries from the standard "Earlier versions of Windows" and "Microsoft Windows" to nicer and for more intuitive names. It also has advanced functionality options of all shapes and colors for power users allowing the adding of operating systems to the boot menu and removing of redundant/dead entries, as well as a many other features.

Link

BitLocker gives dual-boot systems the elbow

2006-04-29T01:34:00.000-07:00

Vista security feature is 'anti-Linux'

Security features introduced in Windows Vista will make setting up PCs to boot in either Linux or Windows far more difficult, according to security guru Bruce Schneier. Vista is due to feature hardware-based encryption, called BitLocker Drive Encryption, which acts as a repository to protect sensitive data in the event of a PC being either lost or stolen.

This encryption technology also has the effect of frustrating the exchange of data needed in a dual boot system. "You could look at BitLocker as anti-Linux because it frustrates dual boot," Schneier told El Reg. Schneier said Vista will bring forward security improvements, but cautioned that technical advances are less important than improvements in how technology is presented to users.

"The fundamental security problems have been solved and now it's all about making the technology work. Installation, implementation, and update are key. A lot of work needs to be done on the user interface," he said.

Schneier is concerned at the possibility that Vista users might be bombarded with "endless" warning messages. Overexposure to messages will lead many consumers to ignore them and blindly agree to what applications are seeking to do, he added.

Schneier made his comment during an appearance at the Infosec conference in London on Wednesday. ®

Source http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/04/27/schneier_infosec/

Microsoft to Release Eight Versions of Windows Vista.

2006-02-21T02:45:00.000-08:00

After months of maintaining that it had not yet finalized its Windows Vista line up, Microsoft seems finally to have decided upon a half dozen core Vista versions.

After months of maintaining that it had not yet finalized its Windows Vista line up, Microsoft seems finally to have decided upon a half dozen core Vista versions.

According to a posting on its Web site, Microsoft is readying six core Vista packages, or SKUs, plus two additional releases customized for the European Union that won't bundle in Windows Media Player, as ordered by European antitrust regulators.

On the line up are Windows Starter 2007; Windows Vista Enterprise; Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista ultimate, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Home Basic N and Windows Vista Business N.

The "N" releases are those which do not include Media Player.

It's not clear whether the Starter release mentioned on Microsoft's site is the same as the current Windows XP Starter Edition product, which is a cut-rate, less fully featured version of Windows tailored for developing countries.

The new SKU list contains relatively few surprises, as Microsoft had been widely expected to fold features from its current Windows XP Media Center Edition and Windows XP Tablet PC Edition into other SKUs, rather than continue to sell them as distinct editions.

Company officials also previously discussed plans to offer a Windows Vista Enterprise Edition — a variant of Vista that Microsoft is using as an incentive to attract more users to sign up for its Software Assurance licensing plan by making it available to Software Assurance customers only.

However, as some Web commentators have noted, there is no Windows Vista Small Business Edition on the current list. Such a SKU was supposedly part of Microsoft's Vista plans, as of quite recently. There also is no mention of any 64-bit-specific Windows Vista editions on the Microsoft Web site.

According to information on the Microsoft site, all of the planned Windows variants will include integrated games.

The Vista Business, Home and Enterprise editions all will include built-in support for mobile devices.

Microsoft currently offers six different versions of Windows XP. The line up includes XP Home, Professional, Media Center, Tablet PC, and Professional x64, and the Windows XP N editions.

Rumors regarding Microsoft's thinking on final Vista packaging have been leaking for two years. During that time, Microsoft officials have maintained that the company had yet to decide on its final packaging plans for the operating system, which is due to ship this fall.

Microsoft officials did not respond by the time this article was posted to questions as to whether the latest line-up list reflects all of the planned Windows Vista versions.

Why to buy Windows Vista

2006-02-18T09:22:00.000-08:00

Reasons to buy Windows Vista

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past few months, you probably know that the latest version of Windows--called Vista--is due to hit store shelves later this year (in time for the holidays, Microsoft tells us). The successor to Windows XP offers a little something for everyone, from eye-catching graphics and new bundled applications to more-rigorous security. In fact, there is so much in the new operating system that it can be tough to get a handle on it all.

I've been noodling around with a recent beta version of Windows Vista (Build 5270) and had a chance to make some observations. While the sleek new look and polished interface caught my eye, it's what's under the covers that impressed me most. Microsoft's done a great job of improving security across the board. Things like Windows and spyware library updates are streamlined, and I definitely appreciate the more robust Backup software.

Still, there's plenty of unfinished work left to do. Internet Explorer 7 struggled to properly render some Web pages, and I found local network connectivity to be a hit-or-miss affair. And then there's the stuff that isn't even in there yet--like the intriguing Windows Sidebar, which will put real-time weather info, stock quotes, system status, RSS feeds, and other information on the display.

So during my time with Windows Vista, I kept an eye out for the reasons I--and you--might ultimately want to lay my hands on the new OS when it's available. And frankly, if you buy a new Windows-based PC at the end of this year or any time in, say, the next five years, you'll probably end up with Vista by default.

Keep in mind, this is based solely on my experience with prerelease software (and a whole new beta could be out by the time you read this). Features get tweaked, they come and go, but from what we can tell, Vista is now starting to harden into the product that will be running many, many desktops for the foreseeable future. And by and large, that's a good thing.

Here's what to be excited about:

1. Security, security, security: Windows XP Service Pack 2 patched a lot of holes, but Vista takes security to the next level. There are literally too many changes to list here, from the bidirectional software firewall that monitors inbound and outbound traffic to Windows Services Hardening, which prevents obscure background processes from being hijacked and changing your system. There's also full-disk encryption, which prevents thieves from accessing your data, even if they steal the PC out from under your nose.

Perhaps most crucial (and least sexy) is the long-overdue User Account Protection, which invokes administrator privileges as needed, such as during driver updates or software installations. UAP makes it much more convenient for users to operate Vista with limited rights (meaning the system won't let them do certain things, like load software, without clearance from an administrator). This in turn limits the ability of malware to hose your system.

2. Internet Explorer 7: IE gets a much-needed, Firefox-inspired makeover, complete with tabbed pages and better privacy management. There's also the color-coded Address Bar that lets you know if a page is secured by a digital key, or, thanks to new antiphishing features, if it's a phony Web site just looking to steal information about you.

These features will all be available for Windows XP users who download IE7. But Vista users get an important extra level of protection: IE7 on Vista will run in what Microsoft calls "protected mode"--a limited-rights mode that prevents third-party code from reaching your system. It's about darn time.

3. Righteous eye candy: For the first time, Microsoft is building high-end graphics effects into Windows. The touted Aero Glass interface features visually engaging 3D rendering, animation, and transparencies. Translucent icons, program windows, and other elements not only look cool, they add depth and context to the interface. For example, hover your cursor over minimized programs that rest on the taskbar and you'll be able to see real-time previews of what's running in each window without opening them full-screen. Now you can see what's going on behind the scenes, albeit at a cost: You need powerful graphics hardware and a robust system to manage all the effects.

4. Desktop search: Microsoft has been getting its lunch handed to it by Google and Yahoo on the desktop, but Vista could change all that. The new OS tightly integrates instant desktop search, doing away with the glacially slow and inadequate search function in XP. Powerful indexing and user-assignable metadata make searching for all kinds of data--including files, e-mails, and Web content--a lot easier. And if you're running Vista on a Windows Longhorn network, you can perform searches across the network to other PCs.

5. Better updates: Vista does away with using Internet Explorer to access Windows Update, instead utilizing a new application to handle the chore of keeping your system patched and up-to-date. The result is quicker response and a more tightly streamlined process. The update-tracking mechanism, for instance, is much quicker to display information about your installation. And now key components, such as the Windows Defender antispyware module, get their updates through this central point. Like other housekeeping features, a better Windows Update isn't a gee-whiz upgrade, but it should make it easier--and more pleasant--to keep your PC secure.

6. More media: Over the years, one of the key reasons to upgrade versions of Windows has been the free stuff Gates and Company toss into the new OS, and Vista is no exception. Windows Media Player (perhaps my least favorite application of all time) gets a welcome update that turns the once-bloated player into an effective MP3 library. The Windows Photo Gallery finally adds competent photo-library-management functionality to Windows, so you can organize photos; apply metatags, titles, and ratings; and do things like light editing and printing. The DVD Maker application, which was still very rough when I looked at it, promises to add moviemaking capabilities--along the lines of Movie Maker--to the operating system. There are even some nice new games tucked into the bundle.

7. Parental controls: Families, schools, and libraries will appreciate the tuned-up parental controls, which let you limit access in a variety of ways. Web filtering can block specific sites, screen out objectionable content by selected type, and lock out file downloads. You can also restrict each account's access by time of day or day of the week. As a dad, I can tell you this will be great for keeping kids off the PC while you're at work, for instance. You can even block access to games based on their Entertainment Software Rating Board ratings.

8. Better backups: When Windows 95 first came out, the typical hard disk was, maybe, 300MB in size. Today, desktops routinely ship with 300GB or 400GB hard drives. And yet, the built-in data-backup software in Windows has changed little in the past decade. Windows Vista boasts a much-improved backup program that should help users avoid wholesale digital meltdowns. Microsoft also tweaked the useful System Restore feature--which takes snapshots of your system state so you can recover from a nasty infection or botched software installation.

9. Peer-to-peer collaboration: The Windows Collaboration module uses peer-to-peer technology to let Vista users work together in a shared workspace. You can form ad hoc workgroups and then jointly work on documents, present applications, and pass messages. You can even post "handouts" for others to review.

10. Quick setup: Beta code alert: There are some Vista features I hope dearly for even though they haven't been built yet. This is one of them. Jim Allchin, Microsoft's co-president, says that Windows Vista boasts a re-engineered install routine, which will slash setup times from about an hour to as little as 15 minutes. Hurray! The new code wasn't in the beta version of Vista that Microsoft sent to me--my aging rig took well over an hour to set up--so I'll believe it when I see it. Still, any improvement in this area is welcome.

Five Things That Will Give You Pause

All this is not to say that Vista is a slam-dunk and everyone should be running out to buy it as soon as Microsoft takes the wraps off. Heck, Windows XP has developed into a fairly stable, increasingly secure OS. Why mess with that?

Yes, during my time with Vista, I've found more than enough features to get excited about--features that will make a sizable chunk of Windows users want to upgrade. So why would anyone in their right mind stick with what they've got? Here are a few reasons:

Pay that piper: Vista is an operating system. It's the stuff your applications run on. But it'll cost $100 or more to make the switch. Unless you're buying a new PC and starting from scratch, you may be better off saving the money for something else.

Where's my antivirus?: For all the hype about security in Windows Vista, users may be disappointed to learn that antivirus software will not be part of the package. There's every indication that an online subscription service--possibly under the OneCare rubric--will offer antivirus protection to Vista users down the road. But for the time being, you'll need to turn to third-party companies like Symantec, McAfee, Grisoft, and others for virus protection.

Watch that hourglass: Vista is a power hog. Unless you have a top-end PC with high-end graphics hardware, for instance, you won't see one of the coolest parts of the new OS--the Aero Glass interface. Microsoft did the smart thing by offering Aero Basic and Windows Classic looks as well, which will let older and slower PCs run Vista. It just won't look as pretty.

Curse the learning curve: Microsoft has already ditched some aggressive ideas--such as the whole "virtual folders" thing--because the concepts proved too confusing for users. Even so, you'll find that the new Windows changes a lot of old tricks, and not always for the better. Heck, it took me almost five minutes to find the Run command, which used to show up right in the Start menu. And many users may struggle with the new power scheme, which defaults to putting the PC into hibernation rather than shutting down. I know it frustrated me the first time I wanted to power down the system to swap out a disk drive.

Meet the old boss, same as the new boss: Microsoft has added lots of new stuff to Vista, but some features are just warmed-over fare. Windows Mail is nothing more than a rebranded Outlook Express, and Windows Defender is simply an updated version of Microsoft AntiSpyware.

So keep your eyes peeled for future previews of Vista. It may not be perfect (what software is?), but in a lot of ways, it's a giant leap forward.

Windows Vista Complaints Review

2006-02-14T03:28:00.000-08:00

European Officials Reviewing Windows Vista Complaints

The European Commission is looking into complaints about Microsoft's Vista, but no formal investigation has been launched.

BRUSSELS--Officials with the European Commission have confirmed that they are examining complaints lodged by Microsoft's rivals against the company's Vista operating system, due to launch by the end of this year.

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"Several companies have expressed their concerns to the European Commission concerning Microsoft's Vista, but there are no formal complaints," says Jonathan Todd, a spokesman for the commission's top antitrust official, Commissioner Neelie Kroes, adding: "The commission is monitoring the situation, but there is no formal investigation."

Asked what the substance of the complaints were, Todd said that they have to do with the bundling of products into Vista, but he declined to be more specific.

In a similar case in the United States, U.S. Department of Justice officials are looking at Vista's boot-up features and whether PC makers can customize the options presented to users when they switch on their PCs.

Microsoft to Respond This Week

Todd also stressed that Microsoft, when "designing and implementing Vista," should comply with the principles established by the commission's ruling of March 2004, which found that the company had abused its dominant position in the PC operating system market.

Microsoft this week has to formally respond to a request from the commission to explain why it believes it has complied with the 2004 ruling. If the commission does not accept the company's arguments, it can hit Microsoft with a daily fine of $2.4 million.

The commission says that the company has not yet provided sufficient documentation to allow rivals to develop products that can interoperate with its server software. Microsoft argues that the steps it has taken, including documentation it has provided, and offers of source code access and free technical assistance, mean that it has fulfilled the commission's demands.

Source Pcworld

Fully featured Windows Vista CTP coming

2005-12-27T16:39:00.000-08:00

Developers are closer to getting a full, pre-release copy of Microsoft's next client operating system with Microsoft's latest Windows Vista Community Technology Preview (CTP).

Microsoft on Monday re-committed itself to delivering a "feature-complete" Windows Vista CTP in "early" 2006, hinting this could be around the time of January's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Shanen Boettcher, senior director for Microsoft's Windows client group, promised Windows Vista would be "feature complete" by the end of the month.

Boettcher was speaking as he announced features tackling security, enhanced mobility and better performance in the latest CTP released to 500,000 developers on the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) and TechNet sites.

He was unwilling to say which features remained to be shoved into the Windows Vista code base for the next - and presumably final - CTP.

Monday's CTP features a simplified interface for Microsoft's AntiSpyware, rebranded Windows Defender, while the Windows Vista firewall can be managed through IPsec.

Group policies can be applied to PCs for the removal of USB devices, to help prevent copying and removal of data files through removable storage media. "This gives IT professionals a simplified way to control and block use of these devices with [Vista] machines," Boettcher said.

There is additional security for laptops with Bitblocker, which encrypts all information on the hard drive, like the operating system and boot sectors. Boettcher promised Bitblocker would render stolen or lost laptops useless.

Internet Explorer (IE) has been beefed up to tackle domain name spoofing. IE can detect whether characters have been used in a URL that are inconsistent with the alphabet and language selected by the end-user.

Performance of PCs running Windows Vista is boosted by harnessing the power of USB drives. A caching algorithm called Superfetch will cache frequently used tasks including those on a USB drive, improving data retrieval speeds.®

Vista News - New look at Windows Vista

2005-12-23T14:47:00.000-08:00

Latest preview showcases several features added to system

Microsoft Corp. released another "community technology preview" of Windows Vista, adding a number of new features to the preliminary version of the upcoming operating system.

Monday's preview added new security features and updated the program's on-screen appearance, giving a further sense for where the company is headed with the new Windows version.

The operating system is Microsoft's biggest moneymaker, used on most of the world's PCs.

It was the third such preview, issued for use and testing by software developers, information-technology professionals and others along those lines.

But Microsoft declined to give a date for the second beta release of Windows Vista, a more formal preliminary version that will also be made available to some end users.

The first beta was issued in July, and the second beta was originally expected this month, but the company said it won't have more details on its timing until early next year.

Microsoft has said a final version of Windows Vista will be released in the second half of 2006.

The program, previously known as Longhorn, was delayed repeatedly, and competitors such as Apple Computer have beaten Microsoft to market with some key features, such as fast file searching.

But Microsoft is pointing to a range of improvements in an effort to build interest in the new Windows version.

Among the latest additions:

# New parental controls, such as the ability to limit the time a child can use a PC.

# The ability to use a USB drive to add memory to a PC, giving it more space to keep programs and data for quick access by the central processor.

# Updated versions of Microsoft's Windows Media Player software for playing media files and Windows Media Center software for accessing media via remote control in a living room. Microsoft promises more details on both at the Consumer Electronics Show next month.

# The ability to turn a computer off or put it to sleep by pushing one button, as with a TV or consumer electronics device.

# Security improvements, including a new version of Microsoft's anti-spyware program, now called Windows Defender.

# New visual touches, including a redesigned start menu and a new look for open windows, giving them more of the translucent appearance expected in the final Windows Vista version.

# New encryption techniques to prevent unauthorized access to data on a stolen laptop.

Microsoft said last month that it expected to integrate all of the planned features into the operating system earlier than it has in past versions, allowing more time for its programmers to work out bugs before the final release.

The company issued the first "community technical preview" in September, promising monthly releases at the time, but it missed a November release.

Future Microsoft - Microsoft’s Challenges in 2006

2005-12-17T17:14:00.000-08:00

Software giant needs to perfect strategy and execution in 2006 if it wants to beat competitors ranging from Sony to Google.

Bill Gates is betting big on 2006. After years of development and hype, Microsoft will launch its biggest lineup of products ever while also challenging Sony’s dominance of the video game market and Google’s lead in online media.

The world’s largest software maker will ship two critical products: Windows Vista, its next-generation operating system; and Office 12, a package that includes updated versions of Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Excel. Its Xbox 360 is already on store shelves worldwide, albeit in short supply, and gamers who bought the consoles will now expect a steady flow of thrilling new games.

Amid all that, Microsoft will have to see if its attempts to streamline the company’s organizational structure have been successful.

Red Herring.com offers seven critical areas to watch in the year ahead.

Executing Product Transitions

The biggest challenge for Microsoft will be to successfully shift customers to new versions of established products without disrupting its revenue stream. Microsoft plans to ship Windows Vista and Office 12 in late 2006. The first two quarters, when Microsoft does not have any new product releases, will be particularly tough, said Richard Williams, an analyst with Garban Institutional Equities, a brokerage firm based in New Jersey.

“2006 is a product launch year and not a revenue contribution year and that leaves Microsoft in the difficult position of having to find ways to keep growth up even as they accomplish the difficult task of executing on their upcoming product line,” he said.

Vista and Office are the company’s cash cows and if Microsoft fails to convince a larger percentage of users to upgrade quickly to its new products, it risks losing market share to increasingly strong competitors, especially in open source.

“Microsoft cannot afford to lose the mindshare and dominance of the market,” said Carmi Levy, an analyst with Info-Tech Research Group, an advisory services company focused on midsize firms. “If it does, funding for everything else will be threatened.”

Pushing Vista to Enterprises

With Vista, the challenge for Microsoft will be in convincing customers to give up on their existing Microsoft products and move to a newer version. Windows Vista will be particularly difficult to sell to businesses, said analysts.

So far, Microsoft has focused on the security features of Vista which are far less important to businesses. “Getting corporate appeal for Vista is a huge challenge,” said Rob Helm, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft, an independent Microsoft-focused consultancy firm. “The Windows operating system is Microsoft’s biggest business and I am hoping early in the year they will nail down the feature set so they can better market the product to businesses.”

Pulling this off is critical because newer versions of its products are more highly integrated with one another. “Microsoft has embarked on a very aggressive integration strategy,” said Joe Wilcox, an analyst with JupiterResearch. “So if enterprises don’t move to the newest version, it creates problems for Microsoft because of the cross-dependencies it has built into the product.”

Winning with Xbox

Microsoft has said its Xbox business will become profitable in fiscal 2007, which begins in July 2006. Right now, Microsoft loses money on every Xbox 360 console it sells but the company has said that a strong presence in the entertainment segment is crucial to its future (see Xbox Loses Money). Overall, Microsoft is believed to have invested $4 billion in the Xbox franchise without a penny to show for it.

Microsoft has a few things going for it here. Despite facing a strong competitor in Sony, Microsoft has been able to build a buzz around the Xbox 360. It has more than 2 million paying customers for Xbox Live, its subscription-based online gaming service.

Overhauling Security
Microsoft is giving itself one more chance to prove its ability to create a secure and reliable product. The company has long been criticized for the poor security features in its operating system and other products. And it has been working to slowly strengthen security.

Vista will be the test that will determine if Microsoft is capable of creating a secure system, a test Microsoft must pass.

“Microsoft has the challenge of delivering an operating system, a browser, and an Office application that are fundamentally and architecturally more secure than its current generation of products,” said Mr. Levy.

Microsoft also needs to prove it can handle issues arising from its partners, such as in the recent Sony “rootkit” incident. The music giant had embedded software into its music CDs ostensibly to protect its copyright, but critics assailed the company for using technology that could be exploited to install malicious software on users’ computers.

However, Microsoft, which recently launched its anti-spyware tool for home users, took about two weeks to respond to the problem. Only after the outcry against the rootkits had reached a crescendo did Microsoft decide to update its Windows AntiSpyware and the online scanner on the Windows Live Safety Center to detect and remove the software.

Microsoft’s slow reaction could be symptomatic of how it would respond to security concerns created by partners. “Microsoft’s size, position, and interest create conflicts that may undermine its ability to offer truly aggressive security products,” said Mr. Wilcox

Creating an Agile Organization

Microsoft has revamped itself twice this year. The company has been criticized for its slow product development cycle, lack of agility, and inability to capture emerging market opportunities

On Thursday, Microsoft said it plans to reorganize its entertainment division to compete more effectively with consumer products beyond gaming

All of this is essential if Microsoft needs to grow through 2006, said analysts.

“Agility, responsiveness, and speed to market are the key issues here,” said Mr. Levy. “Microsoft needs to encourage more entrepreneurial units within the company’s overall structure so products like operating systems don’t take years to develop.”

2006 is when some analysts hope to see some results of the reorganization. “Microsoft needs to sell better and code better,” said Mr. Williams.

Refreshing Its Online Strategy

On the online services front, Microsoft faces its most formidable competitor in nearly a decade: Google. In 2005, the company created the “Live” brand to take on Google, but is still light years behind in advertising dollars.

It doesn't help that Google plans to strengthen its existing ties to AOL.

“Microsoft fears Google because it could interfere with its plans to create a web channel,” said Mr. Williams. “In 2006, Microsoft will have to work to defend its turf.”

Microsoft has to create a search product that can take on Google and scale up its MSN infrastructure, said analysts.

If Microsoft doesn’t catch up in 2006, it is liable to not just lose revenue to Google, but to find itself in a position where its core products—its operating system, browser, and applications—could be threatened.

Microsoft is facing potential competition to its platform from Google. “Just as Xbox has squeezed Sony’s profits, Microsoft needs to refresh its online strategy to be able to beat Google,” said Mr. Helm.

Revamping Its Brand

Microsoft’s marketing and branding machine will have to be stronger than ever. The Redmond giant has already stumbled on this front, especially by talking about its products—often through unidentified “spokespersons” or jargon-ridden boilerplate—long before the company is in a position to ship them.

“Microsoft often talks about stuff before it releases it as a competitive tactic when a competitor is about to release something,” said Mr. Wilcox. “But then it seems like Microsoft is reacting to competitors rather than talking to consumers about the benefits its product can bring.”

Microsoft’s attempts at naming its products too have caused considerable confusion in the past. For instance, Microsoft changed the name of its business messaging and collaboration product more than three times. Initially, launched with a codename, Greenwich, the product was renamed to Real Time Communications Server 2003, then changed to Office Real Time Communications Server 2003, and finally Office Live Communications Server.

Microsoft Windows Vista - A Progressive Wiew

2005-11-18T11:04:00.000-08:00

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Retailers are expecting this year's holiday shopping season to be one of the best in recent years for PC sales, but consumers may want to think ahead as Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) prepares to launch a new version of Windows in 2006.

Windows Vista, due out in the second half of next year, is the software giant's biggest upgrade since Windows XP was launched in 2001 and is designed to deliver better graphics, security and search features.

Such features, however, may also require users to consider buying a PC with more advanced, and costlier, hardware.

Microsoft and big personal computer manufacturers say that most PCs sold today will be able to upgrade smoothly to Windows Vista.

At the very least, they recommend that computer buyers purchase a PC with a "modern CPU" -- the central processing unit that crunches the computer's data -- which would translate into a chip that has a speed of at least 1.5 GHz.

Any computer meant to be upgraded to Windows Vista should also have at least 512 megabytes of RAM -- the memory used to run programs which most affects a PC's performance -- and a graphics card with enough dedicated memory to smoothly display complex graphics.

"The key thing to keep in mind is that Windows Vista is going to scale with the hardware," said Michael Burk, a product manager for Windows Vista, "when you buy a little more you're going get a little more."

Dell Inc. (DELL.O: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's biggest PC maker, is recommending two of its models -- a $1,750 desktop PC and a $2,700 laptop -- for Windows Vista on a section of its Web site http://www.dell.com/vista designed for the migration to the new operating system.

"We're starting to hear questions around what Vista is, when that is coming, and 'How do I get ready for Vista?'," said Sam Burd, Dell's director of client product marketing.

Apart from the raw computing requirements, Burd also recommended that users consider upgrading their monitors to larger, higher-resolution models -- a product line Dell is marketing aggressively -- that will also enhance the graphics capabilities available on Windows Vista.

NO REASON TO WAIT?

Despite some of the purchasing guidance provided by Microsoft and its hardware partners, some analysts say that there remains some risk that a segment of users will be disappointed by the upgrade if their current PCs aren't equipped to harness some Windows Vista's features.

"There's the risk of consumer dissatisfaction if the experience that some users get is different from their neighbor's PC," said Joe Wilcox, analyst at Jupiter Research.

Windows Vista will offer a new user interface option called "Aero Glass" that allows users to see faintly through translucent windows to information beneath. That feature is expected to require advance graphics hardware, but it is not a requirement for Windows Vista and can be turned off.

In fact, Windows Vista will be designed to automatically adjust its settings for weaker hardware.

That's why Wilcox recommends that users hold off on buying any laptops meant to be upgraded for Vista, since they often lack the powerful features of a desktop PC and are more expensive.

Although Microsoft hasn't indicated what different editions of Windows Vista will be offered -- Windows XP comes in several editions, including Home, Professional, Media Center and Tablet PC -- the company indicated that it would offer products more in line with users' needs.

"We haven't announced a formal lineup, but I think it's safe to say that customers will have an easier time choosing which version of Windows Vista works for them," said Microsoft's Burk.

Even so, the more difficult question of whether to buy a PC right now or wait until later next year looms large for most users.

Microsoft, however, has an answer to that on their Web page http://www.microsoft.com/technet/windowsvista/evaluate/hardware/ vistarpc.mspx for Windows Vista's hardware requirements: "There's No Reason to Wait."

Source Technews

Analysts Urge Caution on Windows Vista

2005-11-17T01:10:00.000-08:00

Plan ahead and don't be quick to upgrade large installations, Gartner suggests.

A new research report by Gartner advises customers that they likely won't complete a full migration to Windows Vista until 2008, even though the next version of Microsoft's Windows client OS is scheduled to ship at the end of 2006.

However, Gartner does not advise holding off on Windows Vista upgrades until 2008, as some news outlets have reported, said Michael Silver, research vice president and co-author of the report "Ten Reasons You Should and Shouldn't Care about Microsoft's Windows Vista Client," in an interview Tuesday.

Silver said that if customers wait to adopt Windows Vista until 2008, it will take at least another year before they can fully deploy the operating system throughout their IT environment. Therefore, he said, he does not advise holding off on taking a look at Vista migration until 2008 because it will only delay the completion of the deployment process.

Deployment Takes Planning

It generally takes an organization 12 to 18 months to prepare for a widespread deployment of a new operating system, Silver said.

"If you don't start your testing until 2008, you won't deploy until 2009 or later. If I start testing when Windows Vista ships, I will probably be ready for 2008."

Silver and another Gartner analyst, Neil MacDonald, wrote the research report, which was released last week.

Silver acknowledged that customers running Windows XP have a little more time to upgrade to Vista than those running Windows 2000. Windows XP will continue to be supported by third-party application vendors and Microsoft for some time in the future. However, while companies still running Windows 2000 will have support from Microsoft until 2010, they may not have support for the OS from third-party application vendors that far into the future.

"If you're on Windows XP, you have more runway because you're on an OS that is not only supported by Microsoft but also all the applications vendors," Silver said. With Windows 2000, however, support from other software vendors has already "started to wane," he said.

"Even though Microsoft will give me security fixes until mid 2010, if I have business applications that are more critical, I need to accelerate a move off Windows 2000 at some point," Silver said.

Customer Concerns

Terry Byers, chief technology officer at Teleflora, a Microsoft customer in Los Angeles, said her company, which has about 700 employee desktops, is running on Windows XP Professional Edition and likely will upgrade to Windows Vista after the first cycle of patches to the OS are released.

"We let the product get stable and get some of the patches out of the way and then we do it," she said of her company's typical process for OS upgrades.

Byers added that when Vista comes out, the company likely will first upgrade employees who need to run a series of applications simultaneously on their desktops--such as those in IT or marketing--and then gradually update desktops of the entire company staff.

"It's not unusual for us to run in a mixed mode," she said. "The next time an OS comes out, I'm on it. But it might be three or four months for a lowest-level employee to be on it. We don't have any issues with that at all."

There are several things Microsoft can do to help encourage customers to upgrade to Windows Vista more quickly and efficiently, Gartner's Silver said. The company should not only ensure that two generations of its older products will run on Vista, but also that software vendors will support Vista with both older and current versions of their applications as quickly as possible.

Microsoft also should provide customers with testing tools to ensure that their applications will support Windows Vista, Silver said.

Wait on Vista? That depends….

2005-11-16T08:13:00.000-08:00

There is the old rule of thumb that says "never buy a car the first year it is introduced" and similarly, "don't buy an OS until after the first service pack ships," but waiting until 2008 to upgrade to an OS that ships in 2006 is ridiculous. (And the idea of waiting for the first service pack to ship is probably pretty dumb too.) Especially since we are now seeing glimpses of Vista and those glimpses do not indicate any overriding concerns about Vista's stability or performance. (I have not yet had the chance to look at Vista but I hope to soon.)

The idea that there are any IT shops still "downgrading" new hardware to Windows 98 is alarming — to say the least. There may be sound reasons for downgrading to Windows XP. In fact, Windows 98 was the only version of Windows from which I kept repeatedly downgrading. I wanted to like Windows 98, I really did, but Windows 98 (all flavors — 98/98se/Me) was always too unstable — and just too damned slow (compared to Windows 95, compared to Windows NT 4, compared to Windows 2000 — you name it.) The one great strength of Windows 98 that made me try it over and over again was Windows Update. Once Windows 2000 hit the streets — I never looked back.

Any IT shop not running Windows Server 2000 or better in its machine room needs new management. Period. And any shop not running Windows XP on the bulk of its client workstations today is crippling itself. Sure, there are still little pockets of Windows NT Server being run here and there — even in organizations with robust and security-conscious IT departments. The only way to shut these installations down is to implement security policies which cannot be supported under these legacy operating systems. The need for network security should trump all other concerns. In the enterprise, the stakes are simply too high.

There are certainly sound reasons for the enterprise to delay upgrading its OS of choice until the next lifecycle replacement of infrastructure hardware/software — even if this means downgrading newly purchased workstations to maintain a uniform client software "build," but this does not justify permitting two or three OS releases to go by without upgrading. The day it shipped, Windows XP was more stable and performed better than Windows 2000. Today, Windows XP (with SP2) is a dramatically better product than it was when it shipped in 2001. I am quite certain that it will be the same with Vista. Simply put, any IT department which does not upgrade its operating systems as well as its hardware on a three-to-five year lifecycle is stifling the ability of the enterprise to function efficiently. Further, any IT department running Windows 95/98/9se/Me on any workstation connected to its network is placing its enterprise at grave risk.

Reading Colin Barker's article "Gartner: Wait 'til '08 for Vista" brings another thought to mind. In fact, this may be the point of Gartner's comments …

The question of whether or not it is cost-effective to purchase upgrade licenses for Windows Vista needs to be considered. This is a different question than whether or not to continue to downgrade to Windows XP or before. As I said above, there may be sound reasons for downgrading to Windows XP (but probably not to Windows 2000) for some time after Vista ships.

At what point, though, does an IT shop decide to purchase upgrade licenses for a new OS? In an environment where a three-to-five year hardware lifecycle is the rule, and where the cost of the OS is bundled into the cost of the hardware, it is hard to justify spending as much as $100 per workstation (not to mention the man-hours involved) just to upgrade the OS. Even if Vista is a dramatically better product than XP, why buy an OS upgrade (and take the time to rebuild the machine) for a workstation that I am likely to replace next year? For many IT shops, the answer to the question above may be never.

Once Vista actually ships, IT shops should begin to evaluate it — and plan for its ultimate adoption. That adoption will most likely be gradual as servers are retired and replaced with new servers sold with Vista licenses. Adoption on the client side may also be gradual as client workstations are retired or en masse once a critical number of new client workstations have Vista licenses. At that point, taking the opportunity to upgrade from a legacy software "build" to a Vista "build" makes a lot more sense. In either event, the upgrade will not be immediate.

In the end, whether an IT department buys a Windows XP workstation today or a Windows 2003 server, Gartner's advice (if not their rationale) is sound — to wait until 2008, when you upgrade your hardware again, to upgrade to Vista. That is not to say that if you buy a new server a year from now (after Vista ships) that you should not consider using Vista. By all means, unless there is a good reason not to (such as legacy or mission-critical software incompatibility), you should move to Vista — but this need not be en masse and it need not be at added expense. All Gartner may be saying is that there is no compelling reason to spend money that you were not going to spend already making sure that you have Vista in your shop as soon as it ships.

Source ZdNet

Bridging the Windows Vista Graphics Gap

2005-11-16T03:51:00.000-08:00

Graphics performance, which has long been an afterthought for most corporate PCs and many consumers, will move to the forefront with the launch of Windows Vista, Microsoft's next Windows operating system.

Vista, due late next year, will offer four different themes, including the well-publicized three-dimensional Aero Glass with transparent windows.

Starting with a Classic theme, which looks like Windows XP, each will offer successively more advanced features, also call for successively more powerful graphics.

Vista is expected to measure the graphics grunt available in a PC and automatically serve up the proper UI.

But what's still unclear is where many of today's PCs will fall on the Vista interface spectrum and thus how consumers and corporate buyers who wish to gain the most advanced features can get prepared.

Indeed, many of today's PCs' graphics processors, which are built into their chip sets or groups of enabling chips that help shuttle data inside a PC, are inherently unprepared, analysts say.

Designed more with costs in mind than performance, most are not expected to muster enough performance to make the cut for Aero Glass.

That means, short of a graphics upgrade, only a small number of consumer PCs and even fewer business machines purchased in the last year are likely to leap that hurdle.

That means businesses and consumers who are considering PC purchases, now, must plan accordingly if they wish to run Aero Glass.

"If you want the really sexy effects, that's not going to happen with most of the integrated graphics installed base," said Dean McCarron, analyst with Mercury Research Inc.

"If you want everything to work, you're always going to be safer buying toward the higher end."

Microsoft has yet to unveil Vista's official requirements. The company, which has said it would not finalize them until summer, has thus far recommended that customers who wish to upgrade and take full advantage of all Vista UI features purchase a machine with a discrete graphics card that supports its DirectX 9 graphics framework, Windows Display Driver Model, 32 bpp (bits per pixel) color depth, and which contains at least 64MB of graphics RAM.

It has further hinted that Vista technologies, such its Max user interface for Windows XP, should be used on PCs with at least a 2.4GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, and a graphics card capable of handling its Windows Presentation Foundation.

Such a card, the company says in an online FAQ, should be "the fastest PS 2.0 [Pixel Shader 2.0] card with the most memory your bank account can afford," such as ATI Technologies Inc.'s Radeon X800 or Nvidia Corp.'s GeForce FX 6800.

Most discrete graphics cards available now meet those Microsoft requirements.

A Microsoft spokesperson said the hardware guidelines for Windows Vista offered by the software are unchanged.

However, analysts say the cutoff point for running Aero Glass is likely to begin with only today's latest and thus highest performance integrated graphics chip sets, including models such as ATI Technologies Inc.'s Radeon XPress 200, Nvidia Corp.'s nForce4 and Intel Corp.'s Intel 945 Express, which arrived in desktop PCs last May and will ship for notebooks in January.

Not every company will choose to step up its hardware just to gain a flashier user interface.

For that matter, Windows Vista may not be adopted en masse until 2007 or 2008, by which time most integrated graphics processors, which are updated about once per year, should be capable of running Aero Glass.

However, given that many companies are now rolling out new PCs that they are likely to upgrade to Vista, analysts and industry executives say planning ahead is important.

To date, companies such as Intel have said little about which of their integrated graphics products can support all of Vista's different looks.

Intel's 945 chip set will support the three-dimensional aspects of the Aero interface, a source familiar with its hardware confirmed.

The chip set's successor, Broadwater, will also support do the same when it comes out in the middle of 2006, the source added.

An Intel spokesperson said the chip maker has been working closely with Microsoft when it comes to Vista's graphics needs.

However, he declined to elaborate on the way each of Intel's integrated graphics chip sets, which are used widely by PC makers, would support the forthcoming OS.

At the moment, ATI Technologies' Radeon Xpress X200 chip set with integrated graphics is also capable of running Aero Glass, today, a company executive confirmed.

However, he said that customers will have to determine whether or not it does so with acceptable performance.

"There is a big debate about whether you need discrete graphics or whether or not integrated graphics are good enough. If you have discrete graphics, it's going to be more likely that you can run Vista [Aero Glass UI] and run it well," said Ben Bar Haim, vice president of software for ATI.

"If you move into integrated, there are more question marks. I don't think anybody is going to be able to tell you integrated is not able to do it," he said.

But, for example, a "discrete [graphics] card may be able to open 10 [Aero Glass] windows and move them around with no problem," Bar Haim said.

But, "With integrated, you may be able to open four, but see a noticeable performance hit with five. It does come down to personal preference."

ATI, in what it says is an effort to help educate the market, has sponsored a PC graphics white paper written by International Data Corp.

The paper says that the use of high-performance PC graphics will become more widespread over the next three to five years and those companies must plan ahead for Vista.

"I think there is a lot of confusion in the market and we tried to go out and clarify it" with the paper, Bar Haim said.

Basic graphics have been "good enough" for the vast majority of users, he said.

However, Vista's promised increases in productivity and stability cannot be attained with good enough graphics.

"That, to us, is a huge inflection point in the industry," he said.

Analysts say that forward-looking buyers should, at a minimum, ensure the desktops they are evaluating have a free AGP or a PCI-Express slot, which can accommodate an add-in graphics card.

Many consumer and corporate desktops that ship with integrated graphics chip sets offer the extra slot, although some less expensive models do not.

Graphics cards for desktops generally retail for between as little as about $50 to about $500.

When offered as factory upgrades, they generally add somewhere between about $50 and $300 to the purchase price of new machine.

Notebook PCs' graphics are trickier as the vast majority of new machines' graphics are not upgradeable.

Most of the machines use integrated graphics for packaging and battery life considerations and those graphics, as is the case with Intel's mobile 945 Express, are typically six months to a year behind their desktop counterparts.

Models that are more focused on performance and less on cost and battery life sometimes offer discrete graphics.

They are likely to have better graphics performance, making them more likely to be able to run Vista Aero Glass, analysts say.

But ATI is also preparing a compromise position, in which it will offer graphics cards no onboard memory in an effort to cut the price to upgrade a desktop to discrete graphics.

Although price will vary by manufacturer, Bar Heim indicated forthcoming ATI Hyper Memory cards, which will have no onboard memory, could significantly reduce cost of a low-price graphics card upgrade, yet run Vista's Aero Glass more effectively than integrated graphics.

He declined to offer more information about the cards, which will use a PCI-Express connection and PCs' main memory for frame buffer.

Nvidia is already offering similar cards. Using a feature it calls TurboCache, they employs a small amount of onboard memory and take advantage of a PC's main memory for the rest of their allotment.

Hewlett-Packard Co., for one, offers a GeForce 6200SE as a $60 upgrade on some consumer-oriented HP Pavilion desktops sold via its HPShopping site.

"If [prospective buyers] care about graphics performance, a graphics upgrade, even an inexpensive one, is going to make a significant difference," McCarron said.

Inexpensive graphics card upgrades may not sway all corporate buyers, however.

It "will result in some incremental sales [for graphics cards]," McCarron predicted. "But, right now, I'm not expecting wholesale changes in the mix of discrete versus integrated graphics."

Ultimately, buyers need to determine if upgrading to Windows Vista is a priority.

"If the answer is 'yes,' then keep in mind you're going to need some more advanced hardware," he said.

Source eweek.com

Gartner: Ignore Windows Vista until 2008

2005-11-11T08:46:00.000-08:00

There is no compelling reason to rush into upgrading to the next version of Windows, says Gartner

Companies shouldn't rush to upgrade to Microsoft Windows Vista, according to analysts at Gartner, who believe most firms could safely hold back until 2008.

The majority of improvements in Vista will be security-related and most of this functionality "is available via third-party products today", Gartner claimed in a research note published on Friday.

While Vista will feature "offer incremental, evolutionary improvements" over its predecessors, XP users should "pursue a strategy of managed diversity" only bringing in Vista on new machines and not until 2008, the analysts recommend.

In its research note, Ten reasons you should and shouldn't care about Microsoft's Windows Vista client, Gartner highlights some of the weaknesses in Microsoft's platform strategy.

Internet Explorer (IE) 7 will have many security improvements "to stem defections from IE to Firefox" and "has been accelerated" to be delivered in early 2006. But the "important ability to restrict some browser activities to a lower privileged process" will not be available because it requires Vista functionality," cautioned Gartner.

The analysts acknowledged that companies who use IE7 and Vista will have fewer points of weakness.

Also on the security issue, the Windows Vista personal firewall is better than the one included in XP Service Pack 2, Gartner acknowledged, and will, crucially, improve security on inbound and outbound traffic — a particular issue with laptops. But, the analysts say, users should already have "a more than capable" firewall on their laptops anyway.

Another Vista feature that Microsoft is emphasising is its search capabilities. "Search is slow in Windows XP and files, email and calendar objects cannot be found with a single search." While Microsoft has tried to remedy this in Vista, "competent third-party desktop tools are already available" from companies like Google, Gartner pointed out.

I don't wait until 2008.

Source Zdnet

Windows Vista Beta 2 Delayed???

2005-11-11T08:33:00.000-08:00

Windows Vista, scheduled for release late next year, is about to be delayed once again. Sources inside Microsoft are telling Paul Thurrott that Vista Beta 2 will be delayed from December 7 to sometime early next year, possibly as late as February. However, instead of pushing the final release date back further due to time constraints, they plan to eliminate one of the planned release candidates.

Thurrott’s sources also noted that the company is still on track for shipping Vista late 2006 stating, “We are on schedule and committed to shipping on time and ensuring a high-quality product. Microsoft sets internal targets for the development team around milestones, but these are not commitments to specific dates. We do not comment on these internal milestones and we have not announced a specific timeframe for our next major Windows Vista milestone.”

There is no current information whether the delay will affect related products, expected to be released around the same time as Windows Vista Beta 2, Internet Explorer (IE) 7 Beta 2 and Windows Media Player 11 Beta 1, both of which were originally scheduled for a December 7 public release.

Longhorn Transformation Pack 10.5 (Description)

2005-11-09T08:20:00.000-08:00

Want to change the looks of your Windows XP and make it look like the upcoming Microsoft Longhorn?

This is another brand new release of the one and only Longhorn Transformation Pack.

This small piece of software will transform your Windows XP (and SP2) or Windows Server 2003 into the best looking Longhorn port that is available right now, without any extra software!

Requirements:
Windows XP (SP1/SP2) or Windows 2003

What's New in This Release:

-Added "Automatic Transformation" and "I don't want to perform system files transforming" transforming mode options (Safemode required)
-Added Norton Antivirus 2005 compatibility support
-Added Uninstallation Mode like Transformation Mode for better way to handle each case
-Added Windows XP Service Pack 2 with Pre-SP3 uxtheme.dll hotfix patching support
-Fixed "Manual Transformation" to run in safe mode only
-Fixed invalid boot screen resources
-Fixed SideBar to have no transparency by default
-Removed obsolete 64-bit patched uxtheme.dll file
-Updated Aero Style 2.0 visual style
|-Fixed incorrent font name
|-Fixed wrong shellstyle folder name for Aero Style (Glass - Thin TaskBar)
|-Updated Aero Style (Glass)
||-5059 elements from WinHEC 2005 as listed below
|||-CaptionButton
|||-StartButton
|||-StartPanel
|||-TaskBarBackground
|||-TaskBarButton
||-Updated FrameMaximized to read CaptionText easier

Download link (http://www.softpedia.com/progDownload/Longhorn-Transformation-Pack-Download-2332.html)

First family of Windows Vista viruses unleashed

2005-11-09T01:43:00.000-08:00

An Austrian hacker earned the dubious distinction of writing what are thought to be the first known viruses for Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Vista operating system. Written in July, the viruses take advantage of a new command shell, code-named Monad, that is included in the Windows Vista beta code.

The viruses were published last month in a virus-writing tutorial written for an underground hacker group calling itself the Ready Ranger Liberation Front, and take advantage of security vulnerabilities in the new command shell. Unlike the traditional Windows graphical user interface, which relies heavily on the mouse for navigation, command shells allow users to use powerful text-based commands, much like Windows’ predecessor, DOS.

The viruses were written by a hacker calling himself “Second Part To Hell,” and published on July 21, just days after Monad was publicly released by Microsoft, according to Mikko Hyppönen, chief research officer with Helsinki’s F-Secure Corp. Second Part To Hell is the pseudonym of an Austrian-based hacker who also goes by the name Mario, Hyppönen said.

Because of its sophistication, the new command shell offers new opportunities for hackers, Second Part To Hell wrote in the tutorial, a copy of which was obtained by the IDG News Service. “Monad will be like Linux’s BASH (Bourne Again Shell) — that means a great number of commands and functions,” he wrote. “We will be able to make as huge and complex scripts as we do in Linux.”

F-Secure has named the virus family Danom (Monad in reverse). After examining the code, Hyppönen said that the Danom family is disruptive, but not capable of causing significant damage to Windows users. “These are proof of concept viruses,” he said, “Where virus writers want to break new ground and write the first viruses for a new platform.”

Most security experts had not expected to see a Windows Vista virus so soon, Hyppönen said. “The only surprise here is that it came so early,” he said. “It’s been eight days since the beta of the operating system was out.” Monad was released several days prior to the Windows Vista beta.

Still, Danom’s release does raise questions about whether or not Microsoft should enable the Monad shell by default in Windows Vista.

Because Monad’s scripting capabilities will only be used by advanced users, Hyppönen believes Microsoft should not offer the software as part of the standard Windows Vista package when it becomes commercially available in the second half of 2006. This would make the software less prevalent, and therefore less attractive to virus writers, he said.

Microsoft “got burned,” by including similar software, called Windows Script Host, by default in its Windows 2000 operating system, he said. “Since it was on the system, all the virus writers were exploiting it,” he said.

Microsoft was unable to comment on this story at press time.

Macworld

Windows Vista Anti Spyware .

2005-11-08T23:20:00.000-08:00

Microsoft announced that it plans to bundle its Windows Anti-Spyware tool with Windows Vista, the company's Windows operating system.

Anti-Spyware will be included in the upcoming "Windows Vista", the new version of Microsoft Windows. Microsoft also renamed their antispyware title to "Windows Defender".

Windows Defender will be a substitute for anti-virus and spyware removal tool. However, the tool does not offer real time virus protection as other companies such as Norton or McAfee offer.

Microsoft hopes to ship anti-spyware and anti-virus, as "Windows Defender", using the Microsoft Update utility. The updater to Windows Defender will be available in January 06. The tool is best described as a malicious software removal tool, which is designed to help people clean up infections from some of the most pervasive bots, viruses, worms and rootkits.

The company is beta-testing its Windows OneCare product, which it will
eventually market as a service that provides a new firewall along with antivirus and anti-spyware services. No word yet on how it will be marketed or how much people would be asked to pay for updates.

While security is one of many areas of focus for Windows Vista, some users doubt that they will ever pay Microsoft to ship daily antivirus and antispyware updates using the Microsoft Windows Updater. Most people seem comfortable with 3rd party applications such as Norton or McAfee, but there are millions of people for whom that will.

Windows Defender will be part of Windows Vista, Microsoft's latest operating system scheduled for release next year. It will also be available to users of Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003.

Users will be able to disable it and use spyware software from a different vendor if they choose. Windows Security Center, which alerts users if they aren't running an antispyware program, will recognize third-party antispyware software.

Source GameSHOUT.com

Windows Vista Will Be a Success

2005-11-07T02:54:00.000-08:00

It seems that Microsoft might have borrowed some sort of a marketing strategy from the gaming industry, where successive delays of a title make it even more appealing to gamers.

Windows Vista seems to fit that profile; any information announced by Microsoft, any beta or technology with the label: “Warning! It will be available in Windows Vista” is carefully analyzed, everybody hoping to figure out what are Microsoft’s plans for Windows Vista... By implementing this strategy, which seems to have intensified over the last period, Microsoft succeeds in keeping the users alert with a product nobody should care about until next year.

In a way, the history is repeating itself: practically, none of the past Windows releases lacked numerous controversies and gloomy predictions regarding Microsoft’s future. It’s true that this time there are more, smarter and more determined
competitors, but let’s face it, Microsoft has been around long enough to know how things work...

The recent reorganizing announced by Microsoft, Google’s fierce competition, the loss of the digital music battle with Apple, Windows Vista’s repeated release delays and other “details” make many wonder what does the future hold for the software giant. Or, to be more exact, what else does the future hold...

And if you want to find out why Windows Vista will be a success, despite any competition, think about the announcement made by Bill Gates, in which he revealed the strategy to be used by Microsoft for Windows Vista: a promoting budget of $100 million!

I must admit that I don’t know that much about advertising as to be able to tell if we are talking about a medium or a small budget; but, frankly, I can't recall a last time when a hardware or software company invested such an amount of money in the promotion of a single product...

What I do know is that a smart advertising agency (and you can say many things about McCann-Erickson, but determination and imagination is something they don’t lack), with $100 million on their hands, will be able to convince even the most fanatic Windows Vista opponent to at least try it, even if they have to pay him to do that!

In conclusion, the discussion whether Windows Vista is good or bad, whether it has all the features a user needs or whether the translucent interfaces are useful, will remain a discussion topic on the forums, once the amazing marketing beast controlled by Microsoft will be set in motion!

Is there any direct or indirect competitor to Microsoft able to match this marketing budget for their own product or for an alternative to Windows Vista? I sincerely doubt it!

Moreover, let’s not forget about the support Microsoft will get from PC producers, who are frightened that they might go bankrupt due to the avalanche of cell phones and other mobile devices...

Important hardware producers, like Lenovo for instance, which have started to promote Windows Vista ready notebooks, have already joined Microsoft in their 18 month struggle. It’s more than likely that in the period to come you will witness even more such marketing strategies.

Can you remember the last time you have bought a product just because you thought it was good, without viewing an ad, banner or any other form of advertising? If you don’t, then you’ll understand why thousands of users would migrate towards Windows Vista, regardless of its quality.

Microsoft wants to and should succeed; you will see in the months to come what is the true meaning of an IT giant's saying: "We'll do everything in our power and even more to ensure our products’ success!"

Source Softpedia

MSDN subscribers now have access to Microsoft Windows "Longhorn" Vista

2005-11-06T07:10:00.000-08:00

MSDN subscribers now have access to Microsoft Windows "Longhorn" Vista Beta 1. All you need is a MSDN subscription (http://msdn.microsoft.com/subscriptions/) and you can get a working copy of MS Windows Vista Beta 1 to download and a working product key/serial too, but remember Microsoft is distributing this Vista Beta for testing purpose ONLY, you don't get rights to distribute/re-distribute the MS Windows Vista.

Windows Vista to support Symbolic Links

2005-11-04T07:06:00.000-08:00

Symbolic Links

In Vista/Longhorn server, the file system (NTFS) will start supporting a new filesystem object (examples of existing filesystem objects are files, folders etc.). This new object is a symbolic link. Think of a symbolic link as a pointer to another file system object (it can be a file, folder, shortcut or another symbolic link). So then you ask how is that different from a short-cut (the .lnk file)? Well, a shortcut will only work when used from within the Windows shell, it is a construct of the shell, and other apps don’t understand short-cuts. To other apps, short-cuts look just like a file. With symbolic links, this concept is taken and is implemented within the file system. Apps when they open a symbolic link will now open the target by default (i.e. what the link points to), unless they explicitly ask for the symbolic link itself to be opened. Note symbolic links are an NTFS feature.

Now why is this relevant to the SMB2 protocol? This is because, for symbolic links to behave correctly, they should be interpreted on the client side of a file sharing protocol (otherwise this can lead to security holes). SMB2 understands the concept of symbolic links and evaluates the links on the client. This is the support that is added in SMB2.0

Source Blog.technet.org

Vista's Internet Explorer 7

2005-10-31T18:30:00.000-08:00

New features Microsoft adds tabs, search, RSS and anti-phishing to Internet Explorer 7.

With the latest build release of Windows Vista (build 5231), Microsoft unveiled a number of cool new features within its Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Vista. The built-in features eliminate the need for third-party search toolbars, anti-phishing applications and RSS readers. Be sure to read our Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Vista preview for more details.

Extreme makeover

The toolbar and address bar areas of Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Vista have been totally redesigned. The address bar is now locked at the top of the window so that hijackers can't replace it with phishing or spyware substitutes. Words have been eliminated in favour of iconic buttons so that only the bare essentials are displayed. In all, it's a very clean and sophisticated look for an Internet browser.

Classic menus are not gone

Lost and bewildered without the familiar File, Edit, View and Favorites? A quick check-mark in the Tools drop-down menu restores the classic menu options. You'll still have to navigate the new button arrangement, however; there is no classic mode within Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Vista.

Zoom, zoom, zoom

As you already can with Opera 8, Microsoft, Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Vista will allow you to zoom in on text and photos within a given Web page. By hitting Ctrl+ or Ctrl-, you can adjust the size of any Web page. This is great for people with disabilities.

Goodbye messy toolbar add-ons

In its desire to eliminate clutter, the new Internet Explorer does away with toolbars for the most popular search engines by integrating search engines from AOL Search, Ask Jeeves, Google, MSN Search and Yahoo Search directly into the browser. Of course, FireFox already allows you to do so.

Never lose tabs of your tabs

You can add tabs to the current version of Internet Explorer, but tabs will be built in with Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Vista. The new QuickTab feature displays a thumbnail image of every tab currently open. If you're streaming video or monitoring a text site for late-breaking news, this beats flipping back and forth among the tabs.

Shrink-to-fit Web pages

Tired of printing only the right-hand side of wide Web pages? New printing capabilities within Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Vista allow you to shrink a wide page to fit any size paper.

Adding Web feeds made easy

Like FireFox and Opera, Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Vista will eliminate the need for a separate RSS reader. Within Internet Explorer, click the RSS feed button and automatically subscribe to your favourite pages.

Some things never change

Although Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Vista will have a protected user status (meaning someone hacking Internet Explorer can't assume superuser status and take over your PC), Microsoft is continuing to use the confusing and sometimes useless Security Zone settings from many years ago.

On the other hand...

ActiveX, which has been a source of recent Internet Explorer vulnerabilities, will be better managed within Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Vista. Now you can turn on and off individual ActiveX controls from a central management panel.

Built-in phishing filter

Also built into Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Vista is a phishing filter. Whenever you visit a Web site that looks suspicious, you can query Microsoft's database to find out if others have reported the site, or you can go ahead and report the site yourself. If Microsoft finds the site to be fraudulent, Internet Explorer warns you before loading the page.

Source Zdnet

The final date for Windows Vista

2005-10-30T18:54:00.000-08:00

Microsoft has finally named the date it will ship Windows Vista - 23 July 2006.

This is the date the software giant has set to ship the operating system to PC vendors so they can have machines ready for the 2006 Xmas holiday season.

The early release will let vendors "get a jump on the Christmas season", Ethan Allen, a Microsoft beta tester and admin of The Hotfix website. Microsoft - as usual - disputed the dates. Product manager for Windows Vista, Michael Burk, said Microsoft has not provided a time frame for when Windows Vista would be in the hands of OEMs.

There is however a long history of Hotfix being correct with dates and Microsoft eventually backing down from earlier denials.

Microsoft executives have said the OS will be generally available in late November to late December in the US. PC manufacturers would need access to it earlier than that in order to ship it on hardware.

Microsoft also plans to give developers a second beta of Windows Vista on 16 December this year.

Windows Vista 5231: Deatiled analysis

2005-10-30T11:57:00.000-08:00

Windows Vista The real analyzis at www.cooltechzone.com

Anonymous Reader writes "First and foremost, lets get the minute things out of the way. Vista has new games that look too sleek to be bundled in with regular versions of Vista, but they will be, so there’s some good news for the stock entertainment user. Solitaire and Hearts have been completely revamped with new looks, but that’s not to say that these are the only ones available. Shanghai Solitaire, for instance, is also available with an addictive gameplay."

Windows Vista to Be Launched in July 2006?

2005-10-29T05:47:00.000-07:00

I can`t wait until July :))

Yet another rumor about the possible launch date of Windows Vista, the most anticipated operating system ever, will not impress readers too much.
However, considering the source of this rumor, by that we mean editors from the IDG News Service and Techworld, we are inclined to say that this information is accurate.
Based on a news piece published yesterday by Techworld, we are told that Microsoft had announced the official launch date of the OS operating system. The event should take place on the 23rd of July, next year.

Starting with this possible launch date, the company will begin distributing the software to PC vendors so they can have systems ready for the 2006 Christmas holiday season.

And still, even though Microsoft lets us know about this Windows Vista launch date, it still disputes the date.
On one hand there's Ethan Allen, a Microsoft beta tester and admin of The Hotfix website, who claims that this "early release will let vendors get a jump on the Christmas season".
On the other hand, there's Michael Burk, Product manager for Windows Vista, who said that Microsoft hasn't yet provided a time frame for when the operating system will start being sent to OEM.

Considering there is a great number of precedents when hotfix was right about certain Microsoft launch dates, this time they could also be right.
But we are also used to seing Microsoft back down from earlier denials.

Source www.Softpedia.com

What You Need to Know About Windows Vista Beta Security Features

2005-10-27T15:49:00.000-07:00

Three long years after first promising customers that it would ship the successor to Windows XP, Microsoft is finally moving ahead on a concrete development schedule for Windows Vista (formerly code-named Longhorn). Vista will be a major Windows release, incorporating a revolutionary UI, a dramatically enhanced Explorer shell, image-based deployment tools, and perhaps most import, vastly improved security. Now that the Vista beta is available, I've had time to evaluate what Microsoft has changed and can more accurately discuss why it's much better than XP. Here's what you need to know about the security improvements in the Vista beta.

User Account Security
One of the most obvious improvements to the security infrastructure in Vista is a feature that UNIX, Linux, and Mac OS X have had for years: Even on systems in which the user is logged on with administrator-level privileges, all applications will automatically run with lowered privileges. This major architectural change will have two primary ramifications.

First, users who want to install or remove applications, fiddle with Control Panel properties, or make other changes that affect the system will need to provide a password for an administrator-level account before doing so. Second, legacy applications (i.e., virtually every application that was written before Vista ships) will have to be spoofed into working correctly with Vista because most of those applications were written with the assumption that the user has administrative privileges.

Here's how the User Account Protection (UAP) feature (formerly called Least-Privileged User Account) works. When you attempt an action that requires elevated privileges, you'll be presented with a Windows Security dialog box that requires you to enter a password, as Figure 1 shows. If you have administrative privileges, you can enter the password for your own account. Alternatively, you can select another account that has the necessary privileges, then enter that account's password.

UAP works behind the scenes with the new Protected Mode IE to help protect your Vista system from electronic attacks. Based on the success of this security model on UNIX, Linux, and Mac OS X, my guess is that it will prove to be a pivotal change in the way Windows handles security.

Built-in Malware Detection and Removal
Although these features aren't yet fully implemented in pre-Beta 2 builds of Vista, Microsoft says that Vista will include pervasive anti-malware technologies that will detect and remove any unwanted applications and processes. Like Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware, this technology will run in the background and provide a semiautomated solution for malware management.

It's worth noting, however, that Vista won't include antivirus utilities or a managed anti-malware solution. Instead, Microsoft will sell or license both of these solutions separately.

Recommendations
Although Vista likely won't be the security panacea we so desperately need, it will offer dramatically better security than today's Windows versions. As a result, I strongly recommend that all Windows-based enterprises begin evaluating this release as soon as possible. Security is just one of the many improvements in Vista, but it is perhaps the most important one.

Source link

PC vendors may get Vista next summer

2005-10-27T15:39:00.000-07:00

Microsoft wants to ensure newest Windows is loaded on systems for 2006 Xmas sales

Microsoft expects to release to manufacturing the next version of its Windows desktop OS on July 25, 2006, to ensure PC vendors will have it on machines in time for the 2006 holiday season in the US, according to sources familiar with the company's plans.

Microsoft is expected to give Windows Vista to PC vendors earlier than customers expected to "get a jump on the Christmas season", Ethan Allen, a Microsoft beta tester and administrator of The Hotfix website, said in an email on Monday. The information also is posted on The Hotfix site, and corroborated by another beta tester.

Eyeing the Holidays

Microsoft has not provided a timeframe for when Windows Vista would be in the hands of its hardware vendor partners (called original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs), Michael Burk, product manager for Windows Vista at Microsoft, said in an email on Monday.

Company executives have said the OS would be generally available on PCs in time for the 2006 holiday season, which is late November to late December in the US. PC manufacturers would need access to Windows Vista earlier than that in order to ship it on hardware by that time.

Microsoft also plans to give developers a second beta of Windows Vista on December 16, 2005, Allen said. The company has said it would release Beta 2 of the OS before the end of the year but did not specify a date for that release.

Burk said via email on Monday that Microsoft is still determining when it will release the second beta of the OS, based on feedback from testers of Beta 1 and a Community Technology Preview of Windows Vista released earlier in October. The first beta of Vista was made available in July.

Visual studio due

In the meantime, Microsoft is readying the official launch of Visual Studio 2005 and SQL Server 2005 at an event in San Francisco on 7 November.

The company is expected to get Visual Studio 2005 in developers' hands sometime this week on MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) ahead of the official release, according to Allen and information on a discussion forum on Microsoft's Channel 9 website. Channel 9 is a site that provides information and forums dedicated to fostering discussion between Microsoft and its developers and customers.

Representatives from the Visual Studio team at Microsoft's public relations firm Waggener Edstrom did not return calls or email on Monday morning.

Source link

Microsoft unveils new Windows Vista features

2005-10-22T03:01:00.000-07:00

As the year comes to the end, Microsoft is getting more and more interested in getting user feedback on their upcoming Windows Vista operating system. The company has now updated their new community-based preview program and have showcased some of the new features for Windows Vista. These efforts include improving the web browser and making the operating system’s security better.

Microsoft is also due to start a wave of monthly updates to the Community Technology Preview (CTP). These are to get the feedback from the users in a way they usually get by proper beta release. We have only seen the beta 1 of this upcoming operating system which disappointed a lot of testers for the company. They are due to launch another major beta in the coming months for a much wider testing.

This latest update improves upon the much awaited Internet Explorer 7 and the newly integrated Mobility Center. Mobility Center groups together a host of laptop options, including new power management settings. Some other updates included in this update are:

a “Network Center", that acts as a central spot for managing network connections, replacing the “My Network Places” and “Network Neighbourhood” from Windows XP

tools for authoring and digitally signing documents in the new XML Paper Specification (XPS) format, code-named Metro

an early version of Windows Media Player 11

new network and PC diagnostic tools that can, for example, detect when a disk is likely to fail, warn users and prompt them with ways to back up their data.

Windows Vista self heal

2005-10-22T02:46:00.000-07:00

Microsoft plans to include a self-healing mechanism in Windows Vista, the next version of Windows, which will warn users when one of the disk drives is about to fail. The system will also give advice to the user about how to deal with the problem.

'One of things we're trying to do is make sure that PCs are able to fix
themselves in a way that they haven't been able to in the past,'Mike Burk, a
Microsoft product manager for Windows Vista, was quoted as saying in the trade press.

Other interesting features set to debut in Vista include anti-spyware technology, Windows Media Player 11 and an improved Internet browser.

What PC to Buy If You Are Planning On a Vista Upgrade

2005-10-19T13:51:00.000-07:00

It's time for my annual fall buyer's guide to desktop
computers, and this fall, I'm going to focus on what kind of PC Windows buyers
should be considering if they want to run Microsoft's next version of Windows,
called Vista.

Vista, formerly known by its code name of Longhorn, is due
out about a year from now, well within the lifetime of any PC you purchase
today. I assume most consumers running Windows will want to upgrade to Vista.
Microsoft promises a host of new features, and says Vista will be much more
secure than today's Windows XP.

There's a catch, however. Vista is Microsoft's biggest
upgrade to Windows in a decade, and it will require much beefier and costlier
hardware than Windows XP. So you will have to rethink your PC buying
assumptions, starting now.

Microsoft hasn't published final hardware requirements
for Vista yet, but I have been talking to the company about them, and feel
comfortable that the specs I am recommending below will allow you to upgrade to
Vista with confidence. Although this is a desktop guide, most of these
recommendations apply to laptops, too.

If you don't care about Vista, and plan to stay with
Windows XP for the life of your next computer, follow my last desktop buyer's
guide, which ran in April and is still valid for XP. It's available at: http://ptech.wsj.com/archive/ptech-20050407.html.

You also won't have to worry about Vista if you buy one
of Apple Computer's Macintosh computers, which don't run Windows. Every
mainstream consumer doing typical tasks should consider the Mac. Its operating
system, called Tiger, is better and much more secure than Windows XP, and
already contains most of the key features promised for Vista.

Microsoft says Vista will automatically downgrade its
features to match weaker hardware. Computers with marginal specs won't be able
to take advantage of all of Vista's capabilities, and will retain the look and
feel of XP.

So, I don't recommend buying a low-end PC this fall and
winter if you expect to upgrade to Vista. The new operating system will almost
certainly be crippled on such a machine, or not work at all. Expect to spend
$600 or more without a monitor, for a PC that can fully run Vista.
Here's what that machine should contain:

Memory: It's likely Microsoft will
suggest 512 megabytes of memory, or RAM, for Vista, but companies almost always
understate such requirements. I strongly recommend at least one gigabyte of
memory. Microsoft officials privately agree that a gigabyte would work
well.

Video: The new Windows will be
especially dependent on strong video. Many low-cost and midlevel PCs today use
something called integrated graphics chips, which are attached to the computer's
main circuit board and don't have their own dedicated video memory, called Video
RAM, or VRAM.

To make the most of Vista, you will need to shun this
design and opt for a machine with "discrete" graphics -- a video card that's
separate from the main board and has its own dedicated memory. Look for at least
64 megabytes of video RAM, preferably 128 megabytes. By next fall, integrated
graphics chips may be good enough for Vista, but not today.

Processor: I have always recommended
avoiding spending extra dollars for the fastest processor, and that position
still holds for Vista. I wouldn't buy a computer with the cheapest or slowest
processor, but a midrange Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon processor should be fine.
Consider a "dual-core" processor that essentially combines two chips for added
speed and power, though it's not a Vista requirement.

Another option worth considering is a processor capable
of so-called 64-bit computing. This isn't necessary for Vista, but it's the wave
of the future, and it will be much more powerful than today's computing, which
relies on 32-bit processors. There isn't much software yet that takes advantage
of 64-bit processors, but a lot more is likely to appear in Vista's wake. An AMD
Athlon 64 would be a good bet, because it can handle both 32-bit and 64-bit
software. Intel makes similar processors, which have the term "EM64T" in their
names.

To take full advantage of a 64-bit processor, you should
also double the computer's memory, to two gigabytes.

Hard disk: Disk storage is already
copious enough for Vista, and buying large amounts is cheap. I'd go for at least
160 gigabytes of hard-disk space, because Vista will offer easier ways to manage
and create video, which eats up hard-disk capacity. Also, I'd suggest making
sure the hard drive is fast. It should run at 7,200 revolutions per minute (RPM)
and have a cache of two megabytes.
DVD drive: Vista will have much improved
DVD recording for storing videos and for data backup. So, I suggest you get a PC
with a fast, multiformat DVD recording drive.

Next year, closer to Vista's release date that fall,
Microsoft will publish more-detailed specs for Vista-capable PCs, and I will
make any refinements or additions needed to this list. But, if you buy a PC now
with these specs, you should be in good shape for Vista.

Source : http://ptech.wsj.com/ptech.html

Microsoft defends your right to copy

2005-10-19T13:47:00.000-07:00

Ars Technica has linked up an interview Bill Gates gave to the Daily Princetonian. Of particular interest is Gates' rationalization for Microsoft's decision to support HD-DVD over the competing Blu-ray standard:

Well, the key issue here is that the protection scheme under Blu-ray is very
anti-consumer and there's not much visibility of that. The inconvenience is that
the [movie] studios got too much protection at the expense consumers and it
won't work well on PCs. You won't be able to play movies and do software in a
flexible way.
It's not the physical format that we have the issue with, it's
that the protection scheme on Blu is very anti-consumer. If [the Blu-ray group]
would fix that one thing, you know, that'd be fine.

Ars has done an in-depth analysis of Microsoft's decision to back HD-DVD, and examined the copy-protection mechanisms both standards have in place. The bottom line (and a fact that's gotten surprisingly little press) is that the HD-DVD standard explicitly allows and protects limited copying, otherwise known as Managed Copy, while Blu-ray does not. Supporting the Managed Copy feature is a mandatory part of the HD-DVD spec; all HD-DVDs must allow at least one copy to be made, though studios will have the option to charge for it. It's possible that Blu-ray could include a similar feature, since the specification isn't complete, but none has been added to date.

Gates' bluntness and identification of this feature as the overriding reason why Microsoft backs HD-DVD not only highlights the tremendous war going on between content creation and technological heavyweights, but also may signal Microsoft's desire to appear more consumer-friendly than it has in the past. By explicitly backing HD-DVD and its friendlier stance toward fair use, Microsoft may be hoping to assuage user concerns over the level of hardware-driven copy protection Vista will enable, while simultaneously including the stronger protection measures demanded by the movie and music industries.

Windows Vista Build 5231 Screenshots

2005-10-17T15:57:00.000-07:00

Windows Vista Build 5231 Released to Testers

2005-10-17T10:11:00.000-07:00

Microsoft released build 5231 of the Windows Vista Operating system to Techbeta testers today, many of whom have anticipated the release of this build for many weeks now.

Changes seen so far in 5231 include the distribution of CD ISO images as well as DVD ISO images.

The DVD ISO weighs in at 2930.7MB, slightly larger than the last build, 5219
and the CD ISO image set is only 1622.22MB, over 1GB less then the DVD ISO

Since the download is still going I can’t speak as to the major size difference in the two images.

A 5231 SDK is also offered for download via Microsoft Connect.

The major question, at least in my mind, is when will we see a new Longhorn Server build? The last Server build released to the Techbeta program was 5112, or Beta 1.

Windows Vista Drivers

2005-10-17T08:44:00.000-07:00

Windows Vista nvidia drivers

Continuing our commitment to develop innovative products that
enhance the end-user experience, NVIDIA has been working closely with Microsoft
to identify and develop key hardware components for Windows Vista™, the next
generation Windows® operating system. NVIDIA is working closely with
Microsoft to develop and support key display components of the Windows Vista OS.
NVIDIA fully supports the Windows Vista Display Driver Model, which will greatly
improve the stability and performance of the OS. PCs equipped with NVIDIA
graphics processing units (GPUs) and Windows Vista Display Driver Model drivers
will also enable users to take full advantage of the new graphically rich user
interface experience in Windows Vista.
NVIDIA offers a complete
top-to-bottom line up of NVIDIA® GeForce™ graphics processing units (GPUs) that
will take full advantage of the new Windows Vista features and functionality
when the final OS is released.
We are supplying this information to assist
enterprise customers procure and deploy PCs before Windows Vista launches.
We will update this information as new products are developed that satisfy the
criteria for the Windows Vista Ready PC program.

Download nvidia vista drivers ==> link

Ati Drivers Catalyst for Windows Vista beta 1 (code name Longhorn)

Download ==> link

Ati FireGL beta 1 for Windows Vista

Ati FireGL beta 1 for Windows Vista driver
description

ATI is one of the first graphic providers to make a 64-bit
driver that supports the Longhorn Display Driver Model (LDDM) – the Microsoft
Vista revolutionary graphic driver standard – as well as the first to provide
LDDM drivers for integrated graphics processors.
By making LDDM drivers available more than a full year prior
to Windows Vista release, ATI provides developers with a stable, feature-enabled
and performance-optimized platform for application developmentProduct series
supported:
· Radeon 9500, 9550, 9600, 9650, 9700, 9800, X300, X600,
X700, X800, X850
· FireGL X1, X2, X3, Z1, T2, V3100, V3200, V5000, V5100,
V7100
· FireMV 2200
· Mobility Radeon 9550, 9600, 9700, 9800, X300, X600, X700,
X800
· Mobility FireGL V3100, V3200, V5000, V5100
· Radeon Xpress 200, 200M

Download ==> link

Windows Vista Audio Drivers Nvidia

nForce Audio Drivers

Drivers ftp://download.nvidia.com/Windows/vista/beta1/

Microsoft Windows Vista audio system

2005-10-16T14:53:00.000-07:00

Here is a video about vista audio system

Channel 9 forums have a video that has some information about how audio will work in Microsoft Vista.

The audio stack in Windows Vista has been completely rewritten so we can
have cool things like per-app audio control. Anyway, Steve Ball talks to us
about what the team has been working on and gives us some demos and
introduces
us to the team, including Larry.
Download from here

Microsoft Vista To Boost 256mb Graphics Card Sales

2005-10-16T13:53:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Beta testers have recently confirmed that Windows Vista works best with 256MB video cards and Digitimes is reporting that the video card makers should see increased sales after the launch. With Microsoft Vista being launched late in 2006 and with new graphics technology (DirectX 10 and High Dynamic Range rendering) coming down the pipes we feel the upgrade is worth it with no matter what.

Windows Vista, Microsoft’s next generation OS, is expected to help graphics card makers see increased profits from rising high-end card demand, according to graphics card makers in Taiwan. As the Vista OS requires higher standard graphics cards, demand for high-end product lines are expected to heat up, indicated the makers. Systems featuring the Vista OS will need graphics processor units (GPUs) that supports 256MB of memory, said the makers, adding that the adoption of Microsoft’s upcoming OS will help the current high-end line migrate into the mainstream market within a shorter time.

Source : www.legitreviews.com

Microsoft's Vista looks to get tablets on write track

2005-10-16T12:42:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES--After years of trying to decipher your scribbles on its own, Microsoft is looking for a little help.

In Vista, the new incarnation of desktop Windows, due next year, the software giant will let people give the operating system examples of their own handwriting in an effort to improve handwriting recognition. The personalization feature, which is optional, is one of a number of Tablet PC enhancements disclosed this week as part of an updated test version of Vista.
Other new Tablet-specific features in this latest version of Vista include new "gestures" designed to make it easier to navigate through Web pages, send e-mail and manage other frequent tasks without having to switch to a keyboard.
Many of the changes are designed to make the software more predictable than prior versions, and ultimately expand sales of Tablet PC systems. "You get frustrated, and you are going to stop using it," said Ian LeGrow, a group program manager in the Tablet PC unit.
Demand for tablet PCs has not lived up to the expectations set when the first designs debuted in 2002. Research firm IDC reports that a mere million units were sold through the end of 2004, with an estimated 600,000 tablets shipping this year. By comparison, Gartner's latest estimates suggest PC shipments worldwide in 2005 will exceed 202 million units, up 10.2 percent from the previous year.
Microsoft is trying to make tablet technology more pervasive in Windows Vista, as opposed to the niche product it's been to date. In order to take advantage of tablet features in Windows XP, a computer had to be running the specialized Tablet PC edition of the OS. With Vista, Microsoft appears ready to broaden this considerably.

"To date, developers have had problems redistributing Tablet PC technology," Microsoft said in a white paper posted to its developer Web site. "In part to address this, Tablet PC technologies are ubiquitous across all Windows Vista editions."
Others, however, cautioned that this might be overstating things. For example, if Microsoft releases a Starter Edition of Windows Vista, it's unlikely that Tablet PC features would be supported. Microsoft representatives said earlier this week that final packaging decisions have not yet been made.
Getting on the write trackFor years, Microsoft has resisted allowing users to teach the software their individual writing style, preferring instead to continually expand its centralized base of thousands of handwriting samples in an effort to improve accuracy. This stance was not universally supported, with Chairman Bill Gates among those arguing that some personalized training would be useful.
In Vista, the "personalize handwriting recognition" feature presents two options. For those having a problem with a particular letter, word or phrase, there is a "target specific recognition errors" window. For those who are having more pervasive problems, there is an option to provide a more extensive set of samples--from A to Z.
With Vista, tablets will learn not only how users write particular words but also which words they turn to frequently, making those more likely guesses in cases where the software is unsure which word was meant. The software will also adopt Web sites and e-mail addresses that are not part of its standard dictionary.
The personalization option is available only for English-language.

tablets, with a separate background personalization option available for some Asian languages. Microsoft hopes to add other language support in future OS releases.
"For English, we've reached the point that personalization makes a lot of sense," LeGrow said. "It's a hard problem and we're working through all of the issues in this release."
Independent technology analyst Peter Glaskowsky praised the move to ensure that Tablet PCs learn from their individual users.
"That would be a great thing," he said. Glaskowsky is a longtime Apple Newton fan who only recently gave up his long-discontinued device in favor of a Tablet PC.
Glaskowsky said there are still areas in which his faithful Apple handheld outshines Microsoft's creation.
"They (Microsoft) should get eight or 10 of their top people and get them Newton MessagePad 2100s and make them use them instead of tablets for a couple of months," he said. "Then they could learn what they overlooked."
For example, he said, the Newton is much better about giving feedback about which handwriting is being recognized than, say, a Tablet PC running Microsoft's OneNote. But he conceded that he has grown to like some of the modern things that have come in the years since the Newton was crafted--things like multimedia abilities, wireless Internet access and color graphics.
Cleaning up the slateMicrosoft wants to do more than just improve handwriting recognition with the next go-round of Tablet. The goal is to address a host of little bugaboos that made the prior versions tough for users.
One example is a subtle change being made to the cursor: When a pen hovers over the screen, the cursor appears as a small droplet, so the user knows exactly where it is pointing. When a user taps the screen, it looks like the droplet has hit the water, causing a small ripple. A second tap produces a second ripple.
LeGrow said such changes are examples of the feedback a user needs to feel comfortable. With a mouse, it is pretty clear when a user clicks, so people rarely click more times than they mean to. Not so with a pen, he said.
Tablets in Vista will also get new navigational gestures, such as the ability to use the pen to pan through documents. Another gesture, called "flick," allows a user to quickly move a little bit up or down a page. While the standard option is to have flicks for moving up, down, back and forward, advanced users can program commands for additional flicks, such as copy and paste.
The plan is to introduce both the customization and new gestures slowly. After a week or so, a user might be introduced to flicks and offered the option to learn more and begin using them. After two weeks, a dialog box will offer the option of personalization.
One feature that is not in the latest build of Vista is an improved AutoComplete capability that will let the browser and other applications offer suggestions as someone starts writing a Web address or other information. That feature already exists with typing, and, with Vista, the concept will be extended to pen input as well, Microsoft said.

Microsoft Vista will ignore your monitor

2005-10-16T12:39:00.000-07:00

A REPORT said an implementation of a system wide content protection scheme in Microsoft Vista will mean many screens will display a "monitor revoked" message.
According to an article in PC World, the scheme called PVP-OPM is intended to stop pirated disks from displaying their content.
But a side effect means that the same scheme will lock out displays which don't support PVP-OPM.
The same report, here, claims that there are very few wide screen desktop monitors which will support the scheme. So even if you're law abiding you're going to be in trouble.
And Blu-ray and Toshiba HD DVDs need Windows Vista, while Windows XP won't support HDCP, Intel's "high bandwidth digital content protection". So there's no point sticking with your old OS.
Oh yes, the OS times they are a changing. And the hardware manufacturers are no doubt rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect.

Windows Vista Screenshots

2005-10-13T19:05:00.000-07:00

Windows Vista Internet Explorer. (screenshot)

Windows Vista View. (screenshot)

Windows Vista Thumbnail View. (screenshot)

Sync Center. (screenshot)

Windows Side Bar. (screenshot)

Sync Center Conflict Resolution. (screenshot)

Windows Vista Chess. (screenshot)

Windows Vista Games Explorer. (screenshot)

Search window in windows vista (screenshot)

Pictures and videos folder (screenshot)

Control Panel (screenshot)

Virtual Vista folder (screenshot)

Microsoft Windows Vista Versions

2005-10-12T10:24:00.000-07:00

Retail versions for the home market:
Windows Vista StarterWindows
Vista Home BasicWindows
Vista Home PremiumWindows
Vista Ultimate

Retail and VL versions for the business market:
Windows Vista Pro Standard/SB
Windows Vista Pro Std/SB/Ent - VL Binding Service
Windows Vista Pro Std/SB/Ent - VLGeneric
Windows Vista Pro Std/SB/Ent - DMAK

OEM editions for sale with new consumer PCs
Windows Vista Starter Digital Boost - OEM
Windows Vista Home Basic - OEM
Windows Vista Home Premium - OEM
Windows Vista Ultimate - OEM
OEM editions for sale with new business PCs

Windows Vista Pro Standard/SB - OEM
Longhorn Enterprise Server - OEM
Longhorn Server versions (due in 2007):
Longhorn Enterprise Server (ADS)
Longhorn Enterprise Server - IA64
Longhorn Standard Server
Longhorn Datacenter Server

Windows Vista Performance Tweaks, Tips, Tricks Episode II:)

2005-10-12T05:35:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in Vista Beta 1 Service Guide Part 1, Windows Vista Beta 1 has several new services and features that we do not all need. I have gone through the list of services that are running in Windows Vista Beta 1 and compiled a list of services that you can safely disable. Before I get started, it is necessary to understand how to disable services in Windows Vista. Similar to other version of Windows, you will be using the Services MMC. Follow the steps below to get started with the Services applet.

~Click Start and then Run.
~Key in services.msc and press OK. The Services applet will now load.
~To stop and disable a service, just right click on a service and select Properties.
~Then, in the properties box change the Startup type to Disabled and hit OK. The next time that you restart your computer the service will no longer be able to start.

Now that you know the basics of disabling a service, I can begin going over the services that I have found that can be disabled to increase your system performance. Below is a list of services that can be disabled. Some provide value added features, so if you use a feature associated with the service consider if it is really worth the slight performance gain compared to the usefulness of the feature.

Remote Registry - Enables remote users to modify registry settings on this computer. If this service is stopped, the registry can be modified only by users on this computer. I do not understand why Microsoft always decides to have this service started by default in Windows. This service is really only useful for system administrators in enterprise environments. Although my faith in Microsoft security is growing, for home users and most power users this service is just waiting to be exploited by the latest virus/Trojan. It provide no useful functionality to us so just disable it.

Software Licensing Service - This service provides licensing technology APIs in Windows. Don't use any software that needs this? Not many do right now. Disable it.

SSDP Discovery Service - Discovers networked devices and services that use the SSDP discovery protocol, such as UPnP devices. Also announces SSDP devices and services running on the local computer. If this service is stopped, SSDP-based devices will not be discovered. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start. Do you have any UPnP devices? No, then disable this.
UPnP Device Host - Allows UPnP devices to be hosted on this computer. If this service is stopped, any hosted UPnP devices will stop functioning and no additional hosted devices can be added. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start. Do you have any UPnP devices? No, then disable this as well.

WebClient - Enables Windows-based programs to create, access, and modify Internet-based files. If this service is stopped, these functions will not be available. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start. This service is used for things like web folder and WEB DAV. If you are like me and don't use these services, then disable them.

Windows Error Reporting Service - Enables error reporting and solution delivery for application failures (crashes and hangs). If this service is stopped, error reporting might not work correctly. This service has always been a favorite for power users to disable. I'm not going to lie, it will give you a slight performance gain if you disable it since less overhead = more resources for your apps. However, Windows Vista is in Beta! Why wouldn't you want Microsoft to hear about the problems you are having. Don't you want them to have a chance to be fixed?
Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) - Provides image acquisition services for scanners and cameras. Not used? disable it.

Windows Management Instrumentation - Provides a common interface and object model to access management information about operating system, devices, applications and services. If this service is stopped, most Windows-based software will not function properly. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start. This service is used a lot in the enterprise environment in scripting events on computers. In the home area, there is no use for it and can be disabled. If in the future you ever have any problems with installing programs, try re-enabling this service again since some, not all, tend to use it.

Source www.tweakvista.com

Windows Vista Performance Tweaks, Tips, Tricks Episode I:)

2005-10-12T05:21:00.000-07:00

Windows Vista Beta 1 has several new services and features that we do not all need. I have gone through the list of services that are running in Windows Vista Beta 1 and compiled a list of services that you can safely disable. Before I get started, it is necessary to understand how to disable services in Windows Vista. Similar to other version of Windows, you will be using the Services MMC. Follow the steps below to get started with the Services applet.

~Click Start and then Run.
~Key in services.msc and press OK. The Services applet will now load.
~To stop and disable a service, just right click on a service and select Properties.
~Then, in the properties box change the Startup type to Disabled and hit OK. The next time that you restart your computer the service will no longer be able to start.

Digital ID Management Service - Listens for Digital ID related events and invokes the registered Providers to perform their tasks. The order that the Providers are invoked is specified by the dependency settings. If this service is stopped or disabled, this computer and all logged on users will be unable to use the automated functionality. This sounds like a fancy service, but your probably don't have a use for it unless you use any DRM technologies.

Distributed Link Tracking Client - Maintains links between NTFS files within a computer or across computers in a network.

Group Policy Client - The service is responsible for applying settings configured by administrators for the computer and users through the Group Policy component. If the service is stopped or disabled, the settings will not be applied and applications and components will not be manageable through Group Policy. Any components or applications that depend on the Group Policy component might not be functional if the service is stopped or disabled. Are you using any of the new account restrictions in Windows Vista, if not, and if this computer is not on a enterprise network, disable this service to free up some bytes.

IKE and AuthIP IPSec keying modules - IKE and AuthIP IPSec keying modules. Unless you are doing crazy VPN stuff, home users have little use for this service.

Infrared monitor service - Supports infrared devices installed on the computer and detects other devices that are in range. Still have any infrared device sitting around? Yeah right!, disable this unless you are still using any legacy devices that require infrared. If so, consider upgrading sometime in the future to this thing called Blue tooth.

Network Access Protection Agent - Allows windows clients to participate in NAP. If you have no use for NAP or don't know what it is, disable this, you probably don't need it.

Peer Name Resolution Protocol - Enables Serverless Peer Name Resolution over the Internet. DNS lookups without a DNS server? Possibly, but still no use for it.

Peer Networking Identity Manager - Provides Identity service for Peer Networking. P2P service that performance users don't need. Unless you are using the new P2P networking features.

Pen Service - Tablet PC Pen Input Service. This service is running by default on my laptop which is not a tablet PC!

PnP-X IP Bus Enumerator Service - The PnP-X bus enumerator for network connected devices. If you do not have any devices that use this feature (I don't know of any, if any of you do, post a comment!) consider disabling it.

Source www.TweakVista.com

Vista User interface trick Slow Motion Aero Animations on Demand

2005-10-12T05:19:00.000-07:00

For those of you have have the aero glass interface working on your computer, it is possible to hold down the shift key while closing, opening, and minimizing a windows to see the animation in slow motion. If you would like to test this out, just follow the steps below:

1. Open up Regedit.

2. Navigate thru HKEY_local_machine, Software, and Microsoft.

3. Create a new KEY called DWM if it is not aleady there.

4. Create a new DWORD called AnimationsShiftKey inside the DWM folder.

5. Set the new DWORD that you just created to a value of 1.

6. Restart your computer for the effect to activate.

Once you have restarted, just hold down the shift key to see any of the window animations in slow motion.

Source www.tweakvista.com

Enable new Avalon Engine

2005-10-12T05:18:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Windows Vista, formally Codename longhorn has a new user interface system codenamed Avalon. This new user interface engine greatly enhances the look by utilizing several cool looking 3D effects. Of course, to be able to fully utilize the new engine you need a good 3D video card on top of special drivers (LDDM).
To turn on this effect just execute c:\Windows\System32\UXSS.exe or enable and start the User Experience Session Management Services.

Currently only ATI Radon 9800's are roughly supported. In order to disable the hardware checking so that you can try the effects on your computer, follow the steps below.

1. Open up Regedit.

2. Navigate thru HKEY_local_machine, Software, and Microsoft.

3. Create a new KEY called DWM.

4. In the new DWM key you created, create a DWORD called EnableMachineCheck.

5. Make sure this value is set to 0 and hardware checking is now disabled.

Quick Note: Although you can get it to run on older hardware, with the lack of LDDM drivers available, it is going to run very slowly!

Source http://www.tweakvista.com/

Additional Avalon effects

2005-10-12T05:17:00.000-07:00

Once you have the new Aero engine enabled on your build of Windows codename Longhorn, you can enable additional transition effects that are currently turned off in builds. Follow the steps below to add some additional desktop and explorer effects:
1. Open up regedit.

2. Navigate thru HKEY_Local_Machine, Software, Microsoft, Windows, Current Version, and Explorer.

3. Create a new DWORD and call it MILDesktop.

4. Set the value of MILDesktop to 1.

5. Create a new DWORD and call it MILExplorer.

6. Set the value of MILExplorer to 1.

7. Exit explorer and restart.

Missing the old File, Edit, View menu bar?! (Windows Vista Tweak 2)

2005-10-12T05:15:00.000-07:00

One of the main concepts of Windows Vista is to make things more simple, basically take some of the complexity out of Windows.The decision was made to do away with the old menu bar in many of the windows of Windows Vista because they simply looked too busy and offered the user too many, often confusing, choices.
This all sounds great but we are power users and most of us like complexity because it gives us more control. Thankfully, Microsoft didn't really do away with it completely, they just hid it. The next time you are using Windows Vista and wish that old menu bar was still around, just hit ALT on your keyboard and it magically appear!

Checkbox Select Alternative (Windows Vista Tweak)

2005-10-12T05:09:00.000-07:00

Windows Vista includes a new method to select files when using explorer. Instead of holding down CTRL and then clicking on all the files you want to select, Vista includes the option to check boxes to select items instead. This new feature can be a little hard to get used to at first, but after you use it for a little while, it will be helpful if you were a big user of the CTRL method.
This feature has helped me in situations where I had to select dozens of files or folders and would accidentally click in the wrong area and then I would loose all of my selections, forcing me to start over selecting folders. With the check box feature enabled, accidental clicks that lead to mass de-selection are no longer possible.
Enabling the new feature is very easy, just about anyone could do it. To get started, follow the steps below:
In order to begin, you will need to use the Tools menu. In Windows Vista the menu-bar is hidden by default in most windows. Just hit ALT on your keyboard to bring it back. Now that you can see it again, click on Tools and then select Folder Options.
Once the Folder Options dialog is displayed, click on the View tab.
Under Advanced Settings, scroll down to the bottom of the list and check Use check boxes to select items.
Next, click OK and you are finished.
In order to see the new changes you may have to close and reopen all open windows.

Allchin on Vista: "It's Not Going to Work"

2005-10-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

Microsoft group vice president Jim Allchin walked into chairman Bill Gates' office in July 2004 and told him that the software project was horribly behind schedule and would never get caught up. "It's not going to work," he said, according to a report in "The Wall Street Journal." The problem was that Vista was too complicated, and Microsoft's age-old methods for developing software just weren't going to be good enough.

Despite my repeated efforts at getting Microsoft to speak on record about the events of last year, when the company halted development of Windows Vista--then codenamed Longhorn--so it could completely start over, from scratch, the software giant and its PR firm has consistently railroaded me and prevented me from sitting down with people who are knowledgeable about what happened. However, I had been briefed informally about these events, referred to internally as "the reset."

Contrary to the WSJ report, however, the reset was underway months earlier than July 2004. At the company's annual Windows Engineering Conference (WinHEC) show that April, Microsoft handed out a Longhorn build to developers that would be the last pre-reset version of the code to ship outside the company. Microsoft executives knew at that time that the development situation had spiraled way out of control, and that they would need to start over, scrapping much of the code that had already been developed.

According to the WSJ, Gates initially resisted Allchin's plan to reset Vista, sure that the company could turn things around. That resistance set back the reset--and thus, the eventual Vista release date--by several months. "There was some angst by everybody," Gates said. "It's obviously my role to ask people, 'Hey, let's not throw things out we shouldn't throw out. Let's keep things in that we can keep in.'" It was too late for that. "The ship was just crashing to the ground," Allchin said. Ship, train, whatever.

Previous to Windows Vista, Microsoft had developed new client and server versions of Windows fairly regularly, every few years. But the enormous laundry list of promised features in Windows Vista proved costly to the software giant. Originally due in 2003, Windows Vista has slipped several times and is now expected in late 2006. Microsoft first showed off the system publicly over two years ago. These time periods are vast eons in software time. And during that time period, Microsoft's competitors have come on strong. Google now dominates the Web. The open source Linux system is a viable server competitor. And Apple's technically excellent Mac OS X system, while not a threat at all to the PC desktop, remains in the game with an ever-possible sales boost from the iPod and iTunes, which dominate the consumer electronics and digital music markets, respectively.

How damaging has Windows Vista been to Microsoft? Allchin, the man mostly directly responsible for Windows development at Microsoft, will retire when the product ships. The entire Microsoft corporate structure has been reorganized to meet the company's new competitive needs, which only came to light when Vista's massive delays highlighted the company's slowness and weaknesses. And customers now doubt that Microsoft is capable of anything grand: Some of Vista's most compelling features, such as a database-backed storage engine that's been in the works for over a decade, have been scrapped so that the company can simply release Vista in a reasonable amount of time.

Much of the problems are related to corporate culture, and that won't be fixed by Microsoft's recent reorganization. Microsoft is far too big a company with far too many levels of executives, to move quickly and seize on new market trends. Windows Vista, as a result, is fighting the OS battles of the last decade, reacting rather than being proactive and innovative. Mac OS X users, for example, can point to many of Vista's features and correctly note that they appeared first on Apple's system, sometimes years ago. For Microsoft, a company that desperately wants to be seen as an innovator, this situation is untenable.

All that said, Windows Vista is now on track. Current beta builds of the system show an OS that is far more similar to Windows XP, with fewer new features and a much less elegant interface, than originally planned. But it's a solid-looking release, and some of the upcoming consumer-oriented features, which Microsoft will reveal between now and the Beta 2 release in early December, are sure to wow users. Has Microsoft gotten its groove back? Not at all, and there are still huge changes that need to be made. But righting the ship for Windows Vista was a good first step.

Source http://www.windowsitpro.com/Article/ArticleID/47865/47865.html?Ad=1

Microsoft Windows Vista beta 2 comes in November

2005-10-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

THE NEXT VERSION of the Vole's highly anticipated operating system is expected in November. It won't speed up introduction of this system but it at least means that we are one step closer to the Q4 2006 introduction.
New beta version of Longhorn aka Vista will have its graphic component a little bit readier than before as it's already time to start working on a user interface and the gaming part of the API. Both Nvidia and ATI are working on Vista drivers, and once this operating system is out, people will be able to see that last year's decision by ATI to start using frameworks was not a bad idea after all.
All Vista drivers will need frameworks, as this is something what Microsoft demanded, it was not a choice, it was an order.
Graphic companies have to start playing with Aero glass and all the other Mac OS looking visual effect features in Vista and therefore the Beta will get them even more functionality and bug fixes as well.
When it's done, Vista will have fully functional DirectX 10 inside but we suspect that some of the next betas might use DirectX 9.0L, the one that features Shader model 4.0 but we can not confirm or deny this yet.
After Beta 2 there is always Beta 3, possibly even a couple of Release candidates and it will sure take times to get the final retail product. Well, Windows XP with Service pack 2 is not bad at all at least when it comes to gaming and word processing.