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.
Windows XP SP3 official release delayed, but download still available
Download Windows XP Service Pack 3 from FileForum now (316 MB).
1:20 pm EDT April 29, 2008 - As expected, the self-extracting .EXE version of Windows XP Service Pack 3 was made available to the general public by Microsoft this morning. However, due to a last minute problem, the official release to Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center was delayed.
Why are Vista sales tapering off?
Microsoft is blaming its disappointing third quarter client software sales on factors that exclude Vista. Meanwhile, though, a variety of evidence indicates that many Windows XP users aren't upgrading, but switching to Mac or Linux.
"With respect to [the] third-quarter in particular, there's really no Vista-related issues at all," said Microsoft CFO and Senior VP Chris Liddell, during a conference call on Thursday. There, Microsoft reported a year-over-year drop in sales of 24% for Windows desktop operating systems in the third quarter of Microsoft's fiscal year.
Dell promises to protect business customers' right not to use Vista
If you're a business customer of Dell, you might have to purchase Vista with your PC, but that doesn't mean you have to use it. Today, Dell is trying a new way to satisfy both business users' wants and Microsoft's licensing requirements.
A recent revision to Dell's policy for business PC customers lets them take full and open advantage of an apparent loophole in Microsoft's operating system licensing, though they'll pay full price for it: Assuming Microsoft goes forth with its plan to discontinue sale of all versions of Windows XP after June 30, Dell will still enable its business customers who purchase Windows Vista Business or Vista Professional to exercise certain "downgrade rights" and have Windows XP Professional installed instead.
Vista SP1 goes live on Automatic Updates, but gradually
It's apparently safe to try this now: Microsoft stated this afternoon it's going forward with plans to deploy Windows Vista Service Pack 1 via Automatic Updates.
But today's go-ahead won't mean that users will wake up one morning and suddenly find themselves upgraded (or not), or even that SP1 will find itself deployed all in the same morning.
Appeals court lets 'Vista Capable' class action proceed
In a big blow to the case against Microsoft's allegedly confusing "Vista Capable" labeling program for PCs, the US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday denied Microsoft's petition to overturn a decision granting the case class action status.
It may be exactly what Microsoft doesn't want right now, even if it ends up winning the case in the end: the symbolism of a mass of consumers taking up arms against the company, in dispute over the very heart of its value proposition for Windows Vista. Yesterday the Ninth Circuit ended the company's hopes of being able to face the plaintiff on the company's terms.
Windows XP SP3 released to manufacturing, downloadable 4/29
In a post to Microsoft's TechNet Forum minutes ago, a Microsoft official announced that Service Pack 3 of Windows XP has released to its manufacturing channels, in order to reach OEM and enterprise customers by the late-April deadline.
Microsoft's XP SP3 release manager Chris Keroack wrote that Web availability of the final service pack for Windows XP will begin on April 29, through the Microsoft Download Center. Confirming many users' suspicions, the company will wait until "early summer," Keroack stated, before enabling SP3 to be downloaded through Automatic Updates, perhaps in light of the company's recent debacle with Windows Vista SP1.
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