Microsoft Windows Vista Vs Windows Xp

[RACERPRO]

Many people have been talking about vista flaws and xp wonders. I started from ms-dos and been upgraded to windows 3.0, windows 3.11, windows 95, windows 98, windows millenium, skip windows 2000, windows xp and now using windows vista. In every new release microsoft stated that the new os was better than the previous one. But as always they started with flaws and the release os service packs have make them a little better and so on. Today nobody remenbers the release of windows xp (with the errors unknown, blue screens, ect...). Has most people say xp is better than vista, but xp is in the third release of service pack (sp3). Windows vista is the fist release of service pack (sp1). At my home i use windows vista in 5 computers and is the best windows till today (some errors, every software will always have flaws in the future), make a normal use for internet, office work, gaming and everything goes well. The next windows 7 when release i will upgrade my software to it, because we need using new software and upgrading hardware (most people purchase a computer and want to use it about 10 years, if so ten years back you can only use windows 98 maximum). We need to follow industrie with new hardware and software and not complaining about software releases better than others. i´m not a microsoft fan but i use what i can to help me with what i need at the moment, and in the future i will see what comes.

Leave here a comment on windows vista vs windows xp.

[ajaypathak]

i think we have to wait for the windows 7 and i think vista is not as good as the xp

[RACERPRO]

i think we have to wait for the windows 7 and i think vista is not as good as the xp

My problem is why people don´t like vista!

What are your reasons for not liking vista?

In the past lots of people have problems with others softwares (windows, linux that i use at my work and it´s the most problematic software that i ever find to use, mac software problems in security the double of xp and vista together), so why people don´t like vista?

[Big Dave]

Hey bro I love vista, I just don't know why people don't like it. Like u say is just the beginning, there is more to come.

[ricktendo64]

I heard all the ugly rumors about vista... how slow it was etc.

I think Vista is much faster and less buggy than XP

Of course I say that because I vLite and tweak my ISO allot, I have never used Vista out of the box/vanilla

[RACERPRO]

I agree that all software have problems, but vista is normal software to me. People that want xp its only because they are use to work with it (people don´t like changes very much). But wen windows 7 come in 2010, computers will need to be more powerfull, and still windows 7 will have problems again like all others softwares. Some people say they will use xp until windows 7 come to the market? They never have seen pics of windows 7 (its an upgrade of windows vista). I don´t understand. For me my computer works very well and have few errors.

People, try to find windows 7 pics to be desapointed (xp to windows 7), lol...

[ancestor(v)]

I'm using WinVista and it works absolutely perfect. Crashes rarely happen...95% of everything runs at once and stable.
To that day I've never had too serious problems getting something to work.
I think that Windows is like a child. If you don't educate and guide it, nothing good will be the result ;)
People, try to find windows 7 pics to be desapointed (xp to windows 7), lol...
These pictures will be fakes, or just early versions; probably...we'll have to wait until things are confirmed.

[RACERPRO]

See some pics of windows 7 from this site:

http://keznews.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=18372

FIRST Official Windows 7 Milestone 3 screenshot?

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/win7_6519.asp

Windows 7 Build 6519 Screenshot Gallery

[ancestor(v)]

They [winsupersite forum members] say it's fake... I'd say even M$ doesn't know what it exactly will look like. See, this is a process in development.

And time will show...doing anything against bios modding, will they, huh?

[RACERPRO]

I do not know but I think that it goes to continue to exist
activations of slic or any similar thing, because OEM still need to activate in factory, because clients don´t need to worry about those problems. And the support for windows OEM are made by those OEM bulders.

Let´s hope that something will appears to make genuine windows like xp and vista OEM SLIC table (original and modded).

Until now vista slic modded work very well. I have broke a asus striker extreme with a bios modded, but i know the risk of modded bios (most work, some don´t), even with normal bios it can append.

[SKJoy2001]

Windows XP & Windows VISTA cannot be compared because the later is always released as the better (at least to be better) unless it is a workstation/server platform question.

I myself wanted to use Windows VISTA for a couple of times and had to revert back to Windows XP.

I also started my life with MS DOS 5.0 back in 1994 with those golden days of 37 MHz desktop computers with orange text on black background monitors... lol

The issue I think is the USER HABIT COMPATIBILITY. The first time I wanted to use Windows VISTA, finding out the commonly used toolbar buttons almost turned me nuts. However, the change is easier to those who are not techies and spend hardly 2/3 hours with computers, basically for fundamental email stuff and multimedia. But professionals like me, who spend more than 16 hours a day with this 2nd wify ;) I feel it is a little hard to get used to it keeping in mind of the habit that grown up with Windows XP for years.

[RACERPRO]

Windows XP & Windows VISTA cannot be compared because the later is always released as the better (at least to be better) unless it is a workstation/server platform question.

I myself wanted to use Windows VISTA for a couple of times and had to revert back to Windows XP.

I also started my life with MS DOS 5.0 back in 1994 with those golden days of 37 MHz desktop computers with orange text on black background monitors... lol

The issue I think is the USER HABIT COMPATIBILITY. The first time I wanted to use Windows VISTA, finding out the commonly used toolbar buttons almost turned me nuts. However, the change is easier to those who are not techies and spend hardly 2/3 hours with computers, basically for fundamental email stuff and multimedia. But professionals like me, who spend more than 16 hours a day with this 2nd wify ;) I feel it is a little hard to get used to it keeping in mind of the habit that grown up with Windows XP for years.

Yes but like you said, you come from ms-dos like me and does software have change however since that time, and we need to adapt (more dificult was office 2007 changes from office 2003, but i beleave that now is much better), but at the begining i was looking for somethings in office and it takes so much time because thinks where i diferents places, them had use to it and now i don´t want any other office like the 2007 one. For windows vista its the same because now i have dificulty to use xp because i only use vista and don´t use xp anymore.

[SKJoy2001]

...and we need to adapt (more dificult was office 2007 changes from office 2003, but i beleave that now is much better), but at the begining i was looking for somethings in office and it takes so much time because thinks where i diferents places, them had use to it and now i don´t want any other office like the 2007 one. For windows vista its the same...Yes you are right, especially for the Office 2007, I had difficult times with it and now I simply love it.

However, there is another issue involved, the availability of the product in a legitimate way. In Bangladesh, it is not that easy to get/purchase Windows in a legitimate way and computers sold here are 99% clone systems equipped with pirated copies of Windows XP, for this, mass users don't even care to get into the extra upgradation process.

[RACERPRO]

Yes you are right, especially for the Office 2007, I had difficult times with it and now I simply love it.

However, there is another issue involved, the availability of the product in a legitimate way. In Bangladesh, it is not that easy to get/purchase Windows in a legitimate way and computers sold here are 99% clone systems equipped with pirated copies of Windows XP, for this, mass users don't even care to get into the extra upgradation process.

Computers in this past years have drop fast in price. My first cumputer in 1990, a 386 pc with ms-dos, hard drive 10 mb, 4 mb of ram, ect, i purchase it at 2000 Euros. Now 18 years after, i have a intel quad core, windows vista ultimate, 4 gb of ram, 500 gb hard drive, ect, i purchase it at 1000 Euros. Most of the software around the world is pirated, but microsoft has the importance in the world today, because of pirated software in the past that everybody ad use, from windows 95 till today. It´s a shame that companies do not change the way they make sales today. Music industry in the past have made the same in protecting digital rights for the musics. Nowadays nobody purchase cd´s or dvd´s, not because of the price, but because cd´s and dvd´s are bad to worse. In the past i go to my rental shop and rent 2 or 3 movies per week. Now, this month and the past one i haven´t rent none. Why ? Simple there aren´t good movies at all, only stupid low budget movies made by studios that say that the new winning format (the blueray), will make their sales go up again! What movies are sold in blueray today ? Almost none, or old success in dvd remake! Compagnies that think this way will always loose their clients because people tend to use what they can (if windows is to expensive), them we can use free software (linux, ect). The money they spend on protecting software, they must use in developing better and cheap software to people to use around the world.

[guarias]

Im gonna tell you why? I dont like vista?
1- It is slow. Even in a PC or Laptop with good resources.
2- It is taking a lot of time copying o moving some files.
3- The security ask for everything you want to do.
4- Sometimes duplicate the desktop many times.
5- Is a little complicated to move the files to another driver, when you are working with partitions in your hard drive.
6- Always is downloading actualizations. I hate that. I ask why we can not buy a final working product. Is like you buy a tshirt and keep on being called for the designer telling you you need a new color or new desing, or new cotton for more security. It is boring
6- if you need to know more is cause your are using vista just for browse the web, write some letters with office and send some mails. But I tell you something, when you go farther with Vista doing more that that you will desire to go back to Xp, even when Xp it is not good enought it is better that vista.

[ancestor(v)]

As seen from my position:

1- It is slow. Even in a PC or Laptop with good resources.
It is not. I'm running a machine with 2.13 GHz and 2046 MB RAM, and 256 MB video card. Vista = fast.
2- It is taking a lot of time copying o moving some files.
No. Copying files goes very fast, at least not slower than at other OS.
3- The security ask for everything you want to do.
This can be switched off ;)
4- Sometimes duplicate the desktop many times.
Never happened to me.
5- Is a little complicated to move the files to another driver, when you are working with partitions in your hard drive.
Also a no.
6- Always is downloading actualizations. I hate that. I ask why we can not buy a final working product. Is like you buy a tshirt and keep on being called for the designer telling you you need a new color or new desing, or new cotton for more security. It is boring
Windows is like a child. It's developing and thus needs this.
6- if you need to know more is cause your are using vista just for browse the web, write some letters with office and send some mails. But I tell you something, when you go farther with Vista doing more that that you will desire to go back to Xp, even when Xp it is not good enought it is better that vista.
I'm using Vista for nearly a year now. Everything works perfect and fast. No problems at all.

...

[RACERPRO]

Like Ancestor(V) i think that he as explain everything very well. I use vista ultimate from pré lauch back in november 2006. The first problem was the drivers (when xp was release the drivers had been a problem also), today xp have five years of drivers updates and are in the third service pack, so something is not good today (five years later). Vista in the first year of release must be perfect (after the first release pack)? People that want xp its only because they are use to work with it (people don´t like changes very much). For me drivers are the common problem, and old software too. I read that 80% of vista drivers problem are from drivers release from nvidia and ati (video drivers). I agree that some video problems are because nvidia and ati have release bad drivers in the past. Today i can play any game that i purchase or old games that i have, and they work very well (and fast too). Only games with protection software like (STARFORCE), don´t work in vista because of the protection that is not compatible with vista security (GOOOOOD for us and bad for rootkit software like Starforce). I read also that 80% of the people that don´t like vista never had use vista and only have friends (ect...), that have told them that vista is not a good software! If you have a modern computer try vista and them make your own decision.

[RACERPRO]

Application incompatibility is one of the aspects that have managed to deliver extensive damage to the adoption rate of Windows Vista.

However, as Vista matured throughout 2007 and with Service Pack 1 in 2008, so did the ecosystem of software solutions orbiting around the operating system. Despite this, the actual perception of application incompatibility managed to survive, especially in corporate environments. If one end user can deal with a program that is incompatible with Vista rather easy, the same cannot be said about an enterprise dependent on a specific business application with tens of thousands of machines.

"Part of this is perception based on fact - Windows Vista is built on a new architecture that promises tightened security and reliability. Consequently, the applications that ride on top of Windows Vista need to communicate with the kernel in different ways. So what has helped fuel current perception around application compatibility? Why did many applications 'break' in the migration from Windows XP to Windows Vista?" Microsoft asked rhetorically.

And it seems that application compatibility issues consistently point to a single culprit: User Account Control. The watch dog Microsoft introduced in order to train both end users and developers to utilize and respectively build applications running with standard privileges for security reasons has come back to bite Vista uptake.

"Standard user mode limits file and registry access by applications on the computer. User Account Control exposes non-compliant actions, with permission prompts to standard and administrator users. Changes in permissions will cause most of the issues with earlier versions of applications, where administrative access was assumed during development and testing," Microsoft explained revealing the first reason for Vista application incompatibilities.

But two additional sources of compatibility problems are also connected with the UAC. Microsoft pointed to Internet Explorer 7 Protect Mode killing web-based applications as well as the Windows Resource Protection preventing programs to writing to protected areas of the operating system. In the end, the Redmond company traded flexibility for security, and legacy applications tailored to Windows XP running with administrative privileges bit the dust.

Additionally, Microsoft informed that "operating system and browser version numbers change with each release, which might cause issues with applications that check for a specific version number upon installation. Application shims are available to fool the application into thinking the operating system or browser is the application-required version."

And on top of it, the new driver model introduced in Vista, that enables the eye candy Aero graphical user interface, along with undocumented APIs, also caused compatibility issues. Over a year since Vista hit the shelves, the Redmond company claims that the operating system benefits from in excess of 15,000 signed devices and components and the advances brought on by Service Pack 1. In this context, Microsoft is not shy to put forward an invitation to give Vista, now with SP1, another try.

source: news.softpedia.com

[RACERPRO]

"Its interesting that people seem to think that Vista under performs in every area of the system which is quite an incorrect perception.

In this demo I show how Vista outperforms Windows XP and I show the under the covers process traces of just how it achieves it."

"Demo environment consists of two images. One Vista SP1 and the other Windows XP SP2 both on the same HDD IO and communicating across my home wireless network to a Windows Server 2008 box on my main LAN. Once the two images get going latency gets introduced and things start to slow down....except Vista doesnt slow down." Watch and see at Edge TechNet.

source: edge.technet.com

mms://mschnlnine.wmod.llnwd.net/a1809/d1/edge/9/0/0/1/Windows Vista against Windows XP-1.wmv

[RACERPRO]

Microsoft has sort of timidly started to share a couple of rather anodyne details about Windows 7, the next version of the Windows client due by the end of 2009, according to the company's Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer.

Christopher Flores, Director Windows Communications even made available a video demonstration of Windows 7, but it showed only what Microsoft wanted its users to see. As such, the focus was placed exclusively on Windows 7's new multi-touch and gesture technology. But the entire video for the presentation of Windows 7 at D6 – All Things Digital features additional indications about the direction the Redmond giant is heading towards with the graphical user interface of the successor of Windows Vista.

In the video segment embedded at the bottom of this article you will be able to see Julie Larson-Green, Corporate Vice President, Windows Experience Program Management, and her full presentation of Windows 7 at the D6 – All Things Digital conference. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer are also featured in the video. Ballmer even manages to intervene at a certain point. Larson-Green's demo of Windows 7 is not intended to show anything else than the multi-touch and gesture natural user input model of the operating system.

However, a piece of the traditional desktop is still present, although evolved beyond what Vista delivered with the Windows Aero GUI. The Taskbar has been redesigned. It's by no means a complete overhaul, since the basic concept is still the same; however, the changes are notable. First off, the Start sphere button is completely separated from the rest of the area as is the tray icon in the right hand side corner. The new Windows 7 Taskbar is wider than the standard Taskbar for Windows Vista, and the new icons have also undergone an evolution.

Of course, Julie Larson-Green failed to utter a single word related to the new Windows 7 Taskbar. She only managed to say that "it’s something we’re working on Windows 7 and I’m not supposed to talk about it, not today." But, at the same time, Julie Larson-Green is responsible for the introduction of the Fluent/Ribbon graphical user interface in the Office 2007 System, so big things should be expected out of Windows 7's GUI.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAHzErPdiD8&eurl=http://keznews.com/4478_Watch_the_Full_Windows_7_Video_Presentation__ Not_Just_the_Official_Version

[westmassguy]

I have three machines in my house. All were running XP. In January of 2007, I "upgraded" all of them to Vista. At first, I was very impressed, like getting a new car, all shinny and new. Most of my programs ran fine on Vista, and those that didn't required running as administrator with elevated privileges, which isn't a problem. About 8 months ago, I was bored one Sunday, and decided to restore a backup image of my old XP install. Wow, the difference was like night and day. I had become so accustomed to Vistas' quirks; I had forgotten how fast XP was. My biggest area of complaint is Vistas' GUI, not the core OS itself. I work with many small video files, all types from avi, wmv, mpg, rm etc. Explorer in Vista is the culprit I believe. Mousing over many different file in Vista is painful. Explorer is trying to do so much in the background, figuring out what type of file it is, that it stutters constantly. XP was never like this. I can mouse over and select hundreds of different files in Xp without so much as a hiccup.
I've tried switching to the simpler "Classic" theme in Vista, even switching off all the eye candy, but the problem remains. I've tried disabling Explorer tips, and File Attributes, again the problem remains.
I have the GUI thoroughly tweaked in both operating systems, from "mouse hover time”, to "show menu delay", so their reaction time should be the same.
Two of my machines still run Vista, and the people that use them love Vista, but they’re not power users.
XP is simply faster for me, and the things I do most.

[RACERPRO]

Users looking to Service Pack 3 for Windows XP, and the perfect reason to avoid Windows Vista SP1, might need to reconsider their plans.

The reason is rather simple, despite the fact that it has spent over two months more time in development compared to Vista SP1, while containing only a minor, standard evolution in comparison to SP2, XP SP3 has come to the table with a flood of issues, a wide variety of them impacting the deployment process. There are no less than nine officially documented scenarios in which end users will find it unable to install Windows XP SP3, and even more error messages associated with the problems.

1. The XP SP3 RTM Infinite Reboot Loop

Jesper Johansson was among the first to signal this problem after installing XP SP3 on an AMD-based computer, an operation which lead to: "incessant reboots. The computer booted, apologized for not being able to boot properly, asked if I wanted to boot into safe mode, defaulted to normal boot, rebooted, and so on and so on. At this point, I want to clarify that the endless rebooting is not at all related to SP3 per se. The problem is that with some configurations, SP3 causes the computer to crash during boot, and Windows XP, by default, is set up to automatically reboot when it crashes."

This is by no means an isolated case. In fact, end users have been crowding to the support forum for Windows XP SP3 signaling the very same problem, as well as variations from this issue. In response, Microsoft published Knowledge Base article 888372 detailing the issue. Essentially users are presented by a "Stop 0x0000007E" error message, having performed and upgrade to XP SP3 from SP2 on what Microsoft referred to as a non-Intel-processor-based computer.

"After you upgrade a computer that uses a processor other than an Intel processor to Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) or Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3), you may receive the following error message after you restart the computer: 'A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer...Technical information: *** STOP: 0x0000007E (0xC0000005, 0xFC5CCAF3, 0xFC90F8C0, 0xFC90F5C0) SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED'," reads Microsoft's description of the problem.

2. 8007F0F4 – STATUS_PREREQUISITE_FAILED

There are no less than six errors for failed Windows XP SP3 installations which produce the with the "8007F0F4 – STATUS_PREREQUISITE_FAILED" log. The six errors have just as many causes, starting with the installation process failing to continue on computers running on battery power. In this case, Microsoft explained that in order to prevent and "update failure because of battery power exhaustion during the installation process," it generated the following error: "this Service Pack requires the machine to be on AC Power before setup starts."

3. XP SP3: "Access is denied" or "Service Pack installation did not complete"

The third and final service pack for Windows XP will also fail to deploy if the installation process comes across registry keys that it cannot modify. In such cases, the error messaged presented to the end user reveal that there has been a Service Pack 3 setup error and that "Access is denied" or that "Service Pack installation did not complete." There are various ways to resolve this issue, and they are all described in detail in KB949377.

"You may receive these error messages if permissions for one or more registry keys are restricted in a way that prevents the update of those registry keys," Microsoft informed. "Some programs change the system access control lists (SACL) in the Registry so that administrator accounts cannot alter them. The service pack installer runs under the user (admin) account and not under the SYSTEM account. Failure to update a registry key causes the Setup program to fail."

4. You do not have enough free disk space on %SystemDrive% to archive the uninstall files

This is without a doubt the most easily solvable problem relates to the installation of XP SP3 RTM. The error message "Service Pack 3 Setup Error - You do not have enough free disk space on %SystemDrive% to archive the uninstall files," is of course related to a scenario where there is insufficient disk space available for the archiving of the uninstall files. XP SP3 will not go ahead with the deployment because without the uninstall files end users will not be able to remove the service pack. KB949375 deals with this specific issue.

5. "You do not have enough free disk space on %SystemDrive% to install Service Pack 3"

KB949385 is closely connected with KB949375, in the sense that they both can be fixed in the same manner, namely by freeing up the needed disk space. "Service Pack 3 Setup Error - You do not have enough free disk space on %SystemDrive% to install Service Pack 3," is designed to alert the end user that XP will not deploy due to the lack of space on the installation drive.

6. Intel processor-based Apple computers can also run "Out of Disk Space" it's not only PCs that are affected by insufficient disk space problems, but also Apple Mac machines. According to Microsoft, Mac Pro, Mac Mini, MacBook, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and iMac computers with Intel processors running XP SP2 may spit of the "Out of Disk Space" error message when the user will attempt to install Service Pack 3. "This problem occurs because a critical registry key (BootDir) is missing. This registry key is not created when Windows XP SP2 is installed by using Boot Camp on the Apple computers," the Redmond company informed via KB950716. "Apple has released an update to Boot Camp [version 2.1]. This update addresses issues and improves compatibility with Windows XP and with Windows Vista when these products are running on an Apple computer that uses Boot Camp.

7. Setup has detected that another update is in progress

The "Setup has detected that another update is in progress. Please complete that installation or removal and try again" error message will be generated if Service Pack 3 for XP is installed concomitantly with Automatic Updates running the Update.exe file. "The Update.exe file runs the Windows XP SP3 installation. The Update.exe file does not let multiple instances of itself to run at the same time on the same computer. Most of the security updates and service packs that are released by Microsoft run the Update.exe file," the company explained in KB949381.

8. "Service Pack 3 installation did not complete" and "An internal error occurred"

"Service Pack 3 installation did not complete" is just a part of the error message produced by unsuccessful installations of Windows XP. Clicking OK will inform the end user that "an internal error occurred." This issue is also connected with a faulty registry. "The errors can occur because of files that are not trusted or because of corrupted registry keys. You can verify the cause by searching for related entries in the Svcpack.log file," Microsoft explained in KB949384.

9. Windows Update Failed Installations

Microsoft continuously advices end users to turn to Windows Update as the preferred way to upgrade to Windows XP Service Pack 3. The WU infrastructure is designed to serve specific Windows operating systems with the exact updates tailored to them, rather than with generic downloads. But this is not a guarantee that the introduction of XP SP3 will go smooth always. Case in point: failed installations that generate the following error code in the logs: 0x80246007.

"This issue may occur if one of the following conditions is true: the Windows – SoftwareDistribution - Download folder was deleted after the Windows XP SP3 download operation was completed. System files were changed after Windows XP SP3 was downloaded but before the service pack was installed," Microsoft explained in KB949386.

source: news.softpedia.com

[RACERPRO]

On June 30, Microsoft is scheduled to pull the OEM distribution plug on Windows XP. In 30 days. That's all before the older operating system largely disappears from new PCs.

The "largely" qualifier is because downgrade rights will still be available to some customers, and system builders can ship PCs with XP through January 2009.

The next 30 days are crucial for anyone still wanting to easily obtain Windows XP on new PCs. But why wait? Why not try Vista, and only Vista, for the next 30 days?

There are some people fixated on the idea that Windows XP will get a reprieve, that Microsoft will extend widespread availability beyond June 30. Microsoft executives would be absolute, unequivocal ninkenpoops to keep Windows XP in the mainstream PC marketplace.

Last week, I crunched some numbers to give some perspective on the sorry state of Windows Vista distribution. Last week, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gave a new number of Vista licenses shipped: 150 million. That sounds like a whole lot before looking at worldwide PC shipments, at least 331 million, from Jan. 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008 based on some extrapolation of published Gartner data. Gartner includes x86 server shipments, but I removed all 11 million servers shipped during the time period. I came up with this estimate: Vista shipped on 37 percent of PCs worldwide since its Jan. 30, 2007.

But the estimate is unquestionably high, cutting slack to a company besieged by Vista perception problems. A more accurate accounting: Vista probably shipped on no more than one-third of PCs since general availability. Linux and Mac OS account for some of shipments; other PCs had no operating system or pirated Windows. Given Microsoft's PC marketshare is at least 93 percent, there is only one conclusion: The majority of PCs are shipping with Windows XP, and that doesn't account for Vista licenses downgraded to the older operating system. Microsoft has to get Windows XP out of the OEM market as quick as it can.

So, I would be shocked if Microsoft granted an extension, and my recommendation is for Microsoft to get XP out of the OEM channel as soon as humanly possible. Windows XP is an option Microsoft needs to do away with.

There's no reason to wait 30 days for XP to go away. My challenge: Try Vista for 30 days, right now. I've done several 30-day stints (longer, really) with only Vista. No XP, no Mac OS X. Thirty days with Vista is no longer super painful, particularly if Service Pack 1 is installed.

source: microsoft-watch.com

[FuzzyMaster]

XP is not dead yet ! :D

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/06/03/windows_xp_license_extension_take_two/

I think it is very interesting that it will now be supported for the devices mentioned until around 2010.

In other words, i think Microsoft is admitting that Windows Millenium 2 isn't what they hoped it would be, and they need to give people an alternative to Unix/Linux until Windows 7 arrives.

[bla]

I voted vista by mistake. Used vista for a while then when back to xp. Vista is tooo slooow compared with xp even with 4gigs of ram. can somebody correct the mistake??.:o

[RACERPRO]

With Windows 7 poised to begin private testing any time now and to ship by late 2009, a number of business users are wondering whether they should simply skip Windows Vista all together and wait for 7 instead.

Microsoft, not surprisingly, is advising customers against taking a pass on Vista. As part of a new white paper aimed at influencing business users who are evaluating when and whether to move to Windows Vista, Microsoft is advocating enterprise users should migrate to Vista sooner rather than later.

The white paper — “The Business Value of Windows Vista: Five Reasons to Deploy Now” — doesn’t include a lot of new data; instead, it revisits the business features Microsoft built into Vista and highlights some of the new deployment tools and case-study examples of companies who have migrated to Vista. But it does offer Microsoft’s official guidance on Windows 7 deployments. From the paper:

“There is no need to wait for Windows 7. It is a goal of the Windows 7 release to minimize application compatibility for customers who have deployed Windows Vista since there was considerable kernel and device level innovation in Windows Vista. The Windows 7 release is expected to have only minor changes in these areas. Customers who are still using Windows XP when Windows 7 releases will have a similar application compatibility experience moving to Windows 7 as exists moving to Windows Vista from Windows XP.”

Lee Nicholls, Director of Global Solutions with Getronics — a Microsoft integration partner that sells heavily into the financial services and manufacturing industries — agreed with Microsoft’s compatibility warning.

“There could be even less compatibility between XP and Windows 7,” based on what Microsoft ends up providing in terms of new migration and deployment tools, Nicholls said.

The jump between Windows XP and Windows 7 could be a big one, while the one from Vista to Windows 7 should be fairly minor, Nicholls said. And given that “Windows 7 is going to be a superset of Windows Vista, it’s not really something worth waiting for,” Nicholls added.

source: blogs.zdnet.com

[RACERPRO]

The march toward Windows XP's retail and OEM June 30 retirement party continues. Four weeks from today is Microsoft Corp.'s deadline for mainstream computer makers to stop selling new PCs with the old OS, and the date the Redmond Wash.-based developer will stop shipping boxed copies to retailers.

Mark it as T minus four weeks and counting.

We follow up on last week's inaugural FAQ with more questions and answers, including clarifications on inventory and news of one online retailer dropping XP's price by more than 10%. Must retailers stop selling XP after midnight of June 30?

No, says Microsoft. Although it's calling June 30 the retail and OEM availability end-date, the demarcation between selling and not-selling won't be razor sharp, the company said last week.

"The exact cut-off day for selling Windows XP is determined by OEMs and retailers, who can keep selling standalone versions as well as PCs with Windows XP preloaded by OEMs distributed prior to June 30, 2008, as long as their supplies last [emphasis in original]," a Microsoft spokeswoman said last week in an e-mail.

In other words, unless a retailer has pared its XP inventory to the bone, expect to see copies still selling into July, perhaps longer. Likewise for already-built machines that have XP installed, since dealers won't be required to yank them off shelves on July 1, but can clear their inventories at their own pace. If system builders can continue to sell PCs pre-loaded with XP until Jan. 31, 2009, does that mean I'll be able to buy the OEM edition of Windows XP at retail or online until then?

No. And we can see the confused look on your face from here.

The retail version of XP Home or XP Professional dubbed "OEM" is also often called the "system builder" edition, in that it uses the same EULA (end user licensing agreement) as the OEM licenses that large computer makers and smaller shops install on the PCs they build and sell.

Retail OEM versions of Windows XP are considerably cheaper than either upgrade or full license versions of the same version; Windows XP Home in OEM costs just US$79.99 on Newegg.com, for example, while the upgrade version runs $99.99 and the full license is priced at $191.49.

OEM versions are cheaper because they don't include free tech support from Microsoft, and legally you're not allowed to transfer the OS from one PC to another, say from an old, creaky piece of junk to something more up-to-date.

But even though "system builders" -- companies or individuals who have registered as a Microsoft Partner and then acquire Windows licenses through one of Microsoft's authorized distributors -- can get their hands on XP through Jan. 31, 2009, you won't be able to get the exact same license via retail once sellers exhaust their supplies after June 30.

"The June 30, 2008 deadline applies to OEMs and retailers for all versions of Windows XP," a Microsoft spokeswoman confirmed last week when asked for clarification.

Clear? Yeah, we thought so, too.

source: pcworld.com

[RACERPRO]

Some customers are considering whether to deploy Windows Vista or whether to skip in anticipation of Windows 7.

The discussion is often phrased as one of balancing costs and timing of releases. By not deploying Windows Vista, it means missing out on the proven benefts such as better security, productivity, search, mobility, manageability, and infrastructure optimization. Windows Vista works with more applications and devices than ever before and can be signifcantly less expensive to support than Windows XP SP3.

There is no need to wait for Windows 7. It is a goal of the Windows 7 release to minimize application compatibility for customers who have deployed Windows Vista since there was considerable kernel and device level innovation in Windows Vista. The Windows 7 release is expected to have only minor changes in these areas. Customers who are still using Windows XP when Windows 7 releases will have a similar application compatibility experience moving to Windows 7 as exists moving to Windows Vista from Windows XP.

Historically, mainstream deployment occurs not when Microsoft releases a product but 18 months later. While the mainstream deployment cycle is beginning for Windows Vista now, it isn’t expected to begin for Windows 7 until at least mid-2011

source: neowin.net

[bla]

http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/06/04/amd-puts-puma

OOXML means incompatibility and blurry logos
There are three new CPUs so far, the ZM-86 (2.4GHz/2M), ZM-82 (2.2GHz/1M), and ZM-80 (2.1GHz/1M), all are dual core and will be put under the Turion X2 Ultra brand. These will be followed by non-Ultra variants, and those sit atop the Athlons X2, which in turn look down on Semprons.

If we recall the Turion naming scheme, the second letter is the power efficiency.These obviously rank an 'M' on that scale, which is more efficient than the lower letters.

The CPUs themselves are the Griffin core we told you about months ago coupled with a mobile version of the 780G chipset. The two together were called Puma, but now are Turion X2 Ultra platform. The CPU is in the SLG2 638 pin package, and the package itself is lidless. The 780M runs at 500MHz, the same as the as the desktop variant. It is also HT3.0 capable, but since it is coupled with the Griffin CPU, that is pretty much a given.

Notebooks based on the new chips are aimed at the consumer and SMB markets, but not enterprise. The markets they are going after are the DTR and Thin & Light, defined as four pounds and over. The sub four-pound market is not targeted this time around.

The chipset does DX10.1, supports Hybrid Crossfire and Power on the broken OS, and has full HD video support. It gives nothing up to the 780G except a few watts. " There are Me II and Linux drivers now, with XP following this summer ".

Some other bits that the Puma platform brings is called Varibright, a marketing term for a light sensor that dims the screen with ambient light levels. Macs have had this for ages, and it will probably be everywhere in the near future.

The other thing that is new to the AMD mobile family is DASH1.1 manageability. This won't sway many people from Vpro, but it is a start for AMD notebooks. Last up is 802.11n, something that has been on AMD notebooks for a long time, but it is now the 'standard' even if the official standard is not fully baked.

In the end, the Ultra is a step up from the older Turions, a big step. The up-side is that it will win in just about every benchmark out there against it's older cousin. It will also stomp Intel's upcoming G45 in gaming and GPU-intensive tasks, likely in video applications as well. The down-side is where CPU or battery life is concerned, they will lose just as badly. Pick your poison.

The Turion Ultra parts should be more than good enough for consumers and SMB buyers. Large enterprise won't be swayed, but AMD isn't going there yet. It is a large step forward, but it won't challenge Montevina for business purchasing agents. µ

[RACERPRO]

The introduction of Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista and of Service Pack 3 for Windows XP, along with the June 30 retail and OEM availability cut-off date for XP, have generated a consistent a mount of confusion over the future of the two Windows clients.

Especially over Vista's predecessor in terms of its retirement from the retail and OEM channels, but also in regard to support and downgrade rights. As far as support is concerned, XP SP3 will live to see 2014 (read more about it here). And when it comes down to Vista SP1 to XP SP3 downgrades, nothing has changed from Vista RTM and XP SP2.

"You will still be able to get Windows XP Professional installed on computers after June 30th. This is more important for sysadmins who have a large current installation of Windows XP-based systems and have not yet migrated to Windows Vista. If you're a consumer, consider getting a new computer with Windows Vista installed: with Business and Ultimate, you have downgrade rights to XP Pro," revealed the Chief of Staff of the Windows Core Operating System Division at Microsoft.

Downgrade rights permit end users to access two versions of the Windows operating system, in this context either Vista or XP, with the same license. Namely, a single OEM license permits customers to install XP, and subsequently remove it and deploy Vista on the same machine. Microsoft is essentially interested in offering clients the ability to buy Windows Vista, but continue to run Windows XP until they are capable of moving to the latest Windows operating system.

Essentially, OEM versions of Vista Business and Ultimate versions with a downgrade license allow users to install and run XP Professional, XP Professional x64 Edition, and XP Tablet PC Edition. This is also valid for the Service Pack 1 variants of Vista, respectively for XP SP3.

"End users who downgrade may reinstall the original software when they are ready to migrate. For example, an end user who downgrades to Windows XP Professional may later return to Windows Vista Business software provided that the end user deletes the Windows XP Professional software from the PC," the COSD lead added.

source: news.softpedia.com

[sebipo]

When it comes to performs issues xp is better than vista

[RACERPRO]

Statistics for the operating system market come in different flavors and from a variety of sources but they all have one thing in common: indicating that Windows is losing ground to Mac OS X and Linux.

As far as Microsoft is concerned, it reached the apex of the operating system market with the launch of Service Pack 2 for Windows XP back in 2004. Since then, it has been all down hill for the Redmond giant. Sure, the slope is by no means steep enough for a hard Windows fall, just sufficiently inclined through the erosion produced by Mac OS X and Linux that the ground is slipping from under Microsoft's proprietary platform, slowly but surely...

While Windows is not at risk from a landslide, it has been on a descendant trajectory for the past years, with consumers suffering from Windows fatigue, and increasingly looking for alternatives. Recent releases such as Windows Vista in 2007, and Vista Service Pack 1 as well as Windows XP Service Pack 3 have done little to impact the general trend. As of May 2008 Windows is credited with 91.13% of the operating system market according to Net Applications, with 91.11% by W3Counter and with 95.94% by OneState (but only as of April 2008).

In January 2007, when Windows Vista hit the shelves, Net Applications revealed a share of 93.33% for Windows, approximately two percent higher than in January 2008. Back in July 2007, OneStat gave Windows a share of 96.97%, also larger than the 95.94% from a couple of months ago. W3Counter seem to be on par with Net Applications indicating that Windows was at 93.6% of the market in May 2007, and as low as 91.11% in the past month.


Windows Saturation
The release of Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista and of Service Pack 3 for Windows XP has done little to help break what appears to be a generalized and accentuating case of Windows fatigue. Net Applications stated that SP3 for XP failed to impact the operating system's continuous market share lost for over a year. Even with SP3 available as of May 6, 2008, XP continued to lose audience and is down from 73.07% in April to 72.12% the past month. Vista continues to climb in statistics, but SP1 didn't deliver the kick needed to accelerate growth to the levels where focus will no longer shift to XP SP3, Windows 7 or rival products. Vista only climbed from 14.02% in March to 15.26% in May.


Windows Vista, the Default Growth
Windows Vista climbed up in the space occupied by Windows XP to claim the second most used operating system on the market since mid-2007. Since the January 2007 launch, Vista's growth has somewhat stabilized at around 10 million units per month. At the end of March 2008, Microsoft revealed that it had sold over 140 million Vista licenses worldwide. As of May, Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer claimed that Vista had passed the 150 million mark.

Don't Expect Miracles from Windows 7
Even though Windows Vista has taken all the heavy hits, acting as a buffer release for Windows 7, the next iteration of Microsoft's proprietary operating system will drop in a market which has started to experience Windows fatigue for a number of years. But unlike Vista, Windows 7 will benefit from the get go from a mature ecosystem of software and hardware products. Microsoft is essentially promising a Windows 7 apple which will fall far tom the Vista tree, while at the same time featuring the same architecture as its predecessor, in terms of the kernel, and the graphics and audio subsystems, security and search functionality, etc.

source: news.softpedia.com

[RACERPRO]

Microsoft never contested the fact that Windows Vista's hardware requirements qualified the latest Windows client as resource hungry, but at the same time, the company did point out that, given the right system, the platform would deliver quite a performance.

And performance is the correct word to describe a little experiment put together by Keith Combs, Microsoft IT Pro Evangelist. Combs managed to get no less than 28 Windows operating systems running simultaneously on the same machine, namely 27 copies of Windows Vista Enterprise Service Pack 1 and one Windows Server 2008.

"Twenty Seven Windows Vista Enterprise SP1 Virtual Machines executing courtesy of Windows Server 2008 and Hyper-V. All of this is running on a single laptop, Lenovo ThinkPad T61p with 8GB of Kingston memory," Combs explained. "This time I added another hard drive and split the load. I also used a couple of parent disks, and each VM is executing off a differencing virtual disk. The first pic [toward the bottom of this article] is of all the VMs executing. Keep in mind this is a total of 28 operating systems running on a single laptop when you take into account the parent OS, Windows Server 2008. The second pic shows me killing off the VM’s and the freeing up of the memory."

Initially, Combs had tried the experiment with just 14 operating system copies, 13 Vista Enterprise SP1 (six instances of 64-bit and seven of 32-bit) plus the underlying host platform Windows Server 2008 Enterprise x64 with Hyper-V RC1. All the Vista copies are running in virtual machines in the Windows Server 2008 hypervisor.

"Pretty cool, eh? I know you think this is crazy and unusable. I did notice while firing them up under this configuration, that I could easily use 10 client virtual machines with the settings and hardware I used for this test. So some interesting scenarios come to mind with the use of Group Policy, Patch Deployment, OS Deployment, etc.," Combs added.

source: news.softpedia.com

[RACERPRO]

Microsoft has started pressing the acceleration pedal of the marketing of Windows Vista, now complete with Service Pack 1.

At the debut of June, Mike Nash, Corporate Vice President, Windows Product Management, revealed that Vista SP1 was ready for wide business adoption, and the software giant even launched a Vista experience initiative built around the operating system plus its first service pack. Now, Microsoft is taking it one step further and is actually letting end users test drive Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 online.

"The Windows Vista Ultimate with Service Pack 1 (SP1) test-drive allows you to try (or "test drive") this latest operating system from Microsoft without having to install it on your PC. By simply logging onto our test drive environment using your web browser, you will be able to experience Windows Vista first hand. You can explore the product on your own, or follow along with guided exercises and videos," reads the welcome message on the Vista Ultimate SP1 Test Drive website.

A project of Microsoft Virtual Labs, the Vista Ultimate SP1 test drive is designed to emphasize four pillars of the platform: security, usability, reliability and versatility. The Redmond company has essentially put at the disposal of users a copy of 32-bit Windows Vista Ultimate SP1, running on an AMD Opteron processor with 2 GB of RAM. The test operating system is available online and can be accessed through the browser. There are no downloads or installation involved in test driving Vista Ultimate SP1.

But even though it's meant to give users just a taste of what Vista Ultimate SP1 is truly capable of, the online client made available by Microsoft comes with a plethora of components from antivirus, to Application Compatibility Toolkit, the Deployment Toolkit, the Office 2007 System, SQL Server 2005, and even Windows AIK.

source: news.softpedia.com

[RACERPRO]

Windows Vista Experience... Safe, easier, reliable and versatile. Microsoft is welcoming users to the Windows Vista experience, a website focused on Service Pack 1 for the latest version of the Windows client.

Designed to share "real stories and real successes" with Vista at the core, the website features full case studies focused on what the operating system manages to bring to the table, now that Service Pack 1 was made available.

"Have you seen the new Windows Vista Experience site? This newly launched site hosts many stories from real small businesses who are benefiting from running Windows Vista on their PC’s. This interactive site also includes the option of submitting your own story - with the possibility that your story (partner or business) may be filmed for future use on the site," revealed Eric Ligman, Microsoft US Senior Manager, Small Business Community Engagement.

According to the already submitted Windows Vista success stories, businesses of any size will save time and be more productive if they upgrade to the operating system, updated with its latest service pack. There are a total of four cases presented via video testimonies and many others in plain text, but Microsoft seems convinced that users will want to share their own Vista experiences.

Bear in mind that the Redmond company is not necessarily looking for Vista SP1 success stories, but for experiences in general. So, if you want to give Microsoft a piece of your mind, then by all means do so. However, the site addresses businesses so it's preferable you have the right kind of experience to share with the company and the rest of the world. It is likely that Microsoft will filter any negative feedback and only post success stories in order to market Windows Vista SP1, but this is not to say that your input won't actually reach the company.

source: news.softpedia.com

[westmassguy]

A website dedicated to everything that's wrong or broken with Vista's user experience: http://www.istartedsomething.com/taskforce/index.php

[RACERPRO]

Three of the top four PC sellers worldwide plan to sell systems with Windows XP right up to the Microsoft-mandated deadline of June 30.

Of the four, only Dell plans to call it quits before the last day of this month.

Microsoft has set June 30 as the final day of Windows XP availability to retailers and major computer makers, although the company recently also said that the date won't mark a sudden disappearance of the old operating system.

"The exact cut-off day for selling Windows XP is determined by OEMs and retailers, who can keep selling standalone versions as well as PCs with Windows XP preloaded by OEMs distributed prior to June 30, 2008, as long as their supplies last [emphasis in original]," a Microsoft spokeswoman said two weeks ago in an e-mail.

Hewlett-Packard, Acer, and Lenovo -- ranked nos. one, three and four, respectively, in global PC sales in the first quarter by both Gartner and IDC -- will continue to sell XP-powered machines until June 30, the companies said this week in response to questions from Computerworld . Dell, which is the world's number two OEM, is sticking to June 18 as the last day that customers can order computers with XP pre-installed.

Here's what the OEMs said about their plans:

Hewlett-Packard: "We do still offer XP on a select number of our existing consumer notebook, gaming and business products," said a spokesman for HP. "This will continue through the XP end of life date on June 30, 2008."

Dell: Weeks ago, Dell said that it would stop taking customers' orders for PCs with XP after June 18. Wednesday, an e-mail from Dell's small business group titled "Last Chance" repeated that date. "It's time to decide if you want a Dell system with pre-installed Windows XP or Windows Vista," Dell's marketing e-mail read.

Acer: "For Acer, it's June 30," said a spokeswoman for the Asian OEM's American operations.

Lenovo: Although Lenovo spokesman Doug Bell first said his company's last-sale date was June 15, after checking, he confirmed that it is, in fact, the end-of-life June 30.

Some of these computer makers, however, will continue to sell PCs with factory-installed XP licenses after June 30 by taking advantage of Windows Vista's downgrade rights.

A clause in Microsoft's guidelines for OEMs lets computer makers install Windows XP Professional -- but not the more common and less expensive Windows XP Home -- on new PCs at a customer's request when those machines are ordered with Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate.

Dell was the first to say it would use the downgrade clause to offer buyers XP Professional pre-installed long after the June 30 deadline. Those PCs will also include Vista installation media so that customers can, if and when they want, upgrade from XP. Dell, however, has not said how long it would offer the downgrade option.

Not so with HP. "HP has been offering business desktops, notebooks and workstations with the option to downgrade to Windows XP Pro from Vista since August 2007, and will continue to offer this option on its business systems through at least July 30, 2009," said the HP spokesman.

Lenovo, meanwhile, said it would continue to offer its downgrade option -- Lenovo doesn't swap out the Vista for XP at the factory floor, but instead sends media that requires the user to re-install Windows XP -- until Jan. 31, 2009.

source: infoworld.com

[RACERPRO]

Make no mistake about it, June 30, 2008 is the beginning of the end for Windows XP, even with Service Pack 3 available for two months now, since May 6.

Microsoft confirmed that the end of this month will be synonymous with the availability cut-off date through the retail and OEM channels, although there have been customers hoping until the last minute that the company would breathe new life into the predecessor of Windows Vista.

Microsoft has already postponed once the availability end date initially planned for January 30, 2008, but the company was firm on the fact that that was an exception which would not be repeating itself.

"In industry speak, this is called "end-of-sales." On June 30, Microsoft will stop distributing Windows XP as a stand-alone product that you can buy shrink-wrapped in the store. We'll also stop sending it to Dell, HP, Lenovo and all the other major PC manufacturers to sell on their PCs. That said, Windows XP isn't going to disappear overnight", revealed Mthree Sweatt, Chief of Staff of the Windows Core Operating System Division (COSD) at Microsoft citing the new The Facts About the Future – Windows XP website.

Microsoft argued the need to sacrifice Windows XP on the altar of innovation and to continue focusing entirely on Window Vista. The company stressed the fact that it would not be pulling the plug on the operating system, which would continue to benefit from extended support until 2014. Mainstream support will be retired in April 2009, while Extended support will be killed in April 2014.

"You may still see copies of the software—or computers pre-loaded with it—for months, as stores and PC makers work through their inventory. Also, smaller local PC makers—known in the industry as "system builders"—can continue to sell PCs with Windows XP until January 2009. Finally, Microsoft recently announced that computers with limited hardware capabilities—devices sometimes called Netbooks or ultra-low cost PCs (ULCPC)—can carry Windows XP Home until June 2010", Sweatt added.

source: news.softpedia.com

[RomanS]

When it comes to performs issues xp is better than vista

Well, I use both. Vista gives the feeling of XP + Windowblinds, that's it.

[RACERPRO]

The Windows XP era ends June 30 and soon hardware vendors will be shipping you all Vista all the time (in most cases).

The save XP effort failed. The whining should cease. And now it’s time for Vista to sink or swim.

Ina Fried has a good overview of where Windows XP will stand with PC manufacturers. And Matt Asay highlights a report from Evans Data noting that 92 percent of developers are ignoring Vista. Coupling these two items together and you come to one conclusion: Folks are skeptical about Vista, but a lot of that skepticism is because XP is still lingering.

If you’re a Vista complainer you have two options from here:

* Move away from Windows completely (users try a new OS and developers jump ship).
* Or shut up and go with Vista.

My hunch is most folks will do that latter. I’d love to believe that Microsoft’s Vista miscues would result in a mass exodus, but I doubt that will happen. I also wonder why people live in New Jersey and pay those ridiculous property taxes, but shockingly enough people stay. Based on my Libertarian leanings I’d reckon there would be four people left in Jersey by now.

But I digress. Once consumers no longer have the XP option they’ll fall in line with Vista. Sure some percentage will go Mac, but if you didn’t jump yet–after a gazillion brilliant Apple ads knocking Vista–you probably won’t. And the developer worries: Developers will fall in line too. Evans Data notes:

Only eight percent of North American software developers are currently writing applications to run on Microsoft’s Vista operating system, while half are still writing programs for XP, according to Evans Data’s Spring 2008, North American Development Survey. These same developers forecast a fragmented Windows market in 2009 with only 24 percent expecting to target Vista and 29% expecting to continue with XP.

“Developers have taken a wait and see approach to Vista”, said John Andrews, Evans Data’s President and CEO. “The new operating system has had more than its share of problems and the desire to move from XP on the Windows platform is still lagging - that coupled with interest in alternative operating systems is suppressing development activity and that in turn will further erode Vista’s acceptance.”

source: blogs.zdnet.com

[RACERPRO]

Licenses for Windows come in various flavors from Retail to Volume, but perhaps the most common of all is provided by original equipment manufacturers together with operating systems preloaded on new computers.

Since over 80% of the revenues of the Windows Client Division come from sales of Windows on new machines, the OEM licenses are bound to represent the vast majority of EULAs. At the same time, the OEM End User License Agreement is the one offering the least amount of flexibility to customers because it irremediably ties Windows to the PC.

"The original OEM Windows licenses that ships with the PC is bound to that PC. So, if you buy a PC with an OEM Windows license, that OEM Windows license stays with that PC. If you sell the PC, you have sold the OEM Windows license with it. If you donate the PC, you donate the OEM Windows license with it. If you burn and destroy the PC, you burn and destroy the OEM Windows license with it," explained Eric Ligman, Microsoft US Senior Manager Small Business Community Engagement.

Ligman revealed that this situation is also valid for OEM Windows licenses on refurbished computers. As long as the motherboard of a refurbished PC is not changed, customers will not need a new OEM Windows Desktop Operating System license. Since the Windows copy is intimately connected with the PC's motherboard, the OEM license for the operating system will be valid for the refurbished computer as long as that critical hardware component stays in place.

"Just because you wipe the information clean off the hard drive before transferring the PC, it doesn't change the fact that the OEM Windows license stays with it. Because of this, yes, you certainly can reload the original OEM Windows CD back onto the PC since the OEM Windows license is tied to it anyway. Just be sure that when you transfer the PC to the new owner that you also transfer all of the OEM Proof of license components with it as well," Ligman added.

source: news.softpedia.com

[RACERPRO]

As I noted in the first installment of this series, some of my favorite productivity-enhancing techniques don’t involve custom code or registry edits.

Instead, they involve learning how the basic building blocks of Windows work, and then rearranging those components to cut steps out of the tasks you perform most often.

In today’s installment of this two-part series, I share some of my favorite tweaks for getting maximum mileage out of Windows Search. I also explain the inner workings of volume shadow copies and how you can make better use of these automatic backups with System Restore and the Previous Versions feature. I show how to get quick access to your local and network data files by combining shortcuts in a single, easy-to-reach location, and I explain why hybrid sleep should be the default on every desktop PC.

Just as in last week’s edition, each tweak gets its own page in this post. I’ve also put together a gallery of instructions, each one annotated with step-by-step instructions so you can follow along. The two pieces are a matched set for each entry in the list; if you look only at the text or only at the gallery, you’re missing the complete picture.

Here’s a quick list of what’s in part 2:


6. Save your favorite searches
The Start menu search box works just fine for quick, ad hoc searches. To really tap into the power of Windows Search, though, spend a little time to create searches that bring together the types of files you use most often (Word documents modified this month or last month, e-mail messages from Fred or Rick, and so on). Then save those searches so you can reuse them later or copy them to another computer.


7. Fine-tune your search settings
Speaking of Windows Search, did you know that there are three separate areas where you can tweak settings that control search behavior? Use these tweaks to make Start menu searches more useful, simplify the complicated advanced search syntax, and add IFilters to search inside types of files that aren’t supported by a default Vista installation.


8. Make the most of System Restore and shadow copies
Did you know that System Restore in XP and Vista use completely different techniques to save snapshots of data? In this tweak, I explain why you might want to increase the amount of space set aside for volume shadow copies. I also introduce a free utility that lets users of Windows Vista home editions find and restore files from automatically created backups.


9. Bring network files closer
The fastest way to get to files in any network location is via a shortcut. And the best place to save those shortcuts to network locations is in the Computer window. You can add shortcuts to shared folders, FTP sites, or websites where you publish files. Here’s how.


10. Master power management
In XP, you have standby and hibernate. Vista adds a third power state, called hybrid sleep. Here’s what you need to know and how you can tune a desktop system to take advantage of this useful mode.

source: blogs.zdnet.com

[RACERPRO]

Over the past six months, many individuals have downloaded early, unauthorized Windows 7 test builds that have leaked from Microsoft since late last year (the 6519 series).

They’ve been looking for clues — any clues — about some of the new bits that will be part of the next version of Windows client, expected out in late 2009 or so.

But one potential new Windows 7 feature about which I haven’t seen a whole lot of speculation is something called “Windows Sensors.” (See the screen shot above from an early Windows 7 build sent to me by a tester who asked not to be identified.)

What are these mysterious Windows Sensors mentioned under the “Hardware and Sound” category in the Windows 7 Control Panel — alongside Windows SideShow, Tablet PC settings and game controllers? Are they the kinds of sensors that will enable the new and improved multi-touch/gesture recognition that Microsoft has confirmed will be one of the new features in Windows 7? (Monitor vendor Albatron recently demonstrated a forthcoming LCD monitor that incorporates sensors required for multi-touch.)

Makes sense (no pun intended), but perhaps there’s something more in the works. Look at screen shot above. This is a “Learn About Using Windows Sensors” screen from the same early Windows 7 build. “Programs on your computer can communicate with your Windows-compatible sensors,” it says. It calls out “Windows Media Player” and “Inbox — Windows Mail” as sub-categories here. And it offers users the option of being notified “when compatible programs and sensors are installed.” Does this simply mean that Windows Media Player and Windows Mail are examples of applets that will be able to take advantage of multi-touch?

Perhaps there’s more going on here and Windows Sensors will be the next version of Plug and Play — a way for Windows to automatically “sense” what kinds of peripherals or devices can/should be automatically connected and synced. Sensors are also key to home-automation systems. Could Windows 7 be the control hub for users’ fridges, stoves and home-security systems, via Windows Sensors?

source: blogs.zdnet.com

[diwan]

My problem is why people don´t like vista!

What are your reasons for not liking vista?

In the past lots of people have problems with others softwares (windows, linux that i use at my work and it´s the most problematic software that i ever find to use, mac software problems in security the double of xp and vista together), so why people don´t like vista?

One of the biggest reasons why I didn't like Vista is because of the compability issues with programs that I use daily, like 3dsMax, Maya and Adobe Photoshop. It just doesn't work as smoothly as it does with XP. Especially as I run overclocked CPU, vista really doesn't like that. Lots of hangups, even blue screen, and the fact that you can't install vista while having 4gb ram is just stupid in my oppinion.

[RACERPRO]

Installing Windows 7 Milestone 1 Build 6519 provides an experience almost identical to that of Windows Vista with the exception of a quite different finish.

In this context, Windows 7 M1 gives the impression of something that Microsoft just threw together rather than a fully-fledged development milestone for the next version of the Windows client. Leaked details related to Windows 7 Build 6519 spawned observations that the version was too similar to Windows Vista for comfort. Now, make no mistake about it, Windows 7 M1 is no Vista, but at the same time the similarities cannot be denied.

The installation experience starts with a standard Windows Vista screen which permits the user to select the language of the operating system, the keyboard input, and the time format. Even the installing instructions mention Windows Vista exclusively. So does the Install/Repair screen that comes next and the Product Key dialog box. And just as in Vista, this part of the installation process can be circumvented.

Users can deploy Windows 7 without entering a product key, but they will be promoted to select an edition of the platform. Here it is all Vista, including Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate. The Windows Vista N editions are also present. But no Windows 7 option whatsoever. In fact, the first mention of Windows 7 comes via the Microsoft Pre-Release Software License. This document is the first clue throughout the deployment process that users are actually installing Windows 7 and not Vista.

The installation will continue just as in Vista with the options of an Upgrade or a Clean install. The Windows 7 files will be copied, expanded, features and updates installed, the devices will be configured, and users will be promoted to set up accounts and passwords, choose a computer name, update mode, time zone and network connection. Next, the logon screen will say Windows 7 Ultimate, provided that the user has chosen the Ultimate SKU of the operating system to install.

source: news.softpedia.com

[colinzim]

I run Vista Business 32 Bit. I used to run XP.
Vista runs great, I have no crashes, the interface is better and XP got boring (2002?).
I never did like XP MCE so the Utlimate and Home Premium are useless to me.
I built a new computer to run it !
XP might be faster machine wise but Vista's interface is faster to use. I recently installed Windows 7 M1 and can't
wait for Tabbed Browsing for Explorer ! < that should have been in Vista.
If you want speed from Microsoft run Windows 2000 Pro - runs like a jet in a Quad
PC
ASUS P5K SE Mainboard
Intel Q6600 CPU running at 1333 MHZ
4 GB Corsair Terminator RAM
WD Raptor 10000 RPM HD
nVidia 8600 GT (256 mb)

[RACERPRO]

Microsoft may not be willing to let Apple have the last word about Windows Vista, after all.

According to a June 20 Fortune Magazine article, Microsoft has earmarked “an additional $200 million for Windows advertising this year, even though in nonlaunch years thre is typically no budget increase at all.” It sounds as though this is in addition to the $300 million Microsoft already has agreed to spend with Crispin Porter + Bogusky to improve the company’s overall image and brand.

Fortune explains Microsoft’s image makeover plan, codenamed “FTP168? (with FTP being “Free the People”):

“A year ago Ballmer okayed the effort, led by Bill Veghte, who is responsible for both Windows and search. He partnered with marketing boss Mich Mathews, then the two recruited an all-star team from across the company - the best experts at branding, packaging, online advertising, and other specialties….

“The aim of the campaign will be to talk about things you can do with your PC that you could never do before.”

At the same time, over the next 18 months, Microsoft is planning to focus on the synergies of three different Microsoft lines — Windows client, Windows Mobile and Windows Live. Microsoft is going to make sure users know that all three of these are Windows in its various guises. From the article:

“Aside from the flagship Windows 7, which will succeed Vista for PCs, the company will launch a new version of Windows Mobile as well as a new version of the services known as Windows Live. For the first time, they’re going to be promoted as aspects of the same thing.”

Microsoft already is stepping up its campaign to more tightly integrate Windows 7 with Windows Live services — its Web-based mail, instant-messaging, security, photo-management and more. And Microsoft Chairman Gates recently played up the fact that Microsoft plans to make Windows client more tightly aligned with Windows Mobile.

source: blogs.zdnet.com

[shah17]

Many peaple choose vista jst bcoz of the look it has... Transperent UI has blind the peaple who don't have an good IT exposure. Vista don't support most of software we use...

[petar]

From my point of view people who says that XP is better than Vista usualy never have tryed Vista or have been using it just for a week or a month.
And they always say I dont like Vista, with no facts to suport their claims.
All they say is that XP runs faster.
But they dont take in mind that XP was first designed to run on a machines that require less resources than Vista.
So when they install Vista on a computer designed to run XP, it i normal that Vista will be slower.
To that calim, I'm usualy replyingg with the question:
Why dont you install windows 3.0, it runs much faster than XP, dont it ?
And their response to this is, that XP has much more features than 3.0, so the only logical response from my side is that Vista has more features than XP.
and so on and so on...

Till now I only had one BSOD and I'm using Vitsa for 1 year.
And about the BSOD, it was my fault.
I've accidentaly shortent two wires on the LAN card...LOL...:o
Like others that said it before me, I will say the same..
Any OS is like a child, if you dont care about it, dont expect much from it..:cool:

I'm also hardly waiting to see Windows 7....:D

[RACERPRO]

Windows Vista is by no means a failure, nor is it a lost battle, as Microsoft is fighting the Service Pack 1 crusade opening new fronts against both itself and rival companies.

Having RTM'd Vista SP1 on February 4, 2008, and then released it to the general public in March and April, the Redmond company has essentially breathed new life into its latest Windows client and it's willing to do everything it takes to convince end users to give the operating system at least a second look of not a new try. Furthermore, Microsoft indicated that it was ready to go beyond the traditional lines of marketing campaigns that spawned the Wow.

In fact, the software giant has made a number of moves designed to benefit Windows Vista. In early June, Christopher Flores, Director Windows Communications pointed out the release of a new whitepaper set up to reveal the business value of Vista SP1. While indeed parading Vista SP1 to customers, Microsoft also slaughters Windows XP SP3 and Windows 7 as viable alternatives. With over 150 million licenses sold worldwide to date Vista is faring rather well, but this is not stopping Microsoft from virtually eating its young in order to increase sales.

In this context, the company is also pushing hard new marketing campaigns, coughing up no less than a reported $500 million, which is the unconfirmed sum that it paid for the Vista Wow. Fast Company revealed that the Redmond giant would pay ad agency Crispin Porter + Bogusky $300 million for a campaign and another $200 million just for Windows advertising until the end of 2008, according to Fortune Magazine. Speculations indicate that Microsoft is hard at work on an antidote to Apple's Get a Mac ads which have hurt both the Microsoft brand and Windows Vista.

But one thing that Microsoft has clearly done in favor of Windows Vista was to kill Windows XP sales through the retail and OEM channels for good starting on June 30. XP was so far the biggest impediment in terms of Windows Vista adoption and Microsoft has surgically removed it from the store shelves as well as from new OEM computers. The only Windows client selling on new machines, with the exception of ultra-low-cost mobiles and desktop computers, is Windows Vista SP1.

And if all this is not enough to convince users, the Microsoft Virtual Labs is also hosting a Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 test drive, offering a free taste of the operating system online. It is safe to conclude that Microsoft is on the offensive. Armed with SP1 the company is pushing Vista left and right and all the apparently disparate actions related to the Windows client slowly come together in a puzzle that reveals a common vision.

source: news.softpedia.com

[westmassguy]

But one thing that Microsoft has clearly done in favor of Windows Vista was to kill Windows XP sales through the retail and OEM channels for good starting on June 30. XP was so far the biggest impediment in terms of Windows Vista adoption and Microsoft has surgically removed it from the store shelves as well as from new OEM computers. The only Windows client selling on new machines, with the exception of ultra-low-cost mobiles and desktop computers, is Windows Vista SP1.
source: news.softpedia.com

LOL, the only way Microsoft could stop people from buying and or deploying XP is to "surgically remove it" and force Vista aka ME II down our throats.

[RACERPRO]

Windows XP Service Pack 3 and Windows Vista Service Pack 1 have quite a healthy playground at their disposal, no less than 1 billion PCs worldwide.

According to market analyst firm Gartner, the number of computers in use worldwide has passed the 1 billion milestone. The company emphasized having taken into consideration only the installed base of PCs and not the units that are shipping. But while Windows XP and Windows Vista, with their respective service packs account for the lion's share of the 1 billion PCs, the two operating systems will survive to see computers hit the 2 billion mark well together with Windows 7 in 2014.

George Shiffler, research director at Gartner, revealed that there is a lack of balance between the developed and developing worlds. In this regard, 15% of the world's population in developed markets account for 58% of the computers installed globally, while emerging markets make up for the rest. "There’s a startling difference in per capita PC penetration between mature and emerging markets. Of course, much of this difference reflects the disparity in average living standards between mature and emerging markets. But, rapid economic development across emerging markets is not only narrowing the disparity in average living standards, it's closing the difference in per capita PC penetration between mature and emerging markets," Shiffler said.

Still, Gartner predicts that the largest growth for installed PCs worldwide will take place into emerging markets over the next six years. The company forecasts that by 2014, the per capita PC penetration in the developing world will double. In fact, even at this point in time, emerging markets are the factor responsible for the fueling of double-digit PC growth worldwide. This tendency will only accentuate with the continuous drop in PC average selling prices.

Both Windows XP SP3 and Windows Vista SP1, along with future Windows operating system from Windows 7 onward, will still be around in 2014 when the installed base for PCs will go over 2 billion units. In fact, extended support for XP SP3 is not scheduled to expire until April 2014, and Microsoft is bound to prolong support for Vista past this milestone, although the latest Windows client will no longer be at SP1 stage at that point in time, having hit at least SP2, if not even SP3. For XP however, SP3 is the latest service pack that Microsoft will ever release. According to the Redmond company's Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer, Windows 7 is planned for availability in late 2009.

"Emerging market governments are also increasingly committed to reducing the digital divide by promoting PC use among their citizens through a variety of means, including providing PCs directly to the less affluent, "added Luis Anavitarte, research vice president at Gartner. "Whereas mature markets accounted for just under 60 percent of the first billion installed PCs, we expect emerging markets to account for approximately 70 percent of the next billion installed PCs."

source: news.softpedia.com

[bla]

:D Intel won't touch Vista:rolleyes:

Too broken to deploy

look here (http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2008/06/23/intel-dumps-vista)



ACCORDING TO A memo circulating a few weeks ago, it looks like Intel is taking a wise decision and avoiding the Broken OS entirely. Yes, Intel is not going to use Vista on its corporate machines... ever.

When a company as tech savvy as Intel, with full source code access and having written several large chunks of the OS, says get stuffed, you know you have a problem. Well, everyone knows MS has a problem, but it is nice to see it codified in such a black and white way though. Reassuring, like a warm cup of tea, or a public kick to the corporate crown jewels.

The real question is what are they going to use? The official answer is 'nothing yet', the one where they try not to offend is 'likely Windows 7', delivered with a pained smile. Since that is shaping up to be Me II SP1a, I am not sure Intel will bite there either unless they suddenly develop a GPU that can run it in that time frame.

So that leaves two other choices, Linux and Mac. Linux is a distinct possibility, they already have an in-house distro that causes employees look nervously around the room when you talk about it. Although it is not a desktop variant, there is no reason that they could not roll one given two years.

The other one is the big white horse in the corner, Mac OS. If there was ever a company that is loyal to Intel, it is Apple. If there was ever a company that could make MacOS work internally, it is Intel. While any marriage with the turtlenecked sociopath is a match made in hell, don't count this one out either.

In the end, you have Intel flipping MS the bird, and telling them what they already know, Vista in undeployable by anyone with a grain of common sense. The impressive thing is that it just might lead to a waving off of MS entirely, they are the underdog for the next round of upgrades.

I told you so. µ

[RACERPRO]

A reliability and performance update is available for download for Windows Vista Service Pack 1. This specific release targets all Windows Vista editions, provided that they have the first service pack integrated.

The update comes with the promise of improving the performance and reliability of the gold version of Vista SP1, and is not addressed at the RTM SKUs of the latest Windows client. Two updates are up for grabs for both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Vista SP1. "This update resolves issues that may affect some Windows Vista SP1-based computers. These issues have been reported by customers who use the Error Reporting service or Microsoft Customer Support Services," Microsoft informed.

The Redmond company softened all the rough corners of the RTM build of Vista, including problems related to stability and speed. However, while some issues survived, others were introduced specifically by SP1. The current update is designed to tackle performance, responsiveness, and reliability issues affecting Vista SP1 in a variety of scenarios. At the bottom of this article, you will find the complete list of improvements that the update will deliver to Windows Vista.

The Vista SP1 reliability and performance update signals that a practice started with Vista RTM is turning into a tradition for Microsoft. When SP1 was in the early stages of development, the Redmond giant started serving bits and pieces of the service pack for Vista RTM as performance, reliability, and compatibility releases through Windows Update and the Download Center. The end purpose is, of course, to decrease the level of reliance on service packs, and put the Windows Update infrastructure into the limelight.

The advantage of WU over service pack releases is that end users get much more rapidly resolves and enhancements for their operating system. As far as Microsoft is concerned, the evolution of Windows platforms in sips rather than in big gulps is preferred due to the flexibility it introduces, along with the obvious benefits for users. Still, the dependency on service packs in corporate environments is a factor which will continue to force Microsoft to focus on service pack releases, even though the company is slowly moving Windows Update to the centerstage.

According to Microsoft, "this update includes the following improvements on a Windows Vista SP1-based computer:

• This update improves the stability of Windows Vista SP1-based computers by addressing some crashes that may occur when you try to check e-mail by using a POP3 e-mail client such as Windows Mail or Mozilla Thunderbird. The crashes may occur on a Windows Vista SP1-based computer in the following scenario incoming POP3 and outgoing SMTP traffic monitoring is enabled.

• Both a third-party antivirus application and an antispyware application are installed, such as the following applications: ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite by Check Point Software Technologies and SpySweeper by Webroot Software.

• This update improves the reliability of the Windows Vista SP1 based-computers by addressing some problems that occur when you delete user accounts by using the User Accounts item in Control Panel. When this problem occurs, the system may stop responding (hang).

• This update improves the reliability of Windows Vista SP1-based computers that experience issues in which large applications cannot run after the computer is turned on for extended periods of time. For example, when you try to start Excel 2007 after the computer is turned on for extended periods of time, a user may receive an error message that resembles the following: EXCEL.EXE is not a valid Win32 application

• This update improves the reliability of Windows Vista SP1-based computers by reducing the number of crashes that may be caused by the Apple QuickTime thumbnail preview in Windows Live Photo Gallery.

• This update improves the performance of Windows Vista SP1-based computers by reducing audio and video (AV) stuttering. Such AV stuttering may occur when the audio or video component is streaming high definition content from a Windows Vista SP1-based computer that has a NVIDIA network adapter nForce driver version 67.5.4.0 that is installed to a Windows Media Center Extender device."

[RACERPRO]

I love analysts. Whether it's predicting tomorrow's next big thing or sounding the death knell for yesterday's industry pacesetter, analysts never run out of new ways to get it wrong.

Case in point: Windows Vista and the "app gap." According to Evans Data Corporation (EDC), less than 10 percent of developers are writing for Microsoft's current state of the art. The majority (49 percent) are still writing for XP, while a small, but growing, contingent (13 percent) are focusing on Linux. Meanwhile, the myriad major media outlets continue to decry the lack of new Vista applications. "It's the OS that nobody wants," they say, and developers are "reacting accordingly."

Of course, they're wrong. Again.

You see, there's no such thing as a Vista application. Just like there's no such thing as an XP application. Or a Windows 2000 application. Developers who write for Windows rarely target a specific version. Rather, they select a particular API framework -- for example, MFC/ATL or .Net -- and proceed from there. Whether or not the resulting application runs on a given Windows version depends on what, if any, version-specific API extensions the developer employs in their project.

For the majority of application types, this is a nonissue: They use the generic API functions, which allows them to run across any version of Windows that supports that framework. And since Microsoft does a good job of back-porting new frameworks to its legacy OS platforms, developers are rarely faced with a choice between rich API functionality or a broad installed base (the notable exception being video game developers, for whom leveraging DirectX 10 means committing to Vista).

So the entire Vista "app gap" argument is a bit of a straw man. The real question should be: Why aren't developers leveraging the various iterations of the .Net framework? As anyone who follows Microsoft's development road map will attest, most of the company's cutting-edge API evolution is taking place within .Net. In fact, when the "experts" talk about new programmatic resources in Vista -- Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Communication Foundation (WCF), and so on -- they're really talking about the .Net framework 3.0. And since .Net 3.0 is available on down-level platforms (such as Windows XP), the argument circles back around to a question of .Net acceptance among developers -- and why they have (so far) shunned it.

The answer is twofold: First, developers don't like to target APIs that aren't broadly available across the installed base. Despite Microsoft's aggressive support of down-level versions, there's still a big difference between "available" and "available after downloading 20MB-plus of complex libraries and having them installed across various parts of your system." The fact of the matter is that .Net doesn't ship as part of Windows XP, and that means that developers need to convince users to first install the required version of the .Net framework before they can install a piece of software -- not always an easy sell, especially in the locked-down world of enterprise IT.

As the first OS to ship with the .Net framework installed by default, Vista was supposed to encourage development of .Net 3.0 applications. However, since it also supports legacy Win32, COM, ATL, MFC, and down-level .Net framework applications, there's no real shortage of Vista programs. In fact, unless you've just got to have that latest and greatest WPF/WCF framework functionality, there's little to motivate you, the developer, to make the jump to .Net 3.0, or even 2.0. Assuming you don't bump into the User Account Control (UAC) mechanism, your "legacy" Windows application probably looks and works great under Vista as is. I know, because that was the case with my own code: A few tweaks to accommodate UAC (mostly shifting some temporary files away from newly protect directory structures) and my applications and services were running like champs under Vista -- just like they do under Windows XP, Server 2003, and Windows 2000. Why fix it when it ain't broke?

source: weblog.infoworld.com

[RACERPRO]

Get ready for a unique source of information focused exclusively on the next iteration of the Windows client.

Microsoft might be mute on Windows 7 now, under the new transparency policy imposed by Steven Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, but the situation will not last. The successor of Windows Vista is right on the verge of getting its own online outlet, namely the Windows 7 blog. It appears that Microsoft is continuing the model of its current Windows client which has enjoyed the benefits delivered via the Windows Vista blog since April 2006.

Details are scarce at this point in time. Microsoft has failed to indicate a deadline for when the Windows 7 blog will go live. But also, most importantly, the company has yet to disclose the actual name of the Windows 7 blog. This because Windows 7 is just the product number, or codename if you will, of the next version of Windows, but not the actual name of Vista's successor. As Windows 7 will evolve through development stages, Microsoft will undoubtedly drop the label based on the product number. In this context, the Windows 7 blog will feature the full name of the operating system.

The Windows Vista blog went live almost a year ahead of the general availability date of the platform. With Sinofsky gagging all Windows 7 details almost to perfection, the blog for the next release of Windows could take a while before it will be made available, most likely very close to the finalization/launch of the platform. Chances are that the Redmond company will grab an entirely new domain as compared to the one hosting the Vista blog which is "windowsvistablog.com," and not stick the Windows 7 blog content under what is available now.

Microsoft is also looking for the right Public Relations Manager to "be an instrumental part of a team that will introduce the world to Windows 7," according to the company, which adds that he/she will "be responsible for developing and managing the execution of the Windows community and blogosphere outreach plans including Web content, community events, and the Windows 7 blog."

source: news.softpedia.com

[RACERPRO]

Windows 7, the successor of Windows Vista, but also of Windows Server 2008, in the form of Windows 7 Server, had been under development over at Microsoft under the lead of Steven Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group since 2007.

At the end of 2007, the Redmond company made available Windows 7 Milestone 1 to a select group of partners. However, under Sinofsky, translucency is the new communications policy of the Windows team, and little details are indeed made public, or even leaked. This is why there are aspects of the next iteration of Windows which fail to be in conformity with the little transparency Microsoft did manage to offer on Windows 7.

1. The Windows 7 Kernel – After it played hide and seek with the MinWin kernel, Microsoft has managed to create a consistent level of confusion related to the core of Vista's successor. It seems to be unclear whether Windows 7 will feature MinWin, or a new kernel, or the same old kernel as Windows Vista. Well, it's rather simple. First off, there was never talk of a completely new, built from scratch kernel. And MinWin wasn't really the kernel, but the core of Windows 7. Which essentially means that Microsoft has taken the existing kernel plus a series of core components and worked to slim them down.

What the Redmond giant is doing is mainly to continue the evolution of Windows Server 2008, as far as the core of the operating system is concerned. The core of Vista's successor is an evolution of what is available today, and is a new major version of the kernel, hence the Windows 7 label. And yes, Windows Vista was the sixth version of Windows, but Microsoft is only counting from kernel version to kernel version and not from one Windows release to the other.

2. The Myth of the Complete Overhaul - Some want Windows 7 to be written from scratch, arguing that Microsoft needs to flush down Vista, Windows XP, and all past Windows versions, and start over. Such a scenario is argued to be the sole solution to save Microsoft. And at the same time this is impossible. Windows 7 will not be built from scratch because it simply can't be. Windows Vista had serious problems when it came down to application and hardware incompatibility and lack of driver support.

Now imagine a brand new and shiny Windows 7, with no connection to any previous versions of Windows. Nothing would work. Nothing! Not your programs, not your hardware, nothing. The truth is that neither Microsoft, nor the environment of hardware and software developers depending on the Windows as a platform, and not even end users can afford, or are ready to deal with a complete overhaul.

3. Windows Vista R2 - Because of the fact that Microsoft has indicated that Windows 7 would be using Vista as its foundation, critics have already started to emerge labeling it Windows Vista Release 2. No one, with the exception of Sinofsky of course and the Windows project, knows what Windows 7 will end up as. To jump the gun and start throwing dirt at it even before the first beta is on the horizon is simply an indication of people waiting for Microsoft to fail. And although the company did not disappoint them in the past, criticism should be postponed until a palpable build of Windows 7 hits.

4. One SKU to Rule Them All - There is increasing feedback pointing to the need for Microsoft to simplify the edition bonanza of Windows 7, and to avoid offering the same SKU richness as it did with Windows Vista. Windows Vista Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, Ultimate are just the start of it. There are also N variants for Europe and upgrade packages. However, the Redmond company knows that a single SKU is not the way to go. While simplification is indeed necessary, copying the Mac OS X model is not the right solution to offer a balance to both home and business users. And even with Windows Vista, all SKUs ship on a single install media, but the actual installation is governed by the license key.

5. The Silence is Deafening - The latest misunderstood aspect is on the other side of the barricade, so to speak. The silence around Windows 7 is deafening. Sure enough, Microsoft did manage to offer a few details about the touch computing capabilities coming, and is bound to share more at PDC2008 - Professional Developers Conference between October 27-30, 2008. But Microsoft needs to understand that while saying too much about Windows Vista has hurt that release, saying nothing about Windows 7 will hurt this one. And after Vista, I'm not sure if the company can afford another slip...

[RACERPRO]

Introduction

With 90% of the consumer desktops running it, Microsoft Windows is the de facto standard operating system. Love it or hate it, it's what most of us have to work with every day. So when MS decides to introduce a new version of Windows to the market, there's an understandable uproar. Converting your system to run with the new version can introduce headaches, from things as minor as rearranging desktop icons to showstoppers like major application incompatibility. Historically, the improvements to Windows with each successive version have been worth the hassle—Windows ME notwithstanding. With this latest transition, however, many people have been asking whether it really is worth the trouble to upgrade. To answer that question, here's a head- to-head comparison between the current incumbent, Windows XP, and the newly arrived successor, Windows Vista.

You may be wondering, why make this comparison now? With the recent release of Service Pack 1 for Vista, the new Windows has more or less settled into its permanent form, giving us a chance to realistically compare the two systems on their own merits. Comparing Vista to XP in the first months of its release was not a valid measure of their relative merits, as many issues not under MS's control were causing Vista to misbehave. Now though, issues relating to driver support, third-party vendor foul-ups, and other such teething issues have been mostly resolved.

For clarity's sake, this comparison will be broken up by topic, covering each of the major functions that a modern operating system is expected to fulfill. Following that, there will be a list of any miscellaneous issues for each OS that weren't covered in the general overview. So, let's crack open the crypt, and see what shambling horrors emerge!

Look and Feel

One of the first things people notice about an operating system is how it presents itself. As much as people might like to say they don't care, appearance does effect our perception of how a system works. More than just graphical style though, look and feel is also about the responsiveness of the system. How fast do menus open when I click on them? Am I getting enough feedback on what the system is doing when it's busy? Does the system present me with the information I need in a useful manner? All of these are questions that are important to look and feel.


Windows XP's Luna interface was criticized by many as having a childish, toy-like look. The conspicuous use of bright blues and greens throughout the interface was a radical departure from MS's historically staid black on gray interface. Colors aside, though, the use of large blocky buttons and oversized icons lent XP a somewhat childish look. This was not helped any by the addition of search avatars that looked more appropriate to a saturday morning cartoon show.

Even so, XP's interface offered real improvements in usability. The addition of thumbnail and gallery view modes to the Explorer file manager meant that finding a single image in a folder of hundreds was no longer a mind-numbing chore. The Start menu also saw improvements, with links to the most commonly used folders added, as well as an automatically updated list of the most frequently used programs.

Windows Vista sought to avoid the "tinkertoys" image that XP had garnered, and consequently, Vista's Aero interface is dominated by glossy buttons and smoked glass. The conspicuous use of transparency in many interface elements is æsthetically appealing, though it can lead to some confusion on a busy desktop with a dozen or more windows open at once. The inbuilt search bar on the Start menu is a nice touch, although the use of cascading slide-over menus in the Programs submenu can be confusing at times. Improvements to the Explorer file manager include the use of breadcrumb-style navigation in the address bar, which speeds up navigation without need to resort to the folder tree side pane.

Performance and Functionality

Historically, every version of Windows has had more overhead than the last, requiring a more powerful machine to run than the one before. Traditionally, this has been offset by improved functionality; each version adds its own bells and whistles that—hopefully—make life more convenient. What improvements, then, did XP and Vista each bring to the user experience?

XP's main improvement to the user experience was stability. The version it replaced in the consumer market—Windows ME—was widely reviled as the most unstable version of Windows yet. By switching over from the aging Win9x kernel to the newer and more stable Win NT 5 kernel, Windows XP eliminated a lot of the crashes and DLL Hell issues that had plagued users before. Driver rollback gave users the much-needed ability to revert back to an older version of a given driver, if the update did not produce the desired results. The addition of sub-pixel font rendering, known as ClearType in MS jargon, greatly improved the readability of text on LCD-based displays. DirectX 7 (and later DX9) greatly improved 3D graphics quality and performance. With Service Pack 2, XP also got improved integration with anti-virus and anti-spam software, as well as a fully functional software firewall. These changes were more evolutionary than revolutionary, but as a whole they served to make XP a more stable platform than its predecessors.

Vista brought a number of changes, both in end-user functionality and in "under the hood" functionality changes, among which are: newer versions of Internet Explorer and Windows Media player, and improved search functionality. Expanded speech recognition and text-to-speech functionality, improvements to memory management and process handling, and a whole new screen rendering framework were also included. The new Vista Desktop Window Manager replaces the older GDI screen-drawing interface altogether, effectively treating the screen as a 3d image. This allows for smoother screen-drawing, as well as amusing visual tricks like live thumbnails of minimized windows, Flip 3D, and using video files as desktop wallpaper. Windows Gadgets—mini programs that live on the desktop—give the user at-a-glance info, and make the desktop useful as more than a place to plop down a bunch of shortcut icons. Overall, Vista brings a number of badly-needed improvements to how Windows functions in day-to-day life.

Problems

Warts. Lumps. Flaws. Call them what you will, every OS has its defects, the places where it stumbles, comes up short, or just plain fails to deliver. XP and Vista both have a lot to recommend them, but they also have their fair share of problems.

XP's main faults centered around security. Being the first consumer-grade Windows version to be based on the NT kernel, XP had a combination of questionable security practices and powerful networking features that made it an irresistible target for malware authors. Prior to Service Pack 2, a Windows XP machine would find itself irretrievably compromised within minutes of being connected to an unprotected internet connection. The default behavior of giving new user accounts Administrator privileges only compounded this, and the severe crippling of non-admin user accounts meant that even conscientious users couldn't do much to proactively limit the damage. Service Pack 2 did much to fix this, by fixing the previously unusable Windows Firewall, and adding prominent notifications when anti-virus programs were missing or out-of-date. Even so, users can still find themselves horribly compromised with little-to-no warning, and frequent reinstalls are a depressingly common remedy to the numerous infections.

Much of Vista's early criticism has centered around stability, rather than security. The introduction of a new driver model, as well as heavy DRM provisions, served to bring back the sort of instability and frequent crashes that many users had hoped were left behind with WinME. Much of this has since been fixed, as hardware manufacturers have become more familiar with the new driver model, but issues with stability remain, especially when legacy WinXP drivers must be used to maintain compatibility with older hardware.

A problem that has not gone away, though, is Vista's new privilege management system, known as User Account Control. To be fair, it does allow for more flexibility in privilege escalation, letting people run as limited users most of the time without too much difficulty. The problem lies in its implementation. Constant, persistent, annoying nag boxes pop up whenever you do anything that requires privilege escalation. This escalation, by the way, is required for not only actions taken by third party programs, but for many things within Windows itself, including a fair portion of the Control Panel. An operation as simple as copying files from one user to another can generate UAC prompts for every copy and move operation, as well as for opening folders and subfolders.


One criticism common to both is the use of product activation, known in MS jargon as Windows Genuine Advantage. Intended to combat piracy, WGA serves mainly to frustrate and punish users who purchased their copies of Windows legitimately. An inventory of a system's hardware is done at install, and thereafter, every time a significant change is made—i.e. one you have to open the case for—the user is required to re-activate Windows. This activation process should, in theory, be easily done over the internet, but it often fails due to internet connectivity issues, corrupted hardware indices, or any number of other unknown issues. Additionally, if the number of significant changes passes a certain threshold, the user is required to call Microsoft and spend time groveling to a customer disservice lackey in order to get a new product key. Ironically, though, this does little to impede those who would obtain their copies of Windows illegitimately. WGA cracks, keygens, and other bypass mechanisms are plentiful and easily obtained, and frequently used. In all, the main accomplishment of WGA seems to be the continued alienation of MS's primary customer base.

Conclusion

So, the question remains, which is better, XP or Vista? The answer is: it depends. Aside from a few easily-forgettable games from Microsoft Game Studios, there are no games that require Vista to run. Older programs, on the other hand, can sometimes misbehave or outright fail to function in Vista, due either to bad coding practices on the part of the application writers, or irregularities in the backwards-compatibility modules of Vista itself. Unless you run into one of these edge cases, however, the choice boils down to cost vs. benefit. Vista offers improved æsthetics and a more featureful user interface, at the cost of increased overhead, occasional glitches, and in the case of laptops, somewhat reduced battery life. XP offers the broadest compatibility with older hardware and programs, but still suffers from all the old complaints. In the end, it's up to you to decide.

TechwareLabs published review

[RACERPRO]

Can users handle the truth about Windows Vista? Now with Service Pack 1 in its arsenal, Microsoft is ready to prove that they can. Or, at least, its own version of the Vista SP1 truth.

Microsoft is on a mission. A mission to salvage what little is left of the latest Windows client, although admission of such a scenario will never come from the company. There are, of course, inherent questions as to why the software giant is reacting so late to spreading the Vista gospel. What is clear in this context is that Microsoft's truth about Vista failed to correspond to the reality of the operating system before SP1. While its was poorly marketed as a Wow in performance, security, reliability, compatibility and stability, Vista revealed its true face to consumers, moving slower than XP in common scenarios and being plagued by software and hardware incompatibility problems.

Loyal to the saying "better late than never," Microsoft did react, first with the evolution delivered by SP1 and more recent with the Vista-centric performance at the Worldwide Partner Conference 2008. "[A] major theme is around Windows Vista deployment. You'll hear from Brad Brooks about where we are. It's time for us to bust through the mist. We've got to bust through the mist with you first, because you're out there with our customers. You must be running our software first, so that you can be credible and honest in front of our customers. You also have to be supported on the back end. So I think our goal today with you is to bust through the mist on Windows Vista," stated Allison Watson, Corporate Vice President, Worldwide Partner Group, Microsoft.

It fell on Brad Brooks, Corporate Vice President, Windows Consumer Product Marketing, to bring the truth about Windows Vista to the public. In this regard, the mission was to dispel the myths about Windows Vista. Myths circulating at the level of common consumer perception in the marketplace. Still, Microsoft is ready to bet big that the real story of the operating system is different from the image of a handicapped product built by Apple's constant mockery with the Get a Mac ads.


Microsoft, Do Blame Microsoft!
Microsoft simply cannot throw the blame on anyone else but itself. The reason is rather simple and Brooks said it out loud and clear: "We've been quiet about it." It appears that the new translucency policies set in place by Steven Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group for Windows 7, are contagious and they spread to Vista too. Microsoft simply sat back and took everything that was thrown at the latest Windows client. The company failed to react in any manner to Apple's Get a Mac ads that trashed Vista and made it an item synonymous with a perfect victim for ridicule, irony, sarcasm and so on and so forth. However, at the same time, a much needed wake up call seems to have taken Microsoft out of its lethargy. I just hope that it will not be a repeat of the Wow...


Vista Some Things Broken – a Lot of Things Broken
"And let's start that story, the real story, at the beginning, with the creation of Windows Vista. We had an ambitious plan. We made some significant investments around security in this product. And you know what, those investments, they broke some things. They broke a lot of things. We know that. And we know it caused you a lot of pain in front of your customers, in front of our customers. And it got a lot of customers thinking, and even yourselves and our partners thinking, ‘Hey, is Windows Vista a generation that I want to make an investment in?’" Brooks asked.

In Brooks’ own words, Vista is now dramatically changed compared with what the company was offering just a few months ago. What's different? A little something called Service Pack 1. SP1 has taken Windows Vista to the next level of reliability, compatibility, support and, most importantly, performance. There is a simple experiment that all Vista users can try out – uninstalling SP1 after at least a month of use, and trying to run plain vanilla Vista RTM. The conclusion is that, had the gold edition of Vista debuted at SP1, Microsoft would not have any myths to debunk.

source: news.softpedia.com

[aquajojo_28]

many people says vista is good, actually for appearance only then also security it might be ok, but the stability,usage,speed, XP is the best at all. Windows 7 from Microsoft operating system, the same as XP is the Latest they said. but not yet re