Tag: Vista
Microsoft suing retailer Comet for selling pirate Windows CDs
Now here's an unexpected and downright criminal move from struggling electronics retailers Comet. They're being accused by Microsoft of producing and selling some 94,000 forged copies of Windows Vista and XP recovery discs out of a factory in Hampshire. Microsoft…
REVIEW: System Mechanic 10 PC tune-up software
Name: System Mechanic 10 (iolo) Type: PC tune-up software Minimum Specs: Click here for recommended specs Price: Free to try, download from CNet Like a car racking up the miles or a guitar rocking through a tour, a well-loved, well-used…
Reboot hell for Windows 7 users
New users are reporting major bugs while installing Microsoft's new OS.
Windows 7 out on 22nd October
I’d like to sit here all smug saying we told you so after Acer let the cat out of the bag about a month ago but, as it stands, Windows 7 will actually be available one day earlier than we said. Can you ever forgive us?
Microsoft has promised that most retailers and manufactures will run an upgrade scheme for those who recently purchased Vista machines – we already know that Dell is a likely candidate – but it looks like only those with Vista Starter, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate will be included with no joy for those who opted for Basic. That’ll teach you to skate cheap.
Both the Windows 7 beta and release candidate have been well received and you’d think that the this full version will sit far better with the public than Vista ever has, despite being more or less identical. I’d still rather run XP after using the 7 beta for a while now but then perhaps I’m just a stick in the mud. It’s very sticky and muddy down here. Probably best you do your own thing.
(via Windows Blog)
UK Government donates a thousand old PCs to charity
Fancy a bit of a feel-good story for Friday afternoon? The UK Government’s Department for International Development has decided to ship a thousand laptops that it doesn’t use any more to Africa. It’s all being done through charity Computer Aid, who we’ve covered before.
The laptops, previously in use by civil servants, aren’t OLPCs or any other low-cost, low-spec machines – they’re proper full-on laptops. They’re going to organizations like the Prof. Iya Abubakar Community Resource Center in Nigeria, which helps local people start their own businesses.
Rumours that each laptop is chock-full of confidential documents and databases are so far unsubstantiated.
Windows 7 gets schizophrenic, multiple personalities emerge
Oh dear. It’s the move that everyone was hoping Microsoft wasn’t going to make, but it looks like it’s going to make it. Seems that Windows 7 will come in a bunch of versions – much like Vista – titled Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Business and Ultimate.
The news surfaced in a screenshot on a Chinese blog depicting Beta build 7025. Most people are running 7000 – which is the version currently (but not for much longer) available to the public.
Microsoft’s forthcoming OS has been getting rave reviews from all corners of the internet – even those traditionally very pro-Apple. I’m a big fan myself – I’ve got it installed on a laptop that struggled with Vista, and it runs like a dream. It remains to be seen exactly how cut-down the ‘Home’ versions will end up being, and if unlike Vista, the Ultimate edition is worth the extra cash.
(via Engadget, image courtesy of regular commenter Leon)
Related posts: Microsoft extends availability of Windows 7 beta | Windows 7 public beta available NOW
Microsoft on viruses and malware: It's not our fault, guv.
Turns out that the vast majority of virus attacks are against badly-written third-party software, rather than Windows itself. So claims Microsoft, anyway, in the graph to the right. In XP, 58% of attacks target third party software, and in Vista, 94% target third-parties. The most popular targets are Apple’s Quicktime, Realplayer and Winzip.
When you drill down to the top ten browser vulnerabilities, Microsoft admit that they account for half of the biggest flaws on XP, including by far the top one, but on Vista, they don’t feature in the top ten at all – the number one place goes to a bit of software called Baofeng, which I suspect is a toolbar of some sort…
Microsoft keeps XP on life support for another six months
In a not-entirely-unanticipated development, Microsoft have once again announced that you’ll be able to continue buying Windows XP for another six months. Expect a similar announcement in another six months’ time. Microsoft was originally going to stop selling XP in January, but this announcement extends the deadline to next July.
Bill Gates flexes his acting skills with Jerry Seinfeld, as Microsoft kicks off $300m Windows ad campaign
It is an advert about nothing. This clip made its debut on US television last night, bewildering viewers by showing Jerry Seinfeld and Mr Gates trying on shoes in a discount shoe shop. Then buying some shoes. Then leaving.
But it’s not an advert for shoes. Neither man has fallen that far since quitting the things that made them rich and famous. See if you can guess what it’s for.
Of course you know what it’s about and for – Windows. Microsoft’s bunging $300m into a new marketing campaign, designed…
Microsoft revealing "technical information" regarding Windows 7 in October, says W7 dev blog
Fantastic. Just when we’ve finally turned off everything in Vista, deleted half of it and got it working and looking something like good old XP again, Microsoft starts preparing to change the game once more.
According to the nerds working on it, MS will “provide in-depth technical information” regarding the…
