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