Windows Mobile 7 delayed till 2011? Umm NO
On Sunday a seemingly unknown site, named Bright Side Of News, came out stating that Windows Mobile 7 was "definitely delayed to 2011".
If the original headline made you jump then join the club. It's sad that we're even covering this but when big named sites like PC World begin reporting this belief as "news" and Twitter spreads it as news then it's time to put some facts straight. BSN doesn't name any sources or why it believes Windows Mobile 7 is "definitely delayed to 2011". Instead it claims "We spoke with representatives from Microsoft, Lenovo, Qualcomm, TI, Nokia, nVidia, HTC and many more". The main two out of that bunch that would know if Windows Mobile 7 was delayed would be Microsoft and HTC and both aren't speaking about Windows Mobile 7.
At the consumer electronics show last week Neowin spoke to representatives from LG who confirmed they would be shipping devices with Windows Mobile 7 "this year". Does that sound like 2011 to you? In December 2009 Microsoft UK head of mobility Phil Moore confirmed that we won't be seeing Windows Mobile 7 phones on the market until late 2010.
Microsoft officials refuse to comment on Windows Mobile 7 in most cases but Robbie Bach, Entertainment and Devices Division, held an analysts call at CES last week and confirmed that the company will share details of Windows Mobile 7 next month at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. "I've seen it and played with it," Bach said. He also believes that Windows Mobile 7 will "set the bar forward not in (just) an evolutionary way." From what we are hearing from insiders the company is ready to show off Windows Mobile 7 and will do so at Mobile World Congress. Microsoft's annual conference, Mix 2010 in March, will be the time for company officials to unveil developer features. We questioned Toshiba, Samsung and LG about their Windows Mobile 6.5.3 and 7 plans but all refused to answer the future of Windows Mobile in depth, presumably due to non-disclosure agreements with Microsoft. All of this evidence does not point to devices showing up until after February 2011.
Review: Windows Embedded Compact
Microsoft announced Windows codename Chelan at TechEd North America 2009. Windows Chelan is the codename of the upcoming Windows Embedded Compact, 
the successor of Windows Embedded CE 6.0.
Window Embedded Compact is expected to include new key features including:
- Dual Core Support (SMP, ARMv6)
- WIFI Positioning System
- Bluetooth 2.1 stack
- Cellcore
- DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance)
- DRM
- Media Transfer Protocol
- IE7 Rendering Rich Media Plug-Ins
- NDIS 6.1 support
- Multi Touch Input
- Rich UX* based on .NET 3.0/3.5
(*)UX include C++ XAML API using technologies like WPF and Silverlight for attractive and functional user interfaces.
Windows Embedded Compact OS has the same architecture and core of Windows Embedded CE 6.0, so the porting of WinCE 6.0 based BSPs “Board Support Packages” should be straight forward for compatibility issues.
Windows Embedded Compact will finally become a plug-in for Visual Studio 2008, however there is no news whether it will become a plug-in for the upcoming Visual Studio 2010 or not since the last one removed Smart Device programmability features from it.
Microsoft didn’t want to declare more news about the new Windows codename Chelan. I think they’re true in this step especially in the mean time.
A public beta of Windows Embedded Compact will be available in the next months.
Welcome to the Windows 7 Beta Customer Preview Program
Windows 7 is…
the next release of the Windows client operating system, built on the secure foundation of Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. Performance, reliability, security, and compatibility are core tenets of this release as we collect your feedback to meet our engineering goals of making Windows 7 the best-performing and most stable Windows operating system to date. New innovations in the product are designed to augment your ability as an IT professional to better provision and manage increasingly mobile PCs, protect data, and improve both end-user and personal productivity.
See Windows 7 for yourself
We are inviting IT professionals around the world to work with the Windows 7 Beta in their lab environments and secondary PCs to help ensure smooth adoption when the final product is available and to gather feedback from real-world settings.
How can you get involved?
1. Take a look at some of the new features and functionality in Windows 7 as part of our Springboard Series guidance on the Windows Client TechCenter on TechNet. As a partner you can also see additional resources on the Microsoft Partner Program portal.
2. Download the Beta for a hands-on trial. For a limited time, Microsoft is making this pre-release version of Windows 7 available to the first 2.5 million people who download. Ready to take a test drive? You can get one by trying the Windows 7 Beta. We think you’ll have the best experience if:
- You are willing to participate as an active beta tester and provide feedback to help us complete Windows 7.
- You have an extra computer available to dedicate to testing beta software.
- You can back up your PC, install and reinstall Windows, and reconfigure your home network connection.
- You’re comfortable troubleshooting your own PC problems. There’s no technical support available for the Beta.
- You understand how to burn an ISO file to a DVD using your computer’s DVD burner.
- You have a system recovery disc and know how to use it.
- You enjoy participating in an interactive community of beta testers, sharing experiences and feedback in real-time.
Microsoft isn’t providing technical support for the Beta and isn’t responsible for business-related downtime. Don’t install the Beta on your primary home or work computer. When the Beta expires on August 1, 2009, you’ll need to reinstall a released version of Windows to keep using your computer. (See Installation Instructions.)
These are the Microsoft minimum hardware recommendations for systems that will be running the Windows 7 Beta. These recommendations are specific to the beta release and are subject to change:
- Processor: 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor
- Memory: 1 GB of system memory
- Hard drive: 16 GB of available disk space
- Video card: Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128MB memory (in order to enable Aero theme)
- Drive: DVD-R/W drive
- Internet connection (to download the Beta and get updates)
Note: Some product features of Windows 7, such as the ability to watch and record live TV or navigation through the use of “touch”, may require advanced or additional hardware.
To learn more, see Windows 7 Beta: Frequently Asked Questions.
Source: Microsoft TechNet
In less than 45 minutes, Windows 7 Beta links were removed!
In an earlier report “Windows 7 Beta is Now Public!” , I’ve declared that Microsoft has removed the Windows 7 Public Beta links and soon Microsoft Windows Team Blogs posted this item:
“Due to very heavy traffic we’re seeing as a result of interest in the Windows 7 Beta, we are adding some additional infrastructure support to the Microsoft.com properties before we post the public beta. We want to ensure customers have the best possible experience when downloading the beta, and I’ll be posting here again soon once the beta goes live. Stay tuned! We are excited that you are excited!”.
Microsoft reposted this message at 4 PM Pacific Time:
“Thanks for your interest in the Windows 7 Beta. The volume has been phenomenal -- we’re in the process of adding more servers to handle the demand. We’re sorry for the delay and we’ll re-post the Beta as soon as we can ensure a quality download experience.”
So, we’re still awaiting!
Windows 7 Beta is Now Public!
Microsoft Corporation declared the release of the new operating system Microsoft Windows 7 Beta to public testers today.
Brandon LeBlanc, one of The Windows Team Blogs team stated that:
“On January 9th, the Windows 7 Beta will be available for Windows enthusiasts to download via the Windows 7 page on Windows.com. The Windows 7 Beta is going to be available download-only (we’re not sending out physical media) and available for a limited time to the first 2.5 million people who download the beta.
The Windows 7 Beta will be available in English, German, Japanese, Arabic, and Hindi, and each language will be available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions (except Hindi which will only be available in 32-bit). “
Other sources from Microsoft Partners website declared the exact time when the link will get published to public as:
“Partners with a MSDN or TechNet subscription can download Windows 7 Beta now. All other partners can download Windows 7 Beta starting January 9, 2009 at 12:00 P.M. Pacific Time. “
Once it became 12 PM, people could be able to access the following link to sign up for the product and receive product keys, when you choose your preferred version (86 or 64) and language and hit the continue (>) button, you will get “Server is too busy” page and won’t be able to proceed with sign-up process.
Few minutes later (12:40), links were soon removed and visitors only get: Windows® 7 Beta coming soon!
If you’re interested in downloading Windows 7 and were lucky to get in, here’s the link: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dd353205.aspx
I hope that Microsoft would get links up again to let users enjoy the “Vista that users were looking forward to”.
Lab Tests: Vista’s Fast If You Have the Hardware
With Microsoft’s Windows Vista finally released to manufacturers and on the verge of making its way to retail, we can at last get down to the business of examining precisely how well the new OS performs. In our first tests, we discovered that while Vista’s hardware requirements may be steep, it should run just fine–even with the Aero bells and whistles active–on machines that meet Microsoft’s Premium Ready specifications (1GB of RAM, and a DirectX 9-capable graphics board with at least 128MB of dedicated memory).
We installed the RTM (release to manufacturing) Vista Ultimate code on desktop and notebook systems of varying specs and ages, and then we ran a series of benchmarks to answer several key questions about Vista’s impact on performance. Our main findings:
Vista is generally slower than XP, but it’s better at multitasking on dual-core PCs.
Your PC should have 1GB of RAM at the bare minimum.
Aero won’t slow you down if you use a discrete graphics processor and enough memory.
Apps run slower on the 64-bit version of Vista, but adding RAM closes the gap.
Full story: Yahoo News
Vista Exploit Surfaces on Russian Hacker Site
Proof-of-concept exploit code for a privilege escalation vulnerability affecting all versions of Windows—including Vista—has been posted on a Russian hacker forum, forcing Microsoft to activate its emergency response process. Mike Reavey, operations manager of the Microsoft Security Response Center, confirmed that the company is “closely monitoring” the public posting, which first appeared on a Russian language forum on Dec. 15. It affects “csrss.exe,” which is the main executable for the Microsoft Client/Server Runtime Server. According to an alert cross-posted to security mailing lists, the vulnerability is caused by a memory corruption when certain strings are sent through the MessageBox API.
“The PoC reportedly allows for local elevation of privilege on Windows 2000 SP4, Windows Server 2003 SP1, Windows XP SP1, Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista operating systems,” Reavey said in an entry posted late Dec. 21 on the MSRC blog. “Initial indications are that in order for the attack to be successful, the attacker must already have authenticated access to the target system. Of course these are preliminary findings and we have activated our emergency response process involving a multitude of folks who are investigating the issue in depth to determine the full scope and potential impact to Microsoft’s customers,” Reavey added.
Exclusive: Office 2007 Goes Trial, Will Windows Vista Go Trial?! Yes!
 After few days of lunching Microsoft Office 2007 system as 60 days trial version, Microsoft has removed links -temporarily- as lack of trial product key to face huge number of downloads and registeration for the trial software. I could obtain the trial copy of Office 2007 Enterprise with a trial product key, it's amazing, the wonderful thing that you can convert your trial copy to final if you entered a VLK "Volume Licence Key" in later time of the trial period, this option is high risky and I see it was a bad step from Microsoft to do because entering the product key became limited to create an algorithm to check on valid non trial product keys (I've tried all letters from A-Z and numbers from 0-9 and could determine invalid letters/numbers as the Office tells user).
Now, the question users always to ask in communities especially in
TechNet - Windows Vista Forums : "Will users be able to download a trial copy of Windows Vista after end of CCP program and release of RTM copies of it?" … The answer became clear and it's
YES !!
This answer not from a speakerman from Microsoft or any person, it's in TechNet Evaluation Site!
I also think that release of both Office 2007 trial and Windows Vista trial software will be available in few days from the information shown in
MSDN Evaluation Center :
"The MSDN Evaluation Center will be coming soon. The MSDN Evaluation Center will be the central location for all Microsoft developer product trials and beta evaluations. You will be able to try a product before you buy it or test the latest beta to see what is in store for the next release.
Looking for a Product Key for the Office Enterprise 2007 or SharePoint Designer 2007 trial downloads? This will be the place to get it, please check back in the next few days. We're working to make these available to you as quickly as we can.".
Enjoy evaluating latest Microsoft products and Merry Christmas from me!
Never mind Vista, here’s Fiji and Vienna
[Engadget] Face it,
Windows Vista is just so played these days. With that
preliminary biz release under its belt, we're ready for bigger and better things, and luckily a certain "jameskyton" drive-by-blogger has the low-down for us on Vista's successors, Fiji and Vienna. James calls Fiji a sort of "Vista R2," which should include most of those fancy features Microsoft had to cut out of Vista to get it released this century. Highlights include the reappearance of
WinFS, which will sit on top of the NTFS file system; a more full-featured sidebar app; tight Windows Live integration, especially when it comes to media; built-in playback of HD DVD; Next-Generation Secure Computing Base; and possibly even a Garage Band clone called Monaco.
There will also be the usual interface and other minor enhancements you can expect from such an update, but Fiji has nothing on Vienna, which is purported to feature a complete overhaul of the OS, including a break in compatibility with "all applications," though hopefully Microsoft will have some Apple-esque transition schemes in place before that time comes. The fresh beginning will give Microsoft more OS-building freedom than it has had in a long time, but right now it sounds like they're a bit too excited about this: Vienna will supposedly do away with the Start Menu, toolbars and menus in favor of some sort of pie-menu interface, WinFS-t-the-core and search, potentially leaving long time users stranded with a brand new interface to learn from the ground up. The OS will also feature beefy speech support, along with a sandbox mode for running non-managed code without risking your security. Much of this is hearsay so far, and we're really hoping Microsoft doesn't go off the deep end with Vienna, but we're still curious to see what they have up their sleeves after being cooped up so long ironing out Vista bugs
Slow uptake during Vista’s first month
Windows Vista has been on the market for nearly a month now, but business users and industry experts in the US agree that Microsoft's latest and greatest OS still isn't yet ready to replace XP. The problem is not with the software itself - by most accounts, Vista is technically solid - but with myriad peripheral issues that Microsoft must work out to take the pain out of using Vista. Take patching, for example. On December 12, Microsoft released an Internet Explorer 7 fix that improved the performance of IE's phishing filter. The software had been bogged down by websites with a large number of frames, and users had been complaining.
Microsoft patched the problem for Windows XP and Server 2003 users, but not for Vista. That update will come after the consumer release of Vista hits the market some time in January, according to a spokeswoman for Microsoft's public relations agency. And although Microsoft is now issuing security patches for Vista, performance-related updates such as the phishing filter are being handled on a case-by-case basis, she said. Microsoft won't say why it is holding off on some Vista patches even though the product is commercially available for business customers, but Russ Cooper, a senior information security analyst at Cybertrust, has a theory.
Security flaws cloud horizon for Vista operating system
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Chinks have been found in the armor of new Vista software that Microsoft has touted as the safest operating system it ever designed, a computer security firm said. Determina Security Research, in Silicon Valley, said it notified Microsoft of half a dozen software vulnerabilities, including potential for hackers to take administrative control of computers.”The vulnerable code is present in all versions of Windows up to and including Windows Vista,” Determina warned in a security bulletin on its website.
A Russian programmer that also discovered the potential to exploit a Vista weakness to gain access to computer systems published the information on the Internet on December 15. Microsoft is working to patch Vista, according to Determina. A business version of Vista was released in November and is to be available for the home computer market on January 30. Hackers could invade Vista-based computers by sending booby trapped emails or tricking people into visiting websites that secretly plant malicious codes on their machines, according to Determina.
There were no reports of hackers taking advantage of the weakness in any Windows operating systems.
Now Is Not the Time for Vista
"With nearly a month of Vista availability behind us, businesses don't seem to be in any rush to take the leap. An article on ITworld cites two significant
reasons for the foot-dragging. First, Microsoft's case-by-case approach to Vista patches, which is leaving some problems unpatched until after the consumer release in January.
Second, application (in)compatibility. From the article: "Some of the applications that still aren't compatible with Vista include IBM Corp.'s Lotus Notes e-mail and collaboration suite; Cisco Systems Inc.'s and Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.'s VPN clients; Intuit Corp.'s accounting software QuickBooks 2006 and earlier versions; and anti-virus (AV) software from Trend Micro Inc.'"
Taking aim at Vista’s security
Bloggers, at least those sneaking away to their computers on Christmas weekend, are having fun with an article focusing on potentially serious security flaws in Microsoft’s Windows Vista.
The article, which ran in The New York Times, focuses on a flaw first discovered by a Russian programmer in mid-December. That programmer’s posting got a bit of attention at the time. But on Friday, Microsoft actually acknowledged that it is “closely monitoring” the vulnerability. Such an acknowledgment raises the profile of the flaw, which apparently makes it possible to increase a person’s privileges on all of the company’s recent operating systems, including Vista.
Some bloggers are positing the typical Microsoft-never-does-anything-right opinion. Others are saying that even Microsoft deserves a break when it comes to creating a new operating system.
How to permanently activate Windows Vista, at least for now
[Digg]While Microsoft's Vista hasn't quite had time to make it out to us normal folk just yet, there's certainly versions floating around thanks to the November 30th corporate release, and we've already found a way to circumvent Redmond's most valiant efforts to make us activate the darned software. With the help of a few background apps, a little registry tweakin', and whole lot of deviousness, you can reportedly freeze the 30-day countdown timer within the operating system in order to prevent it from ever leaving the fully functional evaluation mode.
Purportedly, the TimerStop Vista crack works "on all 32-bit x86 editions" including Ultimate and Premium, but the success rate in 64-bit (x64) environments is "likely to be low." Notable, the folks behind the crack suggest that Windows Updates will still be accessible, as will Microsoft's "value-added software downloads" typically only available to those who pass the WVGA validation process. So if you're looking to hit up a new OS in the coming weeks, or you've already got ‘er up and running, be sure to peep the read link if you're interested in pulling this off—but don't count on Microsoft to sleep on this one, holiday break or not.
Microsoft Claims Vista’s Aero Interface Doesn’t Slow PCs
[
CRN] Running Windows Vista’s new Aero graphical interface doesn’t impact PC performance, a study sponsored by Microsoft claims. According to speed measurements of more than 60 common business chores, which were conducted by North Carolina-based Principled Technologies for Microsoft, using the Aero interface “had little or no negative effect on Windows Vista’s performance.” Matt Ayers, a program manager with the Windows Client Performance team, touted the results on the
group’s blog. “We put quite a bit of effort into making sure that the new visuals were as efficient as possible, and it really paid off,” he wrote. “You can run Aero without guilt!”
Principled Technologies measured performance with Aero on and off using a Dell XPS M170 notebook equipped with 1 Gbyte of RAM, a 2.0-GHz Intel Pentium M 750 single-core processor, and a graphics card with 256 Mbytes of memory. The laptop’s configuration met or exceeded Microsoft’s own minimum system requirements for what it calls a “Vista Premium Ready PC,” which is a system with sufficient horsepower to run Aero. Those requirements, for example, specify a graphics card with at least 128 Mbytes of memory. Aero, which can be disabled by the user, is automatically ditched for a simpler, Windows XP-style interface, when Vista is run on lower-powered PCs.