MS OS NEWS: Windows Vista
Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 1
Microsoft has announced the availabilty of Windows Vista Beta 1 at 9:05 a.m. PDT today.
Windows Vista Beta 1 (Build 5112) Released
excerpt:
Windows Vista beta 1 (build 5112) is an important milestone on Microsoft Corp.’s path to releasing the final version of Windows Vista. Beta 1 will provide developers, IT professionals and Windows enthusiasts with an opportunity to test the operating system’s infrastructure and provide Microsoft with valuable feedback. Beta 1 is being delivered to more than 10,000 beta testers via the Windows Vista Technical Beta Program, and thousands more people will receive beta 1 through the MSDN developer program and Microsoft TechNet.
View: Windows Vista Beta 1 Fact Sheet | Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 1 Announcement
Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 1 Released
Microsoft has announced the availabilty of Windows Vista Beta 1 at 9:05 a.m. PDT today. Beta 1 is not what I would call deeply interesting, unless you are a real bithead," Windows chief Jim Allchin said in an interview. "This beta isn't really for even tech enthusiasts. This beta is to test out some of the capabilities that we've got, if you will, in the plumbing." (screenshots)
What Are the Hardware Requirements for Vista?
Vista PCs should be "a modern, Intel Pentium- or AMD Athlon-based" one with a dedicated graphics card featuring DirectX 9.0 support, and 512 MB or more of RAM, company officials reiterated on Wednesday.
FAQ: Getting a handle on Windows Vista
Longhorn--now Windows Vista--may be arriving more slowly than expected and it might not have everything that was once planned, but Windows chief Jim Allchin maintains "It's a big deal."
Windows Vista release slips to Q4 2006
Windows Vista won't be available for shipment until the last quarter of 2006, a Microsoft executive let slip in a presentation on Microsoft's campus Thursday. Microsoft had previously slated the release of the next client version of its Windows operating system for the second half of 2006. But at the Microsoft Financial Analyst Conference here on Thursday, Will Poole, senior vice president of the client division of Microsoft, said the OS would not be available until the 2006 "holiday" time frame in the U.S.
This presumably would mean that the OS will not be available until sometime around the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, which is the last Thursday in November, or Christmas, which is Dec. 25. Poole quickly corrected his faux pas, and reiterated Microsoft's party line that Windows Vista will be ready sometime in the second half of 2006 during the remainder of his presentation to analysts.
News source: InfoWorld
-They can take more time if they want ;) , just as long as they release it with a good enough amount of testing done.
Version of Windows Vista will include Virtual PC
According to a TechNet article about deploying Windows Vista in enterprise environments, there will be a version of Windows Vista released that is bundled with Microsoft's Virtual PC application that can be used for application compatibility.
Vista wants a new monitor, too.
From the Inquirer:
Excerpt:
Quote:
According to a US tech consultant Stephen Speicher, Vista will make protected digital content all fuzzy unless it is viewed on high bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) compatible monitor.
He said that the number of people whose display is equipped with HDCP are so rare that it would take a special distributed screen saver to find them.
The missing technology is Protected Video Path - Output Protection Management and while it is a de facto standard for display copy-protection in televisions, so far it has not made much of an impact in the computer display market.
Microsoft unveils Freeze Dry for Windows Vista
- Windows Vista will include a new technology known as Freeze Dry designed to maintain application states and unsaved documents even when patches are automatically applied and PCs are rebooted. Many IT managers plan to automatically install patches and updates on machines during periods when they are inactive, such as overnight or on weekends. However, as some patches require machines to reboot, users who leave documents open and unsaved run the risk of losing that data if the machine is automatically updated. Freeze Dry eliminates that problem by automatically saving application state and documents and then restoring them once the system restarts, Stephan said.
Windows Vista Product Editions
- There will be two general categories of Windows Vista editions, which map closely to the two that exist today for XP ("Home," which comprises Starter, Home, and Media Center Editions, Pro, which includes Professional, Professional x64, and Tablet PC Editions).
In Windows Vista, the two categories are Home and Business.
In the Home category, Microsoft will create four product editions: Windows Vista Starter Edition, Windows Vista Home Basic Edition, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, and Windows Vista Ultimate Edition (previously known as "Uber" Edition).
In the Business category, there will are three editions: Windows Vista Small Business Edition, Windows Vista Professional Edition, and Windows Vista Enterprise Edition.
In all, there are 7 product editions planned for Windows Vista.
Windows Vista Games Screenshots
Kotaku has posted some screenshots showing the games that will come with Windows Vista. You got your Solitare, Minesweeper and FreeCell. And it looks like they are adding a few new games to the stable: Mah Jong (Microsoft's version apparently will be called Shanghai Dragons), Purple Place and Windows Vista Chess. What's interesting about the screenshots is the 3D effects, shading and animation. Even if you don't plan on playing Quake 4 on your PC, it looks like you'll have to splurge on a new machine to get the full effects for even the basic stuff.
Windows Vista to support Symbolic Links
Ward Ralston, the developer who wrote the code explains on the TechNet blog about this new feature and how it differs from a shortcut: In Vista/Longhorn server, the file system (NTFS) will start supporting a new filesystem object (examples of existing filesystem objects are files, folders etc.). This new object is a symbolic link. Think of a symbolic link as a pointer to another file system object (it can be a file, folder, shortcut or another symbolic link). So then you ask how is that different from a short-cut (the .lnk file)? Well, a shortcut will only work when used from within the Windows shell, it is a construct of the shell, and other apps don't understand short-cuts. To other apps, short-cuts look just like a file. With symbolic links, this concept is taken and is implemented within the file system. Apps when they open a symbolic link will now open the target by default (i.e. what the link points to), unless they explicitly ask for the symbolic link itself to be opened. Note symbolic links are an NTFS feature.
Vista could ship earlier than expected
With speculation of a ship date for Windows Vista ranging in the second part of 2006, word has surprisingly surfaced that it can be expected much earlier. BusinessWeek has received a copy of the internal blog of Chris Jones, who is a top Windows executive. The blog states that the code for Windows Vista will be completed by August 31, giving Microsoft the opportunity to place Vista on PCs for the 2006 Christmas season.
If Microsoft is able to release Vista around October 2006, the company could benefit from a major spike in sales for December '06. Five years ago when Windows XP was released, Microsoft was rewarded with record revenues of US$7.74 billion, which was an 18 percent increase over the previous year. Will Microsoft set records again in 2006 with the release of Windows Vista?
Full story: ArsTechnica
Microsoft To Ship All OS Bits With Every Version Of Vista
Microsoft plans to market several versions of Vista but will distribute all of the OS bits with every product shipped so users can easily unlock and step up to more full-featured versions using electronic keys, sources said. "No matter which edition you buy you get all the bits and a key to unlock it. Everyone will have all the bits," said one source familiar with Microsoft's plans. "Right now we maintain master images for each version of Windows XP and it's a lot of work. Now there's just one master image."
Having a master Windows Vista operating system means customers that buy PCs preloaded with one Vista SKU, Home Basic, for example, will be able to punch their credit card into a Microsoft Web site to unlock Vista Home Premium and more speedily deploy media center features without an on-site visit or requiring a wipe and reload of the system. The impact on the channel will be "huge" since partners will no longer have to support multiple Windows images for each customer or do reloads, sources familiar with Microsoft's plans said this week. It will also make up-selling much easier and vastly expand channel opportunities, the sources said.
Full story: CRN
Vista x64 to require digital signatures for drivers
Microsoft silently announced that the x64 version of Windows Vista will require all kernel-mode code to be digitally signed. This is very different than the current WHQL program, where the user ultimately decides how they want to handle unsigned drivers:
Vista driver developers must obtain a Publisher Identity Certificate (PIC) from Microsoft. Microsoft says they won't charge for it, but they require that you have a Class 3 Commercial Software Publisher Certificate from Verisign. This costs $500 per year, and as the name implies, is only available to commercial entities.
Also, drivers must be signed for devices that stream protected content. This includes audio drivers that use Protected User Mode Audio (PUMA) and Protected Audio Path (PAP), and video device drivers that handle protected video path-output protection management (PVP-OPM) commands.
Yeah, more DRM 'pants' .. sigh !
Quote:
Originally Posted by TechZ
Following previously reported articles that Windows Vista editions will ship on the same media, this has been corrected by Jim Allchin, Copresident of Microsoft's Platform Products & Services Division: Allchin said that—contrary to some published reports—Microsoft will not be shipping the bits for all of its different Vista packages on a single CD. Microsoft would like to be able to do so, but "timing" is holding the company back, Allchin said..
Bah - corporate double talk b.s ! :(
M$ woke up to the fact that shipping full copies of vista & allowing those to get loose on machines where they can't control DRM fully, was kind of asking for trouble, but oh no they can't just 'cough to that', because it might highlight just how powerful & restrictive their intended DRM regime will be ..
Microsoft to "encourage" use of ECC memory for Vista
Microsoft confirmed to TG Daily that it will "encourage" system builders to use Error Checking and Correction (ECC) memory modules for Vista computers - rather than the standard DDR devices common in desktop and notebook computers today. Currently, ECC is mainly used in servers and workstations and will not be a Vista requirement, but the technology may increase the stability of the OS.
Microsoft's next-generation Windows has still a few months and pre-releases to go before we will have a good idea what benefits and drawbacks the operating system will offer to users. But details trickling out of Redmond, already suggest that the transition from XP to Vista won't be as easy as from Me or 2000 to XP. Users intending to upgrade have to learn about VDDM (Vista Display Driver Model) drivers, make sure that there is enough CPU and GPU horsepower to run the software and be convinced that a wave of digital rights management (DRM) features isn't as scary in everyday use as on paper.
Full story: TG Daily
If nothing else, it'll help bring down the ECC RAM price, and manufacturers will put more into its R&D :)
Windows Vista Versions Finalized
Microsoft has finalized the members of its next-generation desktop line-up. As expected, standalone Tablet and Media Center Editions are no more. After months of maintaining that it had not yet finalized its Windows Vista line up, Microsoft seems finally to have decided upon a half dozen core Vista versions. According to a posting on its Web site, Microsoft is readying six core Vista packages, or SKUs, plus two additional releases customized for the European Union that won't bundle in Windows Media Player, as ordered by European antitrust regulators.
On the line up are:
Windows Starter 2007;
Windows Vista Enterprise;
Windows Vista Home Basic,
Windows Vista Home Premium,
Windows Vista Ultimate,
Windows Vista Business,
Windows Vista Home Basic N and
Windows Vista Business N.
The "N" releases are those which do not include Media Player. It's not clear whether the Starter release mentioned on Microsoft's site is the same as the current Windows XP Starter Edition product, which is a cut-rate, less fully featured version of Windows tailored for developing countries.
News source: Microsoft Watch
Rewriting 60% of Vista? Microsoft Says No Way
Microsoft is denying a report that it has begun rewriting its Windows Vista operating system. Microsoft flatly denied the report. The company is working on security, testing and polish - "not writing new code," according to a spokesperson, who added: Windows Vista is on track for the November launch of the enterprise version and the January 2007 release of the consumer version. "There aren't any Xbox developers moving over to the Windows Vista team."
Robert Scoble, a Microsoft technical evangelist and blogger, denounced the rumor as "totally 100 percent false." There is no way Microsoft could rewrite 60 percent of the thousands of lines of code in time for the January CES, Scoble said.
The report hit at the end of a week of delay news from Microsoft. It announced it will delay the general launch of Office 2007 to coincide with Vista's new January 2007 date. The business version of Office 2007 is still expected in October.
Vista Capable Logo Revealed
The Vista Capable PC program allows Microsoft partners that have a PC product that passed the Designed for Windows XP logo program to ship a new logo on those products that states “Designed for Microsoft Windows XP - Vista Capable.”
This program is designed for users to be able to quickly identify Windows XP PCs that can be upgraded to Windows Vista by the new Designed for Windows XP logo. The new logo will help ensure users have the correct expectations regarding their PCs’ ability to run Windows Vista.
View: More Information
News source: Avirans Place
Windows Vista Title Lineup; Live Anywhere
Microsoft Game Studios sent out a press release announcing the lineup for Windows Vista: - Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (Funcom) is an online action-RPG with a mix of a deep, story-driven single-player experience and massive and brutal multiplayer end game, bringing to life the ultimate representation of the "Age of Conan."
- Alan Wake (Microsoft Game Studios) is a psychological action thriller from Remedy Entertainment Ltd. Cited as one of the best titles of E3 2005, Alan Wake introduces a deeply engaging and suspenseful story line in a free-roaming open world that invites players to unravel the riveting plot and experience intense combat that combines the use of light with more conventional weapons.
- Company of Heroes (THQ) is a World War II RTS from Relic Entertainment, the creators of game-of-the-year winners "Homeworld" and "Dawn of War," that brings the cinematic intensity and dynamic battlefields of World War II to life through a truly visceral gaming experience.
- Crysis (EA) is an original FPS based on new intellectual property developed by Crytek, the makers of the award-winning "Far Cry." In Crysis, players battle an invading alien force in a number of environments against a backdrop of rising international tension and rivalries.
- Flight Simulator X (Microsoft Game Studios) is the 10th edition of the popular simulator that immerses players in a beautifully rich and realistic world, offering gamers a completely new and innovative experience with dozens of new aircraft, scenario-based missions and spectacular graphics.
- Halo 2 for Windows Vista (Microsoft Game Studios), the game that redefined first-person combat and multiplayer action for millions of gamers worldwide, is set to explode onto Windows Vista.
- Hellgate: London (NAMCO BANDAI Games America) is an action-RPG that combines the depth of third-person role-playing games with the action of first-person shooters. Developed by Flagship Studios Inc., which includes the creators of the revolutionary "Diablo" series, the game offers infinite playability through dynamically generated levels, items, enemies and events.
- Shadowrun (Microsoft Game Studios) is the first cross-platform game for Xbox 360 and Windows Vista. It is a multiplayer, FPS that propels team-based combat into a new dimension with a revolutionary blend of modern weaponry and ancient magic. "Shadowrun" will be available when Windows Vista is launched.
In other news, Microsoft has announced a new online service that will allow cell phones and PCs to interface with Xbox 360 games. Dubbed Live Anywhere, the service will be integrated with the upcoming Windows Vista operating system, which is due out in January 2007.