WindowBlinds 6 Alters Vista Interface
Stardock has released version 6 of its popular WindowBlinds user interface skinning application, which is the first tool that can overhaul the look of Windows Vista - from the Taskbar to window borders and buttons.
Although Microsoft improved upon the "Luna" skin it created for Windows XP back in 2001, the Redmond company still does not enable users to change the interface graphics of its operating systems, Vista included. This is a positive for Stardock, which has been helping users "skin" Windows for nearly a decade.
Windows Vista SP1 Beta Released to Private Testers
Multiple Microsoft sources have confirmed that the first beta test editions of Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista were distributed to a select group of about 12,000 testers today. BetaNews learned these are indeed exclusive invitees, not merely a subset of the company's MSDN or TechNet subscriber base.
An account of the SP1 experience published today by Microsoft team blogger Brandon LeBlanc confirms what BetaNews reported three weeks ago: Rather than add new features, SP1 concentrates on making the existing ones work better - at least, those which remain after a slight feature cut.
Exploit Discovered Impacting QuickTime, Firefox on Windows XP
A London security analyst working with the open source group GNUCitizen has discovered a potentially serious exploit that could affect users of the Firefox browser and Apple's QuickTime movie and music player - especially iTunes customers - on Windows XP-based machines. BetaNews tested and verified the severity of the exploit.
As early as one year ago, as Petko D. Petkov wrote yesterday, he discovered that JavaScript code appearing in the <EMBED> tag of an HTML file could launch a new Web browser instance, feeding it any kind of default code that isn't checked before being executed.
Vista SP1 to Remove 'Search-MS' as Default Protocol
In a Knowledgebase advisory to developers today, Microsoft is urging developers for Windows Vista who intend for their programs to run under Service Pack 1 not to assume the default search protocol being used by the system is Microsoft's. This after over a year in which Microsoft spokespersons have maintained, under a rain of criticism from search competitor Google, that Vista's and Internet Explorer 7's search facilities were already manufacturer-agnostic.
"If you develop an application that is meant to use or meant to build upon a specific desktop search application, you should not depend only on the search protocol," reads KB941946, released today. "Because many applications may own the search protocol, you cannot guarantee that the targeted desktop search application owns the search protocol at any time. Instead, use a private search protocol that is defined by the targeted desktop search application."
Microsoft: Removal of Group Policy Tool from Vista 'Not Significant'
As part of a request to help modify its apparent stance on the upcoming removal of Group Policy Management Console from Microsoft's Windows Vista Service Pack 1, a company spokesperson told BetaNews, "The removal of the GPMC tool with Service Pack 1 is not significant to the majority of Windows Vista users."
This despite the continued presence of remnants of the GPMC campaign, which touted its inclusion in Vista as a boon. "The Group Policy Management Console, or GPMC, was available as a download for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003," reads one TechNet page.
Fix for Vista Automatic Updates to Ship Via Automatic Updates
A curious problem cropped up last month: Windows Vista users reported that the program that manages their Windows services (SVCHOST) would crash after having downloaded and installed a batch of updates.
Microsoft recently issued a manual fix for this problem, though users who don't want to have to learn the equivalent of heart surgery should soon be able to download a patch for the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS)...assuming it works.
Vista Fix Packs Now on Windows Update
Following their public availability on Microsoft's Download Center, two hotfix packs for Windows Vista that improve performance and reliability are now available as optional downloads via Windows Update. They will not, however, be delivered automatically to Vista users.
Some of the changes offered by the updates include better file copy performance, faster boot times, improved compatibility with newer graphics cards, and better performance in games with advanced visuals. Those who do not want to install the fix packs manually can wait for Vista SP1, which is slated for public release early next year.
A List of What's New in Vista SP1
Now that Microsoft has set a release date for both the beta and final versions of Windows Vista Service Pack 1, the company is also offering a detailed look at what's being fixed and changed. One thing customers will not see is major changes to User Account Control, although Microsoft says it will reduce some pop-ups.
Perhaps the most notable change will not be for customers, but rather Microsoft partners. The company is including an API that third-party developers can tap into in order to work with kernel patch protection on x64 editions of Vista. This patch protection has proven to be a problem to antivirus and other security vendors.
Vista SP1 to Bring Fixes, Not Features; Due in Early 2008
In response to media coverage and pressure from partners, Microsoft finally opened up about Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Wednesday, detailing what customers should expect of the update, and setting a final release date of Q1 2008.
The gist is this: Vista SP1 will not bring major changes to the operating system, but instead deliver improvements related to reliability, security and performance. Customers will not see any major new features, and in turn, Microsoft says they should not wait for SP1 to begin deploying Vista.
Windows Vista SP1 Will Uninstall Group Policy Management
Probably in response to a few users' bewilderment over the seemingly unrestricted accessibility of what had actually been one of Windows Vista's most requested new security tools, Group Policy Management Console, Microsoft announced today that the act of installing Vista Service Pack 1 will simply delete the tool altogether.
"Administrators requested features in Group Policy that simplify policy management," reads a white paper released by Microsoft this afternoon. "To do this, the service pack will uninstall the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) and GPEdit.msc will edit local Group Policy by default."
Microsoft Responds to Re-discovery of Vista Network Slowdowns
A curious network performance reduction noticed by many Windows Vista users of the 2CPU forum that became the talk of Slashdot last week has been identified as having been caused not by DRM, as Slashdot users expected, but by a curious prioritization "feature" of Vista that's intentionally biased toward Media Player at the expense of network and system resources.
The effects of this feature were first revealed last June, as BetaNews reported, by Microsoft security engineer Mark Russinovich.
Microsoft Endorses Product That Turns Off Vista UAC Nags
The latest version of a well-reviewed third-party security policy enhancement system for Windows Vista claims to solve what its manufacturer characterizes as "not a secure solution" to a critical problem Windows historically had with administrator privileges on programs. But in the announcement of the upgrade earlier this week, a key Microsoft product manager is quoted as having acknowledged Vista's own take on the solution was not quite enough, effectively reversing his company's stand on User Account Control.
The product is BeyondTrust Privilege Manager 3.5, and its key new feature is the ability to run Vista's UAC transparently without prompting the user for privilege elevation. In Monday's press release, Microsoft director of client security product management Austin Wilson is quoted as not only endorsing the product, but appearing to agree with BeyondTrust's key contention: that the UAC prompts were not only a nag but an insecure solution in itself.
Microsoft Makes Vista Fix Packs Public
In a move that will likely only further confuse the situation surrounding Windows Vista Service Pack 1, Microsoft has posted for public download two updates that were released to beta testers last month. The patches improve Vista performance and reliability, along with the operating system's compatibility with drivers and hardware.
Some of the changes include better file copy performance, faster boot times, improved compatibility with newer graphics cards, and better performance in games with advanced visuals. The fixes are expected to be included in SP1, which is slated for public release next year. However, Microsoft has seemingly made them available early in response to criticism from customers surrounding Vista performance and reliability problems. Download the Vista Performance Update and Reliability Update from FileForum.
Microsoft Discounts Vista in China
Aiming to curb piracy, Microsoft said it had slashed prices on its Windows Vista as much as 67 percent to encourage consumers to purchase genuine copies of its software. As of Wednesday, the price of its Home Basic edition dropped from $201 to $66, and Home Premium was reduced to $118 from $238. The company hopes that the move will continue the downtrend in piracy in the country.
Piracy rates are still high: in 2006, about 82 percent of all software used in China was pirated according to IDC. However, this was down from 86 percent the previous year. Some of the reduction could be due to a new policy in China that requires manufacturers to ensure that legally-obtained operating system software is installed at factories.
Beta Patches Hint at Vista SP1 Features
Microsoft has released to Windows Server 2008 beta testers two new hot-fix packs for Windows Vista, which improve performance and reliability, along with the operating system's compatibility with drivers and hardware. The 12MB worth of fixes are expected to make their way into Vista Service Pack 1 later this year.
Some of the changes noted by testers are better file copy performance, faster boot times, improved compatibility with newer graphics cards, and better performance in games with advanced visuals. According to some enthusiasts, these patches contain the fixes they have been waiting for. Microsoft has not commented on the now-leaked hot-fix packs, which are available for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Vista.
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