Microsoft has now allowed OEMs to install Windows XP Home on ULCPCs until 30 June, 2010, or until one year after the consumer release of the next client version of Windows, depending on whichever comes later.

Microsoft expects to ship the next client version of Windows, code-named Windows 7 roughly three years from Vista’s January 2007 debut. However, earlier this week, Bill Gates indicated that Windows 7 could come within the next year, far ahead of the development schedule previously indicated by the software maker. It is still however unclear as to whether Gates was referring to early testing of Windows 7 coming within the year, as opposed to a widespread release or debut. An early test geared toward developers would be conceivable. The company has repeatedly said that it will accelerate the development of new Windows versions, largely as a response to Vista’s near five-year gestation period.

Many feel that the reason for Microsoft’s willingness to extend the availability of Windows XP is a direct result of the threat posed by Linux in the ULCPC market. However, Microsoft claims that it is consumers and partners driving the extension. “The feedback we’ve gotten from customers and partners is they want Windows on those devices,” Kevin Kutz, director of Windows Client for Microsoft said on Thursday.

At the same time Kutz also conceded that Microsoft also wants to see Windows on ULCPCs, and wants “to provide the best possible Windows experience for the device.”

It is obvious that if Microsoft is happy to allow OEMs to put a version of Windows on new devices up to nine years after its original release date, by which stage there will be two XP successors available on the market, it has recognised the threat posed by Linux in the ULCPC market. Currently the Xandros distribution of Linux is the OS running on Asustek Computer’s Eee PC, which was released in October 2007 as the first low-cost laptop.

Linux was also chosen to be the operating system on Intel’s new line of ULCPCs called Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs), which are based on new Intel Atom processors due out later this year. Intel has reiterated numerous times that the MIDs would run on Linux, and an effort known as Moblin was established, in order to develop a new version of Linux for the devices.

Earlier this week, Gary Willihnganz, director of marketing for Intel’s Ultra Mobility Group said that the Atom-based MIDs will also run Windows XP and Vista now, in addition to Linux. It was also stated that the new platforms will “be enabled” for both Windows XP and Vista, suggesting that they will be designed with support for Vista in mind.

It is believed that Microsoft’s quick change to the availability of Windows XP was a direct result of Intel’s MIDs only being slated for release in the second half of 2008 -after XP’s original 30 June, 2008 deadline. Currently, due to hard drive and memory requirements, Vista is unable to be used on ULCPCs. Kutz also went on to say that Microsoft had no plans in the future to make Vista more suitable for ULCPCs but instead hinted that forthcoming ULCPCs would evolve to have enough brawn to run Vista.

“It depends on what an ULCPC becomes over time,” he said. “Right now we’re enabling as much flexibility and choice as possible.”

The changes which will be included in the much awaited Windows Vista Service Pack 1 were announced by Microsoft yesterday with documents detailing the modifications to be made.

As a result of Microsoft’s continuing anti-trust proceedings with US regulators Microsoft agreed to make the changes which were detailed in a status report filed in the case in June. In order to provide the general public with further information, documents were posted online yesterday that detailed how third parties can modify current desktop search applications to work with the proposed changes in SP1. The highly anticipated SP1 is currently slated for release in the first quarter of 2008.

According to Microsoft, it has made modifications to Vista’s built-in search feature in order to enable consumers who use third-party desktop search offerings to have “easy and direct access” to those offerings through the Vista user interface.

A Microsoft representative stated, “that means that in addition to the numerous ways a user could access a third party search solution in Windows Vista, they can now get to their preferred search results from additional entry points in the Start Menu and Explorer Windows in Windows Vista with SP1. ISV’s simply need to register their search application using the newly provided protocol in Windows Vista SP1 to enable these options for their customers.”

These features constituted the core of Google’s claims, which emerged in a white paper to US regulators in April. Google claimed that Vista’s built-in desktop search feature discouraged users from installing third-party offerings because Vista’s search boxes and bars worked only with Microsoft’s own search tool. Google also claimed that it was virtually impossible to turn off Vista’s indexing, meaning third-party offerings would be required to add a second indexer, thus slowing down the PC.

Further information on the topic can be found here in clay texas holdempoker 100 gratuitesle poker gratuites � t�l�charger en ligneune r�gle du jeu pokerpoker gratuites bruelpoker multijoueur en lignepoker 3dpartie de poker gratuitesentrainement poker gratuitesjeu poker reseaujouer poker flashtricher au poker en ligneregles poker mainspoker gratuites pas en lignepoker gratuites netjeu de poker hors lignepoker gratuites patrick bruelt�l�charger jeux poker gratuitsholden poker gratuitesjeux poker omaha gratuitesjeu de poker en lignejeux de poker a telechargerregle de pokerpoker tournamenttexas holdem on linepoker avec argent virtuelregle poker casino,poker casino,jouer poker casinologiciel poker en lignejeu poker tourregles du texas holdemtilt pokerjeux pokerpoker texas gratuitesjeu world pokerjouer poker omaha gratuitesregle world pokerregles de jeu pokerpoker 3d gratuitesjeu poker gratuites francaisjeux de pokerjouer argent pokerpoker gratuites pour macjeu de poker onlinejouer au poker sans argentpoker en ligne patrick brueljouer poker omahale poker gratuites sans t�l�chargementcomment bien jouer au pokertelecharger jeu pokerpartie poker gratuites this article from Microsoft’s Knowledge Base detailing the changes to search features in Vista.

Microsoft has always touted Ultimate Extras as one of the main features which separate Vista Ultimate from the other versions of its operating system. Vista Ultimate currently retails for US$399 while its next of kin, Home Premium retails for US$239. Ultimate Extras was supposed to provide users of Vista Ultimate a rich feature that would set it apart from other versions of Vista, but it seems Microsoft has failed to live up to its promise.

“These cutting-edge programs, innovative services, and unique publications provide a richer computing experience for Windows Vista Ultimate users.” Since its consumer launch on January 30, the Ultimate Team has not delivered any new finished Extras to consumers.

At Vista’s consumer launch, Microsoft released three Extras including a poker game; an add-on to BitLocker, Vista’s whole-disk encryption tool; and DreamScene, a video screensaver, in beta form. Unfortunately, DreamScene has now been left in beta for more than 5 months.

It is said that Microsoft is having problems with the DreamScene codebase. In other words, it would fail to work reliably or work at all on right-to-left language based systems. This is in effect an architectural problem that can’t be easily solved by a patch. This would lead to DreamScene remaining a perpetual beta, because it would be discriminating to release and support a final version of DreamScene that only works on English systems. While it remains in beta, Vista is excused from adhering to such standards. Unfortunately, this is only the tip of the iceberg.

A reliable source has suggested that there is no longer an Ultimate Team even in existence. It is rumoured that there never was a team to begin with, but rather a group of people from many departments in Microsoft who collaborated with marketing on Ultimate Extras. This would explain the lack of insight, progress and direction on Ultimate Extras if no one’s responsible for it anymore.

It is puzzling to see so much secrecy around a product that consumers have already paid for. Assuming that they announce their ideas one month in advance of release and a third party duplicates the product, it should make no difference to Microsoft’s profits, since consumers have already paid Microsoft for Vista Ultimate. Consumers don’t buy Vista Ultimate for the extras that are coming out, they buy Vista Ultimate in anticipation of the extras that are coming out.

Normally when consumers purchase products they pay for what’s inside the box, if a disagreement arises it is easy to resolve. However, with Ultimate Extras people are purchasing Vista Ultimate based on the promise that Microsoft will regularly deliver them useful enhancements. Unfortunately, this is an empty promise, a promise now not far from a lie.

In March, Microsoft announced that Vista sales had broken all previous sales records, with more than 20 million licenses sold in its first 30 days, doubling the rate of its predecessor, Windows XP. This announcement was followed in April with Microsoft crediting its better-than-expected Vista sales for the company’s record quarterly revenue of US$14.4 billion.

Nevertheless Vista continues to be shrouded by controversy. Numerous high-profile technology bloggers have written many articles about switching back to XP or even migrating to OS X, as a result of Vista’s problems. On the internet, there are also many stories about Vista’s lack of software and hardware compatibility, with some even suggesting that Vista be renamed Windows Me 2, after the abysmal release of Windows from 2000. Some desperate bloggers have gone so far, that they’ve even attempted to break down Microsoft’s earnings in a desperate bid to prove that Vista isn’t really selling as well as Microsoft claims.

So what really is the truth? It is expected that Microsoft will be answering these and many other questions in the coming weeks, now that it has reached its 100 days milestone. It is also expected that more information will come out during next week’s Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC).

In 2006, PC makers sold about 230 million PCs worldwide, and analysts expect PC sales to jump 8 to 11 percent this year. If we assume that Vista is installed on most of those PCs then that should lead to some pretty good sales figures for Vista. Microsoft has made a conservative estimate of 100 million installations of Vista by the end of 2007. According to Microsoft, corporate sales of Vista – despite all rumours – are actually close to twice that of the previous record holder, Windows 2000.

These figures from Microsoft are also backed up by Gartner Research. Gartner Research claims that by the end of 2007, Vista will be installed on 4.2 percent of all business computers. In contrast, Windows 2000 was only installed on 2.6 percent of all business computers after one year on the market. These figures are based on percentages of the overall market, so Vista is not getting a sales boost because the PC market is much larger today. Additionally InformationWeek Research has reported that 25 percent of the 612 businesses it surveyed are currently deploying Vista, and an additional 17 percent plan to begin deploying Vista before the end of 2007. According to InformationWeek Research this adoption rate is much higher than it was for previous Windows versions.

A main source of the negative publicity for Vista comes from articles written by high-profiles technology bloggers. However, as it turns out none of the problems these critics face translate into prevalent, real-world problems. When I installed Vista on various machines I did run into a few compatibility issues, but there were no problems that weren’t fixed immediately after Vista’s consumer launch in January. So why do all these complaints continue to arise?

Due to Vista being a major Windows update with a completely revamped driver model, newly secured kernel and a new graphics stack, it is obvious some compatibility problems do exist. At its launch, Vista was definitely behind in its support for antivirus software, although the antivirus vendors knew about Vista for many years before it was eventually launched. All five major antivirus vendors have Vista compatible software available on the market now. The very public uproar about supposed compatibility problems has largely obscured reality. The majority of devices and applications have no compatibility issues with Vista.

When Vista was launched in January, there were 1.5 million Vista compatible devices. At present there are 1.9 million Vista compatible devices. Microsoft says that represents 96 percent of all available devices. According to Windows Client Partner Platform Group Director Dave Wascha, Microsoft was “more ready with ecosystem coverage – that is, application and device support – with Vista than we were with any other OS release. This was a five-year effort aimed at getting our partners and customers ready.”

Additionally, Microsoft has added new features to Vista which enables consumers to provide Microsoft with feedback should something go wrong. As a result of this feedback Microsoft is making fixes at an unprecedented rate. More importantly, Microsoft is identifying the device driver incompatibilities that are causing the most problems and fixing those first. Of the remaining 4 percent of incompatible devices, which is around 70 000 devices, only 4 000 of them account for about 80 percent of the problems. “This is our bogey list right now,” said Wascha. “So we’re on the phone with vendors, flying out to meet with them, and getting these issues addressed. Once that’s done, we’ll do it all again.”

So what exactly are the criteria for getting a device to work in Vista? Wascha says that Microsoft fixes or creates drivers for all devices that generate 500 or more user reports. “We have legions of engineers dedicated to this one purpose,” Wascha said. “And we will continue to churn through that list.” The only exception, of course, is drivers for devices that are no longer sold because the company that made them went out of business. “Unfortunately, the answer there is that it will never work,” Wascha said.

In some ways it seems Microsoft is caught in a catch-22. Consumers want the company to be innovative, but often don’t like the side effects of that innovation. An example of this is Microsoft changing the graphics architecture in Vista to make it more visually exciting. This resulted in users complaining that their video card were no longer compatible.”Some people have had a less than stellar experiences with graphics cards,” Wascha admitted. “This is a tiny minority of users. Unfortunately, it’s been a vocal minority.”

According to Wascha, the problems that bloggers have been complaining about have never shown up in Vista’s instrumentation. It seems that these bloggers actually chose to opt out of Microsoft’s feedback program. When Microsoft does release fixed drivers, none of these high-profile bloggers ever follow up their initial posts crediting Microsoft for correcting the problems. “We sit here and wrack our brains,” Wascha said. “The drivers are out there.”

At last week’s CanSecWest security conference, Mark Russinovich, technical fellow in Microsoft’s Platform and Services Division, informed professionals that even with UAC, Vista will still be susceptible to malware. In his talk Russinovich told of how it would “end up thriving in the standard user environment, setting up botnets, and grabbing your keystrokes”.

Russinovich’s talk was supposed to give professionals an idea of how to work with UAC in order to avoid excessive pop-up warnings and avoiding breaking the UAC model. Russinovich also made clear that UAC was never intended as a “security boundary”, since there are a number of ways to bypass it.

In his talk, Russinovich also predicted that malware would find ways of elevating its privileges, through social engineering or by compromising applications that run with higher privileges.

However, this isn’t the first time Russinovich has thrown cold water on Vista’s security mechanisms, which were initially made out by Microsoft to be one of the key improvements in Windows Vista over Windows XP. In early February, soon after Vista’s consumer launch, Russinovich made the startling declaration that UAC was not really a security feature.

At the CanSecWest security conference, Russinovich went on to give details of how malware is able to work around UAC without elevating privileges. Apparently, malware authors are able to do essentially what they like within UAC boundaries, such as setting up botnets and infiltrating user data, without taking over the entire system. UAC will however help to protect the overall system and other user accounts.

In a February blog post, Russinovich wrote that UAC was not intended to guarantee that processes with higher privileges are protected from being compromised by lower-level privileges, but rather as a way of changing the way Windows software is developed.

“If you aren’t guaranteed that your elevated processes aren’t susceptible to compromise by those running at a lower IL (integrity level), why did Windows Vista go to the trouble of introducing elevations and ILs? To get us to a world where everyone runs as standard user by default and all software is written with that assumption,” he wrote.

At CanSecWest, Russinovich spoke of Microsoft’s drive to get users off of administrative accounts and onto those with limited privileges, even if the new arrangement isn’t as safe from a security point of view.

“The elevation and Protected Mode IE sandboxes might have potential avenues of attack, but they’re better than no sandbox at all,” he wrote.

His comments follow a lengthy analysis of UAC and its shortcomings by hacker Joanna Rutkowska, who said she was surprised by Microsoft’s dismissive attitude to bugs in UAC’s implementation.

“Is this supposed be a joke?” she wrote. “We all remember all those Microsoft’s statements about how serious Microsoft is about security in Vista and how all those new cool security features like UAC or Protected Mode IE will improve the world’s security. And now we hear what? That this flagship security technology (UAC) is in fact… not a security technology!”

Commenters, how do you feel about Vista’s UAC and other security initiatives? What do you think Microsoft could do to improve security?

The Harris Interactive poll asked consumers about their intention to upgrade or switch their primary home PC to Windows Vista within the next 12 months. Of those surveyed 60 percent of the 2 223 adults said Vista would have no impact on when they would make their next PC purchase.

Before Vista’s consumer launch in late January, the number of people aware of Vista was a mere 47 percent of those surveyed, compared with 87 percent post-launch. This indicated Microsoft’s marketing had been very effective in raising Vista awareness, however sales remained low.

Milton Ellis, vice president of Harris Interactive Technology Group, said in a statement, “In order to generate that ‘Wow’ factor, Microsoft will have to put forth a value proposition that will move the majority to the upgrade category in the years ahead. Vista promised better performance, reliability, security and a revolutionary user interface-but it appears consumers looking to upgrade are not ready to buy into the promise, whereas new computer buyers will want the latest and greatest.”

Microsoft’s marketing problems with Vista occur as a result of people buying differently in an established market than a growth market, and also as a result of Microsoft finally meeting a worthy competitor: itself.

For most people, Windows XP is going to be good enough. Windows XP is a great product, supported by lots of applications and hardware. Web 2.0 has provided new ways for consumers to extend the value of XP, without having to jump to Vista and without the hassles associated with switching.

The maturity of the PC market and Windows XP have both contributed to the dismal sales figures of Vista. While Vista is easier and more pleasant to use, the operating system isn’t exceptionally better, like it’s touted to be.

Whenever a new product enters the market to displace an existing product, it must offer a significantly better experience. DVDs rapidly replaced VHS tapes because the experience for consumers was so much better, in terms of picture quality, durability, navigability and usability. HDTV and big-screen TV sales are also high for similar reasons. In contrast, high-definition DVDs are better than standard DVDs, but are not significantly better, which has led to their slow uptake. Similarly, Vista is also undergoing a slow transition, since somewhat better is not good enough.

With increasing Vista product awareness, it’s a bad sign that the number of people “not sure” about upgrading diminishes and the number planning to stick with what they’ve got dramatically increases. The goal of marketing is to increase awareness so that people will buy the product, not choose to stay with what they have.

Vista’s increased awareness and decreased intention to upgrade is a reflection of Microsoft’s poor marketing efforts. The fact that more consumers are choosing to stick with Windows XP means that the more people learn about Vista the less interested they are in it. Either it’s a marketing problem or something more fundamental.

Unfortunately for Microsoft and its partners, the latter reason may emerge as the main reason. Given that Microsoft is competing against its own very good product and most people already have PCs, Vista needs to be more appealing than Windows XP and the user benefits have to be made crystal clear.

Microsoft has instead increased complexity by introducing confusing new versions, adding features like UAC (User Account Control), and requiring extensive hardware or software application updates. The depth of the problem is also illustrated by the confusion over Windows Vista Capable and Windows Vista Ready. Another hurdle for consumers is actually purchasing Vista. Consumers must choose from four versions: Business, Home, Premium and Ultimate. This increased complexity risks making Windows Vista less appealing than Windows XP.

Even though consumers may not be rushing out to purchase Vista, the operating system will no doubt succeed eventually, simply because Microsoft holds a monopoly. However, it is in best interests of Microsoft and its partners that Vista succeed sooner. In order to fulfil this Microsoft must provide consumers with much better and clearer reasons to switch to Vista. Only time will tell if marketing is enough to fix this problem and turn Vista awareness into consumer sales.

Competing security software manufacturers say Vista’s security system alone is not enough to protect users from threats. Security firm, Webroot Software reported in January that its security testing of Vista revealed significant holes in its security shields. The tests showed Vista to have ineffective blocking capabilities and weak antivirus capabilities in the default anti-spyware and antivirus components within Vista. Webroot also found problems in Microsoft’s Live OneCare security suite.

Webroot said Windows Defender failed to block 84 percent of a testing sample set that included 15 of the most common variations of existing spyware and malware. On top of this, Windows Defender did not perform at the level of many third-party security applications.

Webroot also said that Windows Vista allowed a variety of threats to get through its security shields and remain undetected on its testing environment. These threats included adware, potentially unwanted programs (PUPs), system monitors, key loggers and Trojans. These results come after Windows Live OneCare recently came last in a recent online comparative test of antivirus applications.

Webroot also stated that Microsoft’s additional charge to Vista users for antivirus protection through a subscription service, is a potential weakness in security, as consumers may be unwilling to make that purchase.

According to Max Secure’s Pradhan, Microsoft’s attempts to block out third-party security vendors raise questions of fairness. However, he believes that strategy will be short-lived.

“Microsoft should have learned that approach is not the best way to go. I see Microsoft changing because consumers will see that they do have a choice,” said Pradhan. “Microsoft is offering a system that is flawed. Consumers will force Microsoft to open up the kernel access when infections and attacks continue.”

On the other hand Marco Peretti, CEO of BeyondTrust, does not see Microsoft’s decision to lock down access to the Vista kernel all that damaging. Peretti believes that Microsoft has made accessing the kernel in the 32-bit version of Vista more difficult than in Windows XP.

“Microsoft is blocking the kernel only on 64-bit, not the 32-bit, platforms. To Microsoft the 64-bit Vista is the future,” Peretti noted, adding that 2007 and 2008 will see the mainstream adoption of the 64-bit Vista operating system.

The problem in Vista 64-bit is caused by the patch-guard which it utilises, according to John Safa, security expert and the chief architect at DriveSentry. This patch-guard prevents programs patching the key system functions, which are also used by hackers to create rootkits.

Safa also claims that these same functions are also patched by security vendors to detect threats, which they are now unable to do. In response to this, Microsoft has stated that it intends to provide access to security vendors of Vista 64-bit by the time it releases Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista. Service Pack 1 is currently scheduled for release in the second half of 2007.

Safa asserts that third-party security vendors are to blame for not developing strategies to dealing with Vista’s 32-bit compatibility issues. He also notes that third-party security vendors are adapting their products to work with the kernel restrictions in the 32-bit version. “There is no real reason why security vendors cannot have their product ready for Vista 32-bit,” he said.

Safa views Microsoft’s claim that it has locked down Vista equivalent to issuing an open invitation to the hacking community to prove it wrong. Safa notes, “There’s real money to be made in this high stakes game, and the rules have completely changed. Today’s malware threat has evolved into a destructive force that outpaces even the best antivirus signatures, leaving consumers’ personal data completely exposed to zero-day attacks.”

Recently, Microsoft announced the every attendee of MIX07 will receive a free commemorative copy of Expression Studio. This could only mean one thing - the product must be finished, produced and packaged before the event begins. If this isn’t the case then there is a whole lot of explaining for Microsoft to do.

With only 20 days to go, it may seem like an overwhelming task to ship four products, of which two are still in beta. It was only two weeks ago that Expression Design was updated to Beta 2 status and Expression Blend as a Release Candidate. However, the bug count at their respective beta portals suggests both products are progressing extremely well with most new bugs fixed within hours if not days. This is something the Vista team should definitely learn from.

Ray Ozzie, Chief Software Architect at Microsoft, is most likely to announce the availability of Expression Studio at the MIX07 keynote. Expression Studio is expected to retail for US$599. My best guess is that Expression Studio will RTM on April 8.

The glowing back-lit Vista orb wallpaper was one of two Windows Vista Ultimate branded wallpapers released on the 8th of March. The popularity of these wallpapers was reflected through the download numbers, with nearly one hundred thousand downloads.

The main advantage of the new DreamScene wallpaper is that it features all the hallmarks of a great wallpaper: it looks good; isn’t intrusive; and isn’t branded. Hats off to Microsoft for doing such a great job.

It should also be noted that the increased transparency from the Ultimate team about their future plans is a very welcome change from the many years of complete secrecy, ever since the beta program. One can only hope that the future of Vista Ultimate Extras is not going to be countless years of DreamScene content packs.