Windows

Beta of XP update made public

Microsoft on Tuesday said it will make publicly available a beta version of Windows XP Service Pack 3. But, like a car salesman pitching the new Corvette over the old jalopy, Microsoft argued that a switch to Vista is the better move.

"While Windows Vista provides the most advanced security and management capabilities of any Windows operating system, Windows XP SP3 will ensure PCs running Windows XP will have the latest updates, as well as compatibility with the Network Access Protection functionality of Windows Server 2008," Microsoft said in a statement.

Lest anyone misread that as an endorsement, … Read more

Beyond Binary Bits - Dec. 17, 2007

For those looking to get back into the swing of things, here are some interesting links from today and over the weekend. The 15 biggest tech disappointments of 2007--PC World lists the top tech letdowns of the year and, not surprisingly Vista tops the list. Zune was No. 11 and Office 2007 was No. 9. Ouch! If it makes Redmond feel any better. Apple's Leopard came in at No. 8.

Google gets ready to rumble with Microsoft--Another in-depth look at the battle between the two software giants. It's a good read with some revealing anecdotes about … Read more

IBM Recommends Windows XP

If you shop online for a new Windows computer, every manufacturer recommends Vista on their web site. For home use they all suggest Vista Home Premium, for business use, Vista Business gets the nod. All the manufacturers sell other versions of Vista of course, most if not all sell Windows XP too, yet their websites universally recommend Vista Home Premium or Business.

Except IBM.

Yes, IBM no longer plays in this game. Back in 2005, IBM sold their personal computer division to Lenovo.

However, IBM still sells their old notebook and desktop computers, albeit as "IBM Certified Used Equipment&… Read more

Bits from Beyond Binary--Dec. 13, 2007

Activision sued over 'Guitar Hero' for Wii--Suit follows admission by Activision that the Wii version of Guitar Hero III was outputting mono, rather than the advertised stereo sound. Office 2007 SP1 autoinstalls confuse Vista, XP users--While most users won't get the Office service pack automatically for some time, beta testers of Vista Service Pack 1 are having the update pushed automatically. Microsoft's Ministry of Truth--Blogger Long Zheng noted last week that Microsoft is hiring for a Director of Windows Client Disclosure, a position designed to making sure there are "zero surprises," when it … Read more

RIP: PlaysForSure 2004-2007

Microsoft has reached a turning point in its music strategy: admitting it has a problem.

When it first announced its Zune plans last year, the company denied that it would mark an end to its PlaysForSure program, an effort that aimed to unite various compatible devices and services using Microsoft's Windows Media technology.

Others, though, saw the writing clearly on the wall.

Microsoft was in a precarious place, though. It had lined up MTV Networks as a partner for its Urge service, which was to be part of Windows Vista. That service had not even formally launched yet, so … Read more

Microsoft's hypervisor beta arrives early

For the second time in a week, Microsoft said a version of its software is ready sooner than expected. On Thursday, the software maker made available a beta version of its Hyper-V hypervisor technology, a release that had been scheduled for early next year.

Microsoft didn't change its timing for the final release of the technology, which is due to ship within 180 days of the release of Windows Server 2008. (That product is slated to be wrapped up ahead of its formal launch on February 27.)

"We're hoping that getting it out and providing a nice … Read more

Parsing disk-partitioning advice

Once again, Walter Mossberg has offered incomplete and potentially dangerous computer advice in The Wall Street Journal. The December 6, 2007 edition of Mossberg's Mailbox had a question from someone whose lone hard disk was divided into two partitions; a small C disk that was almost full and a large D disk with lots of available space. The questioner asked about merging the two partitions together. Mr. Mossberg said that Partition Magic can be used for this purpose and that it "works well."

It is malpractice to suggest changing partitions in any way shape or form without … Read more

Author sounds off on Vista's annoyances

After beta testing Windows 95, David Karp was impressed with how much better the operating system was than Windows 3.1. Still, he had a gripe or two.

To share his experiences, Karp started a Web site called "Windows 95 Annoyances" where he posted some of the pet peeves, as well as some workarounds.

What began as a hobby to make his work computer better, eventually became his work. Karp has written nearly a dozen books chronicling the annoyances of each Windows release.

Needless to say, Vista has given Karp another book's worth of material--664 pages worth, … Read more

Windows 7 to get more touchy-feely

For those wondering when touch features such as those found on the Surface PC or iPhone would make it into mainstream PCs, the answer appears to be "whenever Microsoft gets around to releasing Windows 7."

A Microsoft blogger said this week that the Vista successor will include an array of new touch features.

"I will say that if you are impressed by the 'touch features' in the iPhone, you'll be blown away by what's coming in Windows 7," said Hilton Locke, a test engineer on the Tablet PC effort. "Now if only we … Read more