Despite my technophile-ness, I haven't considered moving to the 64-bit version of Windows Vista, mostly because I figure I will have application or device driver woes. However, in a blog post on the Windows Vista blog, Microsoft product manager Chris Flores said that Microsoft has noted a shift in adoption of 64-bit operating systems.
Earlier we wrote about how Microsoft used a kind of blind taste test to get die-hard Windows XP users to try Vista --- and that they even liked it. They were told that they were trying a new OS, called Mojave. We also said that Microsoft hadn't figured out a marketing campaign, but it appears that's changed.
Microsoft on Tuesday released a new tool designed to allow customers to see whether their hardware and software will work properly with Windows Vista. Actually, you remember that before Vista even launched they had such a tool, so is this time-travel?
Nope, on Tuesday Microsoft launched the Windows Vista Compatibility Center.
Perhaps Bill Gates should have pushed his semi-retirement back a few days, so it could coincide with Windows XP's. As of today, XP says good-bye, for the most part.
It's not over yet - not completely - but it might as well be. On Monday Microsoft sent out a letter to its customers dashing any hopes of a stay of execution for Windows XP.
You'll recall that Symantec admitted that the SymProtect feature of its security products was at least partially to blame for registry corruption which occurred during both Windows XP SP3 and Windows Vista SP1 upgrades. It promised a standalone utility to remove the corrupted entries, and it's finally delivered on that promise.
In April Microsoft announced that Windows XP Home would be available for ULCPCs (Netbooks, UMPCs) for one year after the release of the next version of Windows (currently known as Windows 7), or June 30th, 2010, whichever is later. On Tuesday at Computex Microsoft extended that same support to so-called Nettops, or ultra-low-cost desktops.
You'll recall my earlier story on registry corruption for certain users upgrading to Windows XP SP3. The cases of registry corruption seemed to have a common thread: Symantec security products. Originally Symantec blamed Microsoft, but in a post on a Symantec support forum, a senior manager with Symantec indicated the fault may indeed lie with Symantec's products.
Ah, yes, as I've said before, let others feel the pain of early adoption before you join in. Some users with AMD CPUs are experiencing endless reboots after installing Windows XP SP3. This was after Microsoft delayed delivery of SP3 because of issues with Microsoft Dynamics RMS.
Depending on how you spin this information, it's either good news or bad. A study by a decidedly partial observer, security vendor PC Tools Software, showed that Windows Vista, while much improved over Windows XP, is still far too vulnerable.
Hopefully you read that title the way Steve Ballmer probably meant to say it on Thursday. You know, emphasis on the "HAVE" in a sarcastic way. Although I'm sure he didn't say it that way, he probably wanted to.
Speaking at a news conference in Belgium, where he was to announce the establishment of an "innovation centre" in the Belgian city of Mons, Ballmer gave XP fans a little hope.
Many have been awaiting the day when they didn't have to install Windows XP on their Asus Eee PCs themselves, and that day has come, with Asus announcing in an emailed press release that selected Best Buys now have Asus Eee PC 4G PCs with Windows XP pre-installed in-stock. It also appears that "selected Best Buys" includes the online store.
Asus formally launched the Eee PC with XP on board at the Cebit trade show earlier this month, in Germany. As these start to reach users, Asus has released some estimates sure to disappoint Linux fans.
The Eee PC has been hot, selling 300,000 units last year with Asus estimating sales of 5 million units this year. But the majority of those, approximately 60%, will be Windows-based, according to Asus. And that's even with the "head start" Linux has been given with Windows-pre-installed Eee PCs shipping only recently.
