Vista News

It seems Sun Microsystems have begun supporting 64bit versions of Windows including 64bit Firefox and 64bit Internet Explorer as of the 8th of December 2008 :party: The JDK beta release has the 64-bit plugin, You can download it from here: Java Platform, Standard Edition 6u12 Binary Snapshot Releases Edit: You can test your 64bit Java with your 64bit browser here: Test whether Java is working on my computer - 1.5.0, 1.6.0 The other tools the JDK installs can be separately removed if your only after the plugin ;)

Microsoft handed out IE8 Beta 2 in August 2008 and is now finally getting ready to release another public build of IE7's successor sometime next week. This will be the official Release Candidate 1 (RC1) build, according to a post on the IEBlog, which describes why the latest public build does not render Barack Obama's new home on the Web correctly: If you open the newly redesigned whitehouse.gov in Internet Explorer 8 on Windows 7 Beta, you'll notice that the dropdown menus don't hide correctly when you hover over other menu items. This is because the version of IE8 in Windows 7 Beta is somewhat older than the Internet Explorer 8 Release Candidate (IE8 RC1) that we're about to release for Windows Vista and Windows XP. Internet Explorer...

I've already explained why I think it's important to watch the media's reaction to Windows 7, and I have to say that this past week has been probably the most intense orgy of Win7Love so far. Let's take a quick look around the Web, shall we? When The Register asked Mark Shuttleworth, founder Ubuntu Linux and CEO of Canonical, about Windows 7, he replied "I'm not going to diss it." In fact, he went further and talked about his experience with the operating system: I've kicked the tires on the [Windows 7] beta for a few hours and it was good. They've put concerted attention on the user experience with the shell. I think it's going to be a great product, and every indication is we will see it in the market sooner rather than later. Steve...

Have you ever wondered why Microsoft renamed the Add/Remove Programs (XP and earlier) control panel applet to Programs and Features (Vista onwards)? It's possible that Microsoft is considering its own version of something comparable to Linux package management systems. For those that don't use Linux, think of it like a Windows Update for all your software. Such a system could completely revolutionize how users interact with software on Windows, not to mention the security advantages of only letting users install software deemed safe (which in turn could cause privacy concerns, of course). Microsoft recently sent out a survey to Windows 7 beta participants, asking them various questions regarding "a single place for finding and...

I'd like to take a moment to clarify some confusion that I've noticed recently. With Windows Home Server (WHS) Power Pack 1 sent out via Automatic Updates in August 2008, the WHS team has now split its focus in two. Microsoft's home server operating system will be getting two separate improvements: Power Pack 2 (codenamed Snoqualmie, or just SnoQ for short) and version 2 (codenamed Vail). The two are being confused and used interchangeably, but they are completely different updates, and while little is known about them so far, here's my attempt to shed some light on them: WHS PP2 is simply the second power pack to the original WHS. A power pack is much like a service pack for any another Microsoft operating system, except that its...

Firefox tops list of 12 most vulnerable apps Written by Ryan Naraine @ 10:41 am 12/15/2008 Mozilla’s flagship Firefox browser has earned the dubious title of the most vulnerable software program running on the Windows platform. According to application whitelisting vendor Bit9, Firefox topped the list of 12 widely deployed desktop applications that suffered through critical security vulnerabilities in 2008. These flaws exposed millions of Windows users to remote code execution attacks. The other applications on the list are all well-known and range from browsers to media players, to VOIP chat and anti-virus software programs. Here’s Bit9’s dirty dozen: Read more at the source: Firefox tops list of 12 most vulnerable apps |...

If you've been having trouble joining domains when using Windows 7 beta or Windows Server 2008 R2 beta, this update is for you. Microsoft has detailed (KB article 961402) a problem with both beta operating systems trying to join domain names by using the System Properties user interface, the Netdom.exe command, an unattended setup, the Djoin.exe command, or when trying to use the Active Directory Installation Wizard (Dcpromo.exe) to install Active Directory Domain Services on a member server. In any of these cases, you may get the following error message: The attempt to join this computer to the .com domain failed. The parameter is incorrect.Full Story: Hotfix for joining a Windows beta computer to a domain

Some Windows 7 beta users recently started noticing that Explorer and some MSI-based installers were crashing or just not working properly. The problem was discovered to be in the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP), and disabling the feature fixed the issue. However, Microsoft has posted a second way of fixing the problem, simply deleting the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SQMClient\Windows\DisabledSessions. The company notified Windows 7 beta users experiencing the issue via the Action Center about fixing the problem, and gave the following statement: New machines installing Windows 7 Beta will not experience this problem. An issue related to the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP...

It didn't take long this time, either. Earlier this week, testers received alpha builds of Office 14, the codename for the successor to Office 2007. One tester from Russian site wzor.net has now leaked the screenshots of the applications included in the productivity suite. While he didn't screenshot every application individually, we do now know that the list includes: Access 14, Excel 14, Groove 14, InfoPath Designer 14, InfoPath Filler 14, InterConnect 14, OneNote 14, Outlook 14, PowerPoint 14, Project 14, Publisher 14, SharePoint Designer 14, Visio 14, and Word 14. Full Story: Leaked: First Office 14 screenshots

Normally, I would frown upon testing beta software against final code that has been updated frequently, but the results this time around are very interesting. Instead of using benchmarking programs, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes from ZDNet put together 23 real-world scenarios to see which operating system would be the quickest to complete all of the tasks. He tested the 32-bit versions of Windows 7 build 6.1.7000.0.081212-1400, Windows Vista SP1, and Windows XP SP3. Two separate test machines were used: An AMD Phenom 9700 2.4GHz system fitted with an ATI Radeon 3850 and 4GB of RAM An Intel Pentium Dual Core E2200 2.2GHz fitted with an NVIDIA GeForce 8400 GS and 1GB of RAM Neither of these computers is top of the line, but Windows 7 managed...

Here we go again: EC complains about IE integration in Windows | All about Microsoft | ZDNet.com

Information that Tech ARP has gathered about the Windows 7 Upgrade Program seems to be inline with a previous rumor about three upgrade scenarios for Vista to Windows 7: Home Premium to Home Premium, Business to Professional, and Ultimate to Ultimate. While Microsoft has not revealed any final dates for the upgrade program yet, rumor has it that the program eligibility will begin on July 1, 2009. In other words, if you purchase a computer with Vista preloaded on it, on or after July 1, up to some undecided date (OEMs can choose to have an even shorter timeframe within the one Microsoft will give), you will have the option to upgrade to Windows 7 for free when it becomes available. Full Story: Buy a Vista PC as of July 1, upgrade to...

Windows 7 build 7000, which leaked less than two weeks ago, has a data corruption issue when playing back MP3s using Windows Media Player 12. The problem only happens under the following circumstances: the first few seconds of an MP3 file will be cut if the header of the mp3 file is larger than 16 kilobytes and if metadata is written to the file. The corruption will occur either when the user edits the metadata from inside WMP12 or Explorer, or if WMP12 is set to automatically fill in missing metadata using the online service. The changes are irreversible, so if you plan on playing back your MP3s with WMP12, make sure to back up your music library. Microsoft is currently hard at work readying a Quick Fix Engineering (QFE) patch that...

As Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer promised at CES 2009 during his preshow keynote, the Windows 7 beta is now available to the public for download. It is only available to the first 2.5 million people who download it, so make sure to get your hands on it as soon as you can! The beta is available in English (32-bit and 64-bit), German (32-bit and 64-bit), Japanese (32-bit and 64-bit), Arabic (32-bit and 64-bit), and Hindi (32-bit). Once you have the .iso image downloaded, I recommend you use IMGBurn to burn it to a DVD. The beta supports clean installs and Windows Vista SP1 to Windows 7 upgrades. You can only install the Ultimate edition. You should receive a beta key by e-mail sometime after you download the build. Microsoft gives the...

Microsoft started 2009 by fixing just one security flaw in its software; this month's Patch Tuesday only had a single security bulletin, MS09-001. The security update kills three birds with one stone: two privately reported vulnerabilities and one publicly disclosed vulnerability. This is possible since all three problems, which could allow remote code execution and give an attacker full user rights, are found in the Microsoft Server Message Block (SMB) Protocol. While Microsoft issued the patch for Windows 2000, Windows XP (x86 and x64), Windows Server 2003 (x86 and x64), Windows Vista (x86 and x64), and Windows Server 2008 (x86 and x64), the company left Windows 7 out of the party. Microsoft gave the following explanation for this...

In late July, speculation arose about Office 14, the codename for the successor to Office 2007, being released simultaneously with Windows 7 (much like Office 2007 and Vista were): either late 2009 or early 2010. Last week I talked about why the 2010 date looked more likely to me, and now more evidence points to the same conclusion. This week, Microsoft provided a select number of testers with access to Office 14 documentation, including alpha versions of SharePoint Server 14, SharePoint Services 14, Search Server 14, Project Server 14, and Office for Sales 14. A Microsoft spokesperson gave the following statement: "Today Microsoft provided a select group of customers early access to an Alpha version of Office server technologies...

This past weekend, Windows 7 build 7000 leaked to torrent sites. It's not the first build of Windows 7 to leak, but it definitely is the most important one so far. You see, the first 7xxx build marks the entrance of Windows 7 into beta phase (6xxx builds were pre-beta builds). Microsoft planned to release this build to a select number of beta testers, as well as to MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Unfortunately for Microsoft, and fortunately for everyone who couldn't, but wanted to, get access to the beta, this led to a leaked build. The company pulled the release off of MSDN and TechNet, and also removed the "Windows 7 Beta" entry from the next quarterly update kit for those part of the Microsoft Action Pack Subscription (MAPS), which is...

Microsoft has launched a new "Personalize your PC" website for users testing out the Windows 7 beta. If you're on Windows 7 you can get to it directly from the operating system (Right click desktop > Personalize > Get more themes online). The site currently has 15 themes, 13 desktop backgrounds, 8 desktop gadgets, and 5 sideshow gadgets (only for Windows SideShow-compatible devices). That may not seem like much, but the message at the bottom of the site gives a little hope. Information about Windows 7 is preliminary and subject to change. Themes and wallpapers provided during this beta release are for testing purposes only. A greater selection will be available at the time of final release of Windows 7. Full Story: Windows 7's...

The new year has brought new resolutions, including a question from a reader who asked my recommendation for the best ways to back up a PC. My real recommendation is that you actually do it. I was doing some renovations in my house over the holidays and moved my main computer from one floor to my new home office on another floor and when I turned it back on I got a flurry of blue screens of death. (Apple users, commence snickering.) For 2009, resolve to back up your computer files, and do it : Tech : Ventura County Star Do you back up your files/computer?

Last night at CES 2009, Steve Ballmer made a ton of announcements. One of them was the final release of the Wave 3 release of Windows Live Essentials over at download.live.com. Windows Live Essentials, which refers to the suite of Windows Live client applications (as opposed to web services), consists of a long list of software: Messenger, Mail, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Writer, Toolbar, Family Safety, Office Live Add-in, and Silverlight. Movie Maker beta is the only application that is not checked by default, likely due to the fact that the team couldn't finalize it in time for the release. Full Story: Windows Live Essentials (including Messenger) Wave 3 final