Windows

Microsoft on Wednesday made available a beta of the second "Ultimate Extra" for Windows Vista, which is available for download free of charge for those who purchased the Ultimate Edition of the new operating system. Called DreamScene, the Extra lets users put videos as their desktop background.

Developed by Stardock and first demoed at CES in January, DreamScene also adds the capability to fill a background with an image without distorting its size. Microsoft reminds users that DreamScene is still a Technical Preview and unsupported until the final release. Vista Ultimate users can download DreamScene from Windows Update.

The 'alliance' between Novell and Microsoft got a bit weirder after Novell's CEO indicated that he was pleased by Vista's slow rate of adoption, and will continue to battle the company directly in the marketplace.

Ron Hovespian made the comments to reporters in Australia on Thursday. He mentioned that Vista took over five years to produce, while open source is much easier to develop for. Also, the agreement brings Novell closer to Microsoft's customers.

Microsoft said Friday afternoon that it was in the process of issuing new keys to those who may have received invalid ones through the Vista Family Discount program. The feature, provided exclusively to purchasers of Vista Ultimate, allows for two PCs to be upgraded to Vista Home Premium at a cost of $49.99 per computer. However, a glitch in the key-generation system produced invalid keys.

According to Microsoft, the keys would be on the way via e-mail to those affected over the next five days. The company is at a loss to explain the cause of the key-generation issues, although it said it was taking steps to prevent it from happening to future participants. News of the response was first reported by Windows enthusiast site Neowin.net Friday.

If you have an iPod, and plan to install Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system, Apple has one word of advice for you: don't.

That's because issues with iTunes 7.0.2 and the next-generation operating system are creating havoc for some users, Apple disclosed on Friday. The problems include issues with purchased music tracks playing, syncing issues, and even incidents where the device becomes corrupted.

Since last July, when Intel introduced its Core 2 Duo processors and, perhaps more importantly, effectuated a complete U-turn in its microarchitecture, experts and enthusiasts in computing have judged Intel to have regained the performance lead from AMD in CPUs, which includes the lead in providing processor performance per dollar.

But in its multi-faceted campaign to wrest back the title of hero, if not yet leader, in consumers' minds, AMD is leveraging its fusion with ATI and ATI's cooperation with Microsoft to make a bold new case for itself: Now that the Windows Vista era is upon us, AMD's executives and managers believe the time has come to throw out the old XP-based benchmarks, and re-evaluate AMD's current line of processors using more updated metrics.

Now that Windows Vista has been unleashed onto an expecting public, a number of minor issues have cropped up in the new operating system. Microsoft has already posted a handful of hotfixes for those running into issues, although they aren't critical enough to be published on Microsoft Update.

Windows enthusiast Steven Bink has linked to the fixes, which include patches for Vista crashing when connected to a Firewire device, high definition audio devices not working after resuming Windows, and audio playback in a different language when using Media Center. Microsoft frequently releases non-priority hotfixes that usually make their way into service packs for its operating systems.

Inspired by an online discussion where the question was raised, could Microsoft's Windows Vista's new vocal command feature inadvertently respond to a word spoken by an audio file played remotely, perhaps through a Web site, ZDNet blogger George Ou discovered through his own tests that a well-recorded voice command could be played back through the speakers of a Vista-endowed computer, and that the computer would respond as if commanded by its own user.

Ou reported the details on his ZDNet blog on Tuesday. "I recorded a sound file that would engage speech command on Vista, then engaged the start button, and then I asked for the command prompt. When I played back the sound file with the speakers turned up loud, it actually engaged the speech command system and fired up the start menu."

Even with the operating system released to the public, Microsoft cannot seem to catch a break with Windows Vista. The latest complaints come from game developers, who say the OS' parental controls are so strict they're disrupting gameplay.

The charge comes from WildTangent, an online gaming network. It says that security restrictions in Vista actually breaks hundreds of games across RealArcade, Yahoo Games, AOL Games, and even on its own site. The reasons? One is that there's no ESRB rating.

Although Windows Vista officially launched for businesses back in November, Microsoft waited until today to release the final version of its Application Compatibility Toolkit for the new operating system. The software is designed to diagnose any potential problems that may arise from upgrading.

ACT version 5.0 can be deployed on current Windows 2000 and XP machines to take an inventory of applications and see whether or not they are compatible with Windows Vista. A built-in Standard User Analyzer checks to see if the new security settings in Vista will affect applications, namely those running as an administrator.

UPDATE: The contest is now over! View the winners here. Want a copy of Windows Vista Ultimate or Office 2007, but don't want to fork over the cash? You're in luck: we're giving away one copy of each! All you need to do is come up with a witty caption for the following two pictures from the Vista Launch event in New York City.

Leave your caption ideas in a comment below, but only leave a single comment. We will select the best caption for each picture. The user with the best Bill Gates caption will win a retail copy of Windows Vista Ultimate, while the best Steve Ballmer caption will win Office 2007 Student and Teacher Edition. More giveaways will follow, so keep checking back in the coming weeks.

The hope of computer vendors and OEMs everywhere is that Windows Vista's graphical capabilities, which include the performance of its DirectX 10 drivers, will drive PC sales to the point where market growth resumes the comfortable 12% growth pattern from which it's fallen in recent months. Part of Vista's appeal is that it's the first Windows edition in well over a decade to show off the capabilities of what the processing power of its host computer can actually do - not even XP, for all its value, quite managed that feat even at launch.

In hopes there's a trend to capitalize on, graphics card manufacturer BFG is adding onto its add-on: specifically, tacking a water cooler onto its top-of-the-line nVidia 8800 GTX-based graphics card, then leveraging the water cooler's presence as an excuse to crank up the volume even further. If a BFG 8800 GTX OC-equipped system ranks a "5" on the new Vista WSPR scale, then maybe it's the company's hope that your computer currently ranks about a "2."

Monday night marked the public launch of Windows Vista, and both Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer were on hand in New York City to officiate the festivities. A number of stores held "midnight madness" events, but did consumers bite?

Not yet. Unlike the launches of Sony's PlayStation 3 and the Nintendo Wii, those interested in being the first to install Vista were few and far between. A handful of stores around the country reported late-night lines, but most customers said they showed up for the other discounts being offered alongside Vista. Low temperatures on the East coast likely didn't help either.

Shortly before the operating systems' launch Monday night, Microsoft posted the first of what it expects to be many added extras for consumers that have purchased its top-of-the-line version of Windows Vista, dubbed "Ultimate." Among the first add-ons released are the game "Texas Hold'em Poker," and enhancements for both the BitLocker and EFS functionality.

"This is just the beginning," Windows Vista product manager Nick White posted to the official Vista blog Tuesday. Vista Ultimate is available as the full version for $399.95 USD or in upgrade form for $259.95 USD. However, OEM copies of the software are available for $199.99 USD from electronics retail sites like NewEgg.com.

Many computer users prefer to install their operating system "clean" by simply using their old Windows disc to verify they own a copy of the software. However, that appears to no longer be possible using an Upgrade version of Windows Vista.

The Redmond company has apparently taken out the option to do so from upgrade versions of its new operating system, meaning a user would need to purchase a full copy of the OS in order to perform a clean installation. Upgrade discs would only work if a copy of either Windows 2000 or XP is already on the system.

Microsoft has given the go ahead for users to buy the low-cost OEM copies of Windows Vista now appearing on sites like Newegg.com; however, they would be expected to adhere to the licensing terms just like any other computer manufacturer.

This could mean that support for those computers with this version of Windows installed would be the responsibility of the end-users themselves. Microsoft also noted that like with standard copies of Vista, a user running the OEM version would still be forced to reactivate if he or she substantially alters the computer's hardware configuration.