A blog post Tuesday by Sophos senior security engineer Chester Wisniewski stated that recent Sophos tests revealed that User Account Control -- the part of Windows that prompts the user for permission before granting elevated privileges -- was ineffective in stopping common samples of malware from running, in a Windows 7-based system without virus protection.

Whereas two of the ten chosen malware samples for the test would not run in Win7 without UAC turned on at all, only one more sample (a low-prevalence worm code-named W32/Autorun-ATK) was thwarted by UAC. The other seven ran as though they were being blocked only by a stack of dominoes.

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The key selling point for Windows 7, as emphasized in a concerted advertising campaign that stretches across both TV and the Web, is that it's leaner, simpler, and faster. It doesn't have to complete the phrase "faster than..." because we all know how to complete that phrase. Microsoft's bet for Windows 7 is that users smart enough to complete that phrase, care.

So if some of the comments Betanews has been receiving about Internet Explorer's recent problems being a non-event, or a "YAWN," really did reflect reality, then Microsoft has already lost the bet.

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Download Mozilla Firefox 3.6 Beta 1 from Fileforum now.

One of the nicest new features in Microsoft Windows 7 concerns the revised taskbar, specifically how many more choices are available to you when you right-click an icon, or when you just hover over it to see where all your open windows are. In Mozilla Firefox 3.6 Beta 1, which went live just minutes ago, the browser's integration with the Win7 taskbar is now on a par with that of Internet Explorer 8.

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The latest version of Canonical's popular Linux distribution Ubuntu (9.10 "Karmic Koala") was officially released today and is now available for download.

Among numerous performance improvements (Upstart native jobs, Intel video driver acceleration switched from "EXA" to "UXA", GRUB 2 boot loader by default, ext4 filesystem by default) and upgrades to the architecture (Linux Kernel 2.6.31, Gnome 2.28, X.Org 7.4, X.Org server 1.6.4, Xsplash and Compiz Fusion 0.8.4), Ubuntu 9.10 has thrown in a couple of compelling new products to make Karmic Koala worth a second look for those still apprehensive about Linux operating systems and largely unfamiliar with all the architectural and environmental upgrades.

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Typically when you upgrade a computer from one operating system to the very next level up, you don't want the new system replacing or deleting anything without your knowledge and approval. Windows 7 thus far seems to be quite good on this score. But perhaps it's too good in the case of its new and somewhat enhanced Windows Media Center, whose new reliance on an upstream recording prevention mechanism that's part of its PlayReady scheme, among other things, renders obsolete Vista's media settings.

As a result, if you have a TV tuner in your Vista-based PC, and you follow all the instructions for migrating to Win7, the new Media Center could insist you don't have a TV there at all. Betanews was able to reconstruct the conditions of a situation some upgraders are reporting where their built-in tuners disappear. Luckily, we also have a solution to the problem that worked for us, and that may hopefully work for you if you're in similar circumstances.
But let's concede right off the bat, it's not an easy or intuitive solution, so don't blame yourself thinking there's something you missed.

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Although we had good reason to expect that most folks' experiences with Windows 7 upgrades this past week would be, as we put it, "without the crap," the exceptions are starting to show up. One of the more serious cases involves Intel, which has withdrawn its latest solid-state drive firmware update after multiple reports from disgruntled users of complete storage system failure following their Windows 7 upgrades.

The new firmware, along with Windows 7, was supposed to support a new internal file management methodology called TRIM. Its purpose was to compensate for a problem typical of memory-based storage, as opposed to traditional magnetic disks: Since memory systems must keep track of their contents even some of those contents aren't really in use, over time, SSDs' performance can lag. While traditional disks don't have to retain a memory of the contents of sectors pointing to "deleted" files, SSDs do...and they can't wipe the contents of those sectors individually. Instead, they have to wait until entire blocks become disused -- which happens less and less often as drives become more and more fragmented. TRIM was supposed to overcome that deficiency with a kind of self-optimizing mechanism, letting SSDs wipe blocks more often, thus overcoming lags and keeping performance levels high over time.

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Anyone who would continue to frame the consumer PC market in 1980s terms, as a continuance of the old war between Microsoft and Apple, would be sorely disappointed by this morning's earnings news from Microsoft. The measured candor that continues to emerge from CFO Chris Liddell suggests that Macintosh and iPhone are not even on the company's radar at the moment, and that his real battle is against a tougher and more menacing foe: Vista.

As of yesterday, it was officially okay for Microsoft to pronounce Vista part of its past, to "un-support" it from a marketing standpoint (though certainly not from a service standpoint). Steering Microsoft clear of the perfect storm -- the effects of the global recession, coupled with the peak in negative attitude toward Vista -- means putting Vista behind it, placing it in the adversarial role normally characterized by someone who looks a lot more like Justin Long than John Hodgman.

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Apple today promised to update its Boot Camp partitioning tool to support Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate before the end of the year.

In a support article posted to Apple's site today, it says the Boot Camp upgrade will be brought to most Intel-based Macs running OS X Snow Leopard. The sole exception at this point is the 2006 line, where Windows 7 will not be supported by the 17" and 20" iMac, 15" and 17" Macbook Pro and 2.66GHz or 3GHz Mac Pro. These units represent the first generation of Intel-based Macs, and represent a transitional period in the Mac architecture.

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While most of the Windows 7 features demo'd at today's New York City launch were already known about far and wide, Microsoft surprised a lot of the crowd with Internet TV, a streaming media capability that just might some day spur consumers to ditch pricey cable TV services like Time Warner and Cablevision.

Internet TV lets you stream video and audio programming directly into Windows 7 Media Center, without the hassles of going to myriad Web sites and downloading multiple players, said Microsoft rep Brian Yee, in an interview with Betanews at the Microsoft bash.

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Hitching its wagon to the Windows 7 star today, Amazon announced the upcoming availability of Kindle for PC, a free Windows 7 optimized e-reader program that syncs with a user's Kindle, and allows PC-based reading and library building.

Just like Kindle for iPhone, the software uses Amazon's Whispersync functionality to keep users on the same page (literally) as their Kindle. Also like the iPhone application, Kindle for PC users running Windows 7 will be able to utilize multi-touch gestures such as pinch zooming and finger swipes to turn pages.

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Here are some observations after having watched Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's Windows 7 rollout, as streamed live from a Soho loft earlier this morning: Although I'm on record as praising Windows 7 (at Vista's expense), Microsoft missed a window here to make its new product more tangible and more interesting to consumers.

We saw plenty of demonstrations today about multitouch, which will at some point be perceived as a key feature of Windows 7 once more people are able to get their hands on it. But the only two routes Microsoft presented this morning were through expensive touch-sensitive TVs (which don't make sense to folks who prefer remote control) and through a new class of PCs that has yet to find a proper form factor, let alone make its way from the factory.

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The world pretty much knows what Windows 7 contains, thanks to technology previews and early releases to developers. So what's left for anyone to be surprised about? Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gave a hint as to a possible answer this morning on NBC's Today program, telling host Matt Lauer that one of the most noticeable new features of the operating system will be multitouch. With Apple premiering its "multitouch mouse" a few days early, did Ballmer have something similar in mind?

Betanews' Jacqueline Emigh is with the press contingent in New York City, and is filing live updates from the scene.

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Download Microsoft Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor 2.0 from Fileforum now.

Here is the essential information you need to know if you're a Windows Vista user considering whether to upgrade to Windows 7: Yes.

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Have you reserved your copy of Windows 7 yet? Did you book off work? Get a babysitter for the kids? Stock up on Red Bull and Doritos?...No? If you're one of the dozens who pine for midnight door-crasher sales at the electronics big box store and Rolling Stones-themed launch events, you may want to make alternate plans.

For anyone who doesn't live in a cave in Afghanistan (and even for a few folks who do), this week could be the most exciting one in an age as Microsoft launches its newest -- and possibly company-saving -- operating system, Windows 7, on Thursday. But 14 years after it redefined the rock-star launch party with Windows 95, and nearly four years after having invested a half-billion dollars selling us Vista, this time around, Microsoft is taking a lower-key approach.

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I have to laugh at the sudden, slew of Mac bloggers taking swings at Windows 7 and asserting that Macs will continue to sell well after Microsoft's newest OS ships. Feeling a little defensive are we, bros? Their reaction shows worry that the thing they profess against -- surging PC sales that swamp Macs -- may yet be reality.

Windows 7 is simply Microsoft's best operating system ever. Mac fanboys should worry and circle together in defensive posture. Collectively, they're making a last stand against the PC giant. Please, please, boisterous Mac defenders, stand in the front lines and receive the first blows. You deserve them.

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