Operating Systems » Windows Vista

What's coming in 2009

Well, it's that time of the year again. Time to enjoy the glow of a nice LED backlit display and huddle with the warmth that only an overclocked PC can produce. Yep, it's time to take a look at what's going to happen in technology in 2009. Here are my five predictions for the new year.

By Michael Gartenberg | 31 December, 2008 08:00

Tags: 2009

Vista SP2 beta: Nothing obviously new has been added

If you install the beta of Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) expecting to see visible changes to your version of Vista, you'll be sorely disappointed. At least in this initial beta, all the changes are under the hood, and even they are far from earth-shaking.

By Preston Gralla | 09 December, 2008 09:30

Tags: Vista SP2

Why Microsoft won't dominate the cloud

It's no surprise that Microsoft has its eye on the cloud. Cloud computing, that is.

By Bill Snyder | 28 November, 2008 10:30

Tags: cloud computing, Microsoft

Vista is alive and kicking

Microsoft has kindly extended its XP "downgrade" program for OEMs by another six months. Rather than appreciating the extension, some people have chosen to mock Microsoft and call for the curtain to close on Windows Vista once and for all.

By J. Peter Bruzzese | 09 October, 2008 09:49

Tags: Windows Vista

Is Jerry Seinfeld the master of Vista's domain?

Abbott and Costello, Burns and Allen, Siegfried and Roy, Gates and Seinfeld. Years from now, they will be remembered as the some of the great comic duos of all time.

By Robert X. Cringely | 08 September, 2008 09:24

Tags: seinfeld, vista

Vista: IT loves it, hates it

Last week I suggested that the IT world, particularly when it comes to marketing, is crazy, and I cited as evidence Microsoft's recently announced US$10 million plan to use comedian Jerry Seinfeld to hawk Vista.

By Mark Gibbs | 29 August, 2008 13:55

Tags: Windows Vista

Seinfeld and Microsoft: more proof that IT is crazy

The IT world has a certain level of craziness that is remarkable, and nowhere does it show up more than in how various companies market their products. I have all sorts of examples to illustrate this, but given that I have limited space I'm going to concentrate on what I consider to be the 800-pound gorilla of marketing crazy: Microsoft.

By Mark Gibbs | 25 August, 2008 11:40

Tags: Microsoft Windows, seinfeld, vista

Windows' Days May Be Numbered

Could Microsoft be switching away from Windows?

By Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols | 12 August, 2008 08:39

Tags: Microsoft, Windows, Midori, OS, operating system, Linux, Mac

Mojave just part of Microsoft's much-needed makeover marketing campaign

You may have heard of the Mojave Experiment: Microsoft took a bunch of XP users who were afraid to move toward Vista because of all the negative press it had received. In an attempt to reverse their negative feelings, the company sat them down in front of the latest desktop OS -- but didn't tell them it was Vista. And, lo, the people said they like it!

Reconsidering Vista

OK, it's not perfect. But Windows Vista on a new PC is perfectly serviceable for many users. In some ways, in fact, Vista is a better operating system than Windows XP. Unfortunately, XP's heir apparent is also the most derided and discounted Microsoft operating system since Windows Me.

Which platform: Cathedral or open source?

Have you ever experienced a software bug and thought to yourself, "I could fix that"? If you could, would you? How could that even be possible?

Ten more stupid uses for Windows

My Top Ten Worst Uses for Windows post last week caused somewhat of a firestorm of reaction. It is worth pointing out that for the most part I am not really criticizing Windows just the use of a bloated OS for simple or mission critical tasks.

Top Ten worst uses for Windows

After all these years I am willing to admit that Microsoft has won the desktop and server wars. Thanks to VMWare Windows is spreading throughout the datacenter. And, of course, there is only one operating system to use if you are dependent on Microsoft apps like Outlook, Word, and Excel. While I have joined the chorus of security folks who rail against the Microsoft Monoculture I still cannot believe some of the uses for Windows. Some of them are just downright silly, some you may claim are criminally negligent.

Dear Microsoft, thanks for the help, Linux

You gotta love it. Microsoft has decided that it will ho ahead and kill off easy access to XP on June 30th. On behalf of desktop Linux users everywhere, and our first cousins, the Mac fans, thanks. You've given us the best shot we'll ever have of taking the desktop.

Bill and me: My interview with Bill Gates

Bill Gates Q&A with Network World May 15, 2000

Five reasons why it's not business as usual for Microsoft

Bill Gates will be leaving Microsoft for good at the end of the month and Microsoft would have you believe that it will be business as usual for Microsoft. I understand they also have a great bridge between Manhattan and Brooklyn that they'd like to sell you. Cheap!

Five reasons to fire Ballmer

On July 1st, Bill Gates will retire. He'll still spend about 20 per cent of his time on Microsoft projects. If Microsoft is to retain 20 per cent of its economic clout in five years time, the company's board should start working on firing CEO Steve Ballmer now.

Vista's UAC spots rootkits, tests find

Love or hate its nagging prompts, Vista's Account Control feature (UAC) has a security feature that marks it out from any other type of Windows security programme -- it can spot rootkits before they install.

Eye-Fi links digital cameras to Wi-Fi nets

Every now and then you come across a product that is, what's the word I'm looking for, compelling? intriguing? Way cool? Today's topic is a product that is all of those things. It is the US$99.95 Eye-Fi Secure Digital (SD) memory card for your camera that has built-in wireless networking. Once configured, the card will log on to your Wi-Fi network and automatically upload images to one of a number of popular photo management tools or storage services such as Flickr and Picasa.