Windows 7 has managed to make it on a Microsoft.com home page for the first time. It’s an unlikely position for the next iteration of the Windows operating system, which the Redmond company is keeping tight under wraps for now. And even more so as, following the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2008, the past week in Houston, Texas, where the software giant indicated that it was focusing entirely on Windows Vista Service Pack 1. But still, Steven Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, can rest assured that nothing has leaked on the successor of Windows Vista.
The official website of Microsoft Canada is the Microsoft.com localized home page that features the Windows 7 reference, under the highlights section. However, the fragment of text reading “Bill Veghte, Senior Vice President, Online Services and Windows Business Group, outlines Microsoft’s commitment to Windows Vista now and in the future,Microsoft’s support for Windows XP as we approach the retail end-of-sales date of June 30 and the future of Windows including Windows 7″ is nothing more than an excerpt from the official document signed by Veghte designed to trash Windows XP and Windows 7 as potential Vista SP1 alternatives.
source: news.softpedia.com
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Thought I’d drop a line and remind you that we’re planning to release Windows Search 4.0 (KB940157) via Windows Update sometime in late July. Windows Search 4.0 updates previous versions of Search in Windows Vista SP1, Windows XP SP2 and Windows XP SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Home Server.
Windows XP users will see Windows Search 4.0 available as an Optional update, which means you must visit the Windows Update Web site to install it. Windows Vista users with SP1 installed will see the update as a Recommended update. This means that, if a Windows Vista user has set their machine to automatically install updates, Windows Search 4.0 will automatically install on PCs running Windows Vista SP1. The release of Windows Search 4.0 to Windows Update will be gradual for these users. If you’re running Windows Vista SP1, and you would like to install it right away, you can go to the Windows Update control panel and install it manually once it is made available.
Source- Technet Blog
Hello, you have likely just arrived from the Windows Error Reporting site because you received the response that Dr. Watson (Drwtsn32.exe.) caused a problem with Windows XP.
To disable Dr. Watson so you don’t get this error any more click here and follow these instructions.
When prompted, answer the following to questions like this.
Do you want to run or save the file? Click Run
Are you sure you want to add …. to the registry? Click Yes.
Is it safe? Yes, the registry file is simply changing the configuration of your system so it doesn’t run Dr. Watson anymore when a program crashes.
The current lifecycle of Microsoft Window XP fixes only security problems and the workaround is safe and easy. Click here to read the original article.
Source- Technet Blog
The June 2008 Windows XP Embedded Optional Updates are now available on the Mobile & Embedded Communications Extranet (ECE) for Microsoft® Windows® XP Embedded Service Pack 2, Feature Pack 2007 and/or Update Rollup 1.0.
For Windows XP Embedded with SP2, Feature Pack 2007 and/or Update Rollup 1.0 installed:
· KB 953400 - Missing security template files have been added as file resources to the Windows Security Configuration Client Engine component.
· KB 953784 - The Test Application Compatibility Macro component is a new macro component that adds all the other technology macro components to an image to assist customers with troubleshooting missing dependencies in their runtime configurations. Adding this component will have a significant footprint impact to the configuration.
The June 2008 Windows XP Embedded Optional Updates are available at the following link on the ECE:
https://ece.partners.extranet.microsoft.com/ece/ProductSupplements/DownloadCenter/Embedded/XPE/XPEMonthlyUpdates/DisOEM-Jun08XPEmbOptUpd.htm
Source- MSDN Blog
Microsoft has said it would offer free technical support to small businesses that buy new PCs with Windows Vista in the next three months, its latest attempt to convince users that moving to Vista is a good idea. And if those efforts are for naught, Microsoft will help those users downgrade from Vista to Windows XP, the same maneuver several large computer makers, including Dell and Hewlett-Packard, have used in recent months to continue offering the older operating system to buyers.
The offer, dubbed Windows Vista Small Business Assurance, is available to businesses with fewer than 50 employees or 25 PCs, and it provides free telephone support through the end of October to companies that buy new PCs with Vista Business or Vista Ultimate between now and Sept. 30, according to details posted on the Microsoft Web site. Only businesses buying new hardware can take advantage of the free support; companies upgrading existing computers from, say, Windows XP, don’t qualify.
Source: The full story @ InfoWorld
Google Lively is a free, browser-based virtual environment with tight integration to social networks like MySpace, Facebook and OpenSocial, as well as Google gadgets like Picasa and YouTube. Unlike some previous integration’s of virtual worlds and social networks, Lively helps users’ friends lists, feeds, and logins to tie directly to the social network. Google’s platform will run in a browser, differentiating it from client-centric worlds like Second Life and can be embedded in a Web site.
There isn’t any currency used in Lively, so users will be able to add objects from Lively’s catalog to their rooms free of charge. With all these features and more rolling out later, Lively is likely to give Second Life and other popular virtual worlds a run for their money. Like most Google products, Lively is free.
While some have compared Lively to Second Life, the better comparison is with IMVU. The core of Lively content are avatars, rooms and catalog. This is true for IMVU as well, though IMVU offers home pages, groups, forums and more. In particular, Lively chose the IMVU-like metaphor of the virtual “room” instead of a sprawling virtual world or land like Second Life. However, Lively is currently a free offering, while IMVU charges for each accessory used and Second Life charges a flat fee, with the basic version provided free.
The minimum hardware requirement for running Lively is, Pentium III 800 MHz System with 512 MB RAM, a 32 MB 3D graphics card such as GeForce 2 or above and a broadband connection. Currently, Lively only runs in IE and Firefox on Windows XP and Vista machines, though the company has said that a Mac OS X client is a priority for the future.
Source- RTTNews
http://www.lively.com
The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool checks Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003 computers for and helps remove infections by specific, prevalent malicious software—including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom. When the detection and removal process is complete, the tool displays a report describing the outcome, including which, if any, malicious software was detected and removed. The tool creates a log file named mrt.log in the %WINDIR%\debug folder.
This tool is not a replacement for an anti-virus product. To help protect your computer, you should use an anti-virus product.
Please review KB890830 for the list of malicious software that the current version of the tool is capable of removing as well as usage instructions. Also, please be aware that this tool reports anonymous information back to Microsoft in the event that an infection is found or an error is encountered. The above KB article contains information on how to disable this functionality and what specific information is sent to Microsoft.
Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool x64
Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool
Microsoft is committed to providing quality products to customers. As part of this commitment, we would like to remind you that Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) will be released to Automatic Updates shortly. The third service pack to Windows XP includes the previously released updates and hotfixes to Windows XP, creating a new baseline for servicing.
Optional Actions
If you wish to prevent users from installing Windows XP SP3 through Automatic Updates, Microsoft recommends you take one or more of the following steps:
1. Download and deploy the Windows Service Pack Blocker Kit. The Blocker Toolkit is available in the Microsoft Download Center.
2. Deploy an update management solution that provides full control over the updates you deploy to computers in your network (Compare Update Management Solutions). IT Administrators using an update management solution should use their product’s standard features, rather than the Blocker Toolkit, to control SP1 distribution.
Source- MSDN Blog
Ankur Mittal | July 18, 2008
