Microsoft Fights Back Against Vista Pirates
Microsoft is fighting back against those attempting to distribute a cracked version of Windows Vista. It has issued an update that detects whether a copy is attempting to bypass the activation system by mixing files from the test and final versions, it said Thursday.
Such a version is currently available on DVD, Microsoft says. When the copy is detected, Microsoft will alert the user, and then give them 30 days to activate the software, or it will be placed in reduced functionality mode.
HP Offers Free Vista Upgrades to Some Customers
Customers who have purchased an HP Pavilion or Digital Entertainment Center PC, or a Compaq Pavilion PC -- all desktop models only -- on or after October 26, with Windows XP pre-installed, will be eligible for upgrade kits for corresponding editions of Windows Vista next month, HP announced this morning
The upgrade plan addresses the "coupon" problem that PC vendors are facing this season: having to sell computers to customers with the promise of their being able to run a "full Vista experience" they can't yet see for themselves.
Study: Vista to Create Jobs, Revenue
A Microsoft-sponsored study says that Windows Vista will generate some $70 billion in revenue and create up to 100,000 jobs in the first year of its release. The report also indicates that adoption of the next-generation OS is expected to be rapid and widespread.
Research firm IDC authored the study, and it follows a similar commissioned study from September that said Vista would create 50,000 jobs across six European countries in its first year. The new operating system was made available to business customers in November, and is scheduled for consumer availability on January 30.
Hackers Find New Vista Activation Crack
UPDATED 11:00 pm December 8, 2006: Cori Hartje, Director of Microsoft's Genuine Software Initiative, issued the following statement to BetaNews regarding the activation crack:
"We are actively monitoring these types of piracy and counterfeit situations, and will take action on any Key Management Service (KMS) or Multiple Activation Key (MAK) keys that have been reported as stolen or abused. Microsoft will continue to make investments under the Genuine Software Initiative (GSI) and is committed to engineering world-class anti-counterfeiting technologies in order to make piracy harder and protect customers and channel partners from the various risks associated with counterfeit software."
Vista Minimum Requirements Unrealistic
A white paper published this morning by hardware analysis firm iSuppli, based on its studies of Microsoft Windows Vista running on multiple grades of computer hardware, has concluded that the software publisher's stated minimum requirements for the system -- which include an 800 MHz processor, 512 MB of RAM, and a 35 GB hard drive -- may not be nearly enough.
"Despite Microsoft's claims that Vista can run on such trailing-edge systems," writes Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst for compute platforms research, "iSuppli believes the reality is quite different."
Vista's Graphical Power Shown with UniveRSS
While many may have not understood exactly what the Windows Presentation Foundation meant for Vista, a new application from Microsoft to visualize RSS feeds may provide a glimpse into the future.
Several WPF features are shown off in the example, including 3D animation functionality, data binding and data visualization, While the current version uses the RSS folder in IE7, future versions would allow for feed management within the software
Get Windows XP Free Virtually, With a Catch
Microsoft is providing a free virtualized copy of Windows XP SP2 to assist developers in migrating IE6 applications to IE7. However, it will only work until April 1, 2007.
The time-limited Virtual PC image would come with a pre-activated copy of Windows XP SP2, Internet Explorer 6, and the Internet Explorer 7 Readiness Toolkit. Microsoft says that the solution is the only supported method for running both versions of the browser side-by-side.
Vista, Office 2007 Debut for Businesses
Microsoft's oft-maligned and much-delayed next-generation operating system is no longer just a talking point for the Redmond company, it's now a reality - at least for businesses.
At an event at the NASDAQ MarketSite in New York City, CEO Steve Ballmer announced the business availability of Windows Vista, Office 2007, and Exchange Server 2007. In addition, several other business-centric applications were also launched on Thursday.
Vista, IE7 Clear of US Antitrust Concerns
The Justice Department will not be going after Microsoft for any antitrust concerns with Windows Vista or Internet Explorer 7. The government agency said Tuesday in a report that it could find no issues in either product. In addition, it said the technical committee in conjunction with Microsoft was offering an application to help competitors make their programs Vista-ready.
This would allow competing Web browsers, as well as e-mail, IM, and media clients to seamlessly become the default applications within the operating system. The report also indicated that the company was making progress on required documentation, although concern remained that the project was not remaining on-track.
Microsoft, Dell Team on Special Vista PC
Microsoft recently partnered with Dell to create a special edition PC to commemorate the launch of Windows Vista. Only a few of the computers have been produced, and there are no plans to sell it, the company says. Among the specifications are a Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, a 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GTX graphics card, 4GB of SDRAM, 1TB of hard drive space, a DVD+/-RW DL disc drive, dual television tuners, a 30" widescreen monitor, and surround sound capabilities.
The PC has a rating of 5.2 on Vista's Windows Experience Index. One of the PCs was raffled off at Microsoft's internal launch party, with another going to charity. The number of PCs produced, or the plans for the other machines was not announced.
Want a Zune? Uninstall Windows Vista
Those early adopters who bought a Microsoft Zune on Tuesday were greeted with an embarrassing incompatibility when they tried to install it on to their computers running Windows Vista: it doesn't work with Redmond's latest operating system.
"This operating system is currently not supported by Zune," says an error message when attempting to install the device. Zune's official Web site confirms the issue saying that Vista "is not supported at this time" and "to check back for updates."
Buena Vista Preps More Blu-ray Titles
Buena Vista Worldwide Home Entertainment plans to continue its delivery of dual-layer 50GB Blu-ray movies early next year with the release of 4 new titles on January 23. The studio previously announced plans to ship its first 50GB Blu-ray titles on November 21 - just after the launch of Sony's PlayStation 3.
"Casanova," "Chicago," "The Guardian" and "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" will debut after the holidays at a cost of $34.99 USD each. Because they utilize Blu-ray's full storage capacity, Buena Vista says the titles will contain a host of special features, including alternate endings, making of featurettes, as well as improved menus and Web connectivity for connecting to live events held by the studio.
CompUSA to Sell Vista November 30
Small businesses looking to get an early start on upgrading to Windows Vista won't need to wait until the new operating system's late January 2007 launch after all. Microsoft has partnered with CompUSA to sell a special kit containing Vista Business and Office 2007 Small Business.
The Small Business Value Program Kit is designed for those needing five or more licenses of the two products. It won't contain any actual software, however, as Microsoft is still in the process of preparing retail packaging for January. Instead, it will contain an activation code and instructions for downloading Vista and Office 2007 from the Web.
Vista RTM Build 6000 Leaked to Usenet
BetaNews has confirmed that a build of Windows Vista giving clear indications that it is the final release-to-manufacturing version of the operating system, appeared in .ISO form on a Usenet binaries newsgroup over the weekend, appeasing the interests of folks who can't wait just a few more days.
However, since the final release of Vista requires online activation, and no such beast exists prior to the product's launch, one can basically think of this leaked DVD image as a 60-day trial version. A crack program was supplied with the image, presumably to retrofit the OS with the "time bomb" from Vista Beta 2, which locks down the system from running sometime in March.
Vista, Antivirus: What If Allchin's Right?
PERSPECTIVE Let’s start by clearing up the most frequent mis-perception that emerged from our story last Thursday regarding Microsoft co-president Jim Allchin’s comments. As you'll recall last Wednesday, Allchin held a telephone conference to announce Windows Vista’s release to manufacturing.
At that time, he never advised Vista users not to use antivirus software. What he did say was that he was so confident in Vista’s new "Defense-in-Depth" architecture and failsafes that, under limited circumstances, he would allow a family member to run the operating system without active anti-virus software. Thus, he implied that the operating system might not need antivirus software – at the very least, not in similar limited circumstances.
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