Tag archive: Vista

It would be easy to say that it was inevitable, but it really wasn’t. After the dismal failure of Vista, Microsoft needed a bona fide hit. After 10 months, it appears that they officially have that with Windows 7. Microsoft has released its quarterly earnings, and as part of those earnings, Microsoft announced that it has sold over 175 million copies of the operating system, and projections show that as many as 350 million copies may be sold… Read More

Microsoft has an awful lot riding on Windows 7 after the debacle that was Vista. But, good as it might be, not everyone is going to want it. They might well want XP or even (say it softly) miss Vista. For them, the company is extending the period of time in which they can downgrade the new OS from six to 18 months for those who buy it already installed on a machine. That’s from when Windows 7 ships in October, not from when the… Read More

Microsoft has been consistently saying it plans to release the next version of its flagship desktop operating system, Windows 7, before the end of 2009—and computer maker Acer spilled some beans a month ago by saying it expected to launch Windows 7-equipped PCs in October—but now the word as finally come down: Windows 7 will go on sale to consumers on October 22, 2009. Microsoft posted a release candidate of Windows 7 last… Read More

Microsoft might be getting ready to push Windows 7 out to the world soon, but the company is also keeping its current mainstream operating system up-to-date with Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2). Vista SP2 will initially be offered as an optional update users can choose to install via Windows Update or direct download; eventually, SP2 will become and automatic update, although users will have to accept a EULA prior to installation. Both… Read More

In a webcast devoted to Windows 7 and its abilities, Microsoft has dropped a massive hint that the new OS will be on sale before Christmas. “The goal for Windows 7 RTM (released to manufacturers) is to be three years after Windows Vista RTM date,” the company said. Vista was released in October 2006. Discussing Windows 7 features, Mark Manasse, principle researcher at Microsoft Research, admitted that “performance was a… Read More

When Windows 7 finally hits the market, much anticipated after the disappointment that was Windows Vista, it will be available in six different versions, although only two of them will generate mass market interest. According to Windows general manager Mike Ybarra, most interest will be in the Home Premium edition, aimed at consumers, and the Professional edition, geared for businesses. In part, that’s a response to all the… Read More

Back in December Yahoo released a public preview version of its instant messenger program designed purely for Windows Vista, and a beta arrived in March. But now the company has announced it’s discontinued development of the program. Yahoo's Terrell Karlsten told CNET: Yahoo has made the strategic decision to discontinue external releases of the stand-alone Yahoo Messenger for Vista client and focus on delivering one Windows… Read More

New data collected from the exo.performance.network suggests that over a third of PCs that ship with Microsoft Windows Vista are being downgraded to Windows XP—a percentage that, if generalizable to the wider world of Windows users—paints a far grimmer picture of Vista adoption than a large Redmond-based software company would have the world believe. The data come from a tool called Windows Sentinel published by Devil Mountain… Read More

Microsoft officially stopped sales of its Windows XP system at the end of last month. But that doesn’t mean sales of computers with XP have ended. In fact, according to an HP executive, XP is on the majority of computers the company sells – and they sell them with a Vista license. Jane Bradburn, market development manager of commercial notebooks for HP Australia told APC Magazine: "From the 30th of June, we have no… Read More

Microsoft knows that Vista has image problem. Having attempted to remedy it at its source with Service Pack 1 but failing to silence naysayers, the company has moved on to Plan B, a PR campaign. The latest ad to surface on Microsoft’s home page depicts an old sea-faring ship beside the words, “At one point, everyone thought the Earth was flat.” The bottom compels the reader to “Get the facts about Windows… Read More

Speaking at Microsoft's yearly Worldwide Partner Conference, Microsoft's VP of Vista Consumer marketing Brad Brooks did what, a year ago, might have been unthinkable: acknowledged users have had some hesitations about Microsoft's latest-and-greatest operating system. "We broke a lot of things," Brooks acknowledged. "We know that, and we know it caused you a lot of pain. It got customers thinking, hey, is… Read More

Microsoft has informed its customers in writing that it will continue support for the XP operating system until 2014, three years longer than previously announced, according to Vnunet. More than that, OEMs will be able to offer systems that have XP offered as a “downgrade” (from Vista) until January 31, 2009. Bill Veghte, Microsoft’s senior vice president of Windows Business Group, wrote: “Windows Vista is a very… Read More

If the impending death of Windows XP all seemed very unlikely given how many people still rely on the operating system for their day-to-day business, it should come as no surprise that  computer manufacturers have found a legal way to offer the OS after June 30 – and Microsoft still makes out on the arrangement. Dell is among the first manufacturers to take advantage of Microsoft’s “downgrade rights” that come… Read More

Although it's been available as a retail offering for a little while now, Microsoft has officially released Windows Vista SP1, the long-anticipated updated to its flagship computer operating system. The update weighs in at over 400 megabytes (almost 730 MB for the 64-bit version!) and rather than focusing on slick new features, Vista SP1 includes almost two dozen security updates and 550 hot fixes. Vista SP1 is currently available for… Read More

If the much-anticipated, slightly beleaguered launch of Vista Service Pack 1 still doesn’t have Windows XP holdouts running down to the store to get on board with Vista, Microsoft is hoping its latest move will: dropping the price. On Thursday, the company announced price cuts on several stand-alone retail versions of Windows Vista. Microsoft’s top-shelf Windows Vista Ultimate package will drop from $399 to $319 in stores,… Read More