Windows Vista Lounge

Microsoft Corp. has announced the next version of its Windows operating system will include a control panel that allows users to turn off Internet Explorer (IE) 8 and other key Microsoft programs.

The new feature is a significant move for the world’s largest software company, which has been accused by rivals and regulators of forcing consumers to use its software and stifling competition.

Indeed, the announcement comes less than two months after the European Commission sent Microsoft a Statement of Objections that accused the company of unfairly bundling Internet Explorer to its Windows operating system, which is used in 95 percent of the world’s personal computers. The company has also fallen under the scrutiny of U.S. antitrust regulators in recent years for bundling key programs with its operating system.

Microsoft’s move to de-bundle IE and other programs is part of the company’s plan to prevent European antitrust regulators from derailing an important software launch.

“In addition to the features that were already available to turn on or off in Windows Vista, we’ve added the following features to the list in Windows 7,” Microsoft program manager Jack Mayo wrote Friday in a post on the company’s engineering blog, listing IE 8, Windows Media Player and a variety of other Microsoft programs.

Although Windows 7, the successor to the much-criticized Vista, isn’t due out until next year, more than a million people are already testing early versions of the software.

The new operating system will make it easier for users to remove any traces of IE, although the software will remain installed on the computer.

In a gesture of protest to Microsoft’s dominance in the Web browser market, Google Inc. joined the Mozilla foundation and Norway’s Opera last month, both of which make competitive browsers.

Original Article: http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1650747/windows_to_allow_users_to_switch_off_ie/

Move over Jetson’s, Microsoft is hinting at what the future will be like with it’s impressive array of integrated technologies. Everything from smart paper to multi touch wall displays.

Some of this technology has been featured in movies where technology was a dominant part of the script: James Bond, Ironman, Minority Report, The Island and many more.

But making it work for a few seconds in a movie is one task, usability on a daily basis is another. We’re still discovering the pitfalls of cell based phone coverage while this stuff comes rushing toward us with far more complexity than a dropped call. But that’s what makes it interesting.

The video below is very impressive and says a lot more about “what” is coming, without going in to how, or most importantly…how much! But then again, it doesn’t matter. People will always find a way to pay for uber sexy technology.

Although most of the attention these days is focused on where things are with Windows 7, Microsoft is getting closer to releasing the next update for Windows Vista.

On Wednesday, Microsoft offered some technical testers a near-final “release candidate” version of the Windows Vista Service Pack 2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2. The company did not say when that version might be made publicly available.

“We continuously engage with our partners and testers on the development of service packs and we will track customer and partner feedback from the beta program before setting a final date for distribution,” Microsoft said in a statement. “We will have more to share on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 SP2 soon and are targeting final delivery in (the second quarter of) 2009.”

The release of the updated SP2 test version was noted earlier on Thursday by Ars Technica. Microsoft has been working toward the release candidate version for some time now, after issuing a public beta of the update in December.

Meanwhile, Windows 7 is also moving toward the release candidate stage, with some sites noting that recent builds also contain the release candidate nomenclature, although Microsoft often labels its builds based on the version it is working toward.

By Ina Fried

Original Article: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10167618-56.html

Windows Seven just came out on beta and people are already starting to post their use and experiences of the new OS offered by Microsoft. Take a look at this one from 007- featuring video of what it looks like!
Windows007.net

As a huge fan of the Seinfeld show I was delighted to see the mix between Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld. The idea of promoting the newest technology via getting in touch with the common people is clever when it’s these two sharing a room or buying shoes. The interesting part is they hardly touch on the product until the absolute end of each video and even then, it’s more of a tease…as if, something great is coming out soon.

I’m not sure about that part. I mean, when Abercrombie puts a mostly nude billboard up with just their name on it….they are selling image (definitely not clothing) but I digress. But in the Seinfeld/Gates scenario they are selling…hope?

I like the videos, they are fun and clever and anyone who can get Bill Gates to lighten up deserves applause. That said, it would be better if Microsoft were pushing something more tangible like a new service pack to make things faster or more reliable, or even one that makes the computer taste like chocolate cake

I think the Windows 7 previews have done little to make folks optimistic that this time it will truly be bigger, better, faster…or even sexier. Meanwhile all my geek buddies are switching to Macs! Ugh…the horror…and I admit, I have already fallen prey to the dark side. I have an Iphone, Apple TV, and use ITunes more than Media Player…am I being assimilated?

Anyway, for your viewing pleasure here are the videos!

I’ve been onboard with Vista as a beta tester, RC tester and early adopter, all the way back to Longhorn. I’ve heard all the jokes and certainly experienced my share of frustrations with the Vista OS, but I wanted to try it out. I literally have two computers side by side on my desk at work, one Vista and the other XP. I say all this to establish myself as a true user of Vista, rather than some hater who wants to sound intelligent by copying other’s insults.

What I like about Vista is it’s ease of start-up and standby, when a PC runs on Vista, you can pretty much leave it on for weeks at a time and it will run fine. With XP–that was impossible unless you want your computer running slower each day.

What I don’t like is the lag when certain programs seem to get lost in mid process, and of course the glitchy nature of Vista in specific applications that I use a LOT, like Outlook, Word, Powerpoint and multiple web browsers.

Using two systems side by side, I have to admit the one directly in front of me is XP, with Vista on the left side as a monitoring system–I get hundreds of emails a day and I need one dedicated computer to keep up, so it’s always in Outlook. This allows me to write and do other things in XP while I’m watching for important emails on the left. Ok enough on that.

My point is, I use XP way more than Vista, and when I get home I often have to shift to my laptop (XP) instead of the fancy Sony Vista system I bought recently. Why? Because graphic programs, especially those rendering things in Flash, hate Vista! They won’t load or will crash when you go to save them. It sucks. And it sucks in a way that forces me to huddle over my laptop just to get something finished.

So, I am asking myself, after truly giving Microsoft a fair chance at winning me over, is it time for a Vista-ectomy? As in cutting the cord from the OS and either reverting to XP or….(gulp)….buying a Mac. That is something I can’t believe I am saying after being with Microsoft since Windows 1.0….yep I’ve been in the IT world that long.

There are alternatives of course, Wait for Windows 7, Try Linux (um no thanks) and other schemes but at the end of the day, I just want the computer to work well, fast, reliably and intuitively…all things Vista was supposed to do! Oh and I want it to work with the programs I use often.

I’m wondering, with all the traffic this site gets and all the wonderful posts we have seen over the years…is anyone else getting to the point of no return? This question is not for the haters, who never really tried Vista,  just the ones who gave it an honest run.

Comments?

While I am positive about the overall Vista improvements made over XP (and in some ways missing the proven success XP had) I’ve noticed a marked difference in performance by turning off the automatic updates. By that I mean compeltely off, not just set to download later or whatever variant of the settings you choose. Here is why I prefer this. If I’m nto having probalems with Vista, do I really want to update something behind the scenes? Vista is till proving itself so any new update could throw off my efforts to tune it the way prefer it to run.

Now, you might be thinking, only an idiot doesn’t run updates. This is where I recommend you periodically go out and check for updates manually. There are some you might want and some (especially office 2007 ones) that you truly do not! By making this change, which I compared between a Vista workstation at my office and one at home, I saw a big improvement in bootup, and overal performance. Here is why….those frickin updates can really drag your system in the ground while they scan to see if they are needed, then they download uber big files, then run! All while you are simply trying to check mail or worse, do something intense in Photoshop or other resource needy programs.

Aside from this tweak I also recommend, regardless of your Windows OS, to delete the files in your temp directory and defrag once a week. This one effort can have enormous benefit.

I know there is nothing ground breaking in this idea but if you find yourself creeping along in Vista, try setting things as described here and you will see a difference!