Windows Archive

"Using a Limited account during your everyday work gives better protection against malicious software infection and accidental misconfiguration. But installing software or changing some system settings can be difficult in a low privileged environment. The sudoWn project can execute individual programs (or even a whole Windows shell) with temporary Administrator privileges under your user profile. This means you can use a low privileged environment and elevate your rights transitionally for software installation or systemwide configuration comfortably."

Microsoft's Windows Vista has a date with some of the world's smartest hackers. The software maker will use the spotlight of the Black Hat security conference in August to show off some of the key security features and functionality being fitted into Vista. Microsoft's appearance on the Black Hat stage is a first on many fronts. Microsoft will be the first software vendor to present an entire Black Hat Briefing track on a pre-release product. It is also the first time a representative from Redmond will make an official presentation at the controversial hacker confab. Meanwhile, a patch Tuesay passed by.

Microsoft has taken another step in its effort to bring Windows in the world of supercomputing, having finished development of its computer cluster operating system. It has finalized the code for Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003, which is designed to allow multiple servers to work together to handle high-performance computing (HPC) tasks. Such work, long handled by systems from SGI and Cray, has increasingly been tackled by Linux clusters, though Microsoft has been planning its entry for some time.

Microsoft will not fix a serious flaw in Windows 98 and Windows Millennium Edition because a patch could break other applications. The security bug relates to Windows Explorer and could let an intruder commandeer a vulnerable PC, Microsoft warned in April. The software maker has made fixes available for Windows Server 2003, Windows XP and Windows 2000, but it has found that eliminating the vulnerability in Windows 98 and ME is "not feasible," it said.

Microsoft released Vista Beta 2 for public consumption. It does not require a Key but will expire on June 1 2007. You can download the 3GB ISOs (or from here) for 32bit and 64bit architectures.

Microsoft will have showcase applications ready in time for the Vista launch, which is still set for January 2007, company officials said. But given recent lawsuits and public disagreements with the likes of Symantec and Adobe Systems - two of Microsoft's biggest independent software vendor partners - which vendors are likely to be leading the Vista charge?

Computerworld's Scot Finnie details 20 things you won't like in Windows Vista, with a visual tour to prove it. He says that MS has favored security over end-user productivity, making the user feel like a rat caught in a maze with all the protect-you-from-yourself password-entry and 'Continue' boxes required by the User Account Controls feature. "Business and home users will be nonplussed by the blizzard of protect-you-from-yourself password-entry and 'Continue' boxes required by the User Account Controls feature, for example." Update: Apparantly, Vista Beta 2 sucks up battery juice much faster than XP does.

"Last week's announcement of Microsoft's new virtualization strategy at WinHEC 2006 conference brought in big interest. The importance of the announcement and the technical complexity of the products (the so-called Windows hypervisor will be integrated in the operating system itself) also raised customers' confusion, now trying to understand how the new products will address problems they today are solving with Virtual Server. Mike Neil, Virtual Machine Technologies Product Unit Manager at Microsoft, accepted to sit down with VirtualizationInfo and clarify some important points about Windows Server Virtualization, Virtual Machine Manager, the Softricity acquisition and more."

Microsoft is to overhaul Windows' graphic driver model after realising that the one that will ship with Windows Vista - Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 1.0 - needs improvement in the way it shares GPU resources between programs and Windows itself.

When it comes to Windows Vista, there are bugs - and then there are bugs. There is no doubt that people will find glitches in Beta 2 of the oft-delayed operating system. The question is whether there are any show-stoppers. Microsoft has time to squish some bugs, but it needs to avoid any significant headaches, if it is to make its revised goal of finishing the code by November and launching the product in January. In the meantime, ExtremeTech tests Vista's gaming performance.

With the first Origami devices out the door, Microsoft is setting its sights on the next generation of tiny tablet PCs - products known within the company as "Vistagami" devices. The new minitablets are likely to resemble the first of the ultramobile PCs, though they will run Windows Vista, rather than XP.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer denied reports that Vista will be delayed by a few weeks. In the meantime, a day after Microsoft announced availability of Windows Vista Beta 2, the first testers are overcoming download bottlenecks and obtaining bits. While many are finding the latest build to be more stable and better-performing, they also are still hitting driver and application compatibility issues, among other system problems.

At WinHEC, Microsoft CEO said Vista might be pushed back a few weeks, depending on the feedback received on Vista Beta 2. "We think we are on track for shipping early in ," the Microsoft CEO said. "We've talked about the month, but we get a chance to critically assess all of the feedback we'll get from this beta release then confirm or move a few weeks. We put the beta out today... So we should start getting feedback right away." Other than that, Bill Gates said Microsoft will focus its products on 64bit, starting later this year.

"Windows Vista Build 5384 has been released to Tech Beta testers at Microsoft Connect. Build 5384 is the real deal: Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 2 Milestone Build! Contrary to public opinion and 'leaked' information, Windows Vista Beta 2 is not a mere recompile of Vista 5381.1 and it isn't 5381.4; Vista 5384 is Beta 2 and it's official! Microsoft has already launched the public download site for Vista Beta 2, but no more than that, only the site is live, but the build is not ready for download to non-techbeta testers yet." eWeek reviews the Beta ("Windows Vista Beta 2 shows steady progress, but the new 3D Aero Glass user interface in particular still flakes out"), and also has a slideshow.