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TAG: Windows Vista

April 30, 2008 | Comments: (0)

Most analyst firms were excited about Windows Vista in 2006, when it was on the verge of being released. But for several firms, that enthusiasm withered as it became clear that Vista is a flawed OS that few users actually want.

Gartner has been among the most consistent doubters of Vista, warning businesses in November 2005 that the Vista migration would be long and slow, with most IT shops not able to fully deploy it until 2009 -- advice it still holds to. And today its view on Vista has soured considerably.

[ Tell Microsoft to keep XP indefinitely: Sign our petition, and add your voice to our video pleas. ]

On the other side, Forrester Research started out cautious, estimating in 2006 that Vista upgrade momentum would be small compared to that for XP -- a view it reiterated in 2007. But more recently, Forrester's analysis has taken a "glass half full" tack, one that acknowledges the lack of enthusiasm for Vista while arguing that IT has no choice but to adopt Vista, so it might as well start.

Doing nothing is the safest, least risky course

Actually, IT does have a choice. Fittingly, it's the easiest -- and cheapest -- one to make: Stick with XP.

Think about it: Vista requires a significant hardware upgrade. Throw in software updates, testing, and training for both IT and end-users, and you are looking at several thousand dollars per employee. And for what?

Doing nothing avoids hard-dollar expenses, as well as the hidden costs of business interruption. And XP works. About three-quarters of businesses run XP today, and they can simply keep doing so. They can use the same software they have now, and the same hardware as well. And if it is time to refresh their hardware, they can do so, gaining much better performance by keeping XP on it.

An uncertain future shouldn't justify an unwanted investment

Forrester argues that because Vista's successor, Windows 7, is a complete mystery in terms of schedule and functionality, businesses can't afford to wait before making a decision on Vista. That's one way to look at the glass. Another way would be to view the fog around Windows 7 as an invitation to do nothing on Vista.

Why should you believe the transition from Vista to Windows 7 will be any more, or less, painful than the transition from XP to Vista, or from XP to Windows 7? Unless you specifically want Vista, why would you pay thousands of dollars per user to get it as a holding action until Windows 7 is clear?

Forrester's other main point for its Vista-as-holdover analysis is that Microsoft will end XP support in spring 2009. So what? How much support do you actually need for XP at its current level of maturity? Very little, if any. The minor tweaks in XP SP3 attest to that.

Moreover, Microsoft will continue offering security upgrades through spring 2014 -- plenty of time for the fog to clear around Windows 7, assuming it is even relevant six years down the road. After all, it's likely you'll rely much more on cloud computing and desktop virtualization in that time frame, calling into question whether the new Windows will even matter that much.

Defeatism is not the right strategy

Forrester's approach is defeatist. And following its analysis means ceding control of IT to Microsoft's desire to sell you something new, rather than make it earn those dollars by giving you something you actually want.

Instead, IT can use the savings from sticking with XP to invest in technologies that will have a lasting, positive impact on your organization: Take advantage of Windows Server 2008, experiment with cloud computing and desktop virtualization, enhance your data protection strategy, or pump money into customer-facing apps that increase your earnings.

XP is fine. It's reliable. It's a good performer. It's familiar. It's trustworthy. Why trade it in for an Edsel or a murky promise?

Posted by Galen Gruman on April 30, 2008 03:00 AM

April 08, 2008 | Comments: (0)

Struggling to find an XP PC? Consider these options

Here's a frustration we can all expect to see increase in the next three months: A reader, Brent Smithline, was trying to get a Windows XP-based PC before the June 30 date after which Microsoft will no longer provide new licenses to retailers and PC makers (white-box system builders have till Jan. 31, 2009 to offer XP). Let him tell the story:

"Well we were informed by HP that we can no longer purchase systems with Windows XP Professional preinstalled. We must use the 'downgrade' process from Windows Vista Business. Once again Microsoft is using its monopoly power to make people move to Vista.

"It was stated that 'Microsoft is extending availability of Windows XP editions among original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and retail channels for an additional five months to June 30, 2008.' Well it is not July 1, 2008 and HP an (OEM) has stopped offering Windows XP preinstalled. Why do you think they did this? More than likely the strong arm monopoly power of Microsoft again.

"It is bad enough the amount of time it takes to set up a new system. Setup via the downgrade process is going to be a royal pain.

"Thank you sir, may I have another....."

Like most OEMs, HP took XP off its consumer products a year ago, and kept it available for a select number of business PCs. After June 30, your options for getting XP are limited, with the downgrade option the only practicable one -- assuming your new PC doesn't come with XP-incompatible hardware, as some already are.

Dell began advertising XP as a choice earlier this year, though those choices remain limited.

So what do you do?

I had a similar dilemma in getting a new PC for my home office. I didn't want Vista -- I see no need to learn the new interface or have any of my apps stop working -- so my choices were limited. And I didn't want to play the downgrade game. To make it that much harder, I wanted a small-size PC, since my home-office workspace is cramped. But my needs are your garden-variety business uses -- e-mail, Office, the Web, and some limited Acrobat, Dreamweaver, Photoshop and InDesign work -- so I didn't need a fancy system that couldn't realistically be delivered in a small box.

My specs: moderate-speed Intel Core Duo (E4500 to E5300 series) or equivalent AMD chip, 2GB RAM, 160GB hard drive, DVD burner, four USB ports, the usual audio jacks, wired Ethernet and 802.11g wireless, with preference for DVI video. I'll supply the 19-inch LCD monitor. Nothing crazy.

I found four "slimline" PCs that met my need. Here's the story for each:

Apple Mac Mini: It's small, perfectly capable, runs Windows -- and costs too much. The price tag: $1,317 -- $1,047 before the price of an XP Pro license. I like Macs -- my MacBook Pro is a gem -- but as just a PC, they're too costly.

Hewlett-Packard Compaq dc7800: A slim tower, this unit had what I needed, with a choice of Vista or XP Pro, as long as I bought it from the small-business part of the HP Web site. The price: $1,115. Yikes -- almost as much as a Mac, but without Mac OS X. Next!

Dell Vostro 200: Nice-looking case and a good price: $768. But, hey! What do you mean the 802.11b/g wireless card requires Windows Vista? That's dumb. After all, this is old-school wireless technology, nothing that requires Vista. Sure, I could have added my own, but at this point I was offended by Dell's pretend support for XP.

Acer Veriton VL460-UD6421P: Ugly name, beautiful computer. Nicely designed, with everything I wanted. The price: $659 to $699 depending on where I chose to buy it. It's not customizable as the Apple, HP, and Dell systems were, so I was fortunate the out-of-the-box model fit my needs to a T. The only thing that was annoying was that I had to create my own system recovery DVD, though the utility to do so is simple and lets you create a recovery CD that includes all your apps, not just the original OEM setup.

I went with the Veriton. Happy me.

But as with Smithline's experience, I felt my options were limited due to the steady erosion of XP options.

Posted by Galen Gruman on April 8, 2008 08:00 AM

April 07, 2008 | Comments: (0)

Is Microsoft preparing us to move beyond Vista?

News reports suggest that Microsoft will ship its successor to the unloved Windows Vista "sometime" in 2009. Microsoft has been mum on Windows 7's plans, though late 2009 to late 2010 has been the release date the company has consistently hinted at. So those "Windows 7 in 2009" news reports may mean nothing.

Or they may mean that Microsoft is quietly preparing people to move past Vista, an OS that certainly has its fans but that has an unprecedented number of people and IT organizations who simply would rather not go there, as InfoWorld's Save XP petition's 106,000 signatures amply demonstrate.

Microsoft certainly won't say -- and for good reason, notes Gartner analyst Neil MacDonald. If Microsoft were to say anything about the next version of Windows, that would create uncertainty about Vista that would derail IT's need for an assured direction, even if IT doesn't like that direction.

Whatever Microsoft's actual goals for Vista and Windows 7 are, the company can't afford to telegraph them until it can provide certainty to its customers. That time will be a lot closer to Windows 7's actual implementation date.

Microsoft has had many bitter Vista experiences, but perhaps none s bitter as promising seven years ago all these wonderful features in and visions for Vista. Microsoft couldn't pull off that vision, so it delivered an abbreviated version two years after its intended three-year schedule.

The delay and the underwhelming new functionality hurt the company's reputation, so it would be a fool to make big promises on Windows 7 today. Microsoft may be stubborn, and it sometimes loses touch with the outside world, but it is not a foolish company.

Expect Windows 7 plans to be kept quiet and vague until Microsoft is ready with the goods. Then we'll hear loud and clear what Microsoft's vision and plans actually are.

In the meantime, all Microsoft can do is put a brave face on Vista and quietly prepare everyone for Windows 7. And, I'd add, it should keep XP available as a face-saving compromise for unimpressed customers, as it has already done for low-capability PCs.

Posted by Galen Gruman on April 7, 2008 12:42 PM

April 03, 2008 | Comments: (0)

XP for cheap PCs: a second crack in the wall

Microsoft's announcement today that it would keep Windows XP (Home edition only) available until June 30, 2010 -- not June 30, 2008, as originally planned -- for the emerging class of ultra-low-cost PCs (ULCPCs) is the second crack in the wall in Microsoft's pig-headed insistence that it will stop selling Windows XP on June 30, 2008.

The first crack was when Microsoft committed last year to keeping a "lite" version of XP, the Windows XP Starter Edition, available for PCs in Third World countries for the forseeable future.

The ULCPC and Third World decisions have the same rationale: Those computers simply cannot run Windows Vista, not even the not-really-Vista Home Basic version.

This puts developers in an awkward position: To support these markets, they now must continue to invest in XP-capable software, yet the markets where they'll make real money won't have new XP computers to sell their wares into.

So what's the incentive to develop for the ULCPCs and the Third World? None, really. So what will these computers run? I expect to see a big market in recycled software.

The glass-half-full theory, bolstered by lots of rumors among journalists, is that Microsoft will at the last minute extend XP's life another six months or so. But that won't really address the market issue Microsoft has created by keeping the new-XP-user market unlucrative.

The glass-half-empty theory is that both the ULCPC and Third World PC markets are unimportant, serving just poor people, so Microsoft can make the XP concession to them without getting in the way of forcing Vista on people who have more money to buy the requisite new hardware and app upgrades.

Either way, the glass is half full. Microsoft can fill it by keeping XP available, and thus keeping the XP app market chugging away even as it continues to promote the Vista market. That's not ideal for Microsoft, but it is for everyone else.

Posted by Galen Gruman on April 3, 2008 04:39 PM

November 14, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Vista, Linux to be on more desktops

At least one-third of enterprises are expected to begin deploying Windows Vista enterprise-wide by mid-2008, according to a Forrester Research report released this week that gauged the plans of PC decision makers in North America and Europe.

These deployments will occur as more applications are certified and hardware refreshed to run Vista, Forrester said in a report entitled, "How Windows Vista will Shake Up the State of the Enterprise Operating System." The report was authored primarily by Forrester analyst Benjamin Gray.

According to the report, an additional 17 percent of enterprises surveyed plan to go to Vista in 2009 or beyond. But a larger percentage of European enterprises have no plans at any stage for Windows Vista deployments, when compared to North American enterprises.

By the middle of next year, Forrester predicts Vista will be deployed on at least a quarter of PCs in North America and Europe. But Linux is expected to experience a growth on the desktop as well. Forrester receives a high volume of inquiries about Linux, indicating it is not going away anytime soon, the report said.

"Expect Linux to experience growth over the next year as the distributors work hard to make it an enterprise-class offering," the report said. But the percentage of enterprise PCs running either Mac OS or Linux now stands at just 1 percent each in North America.

Thus far, Vista deployments have been limited to early adopters and testing environments but more aggressive rollouts are "inevitable," Forrester said. Enterprises have continued standardizing on Windows XP but are cautious about rolling out a new OS; Vista does not break this pattern.

Vista adoption was at just 2 percent in the first six to eight months of 2007. Meanwhile, Windows 2000 deployments dropped from 24 percent last year to 11 percent this year.

Posted by Paul Krill on November 14, 2007 03:35 PM

November 12, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Microsoft to offer Vista updates

Microsoft this week plans to release three service updates for Windows Vista designed to fix top issues impacting the platform, according to a company representative.

To be released over the Windows Update service, the updates impact compatibility, performance, USB core components and other issues.

Specifically, the system compatibility, reliability and stability update extends the battery life for mobile devices and improves stability of network services, among other things.

The USB update primarily affects systems returning from sleep or hibernation while an update for Windows Media Center affects interaction between Windows Media Center PC and Xbox 360.

Nick White a Windows Vista product manager, has released a blog about the updates.

"With Windows Update, we can regularly service Windows as quickly, effectively and unobtrusively as possible, so that keeping your Windows OS up-to-date is easier and more convenient for you," White said in the blog. "All you have to do is make sure you are signed up to have updates installed automatically, and you’re good to go."

Posted by Paul Krill on November 12, 2007 12:57 PM

November 14, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Vista, Office 2007 already cracked

Final versions of Microsoft's Windows Vista and Office 2007 have just left Redmond, but already pirate sites have cracked the software and are offering it to willing downloaders, SMH.com.au's Asher Moses reports.

The download, called "Vista BillGates", comes supplied with a product key. A separate download called an "activation crack", bypasses the activation process, the report says.

The sites also have Office 2007 Enterprise available for download. A supplied product key is all one needs to install it, because the new Office does not require product activation.

This time around, Microsoft is capable of deactivating pirated copies by sending a patch through Windows Update, and it can also invalidate certain product keys, the report says.

Full news report to come.

Posted by Mike Barton on November 14, 2006 03:08 PM

November 03, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Vista, Office Enterprise RTM'ed?

With Microsoft ramping up to release Windows Vista and Office 2007, the countdown is on to the products' November 30th launch event in New York City.

Now the folks over at Neowin.com have noticed that Microsoft appears to have released license keys and ISOs for Vista Enterprise as well as Office 2007 to volume licensing customers.

The site has a screenshot of a Microsoft Volume Licensing Web page, offering Vista Enterprise English ISO, size 2641MB, SKU: E85-02345 available for download.

After NeoWin brought the sudden appearance of Vista and Office ISOs on the site, Microsoft disabled download of them but, as NeoWin noted, the license keys are still available. Does this mean Vista and Office have been RTM'd?

No comment yet from Microsoft. A spokeswoman told TechWatch she hadn't heard anything about it.

Posted by Paul Roberts on November 3, 2006 11:45 AM

October 20, 2006 | Comments: (0)

A turkey: Canada gets Vista 1st, eh?

It's official: Microsoft is going with the Canada-first strategy. Eagle-eyed Microsoft observers cruising the Canadian Microsoft Developer Network site on Friday spotted the announcement that Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange Server 2007 will be introduced at an Edmonton launch event on Nov. 23.

That's Thanksgiving in the US, but not in the Great White North, which gives thanks the second Monday in October. So assuming the site has it right, Microsoft is slipping into the continent from the north, giving Canada a first official look, even as most Americans are nursing themselves out of a Tryptophan coma. Smart money, then, is that the US launch will follow hot on the heels of Canada, probably the next Monday, Nov. 27.

This is all speculation, since MS has been coy about coughing up a US launch date. Still Redmond has been touting a November introduction Stateside, and the Canada launch indicates the pieces are indeed ready. Of course, you won't be able to actually get the disks until January or so, as MS stuffs the channel with product.

But a launch is a launch. Even if it is on Turkey Day.

Posted by Steve Fox on October 20, 2006 05:20 PM

October 19, 2006 | Comments: (0)

MS's 'hollow assurances' rile McAfee

updated | Intentionally or not, Microsoft's making life a bit difficult, and stressful, for third-party security software vendors.

Addressing concerns from companies such as McAfee and Symantec who assert that 64-bit Vista won't support their security wares, the Big Redmondian Machine today said that it would make necessary changes to the OS -- eventually, according to reports.

The non-committal timetable can't be too heartening to the desktop-security industry as Vista's release date draws ever closer.

In fact, McAfee today released the following statement: "Despite pledges, press conference and speeches by Microsoft, the community of independent security companies that consumers rely on for computer protection has seen little indication that Microsoft intends to live up to the promises it made last week," said Christopher Thomas, a partner at Lovells which is presently serving as McAfee's outside litigation counsel in Brussels.

"We have been greatly disappointed by the lack of action by the company so far and Microsoft has not lived up, either in detail or in spirit, to the hollow assurances offered by their top management last week," Thomas said.

The statement came out the same day Microsoft attempted to host an online briefing for security ISVs, the purpose of which was to respond to complaints from Symantec and McAfee about 64-bit Vista's protective PatchGuard kernel that keeps the OS from playing nicely with third-party malware-fighting arsenals. But some vendors who attempted to participate were inadvertently locked out, according to BetaNews -- including the aforementioned Symantec and McAfee. Microsoft took responsibility for the glitch, though, and the meeting was rescheduled.

Notably, Microsoft has handed over API code to security vendors, which would allow them to disable the Security Center management console that will ship with Vista. But that doesn't address the problems with PatchGuard.

"Although PatchGuard is not used by Vista when it is running in 32-bit mode, it will lock many types of software, including Symantec's, out of the kernel on 64-bit versions of the operating system. The security vendors wanted Microsoft to give them some way to access the 64-bit kernel, saying that this high-level access was required in order to activate critical security features," IDG News Service writes.

This turn of events is at least scoff-worthy to the average tech cynic and great fodder for a conspiracy theorist. What if Microsoft was intentionally dragging its feet here so as to give itself an advantage by forcing its suite to be the desktop security tool of "choice" for its own operating system? That would certainly negatively impact the bottom lines of third-party vendors. Not that Microsoft would engage in arguably monopolistic behavior, of course. What's with these conspiracy theorists? Still, Microsoft could see an advantage in all this.

Then again, these events may very well give organizations further reason to delay Vista deployment. Yes, Microsoft has made a number of grandiose promises about Vista's enhanced security, but given the company's shoddy security track record, some shops may want to put Vista on hold until they can install anti-malware offerings from a more trusted vendor.

And speaking of Microsoft security, a vulnerability has already been found in Internet Explorer 7, which was released yesterday.

I'm just sayin'.

What do you think? Is Microsoft playing fairly? Will you deploy Vista before the company fixes PatchGuard to work well with third-party security tools?

Posted by Ted Samson on October 19, 2006 03:41 PM

September 01, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Microsoft releases RC1 of Vista

It's official: Microsoft has made Release Candidate 1 of Windows Vista available to its beta testers. According to an entry in the Windows Vista Team Blog, Microsoft Platforms and Services Co-President Jim Allchin marked the occasion with an e-mail message to the TechBeta and TAP Test community saying "We could not have achieved this milestone without your support. The quantity and quality of feedback and data we received from you has been essential to helping us progress." RC1 will be released to a broader audience next week via MSDN and TechNet, and ISVs will be able to use this build of Vista to certify their applications, Allchin said in the message.

Posted by Paul Roberts on September 1, 2006 12:22 PM

August 31, 2006 | Comments: (0)

That slippery ship date

Vista ships on January 30 you say? Well...maybe. How about "Early 2007?"

That's the message today, after reports by InfoWorld, and on CNET and elsewhere yesterday that major e-tailer Amazon.com was informing customers that Vista would ship on January 30. (That's a Tuesday, btw.) Ever the reluctant groom when it comes to taking Vista to the altar, it looks like Microsoft wasn't comfortable being pinned down to a specific date, so now Amazon has changed the Vista order pages to say that Vista is "Estimated to be available in early 2007" which, depending on your definition of "early" could be anytime from January 1 to, say, May 31.

Posted by Paul Roberts on August 31, 2006 08:55 AM

August 28, 2006 | Comments: (0)

MS leaks Vista pricing

Microsoft Vista isn't out yet, but there's already been a slip in prices -- so to speak.

A Web page listing the prices of Vista went live today on Microsoft's Canadian Web site, according to an IDGNS reports.

It wasn't up for long, but Ed Bott, a blogger at ZDNet, had enough time to record all the prices, listed in Canadian loonies. (That's dollars for those who don't speak Canadian, eh?)

Here's the price list of the six versions of the forthcoming operating system:

Full versions (all prices Canadian)
Windows Vista Ultimate $499
Windows XP Professional w/SP2 $429
Windows Vista Business $379
Windows Vista Home Premium $299
Windows Vista Home Basic $259
Windows XP Home w/SP2 $259

Upgrade versions (all prices Canadian)
Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade $299
Windows XP Professional w/SP2 Upgrade $259
Windows Vista Business Upgrade $249
Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade $199
Windows Vista Home Basic Upgrade $129
Windows XP Home w/SP2 Upgrade $129

Bott stresses that converting those figures to American dollars wouldn't provide an accurate estimate of what Vista will cost in the States. "You'll get a much more accurate picture by doing what I've done, which is to compare the relative prices of the new Vista versions to current XP versions and then make similar adjustments to the U.S. price list."

He took a shot at estimating using the aforementioned approach, and came up with the following. (The first figure is the flat cost; the second is the upgrade fee):

Windows Vista Ultimate $349/$199
Windows Vista Business $269/179
Windows Vista Home Premium $239/$139
Windows Vista Home Basic $199/$99

Microsoft isn't the first well-known company to recently and unintentionally make public information on its Web site. Amazon.com did it last week, exposing screens of what could be a forthcoming video-download service.

Posted by Ted Samson on August 28, 2006 03:03 PM

August 25, 2006 | Comments: (0)

"Pre-RC1" Vista build unveiled

According to various sources, Microsoft last night pushed out another build of its forthcoming operating system, "Vista," build 5536, which the company is labelling "Pre-RC1" (Release Candidate 1).

Reviews, at this early stage, have been positive, with improvements to the installation routine and a performance testing program that rates your system for use with Vista. MS has also apparently added some new gadgets, including an RSS aggregator and "Weather Gadget" that lets you view weather conditions in various cities simultaneously. (All this thanks to Brandon LeBlanc's blog, where pix of the new build are available.)

Most recently, Microsoft released a build in early August at the Black Hat Briefings security conference in Las Vegas, where the company invited attendees to scour the new release for security holes.

The new build, which became available last night, shows Microsoft creeping towards RC1, a stable and largely complete beta release that (in theory) is close to the final version of Vista that will be made commercially available to consumers.

Posted by Paul Roberts on August 25, 2006 07:58 AM

August 03, 2006 | Comments: (0)

MS to Black Hat crackers: Bring it on!

If you still need convincing that Microsoft has gotten around to putting security muscle ahead of -- or at least on par with -- wiz-bang and aesthetics, consider its latest stunt.

The AP reports that Microsoft has thrown down the gauntlet to around 3,000 security experts at Black Hat, challenging them to uncover holes in the latest version of Vista.

Microsoft has told the tech community time and again that it's taking security very, very seriously in its forthcoming OS. Skepticism remains, which certainly wasn't alleviated by Symantec's report last month that the new Windows code will unleash new security problems.

Will Redmond's Black Hat display of faith in Vista's security help ease concerns? After all, Microsoft is essentially coating itself with fish guts and diving into the shark tank here, and it's a safe bet that more than a few of those 3,000 security experts at Black Hat are hankering for a taste of Redmond's blood. There's going to be a lot more then gentle nibbling of Vista code happening.

How do you feel about Microsoft's move? Does it make you feel any better about deploying Vista when it (eventually) ships?

Posted by Ted Samson on August 3, 2006 03:46 PM

July 28, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Vista's security now: Here's how

With Microsoft making more wiggle room for further delays for Vista yesterday it seems entirely appropriate to undermine it altogether by pointing out a guide on how to tune XP to have the same security as Vista, since security is its main selling point.

If the first four options don't quite cut if for you, you could take the final tip from TechWeb's guide: Get a Mac.

From TechWeb:

More than a few analyst have made the connection between Vista's UAC and the long-available security and rights model used by the Mac OS X (and Unix and Linux). On the Mac, for example, you're always running as a limited user, but at times -- like when you're installing software -- you have to provide an administrator username and password.

If Vista's UAC is a copy of Mac OS X's approach, why not stare in the horse's mouth.

It means a new computer -- and Apple's Intel-based Mac minis, iMacs, MacBooks, and MacBook Pros are not cheap, no matter what Apple's fans say -- as well as another licensed copy of Windows XP and some virtualization software, but it could be the best of both worlds.

Here's how it might work.

On an Intel-based Mac, install Parallels Desktop for Mac, the $80 virtualization program that lets you run Windows XP and its applications alongside Mac OS X.

Run the most vulnerable software -- browser and e-mail client, perhaps instant messenger client as well -- on the Mac, where they're not only safer because of the system's security strategy, but also safer because threats and exploits against OS X are rare compared to the number that Windows faces.

Work with everything else in the Windows virtual machine (VM).

Copy and paste information, and share files between Mac OS X and the Windows VM using Parallels.

Note: This won't work with Apple's own dual-boot creation too, Boot Camp, because it requires that you shut down one operating system before using the other, and doesn't allow for any file or data sharing between the two.

Need it be that drastic? Talk back to us.

Posted by Mike Barton on July 28, 2006 02:44 PM

June 12, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Vista beta 2 cripples servers

Microsoft is warning users to order a DVD of the Windows Vista beta 2 rather than downloading it because it says it can't deliver more bandwidth without impacting the Internet, reports say.

"We are experiencing extremely high download demand at this time. The wait time to start the download is very long and many customers may be unable to access the download site. To guarantee participation in the Customer Preview Program (to receive both Beta 2 and RC1) we recommend you use the DVD kit order option above," Microsoft notes on the Vista download and order page.

Perhaps most worrying is the inherent problem of Microsoft moving from a CD ISO to that of a DVD for Vista, which indicates it is the most bloated product the software giant has ever shipped.

Check out these download times for a glimpse:

Connection speed: Connection type: Approximate download time: 32-bit edition (3.5 GB) 3.0 mbps Fast Cable/DSL 4.5 hours 1.5 mbps T1 9 hours 768 kbps Cable/DSL 18 hours 256 kbps Cable/DSL 54 hours 64-bit edition (4.4 GB) 3.0 mbps Fast Cable/DSL 5.5 hours 1.5 mbps T1 10.5 hours 768 kbps Cable/DSL 21 hours 256 kbps Cable/DSL 64 hours

I am running Vista beta 2 (build 5384) after letting the download from MSDN run overnight. Yes, the interface is improved (kind of like Mac OS meets Windows), and you've got to love search at the OS level, but what is with this product's bloat?

Here we go again, too, opening the door for conspiracy theory that Microsoft is creating software that requires the latest hardware, boosting Intel sales.

Yes, the feature set may be great, but for Joe or Jane consumer, this is overkill. (I admit: I downloaded Ultimate).

I suggest Microsoft needs to put in some time on a true Windows Light version that will compete with Novell's SUSE desktop Linux, which some people in the office here think could be the one to take a bite out of the desktop market.

Certainly managers looking to stick with their hardware are going to think the time is right to start considering a more basic OS. I'm going to give the Novell desktop a run soon so will post my thoughts on it soon.

Is Microsoft just out of control with an OS this big? Is this Linux's big chance? Talk back to us below.

Posted by Mike Barton on June 12, 2006 03:12 PM

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