The countdown is in its final hours.  The work of “more than five million people” over more than five years will culminate at a computer store at midnight tonight, when the first consumer takes home a legal copy of Windows Vista. 

Microsoft’s founder Bill Gates will be spending the day in New York grinning for the cameras on the NBC’s Today show early in the day, and Comedy Central’s Daily Show that will be televised just an hour before launch. Here in Microsoft’s backyard, the celebration is centered on a local Seattle Seahawk’s appearance at a Bellevue, Washington computer store.

What a difference a dozen years can make.  The “Thanks A Million” campaign launch appears quite modest compared to the pomp and circumstance displayed on the August 24 ,1994 launch of Windows ’95.  From the first chords of  “Start ‘Em Up” from the Rolling Stones to a massive celebration led by Tonight Show Host Jay Leno at the company’s Redmond headquarters,  the celebration of the ability to use more than eight characters in a file name made history.  Like Windows Vista, Windows ’95 was touted as a “Wow” product. Unlike, Windows ’95, however, there probably will not be long lines tonight around the block at giant computer stores filled with consumers eager to spend nearly $100 on a new operating system. (Except at the store featuring a Seahawks player, of course.). 

In 1994, the most hostile question raised at the Windows ’95 introduction concerned the style of Bill Gates’ haircut.  This year, Steve Ballmer has been hounded by questions about the release date for the first Windows Vista Service Pack.

Corporate customers have already had access to Windows Vista since its high-end introduction in November. Unlike the five million people who had a role in Vista’s development, consumers seem in no rush to taste the newest direction in operating systems.  After all, the Rolling Stones will still be around when Vista’s successor is launched. 

Posted by Barbara.

The countdown has begun.  Will the Earth stand still in twelve days?  Will Iraq and Brittany Spears be banished to the back pages of our conscience? 

After all, it has been nearly a six-year wait.

Remember the national excitement, the fanfare and the circus that surrounded the introduction of Windows 95 more than a decade ago?  Windows Vista appears to be opting for a more reserved debutante ball. 

Instead of waiting in long lines before midnight on January 30, users will have the option of downloading Windows Vista online.  This is the first time a Microsoft operating system will be available for download.  Until now, operating systems have been sold only through retail and through the purchase of a new PC.  Of course business users have already had Windows Vista available since the end of November. 

At the same time,  users who buy low-end versions of Windows Vista such as Home Premium on a new PC,  will have the built-in option of upgrading to a higher version such as Business or Ultimate, by simply purchasing an upgrade key — no additional downloads will be needed. 

Microsoft says the Windows downloads will be limited to current users of Windows XP in North America for now.  In some cases, however, Windows XP users may require hardware upgrades as well to run Windows Vista. 

Posted by Barbara.

Las Vegas is brimming this week with hundreds of emerging entrepreneurs launching proprietary dreams that they know are destined to become the world’s next Google.  Yet, in the occasional quiet promenade, there is a quiet movement into bipartisanship as dreams are shared with a wider world to create a higher level experience.

And so it is with Second Life, a popular virtual reality experience created by San Francisco-based Linden Laboratories.  Second Life has announced plans to join the open source community — opening its three-dimensional PC adventure to third party developers in hopes of kindling a whole new generation of user experiences. 

Second Life is a world of its own, where visitors garb themselves in avatars and truly live a life to the fullest.  In a world devoid of the Peter Principles, everyone can be all they can be, or what they could be.  Players of Second Life can own properties, fly instantly to any destination and humiliate anyone who kicks sand in their face.

Open Source is a movement that has generated an industry of collaboration among software developers that have created monuments such as the Firefox browser, Linux, Apache Servers and the Drupal Content Management System.  Its origins go back to the days of Freeware applications that ran under Microsoft DOS.  Some believe the idea goes all the way back to the origins of the IBM PC, which — much to the dismay of IBM — created the third party PC industry. 

Think of it a message to those emerging entrepreneurs in the Las Vegas Convention Center.  Be like Al Gore and share the Internet.  Don’t keep it in a lockbox.

Posted by Barbara.

“Be afraid, be very afraid when opening email attachments.”

That’s the message from every security geek to every novice user.  But what if the attachment is a Word-produced letter from your Uncle Ralph, a poem from Aunt Louise, or a demand for divorce from Brittany Spears?  

Be even more afraid, for now. 

Microsoft has discovered a flaw in Word versions ranging from 2000 to the present, (the exception being newly introduced Word 2007) that allows a malicious virus to be distributed in a word file attached to an email.  The security “advisory” says users should not even open attachments from colleagues, friends or relatives until Microsoft distributes a patch for the problem.  

Uncle Ralph is probably just asking for money, anyway. 

Posted by Barbara

 

There is good news for those who believe the world still needs a good five-cent cup of Java.  Sun Microsystems, the fair trade monitor of all coded things Java has declared its protectorate an open source product. 

That means, developers will now have free access to the Java source code — at least to the majority of the code owned by Sun.   This is a sharp turnaround for a company that has gone to great lengths to protect its right to the code that makes thousands of  desktop and other gadgets go “zip” when they move, “pop,” when they stop, and “whirrrr” when they stand still.

It also means a great deal of attention on Java in the growing GNU General Public License market that includes operating systems like Linux.  For Sun Microsystems, it means a new generation of Java programmers that it expects will go forth and prosper in this new environment.  Chances are Sun would welcome this growth of Java programmers as it enhances its own product development. 

By choosing the GPL option,  Sun raises speculation that it may also open its own Solaris operating system to the GNU marketplace. Solaris now runs under the company’s proprietary Common Development and Distribution License.

Posted by Barbara

 

The big operating system hoopla out of Redmond for the last few months and the next couple upcoming is going to be Vista--no doubt. But that doesn't mean programming in the other buildings on the MS campus has stopped (by the way, that's 147 buildings and counting for those who want some Microsoft trivia).

 

Windows XP Embedded is a version of the Windows XP operating system that's been trimmed down to run in smaller computers and on appliances--things that need a computer as a brain, but only serve up a select few functions to their users. Things like cash registers, for example, or (theoretically) an in-car computer. But it's still Windows XP, so if you're geeky enough you can do what you want with it.

 

Well, this version of XP is getting an update, namely the Windows XP Embedded SP2 Feature Pack 2007--due out next month. This gives the Embedded OS a bunch of new functionality, but chief among those new features is the ability to boot off of USB 2.0. That means that we might see a set of products that load WinXP Embedded onto a regular USB 2.0 flash drive. This would let you stick that flash drive into any computer, boot from it, and instantly be in your own compute space--not something rented. Might also have applicability for gaming environments as well.

 

Okay, it's nerdy, but then so am I.

 

(via Engadget)

I'm just finishing a piece on living in Vista RC2 and Office 2007 for a week. Part of that was finding hardware juicy enough to run Vista in its full-on Aero mode. Wasn't a problem when I found the Dell M90 super notebook (think Core Duo, 2GB of RAM, and a 256MB 3D accelerating mobile video card).

 

But even if you're using RC2 in Aero mode, you're still looking at more video headaches coming down the pike:  Direct X 10. Figuring what you need for that is the next issue. Fortunately, Toms Hardware Guide just did a nice analysis of what that'll take. Enjoy.

Vista is on schedule to be released, but there have been stormy skies on the Vista security horizon for some weeks now. The problem mainly surrounds some changes that Microsoft has made to the Windows Security Center under Vista. When in 64-bit mode, Vista  uses a new feature called PatchGuard that manages patches and updates while simultaneously locking the operating system's kernel--that's the heart and critical organs of an operating system. If a virus infects the kernel you're pretty much hosed.

 

Trouble is, until now, most third-party security vendors, including guys like McAfee and Symantec, have managed their anti-virus measures specifically by modifying the Windows kernel. It's an effective AV method, but it also opens the doors to different and dangerous maleware attacks, notably rootkits like the one that Sony so innocently spread with its music CDs.

 

Needless to say, there's been a war of words between Microsoft and the rest of the AV community. Microsoft says it's simply strengthening the operating system's security just like everyone has been asking for for years. AV vendors are saying that Microsoft may be strengthening its OS, but that it's also cutting them out of effectively competing for Vista security, making itself the most powerful Vista security platform.

 

And unfortunately for Microsoft, it's not just the anti-virus vendors. Anything that might touch on an anti-competitive edge always brings one behemoth out of the corner and that's the EU. The EU managed to issue one or two press releases commenting on Microsoft's anti-competitive security practices, but it seems Microsoft doesnt' want to go that route. Yesterday, they announced that they were releasing an application programming interface (API) tool set to anti-virus vendors to ensure that their products would run smoothly with Vista.

 

Overall, I like Microsoft's move. I'm just mystified about the timing. Gonna be tough for vendors like McAfee, Symantec and TrendMicro to release Vista-ready products by the same time that Vista comes out in late December or January. Meanwhile, I'm pretty happy with Microsoft's new Windows Firewall, but I don't trust their anti-virus stuff at all--need quite a bit more testing before I make that move.

 

Meanwhile, Symantec (soon to be followed by most of the other AV vendors, I bet) is going all out on placing itself at the head of the security suite table.  They just announced their new strategy: Security 2.0, a realigning of all its products to attack all the malware sources floating around out there. Not just viruses, but also trojans, phishing, identity theft and more. Sounds great, but it adds further mystery as to how something like that is going to be ready any time soon.

 

So the upshot is, go ahead and play with Vista, but watch the Internet activity until you can get a full security suite you really trust.

This stuff comes from a company called Brainwave Ltd., which maintains medical data that shows that a short period of relaxation during the day increases your alertness and all around mental muscle. And, yeah, "period of relaxation" means "nap".  To make your napping better, Brainwave has released pzizz 1.7, which is a music playing app that has an Energizer Module meant to help you relax, fall asleep and go through the various stages of sleep for the full power nap bonus jolt.

 

I like new software, but if it's one thing I never needed help with, napping would be right up there.

 

(read the full review at Smart Computing)

Firefox 2.0 is set to be released next week. Naturally, the big question is how does it stand up against Internet Explorer 7? Firefox has dne some serious work on 2.0, including things like an new Places interface and totally redone bookmarking system. What's neat is that Firefox 1.5 was being compared to IE7 and was already holding its own, so 2.0 should be a few steps ahead. Just hope it works properly under Vista.  Fortunately, the answer to some of these questions are right here in this review of Firefox 2.0 and IE7.

 

(via Ars Technica)

Engadget has a post showing what they think might be a full-on screen shot of "Crossbow"--Microsoft's codename for its new Windows Mobile operating system. It might just be a theme shot, but it sure does look next-gen. If it's the real deal, you can expect it by the first half of 2007. Hope they have an upgrade for my Q.

 

(via Engadget)

I may work for the biggest new-software marketing power in the known universe, but even I know that sometimes you're forced or bamboozled into upgrading an application only to find that the new version of the program just isn't as good as the old one--not enough new features, a new user interface that makes no sense or simply a level of flakiness that just makes it too unusable on a day-to-day basis. Well, if you're in that boat, check out Oldversion.com. This site specializes in archiving older applications--they've got about 1000 versions of100 different programs. Pretty cool even if you just want to take an e-stroll down memory lane.

 

(via Geeks Are Sexy)

An author known only as Oli (hey, good name), has published a good article on his site, The PC Spy, regarding what kinds of software really hits windows in the gut when it comes to boot speed. He apparently installed several different types of software on clean machines and then ran benchmark tests separately and in combination to get his results. Good reading if you're a Windows tweaker or just want to know what to avoid in order to keep your PC booting fast.

 

If I had a spare couple of weeks or so, I'd try the same thing, but run standard Windows performance tests to see what affected the OS more during actual usage rather than just boot speed. 

 

(via Digg)

Vista RC1 has been out about a week now and I've posted a link to my review of the beastie yesterday. But I only spent a couple of days with it before Gateway wanted their test PC back. Meantime ZDNet journalist Ed Bott spent quite a bit more time with Vista and managed to come up with a number of handy performance tweaks. Not just how to get some more zip out of your system, but even things like setting RC1 up without a product key (not especially useful since you get the key for free, but it's fun). Worth a read if you're playing with RC1 now.

 

(via Geeks Are Sexy)

Yeah, it's shameless self-promotion, but I figured I'd link you guys to my review of Vista RC1 rather than somewhere else. Just didn't make sense to link to someone else's musings.

 

 Overall, I was impressed by its stability, but not so much by the OS as a whole anymore. Guess it's because they stripped out most of what I was really excited about. Still, it's certainly a step up over Windows XP and if you're not too put off by the hardware requirements, that Aero interface is truly cool.

 

 

Ironically, I had to read about this on an independent site, but Microsoft Research is in the geek news again. This time, it's called BrowserShield and it's an experimental new software layer that the Microsoftees are trying to add onto Internet Explorer. If it works, BrowserShield would literally shield IE by loading every page in a secure environment first. There it would scan for malware and strip it out on the fly before loading it in your actual browser.

 

Sounds great, but I can only imagine the performance headaches those guys must be trying to overcome. Users don't like to see the hourglass spinning for three minutes every time they click a link. Gotta be some smart engineering to make this work.

 

(via Geeks Are Sexy)

According to the Microsoft Windows Vista Team Blog, the Vista Release Candidate 1 is now readily available to the official Microsoft beta testing community. It should be available to more of the world in the next few weeks. We in the press community already have versions, and I'll be doing an eval review of the thing for InfoWorld early next week.