Windows Archive

Speaking at a forum in South Africa regarding a plan for Microsoft to make major technology investments in the country, Bill Gates said there was an "80 percent chance" Windows Vista would by ready for its planned January launch. He also had no qualms about delaying the OS further if necessary.

From today, Microsoft will no longer issue security updates or provide support for Windows 98 and Windows ME, which could lead users to trying alternative operating systems such as Linux. Eight years after launching Windows 98, Microsoft will finally wash its hands of updating and plugging security gaps in its ageing operating system. The software giant originally planned to pull the plug in January 2004 but decided to extend support because of the increasing threat from Linux.

From Microsoft-Watch: "While Microsoft has been touting the Aero Glass interface as one of the main selling points for Windows Vista, there will be another new interface – one for users running Vista on less-powerful systems –too. Microsoft hasn't said much about its final plans for that interface until now. Microsoft has posted some screen shots of the non-Glass theme for Vista, which officials are currently calling the Standard or Basic theme. Vista experts have plenty to say about the Basic theme."

Joshua Weisberg dives into profiles, explaining profile types and differences, profile installation, native color space, and printing a target file that will create profiles for your printer.

An anti-piracy check for Microsoft Windows is causing problems for some users who are being told their copies of operating system XP are not genuine. The tool, called Windows Genuine Advantage, is aimed at cracking down on millions of illegal copies of Windows XP in circulation. Update: Microsoft isn't the only one phoning home without consent: Apple does it too since 10.4.7. The goal is a little less disturbing (to check whether Widgets are up-to-date); however, it cannot be turned off.

"Software giant Microsoft has named the day that Windows 98 and Millennium users will no longer have support. On July 11, the two operating systems will have their final breakfast before being wiped from Vole's support brain. Although many expected Microsoft to stop supporting the quaintly antique software, the date for liquidation was uncertain."

At Windows Vista lab in Redmond before the release of Beta 2, Microsoft developers showed off the new OS to a room full of MVPs and enthusiasts. But even the company's most loyal fan base turned ugly when User Account Control took the stage. Now, Microsoft is begging users not to disable the controversial feature. User Account Control, or UAC, is a fundamental security change coming in Windows Vista and one of the most important additions to protect users from threats, Microsoft says. But the company is struggling to find a balance between security and usability.

"It's been known that the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) phones home for quite some time now. For most of us, we've come to live with Microsoft's decision to relegate the software to only contacting the company's servers once every few weeks . Of course, the software is only in beta right now, so what might happen once it goes into production? Will it phone home even less? Ed Bott has an idea. Bott has reason to believe that Microsoft might have a special treat in store for those that do not want any part of the WGA. Citing Dave Farber as his source, Bott thinks that the WGA could become mandatory for Windows users. Those that don't want to install the software must suffer the consequences - install it in 30 days or Windows will stop working, period."

Paul Thurrot, Microsoft Apple Microsoft supporter, reviews the new Vista build: "Little more than a month after issuing a bug-laden Windows Vista Beta 2, Microsoft has shipped its first post-Beta 2 interim build of the next Windows and it makes up a lot of lost ground. Indeed, it's hard not to view this build and not believe that Microsoft is absolutely back on track." Another reviewer also states that performance has increased since the previous build.

Computer systems that don't provide enough working time are worthless at best and disastrous at worst. But the fine distinction between "available enough" and "99.999% available" can end up hitting the bottom line pretty severely. Rick Cook explains the major options for designing a system with an appropriate amount of uptime.

Microsoft will release updates to the beta of Windows Vista every month until the gold master release to corporate customers in November, the software giant's Australian Windows chief revealed today. Jeff Putt, Director, Windows Client, Microsoft Australia revealed the plan in a briefing to journalists at Microsoft's headquarters in Sydney today. "We're on the bug-hunt", he said.

Counterfeiters aren't Microsoft's only opponents in its effort to combat piracy: Some of its customers are against it, too. The company is forging ahead with a program, Windows Genuine Advantage, tied to its free software downloads and updates, that checks whether the Windows installation on a PC is pirated. But some people, including some who say they own a legitimately acquired copy of Windows, have challenged the need for such validation.

Details have emerged this week that Microsoft may be planning to make it mandatory for laptop manufacturers who want to support its operating system to install hybrid flash drives. A Microsoft document specifying requirements for flash storage led to speculation that hybrid storage would be mandatory for all Vista laptops, from June 2007, but this has been denied by Microsoft.

Microsoft senior vice president Bob Muglia opened up TechEd 2006 in Boston Sunday evening by proclaiming that Windows Vista was the most secure operating system in the industry. But a bold statement can only go so far, and much of this week's conference has been spent reinforcing that point.