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Vista Crack Means Big Trouble

no@spam.com (Microsoft Watch) — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST

In a somewhat deja vu circumstance, crackers may have put the kibosh on Windows Vista product activation, as they did before Microsoft made Windows XP's widely available.

The exploit doesn't break Microsoft's anti-piracy mechanism, but falsely activates some Windows Vista versions.

The Windows Vista crack, if definitely proven effective, is rather ingenious. Because I haven't personally tried it out and Microsoft is confirming nothing--absolutely nothing--I can't definitely say it works.

When Vista Shifts Into Low Gear

no@spam.com (Microsoft Watch) — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:00:00 EST

This morning I saw Windows Vista's performance-adjusting feature in action, when the operating system switched the user interface from "Aero" glass to "Basic."

Unlike its predecessors, Windows Vista adjusts--and even turns off--some features based on the PC hardware or software. For example, Windows Vista will turn off the "Aero" user interface for computers with insufficient graphics accelerators. Today, I experienced this capability for the first time with a software application.

Microsoft's Music Madness

no@spam.com (Microsoft Watch) — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 00:00:00 EST

Zune is a mistake. While Microsoft's Zune marketing beckons, "welcome to the social," the device is instead antisocial with the existing Windows Media ecosystem.

Most enterprises probably don't give too much of a hoot about portable music players, except where they present potential security risks.

Yet Another View on Vista Adoption

no@spam.com (Microsoft Watch) — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 00:00:00 EST

With Windows Vista's business launch less than two days away, there is no shortage of adoption forecasts. Another published this evening.

Endpoint Technologies forecasts that Microsoft and its PC partners will ship 82 million Windows Vista licenses during 2007. The market researcher expects that most businesses won't begin deployment until at least third quarter 2007. "Six quarters out is when most of these companies are going to be adopting Vista," the report concludes (Disclosure: Microsoft is an Endpoint client).

Vista Download Servers Hammered

no@spam.com (Microsoft Watch) — Mon, 29 May 2006 00:00:00 EDT

Testers are clamoring for Vista Beta 2, which Microsoft announced on Tuesday, but many of them have been unable to download the bits due to download-server overload.
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"It'll be 10:00 tonight by the time I get Vista Beta 2 downloaded," one wanna-be tester said early Wednesday morning.

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Microsoft Eyeing Another Ad Company?

no@spam.com (Microsoft Watch) — Mon, 29 May 2006 00:00:00 EDT

Is Microsoft gearing up for yet another acquisition?

The Wall Street Journal is reporting the Redmondians are eyeing another ad-serving company.

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Microsoft Pushes Its Own Alternative to JPEG

no@spam.com (Microsoft Watch) — Fri, 26 May 2006 00:00:00 EDT

Microsoft is encouraging developers to start to add now support for its fledgling 'Windows Media Photo' specification to devices and applications that read or write image files.
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�SEATTLE – Not content to take on PDF and PostScript with Windows, Microsoft now also is setting its sights on going head-to-head with the JPEG imaging standard.

Early Testers Hit Vista Beta 2 Snags

no@spam.com (Microsoft Watch) — Fri, 26 May 2006 00:00:00 EDT

The first testers managing to download Windows Vista 2 bits are reporting in. They say it's not all smooth sailing, and are encountering everything from driver and app compatibility problems, to red-hot laptops.

SEATTLE – A day after Microsoft announced availability of Windows Vista Beta 2, the first testers are overcoming download bottlenecks and obtaining bits. While many are finding the latest build to be more stable and better performing, they also are still hitting driver and application compatibility issues, among other system problems.

Microsoft Talks Longhorn Server and Beyond

no@spam.com (Microsoft Watch) — Fri, 26 May 2006 00:00:00 EDT

Microsoft execs haven't said a whole lot about Longhorn Server as of late. But at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in Seattle on Tuesday, company officials shared more Longhorn Server specifics, and even talked a bit about future Windows Server releases, including the "Centro" mid-market server, Longhorn Server R2 and a possible Windows Server Branch product.

New Windows Live Dev Portal in the Wings

no@spam.com (Microsoft Watch) — Thu, 18 May 2006 00:00:00 EDT

The Windows Live team is continuing to beat the developer drum.

Next week, the company is planning to launch a preview of its Windows Live Dev portal, aimed at Microsoft and third-party developers.