Sysinternals Update: Process Monitor 2.01 for Vista and XP But also DebugView 4.76, AccessChk 4.21, Autoruns 9.35. Microsoft Technical Fellow Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell, software architects in the Core Operating Systems Division, introduced the 2.0 major update to Process Monitor at the end of September 2008. Now, the tool has been taken one step further to version 2.01, this time just a minor refresh designed mainly to deal with a few issues associated with v2.0. The Process Monitor 2.01 release is an integral part of a larger update of the Sysinternals suite involving other three applications: Autoruns 9.35, DebugView 4.76, and AccessChk 4.21.

“Process Monitor v2.01 - this release fixes several bugs, including compatibility with Windows 2000, excessive exit delays, and adds the new networking events to the filter dialog's operations list,” explained Curtis Metz, Program Manager, Microsoft Sysinternals. Back in September, version 2.0 of Process Monitor brought real-time TCP and UDP monitoring.

Delivering network tracing capabilities to Process Monitor was Russinovich's next step in the evolution of the utility. Taking Process Monitor from version 1.0 to 2.0 involved adding new low-level capabilities, such as a stronger focus on system memory usage in addition to network tracing.

“Autoruns 9.35 - this Autoruns update adds additional autostart locations, including lsastart, s0initialization, savedumpstart, and servicecontrollerstart, and fixes several bugs,” Metz added. “DebugView 4.76 - debugview no longer truncates the last character of each line of a log file when it loads one back into the display. AccessChk 4.21 - this fixes a bug in the code that checks for malformed security descriptors that could cause spurious warnings.”

The new versions of the four updated utilities have also caused the entire Sysinternals Suite to be refreshed. As of October 16, Microsoft is serving a new release of the Sysinternals Suite now complete with all the touched-up utilities: Process Monitor 2.01, DebugView 4.76, AccessChk 4.21, Autoruns 9.35.

Process Monitor 2.01 is available for download here.
The Sysinternals Suite is available for download here.

Source: news.softpedia.com

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At the start of September 2008, Microsoft Technical Fellow Mark Russinovich revealed that he was cooking a major update for Process Monitor, one of the components of the Sysinternals suite. As of September 30, version 2.0 of Process Monitor became available for download. The description of the tool authored by Mark Russinovich and Bryce Cogswell reveals that Process Monitor 2.0 is designed to integrate seamlessly with both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 2000 SP4 with Update Rollup 1, Windows XP SP2, Windows Server 2003 SP1, and Windows Vista.

“Process Monitor v2.0: this major update to Process Monitor adds real-time TCP and UDP monitoring to its existing process, thread, DLL, file system and registry monitoring. You can now see the TCP and UDP activity processes performed, including the operation (e.g. connect, send, receive), local and remote IP addresses and DNS names, and operation transfer lengths. On Windows Vista, Process Monitor also collects thread stacks for network operations,” revealed Curtis Metz, Program Manager, Microsoft Sysinternals.

Concomitantly with the new release of Process Monitor 2.0, the entire Sysinternals suite was update and is also available for download. Russinovich refreshed two additional utilitoes on top of Process Monitor 2.0, namely Sigcheck and Contig. “Sigcheck v1.54: this Sigcheck release fixes a bug in CSV output formatting. Contig v1.55: Contig now supports the -accepteula command-line switch,” Metz added.

Via Process Monitor 2.0, users will be able to monitor in real time the file system of the Windows operating system along with the platform's registry and process/thread activity. Back in early September, Russinovich promised that Process Monitor would indeed evolve with the addition of new low-level capabilities, including a more intimate focus on memory usage, while at the same time delivering network tracing to the utility.

Process Monitor 2.0 is available for download here.
The Sysinternals Suite is available for download here.

Source: news.softpedia.com

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Version 3.2 of Network Monitor is being offered as an update to v3.1, but in this regard, the utility is also nothing like the 2.x releases. Tawanda Sibanda, the lead program manager for Network Monitor indicated that Network Monitor 3.2 was produced through a consistent effort of the Netmon team that worked to integrate into the product all the feedback it had received from customers. At the same time, Netmon 3.2 delivers the inherent bug fixes as well as a necessary boost in stability. Network Monitor 3.2 is designed to support Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008.

“So What’s New in Network Monitor 3.2? Process Tracking: Now you can identify rogue applications sending network data! View all the processes on your machine generating network traffic (process name and PID). Use the conversation tree to view frames associated with each process. Capture engine re-architecture to improve capture rate in high-speed networks. Network Monitor 3.2 drops significantly fewer frames that Network Monitor 3.1,” revealed Sibanda.

At the explicit request of its users, Microsoft implemented the “Find conversations” capabilities. With version 3.2, frames can be easily isolated in the same network conversation, Sibanda explained. The new iteration of Netmon is capable of parsing over 300 protocols, with Microsoft ensuring a high degree of customization when it comes down to the parsers. In this context, Networtk Monitor 3.2 also offers improved parser management, as users are permitted to expand the default parsers to the full set.

In addition, “in the upcoming months, we plan to place all our Windows parsers on the Microsoft open-source CodePlex site and allow the community to modify and contribute parsers. This version of Network Monitor seamlessly integrates new parser packages. [Network Monitor 3.2 also delivers] Network Monitor API: Create your own applications that capture, parse and analyze network traffic! More extensive documentation of the API and NPL. Access the documentation from Help > NPL and API Documentation. IA64 builds. PCAP capture file support. ContainsBin Plug-in: Search frames for arbitrary byte sequences or strings,” Sibanda added.

Microsoft Network Monitor 3.2 RTM is available for download here.
By: Marius Oiaga

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The wait is over. At almost six months since the introduction of Internet Explorer Beta 1 in early March at MIX08, Microsoft unveiled the second Beta for the next iteration of its proprietary browser. In this context, the Redmond company lived up to its promise to deliver the second development milestone of IE8 by the end of this month, with the Beta 2 bits going live on August 27. According to Microsoft, Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 is available for download for 32-bit Windows XP, and both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008. The Redmond giant indicated that the browser would integrate with the latest versions of the Windows client and server platforms, including Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) and Windows Vista Service Pack 1(SP1).

"We’re excited to release IE8 Beta 2 for public download," stated Dean Hachamovitch, IE General Manager. "In addition to English, IE8 Beta 2 is available in Japanese, Chinese (Simplified), and German. Additional languages will be available soon. While Beta 1 was for developers, we think that anyone who browses or works on the web will enjoy IE8 Beta 2. We focused our work around three themes: everyday browsing (the things that real people do all the time), safety (the term most people use for what we’ve called ‘trustworthy’ in previous posts), and the platform (the focus of Beta 1, how developers around the world will build the next billion web pages and the next waves of great services)."

Since the beginning of this week Microsoft has been building up the anticipation for the delivery of IE8 Beta 2. Although the company never confirmed the August 27 deadline, the release date had been already leaked. At this point in time the Redmond giant is reportedly gearing up for a November launch of the gold bits of IE8. In this context, Beta 2 is the last development milestone before IE8's Release to Web (RTW).

IE8 Beta 2 sports a number of new features such as InPrivate Browsing, InPrivate Blocking, InPrivate Subscriptions, but also Compatibility View, Search Suggestions, SmartScreen Filter Web Slices and Accelerators.

"If you are currently using IE8 Beta 1 on Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 with Automatic Updates turned on, you will receive IE8 Beta 2 through Windows Update. Download IE8 Beta 2, use it – the browser itself, the developer tools, writing an Accelerator, marking part of your page as a Web Slice – and let us know what you think," Hachamovitch added.
Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) Beta 2 is available for download here.
By: Marius Oiaga

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Four months since Windows Vista SP1 was released to manufacturing, the driver incompatibility issues affecting the implementation of the service pack are still unresolved. Vista SP1 RTM'd on February 4, 2008 along with Windows Server 2008. At that time, Microsoft informed that it was postponing the general availability of the release in order to give hardware developers a chance to adapt a set of problematic drivers which failed to integrate properly with the service pack. As a result, Vista SP1 didn't drop via the Download Center and Windows Update until March 18. But it looks that the extra time Microsoft provided hardware manufacturers to get their drivers playing well with Vista SP1, a source of obvious end user frustration, failed to deliver an actual result.

On June 5, Microsoft explained that Vista SP1 was still not being delivered to some machines running Vista RTM but featuring problematic hardware device drivers. The Redmond company continues not to serve SP1 through Windows Update or Automatic Updates for Vista copies which include a small set of device drivers causing functionality issues following the implementation of the service pack. With a few exceptions, the list is identical to what Microsoft published back in February.

Obviously, since the Redmond giant has put its evangelism wheels in motion, the hardware manufacturers did provide updated versions of the drivers. However, the problematic items were not tweaked to play well with Windows Vista SP1. In this context, the best course of action is to make sure that you have the latest versions of the device drivers available installed prior to deploying Vista SP1 in case the service pack is not delivered through WU or AU.

Here is the list of Vista SP1 problematic drivers as of June 5, 2008. (Please check the hardware vendors official websites for updated versions of the following device drivers tailored to Windows Vista SP1)

"Audio drivers
Realtek AC'97
• For x86-based computers: Alcxwdm.sys - version 6.0.1.6242 or earlier
• For x64-based computers: Alcwdm64.sys - version 6.0.1.6242 or earlier
IDT/SigmaTel
• For x86-based computers: Sthda.cat - published 12/17/07 or earlier
• For x64-based computers: Sthda64.cat - published 12/17/07 or earlier
IDT/SigmaTel
• For x86-based computers: Stwrt.cat - published 12/17/07 or earlier
• For x64-based computers: Stwrt64.cat - published 12/17/07 or earlier
Creative Audigy
• For x86-based and x64-based computers: P17.sys – versions earlier than 5.12.1.2004
Conexant HD Audio
• For x86-based computers: Chdart.sys - version 4.32.0.0 or earlier
• For x64-based computers: Chdart64.sys - version 4.32.0.0 or earlier

Display drivers
Intel Display
• For x86-based computers: Igdkmd32.sys – versions between and including driver 7.14.10.1322 and 7.14.10.1403
• For x64-based computers: Igdkmd64.sys – versions between and including driver 7.14.10.1322 and 7.14.10.1403

Other drivers
• Texas Instruments Smart Card Controller with the GTIPCI21.sys driver file – version 1.0.1.19 or earlier
• Sierra Wireless AirCard 580 with the Watcher.exe application – version 3.4.0.9 or earlier

Symantec software driver for Symantec Endpoint Protection and for Symantec Network Access Control clients
• For x86-based computers: Wgx.sys – versions 11.0.1000.1091 or earlier
• For x64-based computers: Wgx64.sys – versions 11.0.1000.1091 or earlier

Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo LA 1703 Notebooks that have a BIOS release date of March 14, 2008 or earlier."

Source: microsoftarticles.blogspot.com

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Ever had the feeling that Microsoft is scrambling to salvage what little it still can out of Windows Vista? While continuously claiming that its latest Windows client is not a failure, and pointing to the 140 million licenses sold as of March 2008, the Redmond company seems keen on demonstrating that it can pull the operating system out of the sinking sands of public opinion. In this regard, Service Pack 1 is indeed used as a floating device, but a tad of marketing on the side can't possibly hurt, can it? The focus for the time being, as far as Microsoft is concerned, is business users. Traditionally slow to upgrade to a new Windows release, corporate clients are now looking at Windows XP SP3 and Windows 7 as alternatives to Vista upgrades. The software giant is working to push Vista SP1 down their throats even if XP SP3 continues to work, and despite the proximity of Windows 7.

"This one is for all you IT professionals out there. A lot of you are probably having discussions inside your company about when to deploy Windows Vista, or you've deployed it and want to know which of the new capabilities can have the biggest impact on your business. To help in your evaluations we've released a new white paper, The Business Value of Windows Vista: Five Reasons to Deploy Now. This document summarizes the top enterprise features, latest customer case studies, and research on the capabilities of Windows Vista all in one place," revealed Christopher Flores, Director Windows Communications.

Still, in order to catalyze upgrades to Windows Vista, now with Service Pack 1, Microsoft employs the same set of arguments currently associated with a failed Wow. The company places the focus on increased security, mobility, productivity, reduced TCO, and streamlined deployment. The only new addition to this equation is Service Pack 1. The fact of the matter is that all these arguments are just as valid for Windows Vista RTM. And yet, business users have failed to crowd to the latest Windows operating system, choosing to stick with Windows XP and, in some cases, even with Windows 2000. If SP1 doesn't do it for them, certainly a list of five upgrade reasons, however elaborate or true, will not spark Vista upgrade fiestas across enterprises.

Here is the complete list provided by Flores, for Vista SP1:
"1. Improves the Security of PCs and Confidential Data. Windows Vista Enterprise had 20% fewer security vulnerabilities than Windows XP SP2 did in 2007-and it includes BitLocker Drive Encryption to help protect your confidential data.

2. Unlocks the Potential of Today's Mobile PCs. Windows Mobility Center helps users quickly access key mobility settings all in one place and research shows that Windows Vista can help customers save as much as $251 per mobile PC, per year.

3. Makes You and Your People More Productive. Find the information you need on your computer and reduce time spent searching for information by up to 42%.

4. Speeds ROI with Rapid Deployment and Migration. New imaging technologies and free deployment tools make the process of deploying Windows Vista easier than with any previous version.

5. Reduces Support and Management Costs. The costs saving can come from multiple places including reduced help desk calls, less time spent on image maintenance, or a lower energy bill."

Source: microsoftarticles.blogspot.com

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Windows Vista Is Ready - For your business, claims Microsoft. Microsoft released Windows Vista to corporate customers in November 2006 and to the general public in January 2007. But it wasn't until 2008 that Windows Vista was actually ready for businesses. It took Mike Nash, Corporate Vice President, Windows Product Management, over a year and a half to acknowledge that the Redmond company had failed to hit the sweet spot with its latest Windows client from the get go, and that it had to work throughout 2007 to perfect it. In this context, the release of Service Pack 1 is a milestone synonymous with Vista's readiness for business adoption.

Nash stressed that an investment in Vista SP1 makes sense even in scenarios of companies dealing with a limited budget to manage their IT infrastructure not only for the favorable cost/benefit factor, but also for the fact that migrating to the new operating system would prove a good idea even after Windows 7 drops on the market.

"Investments [in security and reliability] often meant changing the way that applications and drivers run on Windows, and they impacted the initial performance and compatibility of systems. Many people saw the value of the work we had done on things like data protection, search, mobility, and deployment - but there was a tradeoff between those benefits and device and application compatibility," Nash explained.

Throughout 2007, Microsoft hammered away at the operating system in order to soften all the rough corners, struggles which culminated with the release of Vista SP1. At the same time, the company's evangelism efforts paid off, as the hardware and software ecosystem became increasingly tailored to Vista SP1. According to Nash, this is the right time to give Windows Vista, now with SP1, another try.

"It is my firm belief that Windows Vista is ready for your business. If I ran an IT organization, I would first test and remediate my applications on Windows Vista. Then I would make sure that all new machines had 2 GB of RAM and run Windows Vista Enterprise Service Pack 1. For existing machines, with modern processors and less than 2 GB of RAM, I would consider upgrading the memory, BIOS and drivers, and then loading Windows Vista Enterprise SP1," Nash revealed.

Source: microsoftarticles.blogspot.com

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Run Native Linux Applications in Windows Vista - Via Ulteo Virtual Desktop. Binaries tailored specifically to the open source Linux operating system can coexist on the same desktop with Windows Vista and Windows XP programs via Ulteo Virtual Desktop. Essentially, the promise of the Ulteo Virtual Desktop is to deliver Linux applications on Windows via the Ulteo panel. The virtualized environment will permit end users to run native Linux solutions right on the Windows Vista desktop, and integration complete down to the level of sharing the Windows Aero graphical user interface.

"At the moment, you will find a selection of applications that include: Firefox web browser enabled with Flash & Java, the full OpenOffice.org office suite that can deal with your MS Office documents KPdf to deal with your PDF documents, Kopete: the multi-Instant Messaging software that supports MSN and other protocols, Skype, Thunderbird + Enigmail, Gimp and Digikam to manage your pictures and Inkscape and Scribus to create great graphics and newspapers," reads a fragment of Ulteo's description.

But most importantly, Ulteo permits users to seamlessly add and remove layers of applications, from desktop items to gaming products, with development solutions planned to be added in the future. By any measure, Ulteo is a virtualized Linux operating system, but not in the sens of traditional virtualization software. This allows Ulteo to provide a level of performance which is very similar to a genuine Linux platform. The secret behind this is the fact that Ulteo is based on the coLinux port of the Linux operating system to Windows.

"Ulteo Virtual Desktop requires a PC (x86-based) with a modern 32-bit CPU and at least 512MB RAM. At least 4 GB of free HD space is required. A PDF reader is needed. For a better experience, we recommend a DualCore CPU and 1GB RAM. Ulteo Virtual Desktop has been tested successfully on Windows XP and Windows Vista (32-bit only for now)," Ulteo makers added.

Source: news.softpedia.com

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Application incompatibility is one of the aspects that have managed to deliver extensive damage to the adoption rate of Windows Vista. However, as Vista matured throughout 2007 and with Service Pack 1 in 2008, so did the ecosystem of software solutions orbiting around the operating system. Despite this, the actual perception of application incompatibility managed to survive, especially in corporate environments. If one end user can deal with a program that is incompatible with Vista rather easy, the same cannot be said about an enterprise dependent on a specific business application with tens of thousands of machines.

"Part of this is perception based on fact - Windows Vista is built on a new architecture that promises tightened security and reliability. Consequently, the applications that ride on top of Windows Vista need to communicate with the kernel in different ways. So what has helped fuel current perception around application compatibility? Why did many applications 'break' in the migration from Windows XP to Windows Vista?" Microsoft asked rhetorically.

And it seems that application compatibility issues consistently point to a single culprit: User Account Control. The watch dog Microsoft introduced in order to train both end users and developers to utilize and respectively build applications running with standard privileges for security reasons has come back to bite Vista uptake.

"Standard user mode limits file and registry access by applications on the computer. User Account Control exposes non-compliant actions, with permission prompts to standard and administrator users. Changes in permissions will cause most of the issues with earlier versions of applications, where administrative access was assumed during development and testing," Microsoft explained revealing the first reason for Vista application incompatibilities.

But two additional sources of compatibility problems are also connected with the UAC. Microsoft pointed to Internet Explorer 7 Protect Mode killing web-based applications as well as the Windows Resource Protection preventing programs to writing to protected areas of the operating system. In the end, the Redmond company traded flexibility for security, and legacy applications tailored to Windows XP running with administrative privileges bit the dust.

Additionally, Microsoft informed that "operating system and browser version numbers change with each release, which might cause issues with applications that check for a specific version number upon installation. Application shims are available to fool the application into thinking the operating system or browser is the application-required version."

And on top of it, the new driver model introduced in Vista, that enables the eye candy Aero graphical user interface, along with undocumented APIs, also caused compatibility issues. Over a year since Vista hit the shelves, the Redmond company claims that the operating system benefits from in excess of 15,000 signed devices and components and the advances brought on by Service Pack 1. In this context, Microsoft is not shy to put forward an invitation to give Vista, now with SP1, another try.

Source: news.softpedia.com

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Even though SP1 for Windows Vista was released to manufacturing in February 2008, and the gold bits of the service pack began being available to the general public in March, Microsoft is still issuing updates for the RTM version of its latest Windows client. It is the case of a compatibility and reliability update for Vista RTM, re-released on May 21, 2008, well after Microsoft wrapped up with Service Pack 1.

"This update resolves some compatibility issues and reliability issues in Windows Vista. By applying this update, you can achieve better reliability and hardware compatibility in various scenarios," reads Microsoft's description of KB938194 which is offered in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions for the respective editions of Windows Vista Service Pack 1.

In the fall of 2007, the Redmond company issued two Vista compatibility, performance and reliability update packs that were essentially bits of the first service pack, but offered to Vista RTM users almost half a year ahead of SP1 via Windows Update. Following the availability of SP1, Microsoft informed that there are users who cannot implement the service pack due to a variety of issues, but mainly incompatibility problems. For them, the KB938979 and KB938194 update packages were reissued. Users of Windows Vista SP1 need neither of the packs.

According to Microsoft, KB938194 will resolve the following problems:
"The screen may go blank when you try to upgrade the video driver.
• The computer stops responding, and you receive a "Display driver stopped responding and has recovered" error message.
• The computer stops responding or restarts unexpectedly when you play video games or perform desktop operations.
• The Diagnostic Policy Service (DPS) stops responding when the computer is under heavy load or when very little memory is available. This problem prevents diagnostics from working.
• The screen goes blank after an external display device that is connected to the computer is turned off.
• There are stability issues with some graphics processing units (GPUs). These issues could cause GPUs to stop responding (hang).
• Visual appearance issues occur when you play graphics-intensive games.
• You experience poor playback quality when you play HD DVD disks or Blu-ray disks on a large monitor.
• Applications that load the Netcfgx.dll component exit unexpectedly.
• Windows Calendar exits unexpectedly after you create a new appointment, create a new task, and then restart the computer.
• Internet Connection Sharing stops responding after you upgrade a computer that is running Microsoft Windows XP to Windows Vista and then restart the computer.
• The Printer Spooler service stops unexpectedly.
• You receive a "Stop 0x0000009F" error when you put the computer to sleep while a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) connection is active."


Source: news.softpedia.com

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Feature Comparison: XP SP3 Professional vs. Vista SP1 - Courtesy of Microsoft. Call it a sign of desperation, a new attempt to blow some wind in the sails of its latest platform, or a reaction to the proverbial last drop, but Microsoft is delivering its own perspective in terms of the comparison between its two Windows clients sharing the vast majority of the operating system market. Just ahead of the availability cut-off date for Windows XP through the OEM and retail channels, the Redmond company has "come out gunning" in a move designed to settle once and for good the XP vs. Vista face-off. And what better way for Microsoft to do this but with a Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 vs. Windows Vista Service Pack 1 comparison? Microsoft's point of view of Vista SP1 vs. XP SP3 is focused on Vista's advances in areas such as security, management, deployment, mobility, and productivity. And believe or not, but Microsoft is doing it all for its customers, in order to help them adjust their expectations.

"During the past year, Microsoft and its ecosystem have made great progress in improving the overall quality and performance of Windows Vista, making the Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) release a key milestone for broad enterprise deployments of Windows Vista. Microsoft recommends that all business customers who have not started to evaluate Windows Vista should start deployment planning and piloting Windows Vista with SP1. Windows Vista offers customers unique value from increased security and data protection to improved mobility and productivity to capabilities that customers can use to optimize desktop infrastructures and reduce management costs," reads a fragment of the Redmond company's Vista SP1 vs. XP SP3 feature comparison whitepaper available for download here.

In the same month that Microsoft released Service Pack 1 for Vista to the general public, March 2008, the company touted in passing the 140 million sold licenses milestone. At the same time, internal Microsoft concerns surfaced of how customers, especially in the corporate environments, were failing to embrace Vista. The vast majority of new Vista users acquired the operating system preloaded on new machines instead of dropping XP for the "newer model."

What Microsoft is seeing is that customers who are not upgrading their hardware infrastructure are also sticking with Windows XP instead of making the jump to Vista. Unless users buy new computers, they are not upgrading to Windows Vista at all. For the Redmond company, this means that customers will most likely update Windows XP to Service Pack 3, available as of May 6, and ride the operating system for all it’s got until the next version of Windows, labeled Windows 7, drops, sometime in the 2009 - 2010 timeframe. Even though XP Sp3 is still very much Windows, and Microsoft will be able to at least conserve its share of the operating system market, inexistent Vista upgrades translate to lost business for the Client division. Not a dramatic loss, as over 80% of the Client revenue comes from sales of OEM machines with Windows pre-loaded, but sufficient so that Microsoft would perform its very own XP SP3 vs. Vista SP1 comparison. At the same time, customers that are sticking with Windows XP on older hardware instead of upgrading their IT infrastructure and migrating to Vista are the ones really hurting Microsoft.

"Microsoft knows that many customers will adopt Windows Vista gradually, through hardware refreshes (i.e., attrition). During hardware refresh, customers will co-manage Windows Vista and Windows XP. Enhancements to Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3), such as Network Access Protection (NAP), make it easier for customers to more securely integrate both operating systems into their environments. During the transition, using Windows XP with SP3 will help ensure that client computers still running the Windows XP operating system have the most recent security and software updates," Microsoft added.

The Windows XP SP3 vs. Vista SP1 feature comparison covers a few areas of the operating systems from security to management, deployment, mobility, productivity and focuses on items such as: Security Development Lifecycle (SDL); Defense in depth; Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption; Windows Firewall; Internet Explorer 7 Protected Mode; ActiveX Installer Service; Group Policy; Standard user accounts; Reliability and diagnostics; Event management; Task scheduling; Image-based setup (IBS); Deployment, compatibility, and asset-inventory tools; Windows Setup; Worldwide single-image deployment; Windows Mobility Center; Sync Center; Offline files; Network Projection; Secure Sockets Tunnel Protocol (SSTP); Power management; Wireless networking; Search and User interface and navigation.


Source: news.softpedia.com

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Long have I complained about the fact that the Yahoo! Messenger team did nothing whatsoever to improve their products and instead preferred to bring up front the older features that they thought people weren’t using. And up until today they've never failed with the disappointment, they were like clockwork.

The refresh that the Instant Messenger service got for its Vista version came as a gentle breeze to remind us that once in a blue moon things can be done. It’s been attended carefully and several things have been added or fixed, as follows.

Visually, they’ve cleaned up and enhanced some menus (image picker included), offline messages are shown in a
conversation window and have been added a timestamp and a new "While you were out" tag. Performance and stability have also been dealt with, the new version of the client (2008.01.11.428) is sensibly more stable and it responds a lot faster to typing or switching between tabs and windows, as the Yahoo! Messenger blog reads. Some work has been put into the sidebar that the IM came with, so those who wanted to use it, but were annoyed by the bugs, can now rest assured and start it up with confidence.

And talking about bugs, many of them have been squashed with the refresh: the sign in problems that some encountered were fixed and what managed to piss off everybody I know who uses it, the scrolling of the window has been reconsidered. It was fairly annoying to have to manually scroll down in order to see every single message received.

Hopefully, they’ll keep up the good work and not stop at this, there’s still room for more improvement both for the Vista version and the XP one. Off the top of my head, I could think of the sounds that have been changed with the latest versions, so now a BUZZ!! is more like a distorted excuse for a doorbell and receiving messages isn’t so prominent any more. Of course, you can manually change those, but it would have been nicer to have the option to switch to and from them at your free will.

Source: news.softpedia.com

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Although it is on the verge of releasing the first service pack for Windows Vista, Microsoft has not stopped hammering away at the operating system via Windows Update. The Redmond company is currently in a transition process, subtle as it might be. A migration from a strategy focused on delivering major updates for its software products to one centered on an incremental evolution. Although the service pack strategy has become a tradition for Microsoft, the future points to a shift toward Windows Update.

Concomitantly with the advent of Windows Vista, the Redmond company started
downplaying the relevance of service pack releases and pointing to Windows Update. Of course that the main reason for trying to shift consumer attention away from Vista SP1 was the need to ship its latest Windows operating system, ahead of its first major refresh. This is why increased emphasis was placed on the continuous evolution of the service pack ahead of Vista SP1.

Throughout 2007, Microsoft has served bits and pieces of Service Pack 1 to Windows Vista users via Windows Update. This move was made as an illustrative example that the inherent benefits associated with Vista SP1 could be enjoyed in advance of the service pack. Updates boosting functionality, performance, reliability, compatibility and stability dropped via WU long before Vista SP1. In fact, the service pack will be merely a repetition of the updates already shipped. This is of course valid only for a portion of all the contents that Vista SP1 will bring to the table.

Additionally, Microsoft is already in the final stages of development with the service pack for Vista and, at a certain point, the company will stop integrating updates released via WU into SP1. Indications are that, at this point in time, the Redmond company has already stopped including updates into Vista SP1, as the service pack approaches RTM.

On January 21st, Microsoft made available a range of Vista updates designed to "improve the graphics performance for multiple Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) scenarios on a system running Windows Vista - KB945149; resolve an issue where delays are experienced while accessing a WebDAV share for the first time on a system running Windows Vista – KB945435; resolve an issue where a user is prompted for Windows Live Passport credentials every time a document is accessed on a WebDAV site from a new workspace – KB945145; resolve a performance issue on Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)-based programs on a system running Windows Vista – KB938660; and to resolve an issue in administrative MMC snap-ins where icons display incorrectly on a Windows Vista-based computer with Windows Server 2003 Administration Tools Pack installed – KB944652."

- Update for Windows Vista (KB945149)
- Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB945149)

- Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB945435)
- Update for Windows Vista (KB945435)

- Update for Windows Vista (KB945145)
- Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB945145)

- Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB938660)
- Update for Windows Vista (KB938660)

- Update for Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition (KB932762)
- Update for Windows XP x64 Edition (KB932762)
- Update for Windows Server 2003 for Itanium-based Systems (KB932762)
- Update for Windows Server 2003 (KB932762)

- Update for Windows Vista for x64-based Systems (KB944652)
- Update for Windows Vista (KB944652)

- Update for Windows XP (KB934428)

Source: news.softpedia.com

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