Microsoft

Automatic Wallpaper Changer

2009-01-15T08:32:00.000+07:00

Automatic Wallpaper Changer - Create image playlists with the least effort. BioniX Wallpaper is an advanced desktop wallpaper cycler and wallpaper manager.

Features:
Low memory usage
Can "smart stretch" big images
Can tile/stretch/center an image
Low flicker when changing desktop image
Automatically starts at Windows startup
Interface can be transparent
Possibility to load more external skins
Doesn't mess your system/registry with dirt
It can remember user's settings

The desktop background of the computer may seem of little importance to some but other users pay very much attention to the image set as background of the screen. It either says something about their personality or it is simply an image conveying their state of mind.

Although the process of changing a desktop background is nothing complicated and implies opening a wallpaper with Windows' image viewer and choosing the option from the context menu, there are ways of completely automating it. BioniX Wallpaper Changer is one of the most appreciated wallpaper managers on the Internet and it comes jam-packed with options.

The application has three versions, one for every pocket: the Lite edition is absolutely free, the Extreme version is $14.2 and the Insane edition is $21.4 but you can get a 30% discount for the last two if you use the coupon code Disc30 upon purchasing from the developer's website. All three are differentiated by the number of active features. For a complete list of features for each of the mentioned versions you can check up this link here.

We're going to test the Insane version, which has all the features of the Lite and the Extreme editions and then some. Besides lifetime access to updates, it gives access to over 125 application skins, enables the wallpaper change shortcut, makes available the “lock on folder” feature and supports an unlimited amount of images in the playlist.

From the moment Bionix Wallpaper Changer is launched you can clearly see that the developer did not aim to impress with the aesthetics of the software but with its slew of features and options. Even so, there are a bunch of skins available to change the main application window and make it more pleasantly looking.

One thing needs to be mentioned about BioniX Wallpaper Changer: it is not a regular wallpaper manager as it is capable of handling an entire folder of images and change them according to a user-set time interval. It can shuffle them for a touch of ‘the element of surprise’ or roll them in the exact order they are stored on the hard disk.

In the main screen of the software there is a set of options very similar to the controls of an audio player. These can help you skip to the next or previous image and start/stop the countdown timer, which can be set down to a second but in this mode you will notice a computer drag as the CPU is used pretty intensely.

The main application window contains a drop-down menu that, once unrolled, gives you access to different menus situated in the lower part of the window: Desktop, Enhance and Lock on Folder. The Info tab shows the amount of free space on the drives of the system. Each of them contains options for configuring the wallpaper style, choosing the resampling quality and the contrast, saturation and brightness for the best looks.

Given the tooltips popping up upon mouse hovering over an option and their brief explanation, working with the application should be a cinch. The list of resample filters includes the famous Lanczos and Mitchell filters as well as B-Spline, Hermite and Bell.

The Lock on Folder feature allows you to spin the images in a specific folder automatically every time you start the program. They make for the software playlist and you can add as many pictures as you want after the locking has been enabled because the application will simply count them all.

Playlist view can be enabled from the main application window (top right) and, just like in an audio player, you get to create as many of them as you want and save them on the hard disk. Sort options let you randomize the list or reverse the order of the items.

Configuring BioniX Wallpaper Changer is nothing complicated and allows for setting up the action to be taken at software start (change wallpaper and then close, start the countdown timer or do absolutely nothing). It can also be set up to start with Windows in minimized mode.

The application supports additional interface tweaks besides the various skins available, consisting of changing the opacity and making it transparent.

Additional options relate to the Playlist Editor. Here you can choose the action attributed to the Delete button (removing the file from playlist only or from the hard disk as well) or select the default resample mode.

If the tooltips are popping up too slow, their appearance time can be changed, together with the duration they remain on screen. The place these can be set up is the Icon/Help tab of the Advanced Settings.

A very interesting option present in the Insane version of the software is the system-wide hotkey. This enables you to change the current wallpaper with the next one instantly without calling on complicated menus. You just press a key combination that supersedes all apps on your computer and the desktop background is immediately switched with the next in line. However, you should be careful for the hotkey not to double with a different action in a different piece of software.

BioniX Wallpaper Changer makes for a great wallpaper manager both in terms of options and regarding the ease of use. It may not be the greatest looking application but its looks are irrelevant compared to the discounted price and the set of features it puts on the table. System resources are kept down to a minimum (in our case peak RAM usage was registered at 9MB while CPU was used only when changing the wallpaper) and it can help you create multiple playlists and load them up one at a time, just like in an audio player.

An exciting caboodle is represented by the Tools menu. It gathers options for hiding desktop icons and even the taskbar. These come in handy when combined with a lower wallpaper change delay as you can watch an whole playlist just like a slideshow on the entire monitor screen, without any hindrance from the shortcuts.

One of the biggest drawbacks of BioniX are the looks. The interface and even some of the skins are not in tone with Vista's shiny slick looks, not to mention with the upcoming Windows 7. Also, we noticed that the main application window and the Playlist Editor do not stick together when moved more vigorously.

The Good
BioniX Wallpaper presents an amazing set of options and features dedicated to automating the way your wallpapers change on your desktop. It is extremely easy to use, runs on low computer resources and can give you details on the fill level of the various drives available on the system.

You can select the time interval for the desktop background to be changed and select a specific folder for the application to take the images from. Each image can run as it is or you can tweak the contrast, saturation and brightness to make it more artsy.

The tested version makes available no less than seven resample modes for the wallpapers to show their best.

The Bad
The looks are nothing Bionix should be proud of. Not even some of the skins can do a better job and the Playlist Editor just can't keep stuck to the main application window if the latter is shaken a tad quicker.

The Truth
If the current discounted prices remain ($9.9 for the Extreme edition and 14.9 for the Insane one) I'm sure BioniX will rake a whole lot more adepts. However, even without the discount BioniX makes for a pretty tempting offer.

It works quite well and besides the aforementioned mischiefs there is little to add on the downside. It can start with Windows and run minimized, you can use a system-wide hotkey to immediately change the current wallpaper and it can be set up to take user-specific actions once it is launched.

Try the Lite version for free for as long as you want, compare the features of the other two versions and decide if it is worth the money (hopefully, the coupon code will become a permanent offer). Download BioniX Wallpaper right now from here.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action:

More GeForce GTX 285 Details Emerge

2008-12-16T22:45:00.000+07:00

As we are approaching the now inevitable release of the 55nm GeForce GTX 285, more details regarding said card surface on the Internet. NVIDIA's new GeForce flagship graphics card is expected to come as an overclocked version of the company's current GeForce GTX 280.

Also, unlike the current card, the GPU of the upcoming GTX 285 takes advantage of a 55nm process technology, which basically allows for better performance and overclocking capability, while it should also provide a better power consumption level.

According to a recent post on the Chinese language Expreview, the upcoming single-core GTX 285 is expected to boast frequency levels a bit over those available for NVIDIA's current GeForce GTX 280. The core speed of the GTX 285 should settle at 648 MHz, compared with the 602 MHz available with the GeForce GTX280. The Shader and Memory frequencies have also been brought up to 1476MHz and 1242MHz, respectively.

Given that the 65nm-based GTX 280 has Shader and Memory clock speeds of 1296MHz and 1107MHz, the performance boost might not be all that impressive. Still, the performance of the GTX 285 is expected to surpass that of ATI's HD 4870 and to come close to what the HD 4870 X2 can now provide. We are yet to see a comparative review between any pair of aforementioned cards, but we should keep our peeled for one such piece as it would give us a general idea of what we should expect from NVIDIA's next-generation GeForce graphics card.

After the release of the GTX 280 and the dual-GPU GTX 295, the Sunnyvale, California-based AMD is also expected to unveil a new range of cards as well. The rumored Radeons are to compete directly with NVIDIA's upcoming 55nm range of products. What is yet unclear is whether said cards are to remain at 55nm, or whether AMD plans to jump straight to 40nm.

Source: http://akupunyasitus.blogspot.com

Broken Webpages IE8 Beta Add-On on Vista SP1 and XP SP3

2008-12-13T11:53:00.001+07:00

While building Internet Explorer 8, Microsoft is joggling the evolution of IE and its commitment not to break the web, namely content that is tailored to IE6 and IE7. Internet Explorer 8 is not only capable of rendering websites developed with modern standards, but also content that was designed with the shortcomings of its precursors in mind. In addition to building three rendering modes into the browser and ensuring the evolution of Compatibility View, the software giant is also taking the necessary measures to identify the specific websites that fail to play nice with Internet Explorer 8. In this context, the Report a Webpage Problem Internet Explorer 8.0 Beta Add-On is now available for download.

“The Report a Webpage Problem Internet Explorer Add-on appears as a toolbar button and a 'Report a Webpage Problem...' item on the Tools menu,” an excerpt from the tool's description reads. “When the toolbar button is clicked or the menu item is chosen, the control takes a screenshot of the web page currently being viewed. A new tab is then opened containing a report submission form. A scaled down version of the screenshot will be visible at the bottom, and the user has a choice of whether or not to include the full-sized screenshot (choosing No to the 'Include Screenshot' question means no screenshot will be sent).”

The add-on is designed to catalyze feedback for Microsoft when it comes down to webpages with rendering problems, which could contain scripting errors or any additional issues. According to the Redmond company, the add-on is set up to integrate exclusively with the Beta versions of Internet Explorer 8, and will not be available for the final version of the browser. The software giant revealed that the add-on's availability would be discontinued in the Internet Explorer 8 pre-RTM timeframe. The Report a Webpage Problem Internet Explorer 8.0 Beta Add-On would work with copies of the browser run on top of Windows Vista SP1, Windows XP SP3, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2008.

“On the report submission page, the user also has the option to select a category best representing their observed problem. This category selection will be part of the report information returned to Microsoft. A 1000 character limit comment field is provided, if the user chooses to include some description of the problem. Additional data included in the report: the protocol type (http, res, file, etc.) of the URL being reported; the complete URL; a numerical value representing the Document mode,” Microsoft adds.

The Report a Webpage Problem Internet Explorer 8.0 Beta Add-On is available for download here.

New MSNBot (msnbot/2.0b) from Live Search

2008-12-13T11:41:00.003+07:00

Microsoft is getting ready to introduce its latest move against Google, an overhauled boot for its search engine. While the Redmond company is laboring to reportedly scrap the Live Search brand in favor of Kumo, with a transition of leadership as Qi Lu takes on the new role of president of the Online Services Group, the organic evolution of Live Search moves forward. In this regard, the latest product on the Live Search front is a new MSNBot.

“Live Search is committed to continuing to improve how we discover and crawl your content. In the coming weeks, we will be testing an update to MSNBot, which may show up as a new crawler name in your referrer logs. The new crawler user agent string will appear as: msnbot/2.0b (+http://search.msn.com/msnbot.htm). You’ll still see the current version msnbot/1.1 (+http://search.msn.com/msnbot.htm) as Live Search’s primary user agent,” Jeremiah Andrick, program manager, Live Search Webmaster Center, revealed.

Webmasters and web content owners will be the ones directly affected by Microsoft testing the new MSNBot. The new Live Search crawler will generate extra traffic as far as bots are concerned, but the software giant is promising that MSNBot/2.0b will tiptoe on websites and that it will not take a heavy tole on the resources available.

Qi Lu, the new president of the Online Services Group, indicated that one of the pitches that convinced him to join Microsoft was CEO Steve Ballmer's promise that the Redmond company had a strong focus on driving product quality.

“We intend to ensure that any robots exclusion protocol you are using is respected. As such, you don’t need to update your Robots.txt file. We plan on crawling at a slow speed during the tests with the updated version. When the new crawler replaces our current crawler, we will keep you up-to-date,” Andrick added.

Microsoft Is Cooking a Kumo Live Search Rebrand - Kumo.com now on Live Search servers

2008-12-13T11:36:00.003+07:00

It remains to be seen whether rechristening Live Search will deliver a positive impact in terms of gathering and keeping fresh eyeballs, if it will just be a strategy with little repercussions in terms of market share, or if it will have just the opposite effect, and drive users away from Microsoft's search engine. However, the fact of the matter is that the software giant is indeed cooking a Live Search rebranding, with Kumo (Kumo.com) as one of the candidate brands.

The fact that Microsoft was considering a brand evolution for Live Search was initially reported by Mary Jo Foley. In this regard, LiveSide has indicated that Kumo is now under Microsoft's control, but accessible only to employees.

Meaning both “cloud” and “spider” in Japanese, Kumo is, without a doubt, intimately connected with Live Search, considering the domain servers the company is using, namely NS.USWEST.SEARCH.LIVE.COM; NS.USEAST.SEARCH.LIVE.COM and NS.ANYCAST.SEARCH.LIVE.COM. However, until this point in time, Microsoft has steered right clear of confirming any future plans related to a Live Search rebranding. As far as Kumo is concerned, mum's the word from Microsoft.

Still, one thing is clear, the Redmond company has nothing short of big plans for Kumo.com. The domain has been registered for no less than 10 years, and is scheduled for expiration on July 19, 2018. The registration of Live.com, the home of Live Search, is set to expire in 2017.

In the race with Google, Microsoft is not fighting just a search engine, but the technology behind it. Google is a brand that is now virtually synonymous with search, and the Redmond company has nothing to counter this aspect. Windows Live Search, Live Search, and Live.com simply do not have sufficient brand potential to go against Google, in the context in which users are no longer searching the web, they are googling it. The question is will anybody be kumoing it?

Microsoft: We're Here to Win Against Google

2008-12-13T11:27:00.001+07:00

At the start of December Microsoft confirmed that the former executive vice president of Engineering for the Search and Advertising Technology Group at Yahoo had switched sides and was going to take the lead of its Online Services Group. Scheduled to take on his new position come January 5, 2009.

Dr. Qi Lu revealed that he was gearing up to hit the ground running, while Microsoft's target in term of online search could not be clearer. Lu admitted Google's superiority in the search space, and acknowledged the challenges that Microsoft would face in its attempt to catch up with the Mountain View-based search giant, stating that “we've got our work cut out for us.”

“We're here to win, and my view on this is that to win in the search space, fundamentally you build on the strengths of your product. And we know what it takes to build a compelling user experience and winning product, which is to have a powerful infrastructure, great talent, and put great processes in place so that we can out-develop, out-market, out-innovate our competitors,” Lu stated.

Dr. Qi Lu was recruited at Microsoft by none other than the Chief Executive Office Steve Ballmer. According to Lu, Ballmer promised that Microsoft had a strong commitment on continuing its investments in research and development, while at the same time focusing on delivering high-quality products in order to increase competitive chances on the market. In this context, Lu pointed out that there were a couple of major occasions for Microsoft to compete against Google.

“First, I think there is a genuine opportunity to take our search products to the next level. I see that Microsoft's search product quality is improving at a very, very fast rate, that there are great foundations there,” Lu added. “The second opportunity is to continue building a very powerful advertising platform. Microsoft has made a series of strategic acquisitions, and also built a bunch of internal technologies and products.”

Microsoft to Kill Windows XP 'Blue Edition' - In the fight against pirated software

2008-12-05T06:36:00.001+07:00

Microsoft is attempting to kill the “Blue Edition” of Windows XP. In mid-2008 the Redmond company discontinued the availability of retail and OEM licenses of Windows XP, with the exception of copies of the operating system going onto ultra-low-cost laptops and desktops. However, XP “Blue Edition” is by no means a part of Microsoft's efforts to focus consumers and partners on Windows Vista and beyond. Killing XP “Blue Edition” is an illustrative example of the company's actions to stop the software counterfeiting phenomenon affecting its products.

According to Microsoft, “Blue Edition” is nothing more than a fabricated marketing program used to market and sell pirated copies of Windows XP. In this regard, the software giant informed that it had debuted legal actions against multiple online auctioneers worldwide, which were allegedly responsible for selling pirated copies of XP “Blue Edition” and not only via various global marketing schemes.

“Dishonest auctioneers are too often using these online auction sites to sell counterfeit and illegal copies of Microsoft software, taking advantage of unsuspecting customers around the world,” revealed David Finn, associate general counsel for Worldwide Anti-Piracy and Anti-Counterfeiting at Microsoft. “These dealers are peddling bogus products that can put customers and their personal information at serious risk.”

Microsoft has indicated that auctioneers in 12 countries around the world are now facing lawsuits for selling counterfeit software on online auction sites. A total of 63 legal actions involve lawsuits in the US (16), in Germany (12), in France (12), and in the UK (7). In addition, the software giant is also going after software counterfeiters in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Japan, Mexico and New Zealand.

“By taking legal action against these and other alleged counterfeiters, Microsoft is helping ensure that consumers around the world are protected from those who sell counterfeit software over the Internet,” Finn added. “We are also continuing to arm our customers with the information they need to keep from falling victim to counterfeit software. Consumers should be aware that the so-called ‘Blue Edition’ software is nothing more than low-quality counterfeit software burned onto a CD.”
By: Marius Oiaga

Opera 10.0 Alpha 1 Available for Download - Get it here

2008-12-05T05:49:00.000+07:00

Having released Opera 9.5 and Opera 9.6 in 2008, the Norwegian browser maker is now offering the first taste of Opera 10.0. While Microsoft and Mozilla are laboring to hit the Release Candidate stages of Internet Explorer 8 (now at Beta 2) and Firefox 3.1, respectively (now still at Beta 1, and on the verge of Beta 2), Opera is also cooking the next iteration of its browser. The first Alpha development milestone for Opera 10.0 is now available for download.

“It seems like yesterday we released Opera 9.6 and now you can all get your hands on Opera 10.0. Rather than ramble on, here's a quick list of what's new: Presto 2.2 Engine; performance boost; 100/100 and pixel-perfect on the Acid3 test; auto-update; inline spelling checker; Opera Mail improvements, including rich text composition and delete after X days; Widget Improvements on Linux,” revealed Adam Minchinton, Opera Mac developer.

Opera has tweaked and optimized the core of the browser, and has taken Presto up to version 2.2 from 2.1 in Kestrel. In this context, now Opera 10.0 Alpha 1 passes the Acid3 Test for web standard support to perfection, the browser maker claims. At the same time, the evolution of the engine has delivered a new level of performance, not only in terms of speed, but also in regard to how the broser handles CSS, XML printing, and RGBA and HSLA support.

“The long awaited auto-update functionality is here! That's right, Opera will now update itself as new versions are released. And for those of you who want every single snapshot release just enable the 'Download All Snapshots' setting (opera:config#AutoUpdate). Please be aware that if you do so, you will be upgrading to all snapshots - and, as you know: snapshots contain the latest changes, but may also have severe known issues, including crashes and data loss situations. In fact, they may not work at all,” Minchinton added.

Opera 10.0 Alpha 1 for Windows is available for download here (Link 1), here (Link 2), here (Link 3), here (Link 4), here (Link 5).

Opera 10.0 Alpha 1 for Linux is available for download here (Link 1), here (Link 2), here (Link 3), here (Link 4), here (Link 5), here (Link 6).

Opera 10.0 Alpha 1 for Mac OS X is available for download here (Link 1), here (Link 2), here (Link 3), here (Link 4), here (Link 5), here (Link 6).

MySQL Administrator for Windows 5.0 r10

2008-12-04T15:13:00.000+07:00

MySQL Administrator is a powerful visual administration console that enables you to easily administer your MySQL environment and gain significantly better visibility into how your databases are operating.

MySQL Administrator now integrates database management and maintenance into a seamless, single environment, with an intuitive and clear graphical user interface.

By using MySQL Administrator you will be able to:
- Achieve higher database availability through improved management
- Reduce errors through visual database administration
- Lower database administration costs through improved productivity
- Deliver a more secure environment through easier privilege management

MySQL Administrator enables developers and DBAs to easily perform all the command line operations visually including configuring servers, administering users, and dynamically monitoring database health.

Other common administrative tasks such as monitoring replication status, backup and restore, and viewing logs can also be performed through the MySQL Administrator graphical console.

User Administration in Minutes
Administering users, granting privileges and viewing user privilege information has never been easier! Now you can leverage the full power of MySQL's user management and privilege capabilities to fully protect your MySQL server host using an integrated graphical user administration console.

For example, a form-based interface provides a simple method for adding users, assigning passwords and including user profile information. Plus, assigning and revoking global, database, and table/column privileges is as easy as adding and removing privilege items from an available list. Finally, an explorer interface provides a hierarchical view allowing you to easily view user privileges by privilege type.

Single View Dynamic Health Monitoring
Dynamic health monitoring gives you an immediate view into the key indicators of the health of your MySQL environment. Dynamic graphs enable you to easily view percentage of memory usage, connection usage, hit rates, as well as the number of SQL queries on an ongoing basis, as your system runs.

The Disk Health tab gives you an overview of the amount of hard disk space, tablespace, and log files being used. You can also use the visual health monitoring feature to get a hierarchical view into status and server variables such as the number of outstanding connections, number of bytes sent and received by clients, buffer allocations size and more.

Quickly Optimize MySQL
MySQL Administrator now allows you to easily view and setup key parameters so you can quickly optimize the performance of MySQL. Using a graphical forms-based environment, you quickly fine tune general and advanced parameters. For example you can set memory usage parameters and configure server start-up parameters related to the MyISAM and InnoDB table types.

Rapid Disaster Prevention and Recovery
Now you can rapidly create consistent backups and restore data by simply visually selecting the schemas and tables you want to back/restore from your hierarchical data directory. The graphical environment gives you additional visibility into Tabletype, Rows, Data Length, and Update time.

Server Information At-a-Glance
The server information section of MySQL Administrator allows you to quickly view basic information about the server and client. This view gives you immediate visibility into items such as server status, client and server version numbers and IP address, as well as connection information.

View Replication Status
Now you can quickly set up replication to increase the robustness and speed of your MySQL environment. The replication features within MySQL Administrator allow you to easily view the network topology of your replication master and slaves. Plus, the graphical environment provides additional visibility into IP addresses and logfiles.

View Server Logs from a Centralized Administration Environment
Now you can view all the MySQL log files including error logs, binary logs, and InnoDB logs from a single, centralized administration environment so you can diagnose server problems quicker and track database changes.

Service Control
Gain complete control of service creation and overcome the time consuming task of installing and setting up services. Plus, start and stop MySQL servers and view corresponding log messages.

Browse Catalog
Browse your catalog and view corresponding tables with columns, all indices and users with privileges to access selected databases. From here you can monitor and optimize tables.

Cross Platform
MySQL Administrator will initially be available for Microsoft Windows and Linux, and be compatible with MySQL version 4.0 or later.

MySQL Administrator for Windows 5.0 r10 is available for download here (Link 1)
MySQL Administrator for Windows 5.0 r10 is available for download here (Link 2)

The Windows 7 Troubleshooting Platform

2008-12-04T03:00:00.000+07:00

The Windows 7 Troubleshooting Platform - Windows Vista could have used this level of advanced troubleshooting. Microsoft has kicked the troubleshooting capabilities of Windows to the next level with the introduction of Windows 7. And as early as Windows 7 pre-Beta Milestone 3 Build 6801, the Redmond company is offering a taste of the full capabilities of the operating system, capabilities that could have been life savers for Windows Vista users when the RTM build initially hit the shelves. According to the software giant, Windows 7 comes to the table with a comprehensive and extensible Troubleshooting Platform capable of identifying and resolving a wide array of problems on its own.

This mainly because the platform has a PowerShell-based mechanism at its core. Microsoft indicated that the platform was in fact a collection of components. The troubleshooting package, engine, and wizard all combine in order to deal with potential problems that the end users might come across.

"The troubleshooting pack is a collection of PowerShell scripts and relevant metadata. The troubleshooting engine launches a PowerShell runtime to execute a troubleshooting pack, and exposes a set of interfaces to control troubleshooting pack execution," Microsoft revealed. "The troubleshooting wizard provides a consistent experience across troubleshooting packs, communicating with the troubleshooting engine to troubleshoot and resolve problems that are specified in a troubleshooting pack."

As you can very well see from the image on the left, the Troubleshooting Platform is designed to deal with a range of issues spanning from the programs running on top of Windows 7 to those affecting devices, networking, printing, display, sound, performance and the Windows operating system itself.

"The Troubleshooting Platform seamlessly integrates with the Windows 7 PC Solution Center, enabling other applications to execute diagnostics in a similar manner as part of their PC management regimen. The Troubleshooting Platform is configurable by IT professionals through Group Policy for use within the enterprise, and a Windows Troubleshooting Toolkit that allows developers to author troubleshooting packs is also available," Microsoft added.
Source: http://akupunyasitus.blogspot.com/

Windows 7 Pre-Beta Build 6801 Leaked and Available for Download

2008-12-04T02:26:00.002+07:00

Windows 7 Pre-Beta Build 6801 Leaked and Available for Download - Via torrent websites. The past week, Microsoft delivered the first consistent taste of Windows 7, offering the pre-beta bits of the operating system at the Professional Developers Conference. On October 28, developers attending the event got their hands on a 160 GB drive pre-loaded with various goodies including Windows 7 Build 6801 in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavors. Subsequently, as it was the case with previous beta or final releases of Windows, the pre-beta bits for Windows 7 Build 6801 were leaked and made available for download via torrent websites.

Steven Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, managed to keep Windows 7 under a translucent veil throughout the development process ahead of PDC2008. However, the conference focused on Windows 7 made the successor of Windows Vista as transparent as possible, as well as “free for all” users with a BitTorrent client. All major torrent hotspots are currently offering downloads of Windows 7 pre-beta build 6801, advertised as untouched.

The pair of Windows 7 pre-beta releases on the original 160 GB drive are: Windows 7 32-bit - 6801.0.080913-2030_Client_en-us_ULTIMATE-ULTIMATE_GB1CFRE_EN_DVD.iso and Windows 7 64-bit - 6801.0.080913-2030_Client_en-us_ULTIMATE-ULTIMATE_GB1CXFRE_EN_DVD.iso. With the pre-beta bits of the next iteration of Windows available outside of Redmond, the software giant promised that the fully fledged Beta of Windows 7 would be delivered early in 2009.

“Windows 7 will offer improved navigation, a new taskbar and a streamlined UI so that common tasks done in Windows are done easier and more quickly. You will be able to share data to all your PCs and devices in your home network or at work. With Windows 7 + Windows Live, you will be able to stay connected to the people that matter to you, and with Internet Explorer 8 you will get a faster, safer, more productive Web experience,” revealed Mike Nash, Corporate Vice President, Windows Product Management.
Source: http://akupunyasitus.blogspot.com/

Windows Home Server Build 6.0.1800.24 - November 2008 update

2008-12-01T14:10:00.003+07:00

Starting on November 25, Microsoft made available an update to its home server operating system. The November 2008 refresh to Windows Home Server will be served automatically to all users via Windows Update. Microsoft is describing the release designed to take Windows Home Server to version 6.0.1800.24 as a minor update, delivering only a small evolution compared to Power Pack 1. The enhancements range from storage issues being fixed, to CPU consumption, to backup and even to remote access.

“This update improves the interaction between home computers running Windows Vista and a Windows Home Server-based system, when copying files or folders that are larger in size than the free space available on the first (or primary) hard drive to a Shared Folder.”

“Additionally, this update resolves certain issues, which can happen when restoring files and folders from Windows Home Server, such as the opening of a Home Computer Backup sometimes stalling at 79% complete. The update also improves the search functionality, when using remote access,” revealed Todd Headrick, the product planner for the Microsoft Windows Home Server.

In addition, the update is designed to resolve backup issues affecting Windows Home Server directly. Microsoft informed that restoring items from a Home Server Backup to an external hard disk would no longer replace the latest version of the Windows Home Server Connector software with older releases.

The new version of the home server platform can be accessed via the Windows Home Server Console - Settings - Resources page.

“After installing the Windows Home Server Connector software with Power Pack 1, you were given the choice to automatically install new updates of the Connector software from your home server to your home computers. The November 2008 update requires an update to the Connector software, but it is more or less automatic (assuming you took the option for 'automatic updates' during the initial installation of the Connector software),” Headrick added, informing that a restart would be required.
By: Marius Oiaga

Download Windows Home Server Toolkit 1.1 - A collection of diagnostic tools

2008-12-01T14:00:00.006+07:00

Microsoft is streamlining the troubleshooting process of issues associated with the user of its home server operating system. In this context, the Redmond company has made available for download version 1.1 of the Windows Home Server Toolkit. Essentially a collection of tools, the toolkit is set up to troubleshoot problems not only on Windows Home Server, but also on the Windows PCs connected to the home server.

“The Windows Home Server team released version 1.1 of the Windows Home Server Toolkit, a collection of diagnostic tools that run on your home computers and home server.”

“This version provides a Windows Home Server Connector Troubleshooter that works on home computers running Windows XP and Windows Vista (32-bit) and Windows Vista (x64) operating systems,” revealed Todd Headrick, the product planner for the Microsoft Windows Home Server.

There are three main aspects of Windows Home Server Toolkit v1.1. First off, the toolkit is able to communicate with Microsoft. In this context, the company has automated the error reporting process, by permitting that users collect and send the log files from Windows Home Server via the toolkit.

In addition, the Windows Home Server Connector Troubleshooter ensures that Windows PCs are tested for eventual Connector software problems, and that users receive guidance in resolving them. Last but not least, the Windows Home Server Toolkit Add-in installed on the home server platform allows for the execution of troubleshooting tasks straight from the Windows Home Server Console Settings page.

“The Toolkit Add-in for Windows Home Server has been simplified to make it easier for people to access relevant information when troubleshooting any issues that they may encounter with their home servers. After installing the toolkit on a home computer, you can easily copy the Toolkit Add-in to your home server. Click Start, All Programs, Windows Home Server Toolkit, Publish Server Add-in, to copy the Toolkit Add-In file to your home server,” Headrick added, indicating that the toolkit would have to be installed via the Console.

In addition to the 32-bit and 64-bit flavors of Windows Home Server Toolkit version 1.1, Microsoft is also offering for download the Windows Home Server Toolkit User Manual v 1.1.

Home Server Toolkit User 1.1 is available for download here.
By: Marius Oiaga

Windows 7 Direct3D 11 Features

2008-11-29T05:19:00.000+07:00

Windows 7 Direct3D 11 Features - A taste of DirectX 11 is already available for download. As of November 2008, Microsoft is delivering the first taste of DirectX 11 for Windows 7 for download. A release aimed at developers, The November 2008 DirectX Software Development Kit, brings to the table the successor of Direct3D 10.1, namely Direct3D 11. In the SDK package, the Redmond company is offering a technical preview of Direct3D 11, but also the adjacent components and tools. Backwards compatible, content developed for Direct3D 11 hardware will also be compatible with earlier products supporting Direct3D 10 and 10.1 (in Vista SP1). Via the Windows 7 Developer Guide, Microsoft provides an insight into the new features made available by Direct3D 11.

“Geometry and high-order surfaces can now be tessellated to support scalable, dynamic content in patch and subdivision surface representations. To make good use of the parallel processing power available from multiple CPU cores, multithreading increases the number of potential rendering calls per frame by distributing the application, runtime, and driver calls across multiple cores. In addition, resource creation and management has been optimized for multithreaded use, enabling more efficient dynamic texture management for streaming,” Microsoft revealed.

According to the Redmond company, version 11 is designed to deliver an evolution of the functionality of the Direct3D 10 pipeline for Windows 7. In this regard, Microsoft has positioned Windows 7 to take advantage of the next generation of GPUs and multi-core processors when it comes down to the way the operating system will handle games and 3D applications. The software giant has indicated that Direct3D 11 in Windows 7 will support: Tessellation; Compute Shaders; Multithreaded Rendering; Dynamic Shader Linkage; Windows Advanced Rasterizer (WARP); Direct3D 10 and Direct3D 11 on Direct3D 9 Hardware (D3D10 Level 9); Runtime Binaries; D3DX11; Completely Updated HLSL and Direct3D Compiler; D3D11 Reference Rasterizer and D3D11 SDK Layers.

“New general-purpose compute shaders have been created for Direct3D 11. Unlike existing shaders, these are extensions to the programmable pipeline that enable your application to do more work completely on the GPU, independent of the CPU. DrawAuto, which was introduced in Direct3D 10, has been extended to interact with a compute shader. Several improvements have been made to the high-level shading language (HLSL), such as a limited form of dynamic linkage in shaders to improve specialization complexity, and object-oriented programming constructs like classes and interfaces,” the company added.

The November 2008 DirectX Software Development Kit is available for download here.
The November 2008 DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer can be downloaded via this link.
DirectX End-User Runtimes (November 2008) is up for grabs here.
Source: http://akupunyasitus.blogspot.com/

Privacy Policy

2008-11-16T14:48:00.000+07:00

We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our Web site. These companies may use information (not including your name, address email address or telephone number) about your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.

Crysis: Warhead - Play as Psycho in this expansion of the first game

2008-11-10T11:21:00.008+07:00

Warhead, the sequel to the critically acclaimed first person shooter Crysis, delivers a parallel side story to the first game. Based on a very tweaked and optimized version of the CryEngine 2, it delivers the same stunning beauty from the first game without the absurdly high system requirements. It offers a pretty entertaining gaming experience and some interesting surprises which I won't spoil for you. The vehicles and enemies will keep you hooked on the game, but the stereotype missions will bore you.

Story
As I said, the game is based on a parallel side story to the first one. You play as the British Sergeant Psycho Sykes who, after parting with the first game's main character, Nomad, follows the North Korean General Lee and his mysterious cargo. Presumed to be a nuclear warhead, hence the title of the game, Psycho is tasked with tracking down and apprehending the cargo for the United States. On his pursuit of the general, he saves his old friend, Sean O'Neill, who in return acts like a guardian angel through most of the game helping Psycho out with his VTOL aerial craft. On his journey, he takes part in a lot of cliché missions and reaches a harbor where the cargo is shipped to a submarine. After climbing aboard, he is knocked out and awakens being tortured by the general, but in a different environment, as all of the things are frozen by the same aliens from the first game.

After chasing the general with the help of a hovercraft, one of the most exciting aspects of the game, he joins up with another team of marines. After defeating one of the large exo-suit aliens, he travels through the elaborate mine system of the mountain. Combined with the lack of a functioning map and the claustrophobic environment, it really is a recipe for the player to get lost, as I did.

After escaping the mining system, he is tasked with escorting a train the cargo is on through the jungle riddled with North Korean soldiers and later on, aliens. After another encounter with the general, he has to invade a Korean airstrip filled with hostile soldiers and vehicles. Against all odds, he defeats all of the humans but is faced with the arrival of an upgraded exo-suit type alien.

Quite an intro for Psycho

The Nano Suit is always good

Concept
The concept of the game is pretty simple, although Nomad, the lead character in the first game had the most important job, help rescue the American scientists and then defeat the aliens, Psycho's job is also very important. But you can't really help the fact that it is the lesser story of the happenings from the island. It isn't as grand as Nomad's adventure, or as exciting as his. The missions are all pretty cliché, with escorts or defensive missions making up for quite a decent part of the game. I have to admit that the fights with the big aliens are pretty entertaining, but they don't really make up for all the downsides of the game.

It is definitely good for all the Crysis fans who want another nano suit dressed adventure battling North Koreans and aliens, but for the average shooter player, it isn't much to look at. All of the boring missions really take the fun out of a pretty smart and entertaining shooter (in the end). As I discussed with my colleagues here at Softpedia, it's like Crytek wanted to make two games using the same universe. One filled with innovation and a compelling story, which is Crysis, and the other molded after classic shooter clichés, with the stereotype missions and characters, which is Warhead.

Gameplay
In terms of actual gameplay the title, aside from various small modifications, is pretty much the same as in the first game, which in actual playing terms isn't that bad. The same nano suit is present with its familiar controls and very useful options. In terms of the weapons available, very few innovations were made, like the pulse rifle. In terms of equipment, the anti vehicle mines or claymores are noticeable new items, with a special EMP grenade designed to disrupt the power of nano suits also making an appearance.

Concerning vehicles, you will be experimenting with quite a few new ones. From regular military jeeps to armored personnel carriers (equipped with big guns) or tanks, you will definitely have an alternative to just walking around the island. Noticeable vehicles in this version are the hovercraft, on which you will be engaging the general on the frozen sea, or a train, which you will be tasked with guarding.

Another nice feature is the fact that, at some point in the game, you will be helped by other people, be it O'Neill, with his VTOL or other nano suit teams from the Special Forces. Considering that the amount of enemies is quite large, this is really a good thing. A downside is the fact that the actual game lasts only about eight hours.

General Lee

The bigger they are, the harder they fall

Visual and Audio
In terms of the graphics aspects, you can't ask for anything else. Once again, the CryEngine 2 proves its power, recreating a gorgeous tropical island, and its frozen counterpart extremely well with the minutest details in place. The surroundings are very beautiful and can sometimes really distract you from the mission. The special effects, like explosions, are marvelously well done, I myself trying to blow stuff up just to watch the effects which portray it so well. As a special feature, the part of the game where the island is frozen is very realistically rendered, with the likes of North Korean soldiers frozen in a wide variety of positions.

The audio part of the game is also well done. The sounds associated to the vehicles are very realistic, with the engines sounding very different as the vehicle is taking damage. The sounds of the jungle are also very well done. Although its peace is almost always disturbed by the gun fire and battles going on there.

Multiplayer
The multiplayer aspect of the game, entitled Crysis Wars, is a very interesting part. Although it came on a separate disk, it was incorporated in the Crysis: Warhead pack. Aside from the Instant Action and Power Struggle modes, the new mode entitled Team Action is very entertaining. The wide range of maps offers a very good experience, without the player being (too) bored.

Conclusion
All in all, it's a pretty decent game. All shooter fans will have a reasonable experience, although, at times, a bit annoying. Crysis fans are sure to enjoy this title, bringing their favorite universe back to life in this new adventure. Psycho is a more enjoyable character than the enigmatic Nomad from the first game. If you enjoy shooters and want to wear the nano suit again, then you definitely should buy it.

Source: softpedia.com

The Windows 7 Operating Systems – Better Together

2008-11-09T01:29:00.001+07:00

Ever since Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 RTM/SP1, Microsoft's Windows client and server operating systems have been virtually joined at the hip. As a future product development strategy, the two platforms will evolve together, an aspect valid not only for Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2, but also for the forthcoming Windows 7 operating systems. Microsoft confirmed at the Windows hardware Engineering Conference in Los Angeles this week that Windows 7 and Windows Server 7 (Windows Server 2008 R2) would advance in lockstep. During his keynote address, Bill Laing, Corporate Vice President, Windows Server and Solutions Division, exemplified several instances in which Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 would work better together.

Not only is Microsoft developing Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 in tandem, but the company is also attempting to convince customers that the two operating systems must be used as a pair. “Because Windows Server 2008 R2 is being developed in tandem with the Windows 7 code, Windows Server 2008 R2 has several features that are designed to work better with computers running Windows 7,” Laing explained.

Just as Windows 7 hit M3 stage, Windows Server 2008 is also at Milestone 3, with Microsoft providing a taste of both platforms to testers. Windows 7 pre-Beta Build 6801 was delivered to both WinHEC 2008 and PDC 2008 participants, with the pre-Beta bits of Windows Server 2008 R2 M3 having been made available at the WinHEC event. Microsoft has already offered Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2 to Technology Adoption Program (TAP) customers for evaluation.

Laing indicated a few examples of technologies which make Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 play nice together, including Branch Cache. “Any time a document is retrieved by a client in a company’s branch office, Branch Cache keeps a copy in the branch, so if another client in the same office wants to retrieve that document, it can be served up locally instead of across the WAN. The result is a significant reduction in bandwidth use between corporate offices and branch sites, and a huge potential cost saving because most organizations pay for bandwidth by the byte. It also gives branch offices a degree of autonomy in case the link to headquarters is severed for any reason,” Laing said.

In addition to Branch Cache, Laing also praised the impact that the future iteration Hyper-v is bound to deliver. In this context, Microsoft plans to offer Live Migration support with Hyper-V, as a continuation of its efforts to democratize virtualization. But there are additional features that have made Microsoft present Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 as an item.

“Remote Desktop Services (RDS), the new name for Terminal Services, is another example. We expanded RDS in Windows Server 2008 R2 so that you can run the desktop or applications in the datacenter while your users can be anywhere,” Laing stated. “Another feature, DirectAccess, allows remote Windows users to securely connect to their work environment as if they were on the corporate LAN, and also lets IT administrators fully manage remote PCs securely, as if they were on-premises, but without using a VPN.”
By: By Marius Oiaga

Sapphire Adds New GeForce 9400GT Cards

2008-11-08T02:59:00.003+07:00

Although NVIDIA's new low-profile GeForce 9400 graphics card has been officially announced for quite some time now, one of its add-in-board partners decided to keep its customers waiting for a while. However, the company has officially launched its version of the new GeForce graphics card earlier today, offering four new models, based on the same GPU.

As we mentioned in our previous articles, NVIDIA's new GeForce 9400 card has been designed to accommodate the graphics requirements of entry-level users who don't spend their entire budget on just one video card. In addition, the GeForce 9400 GT features several NVIDIA technologies and supports Microsoft's DirectX 10 API. Furthermore, this is also one of the few NVIDIA cards that have been developed using a 55nm process technology, which AMD has been adopting for quite some time now.

Back to Sapphire's latest GeForce cards, the four new models have been designed to deliver a maximum of 1GB of DDR2 memory. However, two of them will be equipped with only 512MB DDR2 memory on a 128-bit memory interface. There is another way you can differentiate the four models from one another, as the two 1GB DDR2-enabled cards are equipped with a passive cooling solution. All four of them are based on PCI-Express 2.0 interface and have the same clock settings as the reference model, with 550MHz for the GPU and 800MHz for the memory.

In addition to the new GeForce 9400GT models, Sparkle can also offer four GDDR3-equipped cards, all of which have only 512MB of memory. In total, Sparkle has 12 graphics cards, based on the same 9400GT GPU. So we could say that if you are an entry-level user and you are searching for a new low-profile graphics card, you should find what you are searching for in Sapphire's product lineup.

Source: news.softpedia.com

NVIDIA Unveils New Quadro FX GPUs for Professional Workstation Graphics

2008-11-08T02:29:00.002+07:00

With NVIDIA having lost the number one spot in the high-performance consumer graphics card market, the Santa Clara, California-based chip maker is now concentrating its efforts on its professional business segment, with the Quadro lineup of graphic processors. The green company has just introduced two new products, specifically designed to meet the requirements of workstation desktop platforms, the Quadro FX 470, the first integrated professional motherboard GPU, and the Quadro FX 370 Low Profile (FX 370 LP), an entry-level graphics card part of NVIDIA's Quadro family of GPUs, designed for small form factor systems.

"In today's competitive global marketplace, engineers, traders, designers and power office users demand more functionality and reliability from their desktop computing solutions," said Jeff Brown, general manager, Professional Services, NVIDIA. "The Quadro FX 470 and the Quadro FX 370 LP are precisely tested, certified and designed to maximize productivity and deliver the cost-effective, professional-quality solution these users require on a daily basis."

Both products released by NVIDIA have been featured with a 128-bit precision graphics pipeline, 32-bit floating point precision, filtering and blending, advanced color compression and early z-culling for improved bandwidth and rendering efficiency, and full-scene antialiasing. Also, the company's latest Quadro products include features such as Unified GPU Architecture, CUDA and Shader Model 4.0 Support, I/O scalability and performance, and NVIDIA's nView advanced display software.

The new Quadro FX motherboard GPU comes to support Intel's latest processors, including Pentium D, Pentium 4, Core 2 Quad, Core 2 Duo, Celeron D and Celeron. It provides 1 dual-link DVI, while the 4 memory DIMMs can support a maximum of 4GB of memory. The Quadro FX 370 Low Profile graphics card is featured with a total memory of 256MB, 8 CUDA Parallel processor cores and 8 GB/s.

Coming with a manufacturer's suggested retail price of US$149, the new low-profile Quadro FX 370 GPU appears to be the best high-performance graphics solution for low-cost professional workstation solutions. The Quadro 470 GPU motherboard has been set to come at an MSRP of US$700.

Source: news.softpedia.com

.NET Framework 4.0 and Dublin

2008-11-06T05:41:00.004+07:00

At the end of September 2008, Microsoft unveiled that the next versions of Visual Studio and .NET Framework would span across not only the client and server operating systems but also across services and devices. Visual Studio 2010 and .NET Framework 4.0 are expected to drop either in late 2009 or by the first half of 2010, even though Microsoft failed to confirm a delivery deadline. As far as the next iteration of its runtime environment is concerned, Microsoft is cooking .NET Framework 4.0 while planning a synchronization with the evolution of Windows Server, namely Windows Server Dublin.

“Updates to the next versions of Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) and Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) are focused on reducing complexity for developers by providing better support for Web 2.0 technologies like REST, POX and ATOM, and increasing performance and scalability in the process. In fact, early tests show these improvements to WCF and WF are, at a minimum, enabling 10X the perf and scalability - and to think we’re still fine tuning here! Second, 'Dublin' makes it easier to deploy, manage and scale these next-generation applications,” explained Steven Martin, Director, CSD Product Management Microsoft.

Windows Server "Dublin" is a collection of enhanced capabilities added to the Windows server platform which will expand to also take Internet Information Services (IIS) to the next level. The end purpose of the improvements planned for the Windows Application Server is to permit developers to handle composite applications in a much simpler way than they can today. Microsoft is in fact looking to streamline processes including installation and management as well as the scalability of composite solutions.

“We will deliver a Community Technology Preview (CTP) of Windows Workflow Foundation, Windows Communication Foundation, and 'Dublin' technologies at the Professional Developers Conference in October 2008; this will allow us to begin receiving broader feedback from customers and partners. We are committed to driving and prioritizing our development efforts based upon customer and partner feedback; the feedback from this CTP and other customer programs will help inform us as to the exact timing of our beta and RTM,” Microsoft indicated via the Dublin NET 4 Overview whitepaper.

.NET Framework 3.5 Service Pack 1 (SP1) is available for download here.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Call of Duty: World At War Xbox 360 Beta Is Now Open

2008-11-06T05:07:00.000+07:00

Call of Duty: World at War is definitely shaping up to be a great title. Although the developer of the game, Treyarch, was severely disapproved when it announced that it would have the shooter franchise back to World War II, after the huge success of the latest title which took place in contemporary times, CoD 4: Modern Warfare, the game does look pretty good.

We have already posted our impressions of the PC multiplayer beta stage, and now it seems that the team at Treyarch decided to make the Xbox 360 version of the beta stage open to everyone. Everyone who has an Xbox Live Gold membership, of course, but Silver subscribers might get the chance to play it after a few days. Before this, a special token was required to download the multiplayer client and join in on the battles of CoD., token which you received if you were a registered user on the official CoD website.

“The Xbox 360 Multiplayer Beta went public this morning on Xbox Live Marketplace. Now all your friends and neighbors can join in the online mayhem and see how deadly you've become during your time fighting during the exclusive Beta period,” read the official announcement on the CoD website.

This is definitely great news for the people who wanted to see if the game was worth buying this very busy holiday season. One of the key features for the previous title was the very well built multiplayer mode and the fact that it was very balanced, offering players a great experience. This new title promises to bring an even greater online experience, mainly because it will feature more modes of play and that the factions involved will be very individualized.

For those of you who don't know, CoD: World at War is the fifth title in the franchise, and the first one not to be developed by Infinity Ward, the creators of the series. Its action will follow the events in the Pacific Ocean during the Second World War and the battles in Berlin. It promises to give players a unique look on the battles of WWII and hopes that it will clear the name for all war based shooters which have really been saturating the market for a while now.

Considering the multiplayer mode and the fact that Treyarch tried really hard to offer an even more motivating single player story, this game looks very promising in the eyes of gamers.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Registry Tweaks to Enhance Your Windows XPerience

2008-10-27T12:11:00.004+07:00

Registry Tweaks to Enhance Your Windows XPerience Registry workarounds for tedious, but useful XP optimizations. You may ask yourselves, why should this article be any different from all those tweaking tutorials around the Internet or, better yet, why should you read this when you can install a program that does it all for you? Here's why: this article will help you make important changes to your system with just two windows opened: this one and a notepad. That's all! No need to click your way through dozens of windows, no need to go through the risk of pushing the wrong button and crashing your operating system.

Furthermore, you don't have to pay a single cent! Why pay for a program to do what you yourselves can do in just a few seconds? And last but not least, you will be able to choose from a list only the tweaks that you're interested in and then apply them on any computer, at any time with just a double-click. Tweaking can hardly get any easier than that! Think how cool that would be, especially after reinstalling Windows.

Let's start by creating the file that will do all the magic. Right-click on your desktop, create a new text document and name it tweaks.reg. Windows will ask if you're sure that you want to change the file extension – click Yes. Right-click the file and choose Edit: a blank notepad window will appear. There are two things you must keep in mind: first of all, for the magic to work your text document must start with 'Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00'. Secondly, later on, be very patient when copying something to paste it in your document. If you copy an incomplete text, the tweak will not work and you might alter other system settings.

As for the pieces of advice that will make your work easier when creating the tweaking file, just keep in mind two things: remember the purpose of each line (you can use comment lines in which you can write whatever you like as long as they start with a semicolon) and, of course, know that there's no problem in leaving a few lines empty between each tweak, to help you differentiate them.

Now here's a list of system tweaks for you to choose from. The idea is quite simple: I'll provide a few lines (the tweak) and a short explanation for what they do. If you're interested in seeing the tweak applied to your computer, all you have to do is paste the lines at the bottom (no, you can't paste them anywhere you like) of your tweaks.reg file.

To make sure I've got your attention, in this article I’ll post optimizations that are either impossible to apply in a conventional way (from Windows Explorer or Control Panel, for example) or possible, but pretty tedious, so getting your hands dirty in less known parts of Windows would normally be necessary in order to apply them.

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Policies/Explorer]
"NoLowDiskSpaceChecks"=dword:00000001

It will deactivate the annoying "Low Disk Space" message that appears in your system tray each time one of your drives is almost full.

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/policies/system]
"NoInternetOpenWith"=dword:00000001

This baby will remove the window that always pops up when you try opening a file that is not assigned to a program, asking you if you wish to go online and find out which program you should use to open that type of file. After applying this patch, you’ll see just the Open With window.

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/CabinetState]
"Use Search Asst"="no"

I don't know about you, but I'm a big fan of the old, classic search, without any "assistants." So if you don't like the Windows XP default search interface and prefer the classic from its predecessors, just add these lines to your tweaks.reg file.

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Sound]
"Beep"="no"
"ExtendedSounds"="no"

If you haven't got the chance to install a sound driver, you've surely noticed the annoying beeps made by your motherboard each time an alert window pops up. After applying this tweak, you won't need to worry about these beeps anymore.

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/lnkfile]
"IsShortcut"=-
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/piffile]
"IsShortCut"=-

Add this tweak to your list if you don't want your Windows XP to constantly add the shortcut arrow each time you create a shortcut.

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current/Version/Explorer/Advanced]
"ShowInfoTip"=dword:00000000

If you find the tool tips containing information displayed by Windows when hovering a file with your mouse rather bothersome, adding this optimization to your tweaks.reg file will help you get rid of them.

I'll stop here and be back soon to continue my list with a lot more interesting tweaks in a future article. So all you have to do now is save the contents of the tweaks.reg window, close it and then double-click it. Windows will ask if you wish to add the information stored in tweaks.reg to your registry. If you're sure you've followed each step correctly, go right ahead and press Yes.

In the meantime, if you know any other cool tweaks or had problems creating the tweaks file, just post a comment to this article and have your say.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Sysinternals Update: Process Monitor 2.01 for Vista and XP

2008-10-27T11:31:00.003+07:00

Sysinternals Update: Process Monitor 2.01 for Vista and XP But also DebugView 4.76, AccessChk 4.21, Autoruns 9.35. Microsoft Technical Fellow Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell, software architects in the Core Operating Systems Division, introduced the 2.0 major update to Process Monitor at the end of September 2008. Now, the tool has been taken one step further to version 2.01, this time just a minor refresh designed mainly to deal with a few issues associated with v2.0. The Process Monitor 2.01 release is an integral part of a larger update of the Sysinternals suite involving other three applications: Autoruns 9.35, DebugView 4.76, and AccessChk 4.21.

“Process Monitor v2.01 - this release fixes several bugs, including compatibility with Windows 2000, excessive exit delays, and adds the new networking events to the filter dialog's operations list,” explained Curtis Metz, Program Manager, Microsoft Sysinternals. Back in September, version 2.0 of Process Monitor brought real-time TCP and UDP monitoring.

Delivering network tracing capabilities to Process Monitor was Russinovich's next step in the evolution of the utility. Taking Process Monitor from version 1.0 to 2.0 involved adding new low-level capabilities, such as a stronger focus on system memory usage in addition to network tracing.

“Autoruns 9.35 - this Autoruns update adds additional autostart locations, including lsastart, s0initialization, savedumpstart, and servicecontrollerstart, and fixes several bugs,” Metz added. “DebugView 4.76 - debugview no longer truncates the last character of each line of a log file when it loads one back into the display. AccessChk 4.21 - this fixes a bug in the code that checks for malformed security descriptors that could cause spurious warnings.”

The new versions of the four updated utilities have also caused the entire Sysinternals Suite to be refreshed. As of October 16, Microsoft is serving a new release of the Sysinternals Suite now complete with all the touched-up utilities: Process Monitor 2.01, DebugView 4.76, AccessChk 4.21, Autoruns 9.35.

Process Monitor 2.01 is available for download here.
The Sysinternals Suite is available for download here.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Download Process Monitor 2.0 for Vista and XP

2008-10-27T11:22:00.002+07:00

At the start of September 2008, Microsoft Technical Fellow Mark Russinovich revealed that he was cooking a major update for Process Monitor, one of the components of the Sysinternals suite. As of September 30, version 2.0 of Process Monitor became available for download. The description of the tool authored by Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell reveals that Process Monitor 2.0 is designed to integrate seamlessly with both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 2000 SP4 with Update Rollup 1, Windows XP SP2, Windows Server 2003 SP1, and Windows Vista.

“Process Monitor v2.0: this major update to Process Monitor adds real-time TCP and UDP monitoring to its existing process, thread, DLL, file system and registry monitoring. You can now see the TCP and UDP activity processes performed, including the operation (e.g. connect, send, receive), local and remote IP addresses and DNS names, and operation transfer lengths. On Windows Vista, Process Monitor also collects thread stacks for network operations,” revealed Curtis Metz, Program Manager, Microsoft Sysinternals.

Concomitantly with the new release of Process Monitor 2.0, the entire Sysinternals suite was update and is also available for download. Russinovich refreshed two additional utilitoes on top of Process Monitor 2.0, namely Sigcheck and Contig. “Sigcheck v1.54: this Sigcheck release fixes a bug in CSV output formatting. Contig v1.55: Contig now supports the -accepteula command-line switch,” Metz added.

Via Process Monitor 2.0, users will be able to monitor in real time the file system of the Windows operating system along with the platform's registry and process/thread activity. Back in early September, Russinovich promised that Process Monitor would indeed evolve with the addition of new low-level capabilities, including a more intimate focus on memory usage, while at the same time delivering network tracing to the utility.

Process Monitor 2.0 is available for download here.
The Sysinternals Suite is available for download here.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Insight on Network Monitor 3.2 RTM

2008-09-26T02:33:00.000+07:00

Version 3.2 of Network Monitor is being offered as an update to v3.1, but in this regard, the utility is also nothing like the 2.x releases. Tawanda Sibanda, the lead program manager for Network Monitor indicated that Network Monitor 3.2 was produced through a consistent effort of the Netmon team that worked to integrate into the product all the feedback it had received from customers. At the same time, Netmon 3.2 delivers the inherent bug fixes as well as a necessary boost in stability. Network Monitor 3.2 is designed to support Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008.

“So What’s New in Network Monitor 3.2? Process Tracking: Now you can identify rogue applications sending network data! View all the processes on your machine generating network traffic (process name and PID). Use the conversation tree to view frames associated with each process. Capture engine re-architecture to improve capture rate in high-speed networks. Network Monitor 3.2 drops significantly fewer frames that Network Monitor 3.1,” revealed Sibanda.

At the explicit request of its users, Microsoft implemented the “Find conversations” capabilities. With version 3.2, frames can be easily isolated in the same network conversation, Sibanda explained. The new iteration of Netmon is capable of parsing over 300 protocols, with Microsoft ensuring a high degree of customization when it comes down to the parsers. In this context, Networtk Monitor 3.2 also offers improved parser management, as users are permitted to expand the default parsers to the full set.

In addition, “in the upcoming months, we plan to place all our Windows parsers on the Microsoft open-source CodePlex site and allow the community to modify and contribute parsers. This version of Network Monitor seamlessly integrates new parser packages. [Network Monitor 3.2 also delivers] Network Monitor API: Create your own applications that capture, parse and analyze network traffic! More extensive documentation of the API and NPL. Access the documentation from Help > NPL and API Documentation. IA64 builds. PCAP capture file support. ContainsBin Plug-in: Search frames for arbitrary byte sequences or strings,” Sibanda added.

Microsoft Network Monitor 3.2 RTM is available for download here.
By: Marius Oiaga

New Windows 7 Tools and Features - Announced for TechEd EMEA 2008 and PDC2008

2008-09-21T04:31:00.003+07:00

Microsoft is not only “raising the volume” on the references related to the upcoming Windows 7 Beta development milestone, but it is also no longer drastically limiting the amount of shared information on the next iteration of the Windows client. With Windows 7 specifics planned to be fully detailed in under two months, the Redmond giant has offered another taste of what is in store for the operating system. The successor of Windows Vista will sport an evolved User Account Control, complete with Software Restriction Policies version 2, a new Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit as well as a fresh Windows 7-based Surface software development kit.

According to what the company has already revealed, Windows 7 will come to the table with next-generation graphics infrastructure, touch computing capabilities, energy consumption optimizations and a new networking application programming interface designed to permit developers to build web services in native code. But the evolution of Windows 7 will span across all areas of the operating system including virtualization, security, search, networking, management, deployment etc. A sneak peek at what will be available in Windows 7 is offered through the agendas of the TechEd 2008 EMEA and PDC 2008 conferences.

At the beginning of this week the Redmond company has announced new Windows 7 tools and features, with the promise to deliver additional details at the upcoming TechEd EMEA 2008 and the Professional Developer Conference 2008. For PDC2008, the number of Windows 7 sessions has grown to 5 with the addition of the Developing for Microsoft Surface presentation (Presenter: Brad Carpenter).

“This session introduces the newly available Surface SDK that forms the basis of the Windows 7 multi-touch programming model. In addition, learn about the unique attributes of Surface computing and then dive into the core controls like ScatterView and vision-system tagging. Learn how you can become a part of the expanding partner ecosystem for Surface computing and leverage your existing investments in Windows Presentation Foundation and Microsoft Visual Studio,” reads the abstract of the session.

But while Microsoft has promised that PDC2008 will offer a comprehensive insight into Windows 7, for the time being it is TechEd 2008 EMEA that has all the “juicy details.” For TechEd EMEA 2008 there are no less than 11 sessions announced, recently adding four to the original 7, namely Windows 7 Security, User Account Control (UAC) and Software Restriction Policies v2 (SRP); Windows 7 Fundamentals; Windows 7 Networking: Branch Offices and Get Involved - Building the Next-Generation Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit for Virtualization, Windows 7, and more.

“Windows 7 networking features support distributed enterprises. In this session we will discuss the networking features of Windows 7, explore their usage scenarios and understand how to manage them in an enterprise environment. Interactive Sessions are designed as an opportunity for dialogue between presenter(s) and audience. Please come prepared with questions on the session's topic to discuss with the presenter(s). Interactive Sessions will have less use of PowerPoint push out to the audience and more discussion,” reads the abstract for the Windows 7 Networking: Branch Offices session presented by Devrim Iyigun (Okurgan), Sandeep Singhal.

Microsoft's Steve Hiskey will focus on the new User Account Control in Windows 7, as well as the version 2 of Software Restriction Policies and their respective evolution from what is available today in Windows Vista SP1. Baldwin Ng, senior product manager, Microsoft Solution Accelerators, will present the next-gen Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit which will be tailored to Windows 7.

“Windows 7 Fundamentals - This session will define Windows Fundamentals, discussing Microsoft's focus on Fundamentals for Windows 7 and provide an overview of the Platform, Tools, Telemetry investments and broader ecosystem outreach efforts designed to ensure Windows 7 ships with the highest level of quality,” indicates the abstract of the Windows 7 Fundamentals session presented by Erik Lustig.
By: Marius Oiaga

Gunbound 606

2008-09-19T02:04:00.002+07:00

Gunbound is a game that like Worms - only this time played with tanks. GunBound is about an endless war fought with one-person-driven vehicles called Mobiles. In Lond, 16 special Mobiles are tested carefully depending on the region they will be used in.

With the many unique types of armour, we open the game to you, so you can develop crafty (and even sneaky!) new strategies. the Moondisk also chandes the gravity on each map, making it necessary to estimate how the atmosphere will alter how you fire. It's important to use your weapons well and adapt quickly, or you wil surely lose quickly!

Each turn, you have a lot of different options available. You can shoot, or you can hide by burying yourself in the ground, like a bunker.

All of these things make the game dynamic, and help the game come alive for players! Players can choose any mobile they want, dress their avatar in any fashion they choose, and enter battle! And if you win, you even bonus points, allowing you to dress in better clothes.

Remember, winning is important, but you must also please the crowds, so dressing well also helps you earn more money -"bad" players can win, but this does not mean they will get a lot of points!

NETWORK: GunBound gives you fast, easy access using its special network system. This turn-based game is so fast paced, you will actualy think it's real time!
Gunbound is available for download here.

Counter-Strike 1.6

2008-09-19T02:04:00.001+07:00

Counter-Strike 1.6 is a MOD for Half-Life that is set in a teamplay mode. Play the world's number 1 online action game. Engage in an incredibly realistic brand of terrorist warfare in this wildly popular team-based game. Ally with teammates to complete strategic missions.

Take out enemy sites. Rescue hostages. Your role affects your team's success. Your team's success affects your role.

There is only one outcome in each scenario and you will have to prove your allegiance every time you pull the trigger.

Requirements:
Minimum
· 500 mhz processor
· 96mb ram
· 16mb video card
· Windows 2000/XP
· Mouse
· Keyboard
· Internet Connection

Recommended
· 800 mhz processor
· 128mb ram
· 32mb+ video card
· Windows 2000/XP
· Mouse
· Keyboard
· Internet Connection

Note: This is a Steam installer, which means you need to have Steam on your computer and a valid copy of Half-Life
Counter-Strike 1.6 is available for download here.

Microsoft: a "Good Enough" Windows 7 Beta with Room for Refinement

2008-09-16T22:08:00.002+07:00

Microsoft is in no rush to deliver the first beta of Windows 7. Even according to the official time table for the delivery of Windows Vista's successor, the Redmond company is just a few months short of the final deadline, and yet there is no Beta on the immediate horizon. This, even if at the end of 2007, Windows 7 Milestone 1 was offered for testing to the software giant's closest partners, as well as antitrust regulators. However, the first contours of the Windows 7 Beta are beginning to emerge, with Microsoft cranking up a notch the references to a development build beyond Alpha and Milestone releases.

"We’re going to deliver a Beta that is good enough to experience and leaves us enough time to address areas where we need more refinement," revealed Mike Angiulo, Windows PC Ecosystem and Planning team lead. The Windows 7 Beta reference comes after the August availability of Windows 7 Client drivers and updates going live on the Microsoft Update Catalog. In fact, at the end of the past month, Microsoft was gearing up to start publishing the first Windows 7 beta drivers and updates.

"We work to find the best possible timing for sharing the product and gathering final feedback. If we release it too early it’s usually not in any shape to evaluate, especially with respect to performance, security, compatibility and other critical fundamentals. If we release too late we can’t actually take any of the feedback you give us, and I can’t think of a worse recipe for customer satisfaction than to ask for feedback which gets systematically ignored. I was just looking at another software "feedback" site where a bunch of the comments just asked the company to "please read this site!"," Angiulo added.

The fact of the matter is that all the signs coming from Microsoft point to an upcoming availability of a Windows 7 Beta release. The Redmond company has been shy of confirming anything official yet, and probably will hold all details under a sealed lid for quite some time. There are a variety of events and conferences at the end of the year, in the October-November timeframe with Windows 7 set to take center stage including the Professional Developer Conference (PDC) 2008, Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2008, as well as TechEd EMEA 2008. Delivering Windows 7 Beta in October – November 2008 will still give Microsoft approximately a year of development just for the Beta stage.
By Marius Oiaga

Over 2 Years of Feedback for Windows 7, and Counting

2008-09-16T22:00:00.001+07:00

Even though Microsoft has only recently started talking Windows 7, in preparation for events such as the professional Developer Conference 2008, WinHEC 2008 and TechEd EMEA 2008, the fact of the matter is that Windows Vista's successor has been in development since 2007. In fact, for the past couple of years, namely as early as the end of 2006, the Redmond giant has been collecting feedback on Windows 7. And this process is by no means at an end, as it is bound to continue even following the market availability of the next iteration of the Windows client.

"Over the last two years we’ve had a team of dozens of professional researchers fielding surveys, listening to focus groups, and analyzing telemetry and product usage data leading up to the vision and during the development of Windows 7 – and we’re not done yet. From our independently run marketing research to reading your feedback on this blog we will continue to refine our product and the way we talk about it to customers and partners alike. That doesn’t mean that every wish goes answered! One of the hardest jobs of planning is in turning all of this data into actionable plans for development," revealed Mike Angiulo, Windows PC Ecosystem and Planning lead.

In addition to events and conferences such as TechEd, WinHEC, PDC and input gathered through surveys, the largest harvester of feedback is integrated within the Windows architecture, telemetry systems that send millions and millions of records to Microsoft, of course only with end users’ consent, and without any identifiable data.

According to Microsoft, the marrying of the feedback with the development process of Windows 7 is focused on three key areas. The company needs to ensure an equilibrium between the novelty aspect of the new Windows platform and the operating system's capacity to deliver satisfaction throughout its lifecycle. Another balance has to be achieved when it comes to handling aggregate and individual user input, in order to tailor the resulting product for the general case scenario designed to satisfy all consumers. At the same time, Microsoft needs to deliver the right operating system at the right time, and an example of what not to do in this matter is of course Windows Vista.

"We have input on key tradeoffs. We have a position on future trends. That’s usually enough to get started on the next version of the product and we stay connected with customers and partners during throughout development to keep our planning consistent with our initial direction but isn’t enough to know we’re ready to ship. Really being done has always required some post engineering feedback phase whether it’s a Community Technical Preview, Technology Adoption Program or a traditional public Beta," Angiulo stated.
By Marius Oiaga

Windows 7 Boot Performance – Under 15 Seconds

2008-09-16T21:56:00.001+07:00

A 15-second boot time is the target Microsoft is aiming for with the evolution of Windows 7's startup performance. The software giant in fact spared no resources for the next major iteration of the Windows client, and has an entire team focusing exclusively on the performance associated with the startup process. However the effort is much larger than just a single team, spanning across the entire Windows project and to the Redmond company's hardware and software partners.

"Startup can be one of three experiences; boot, resume from sleep, or resume from hibernate. Although resume from sleep is the default, and often 2 to 5 seconds based on common hardware and standard software loads, this post is primarily about boot as that experience has been commented on frequently. For Windows 7, a top goal is to significantly increase the number of systems that experience very good boot times. In the lab, a very good system is one that boots in under 15 seconds," revealed Michael Fortin, Microsoft distinguished engineer and lead of the Fundamentals feature team in the Core Operating System group.

Statistics gathered through the Customer Experience Improvement Program from Windows Vista Service Pack 1 machines indicate that just 35% experience boot times of 30 seconds or less. The remaining 75% boot in as much as 50 seconds. Fortin indicated that there are millions of computers corresponding to the data received by Microsoft. But in this regard, the Redmond company considers that the startup experience delivered to end users, even with Vista SP1, is simply not good enough.

"From our perspective, too few systems consistently boot fast enough and we have to do much better. Obviously the systems that are greater than 60 seconds have something we need to dramatically improve—whether these are devices, networking, or software issues. As you can see there are some systems experiencing very long boot times. One of the things we see in the PC space is this variability of performance—variability arises from the variety of choices, and also the variety of quality of components of any given PC experience," Fortin added.

But in the end it's not just Windows, it's also the installed software and the underlying hardware that deliver an impact on the perception of performance, or the lack of it. One major contributor to a reduced level of startup performance is "the off-the-shelf configuration" of OEM computers. Microsoft found that while a pre-configured OEM machine would boot in 45 seconds, the same computer, but featuring a clean install of Windows Vista SP1, would have a boot time of just 23 seconds, which, with additional optimization, could be taken down to just 21 seconds.

"As an example Windows 7 effort, we are working very hard on system services. We aim to dramatically reduce them in number, as well as reduce their CPU, disk and memory demands. Our perspective on this is simple; if a service is not absolutely required, it shouldn’t be starting and a trigger should exist to handle rare conditions so that the service operates only then," Fortin explained.

Windows 7 will be tweaked with the inclusion of a revenged service trigger mechanism which will manage auto start items more efficiently. On top of this, Microsoft is also optimizing Vista's successor to offer an enhanced parallelism of driver initialization. In this context, individual driver loading times will not take a toll on the startup time.

"In terms of reading files from the disk, Windows 7 has improvements in the "prefetching" logic and mechanisms. Prefetching was introduced way back in Windows XP. Since today’s disks have differing performance characteristics, the scheduling logic has undergone some changes to keep pace and stay efficient. As an example, we are evaluating the prefetcher on today’s solid state storage devices, going so far as to question if is required at all. Ultimately, analysis and performance metrics captured on an individual system will dynamically determine the extent to which we utilize the prefetcher," Fortin said.
By Marius Oiaga

Download Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) Beta 2 for Vista SP1 and XP SP3

2008-09-05T10:24:00.002+07:00

The wait is over. At almost six months since the introduction of Internet Explorer Beta 1 in early March at MIX08, Microsoft unveiled the second Beta for the next iteration of its proprietary browser. In this context, the Redmond company lived up to its promise to deliver the second development milestone of IE8 by the end of this month, with the Beta 2 bits going live on August 27. According to Microsoft, Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 is available for download for 32-bit Windows XP, and both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008. The Redmond giant indicated that the browser would integrate with the latest versions of the Windows client and server platforms, including Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) and Windows Vista Service Pack 1(SP1).

"We’re excited to release IE8 Beta 2 for public download," stated Dean Hachamovitch, IE General Manager. "In addition to English, IE8 Beta 2 is available in Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), and German. Additional languages will be available soon. While Beta 1 was for developers, we think that anyone who browses or works on the web will enjoy IE8 Beta 2. We focused our work around three themes: everyday browsing (the things that real people do all the time), safety (the term most people use for what we’ve called ‘trustworthy’ in previous posts), and the platform (the focus of Beta 1, how developers around the world will build the next billion web pages and the next waves of great services)."

Since the beginning of this week Microsoft has been building up the anticipation for the delivery of IE8 Beta 2. Although the company never confirmed the August 27 deadline, the release date had been already leaked. At this point in time the Redmond giant is reportedly gearing up for a November launch of the gold bits of IE8. In this context, Beta 2 is the last development milestone before IE8's Release to Web (RTW).

IE8 Beta 2 sports a number of new features such as InPrivate Browsing, InPrivate Blocking, InPrivate Subscriptions, but also Compatibility View, Search Suggestions, SmartScreen Filter Web Slices and Accelerators.

"If you are currently using IE8 Beta 1 on Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 with Automatic Updates turned on, you will receive IE8 Beta 2 through Windows Update. Download IE8 Beta 2, use it – the browser itself, the developer tools, writing an Accelerator, marking part of your page as a Web Slice – and let us know what you think," Hachamovitch added.
Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) Beta 2 is available for download here.
By: Marius Oiaga

Final IE8 Confirmed for November, Possibly November 1

2008-09-05T09:59:00.002+07:00

It's right about due time for end users to start holding their breath for the final release of Internet Explorer 8. Although Microsoft has failed to confirm an official delivery deadline, the Redmond company did manage to let IE8 RTW details slip through its fingers. Now with the IE8 Beta 2 bits available for download since August 27, the IE team is wrapping up the next iteration of Internet Explorer. The gold build of Internet Explorer 8 will drop in November 2008, possibly as early as November 1.

Information related to the Beta 2 and RTW builds was leaked as early as mid-August, courtesy of Mary Jo Foley, but now Microsoft has managed to provide official confirmation for the November Release to Web date of Internet Explorer 8 final. On the official IE8 website on Microsoft.com, the Support area offers a link to the browser's support site. The Redmond giant is offering free unlimited installation and usage assistance for Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 (All Languages), according to the support page for the second beta version of IE8.

"Free unlimited installation and usage support is available for Internet Explorer 8 pre-released versions, but only for North America English customers. This support for Internet Explorer 8 pre-released versions is valid until November 1, 2008. Advanced issues are not supported. Advanced issues include, but are not limited to, problems that are associated with software and hardware development, domain connectivity, server-based technologies, Web site development, and business-critical systems," reads an excerpt from the message published on the IE8 Beta 2 Help and Support webpage. (emphasis added)

The fact that support for IE8 Beta 2 is to be cut off at the start of November is ample proof that the month will be synonymous with the drop of the final version of Internet Explorer 8. This could very well happen as early as November 1, but the fact of the matter is that there is no guarantee for such a scenario. In this context, the support cut-off date for IE8 Beta 2 does not necessarily coincide with the availability of the RTW version of Internet Explorer 8.

Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 is available for download here.
By: Marius Oiaga

Resource Hogs: Google Chrome and IE8 Beta 2 Compared to Firefox 3.0.1

2008-09-04T04:34:00.007+07:00

Google Browser (Google Chrome) and Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 are nothing short of resource hogs compared to Firefox 3.0.1. This is the conclusion presented by researchers from the Devil Mountain Software company, who threw the three browsers one against the other on the same "arena", a Dell OptiPlex 745 (Core 2 Duo @ 2.66GHz) with 2GB of RAM and running both Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3.

The conclusion on IE8 Beta 2 is not that flattering: "What we found was another example of unchecked Microsoft code "bloat," complete with "shirt-bursting, waistline-stretching" memory consumption and the kind of CPU-hogging thread growth normally reserved for massively parallel server farms," a representative from the Devil Mountain Software company stated.

But the fact of the matter is that Google Chrome, is even worse. "What we found was truly shocking: After re-executing our 10-site, multi-tab scenario across all 4 browsers, we discovered that it is Google Chrome, not Internet Explorer 8, that is the true memory consumption leader," the Devil Mountain Software company member indicated.

In a 10-site, multi-tab browsing scenario, IE8 Beta 2 consumed no less than 332MB of RAM, with Chrome Beta also eating a lot of system memory, namely 324MB. By contrast, Internet Explorer 7 only managed to climb as high as 250MB. In this context, it appears that the new technologies, features and capabilities built into Internet Explorer 8, as well as Google Chrome, require more resources than Firefox to perform the same tasks.

"Of course, both browsers look absolutely porcine when compared to the lean, mean Firefox 3.01 (151MB peak, 104MB average working set size). And lest we forget, IE 7 continues to hover somewhere between the fit & trim Firefox and the obesity that defines Chrome/IE 8 (209MB peak, 142MB average)," the Devil Mountain Software company researcher added.

But when it comes down to CPU utilization, both Firefox 3.0.1 and Google Chrome managed to shame IE8 Beta 2, in terms of their hunger. Google Browser took no less than 45% of the processor while Firefox 3.0.1 managed a high of 42%. IE 8 Beta 2 used just 22% of the CPU under XP SP3 and 33% under Vista SP1, while IE7 took only 13% and 24% respectively.

"Both Firefox and IE 7 spawn a relatively modest number of threads (25 and 43, respectively), a fact related to their reliance on a single process instance to handle all tabbed sessions. By contrast, IE 8 spawns potentially hundreds of threads (153 in our latest test round), and spreads them out across its various instances (in our case, 6 discrete copies of iexplore.exe)," the Devil Mountain Software company member indicated, adding that, by contrast, Chrome was managing just 48 execution threads at the apex of the test scenario.

But in the end, the fact that Firefox 3.0.1 is superior, in terms of resource usage, to Google Chrome and Internet Explorer 8 shouldn't come as a surprise. Both Microsoft and Google's browsers are still in Beta development stage, albeit IE8 is in Beta 2, with the gold version expected to drop in November 2008, and considerably slower than its predecessor.

"Chrome, like IE 8, is a browser designed with tomorrow’s hardware in mind. Its use of a multi-process tabbing model – which, according to Google, helps isolate failures and protect complex web applications (like GMail or Google Docs) – means that it will always use more memory than Firefox, IE 7 and similar, single-process browsers. How such model will hold up under heavy use, especially on today’s hardware, remains to be seen," reads the conclusion from the Devil Mountain Software company.

Google Chrome is available for download here.
Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 is available for download here.
Firefox 3.0.1 for Windows is available for download here.
Firefox 3.0.1 for Linux is available for download here.
Firefox 3.0.1 for Mac OS X is available for download here.
By: Marius Oiaga, Technology News Editor (news.softpedia.com)

Google Browser (Chrome) - the Internet Explorer Killer

2008-09-04T04:10:00.005+07:00

If Microsoft is moving into the Cloud, Google is expanding to the Desktop and to the Windows client. The Mountain-View search giant is on the verge of making available a beta version of Google Chrome, a browser initially designed to integrate only with the Windows platform, but which is set to be tailored to additional platforms in the future. Not even out yet, Google Chrome is positioned as an Internet Explorer killer, far beyond what Microsoft's rivals Mozilla and Opera have been capable of doing with their own products.

"This is just the beginning – Google Chrome is far from done. We're releasing this beta for Windows to start the broader discussion and hear from you as quickly as possible. We're hard at work building versions for Mac and Linux too, and will continue to make it even faster and more robust," revealed Sundar Pichai, VP Product Management, and Linus Upson, engineering director.

At the time of this article the Google Chrome bits were not available for download yet. Google is attempting what representatives from the company referred to as a "fresh take on the browser," with every intention to "launch early and iterate." Anchored on the desktop and owning the vast majority of both the operating system and the browser markets, with Windows and Internet Explorer, the Redmond giant is in fact an intermediary between the end users and Google, located almost exclusively into the cloud.

Even though Google claims that Chrome will be made available "because we believe we can add value for users and, at the same time, help drive innovation on the web," the fact of the matter is that the Mountain View company is making a decisive move to reduce the relevance of Internet Explorer on the world wide web.

At the end of August 2008, Winifred Mitchell Baker, chairperson of the Mozilla Foundation and chairperson and former chief executive officer of the Mozilla Corporation, announced that "we’ve just renewed our agreement with Google for an additional three years. This agreement now ends in November of 2011 rather than November of 2008, so we have stability in income."

So in this context, Google and Mozilla are now obvious partners, on the same front against Microsoft. At the end of August 2008, all the supported editions of Internet Explorer accounted for over 70% of the browser market, according to data from Net Applications, while Firefox was close to breaking the 20% milestone. As a newcomer, Google Chrome will start from zero, but the browser is bound to get traction fast, especially with Google's resources behind it.

The Google Browser features components from Apple's WebKit and Firefox and is a fully fledged open source product. Chrome sports a new approach to the graphical user interface, with the focus on Tabs but also features such as Omnibox, an address bar with auto-completion functionality, as well as a Speed Dial, privacy mode via the "incognito" window, a new method of managing the execution and usage of web applications, and malware protection.

"Under the hood, we were able to build the foundation of a browser that runs today's complex web applications much better. By keeping each tab in an isolated "sandbox", we were able to prevent one tab from crashing another and provide improved protection from rogue sites. We improved speed and responsiveness across the board. We also built a more powerful JavaScript engine, V8, to power the next generation of web applications that aren't even possible in today's browsers," added Pichai and Upson.

Update: Google Chrome is available for download here.
By Marius Oiaga, Technology News Editor (news.softpedia.com)

Free XP SP3 and Vista SP1 Deployment Toolkit Available for Download

2008-08-01T23:43:00.004+07:00

Free XP SP3 and Vista SP1 Deployment Toolkit Available for Download - Grab the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2008 Update 1 right here. Microsoft has made available for download a Solution Accelerator designed specifically to handle the deployment of the company's desktop and server software products including Windows XP Service Pack 3, Windows Vista Service Pack 1, the Office 2007 System, as well as Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003 R2. Essentially, Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2008 Update 1 is offered as the next iteration of the original MDT 2008, which, in turn, represented the evolution of the Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007 delivered in 2007.

"We are pleased to announce the release of our first update to Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2008 (MDT 2008). We have added two major features: OEM preload scenarios for Lite Touch Installation and Zero Touch Installation with System Center Configuration Manager 2007 and a new management pack for System Center Operations Manager 2007 SP1. Minor updates include bug fixes and design changes to override driver platforms as well as the ability to inject all drivers into Windows PE," stated Nick MacKechnie, Senior Technical Account Manager at Microsoft New Zealand.

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2008 Update 1 fits perfectly into the software giant's efforts of streamlining and automating the deployment of its flagship products, specifically the Windows Server and Client operating systems and the Office platform. What the resource is designed to deliver is a comprehensive toolset comprised of both process guidance and tools, centralizing them into a single Solution Accelerator aimed at IT Professionals.

In this context, customers will be able to access and leverage a collection of scenario-based guides and automations, unified into a single common deployment console via MDT 2008 Update 1. But, in the end, the actual role of the toolkit is to compensate for the price of Microsoft's proprietary software by reducing the Total Cost of Ownership. With standard server and desktop images, cut down installation time and service disruptions, and boosted configuration management, MDT 2008 Update 1 will help businesses save money on the long run. This is provided through the deployment flexibility introduced by the toolkit, including options such as Lite Touch Installation (LTI) or even Zero Touch Installation (ZTI).

"MDT 2008 Update 1 enables deployment of the following Microsoft products: Windows Vista Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate (32 and 64 bit) RTM and SP1; Office Professional, Professional Plus, Enterprise, and Ultimate 2007; Windows Server 2008; Windows Server 2003 R2 (32 and 64 bit); and Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 and Service Pack 3 (32 and 64 bit) or Windows XP Tablet PC Edition," Microsoft added.

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2008 Update 1 is available for download here.
By: Marius Oiaga, Technology News Editor (http://news.softpedia.com)

Microsoft's 'Mama' Dies at Age 72

2008-08-01T23:09:00.001+07:00

Microsoft's 'Mama' Dies at Age 72 - Miriam Lubow is featured in the remake of the "Albuquerque Group" photo. Microsoft has lost one of its early employees one month after the original 11 members reunited to celebrate Bill Gates' retirement from his day-to-day role with the company he co-founded. Miriam Lubow (1935-2008) is known as Microsoft's 'Mama', a title she received shortly after starting to work as an office administrator for what was then a very small software company based in Albuquerque. Lubow is featured in the remake of the "Albuquerque Group" photo, but not in the original photography (both included in this article). Lubow missed the opportunity to be featured in the original image due to a snow storm.

"She was born in Milan, Italy on October 17th 1935. She came to America in May of 1940 where she boarded a ship sailing from the Port of Genoa, called the SS Conte di Savoia. Her family settled in Scarsdale, NY. After High School, she returned to Europe and attended an Interpreter's school in Switzerland where she learned five languages. She met her husband Milton in NY where they were married in 1960. They moved to Albuquerque, NM to raise a family where she is proud to have answered an ad in a newspaper looking for a 'Girl Friday'. She became the first office manger and employee number seven to Bill Gates, Jr. She later became known as "Mama" to her Microsoft friends," reads a fragment from Lubow's family message of her death.

Lubow is the second member of the software giant's first 12 employees to pass away following Bob Wallace, after she was diagnosed with liver cancer. The 'Mama' nickname was well earned by Lubow, who at least at the office, took on a much more intimate role, and started to take care of the aspects that the geeks overlooked with ease. By her own recalling of the early days of Microsoft, Lubow had put Bill Gates on a steady diet of hamburgers because he always skipped lunch.

The video embedded at the bottom of this article, put together to mark Gates' last day at Microsoft as a full-time Chairman, also features a brief appearance by Lubow. Microsoft's 'Mama' recalled her first encounter with Gates, and her utter disbelief that he was the president along with he conclusion that she was working for a bunch of kids.
By: Marius Oiaga, Technology News Editor (http://news.softpedia.com)

Firefox 3.0.1 Is Available for Download

2008-07-27T14:55:00.005+07:00

Mozilla assured as early as the past week that the first security and stability update for Firefox 3.0 would be available for download on July 16, and it looks like it lived up to its promise. Although official confirmation has yet to be made available, Firefox 3.0.1 is already up for grabs, one day following the release of Firefox 2.0.0.16, and almost one month since Firefox 3.0 went live and reached the 8 million downloads milestone in the first 24 hours. Version 3.0.1 is the step Mozilla takes toward focusing exclusively on Firefox 3.0.

The first issue deals with a "remote code execution by overflowing CSS reference counter". According to Mozilla, "The vulnerability was caused by an insufficiently sized variable being used as a reference counter for CSS objects. By creating a very large number of references to a common CSS object, this counter could be overflowed which could cause a crash when the browser attempts to free the CSS object while still in use. An attacker could use this crash to run arbitrary code on the victim's computer."

The second security hole plugged with the release of Firefox 3.0.1 involves "command-line URLs launch multiple tabs when Firefox not running". Mozilla revealed that despite the Critical rating, this vulnerability is mitigated by limited privileges. However, in combination with a script injecting flaw, the vulnerability can permit an attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.

Firefox 3.0.1 is designed to fix two security vulnerabilities, both labeled with a maximum severity rating of critical. Not through a coincidence, the pair of security flaws are the very same that Mozilla patched on July 15 in Firefox 2.0.0.16.Nothing is set in stone at this point in time, but with Mozilla' looking to phase out support for Firefox 2.0 by mid-December 2008, Firefox 3.0.1 is considered as a candidate for a major update rollout. In this context, Firefox 3.0.1 might be the version of the open source browser that will get pushed to all users of Firefox 2.0 automatically. "Firefox 2.0.0.x will be maintained with security and stability updates until mid-December, 2008. All users are encouraged to upgrade to Firefox 3," said Samuel Sidler, Quality Assurance Engineer at Mozilla.

Firefox 3.0.1 for Windows is available for download here.
Firefox 3.0.1 for Linux is available for download here.
Firefox 3.0.1 for Mac OS X is available for download here.
Source: http://news.softpedia.com

Vista SP1 Update Makes Intel Turbo Memory Play Nice with SCSI Devices - The hotfix is also available for Vista RTM and Windows Server 2008

2008-07-27T14:44:00.002+07:00

According to Microsoft, Intel Turbo Memory, a caching solution associated with Intel Centrino Duo and Intel Centrino Pro processors, fails to play nice with SCSI-class devices via Windows Vista Service Pack 1. The Redmond company informed that it is not only Vista SP1 that prevents nonvolatile (NV) cache commands from being transmitted to SCSI hardware products, but also the RTM editions of the latest Windows client, as well as Windows Server 2008. However, users impacted by issues with Intel Turbo Memory failing to communicate NV cache commands properly to SCSI-class devices can turn to Microsoft for a solution, as long as Vista or Windows Server 2008 are part of the equation.

"Intel Turbo Memory is an integrated nonvolatile caching solution. ITM works together with Microsoft RAID, and it introduces support for caching of a RAID device. This NV caching solution requires that NV cache commands be sent to the RAID device. In Windows Vista, the NV cache commands can be sent only to HDC-class devices. However, many RAID products are Small Computer Standard Interface (SCSI)-class devices. Therefore, the NV cache commands cannot be sent to these devices," Microsoft revealed.

Intel Turbo Memory is essentially designed to monitor and record the behavior of the end user. The solution will then cache the data accessed most frequently and make it directly available to the processor. In this context, Intel indicated that memory intensive applications can gain a speed bump of as much as 100%. However, the solution is also useless in the scenario described by Microsoft. A hotfix is available, set up to resolve the issue, but end users will have to contact the Redmond company in order to access it.

"A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only this problem. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix," Microsoft added.
By: Marius Oiaga, Technology News Editor (http://news.softpedia.com)

$60 Billion in Revenue for Bill Gates' Last Year at Microsoft

2008-07-19T18:01:00.001+07:00

$60 Billion in Revenue for Bill Gates' Last Year at Microsoft - More precisely, $60.42 billion. June 30, 2008 marked the last day of Bill Gates as a full-time Chairman of Microsoft and, at the same time, the end of the company's 2008 fiscal year. On July 17, the Redmond giant announced revenue of over $60.42 billion, representing a jump of 18% from the past FY. In just the fourth fiscal quarter of 2008, the company accounted for total revenue of $15.84 billion and a growth of 18% over Q4 2007. Microsoft touted what it referred to as the fastest annual revenue growth in the past decade. In fact, with a 32% jump in earnings per share, the software company hasn't seen such good results since 1999.

"Delivering $60 billion in annual revenue is an outstanding accomplishment and a testament to the powerful combination of great technology solutions and strong execution by our partners and global sales and marketing teams," commented Kevin Turner, chief operating officer at Microsoft. The Redmond giant posted $22.49 billion in operating income for the whole past fiscal year and $5.68 billion for the last quarter. Diluted earnings per share for FY 2008 were $1.87 with $0.46 for Q4 2008.

"The outlook for fiscal year 2009 is positive given the breadth of our impressive technology portfolio and the expanding collection of online services we are bringing to market," Turner added. Microsoft is estimating total revenue of $67.3 billion to $68.1 billion for the fiscal year 2009, which has debuted on July 1, 2008 and will end on June 30, 2009. The forecast also reveals estimates of $26.3 billion to $26.9 billion for operating income and $2.12 to $2.18 in diluted earnings per share.

"We had a strong finish in the fourth quarter, which capped off an impressive year for the company. We grew revenue 18% for the year with earnings per share significantly outpacing that. Looking forward, despite difficult economic conditions, we will build upon the momentum exiting fiscal year 2008 and expect to deliver another year of double-digit revenue and earnings growth in fiscal year 2009," indicated Chris Liddell, chief financial officer at Microsoft.
By: Marius Oiaga, Technology News Editor (http://news.softpedia.com)

5 Misunderstood Aspects of Windows 7

2008-07-17T15:39:00.001+07:00

Windows 7, the successor of Windows Vista, but also of Windows Server 2008, in the form of Windows 7 Server, had been under development over at Microsoft under the lead of Steven Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group since 2007. At the end of 2007, the Redmond company made available Windows 7 Milestone 1 to a select group of partners. However, under Sinofsky, translucency is the new communications policy of the Windows team, and little details are indeed made public, or even leaked. This is why there are aspects of the next iteration of Windows which fail to be in conformity with the little transparency Microsoft did manage to offer on Windows 7.

1. The Windows 7 Kernel – After it played hide and seek with the MinWin kernel, Microsoft has managed to create a consistent level of confusion related to the core of Vista's successor. It seems to be unclear whether Windows 7 will feature MinWin, or a new kernel, or the same old kernel as Windows Vista. Well, it's rather simple. First off, there was never talk of a completely new, built from scratch kernel. And MinWin wasn't really the kernel, but the core of Windows 7. Which essentially means that Microsoft has taken the existing kernel plus a series of core components and worked to slim them down.

What the Redmond giant is doing is mainly to continue the evolution of Windows Server 2008, as far as the core of the operating system is concerned. The core of Vista's successor is an evolution of what is available today, and is a new major version of the kernel, hence the Windows 7 label. And yes, Windows Vista was the sixth version of Windows, but Microsoft is only counting from kernel version to kernel version and not from one Windows release to the other.

2. The Myth of the Complete Overhaul - Some want Windows 7 to be written from scratch, arguing that Microsoft needs to flush down Vista, Windows XP, and all past Windows versions, and start over. Such a scenario is argued to be the sole solution to save Microsoft. And at the same time this is impossible. Windows 7 will not be built from scratch because it simply can't be. Windows Vista had serious problems when it came down to application and hardware incompatibility and lack of driver support.

Now imagine a brand new and shiny Windows 7, with no connection to any previous versions of Windows. Nothing would work. Nothing! Not your programs, not your hardware, nothing. The truth is that neither Microsoft, nor the environment of hardware and software developers depending on the Windows as a platform, and not even end users can afford, or are ready to deal with a complete overhaul.

3. Windows Vista R2 - Because of the fact that Microsoft has indicated that Windows 7 would be using Vista as its foundation, critics have already started to emerge labeling it Windows Vista Release 2. No one, with the exception of Sinofsky of course and the Windows project, knows what Windows 7 will end up as. To jump the gun and start throwing dirt at it even before the first beta is on the horizon is simply an indication of people waiting for Microsoft to fail. And although the company did not disappoint them in the past, criticism should be postponed until a palpable build of Windows 7 hits.

4. One SKU to Rule Them All - There is increasing feedback pointing to the need for Microsoft to simplify the edition bonanza of Windows 7, and to avoid offering the same SKU richness as it did with Windows Vista. Windows Vista Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, Ultimate are just the start of it. There are also N variants for Europe and upgrade packages. However, the Redmond company knows that a single SKU is not the way to go. While simplification is indeed necessary, copying the Mac OS X model is not the right solution to offer a balance to both home and business users. And even with Windows Vista, all SKUs ship on a single install media, but the actual installation is governed by the license key.

5. The Silence is Deafening - The latest misunderstood aspect is on the other side of the barricade, so to speak. The silence around Windows 7 is deafening. Sure enough, Microsoft did manage to offer a few details about the touch computing capabilities coming, and is bound to share more at PDC2008 - Professional Developers Conference between October 27-30, 2008. But Microsoft needs to understand that while saying too much about Windows Vista has hurt that release, saying nothing about Windows 7 will hurt this one. And after Vista, I'm not sure if the company can afford another slip...
By: Marius Oiaga, Technology News Editor (http://news.softpedia.com)

Microsoft to Increasingly Open up on Office 14 and Windows 7

2008-07-17T15:34:00.002+07:00

Microsoft to Increasingly Open up on Office 14 and Windows 7 - In the next half year. There is a time for translucency, and there is also a time for transparency. The under promise and overachieve policy set in place at Microsoft for the Windows and Office projects by Steven Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group has impacted both Windows 7 and Office 14. Microsoft is essentially ensuring that by promising nothing at all, Windows 7 will not be a repeat of Longhorn-Vista, but while, for the next iteration of Windows the silence is an item of novelty, for the Office platform, gagged details are nothing more than a tradition. Still, slowly, the company prepares to increasingly open up on both Office 14 and Windows 7.

"You'll see a range of announcements over the next six months about the directions we're taking with Microsoft Office," promised Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer at the Worldwide Partner Conference 2008, on July 10. Office 14 is the next version of the Office productivity suite and the successor of the Office 2007 System.

Microsoft has pointed out that the Office 2007 was nothing short of a success but failed to reveal any figures related to sales or adoption. Still, the company is getting ready to catalyze the transformation of the Ribbon/Fluent UI of Office 2007 into a standard for the graphical user interface for applications tailored to the Windows 7 client.

"We need to make it click to run. We don't need to make it less full-featured, and less functional, and less capable, but we have to drive it down this path. And it will remain the center of people's productive side of people's lives. So the investment in training, and work that you're putting into products like Windows Vista, and Office 2007 move forward," Microsoft's CEO added.

Earlier this year, Microsoft gave a small taste of the touch computing capabilities of Windows 7. But the company is preparing much more at its Professional Developer Conference 2008 at the end of October in Los Angeles. Microsoft will discuss graphics advances, energy consumption optimizations, web services in native code, touch computing and much more.
By: Marius Oiaga, Technology News Editor (http://news.softpedia.com)

Error Recipe: Vista SP1, USB Optical Disc Drive and Resume from Standby - A hotfix is available

2008-07-17T15:16:00.002+07:00

Windows Vista Service Pack 1, a USB optical disc drive and the process of resuming a computer from standby are the perfect recipe for a Stop error message, according to Microsoft. Essentially, a computer running Vista SP1, or even the plain vanilla version of the operating system that is resuming from Standby while connected to a USB optical disc drive will produce either the STOP: 0x000000E4 (parameter1, parameter2, parameter3, parameter4) or the STOP: 0x0000000A (parameter1, parameter2, parameter3, parameter4) error messages.

"The parameters in the error message vary, depending on the configuration of the computer. This issue may occur on a computer that is running Windows Vista, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1), or Windows Server 2008. Not all '0x000000E4' or '0x0000000A' Stop errors are caused by this problem," Microsoft explained.

Windows Vista SP1 and RTM versions, as well as all the flavors of Windows Server 2008 are affected by the issue. However, Windows XP SP3 or earlier releases, as well as Windows Server 2003 on the server-side, are apparently not impacted in the least. Microsoft has a resolve in place, but it requires Vista and Windows Server 2008 users to contact Microsoft directly in order to access the hotfix.

"A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem described [above]. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix," Microsoft added. Traditionally, if the issue is not widespread, and does not affect the vast majority of Windows users, the Redmond company will not produce a fix designed for delivery through Windows Update. All Windows hotfixes are in the end introduced into upcoming service packs for the operating system if they fail to evolve into updates, which, apparently, is not the case here.
By: Marius Oiaga, Technology News Editor

Vista SP1 Compatibility Center Debuts

2008-07-15T20:47:00.003+07:00

Vista SP1 Compatibility Center Debuts - Into Beta Looking for software and hardware products fully compatible with Microsoft's latest Windows operating system? Well, look no more, as the Redmond company has unveiled the ultimate resource designed to parade the software and the hardware solutions tailored to Windows Vista, now with Service Pack 1. Set up to offer consumers extensive information as to what products are tailored to Vista, the Windows Vista Compatibility Center centralizes data on in excess of 9,000 items that play nice with the operating system.

The Windows Vista Compatibility Center was announced the past week at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2008 in Huston, Texas by Brad Brooks, corporate vice president, Windows Consumer Product Marketing. However, the new Vista compatibility hotspot took a while to become fully functional. But now users can browse for cameras, printers and scanners, MP3 and media players, TV devices, communication devices, mice, keyboards and input devices, displays, networking, graphics cards and storage devices compatible with Vista.

But in addition to hardware, the website also offers an extensive list of software which integrates seamlessly with Vista, totaling in excess of 9,000 items. But, in the end, browsing is not really manageable with all the categories and subcategories but search capabilities are available.

The items featured on the new website are labeled as compatible if they pass the Certified for Windows Vista, Works with Windows Vista, or Games for Windows logo programs or if the developer claims that it offers support for the platform. "Hard block" products in the Windows Vista Setup program are deemed incompatible, and if information is insufficient, Microsoft will display a "Status Unknown" message. The bottom line is that since Service Pack 1 introduces no architectural changes compared to the RTM version, the Windows Vista Compatibility Center is not limited at the gold build of the client but also extends to Vista SP1.

"Released in February 2008, Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) includes the complete set of Windows Vista updates we've issued over the past year. Available at no charge, Windows Vista SP1 doesn't add features or require you to learn anything new - it simply makes your PC even more enjoyable to use and helps it run more reliably and smoothly. In addition, our hardware and software partners have worked extensively with us to help improve the Windows Vista experience. They've updated more applications to be compatible with Windows Vista, delivered new device drivers, and ensured that most new devices and software programs are compatible with Windows Vista," Microsoft informed.
By: Marius Oiaga, Technology News Editor (http://news.softpedia.com)

Windows Vista SP1, the Truth and Nothing but the Truth

2008-07-15T20:41:00.002+07:00

Windows Vista SP1, the Truth and Nothing but the Truth - Well, the Microsoft version Can users handle the truth about Windows Vista? Now with Service Pack 1 in its arsenal, Microsoft is ready to prove that they can. Or, at least, its own version of the Vista SP1 truth. Microsoft is on a mission. A mission to salvage what little is left of the latest Windows client, although admission of such a scenario will never come from the company. There are, of course, inherent questions as to why the software giant is reacting so late to spreading the Vista gospel. What is clear in this context is that Microsoft's truth about Vista failed to correspond to the reality of the operating system before SP1. While its was poorly marketed as a Wow in performance, security, reliability, compatibility and stability, Vista revealed its true face to consumers, moving slower than XP in common scenarios and being plagued by software and hardware incompatibility problems.

Loyal to the saying "better late than never," Microsoft did react, first with the evolution delivered by SP1 and more recent with the Vista-centric performance at the Worldwide Partner Conference 2008. "[A] major theme is around Windows Vista deployment. You'll hear from Brad Brooks about where we are. It's time for us to bust through the mist. We've got to bust through the mist with you first, because you're out there with our customers. You must be running our software first, so that you can be credible and honest in front of our customers. You also have to be supported on the back end. So I think our goal today with you is to bust through the mist on Windows Vista," stated Allison Watson, Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Partner Group, Microsoft.

It fell on Brad Brooks, Corporate Vice President, Windows Consumer Product Marketing, to bring the truth about Windows Vista to the public. In this regard, the mission was to dispel the myths about Windows Vista. Myths circulating at the level of common consumer perception in the marketplace. Still, Microsoft is ready to bet big that the real story of the operating system is different from the image of a handicapped product built by Apple's constant mockery with the Get a Mac ads.

Microsoft, Do Blame Microsoft!
Microsoft simply cannot throw the blame on anyone else but itself. The reason is rather simple and Brooks said it out loud and clear: "We've been quiet about it." It appears that the new translucency policies set in place by Steven Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group for Windows 7, are contagious and they spread to Vista too. Microsoft simply sat back and took everything that was thrown at the latest Windows client. The company failed to react in any manner to Apple's Get a Mac ads that trashed Vista and made it an item synonymous with a perfect victim for ridicule, irony, sarcasm and so on and so forth. However, at the same time, a much needed wake up call seems to have taken Microsoft out of its lethargy. I just hope that it will not be a repeat of the Wow...

Vista Some Things Broken – a Lot of Things Broken
"And let's start that story, the real story, at the beginning, with the creation of Windows Vista. We had an ambitious plan. We made some significant investments around security in this product. And you know what, those investments, they broke some things. They broke a lot of things. We know that. And we know it caused you a lot of pain in front of your customers, in front of our customers. And it got a lot of customers thinking, and even yourselves and our partners thinking, ‘Hey, is Windows Vista a generation that I want to make an investment in?’" Brooks asked.

In Brooks’ own words, Vista is now dramatically changed compared with what the company was offering just a few months ago. What's different? A little something called Service Pack 1. SP1 has taken Windows Vista to the next level of reliability, compatibility, support and, most importantly, performance. There is a simple experiment that all Vista users can try out – uninstalling SP1 after at least a month of use, and trying to run plain vanilla Vista RTM. The conclusion is that, had the gold edition of Vista debuted at SP1, Microsoft would not have any myths to debunk.

Pain Is Good, Pain Is Progress
"The changes did cause a lot of pain, but you know what, customers are starting to see the benefits," Brooks argued. It's precisely the fact that customers are just now starting to see the benefits of Windows Vista after over a year and a half since the product hit the shelves, that is the problem with Vista. And still, going forward, Microsoft has to commit itself to a continuous strain when it comes down to marketing the operating system against its very noisy competitor, but also against the generalized perception of the operating system.

But, at the same time, Brooks underlined the fact that Microsoft had been in this situation before. The most recent example with the exception of Vista is, of course, Windows XP. Vista's predecessor had an equally mixed reception, but ended up shaking off the negative aura to become what it is today. "Now, the point I'm trying to make is that the frustrations, they're not okay, that we've faced with Windows Vista, they're not, absolutely. My point is this is not the first time that Microsoft, that we, the ecosystem, have launched an operating system into the marketplace. It was just the first time in a long time. And you know what? We've faced these challenges before, and we're going to overcome them again," Brooks stated.

Microsoft is on the verge of releasing its response to Apple and the Get a Mac ads. A new marketing campaign combined with the panacea that is Service Pack 1, and wrapped up in a very favorable context, as Vista is the only Windows OS available via the retail and OEM channels as of June 30, could just be the recipe that will bring Microsoft back in the game.

"The product continues to get better every day. It didn't stop with SP1. John talked to you about the telemetry data that we're getting in every day, every moment about Windows Vista. We're using it to improve the product, to make it better, and to turn around and ship updates for the products every week to our customers through Windows Update, on a scale and a scope that is unmatched by any of our competitors, continuing to make this product better every day," Brooks promised.

Free the People!
Brooks confirmed that Microsoft has poured a lot of money into a new ad campaign for Windows. However, he failed to disclose any details on the subject. Still, what the Worldwide Partner Conference 2008 is designed to be is a turning point for Vista. The event is synonymous with the moment when Microsoft starts fighting back. Brooks promised that the Redmond giant will get more and more vocal in the next couple of months, and that a Vista crescendo is building up. "You thought the sleeping giant was still sleeping? Well, we've woken up, and it's time to take our message forward," Brooks said.

Truth be told, nothing has hurt Microsoft and Windows Vista more than Apple's Get a Mac ads. Still, the Redmond company needs to be careful when hitting back. Apple is currently in a stage of its evolution where it can do no wrong. The Cupertino-based hardware company has transformed Mac machines into nothing more than genuine Windows PCs, with support for Vista and XP, but convinced consumers that they're still buying Macs and not PCs. Microsoft, on the other hand, has every move placed under a microscope and scrutinized for the faintest fault. The Redmond company needs to understand that what works for Apple will not help it at all, and might even backfire. What is necessary is an entirely new perspective, one synonymous with Microsoft 2.0 after Bill Gates.

"Now, we've got a highly vocal minority out there in Apple. They kind of look at this and say, hey, you know what, you're kind of boring with the mundane message; it's not cool. They tell you it's the ‘i-way’ or the highway. Well, you know what - we think that's kind of a sad message. Everyone in this room knows better. We know that software that is made for this world is made to be compatible with your whole life, whether at work or at play, on home or on the go. Free the people: That is what we do, that is what we do every day - that is the value that we create for the world today," Brooks concluded by saying.
By: Marius Oiaga, Technology News Editor (http://news.softpedia.com)

IE8 Takes AJAX Navigation to the Next Level - Via HTML5

2008-07-15T20:29:00.002+07:00

One of the aspects of Internet Explorer that evolved with the introduction of IE 8 Beta 1 is related to AJAX navigation. This is because of Microsoft's commitment to aligning IE with the latest versions of modern web standards. In this context, in its default standards rendering mode, IE8, even as early as Beta 1, a release dating back to March 5, 2008, concomitantly with the opening day of MIX08, delivers support for some portions of HTML5.

"One of the AJAX improvements we adopted in IE8 from HTML5 is AJAX page navigations. In IE8 mode, we provide support for script to update the travel log components (e.g. back/forward buttons, address bar) to reflect client-side updates to documents. This allows a better user experience where users can navigate back and forth without messing the AJAX application state," explained Sharath Udupa, Internet Explorer Developer.

According to Microsoft, the new AJAX navigation capabilities built into Internet Explorer 8 are designed to offer additional functionality to applications developed using asynchronous JavaScript and XML. What IE8 will effectively permit end users to do is to enjoy the browser's navigation buttons, including Back and Forward in order to move around inside AJAX programs, and not just from one web page to another. Michael S. Scherotter Developer Evangelist - Communications Sector of North America Microsoft, indicated that the Added AJAX navigation capabilities extend to support Silverlight as well.

"In IE8 mode, Internet Explorer treats window.location.hash updates like navigations and saves the previous document URL. The following actions occur as a result: the previous URL, which may be from the previous hash fragment, will be updated in the Address bar, Back button and other browser components; a 'click' sound will play as if a traditional navigation occurred; a new hashChanged event will fire," Scherotter added, providing examples here and here.

For additional info, you can access the Internet Explorer MIX08 Hands-on Labs here.
By: Marius Oiaga, Technology News Editor (http://news.softpedia.com)

Microsoft: Windows 7, Perfect Target for State-of-the-Art Hacking Tools

2008-07-15T20:22:00.001+07:00

Microsoft: Windows 7, Perfect Target for State-of-the-Art Hacking Tools - Vista compromised multiple times, acknowledges the Redmond company. Believe it or not, but Microsoft is setting up Windows 7 as the perfect target for what the company referred to as state-of-the-art hacking tools, some of them not even created yet. Windows 7 is heading straight for a feast of attacks, and Windows 7 Server will be joining it at sharing the menu. Sporting new bulletproofed cores, the successors of Windows Vista and respectively Windows Server 2008 are being designed to raise the bar in terms of security, but the question is: will it be sufficient? Because a new standard of security is also valid for the current releases of the Windows client and server operating systems, and both are far from perfection.

Kevin Turner, Microsoft Chief Operating Officer claimed the title of the most secure operating system in the world for Windows Vista at the company's Worldwide Partner Conference 2008 in Houston, Texas, last week. But even with Turner applauding Vista as more secure than Apple's Mac OS X, Linux and all of the open source for that matter, Microsoft is still acknowledging that the operating system was owned more than once.

But this is not stopping the Redmond giant from baking Windows 7 as the next "most secure operating system in the world," a goal that has to be delivered by the Windows Security Assurance (WinSA) team. Windows 7 and Windows 7 Server are planned as new security standards in comparison with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008.

"WinSA’s charter is to ensure the core Windows operating system and Server products are resilient to attack. Security researchers worldwide continue to explore new and creative ways to compromise our operating systems: unfortunately, even with its advanced features and the extensive engineering improvements, Vista has been compromised multiple times already. We’re focused on making the next releases even more secure than previous ones," a member of the Windows Security Assurance group revealed.

Michael Howard, Senior Security Program Manager in the Security Engineering group at Microsoft stated in the past that security is an ongoing cat-and-mouse game, and that the Redmond company has to set standards higher and higher with each release, and fight attackers trying to overcome them. This is precisely what the evolution from Vista and Windows Server 2008 will deliver with Windows 7 and Windows 7 Server.

Windows 7 - Zero Security Barriers
At the same time, Howard was one of the first to admit that perfection is impossible to achieve, and as Vista was compromised, so will Windows 7. Microsoft's Security Development Lifecycle is working to ensure an as low risk as possible for eventual successful attacks which will break Windows 7. However, since Windows 7 is but an evolution of Windows Vista, and the current Windows client featured no security barriers, but just added mitigations, it is clear that, in terms of security, this development model will be perpetuated.

The introduction of any security barrier in Windows 7 would fundamentally alter the architecture of the operating system. Mitigations such as User Account Control, PatchGuard, driver signing and ASLR have already produced their fair share of pain, related mostly to compatibility problems. Microsoft simply cannot afford to go beyond just evolving the existing security mitigations and setting new protection layers in place. Just don't expect any of the extra tiers to act as impassible barriers, because this won't happen.

Proof of this is the new position of Software Development Engineer in Test offered by the WinSA. "We are seeking a highly technical, self-starting tester and/or pentester to join our engineering team to find security bugs through a variety of means before we ship. You’ll have the opportunity to create, use, and deploy state-of-the-art hacking tools. You’ll investigate new Windows features for security soundness, and scour legacy code for security flaws. You’ll come to see the OS from the perspective of a target, and figure out ways to defend against attacks. Come help us make Windows the most secure operating system in the world!" Microsoft said (emphasis added).

The Redmond company is willing to break down the code of Windows 7 and place the operating system on the "cutting edge of penetration testing". Windows 7 will have to take on a barrage of hacking tests, all inhouse and all for the sake of a more secure Windows. And of course, before it ships to the general public, by the end of 2009, as Microsoft hinted.
By: Marius Oiaga, Technology News Editor (http://news.softpedia.com)

Microsoft Makes Vista SP1 Play Nice with the VIA 64-bit CPU

2008-07-02T01:43:00.002+07:00

Microsoft Makes Vista SP1 Play Nice with the VIA 64-bit CPU - Hotfix is available for download. Even though the processor market is dominated by Intel, with AMD struggling to expand its elbow room, new players are able to find a little room to breathe. VIA Technologies is an illustrative example in this respect, with its products embraced even by Microsoft. However, the marriage between Windows client and server operating systems and VIA chips is not necessarily a match made in heaven. Case in point: computers with Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 RTM/SP1 have problems recognizing the new 64-bit CPU from VIA Technologies.

"Microsoft has released a hotfix to support the new 64-bit CPU from VIA Technologies. You can apply this hotfix on computers that are running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1). This hotfix adds the ID and vendor strings for the new VIA 64-bit CPU. After you apply this hotfix, computers that are running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista SP1 can recognize the VIA 64-bit CPU and the system model that is based on this kind of CPU," the Redmond giant stated.

The hotfix became available at the end of June 2007, but is yet to be integrated into all copies of Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008. Usually, Microsoft waits for the next service pack release to incorporate hotfixes that are not released through Windows Update, but it looks like in this situation the company will indeed turn the fix into an update. Still, for the time being the update designed to make Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 play nice with the x64 processor from VIA has to be ordered directly from Microsoft.

"A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix," Microsoft informed.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Installing Windows 7 Milestone 1 Build 6519

2008-06-24T04:21:00.007+07:00

Installing Windows 7 Milestone 1 Build 6519 - Just like Windows Vista but with a different finish. Installing Windows 7 Milestone 1 Build 6519 provides an experience almost identical to that of Windows Vista with the exception of a quite different finish. In this context, Windows 7 M1 gives the impression of something that Microsoft just threw together rather than a fully-fledged development milestone for the next version of the Windows client. Leaked details related to Windows 7 Build 6519 spawned observations that the version was too similar to Windows Vista for comfort. Now, make no mistake about it, Windows 7 M1 is no Vista, but at the same time the similarities cannot be denied.

The installation experience starts with a standard Windows Vista screen which permits the user to select the language of the operating system, the keyboard input, and the time format. Even the installing instructions mention Windows Vista exclusively. So does the Install/Repair screen that comes next and the Product Key dialog box. And just as in Vista, this part of the installation process can be circumvented.

Users can deploy Windows 7 without entering a product key, but they will be promoted to select an edition of the platform. Here it is all Vista, including Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate. The Windows Vista N editions are also present. But no Windows 7 option whatsoever. In fact, the first mention of Windows 7 comes via the Microsoft Pre-Release Software License. This document is the first clue throughout the deployment process that users are actually installing Windows 7 and not Vista.

The installation will continue just as in Vista with the options of an Upgrade or a Clean install. The Windows 7 files will be copied, expanded, features and updates installed, the devices will be configured, and users will be promoted to set up accounts and passwords, choose a computer name, update mode, time zone and network connection. Next, the logon screen will say Windows 7 Ultimate, provided that the user has chosen the Ultimate SKU of the operating system to install.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Windows 7 M1 Reduced Functionality Mode Just as Vista RTM

2008-06-24T04:08:00.006+07:00

Windows 7 M1 Reduced Functionality Mode Just as Vista RTM - The Windows kill switch lives on. Windows 7 Milestone 1 features Reduced Functionality Mode, just like Windows Vista RTM. With the advent of Service Pack 1 for its latest Windows client, Microsoft scraped the anti-piracy mitigation from the operating system, going back to the behavior of Windows XP when dealing with pirated, unactivated or expired copies of the platform. But if you thought that Vista SP1 was the end of Reduced Functionality Mode, think again. The kill switch has survived into Windows 7 Milestone 1 Build 6.1 6519.

Windows 7 M1 brings to the table the same limitations as did Windows Vista RTM. In the original Vista version which hit the shelves on January 30, 2007, Microsoft introduced Reduced Functionality Mode to deal with copies of the operating system failing to pass the activation or the validation processes. At the same time, the company used RFM to cut access to test-drive editions of Windows Vista, time bombed and set to expire after the trial period ended, independent of the activation or validation status.

This is the case for Windows 7 M1. The first development milestone for the next iteration of Windows, which was shipped to Microsoft's closest partners at the end of 2007, was also time-bombed, and has expired. Passing the expiration date throws the machines running Windows 7 M1 into RFM. Users have access only to the browser and can connect to Microsoft servers in order to activate Windows 7. But of course that M1 Build 6.1 6519 cannot be activated. The operating system is approximately a year and a half from its finalization, according to Steve Ballmer which pointed to the end of 2009 as the deadline for the delivery of Windows 7.

Chances are that just as RFM was cut from Windows Vista SP1, the kill-switch will also not survive in the final versions of Windows 7. Release Candidate versions of Vista SP1 are also set to expire starting with June 30, 2008, but the operating systems will not be thrown into reduced functionality mode. Instead, the kernel was tweaked to stop one hour after the RC development milestones of Vista SP1 have booted, and present users an END_OF_NT_EVALUATION_PERIOD error message.

In contrast, copies of Windows 7 M1 move to reduced functionality mode immediately after the user signs into an account. The reason for this is the expiration of the test-period for Build 6.1 6519. The initial limitations can be hacked easily by allowing Internet Explorer 7 to connect to Microsoft, and then typing "C:" in the address bar. This will open Windows Explorer which will permit users to access "My Computer" in the Windows Explorer window. Here, right click on the system partition while holding the Shift key pressed and open a Command Prompt window. Just type Explorer and hit Enter in order to bring the user interface to life. Still, be advised that Windows 7 M1 will boot unexpectedly at short periods of time, even with this hack, making the now expired copy of Vista's successor unusable.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Patches Available for IE7 on XP SP3 and Vista SP1

2008-06-19T06:10:00.003+07:00

New patches are available from Microsoft via Windows Update, designed to resolve security vulnerabilities in various versions of the Internet Explorer browser. Internet Explorer 5.01 SP4, Internet Explorer 6, and Internet Explorer 7 running on Windows 2000 SP4, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP and Windows Vista are all affected. The Microsoft Security Bulletin MS08-031 comes with a severity rating of Critical, and it plugs a private and a publicly disclosed hole. IE6 and IE7 running on Windows XP Service Pack 3 as well as IE7 running on Windows Vista Service Pack 1 contain a Critical HTML Objects Memory Corruption vulnerability which is taken care of via the IE Cumulative Security Update for June 2008.

"The security update is rated Critical for Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1; Internet Explorer 6 on supported versions of Windows XP; and Internet Explorer 7 on supported versions of Windows XP and Windows Vista. The security update is rated Important for Internet Explorer 5.01 on Microsoft Windows 2000 Service pack 4, and Moderate for all other supported releases of Internet Explorer 6," explained Terry McCoy, Program Manager Internet Explorer Security.

In the eventuality of a successful exploit targeting the HTML Objects Memory Corruption flaw, an attacker could gain complete control over an affected system, and perform remote code execution. The second vulnerability is less severe. The Request Header Cross-Domain Information Disclosure hole only allows for information disclosure. In this context, the HTML Objects Memory Corruption vulnerability poses the greatest risk to end users even in the context of XP SP3 and Vista SP1.

"A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way Internet Explorer displays a Web page that contains certain unexpected method calls to HTML objects. An attacker could exploit the vulnerability by constructing a specially crafted Web page. When a user views the Web page, the vulnerability could allow remote code execution. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the logged-on user," Microsoft informed.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Browser Wars: Internet Explorer vs. Firefox. vs. Safari vs. Opera

2008-06-19T06:06:00.000+07:00

Judging strictly by the sheer volume of vulnerabilities Mozilla Firefox was the most insecure browser in 2007, according to Symantec. Firefox had a total of 122 security holes, more than any other rival browser. Symantec credited the efforts poured into securing Internet Explorer 7 for IE managing to be situated under Firefox in terms of security flaws. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera and Safari are together synonymous with the browser market, having divided the vast majority of the Internet audience among them. In addition to the constant race for an increased install base, the four browsers are also continually evolving toward new standards of performance, compatibility and security. In this regard, Symantec has published a report offering an insight on one critical aspect of browser security – vulnerabilities.

According to the Cupertino-based security company, there is an increasing trend for the threat environment to shift the focus of exploits and attacks toward client-side problems, with browsers growing in prominence. Obviously, no browser is a panacea to security or a silver-bullet solution, and at the same time the vulnerability count is not, in itself, a complete measure of security.

"Web browser vulnerabilities are a serious security concern due to their role in online fraud and the propagation of spyware and adware. They are particularly prone to security concerns because they come in contact with more potentially untrusted or hostile content than most other applications. This is a concern because attacks can originate from malicious Web sites or legitimate Web sites that have been compromised to serve malicious content. It is also true that browsers can play a role in client-side attacks because of their ability to invoke plug-ins and other applications when handling potentially malicious content served from the Web such as documents and media files," Symantec stated.

Firefox was impacted by no less than 88 vulnerabilities in the second half of the past year, with another 34 in the first half. Mozilla's open source browser cumulated more vulnerabilities in 2007 than any other browser, this despite the fact that Firefox is generally perceived as an apex of security. For Firefox, 19 vulnerabilities in the second half of 2007 and 12 in the first half were labeled with a severity rating of medium by Symantec, and the remaining 34 flaws in July-December 2007 and 22 in January-June 2007 were designated as representing only low-level threats.

"Safari was affected by 22 vulnerabilities in the second half of 2007. One was considered high severity, 12 were medium, and nine were low. This is a decrease from the 25 Safari vulnerabilities that were documented in the first half of 2007, of which seven were medium severity and 18 were low," Symantec added.

No less than 57 security vulnerabilities affected Internet Explorer in 2007, but the volume is lower compared with just the holes that plagued Firefox between July and December of the past year. Furthermore, only 13 security holes were labeled as medium with the remaining five rated as low out of the 18 IE vulnerabilities in the second half of 2007. In the first half of the past year, IE was impacted by 39 vulnerabilities, with 15 medium, and 23 low.

"In the last six months of 2007, 12 vulnerabilities were documented in Opera. Of these, eight were medium severity and four were low. This is fewer than the seven vulnerabilities that affected Opera in the first half of 2007, of which three were considered medium severity and four were low," Symantec said.

According to the Cupertino-based security company, the increase in popularity of both Firefox and Safari has been synonymous with a jump in the number of vulnerabilities discovered. In the second half of the past year, both Safari and Firefox had more security flaws compared to Internet Explorer.

"While fewer vulnerabilities were discovered in Internet Explorer during this period, Mozilla was subject to a sharp increase. The decrease in Internet Explorer vulnerabilities may be due to the focus on security in Internet Explorer 7. The increase in Mozilla vulnerabilities was a by-product of internal and community driven security audits of the browser," Symantec said.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Is Internet Explorer Safer Than Firefox, Opera and Safari?

2008-06-19T05:46:00.002+07:00

The face-off for dominance on the browser market is essentially a four-horse race between Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari and Opera. Now, the truth of the matter is that Internet Explorer has long become the preferred browser worldwide, starting with the moment it was bundled with Windows and offered for free in order to beat Netscape at its own game. Firefox comes in second in terms of install base, enjoying the backing of Google, with Safari in third place thanks to the Mac OS X and with Opera a distant fourth. But along with market share, security is another relevant aspect of the browser war.

Now, Microsoft has been claiming throughout 2007 that Internet Explorer has the smallest volume of vulnerabilities compared to all rival products. The statistics put together by Jeff Jones, a Security Strategy Director in Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing group, illustrating IE's superiority in terms of the sheer number of vulnerabilities do not offer a true perspective over the actual level of security provided by each browser. But at the same time, the data turned out to be correct, as supported by a recent report from Cenzic.

"Application vulnerabilities in Q4 tracked the first three quarters in terms of their dominance, forming 71 percent, a three percent increase over Q3, of the total 1,404 published vulnerabilities. The scary part is that 70 percent of these vulnerabilities are easily exploitable. Application vulnerabilities are the ones that pertain to Web technologies including Web servers, Web browsers, and Web applications. (...) In the browser category, surprisingly Internet Explorer had less vulnerability than Safari, Opera, and Mozilla Firefox browsers," Mandeep Khera, VP of Marketing, Cenzic.

Cenzic revealed that only 10% of all browser security flaws in 2007 impacted Internet Explorer. The next in line is Safari with 15% and then Firefox with no less than 32% of vulnerabilities. Judging strictly by the number of vulnerabilities, Opera is the most insecure browser, having been impacted by no less than 38% of vulnerabilities.

"Vulnerabilities in Web browsers were concentrated among four popular technologies - Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Safari. Showing a similar trend as Q3 2007, the Opera Web browser with 38 percent had the most reported vulnerabilities during the Q4 time period, with Firefox coming in second by a 6 percent margin. The chart below shows the percentage of the total browser vulnerabilities associated with each product. Unlike previous quarters, less vulnerabilities were reported in Internet Explorer than in Opera, Firefox, or Safari," reads an excerpt from the Cenzic report.

Source: news.softpedia.com

14 Things that Microsoft Needs to Do with Windows 7

2008-06-17T05:34:00.000+07:00

Microsoft made no secret out of having, for some time now, been cooking the next iteration of Windows, a translucent development process with very little transparent areas including details such as multi-touch, support for 32-bit and 64-bit architectures, and the evolution of the Windows Vista kernel, graphics and audio subsystems. Pieces of the Windows 7 puzzle are indeed starting to come together, and a more consistent perspective will be delivered at the company's 2008 Professional Developers Conference, that will take place between October 27 and 30 in Los Angeles.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and with Steven Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, have made it clear that Windows 7 will be the evolution of Windows Vista. With the current operating system acting as the foundation for the next, there have already been mentions of Windows Vista SP2 or even Windows Vista R2, but since actual details are gagged, all speculations about Windows 7 are fair game. In this context, Gates has also mentioned that Windows 7 will be a product of Microsoft's philosophy that states "do things better." The Redmond company's Co-Founder indicated that Vista has given ample opportunity for improvements with Windows 7.

The intimate connection between Windows 7 and Windows Vista manages to raise questions as to just how much of the current Windows client is going to survive into the next version, and just what sins it will pass along. Hopefully, Microsoft has learned relevant lessons from Vista, and will not repeat the Wow mistakes. There are of course a few things that the Redmond company can do to ensure this.

1. Performance! Performance! Performance!
Microsoft commissioned Principled Technologies to compare Windows Vista RTM and SP1 to Windows XP SP2. Here is what they found:
Vista RTM vs. XP SP2 - "Windows Vista was noticeably more responsive after rebooting than Windows XP on several common business operations. Overall, Windows Vista and Windows XP were roughly equally responsive on most test operations. Windows Vista was more responsive on some operations, and on those operations on which it was more responsive, Windows XP typically responded only a half a second or so faster."

Vista SP1 vs. Vista RTM vs. XP SP2 - "Overall, Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP performed comparably on most test operations. Differences were typically less than a half second. Windows Vista SP1 was noticeably more responsive after rebooting than Windows XP on several common home operations. Overall, Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Vista performed comparably on most test operations, with differences typically less than a half second."

No! This won't do with Windows 7! It simply won't! Let me make this clear, Windows 7 has to fly in comparison with Windows Vista and Windows XP. Fly! And the difference cannot be described with such qualifiers as "noticeably," "roughly equally responsive," and "differences typically less than a half second." In case that users have failed to be clear on this one, the performance they want with Windows 7 compared to Vista is that of a Ferrari compared to a bicycle. That's it! It's simple, now get it done! Just look at what Apple is doing with Snow Leopard to get a proper idea of what needs to be done.

2. Hardware Requirements – Less Is… Well... Less
Microsoft has already confirmed through the voice of Christopher Flores, Director Windows Communications that, at the end of 2009, Windows 7 will sport the same system requirements as Windows Vista does now, or did at the end of 2006 – beginning of 2007, when it was launched. This would be nothing short of excellent for Microsoft. They will need to make Windows 7 fly (see #1) and they will have to do it on the same systems that Vista is sluggish (to use an euphemism).

The benefits of such a move would be tremendous for Windows 7, and related specifically to in-place-upgrades. Users are bound to think twice if they also have to upgrade their hardware in order to move to a new operating system. But just taking the software and slapping it on any "old" system configuration and get more will do half the marketing campaign for Microsoft.

3. Windows 7 vs. Vista vs. XP vs. Mac OS X vs. Linux vs. Lawn Mowers
One of the things that killed Windows Vista was the constant comparison with Windows XP, and not with Mac OS X or Linux. What Microsoft needs to do is set up a comprehensive set of tests and guidelines for comparing operating systems, and to provide general access to online benchmarking tools that will give an accurate and realistic perspective on scenarios involving Windows 7 vs. Vista vs. XP vs. Mac OS X vs. Linux.

And I don't care if users are able to access the benchmarking tests via browsers from embedded platforms installed on their lawn mowers, or from a high performance operating system running on a supercomputer, Windows 7 will have to outperform everything that's thrown against it. Everything! So, what if it’s Microsoft's tests? So what?! The company just needs to give end users, OEMs, corporations, developers, IT professionals and even Mac OS X and Linux users a palpable proof that Windows 7 is better. Palpable!

4. The One True Love for the Applications Environment
Windows 7 will be stretched between the need to evolve to 64-bit programs and the necessity to provide support for legacy applications. Virtualization is the best solution for the operating system to support Windows 7-specific software solutions, but also products designed to integrate with Windows Vista, Windows XP and even older Windows Platforms. By building virtualization into Windows 7, and ensuring that legacy applications will run in emulated environments replicating the OS they were tailored to, Microsoft will scrap one of the biggest worries that have plagued Windows Vista.

5. Put the Whip on the Evangelism Division
Really now! The biggest failure of Windows Vista is not hardware and driver incompatibility, it's the work done by the Microsoft Evangelism division for the operating system. I don't care if it's NVIDIA, ATI, Intel, AMD, HP or some obscure manufacturer building lawn mowers (see #3) in Alaska or in Siberia... if it has to run Windows 7, a Microsoft evangelist should provide everything from support to Pina Coladas, walks on the beach and in the rain, and massages. Don't wait for the manufacturers to come to you, go to them, go early, and woo them with the trademark Microsoft geek charm...

6. No More Kill Switches, in Translation "Vista RFM No Más"
All Windows users are created equal! Even those running pirated Windows. Microsoft needs to work this to its advantage and ensure that the jump from pirated Windows to genuine copies of the client is as easy and as cheap as it can be. One example is the 2007 gambit made on the Chinese market with the slashed Windows Vista prices. Sure enough, the company would still be losing money, but it will be losing a lot less than with the free pirated copies of Windows.

But, at the same time, it is important to ensure that users of genuine Windows are not made to suffer from malfunctioning Reduced Functionality Mode kill switches, like they did with Vista. In SP1, Microsoft killed RFM, and it was the right thing to do by its users. The Redmond company, the only one who has access to the statistics with the false positives of the Windows Genuine Advantage antipiracy mechanism for Vista, and all the operating systems thrown into reduced functionality mode despite being genuine, knows this better than any of us.

7. Infinite Windows 7 Flavors for All
Windows Vista came in six flavors... Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise and Ultimate. If Windows 7 will come in 100, 24, 12, or also 6, Microsoft has learned nothing from Vista. Nothing! Yes, six editions do offer consumers the right choices, at the right price... but they also manage to create confusion. Microsoft needs to understand that it will not be able to satisfy all the needs of its customers by delivering infinite Windows 7 flavors, or by releasing a single one-size-fits-all edition as Apple does with Mac OS X.

With Windows 7, Microsoft needs to simplify its SKU offerings. Melt Home Basic into Home Premium, or drop Home Basic altogether. Make a single SKU out of Business and Enterprise and figure out how to provide different activation architectures to small businesses and corporate customers. Ultimate is a good idea however you look at it, and it should survive. Starter does not! In fact, the entire concept of Windows Starter edition should be dropped altogether! I'll explain later on.

8. Aero Next
Microsoft will have to do with Windows 7 what it did with the graphical user interface of Office 2007, in comparison to Office 2003. Windows 7 needs its own Ribbon/Fluent UI, with plenty of eye candy and with multi-touch, gesture, object recognition, advanced tablet PC support, and so on and so forth. But what it doesn't need is that Aero Next to be the resource hog that it is in Windows Vista. This should keep Microsoft from advising customers with inferior hardware configurations to turn Aero off altogether because it makes their systems virtually unusable. Let me make this clear: if just the user interface of a platform makes it unusable, Microsoft might as well go back to the command line...

9. Security but No Security
In case the negative response to the User Account Control in Windows Vista failed to reach Microsoft, let me spell this out... Users want security but they don't want security. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer admitted that the company had sacrificed functionality for security. Please stop!

First off, users should be and feel secure without having to compromise on any other aspect, and certainly not on flexibility or functionality. Microsoft needs to get UAC right in Windows 7 from the get-go, because the feature doesn't look like it's going away. But it should be made to run in the background, and to be as non-intrusive and as less chatty as possible.

But, most importantly, security should be a given, not the focus of the marketing campaign. Microsoft doesn't need to sell Windows 7 because it's secure, or even to stress security. It should be a default association and nothing more. But certainly not the top selling pitch!

10. Think Ultra!
This is where scraping Windows Starter comes in. One of the largest opportunities of growth for Windows is on the market of Ultra-Low-Cost mobile and desktop computers. This means that Windows 7 will need to run on the same hardware that Windows XP does in order to become tailored for ULC machines. If Microsoft makes Windows play well with low system configurations, the trademark of all Ultra-Low-Cost computers, than Starter will be redundant. And there goes one extra and useless Windows SKU.

For the time being, the Redmond company cannot offer the resource-hog that is Vista for ULC machines and is still delivering Windows XP. This situation cannot perpetuate itself with Vista's successor. Microsoft has to make Windows 7 available for all machines, and not praise the much needed evolution of the Windows operating system while still shamelessly providing users with the "blast from the past" that is XP, eight years after it was launched.

11. DirectX Next – 10 + 1 – Make It for Vista Too
Microsoft needs to start acting like Windows is their number one gaming platform, and fast. One of the mistakes made with Windows Vista was to not to backport DirectX 10 to Windows XP. This has to change with Windows 7. Namely, the Redmond company needs to offer DirectX 11 not only with Windows 7, but also for Windows Vista. No more excuses this time!

12. Windows 7 Ultimate Extras
I don't have to tell Windows Vista Ultimate users what a disappointment (yes, I managed do dodge the term "monumental failure") the Ultimate Extras were and still are. Still, the Ultimate Extras is just the last aspect where Windows Vista disappointed its users next to application and hardware incompatibilities, poor performance, the UAC, RFM... But, as far as Vista users go, Ultimate Extras really failed because of Microsoft's evident mismanagement and defiant lack of interest. The Ultimate Extras in Windows 7 have to wash away the shame of what has not been delivered in Windows Vista.

13. Start Your Marketing Engines, but Please No More Wows!
Microsoft doesn't have to wait until Windows 7 hits the shelves in order to start marketing the operating system, as it did with Windows Vista. This time around, however, the company does need to ensure that no more Wows will accompany the Windows operating system on the market. If Windows 7 is only evolutionary compared to Vista, then Microsoft at least has to make sure that the Windows 7 marketing campaign is revolutionary.

14. It's an OS X Eat Win, Linux Eat Win, Win Eat Win World
Microsoft has to play dirty! It needs to jump at the jugular of Mac OS X, Linux, Windows XP and Windows Vista. It needs to sacrifice all Windows operating systems on the altar of Windows 7, and it needs to bury its competitors. No more extended support, no more feature-rich Service Packs, no more availability, no more lifecycle extensions... just Windows 7!

And, as for Mac OS X and Linux, Microsoft needs to bury them both. I don't care if half of the Windows 7 team starts building malicious code for OS X and Linux and then release it in the wild, and shuts down very Mac computer and all the machines powered by Linux that are connected to a network (except lawn mowers, of course; see #3). With Windows 7, Microsoft has to be at least as cutthroat as Apple or the open source community.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Vista SP1 Installed System Memory (RAM)

2008-06-16T11:20:00.002+07:00

One of the aspects that Service Pack 1 changes for Windows Vista is the way that the operating system reports the amount of installed system memory. The way that Vista SP1 now deals with the physical RAM impacts both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the platform and end users could experience an increase of the memory value reported. According to Microsoft, in the eventuality that physical memory was reserved for the graphics card, or if additional peripherals share the RAM via settings in the system BIOS, and also on computers with more than 3 GB of system memory, Vista SP1 will report the full resources available.

"This change occurs because Windows Vista with SP1 reports how much physical memory installed on your computer. All versions of Windows NT-based operating systems before Windows Vista Service SP1 report how much memory available to the operating system. This change in Windows Vista SP1 is a reporting change only," Microsoft informed.

Vista SP1 end users will be able to notice the increase in RAM reporting across various areas of the platform including the Welcome Center, in My Computer windows, System Properties windows as well as into the Performance Information and Tools item in Control Panel. RAM reporting evolved in Vista SP1 to include Installed Physical Memory (RAM), Total Physical Memory and Available Physical Memory in the System Information tool.

It is important to understand that not all the physical RAM is available to the operating system. Before SP1, Vista only took into account the system memory that it could use, and ignored the rest, even if it was installed. Because of BIOS and driver reservations of RAM, both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Vista RTM failed to report the full amount of memory on a system. Vista SP1 comes to resolve this problem, and will provide correct information of the hardware configuration even if the operating system has to share the RAM and can use only a portion of it.

"On computers that have a 32-bit operating system, more than 3 GB of system memory, and with a version of Windows that is earlier than Windows Vista SP1, users will see a larger difference in how much memory is reported as available to the operating system compared to how much physical memory is installed. This is because some physical address space must be reserved as I/O regions for memory mapped peripherals. These I/O regions are allocated between the 3 GB physical address and the 4 GB upper physical address limit," Microsoft added.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Vista SP1 and XP SP3 Have Failed to Break the Market's Windows Fatigue

2008-06-11T11:54:00.002+07:00

Vista SP1 and XP SP3 Have Failed to Break the Market's Windows Fatigue - Windows is losing ground to OS X and Linux. Statistics for the operating system market come in different flavors and from a variety of sources but they all have one thing in common: indicating that Windows is losing ground to Mac OS X and Linux. As far as Microsoft is concerned, it reached the apex of the operating system market with the launch of Service Pack 2 for Windows XP back in 2004. Since then, it has been all down hill for the Redmond giant. Sure, the slope is by no means steep enough for a hard Windows fall, just sufficiently inclined through the erosion produced by Mac OS X and Linux that the ground is slipping from under Microsoft's proprietary platform, slowly but surely...

While Windows is not at risk from a landslide, it has been on a descendant trajectory for the past years, with consumers suffering from Windows fatigue, and increasingly looking for alternatives. Recent releases such as Windows Vista in 2007, and Vista Service Pack 1 as well as Windows XP Service Pack 3 have done little to impact the general trend. As of May 2008 Windows is credited with 91.13% of the operating system market according to Net Applications, with 91.11% by W3Counter and with 95.94% by OneState (but only as of April 2008).

In January 2007, when Windows Vista hit the shelves, Net Applications revealed a share of 93.33% for Windows, approximately two percent higher than in January 2008. Back in July 2007, OneStat gave Windows a share of 96.97%, also larger than the 95.94% from a couple of months ago. W3Counter seem to be on par with Net Applications indicating that Windows was at 93.6% of the market in May 2007, and as low as 91.11% in the past month.

Windows Saturation
The release of Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista and of Service Pack 3 for Windows XP has done little to help break what appears to be a generalized and accentuating case of Windows fatigue. Net Applications stated that SP3 for XP failed to impact the operating system's continuous market share lost for over a year. Even with SP3 available as of May 6, 2008, XP continued to lose audience and is down from 73.07% in April to 72.12% the past month. Vista continues to climb in statistics, but SP1 didn't deliver the kick needed to accelerate growth to the levels where focus will no longer shift to XP SP3, Windows 7 or rival products. Vista only climbed from 14.02% in March to 15.26% in May.

Statistics from W3Counter indicate a similar trend with XP dropping from 78.56% to 78.24% in the past two months while Vista jumped from 7.34% to 7.69%. It's not that Microsoft can't spare a few tens of millions of users, and it's not that a large proportion of the Windows audience is shifting toward Mac OS X and Linux, but the Redmond company is finding it harder and harder to boost its share on a market already saturated by its operating system. The software giant is indeed at the top, but the only way is not necessarily down, even if the general trend seems to contradict this perspective.

Windows Vista, the Default Growth
Windows Vista climbed up in the space occupied by Windows XP to claim the second most used operating system on the market since mid-2007. Since the January 2007 launch, Vista's growth has somewhat stabilized at around 10 million units per month. At the end of March 2008, Microsoft revealed that it had sold over 140 million Vista licenses worldwide. As of May, Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer claimed that Vista had passed the 150 million mark.

W3Counter puts Vista at 7.69% in May 2008 compared to 1.91% the same month of the past year. In March 2008, OneStat indicated that in its statistics, Vista is at 13.76% up from July 2007 when it accounted only for 12.72%. Net Applications reveal the most consistent growth for the latest Windows client, from 0.93% in February 2007, to 15.26% in May 2008.

Without establishing the records Microsoft was aiming for it, Vista's adoption rate does not qualify the operating system for a failure by any measure. However, the biggest catch behind the uptake of Vista is the fact that it is almost entirely governed by the sales of new OEM computers. Original equipment manufacturers are responsible for over 80% of the revenues of the Windows Client Division, and concomitantly for the largest volumes of sales of the new Windows operating systems.

A very accurate prediction is that Windows Vista adoption will only accelerate after June 30, 2008, when XP is no longer available through retail and OEM channels. With only Vista preloaded on new machines, there is nowhere to go but up for the latest Windows client. Still, even at over 10 million new licenses a month, Vista will remain far from the dominant OS on the market, Windows XP.

Don't Expect Miracles from Windows 7
Even though Windows Vista has taken all the heavy hits, acting as a buffer release for Windows 7, the next iteration of Microsoft's proprietary operating system will drop in a market which has started to experience Windows fatigue for a number of years. But unlike Vista, Windows 7 will benefit from the get go from a mature ecosystem of software and hardware products. Microsoft is essentially promising a Windows 7 apple which will fall far tom the Vista tree, while at the same time featuring the same architecture as its predecessor, in terms of the kernel, and the graphics and audio subsystems, security and search functionality, etc.

In January 2007, data from Net Applications placed Mac OS X at 6.22% of the operating system market and Linux at 0.35%. In over a year, the market share of Windows' rivals went up to 7.83% and respectively 0.68%. OneStat claims that Mac OS X jumped from 1.79% in July 2007 to 2.18% in April 2008, and Linux to just 0.42% from 0.36%, while W3Counter gives OS X 4.73% in May 2008 up from 3.72% in the same month in 2007.

Both Mac OS X and Linux have been slowly converting the default audience of Windows now looking for additional solutions on top of what Microsoft has to offer. The most consistent growth is that of Apple, because of the winning hardware plus operating system combination. This is something that only the Cupertino-based hardware company can deliver, without Microsoft or a Linux distribution vendor being able to match it.

Microsoft is indeed working with its OEM partners harder than ever in order to produce bundles that will rival the Mac computers and OS X in terms of consumer appeal. This month, it has become clear that the Redmond company's main weapon against Apple will be the natural user interface. Delivering an entirely new interaction model as mainstream technology might seem like a big bet for Microsoft, with traditional Windows users experiencing instincts to resist such a move.

However, touch, gestures, voice commands, object and motion recognition will become a standard model of interaction in the future, and Windows 7 has the largest potential to bring this niche technology to the masses and get it adopted fast. At the same time Apple is not exactly standing still, as touch-based interfaces are already widely available in products such as the iPhone and the latest Mac models. At this point in time, it seems that Linux will be the last comment at the natural user interface feast, unless the major developers of Linux distribution take matters into their own hands and convince OEMs to to for the open source operating system what they are doing for Windows 7.

Good, Old XP
Innovation is a mandatory item in the recipe for Windows 7 if the next iteration of Windows attempts to stop its install base from migrating to Mac OS X and Linux. But Windows 7 is planned to drop at the end of 2009, and for the time being Windows Vista proved incapable of not letting the Windows momentum from slowing down. But don't count XP out just yet. Vista's predecessor will continue to have a consistent impact even after Windows 7 will be made available. This because Windows XP is no less than Microsoft's way of reaching the next five billion users.

The Redmond company has already committed to offering Windows XP Home Edition until 2010 or one year after the release of Windows 7, whichever comes first, on ultra-low-cost mobile and desktop computers. While ultra-low-cost machines will be sold in developed countries, the focus falls on first time users in emerging markets, where Microsoft has identified the next five billion potential customers. But, here, the company has to first fend off Linux, whose biggest advantage is the fact that it is free.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Multi-touch Surface, Ready for Windows 7

2008-06-09T12:17:00.001+07:00

Computer shows like Computex, CeBIT or CES can give computer users a chance to feast their eyes on some of the most innovative technologies ever unveiled. Not only are these technologies new, but some of them have the potential of changing the way we perceive the world. At this year's Computex show in Taipei, a number of new product releases have made the headlines. And, by the looks of it, there's yet another product that might keep computer users interested, namely a 22-inch LCD display with integrated multi-touch technology, coming from Albatron.

At a first glance, this device might forecast the so much talked about Microsoft Surface, a gadget which, if released, is most probably going to change the way we interact with the world around us. Albatron, a motherboard and graphics manufacturer, isn't among the biggest players in the industry, but apparently it too is trying to achieve this status, with the possible release of this 22-inch multi-touch device.

Robert Doncevski, sales director at Albatron, showcased the screen and its features to a couple of journalists attending Albatron's booth at Computex. From the looks of it, controlling and interacting with the device was as easy as a child's play. Users only need to use their finger in order to turn on and off applications, or just play around with Google's mapping solution, Google Earth. According to Robert Doncevski, the multi-touch technology isn't affected by typical touch-screen limitations. With multi-touch, manufacturers can even create screens sized 24-inches or above. The only requirement in this case is to add a third sensor on top of the screen.

What Albatron did with multi-touch was to integrate it into a 22-inch LCD screen, providing a resolution of 1680 by 1050 pixels, and making the device all the more spectacular. Albatron's yet not released product may just be the right thing to run the upcoming Windows 7 on. Up until now, the company hasn't made any official statement regarding pricing and availability but, apparently, the multi-touch enabled display shouldn't come with a price tag more than 20% higher than regular LCDs.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Windows 7 - Between Vista SP2 and Windows 8, Close to What SP2 Was to XP

2008-06-09T12:11:00.003+07:00

Undoubtedly, the recent events focused on the next iteration of the Windows platform qualify these past days as the week of Windows 7. Make no mistake about it, even though the Redmond company started communicating Windows 7, it failed to diverge in any way from its official policy of keeping the world in the dark when it comes down to the successor of Windows Vista. Arguments that the communication strategy imposed by Steven Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group is building frustration among both consumers and partners, have fallen on deaf ears. The Redmond giant did the exact opposite with Windows Vista, and the resulting experience did not justify the transparent tactics of Jim Allchin, (Former) Co-President, Platforms & Services Division. "Former" since his no. 1 software pet, Vista, hit the shelves on January 30, 2008.

"Yes, We Are Working on a New Version of Windows - It's Called Windows 7"
"Yes, we are working on a new version of Windows. As you likely know, it's called Windows 7," explained Christopher Flores, Director Windows Communications admitting that it was traditional of Microsoft to start talking Windows Next immediately after a new release of the operating system. However, almost a year and a half since the launch of Windows Vista, and 150 million licenses later, Microsoft has barely said a few words about what's coming next in the platform. And this is valid not only for the Windows 7 client. Things are even worse for Windows 7 Server, as Windows Server 2008 shipped just three months ago, at the end of February.

"We are always looking for new ways to deliver great experiences for our customers," Flores added. "This is especially true of Windows - where we're constantly examining trends in hardware, software and services to ensure that we continue to drive the innovation that has both made Windows the world's most popular operating system and has provided a foundation on which our partners built great products and businesses. When we shipped Windows 2000, we were already working on Windows XP and we started working on Windows Vista even before we released Windows XP. So naturally, we've been thinking about the investments we made in Windows Vista and how we can build on these for the next version of Windows."

Neither Sinofsky, nor Flores, and not even Chairman Bill Gates, or Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer offered anything specific on Windows 7. Microsoft's official position regarding the next version of Windows is that it's not yet ready to talk features, functionality, capabilities, Betas or a final delivery deadline. While Windows Vista was still in development, and referred to as Longhorn, the Redmond company was little shy of chattering of its plans for the platform. Windows Vista ended up a defaced Longhorn, de-featured, and stripped down of the vast majority of items Microsoft had promised in order to make an early 2007 launch.

"With Windows 7, we're trying to more carefully plan how we share information with our customers and partners. This means sharing the right level of information at the right time depending on the needs of the audience. For instance, several months ago we began privately sharing our preliminary plans for Windows 7 with software and hardware partners who build on the Windows platform. This gave them an opportunity to give us feedback and gave us the opportunity to incorporate their input into our plans. As the product becomes more complete, we will have the opportunity to share our plans more broadly," Flores explained.

In the end, Microsoft managed to confirm three things for Windows 7 the past week. The integration of new multi-touch and gesture technology, an availability date ahead of the end of 2009, and the lack of a new kernel. Touch computing is the only sure thing about Windows 7 at this point in time. More details, including specifics, will be shared at the 2008 Professional Developers Conference in October 2008. But until then, Flores noted that "we know that this is a change in our approach, but we are confident that it will help us not only to build even better products, but also to be more predictable in the delivery of our products. We also know that this change has led to some confusion, so we would like to share information today that will hopefully clear up some of this."

Windows Vista R2/Windows Vista SP2
If Windows Vista is the ash, than Windows 7 is it's Phoenix bird. That much is clear. Expect Windows 7 to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary. One thing it's not is a rewrite of Windows. Sinofsky pointed to Vista as the Foundation for 7. The graphics, audio and storage subsystems will be the same, so will the hardware requirements, all of Vista's applications, devices and drivers will be compatible with Windows 7. In this regard, the next version of Windows seems nothing more than a Windows Vista R2, or a Windows Vista SP2.

Microsoft however is insisting that Windows 7 is a major, mammoth, monolithic release of the Windows client operating system just as Vista. But the new development strategy is evident with the release of Windows Server 2008. Sinofsky pointed out that Windows Server 2008 is also an evolution of Vista, and on par with Vista SP1, at least in terms of the code base and the service pack label. Windows 7 will also build on top of what Vista and Windows Server 2008 brought to the table. And the Redmond company had already indicated that Windows 7 would contain features which will act as the foundation for Windows 8.

Still, Windows 7 is bound not to be an equivalent of Windows Vista Service Pack 2. In this regard, if Vista SP1 provides any clues, SP2 for Vista will also be nothing more than a standard service pack. SP1, with insignificant exceptions, did not add any new features to Windows Vista RTM. Such a scenario successfully dismisses any connections between Vista SP2 and Windows 7. Even if Windows Vista will act as the foundation, Windows 7 will deliver a plethora of new features that are not available, and will not be available in Vista, SP2 or no SP2.

But what about Windows 7 being a second version of Windows Vista? This possibility is supported by the close proximity of the 2007 and 2009 release dates, which seems unusual compared to the five year gap which separated Windows XP and Vista; but also by the lack of a new kernel. In all fairness, Microsoft never stated that Windows 7 will sport a new kernel. MinWin is actually related to the company's efforts to carve out the core of the operating system as a standalone Windows version, and not to overhaul the kernel. MinWin is by no means a new kernel, as it is not even a kernel per se. It's the actual core of Windows 7, which contains the kernel. The continuous play with speculation related to the MinWin anorexic kernel had a strong potential to hurt Microsoft, as the entire ecosystem of software and hardware solutions would be impacted by such a move.

Get Ready for XP SP2 Part II
Microsoft's official position, expressed by top executives such as Jim Allchin, is that Windows XP SP2, which was built by diverging resources away from Longhorn, should have been considered a new Windows client and not just a service pack. But in this context SP2 for XP provides a precedent, which in its turn gives an indication to where Microsoft is actually heading with Windows 7. By offering an evolution from what Vista is today, the Redmond company is essentially looking to repeat Service Pack 2 for Windows XP, but this time around marketing the new version as a fresh major release.

SP2 more than anything else put XP on the map, and ensured its continuous dominance over the operating system market. Still, it did this not from the perspective of a service pack, because SP3 for XP failed to even come close, but from that of a major overhaul, or a major evolution, specifically what Windows 7 will be to Windows Vista. Of course with the level of details provided by Microsoft, this is nothing more than speculation at this point in time.

Chances are that as SP2 was a stepping stone between XP and Vista, one treated as a service pack, Windows 7 will be a similar release on the road to Windows 8. From 2010 onward, provided that the plans for Windows 8 are at least in embryonic phase, Microsoft has a very good chance to put the Windows 7 evolution behind it, and actually provide something truly revolutionary. For the time being underpromising Windows 7 is Mcrosoft's new strategy with a focus on overachieving the next iteration of Windows. Rather easy to do as the company continues to really promise nothing at all.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Windows 7 Is Just the Beginning for Microsoft

2008-06-07T11:53:00.002+07:00

As far as Microsoft is concerned, Windows 7 is just the beginning. Not a new beginning for Windows, mind you, but the debut of a revolution in human - computer interaction. At Tech Ed 2008, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates indicated that he is betting big on natural user interfaces. "Now one of the big changes coming that I think is most underestimated is the change in interaction," he stated. Not by coincidence, the Redmond company's first public demonstration of Windows 7 involved almost exclusively the new touch computing technology built into the operating system.

"The way we interact with the computer has hardly changed," Gates stated looking at the current model of interaction. "We had the graphics revolution that took us from the keyboard to the keyboard and the mouse, and it took the screen from character mode to graphics mode. But still it's that one person sitting there, primarily using the keyboard, and the pointing device to interact with the application."

With Microsoft Surface, its first surface computing product, the Redmond giant made a single Windows Vista machine a potential nucleus of social interaction. The secret lies in the multi-touch, gesture and object recognition capabilities - exactly the features that Windows 7 will sport, as Microsoft so amply demonstrated.

And just as security and reliability were the focus of Windows Vista, so will the natural user interface in Windows 7 be the focus of the next iteration of Windows. Microsoft is not exactly reinventing the wheel of touch computing, as the technology is hardly an innovative item any more. But what Microsoft is without a doubt is the agent which will make the natural user interface as ubiquitous as the Windows operating system.

"There's a number of technologies that our research group and others have been working on for these decades that are now moving into the mainstream. It's a combination of software advances, and hardware power that allow us to bring new interaction techniques to a mainstream world. We collectively refer to these as natural user interface, but it's several different things. It's the idea of touch panel, and we gave a glimpse just last week of some of Windows 7, and the thing we chose to highlight there was this touch support, and how we built that in and made that easy for developers, and how end users will like that," Gates added.

But in the end natural, user interface is much more than just touch computing. It's also about pen capabilities for tablet devices, and about voice recognition. It's about opening up the computer, and technology in general, and making it available to as much people as possible, independent of the literacy level, of education, of language. Windows 7 is just the first step to taking interaction down to the level of a reflex.

"The final natural interface piece, one that I think is perhaps the most important of all, is vision. A camera is very inexpensive, and putting software behind it that can tell what it's seeing allows you to have gestures, and movements, things that will be used in a variety of settings," Gates explained. "Your desk won't just have a computer on it, it will have a computer in it. And your whiteboard will be intelligent. You can walk up, take information, expand it, point to somebody's name, start a teleconference with them, sit there and exchange information. And so natural interface really has a pretty dramatic impact on making these tools of empowerment, the personal computer, making them pervasive, and looking at them in new ways."

Source: news.softpedia.com

Vista SP1 Driver Incompatibility Issues Still Unresolved

2008-06-07T11:47:00.002+07:00

Four months since Windows Vista SP1 was released to manufacturing, the driver incompatibility issues affecting the implementation of the service pack are still unresolved. Vista SP1 RTM'd on February 4, 2008 along with Windows Server 2008. At that time, Microsoft informed that it was postponing the general availability of the release in order to give hardware developers a chance to adapt a set of problematic drivers which failed to integrate properly with the service pack. As a result, Vista SP1 didn't drop via the Download Center and Windows Update until March 18. But it looks that the extra time Microsoft provided hardware manufacturers to get their drivers playing well with Vista SP1, a source of obvious end user frustration, failed to deliver an actual result.

On June 5, Microsoft explained that Vista SP1 was still not being delivered to some machines running Vista RTM but featuring problematic hardware device drivers. The Redmond company continues not to serve SP1 through Windows Update or Automatic Updates for Vista copies which include a small set of device drivers causing functionality issues following the implementation of the service pack. With a few exceptions, the list is identical to what Microsoft published back in February.

Obviously, since the Redmond giant has put its evangelism wheels in motion, the hardware manufacturers did provide updated versions of the drivers. However, the problematic items were not tweaked to play well with Windows Vista SP1. In this context, the best course of action is to make sure that you have the latest versions of the device drivers available installed prior to deploying Vista SP1 in case the service pack is not delivered through WU or AU.

Here is the list of Vista SP1 problematic drivers as of June 5, 2008. (Please check the hardware vendors official websites for updated versions of the following device drivers tailored to Windows Vista SP1)

"Audio drivers
Realtek AC'97
• For x86-based computers: Alcxwdm.sys - version 6.0.1.6242 or earlier
• For x64-based computers: Alcwdm64.sys - version 6.0.1.6242 or earlier
IDT/SigmaTel
• For x86-based computers: Sthda.cat - published 12/17/07 or earlier
• For x64-based computers: Sthda64.cat - published 12/17/07 or earlier
IDT/SigmaTel
• For x86-based computers: Stwrt.cat - published 12/17/07 or earlier
• For x64-based computers: Stwrt64.cat - published 12/17/07 or earlier
Creative Audigy
• For x86-based and x64-based computers: P17.sys – versions earlier than 5.12.1.2004
Conexant HD Audio
• For x86-based computers: Chdart.sys - version 4.32.0.0 or earlier
• For x64-based computers: Chdart64.sys - version 4.32.0.0 or earlier

Display drivers
Intel Display
• For x86-based computers: Igdkmd32.sys – versions between and including driver 7.14.10.1322 and 7.14.10.1403
• For x64-based computers: Igdkmd64.sys – versions between and including driver 7.14.10.1322 and 7.14.10.1403

Other drivers
• Texas Instruments Smart Card Controller with the GTIPCI21.sys driver file – version 1.0.1.19 or earlier
• Sierra Wireless AirCard 580 with the Watcher.exe application – version 3.4.0.9 or earlier

Symantec software driver for Symantec Endpoint Protection and for Symantec Network Access Control clients
• For x86-based computers: Wgx.sys – versions 11.0.1000.1091 or earlier
• For x64-based computers: Wgx64.sys – versions 11.0.1000.1091 or earlier

Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo LA 1703 Notebooks that have a BIOS release date of March 14, 2008 or earlier."

Source: news.softpedia.com

Top 5 Reasons to Upgrade to Windows Vista SP1

2008-06-07T11:44:00.001+07:00

Ever had the feeling that Microsoft is scrambling to salvage what little it still can out of Windows Vista? While continuously claiming that its latest Windows client is not a failure, and pointing to the 140 million licenses sold as of March 2008, the Redmond company seems keen on demonstrating that it can pull the operating system out of the sinking sands of public opinion. In this regard, Service Pack 1 is indeed used as a floating device, but a tad of marketing on the side can't possibly hurt, can it? The focus for the time being, as far as Microsoft is concerned, is business users. Traditionally slow to upgrade to a new Windows release, corporate clients are now looking at Windows XP SP3 and Windows 7 as alternatives to Vista upgrades. The software giant is working to push Vista SP1 down their throats even if XP SP3 continues to work, and despite the proximity of Windows 7.

"This one is for all you IT professionals out there. A lot of you are probably having discussions inside your company about when to deploy Windows Vista, or you've deployed it and want to know which of the new capabilities can have the biggest impact on your business. To help in your evaluations we've released a new white paper, The Business Value of Windows Vista: Five Reasons to Deploy Now. This document summarizes the top enterprise features, latest customer case studies, and research on the capabilities of Windows Vista all in one place," revealed Christopher Flores, Director Windows Communications.

Still, in order to catalyze upgrades to Windows Vista, now with Service Pack 1, Microsoft employs the same set of arguments currently associated with a failed Wow. The company places the focus on increased security, mobility, productivity, reduced TCO, and streamlined deployment. The only new addition to this equation is Service Pack 1. The fact of the matter is that all these arguments are just as valid for Windows Vista RTM. And yet, business users have failed to crowd to the latest Windows operating system, choosing to stick with Windows XP and, in some cases, even with Windows 2000. If SP1 doesn't do it for them, certainly a list of five upgrade reasons, however elaborate or true, will not spark Vista upgrade fiestas across enterprises.

Here is the complete list provided by Flores, for Vista SP1:
"1. Improves the Security of PCs and Confidential Data. Windows Vista Enterprise had 20% fewer security vulnerabilities than Windows XP SP2 did in 2007-and it includes BitLocker Drive Encryption to help protect your confidential data.

2. Unlocks the Potential of Today's Mobile PCs. Windows Mobility Center helps users quickly access key mobility settings all in one place and research shows that Windows Vista can help customers save as much as $251 per mobile PC, per year.

3. Makes You and Your People More Productive. Find the information you need on your computer and reduce time spent searching for information by up to 42%.

4. Speeds ROI with Rapid Deployment and Migration. New imaging technologies and free deployment tools make the process of deploying Windows Vista easier than with any previous version.

5. Reduces Support and Management Costs. The costs saving can come from multiple places including reduced help desk calls, less time spent on image maintenance, or a lower energy bill."

Source: news.softpedia.com

Windows Vista Is Ready

2008-06-07T11:39:00.001+07:00

Windows Vista Is Ready - For your business, claims Microsoft. Microsoft released Windows Vista to corporate customers in November 2006 and to the general public in January 2007. But it wasn't until 2008 that Windows Vista was actually ready for businesses. It took Mike Nash, Corporate Vice President, Windows Product Management, over a year and a half to acknowledge that the Redmond company had failed to hit the sweet spot with its latest Windows client from the get go, and that it had to work throughout 2007 to perfect it. In this context, the release of Service Pack 1 is a milestone synonymous with Vista's readiness for business adoption.

Nash stressed that an investment in Vista SP1 makes sense even in scenarios of companies dealing with a limited budget to manage their IT infrastructure not only for the favorable cost/benefit factor, but also for the fact that migrating to the new operating system would prove a good idea even after Windows 7 drops on the market.

"Investments [in security and reliability] often meant changing the way that applications and drivers run on Windows, and they impacted the initial performance and compatibility of systems. Many people saw the value of the work we had done on things like data protection, search, mobility, and deployment - but there was a tradeoff between those benefits and device and application compatibility," Nash explained.

Throughout 2007, Microsoft hammered away at the operating system in order to soften all the rough corners, struggles which culminated with the release of Vista SP1. At the same time, the company's evangelism efforts paid off, as the hardware and software ecosystem became increasingly tailored to Vista SP1. According to Nash, this is the right time to give Windows Vista, now with SP1, another try.

"It is my firm belief that Windows Vista is ready for your business. If I ran an IT organization, I would first test and remediate my applications on Windows Vista. Then I would make sure that all new machines had 2 GB of RAM and run Windows Vista Enterprise Service Pack 1. For existing machines, with modern processors and less than 2 GB of RAM, I would consider upgrading the memory, BIOS and drivers, and then loading Windows Vista Enterprise SP1," Nash revealed.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Linux Cannot Connect to Vista SP1 over Cryptographic Security Services

2008-06-07T11:37:00.001+07:00

Computers running open source Linux operating systems have problems connecting to Windows Vista Service Pack 1 machines when cryptographic security services are involved. Essentially, the problem affects all distributions of Linux and both Vista RTM and SP1 and is related to failures to establish IPsec connections between the platforms, in scenarios where the connection is initiated from the machine powered by the open source operating system. Internet Protocol security (Ipsec) is, of course, related to the cryptographic security services which are used to protect network communications.

"Consider the following scenario. You use Windows Vista Local Security Policy on a Windows Vista-based computer. Or, you use the new Windows Firewall with Advanced Security on a Windows Vista-based computer. You try to initiate an Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) connection from a Linux-based computer to the Windows Vista-based computer. In this scenario, you cannot establish the connection," Microsoft revealed.

Previous versions of the Windows operating systems, including Windows XP and Windows Server 2008 have no issues communicating with Linux. The same is valid for IPsec communications between Vista SP1 and Linux, when the connection is initiated by the Vista computer. This is not an interoperability problem, but rather a glitch in Vista SP1. Microsoft offers a hotfix for the customers impacted by this specific issue.

"In IPsec negotiation for transform proposal of the combination where Authentication Header (AH) and Encapsulating Security Payload (ESP) are used for securing the same packet (AH+ESP), Windows Vista switches the order and replaces the packet with ESP+AH. This behavior breaks the negotiation. In this case, when you initiate the IPsec connection from a Linux-based computer, the Linux operating system proposes that the IPsec security format is AH+ESP. Therefore, the connection cannot be established," Microsoft explained.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Vista and Windows Server 2008 Application Compatibility Tool

2008-06-05T15:35:00.002+07:00

Windows Server 2008 is bound to bring on a new round of compatibility problems, similar to those experienced with Windows Vista deployments, for customers making the jump from older versions of the operating system. One of the biggest issues in this context is the readiness of the ecosystem of solutions orbiting around Microsoft's server platform for the new version of Windows Server. Microsoft is well aware that real software incompatibility problems, or even their anticipation, can successfully keep customers from upgrading to Windows Server 2008. Microsoft does tackle such scenarios on its end, and an illustrative example in this case is the "Works with" Tool for Windows Server 2008.

"The 'Works with' tool is a time and cost-saving resource for developers and IT Pros to determine application readiness on Windows Server 2008. Within two to four hours the tool compares an application with Microsoft’s application compatibility criteria and provides a detailed summary. The 'Works with' tool can be applied to both commercial and custom in-house developed applications and helps provide IT Professionals increased confidence to deploy applications on Windows Server 2008," Microsoft revealed.

Customers can deploy the tool on computers where the software products will be tested. The 'Works with' tool is not limited at Windows Server 2008, as it also permits the evaluation of applications components designed to run on Windows Vista. According to Microsoft, the applications will be tested in accordance with the criteria used by the company for the Works with Windows Server 2008 Logo program.

"The 'Works with' Tool for Windows Server 2008 can help identify potential compatibility issues in your applications running on Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista operating systems," Microsoft explained. "This tool requires that you install the application on a machine running Windows Server 2008 and any client components on machines running Windows Vista. It will run tests and background monitoring to verify the application's compatibility."

Source: news.softpedia.com

Microsoft Shares Windows Vista Web Services Protocols

2008-06-05T15:31:00.001+07:00

In a new initiative designed to be an integral part of its new found commitment and strategic focus on interoperability, Microsoft has announced that it is sharing the Windows Vista web services protocols with the Printer Working Group. In this manner, PWG, a program of the IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization, will benefit from the Microsoft Scan Service Definition Version 1.0. WS-Scan specifically refers to the web services protocols tailored to scanning peripherals. By sharing the Vista web services protocols, the Redmond company is effectively landing a helping hand to partners offering support for the building of products which will play well across a number of platforms.

"This collaboration is a response to customer and industry interest in having the WS-Scan Service Schema mapped directly to the PWG Scan semantic model," explained Jack Mayo, group program manager with the Windows Experience team at Microsoft. The way the Windows Vista operating system shares information with scanning peripherals is a process controlled via WS-Scan. In this regard the Web Services Protocols provide nothing more than a framework bridging the platform with scanning products.

"The benefit to customers will be making great scanning solutions for Windows-based interoperable with other platforms. The ability to make interoperable solutions will also greatly reduce the development burden on the PWG partner companies," Mayo added. By offering WS-Scan to the PWG, the Redmond company enables members of the printing industry to create solutions that will be interoperable with additional platforms, and not just Windows.

"Microsoft’s WS-Scan specification is a significant contribution to the Printer Working Group. It will greatly help us in our effort for industry wide standardization of networked multifunction device behaviors and capability representation," added Jerry Thrasher, PWG chair and senior standards engineer for Lexmark International. Over a year since the general availability of Windows Vista, and following the introduction of Service Pack 1, the latest Windows client enjoys an ecosystem of both hardware solutions and device products which is over 77,000 strong. Via the WS-Scan, Microsoft aims to rub off some of Vista interoperability on other platforms.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Watch the Full Windows 7 Video Presentation, Not Just the Official Version

2008-06-04T12:05:00.002+07:00

Microsoft has sort of timidly started to share a couple of rather anodyne details about Windows 7, the next version of the Windows client due by the end of 2009, according to the company's Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer. Christopher Flores, Director Windows Communications even made available a video demonstration of Windows 7, but it showed only what Microsoft wanted its users to see. As such, the focus was placed exclusively on Windows 7's new multi-touch and gesture technology. But the entire video for the presentation of Windows 7 at D6 – All Things Digital features additional indications about the direction the Redmond giant is heading towards with the graphical user interface of the successor of Windows Vista.

In the video segment embedded at the bottom of this article you will be able to see Julie Larson-Green, Corporate Vice President, Windows Experience Program Management, and her full presentation of Windows 7 at the D6 – All Things Digital conference. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer are also featured in the video. Ballmer even manages to intervene at a certain point. Larson-Green's demo of Windows 7 is not intended to show anything else than the multi-touch and gesture natural user input model of the operating system.

However, a piece of the traditional desktop is still present, although evolved beyond what Vista delivered with the Windows Aero GUI. The Taskbar has been redesigned. It's by no means a complete overhaul, since the basic concept is still the same; however, the changes are notable. First off, the Start sphere button is completely separated from the rest of the area as is the tray icon in the right hand side corner. The new Windows 7 Taskbar is wider than the standard Taskbar for Windows Vista, and the new icons have also undergone an evolution.

Of course, Julie Larson-Green failed to utter a single word related to the new Windows 7 Taskbar. She only managed to say that "it’s something we’re working on Windows 7 and I’m not supposed to talk about it, not today." But, at the same time, Julie Larson-Green is responsible for the introduction of the Fluent/Ribbon graphical user interface in the Office 2007 System, so big things should be expected out of Windows 7's GUI.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Windows 7 - the End of 2009

2008-06-04T12:00:00.001+07:00

As much as Microsoft is trying to make the availability date for the next iteration of the Windows client ambiguous, officially pointing to a development process scoped for 2010, Windows 7 is actually dropping at the end of 2009, were we to believe Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer. In the past, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates also indicated that Windows 7 would be released in 2009. The only Microsoft top executive still on translucent barricades at this point in time and holding onto 2010 with both hands is Steven "Don't Call Me Transparent" Sinofsky, the Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group.

Here is the official position from Microsoft, a refrain that the company has played to perfection through its PR mouthpieces: "we are well into the development process of Windows 7, and we're happy to report that we're still on track to ship approximately three years after the general availability of Windows Vista. As always, we will be releasing early builds of Windows 7 prior to its general availability as a means to gain feedback, but we're not yet ready to discuss timing and specific plans for any Beta releases. In the meantime, customers can confidently continue with their Windows Vista deployment plans", revealed Christopher Flores, Director Windows Communications.

But an early 2010 date, even January, just doesn't make sense for the launch of a consumer product. Windows Vista missed the 2006 holiday season by hitting the shelves on January 30, 2007. And the move hurt not only Windows revenues but also PC sales. As of yet Microsoft's strategy for Windows 7 is to not repeat the same mistakes it has done with Vista and to deliver an evolution on the foundation provided by the current Windows client. Shipping in early 2010 would be repeating a Vista mistake.

In this context, one mistake that Microsoft is not repeating, because it simply can't afford to, is overpromise and underdeliver, as it did with Vista. This is why Sinofsky gagged all details on the Windows 7 project. And when the company did start talking it did not touch subjects such as Betas, features or delivery deadlines at all. What it did was focus on what the operating system will actually bring to the table, namely the natural user interface demonstrated at the D6 - All Things Digital, the same place where Ballmer revealed that Windows 7 would hit the shelves by the end of 2009.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Windows 7 Is Not a Way Around Vista SP1

2008-06-04T11:51:00.002+07:00

Despite the fact that Microsoft has released Windows Vista in two separate stages focused on entirely separate customer segments, for businesses in November 2006, and for the general public in January 2008, consumers in both target groups failed to crowd to the latest Windows client. And even if there is a general trend for adoption to pick up following the release of the first service pack, there is no guarantee that the Vista SP1 milestone will deliver sufficient proof of maturity for Vista so that uptake would get off the ground. Furthermore, the proximity of Windows XP Service Pack 3, planned to drop before mid-2008 and Windows 7, which Bill Gates stated would start popping out as early as next year, in 2009, are both delivering an impact to end users that are considering their alternatives when it comes to upgrading to Vista.

"Worldwide, businesses' reactions to Windows Vista have been mixed. Most companies are well under way with their software and hardware compatibility testing and are planning to start their deployment toward the end of this year and into 2009. Others have had to prioritize major infrastructure projects beyond the client and aren't yet convinced that Windows Vista lies in their future," revealed Benjamin Gray, Forrester Analyst.

In the April 16, 2008 - Building The Business Case For Windows Vista report, Forrester claims that Windows 7 fails to represent a way around Windows Vista Service Pack 1. This is of course valid not only for businesses but also for the end users. Considering that SP3 will do nothing for Windows XP, and that Vista's predecessor will no longer be available via the retail and OEM channels starting in mid-2008, Vista SP1 upgrades are starting to get a feeling of inevitability.

"In fact, Forrester has spoken with dozens of companies that are internally debating the possibility of skipping Windows Vista entirely and going straight to the next release, known as 'Windows 7.' Although we applaud companies for thinking ahead, there are some harsh realities for those considering skipping Windows Vista. As a result, we're recommending that most clients start the migration to Windows Vista sooner rather than later to avoid potential pitfalls," Gray added.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Bill Gates: All Surfaces Will Be Windows Computers

2008-06-04T11:37:00.002+07:00

Thanks to a new trend which is responsible for increasingly pointing technology in the direction of adopting natural user interfaces, Bill Gates’ initial goal for Microsoft – putting a computer on every desk in every home – is somewhat evolving. In fact, it has at this point in time transformed into efforts of integrating Windows computers into all the traditional surfaces that are currently inert, failing to represent items of focus or interaction in any manner. But this will change in the future, as Microsoft labors to introduce a Windows computer into every surface possible, be it a tabletop or a wall, and make not only the operating system but also the touch-based, gesture recognition UI, along with additional examples of natural user interfaces technology ubiquitous.

"Our view is that all the surfaces, horizontal surfaces, vertical surfaces, will eventually have an inexpensive screen display capability, and software that sees what you're doing there, so it's completely interactive. When I say everywhere, I mean the individual's office, I mean the home, the living room, all of those things. The cost of the hardware is not that great, and the quality of the software is improving substantially", Gates stated.

During his presentation at the Microsoft CEO Summit 2008, Chairman Bill Gates demonstrated the Touch Wall, a new 4-foot-by-6-foot prototype which is not a vertical equivalent of Surface, introduced in early 2007, but a new example of multi-touch user interface technology. Touch Wall is not developed by the same team that is building Microsoft Surface, but is instead a project developed through the combined efforts of Microsoft Research and Office Labs. The joint venture produced a touch-sensitive interface in a vertical surface but also the underlying software, labeled as Plex.

"Well, I always like to show something that's new, because that's kind of risky and exciting, and so what I thought I'd show is this future whiteboard, the intelligent whiteboard. So far, this display has just had the nice meeting logo, but, in fact, it's running a new piece of software. It's got some scanning cameras down here at the bottom, so whenever I go up to it and say just touch it, the software will notice that, theoretically", Gates revealed.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Bill Gates Promises Windows 7 Will Be Less of a Resource Hog

2008-06-04T11:33:00.001+07:00

There are but scarce details pointing the direction in which Microsoft is taking the development of Windows 7, and the operating system, for that matter. Nevertheless, if Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is to be believed, Windows 7 is going to be less of a resource hog than its predecessor, although such a comparison can only be speculated upon and was not actually stated. On May 7, 2008, one day after the Redmond company dropped Windows XP SP3 via Windows Update and the Download Center, Gates was in Tokyo, Japan, at the Windows Digital Lifestyle Consortium and he mentioned the fact that there was a focus in making Windows 7 play well with less physical system memory.

"I'm very excited about the work being done there. The ability to be lower power, take less memory, be more efficient, and have lots more connections up to the mobile phone, so those scenarios connect up well to make it a great platform for the best gaming that can be done, to connect up to the thing being done out on the Internet, so that, for example, if you have two personal computers, that your files automatically are synchronized between them, and so you don't have a lot of work to move that data back and forth," he commented.

At CES 2008, Gates refused to answer a question inquiring as to which software product he wished Microsoft had perfected more before releasing it on the market. At that time, the Microsoft co-founder only said that he would provide an answer after the next version of the Windows client becomes available. According to the latest details Gates unveiled, Microsoft will take Windows 7 where Windows Vista never managed to go, making it even greener, offering increased performance and even swallow less RAM. Of course, at the same time, the Windows 7 PC to Windows 7 PC bridging capabilities come courtesy of Live Mesh, Microsoft's recently released cloud synchronization platform.

"Obviously we'd all love it if people had more PCs per average, and so making that simple is important. Also the effort to upgrade, I think that's an area we got a lot of feedback in Vista, that we need to invest in that, and we're going to make that very, very simple for people. So Vista is doing well, and we're hard at work putting even more investment now in the version that comes after that," Gates added.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Microsoft Will Build an Ubiquitous Computing Environment in the “City of the Future”

2008-06-04T11:30:00.001+07:00

Microsoft will be responsible for building an ubiquitous computing environment in the "City of the Future." The Redmond company announced that its technology would be at the heart of Songdo, a new South Korean city being built 40 miles southwest of Seoul. Microsoft Solutions will cover various technological aspects of the Songdo International Business District and will be made available to citizens, government, as well as for education purposes. Songdo is under construction in Incheon, South Korea and will cost an estimated $35 billion (U.S.). Gale International, the developer of Songdo, singed a partnership with Microsoft, and the Redmond company will get to place a complete technology infrastructure for the "City of the Future."

"Designing an entirely new city from the ground up provides a unique opportunity to create an ideal technological infrastructure in which access to digital capabilities and experiences is an inherent part of the living and working environment across people’s lives," revealed Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft. "Microsoft is pleased to join with Gale International, which is working closely with the governments of Korea and Incheon and the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority to help turn this exciting vision into reality."

Bill Gates was present at the Government Leaders Forum - Asia in Jakarta, Indonesia, where he delivered the keynote address. Songdo will get a wide variety of Microsoft technologies, but the entire span of the project is yet to be determined. According to the Redmond company, the city's technological requirements will be determined in collaboration with the Gale International and the Korean government, but will feature a Windows Mobile capable interface for government services, the Microsoft Citizen Service Platform, Microsoft Surface and Virtual Earth.

"I am very glad to have Microsoft as one of the major technology partners for the ubiquitous connectivity of Songdo IBD, a part of the Incheon Free Economic Zone," said Heon-Seok Lee, commissioner of the Free Economic Zone Authority. "I am confident that Microsoft’s technologies will successfully make Songdo IBD a cutting-edge technology-enabled city, which will accelerate Incheon Free Economic Zone’s city development and investment promotion."

Source: news.softpedia.com

2009 – 2010 - Windows 7 from Milestone Builds to the Beta and Final Versions

2008-06-04T11:26:00.002+07:00

Will the real Windows 7 availability date please stand up! While officially, when Microsoft is in PR mode, the company is pointing to 2010 for the delivery of its next iteration of Windows, additional indications, slip-ups and leaks point to the end of 2009 for the release deadline of Windows 7. With Microsoft completely mum on the successor of Windows Vista, the speculation bonanza is being fed only crumbs from the Windows 7 feast. And the latest anodyne detail made public comes from none other than Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, who pointed out that Windows 7 is right on track for availability next year, in 2009.

"Sometime in the next year or so we will have a new version [of Windows 7]," Gates revealed in a statement before the Inter-American Development Bank, according to Beyond Binary. "I'm super-enthused about what it will do in lots of ways." By focusing on 2009, Gates managed to diverge from the official timetable for Windows 7.

In mid-March, a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to Softpedia that "we are currently in the planning stages for Windows 7 and development is scoped to three years from Windows Vista Consumer GA [general availability, or January 31, 2007]. The specific release date will be determined once the company meets its quality bar for release."

With Steven Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, in charge of the Windows 7 project, Microsoft has made little to no details public about the next major version of Windows. Official confirmation offered was focused on promising both 32-bit and 64-bit variants as well as revealing a pet-project designed to modularize and isolate a low-footprint part of the platform, namely the core, as a standalone product dubbed MinWin.

Microsoft has so far offered Windows 7 Milestone 1 to its close partners and the antitrust regulators for review. Windows 7 M2 is expected in the April-May 2008 timeframe, and Mary Jo Foley says she heard talk about Milestone 3.

Gates' words could very well point to the general availability of Windows 7 ahead of the holiday season in 2009, a move which will not repeat the pains of Windows Vista's delivery at the start of 2007. But at the same time, 2009 could be synonymous with the release of the first Beta version of Windows 7. This even if there are indications that Windows 7 Beta 1 could drop as early as October 2008, more specifically October 27–30, 2008, at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC), in Los Angeles.

Source: news.softpedia.com

What's Written on Bill Gates' Face? Positive 73%, Negative 27%

2008-06-04T11:19:00.002+07:00

If it's true that the eyes are windows into the soul, then the face is a map to a person's mindset. At this point in time, facial coding is no more of a science than palm reading, but it has the potential of developing into a new area of expertise that could end up being used on a scale just as large as the polygraph. Facial coding, or the practice of interpreting the minute details, shifts and movements of the hundreds of muscles on a person's face, is essentially designed as a system of reading emotions and correlating them with the subject's actions, or words. Suppressed emotions might be an indication of frustration, of an attempt to lie, while at the opposite pole, positive expressions come to enforce a certain statement as being honest and true.

Facial coding expert Dan Hill analyzed a dozen of business leaders and Chief Executive Officers from major American companies for USA Today, in an effort to translate facial expressions during interviews into personality traits. Among the top executives examined there is also Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. The co-founder of Microsoft managed to score no less than positive 73% and negative 27% in terms of facial expressions. This means that: "He was at ease, affable and low key, but displayed small, weak social smiles, and touches of contempt," Hill stated.

In terms of positive expressions, Gates bested Apple Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs, whose facial coding ended up revealing a positive score of just 48%, with a negative of 52%. But according to Hill, Steve Jobs failed to hide his emotions in the least. "Lots of emoting, enjoyment mingled with frustration," Hill stated. Berkshire Hathaway CEO Buffett and a close friend of Bill Gates has the largest positive score, no less than 69% after Microsoft's Chairman being "affable, assured and low-key" but also slightly ironic, which scored him a negative 31%.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Bill Gates' New Work at Microsoft Will Begin in July 2008

2008-06-04T11:07:00.002+07:00

Bill Gates' new work at Microsoft will debut come July 2008. Yes, July is also the month synonymous with the end of Gates' day-to-day role in the company he helped found. On June 15, 2006, Microsoft announced that Gates will enter a two-year transition period at the end of which the Chairman will shift his focus mainly on the global health and education work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Gates will not completely divorce from Microsoft, but he has already unloaded the vast majority of his daily responsibilities on his successors.

But believe it or not, Gates will continue working at Microsoft, not only as chairman and advisor, but on specific projects. The Microsoft Chairman participated at the U.K. Server and Tools partner pre-launch event on January 30, 2008, and addressed the subject of his new responsibilities with Microsoft following July 2008.

"I had the pleasure of attending this event today. The last item was Q&A with Bill Gates and there were a number of questions that you will be able to watch and listen too in the future. However, the one that I thought was most interesting was this one: 'what will Bill be doing in his part time capacity with Microsoft and what will the Bill and Melinda Foundation focus on?' His reply was roughly (I made a few scribbled notes, so I hopefully have the gist, if not the words): Ray Ozzie and Craig Mundie will take care of the 'one Microsoft and R&D function'," revealed David Overton, ISV Partner Account Manager at Microsoft.

Back in mid 2006, Chief Technical Officer Ray Ozzie assumed the title of Chief Software Architect, and took over the technical architecture and product oversight. At the same time, Chief Technical Officer Craig Mundie was given the new title of Chief Research and Strategy Officer and took control over Microsoft's research and incubation efforts. In this manner, Gates' responsibilities passed to Ozzie and Mundie. After July 2008, the Chairman will focus on three key areas.

"Search - still have lots to deliver from the various teams - we have just started to see the beginning of this - in both Internet and enterprise areas. Office - Bill has always had a keen interest in this area and it will continue. Things to be included are Modelling and declarative rules. Natural User Interfaces - more voice, touch, gesture and general non-keyboard interaction with technology," Overton added.

Source: news.softpedia.com

Bill Gates: Office Is a Platform too, Not Just Windows

2008-06-04T11:03:00.003+07:00

In an effort to underline the relevance of the Office System as a platform for developers and not just an application, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates introduced during his keynote address at the Office System Developers Conference 2008, in San Jose, new software, services and tools designed to make Office an equivalent of Windows. At least from a development platform perspective. But unlike Windows, Gates emphasized the opportunity for developers to leverage Office, in order to build business applications. And to prove his point, the Microsoft Chairman also showcased a number of Microsoft Office Business Applications (OBAs) from various producers, including FedEx and Dell.

"I wanted to talk a little bit about some of the development platform directions, and why I see Office as continuing to innovate at a very rapid pace. The opportunity to make workers more productive is really a phenomenal opportunity, and I believe we're just at the beginning of that, and a key element is the broad set of software we use to empower those workers. And there's no more important piece of software for that than Office, and making this a platform is very important for us. In fact, if you look at the success of our software or any software, this emphasis on it being a platform, reaching out to developers, having great tools has been the key to its success," Gates stated.

Gates brought to the attention of the public no less than seven developer resources and tools tailored to the Office System. OBA Sample Application Kit enabled the creation of solutions connected with Office, while the Financial Services Reference Application Pack brings to the table over 75 OBA components that use Open XML and other Office system technologies for products aimed at the financial sector.

Via the OBA Composition Toolkit developers can put together Office and SharePoint Server 2007 mash-ups, and the BizTalk Adapter Pack and BizTalk Adapter Pack: Office Developer Program offer new opportunities in terms of line-of-business systems connectivity. The Visual Studio extensions for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, v1.1 simplify the development process for SharePoint Server 2007, while the Metro for Unified Communications permits leveraging Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 and Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 for the integration of unified communications capabilities into third-party products.

"Almost half of ISVs and IT developers worldwide are using the Microsoft Office system to build business applications because Microsoft Office is such an effective way to unlock business data stored in back-end systems," Gates added. "With applications and services built on the Microsoft Office system, developers can make it easier for employees to connect to information and business processes."

Source: news.softpedia.com

NTFS vs FAT

2008-06-03T10:24:00.002+07:00

To NTFS or not to NTFS - that is the question. But unlike the deeper questions of life, this one isn't really all that hard to answer. For most users running Windows XP, NTFS is the obvious choice. It's more powerful and offers security advantages not found in the other file systems. But let's go over the differences among the files systems so we're all clear about the choice. There are essentially three different file systems available in Windows XP: FAT16, short for File Allocation Table, FAT32, and NTFS, short for NT File System.

FAT16
The FAT16 file system was introduced way back with MS–DOS in 1981, and it's showing its age. It was designed originally to handle files on a floppy drive, and has had minor modifications over the years so it can handle hard disks, and even file names longer than the original limitation of 8.3 characters, but it's still the lowest common denominator. The biggest advantage of FAT16 is that it is compatible across a wide variety of operating systems, including Windows 95/98/Me, OS/2, Linux, and some versions of UNIX. The biggest problem of FAT16 is that it has a fixed maximum number of clusters per partition, so as hard disks get bigger and bigger, the size of each cluster has to get larger. In a 2–GB partition, each cluster is 32 kilobytes, meaning that even the smallest file on the partition will take up 32 KB of space. FAT16 also doesn't support compression, encryption, or advanced security using access control lists.

FAT32
The FAT32 file system, originally introduced in Windows 95 Service Pack 2, is really just an extension of the original FAT16 file system that provides for a much larger number of clusters per partition. As such, it greatly improves the overall disk utilization when compared to a FAT16 file system. However, FAT32 shares all of the other limitations of FAT16, and adds an important additional limitation—many operating systems that can recognize FAT16 will not work with FAT32—most notably Windows NT, but also Linux and UNIX as well. Now this isn't a problem if you're running FAT32 on a Windows XP computer and sharing your drive out to other computers on your network—they don't need to know (and generally don't really care) what your underlying file system is.

The Advantages of NTFS
The NTFS file system, introduced with first version of Windows NT, is a completely different file system from FAT. It provides for greatly increased security, file–by–file compression, quotas, and even encryption. It is the default file system for new installations of Windows XP, and if you're doing an upgrade from a previous version of Windows, you'll be asked if you want to convert your existing file systems to NTFS. Don't worry. If you've already upgraded to Windows XP and didn't do the conversion then, it's not a problem. You can convert FAT16 or FAT32 volumes to NTFS at any point. Just remember that you can't easily go back to FAT or FAT32 (without reformatting the drive or partition), not that I think you'll want to.

The NTFS file system is generally not compatible with other operating systems installed on the same computer, nor is it available when you've booted a computer from a floppy disk. For this reason, many system administrators, myself included, used to recommend that users format at least a small partition at the beginning of their main hard disk as FAT. This partition provided a place to store emergency recovery tools or special drivers needed for reinstallation, and was a mechanism for digging yourself out of the hole you'd just dug into. But with the enhanced recovery abilities built into Windows XP (more on that in a future column), I don't think it's necessary or desirable to create that initial FAT partition.

When to Use FAT or FAT32
If you're running more than one operating system on a single computer, you will definitely need to format some of your volumes as FAT. Any programs or data that need to be accessed by more than one operating system on that computer should be stored on a FAT16 or possibly FAT32 volume. But keep in mind that you have no security for data on a FAT16 or FAT32 volume—any one with access to the computer can read, change, or even delete any file that is stored on a FAT16 or FAT32 partition. In many cases, this is even possible over a network. So do not store sensitive files on drives or partitions formatted with FAT file systems.

From Many Source

20 things you didn't know about Windows XP

2008-06-03T10:19:00.001+07:00

You've read the reviews and digested the key feature enhancements and operational changes. Now it's time to delve a bit deeper and uncover some of Windows XP's secrets.

1. It boasts how long it can stay up. Whereas previous versions of Windows were coy about how long they went between boots, XP is positively proud of its stamina. Go to the Command Prompt in the Accessories menu from the All Programs start button option, and then type 'systeminfo'. The computer will produce a lot of useful info, including the uptime. If you want to keep these, type 'systeminfo > info.txt'. This creates a file called info.txt you can look at later with Notepad. (Professional Edition only).

2. You can delete files immediately, without having them move to the Recycle Bin first. Go to the Start menu, select Run... and type 'gpedit.msc'; then select User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Windows Explorer and find the Do not move deleted files to the Recycle Bin setting. Set it. Poking around in gpedit will reveal a great many interface and system options, but take care -- some may stop your computer behaving as you wish. (Professional Edition only).

3. You can lock your XP workstation with two clicks of the mouse. Create a new shortcut on your desktop using a right mouse click, and enter 'rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation' in the location field. Give the shortcut a name you like. That's it -- just double click on it and your computer will be locked. And if that's not easy enough, Windows key + L will do the same.

4. XP hides some system software you might want to remove, such as Windows Messenger, but you can tickle it and make it disgorge everything. Using Notepad or Edit, edit the text file /windows/inf/sysoc.inf, search for the word 'hide' and remove it. You can then go to the Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Windows Components and there will be your prey, exposed and vulnerable.

5. For those skilled in the art of DOS batch files, XP has a number of interesting new commands. These include 'eventcreate' and 'eventtriggers' for creating and watching system events, 'typeperf' for monitoring performance of various subsystems, and 'schtasks' for handling scheduled tasks. As usual, typing the command name followed by /? will give a list of options -- they're all far too baroque to go into here.

6. XP has IP version 6 support -- the next generation of IP. Unfortunately this is more than your ISP has, so you can only experiment with this on your LAN. Type 'ipv6 install' into Run... (it's OK, it won't ruin your existing network setup) and then 'ipv6 /?' at the command line to find out more. If you don't know what IPv6 is, don't worry and don't bother.

7. You can at last get rid of tasks on the computer from the command line by using 'taskkill /pid' and the task number, or just 'tskill' and the process number. Find that out by typing 'tasklist', which will also tell you a lot about what's going on in your system.

8. XP will treat Zip files like folders, which is nice if you've got a fast machine. On slower machines, you can make XP leave zip files well alone by typing 'regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll' at the command line. If you change your mind later, you can put things back as they were by typing 'regsvr32 zipfldr.dll'.

9. XP has ClearType -- Microsoft's anti-aliasing font display technology -- but doesn't have it enabled by default. It's well worth trying, especially if you were there for DOS and all those years of staring at a screen have given you the eyes of an astigmatic bat. To enable ClearType, right click on the desktop, select Properties, Appearance, Effects, select ClearType from the second drop-down menu and enable the selection. Expect best results on laptop displays. If you want to use ClearType on the Welcome login screen as well, set the registry entry HKEY_USERS/.DEFAULT/Control Panel/Desktop/FontSmoothingType to 2.

10. You can use Remote Assistance to help a friend who's using network address translation (NAT) on a home network, but not automatically. Get your pal to email you a Remote Assistance invitation and edit the file. Under the RCTICKET attribute will be a NAT IP address, like 192.168.1.10. Replace this with your chum's real IP address -- they can find this out by going to www.whatismyip.com -- and get them to make sure that they've got port 3389 open on their firewall and forwarded to the errant computer.

11. You can run a program as a different user without logging out and back in again. Right click the icon, select Run As... and enter the user name and password you want to use. This only applies for that run. The trick is particularly useful if you need to have administrative permissions to install a program, which many require. Note that you can have some fun by running programs multiple times on the same system as different users, but this can have unforeseen effects.

12. Windows XP can be very insistent about you checking for auto updates, registering a Passport, using Windows Messenger and so on. After a while, the nagging goes away, but if you feel you might slip the bonds of sanity before that point, run Regedit, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Explorer/Advanced and create a DWORD value called EnableBalloonTips with a value of 0.

13. You can start up without needing to enter a user name or password. Select Run... from the start menu and type 'control userpasswords2', which will open the user accounts application. On the Users tab, clear the box for Users Must Enter A User Name And Password To Use This Computer, and click on OK. An Automatically Log On dialog box will appear; enter the user name and password for the account you want to use.

14. Internet Explorer 6 will automatically delete temporary files, but only if you tell it to. Start the browser, select Tools / Internet Options... and Advanced, go down to the Security area and check the box to Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed.

15. XP comes with a free Network Activity Light, just in case you can't see the LEDs twinkle on your network card. Right click on My Network Places on the desktop, then select Properties. Right click on the description for your LAN or dial-up connection, select Properties, then check the Show icon in notification area when connected box. You'll now see a tiny network icon on the right of your task bar that glimmers nicely during network traffic.

16. The Start Menu can be leisurely when it decides to appear, but you can speed things along by changing the registry entry HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control Panel/Desktop/MenuShowDelay from the default 400 to something a little snappier. Like 0.

17. You can rename loads of files at once in Windows Explorer. Highlight a set of files in a window, then right click on one and rename it. All the other files will be renamed to that name, with individual numbers in brackets to distinguish them. Also, in a folder you can arrange icons in alphabetised groups by View, Arrange Icon By... Show In Groups.

18. Windows Media Player will display the cover art for albums as it plays the tracks -- if it found the picture on the Internet when you copied the tracks from the CD. If it didn't, or if you have lots of pre-WMP music files, you can put your own copy of the cover art in the same directory as the tracks. Just call it folder.jpg and Windows Media Player will pick it up and display it.

19. Windows key + Break brings up the System Properties dialogue box; Windows key + D brings up the desktop; Windows key + Tab moves through the taskbar buttons.

20. The next release of Windows XP, codenamed Longhorn, is due out late next year or early 2003 and won't be much to write home about. The next big release is codenamed Blackcomb and will be out in 2003/2004.

From Many Source

Ping

2008-06-03T10:00:00.001+07:00

In a previous tip, it was revealed how to continuously ping a host until stopped. Here are all of the ping options:
example .. In DOS .. c:>ping 192.168.0.1 -t
-t Ping the specifed host until interrupted

-a Resolve addresses to hostnames

-n count Number of echo requests to send

-l size Send buffer size

-f Set Don't Fragment flag in packet

-i TTL Time To Live

-v TOS Type Of Service

-r count Record route for count hops

-s count Timestamp for count hops

-j host-list Loose source route along host-list

-k host-list Strict source route along host-list

-w timeout Timeout in milliseconds to wait for each reply

Experiment to see how helpful these can be!