In order to differentiate between Internet Explorer 7 on Windows XP and Vista, Microsoft on Friday announced "IE7+." The special branding is designed to highlight the additional features IE7 will receive in Vista, including Protected Mode, parental controls, and improved network diagnostics.
"There are no feature differences between IE7 and IE7+ beta 2 other than the ones I mentioned above; we have, however, fixed a bunch of bugs between the two releases," explained IE team member Tony Schreiner. "As always, I’d love to hear your feedback on this naming as well as the product. We’ll have more information on how to sign up for Windows Vista beta 2 with IE7+ shortly."
With Windows Vista Beta 2 slated to become public through a Customer Preview Program in the coming weeks, testers may find themselves facing a major problem: many antivirus suites don't yet work with the new operating system. Computer Associates is aiming to remedy this issue by offering free copies of eTrust EZ for Vista.
The trial subscription will last for one year, at which customers will need to pay to continue receiving virus definition updates. With Microsoft planning to ship its own antivirus capabilities with Windows OneCare and Windows Live Safety Center, companies such as CA have been looking at ways -- such as free promotions -- to ensure they still have a place on the desktop.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates kicked off the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Seattle Tuesday, heralding the arrival of the Beta 2 releases of Windows VIsta, Office 2007 and Longhorn Server. Both Office and Vista betas will be available for public download in order to garner more feedback as the products near completion.
The announcement marked the first time Microsoft has simultaneously released test versions of its flagship products. The Redmond company says it has focused on four main areas with the new releases: simplifying how people work together, better content protection and management, improved search and more robust security.
Symantec filed suit against Microsoft on Thursday, accusing the Redmond company of infringing on its patented technology in Windows Vista and Longhorn Server. The suit asks for damages, as well as an injunction that would halt the sale of both operating systems.
The complaint involves technology in Symantec's Volume Manager program, which allows an operating system to store a large amount of data. Microsoft had licensed a basic version of the software from Veritas in 1996, and used it in its Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 operating systems.
With Windows Vista Beta 2 set to make its public debut at WinHEC next week, Microsoft on Thursday finally detailed the hardware specifications required to run the new operating system. The Redmond company also launched a "Get Ready" program to help consumers prepare for the upgrade.
Claiming that Windows Vista is the first operating system to scale based on the capabilities of the computer it's running on, Microsoft has broken down hardware requirements into two categories: Vista Capable PCs and Vista Premium Ready PCs.
Microsoft's attempts to bolster security may hurt it in the enterprise sector, an analyst report said Monday. Behind the Boston analyst firm
Research firm Gartner said Tuesday that it believed Microsoft would miss its targets and release Windows Vista another three or so months after its current November-January timeframe. The firm claims Vista's features are too complex to be finished that quickly.
Windows Vista was originally scheduled for a 2005 release, but has been repeatedly delayed as the Redmond company struggled to finish upgrades and ensure a quality release. Vista is the first major upgrade of the Windows platform in five years.
The New York Times has joined up with Microsoft to build a new standalone application for reading the newspaper's content on a PC. The tool, called Times Reader, was unveiled Friday in prototype form and takes advantage of the Windows Presentation Foundation that will ship in Vista.
Specifically, Vista's WPF display technologies will enable Times content to be automatically adjusted for any screen size, with users able to customize font size and content relevance. The application will utilize the same font styles as the print edition of the New York Times.
Microsoft is bringing its Windows XP Starter Edition operating system to Africa, the company announced Thursday. The lower-priced version of XP drops home networking and limits the number of programs that can be opened simultaneously.
The impetus behind the move is to provide African PC users with cheaper computers, as the high technology costs often force them to run old systems brought in from other continents. But XP Starter Edition will still be only for the rich in Africa, where the majority live off less than one dollar a day.
Microsoft has released build 5365 of Windows Vista, asking testers to focus on the 64-bit installations of the operating system. The pre-Beta 2 build has been released to members of its TAP, Beta, and Partner programs in x86 and x64 versions of the Ultimate Edition.
Microsoft is recommending a clean install, noting several issues when upgrading from Windows XP, and build-to-build upgrades are not supported. "This build is another snapshot of our progress on our way to the Beta 2 milestone and will allow you to verify fixed bugs as well as check for new regressions that may have been introduced," the company said in an e-mail to testers.
Microsoft on Monday detailed innovations coming in Windows Vista that the company believes makes the operating system superior in the delivery of multimedia. This would include several enhancements to Windows Media itself as well as expanded functionality within Windows Media Center, now standard in Vista.
The company is promoting the new features of its upcoming operating system at the National Association of Broadcasters convention being held this week in Las Vegas. With online multimedia becoming more prevalent, traditional broadcasters are increasingly interesting in utilizing the Internet as a method for delivery.
With any major new Windows release such as Vista, application compatibility becomes a critical concern for businesses and individuals considering an upgrade. No matter how much Microsoft promotes the new version, users aren't going to make the switch unless their applications continue to function seamlessly.
In turn, Microsoft has long offered an Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT), which checks what programs are installed on a system and detects any potential conflicts. The Redmond company is preparing version 5 of the software to be ready by the time Windows Vista ships later this year, and has included a number of new features.
While nearly every current PC will be able to run Windows Vista, only half will be able to take full advantage of all of it's features, a recent study by research firm Gartner suggests. In turn, the firm is urging IT managers to take caution when ordering new PCs.
Today's average processor and hard drive should be sufficient to install and use Vista, Gartner says. However, a newer graphics card is likely required if the user wishes to take advantage of the Aero user interface, and the computer should have at least 1GB of memory installed for the operating system to run smoothly.
The seemingly never-ending saga between Microsoft and the European Union took another turn on Wednesday as the EU Commission's antitrust division warned the software company not to return to its old ways with Windows Vista. The body is concerned about Vista's built-in Internet search functions and new document features.
While the Commission has not yet opened up an investigation into Windows Vista, it has asked Microsoft to respond to its concerns. If the EU finds evidence of anti-competitive behavior, a new case against the Redmond company could be made.
The delayed launch of Windows Vista will have a limited effect on PC shipments in 2006, and may actually help to boost sales slightly in 2007, research firm IDC said Monday. Overall, PC shipments should grow at a ten percent or higher rate through 2008, the firm said.
IDC's comments came as part of its Quarterly PC Tracker forecast of the industry. The firm is now more optimistic about sales through 2008, saying growth should remain above 10.5 percent. Previously, IDC had expected growth to fall below 10 percent beginning in 2007.