MS OS NEWS: Windows Vista
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  1. #1
    Registered User TechZ's Avatar
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    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."
    Last edited by TechZ; July 28th, 2005 at 03:22 AM.

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    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.
    Last edited by TechZ; July 30th, 2005 at 02:28 AM.

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    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.

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    Vista wants a new monitor, too.

    From the Inquirer:

    Excerpt:
    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.
    "I aspire sir, to be better than I am." -- Data, Star Trek: Nemesis

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    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.

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    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.

  8. #8
    Registered User TechZ's Avatar
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    USB key speeds up Windows Vista

    Microsoft's upcoming Windows Vista will allow users to add memory to the operating system through the use of USB memory keys, the company revealed at its Professional Developer Conference in Los Angeles. The option is part of a technology called Superfetch designed to make the next version of Windows faster to use over time.

    Superfetch will monitor the data and applications accessed by the user in recent months and preload those into its memory. This allows for faster access to data and applications. In current Windows versions the software loads applications and data only as the user asks for it. This takes time because Windows has to load not only the application itself after a system reboot but the drivers and other auxiliary applications.

    "Superfetch works great if you have a reasonable amount of memory, and it works fantastic if you have boatloads of memory," Jim Alchin, group vice president for Windows platforms at Microsoft, told delegates in Los Angeles.

    Full story: vnunet.com

    Inside Windows Vista Build 5219

    Windows Vista is starting to look more appealing. During our hands-on testing of Vista build 5219, which Microsoft is handing out this week at its Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles, we were able to try out a number of new features and observe some slick-looking interface enhancements. Build 5219 takes advantage of WPF (Windows Presentation Framework, formerly known as Avalon) to provide visual cues that make it easier to navigate between multiple open applications—and, frankly, more fun. It expands the search box embedded in the Start menu to let you kick off a search of the entire PC or of the Internet. And it enhances a number of security and administrative features and turns on User Account Protection by default.

    Microsoft has also confirmed that a beta of a new version of Windows Media Player will ship within Vista beta 2, perhaps even as early as the next CTP release. WMP 11 will include a new user interface but will retain the existing WMP codec.

    Screenshots: Windows Vista Build 5219
    News source: PC Mag

    WinFS Examples in Action at PDC

    Although WinFS won't ship until after Windows Vista hits store shelves, the new file system is garnering the attention of PDC 2005 attendees who want to see the capabilities that a relational file system will bring. Microsoft on Wednesday showed off a few examples of WinFS in action.

    WinFS isn't a new concept at Microsoft; the company has long made what it calls "integrated storage" a top priority. The new file system was first unveiled at PDC 2003, but many assumed the effort was dead once Microsoft announced WinFS would not be included in Vista.

    Not so, says Shishir Mehrotra, head of the WinFS product planning team. "I promise WinFS didn't get cut; I still have a job. If it does get cut, I hope somebody will tell me," he joked.

    Full story: BetaNews

    Evidence mounts for premium Vista

    With Windows Vista, Microsoft is considering a product line-up that would include several new high-end editions of the operating system. Microsoft has discussed plans for an edition for corporations and is also evaluating both a small-business version and an "ultimate" edition of the operating system that would combine the best of Microsoft's corporate and consumer features.

    The company has not yet said how it will sell Vista, and an announcement is not expected for some months. However, buried within the test code handed out to developers at Microsoft's Professional developers' conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday is a reference to six separate versions of Vista. In at least one place, the software makes reference to Home Basic Edition, Home Premium Edition, Ultimate Edition and three versions of Vista Professional: Standard Edition, Small Business Edition and Enterprise Edition.


    Full story: ZDNet News

    Microsoft taps Canon to bring Vista into color

    As part of its effort to boost the graphics abilities in Windows Vista, Microsoft is expected to announce Tuesday that it has partnered with Canon to include an all-new color matching system as part of the new operating system. The Windows Color System is designed, among other things, to help make digital photo prints that better match the images that appear on the screen.

    "There have been advancements made in the past to try and solve the fundamental problem that what I see on my screen doesn't match what I see from my printer," said Josh Weisberg, Microsoft group product manager. "Those advancements have helped for professionals and advanced users but didn't really do much for the rest of the world."


    Full story: C|Net News

    Microsoft takes peer to peer mainstream

    Microsoft will ship a technology as part of Windows Vista that is meant to broaden the applications and appeal of peer to peer networking technology. "Peer to peer is a game changer for application development," Microsoft product unit manager Sandeep Singhal said in a session at the Microsoft Profession Developer Conference (PDC) in Los Angeles. The technology has been available for a while, but hasn't taken off because it is too difficult to develop the applications and it faces security issues, Singhal argued.

    The technology could especially benefit applications for mobile devices, where limited bandwidth is more of a concern, Singhal said. Peer to peer technology today is best known for its use in file sharing applications, but is also applied in content delivery applications including streaming radio and video services.


    Full story: vnunet.com

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    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.

  10. #10
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    I can wait

    Especially if it means, the end product will be better. In no hurry to spend so much money on a new OS.

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    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.

  12. #12
    Registered User Guts3d's Avatar
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    Woo-Hoo! My base was selected to get 10 copies when it gets released for the Govt. Not sure what time frame we are talking, tho...
    " I don't like the idea of getting shot in the hand" -Blackie in "Rustlers Rhapsody"

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    Registered User slgrieb's Avatar
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    Here we go again. $100,000 of hype over $10 worth of real improvement. Could it possibly be time for MS to get back to its core competencies of developing operating systems and applications software (I mean something like improvements to Office that are affordable & useful by folks outside of MS's 1000 largest coporate accounts)? Why is MS still wasting resources on Internet Explorer? The Netscape/Java threat is gone and was a fantasy to begin with, so why spend money to support and develop a product that is free and needs endless security fixes? MS's current Live service promotion is just .Net revisited. Do the boys in Redmond really think they are going to trounce Google in the search engine market? More and more, it looks like Vista is going to be XP SP3, but with double the system requirements. And how about the Windows CE division that has never been consistently profitable? Hey! Bill! Released any killer programming tools lately?

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    Registered User TechZ's Avatar
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    Hardware requirements for Windows Vista

    Microsoft today launched a new website aimed at informing consumers about Windows Vista's hardware requirements, among other things. As we reported earlier, there are two levels of recommendations for Windows Vista, those dubbed "Vista-Capable" and those dubbed "Premium-Ready." Microsoft has now revealed the specs in each category, and here they are:

    Minimum Requirements (Vista-Capable PCs): 800 MHz Intel-compatible processor, 512MB of RAM, DirectX 9.0-Capable Graphics Processor, 20GB HD

    Recommended Requirements (Premium-Ready PCs): 1 GHz Intel-compatible processor, 1GB RAM, DirectX 9.0-Capable Graphics Processor, with 128MB graphics memory*, 40GB HD with at least 15GB 'free space'

    * 64MB of graphics memory to support a single monitor less than 1,310,720 pixels [no more than 1440x900]; 128MB of graphics memory to support a single monitor at resolutions from 1,310,720 to 2,304,000 pixels [no more than 1920x1200]; 256MB of graphics memory to support a single monitor at resolutions higher than 2,304,000 pixels [more than 1920x1200]

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    Vista gets DVD movie burning

    Microsoft’s previous efforts in creative software have been, well, lukewarm. XP had Movie Maker and Photostory (the latter a free download from Microsoft’s web site), which both allow you to take personal media and do a reasonable amount of editing and authoring.

    But when it came to outputting your project, Microsoft only really gave you one choice. Windows Media Video. People inevitably ask, “so can my friends play this on their DVD player?”, and as a guy who supports Windows, I have to explain that these apps don’t actually have the capacity to author DVDs. The response is always a disappointed “Oh…”.


    Full story: apcstart.com

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