SanDisk won't specify Vista SSD problems, but is 'working with Microsoft'
Amid complaints that Windows Vista is hurting the development of solid state drives, SanDisk now says it is working with Microsoft to optimize SSDs for "the Windows experience." But the company refused to provide details of Vista's problem, and Microsoft seemed unaware of the collaboration.
In a statement to BetaNews today, Richard Heyes, who heads up SanDisk's SSD Business Unit, didn't elaborate on the areas of optimization, although he did talk about SSD performance on "full-featured" operating systems such as Windows Vista vs. "simple" systems such as XP Starter Edition -- and he predicted that operating systems in general will become more "SSD aware" in the future.
Windows Vista hurting SSD development, claims SanDisk CEO
Microsoft's Windows Vista is to blame for slowing down the progress -- and, in turn, adoption-- of solid state drives (SSDs), according to Sandisk Chairman and CEO Eli Harari.
"As soon as you get into Vista applications in notebook and desktop, you start running into very demanding applications because Vista is not optimized for flash memory solid-state disk," Harari said, during SanDisk's second-quarter earnings call on Monday.
Microsoft prepares to auto-deliver Windows Search 4.0 to Vista users
If you notice your hard drive crunching later this month while performing a menial task, fear not: it's just the new Windows Search software creating an index of your files. Microsoft plans to automatically deliver version 4.0 of the software, formerly Windows Desktop Search, to Vista users.
Windows Search 4.0 was released in June and Microsoft says it has "seen a good number of downloads, and a number of positive responses from customers." The advantage over Vista's built-in search function is one of performance, the company claims. The structure of the search index was completely redesigned to speed up locating items on the hard drive and networked PCs.
Vista users greeted with an unexpected surprise: MobileMe
While they may have no intention of ever signing up for the service, Windows users are finding an unexpected addition to their Control Panels.
A link for "MobileMe Preferences" has begun appearing at the bottom of the Control Panel screens of those who have installed the latest Apple iTunes software -- according to one user, without any notification at all.
Next Patch Tuesday has few security updates, big Vista reliability fix
In its monthly advance notice the weekend before the second Tuesday of the month, Microsoft said it will only be addressing four security issues this time around, two dealing with Windows. But a surprisingly big Vista bug fix is under way.
If you think about it, the relative security of Windows Vista hasn't been the subject of much debate recently. If there's any problem consumers have with it, whether it's born out of market perception or real-world experience, it's a feeling that it's not all that reliable.
Windows XP will be sold to some OEMs after all, says Microsoft
BetaNews has confirmed that, although most of Microsoft's shipments of Windows XP did end on June 30 as scheduled, it is still making XP available to both makers of low-end Netbooks and 'systems builders,' large and small.
Monday of this week didn't exactly spell the end of Windows XP, after all. In line with its "end of life" plans, Microsoft did stop selling XP to OEMs and retailers on Monday -- but with some notable "exceptions" which Microsoft acknowledged to BetaNews Tuesday evening.
Intel isn't saying 'no' or 'yes' to Vista completely
There may not ever be a planned, collective migration of Intel's company clients to Windows Vista. But as Intel told BetaNews today, there doesn't have to be, since IT can make upgrade decisions on a case-by-case basis.
In response this afternoon to an enthusiast news site report last Monday that re-ignited an old rumor that Intel had decided it would be corporate policy not to deploy Windows Vista on its internal company network-linked systems, and that it might even consider a wholesale move to Linux, an Intel spokesperson gave BetaNews a more practical explanation. Rather than move everybody in its various departments from Windows XP or Windows 2000 to Vista in a massive exodus, the company reiterated what it has told us before: It deploys different versions of Windows based on specific user needs.
UMPC for Vista given one more push with 'Origami Experience'
New software for Vista-using UMPC owners could make their portables into something more like what they expected to begin with. However, there may be some hardware out there that won't be so welcoming.
For reasons that may have less to do with Windows than with the limitations of the hardware, the first incarnation of the Ultra-Mobile PC (UMPC) specification went down with a "thud heard 'round the world." In a serious attempt to revive interest in a computing niche that still begs to be interesting, and so far just isn't, Microsoft is steadily reassembling its software portfolio for UMPC, with a new campaign that this time answers more questions, rather than asking, "What is it?" and leaving the answer hanging over a cliff.
Windows XP lives on in the next embedded OS upgrade
The versatility of Microsoft's previous generation of operating system is about to be shown off some more, with a new edition that will be customizable for various embedded devices, using a special version of Visual Studio.
It's no secret that the Windows XP kernel is better suited for small devices than the Vista kernel, whose new architecture -- including such features as Address Space Layout Randomization -- requires a larger memory footprint. What may be a surprise is how much Microsoft has managed to compress into the next edition of Windows for embedded devices, now called Windows Embedded Standard, including .NET Framework 3.5, Windows Media Player 11, Silverlight, and Internet Explorer 7.
Windows 7 multi-touch SDK being readied for PDC in October
As details continue to emerge about Microsoft's evidently well-made plans for its next operating system, we learn that full documentation for how multi-touch capabilities will work in Windows, will be ready for demonstration by this fall.
For Microsoft's next Professional Developers' Conference currently scheduled for late October in Los Angeles, the company plans to demonstrate the use of a system developers' kit for producing multi-touch applications for Windows 7. Such applications would follow the model unveiled yesterday by executives Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer at a Wall Street Journal technology conference in Carlsbad, California yesterday.
And so it begins: The Windows 7 marketing push
Microsoft is speaking on the record about Windows 7 for the first time, though the message is controlled and diluted. The important takeaway is that the next Windows operating system will not be a major overhaul to Vista.
This morning, Microsoft officials have begun to speak publicly about the edition of Windows that follows Vista, as a real product whose development is under way. But just like the last go-round, what they're saying mainly revolves around the fact that they're speaking publicly.
Symantec disses Vista, says corporations 'not comfortable'
Microsoft seems to be fighting a losing public relations battle for Vista, as companies continue to criticize the latest Windows operating system.
In an interview with InformationWeek, Symantec's chief operating officer Enrique Salem said his customers in the enterprise sector are sticking with the older operating system.
Adobe updates DNG photo format, adds Vista support
Download Adobe DNG Codec for Windows Vista RC1 from BetaNews FileForum now.
Adobe's Digital Negative specification, also known as the DNG format, was updated Tuesday, as the company pushes it to become a unified standard for working with raw photographic images taken by digital cameras.
Gates gives first hints 'Windows 7' beta cycle could begin soon
If what the Microsoft chairman said last week in Tokyo is to be taken seriously, then the beta cycle for the next version of Windows must begin in a matter of weeks. If no such announcement happens, then the Gates era is truly over.
What will likely be Bill Gates' last Asian tour as Chairman of Microsoft has already generated plenty of news, especially with his public display of walking away from the Yahoo deal. But now that Microsoft has released its transcript of Gates' speech in Tokyo last Wednesday, prior to his press conference where the focus was on his Yahoo comments, we realize that he had intended to make news on a different front.
Windows XP SP3 update causing endless reboots in AMD machines
An issue with how the Service Pack 3 update handles AMD chips will cause some Windows XP computers to continuously reboot. Microsoft says it is investigating, and provided removal instructions for those having problems.
The issues come in two forms: The first affects some systems with AMD chips and OEM XP images, while the other seems to affect certain AMD motherboards. Microsoft is looking into the problem and said it will advise when it has a solution.
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