Windows

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.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

During a telephone conference with reporters yesterday, outgoing Microsoft co-president Jim Allchin, while touting the new security features of Windows Vista, which was released to manufacturing yesterday, told a reporter that the system's new lockdown features are so capable and thorough that he was comfortable with his own seven-year-old son using Vista without antivirus software installed.

Allchin's statement came in response to a question about his relative level of confidence that Vista would be more secure than Windows XP SP2. In response, he noted there were key security features added to Vista which could not be added to Windows XP SP2 even though, he said, his people apparently tried to do so.

"It's time!" And with that simple blog post, Windows head Jim Allchin has heralded the arrival of Windows Vista. Microsoft said Wednesday that it has released the next-generation operating system to manufacturing, capping a more than five-year development effort.

Volume license customers will get their hands on the final release -- build number 6000 -- this month, while the public launch of Vista is scheduled for January 30, 2007. The release to manufacturing of Vista will allow PC and device makers as well as developers finalize work on hardware and software in preparation for its formal debut.

Responding to a wave of criticism following news that the licensing terms in Windows Vista allowed the operating system to be moved to another computer only once, Microsoft has changed its position and relaxed the restriction for retail copies of Vista.

Previously, Microsoft had allowed its operating systems to be installed as many times as the customer liked, as long as it was uninstalled from the previous computer. However, with the arrival of Windows Vista, that was to change.

Microsoft will just barely make its November deadline for the release to manufacturing (RTM) of Windows Vista, announcing an event November 30 in New York City to launch both the next-generation operating system and Office 2007.

A select number of journalists have received an invitation to the "New Day For Business Event," to take place at the Nasdaq stock market and featuring Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. In addition, Ballmer is expected to talk about the new version of Exchange, although that would release in December.

Microsoft late Monday took the wraps off its new packaging designs for Windows Vista and Office 2007, which are both slated to hit store shelves early next year. Both the style and box itself have been designed to attract the eye, much like Apple does with its products.

"The packaging has been completely revised and, we hope, foreshadows the great experience that awaits you once you open it," said Vista product manager Nick White. "Designed to be user-friendly, the new packaging is a small, hard, plastic container that’s designed to protect the software inside for life-long use."

In an interview published last week by the British publication PC Pro Acer Senior Vice President James Wong complained that Microsoft -- a company with which Acer has, at least on paper, partnered -- is actively scheming to force computer users to invest in more expensive PCs, in order to take advantage of the more feature-rich tier of its upcoming operating system, Windows Vista Home Premium.

"The new experience you hear of, if you get [Vista Home] Basic, you won't feel it at all," Wong reportedly stated, adding that the company is actually actively undermining its own lower tier in an effort to persuade customers to move up the value chain.