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The article examines the reasons underlying the slow migration of users to Windows Vista, a computer operating system from U.S.-based Microsoft Corp. that was released in November 2006. Among the reasons underlying the slow adoption of the operating system by customers are its expensive hardware requirements, incompatibility to other applications, high installation trouble for limited benefits over its predecessor Windows XP and the upcoming launch of Service Pack 1. Another cited barrier to Vista's adoption is its increased complexity, which Microsoft users complained about its User Account Control feature as nuisance and intrusive.

The article examines the competition between operating systems. In 2001, Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP dominated the market and was tagged as the only desktop operating system in the U.S. Today, OpenOffice.org has grown into a viable competitor to Microsoft Office. Moreover, the author claims that OpenOffice.org can force Microsoft toward a more open file format strategy. In the field of operating systems, Microsoft's newest client operating system, Windows Vista, has been overpowered by Linux operating systems.

The article reports on the release of Windows Vista and Office 2007 by Microsoft Corp. The company is expecting a wave of upgrades from users seeking the latest functionality. Some users want to keep their old operating systems running for as long as possible. Office 2007 and Zune music player will not install on Windows 2000.

In April 2004, the European Commission in Brussels took bold steps to curb Microsoft's control of the computer software market by slapping the company with tough sanctions aimed at its treasured "bundling" strategy and crafted to influence its future behavior in the market. In the landmark ruling drafted by Mario Monti, the European Union's competition commissioner, Monti called Microsoft an abusive monopolist and issued a set of far-reaching penalties. If the decision stands up to appeal, Microsoft will be required to offer a version of its desktop Windows operating system software without the Media Player application built into it. It must also share "interface documentation" so that competitors can more readily design servers to interact with the company's software, and it must pay the European Commission a 600 million U.S. dollar fine, the biggest fine ever imposed by EU competition regulators.

Discusses how Gary Kildall, the inventor of the CP/M operating system, turned down IBM executives who wanted to use the software for IBM's first personal computer. Role of Bill Gates, who was working with IBM to develop the computer; Reason why Kildall turned down the deal; How IBM bought QDOS from Microsoft instead, later named MS-DOS.

The article presents the author's views on Microsoft Corp.'s upcoming Vista version of Windows operating system. Microsoft has added the User Account Control (UAC) feature that will be of immense help to average users. Under UAC, both administrators and standard users will be able to operate with the standard user security token.

The article focuses on the cancellation of the delivery of the WinFS file system by Microsoft Corp. The company first announced that it is no longer pursuing the separate delivery of WinFS, as well as the second release of the product, which it had long been promising. Peter O'Kelly, an analyst at Burton Group PLC said that the decision was necessary and pragmatic. Microsoft cut WinFS out of both operating systems, Vista and Longhorn, releases so it could ship them in a more timely fashion. Microsoft officials said WinFS would be made available as a stand-alone technology after Vista and Longhorn Server shipped.

The article examines the new operating system, Vista, developed by Microsoft Corp. The computer software company is set to deliver a broad-scale build of Vista to 2 million testers. It is also projected that in concurrence with the launch of the Vista builds shall be the introduction of the Office 2007. As recalled, the two Vista builds, including two interim community technology previews released in the past couple of months to beta testers known as technology adoption program. It was found out that the new operating system has suffered as variety of performance and compatibility problems. INSET: Vista: What you need to know.

The article features the Systems Management Server Beta 1 developed by Microsoft Corp. The product has enhanced configuration monitoring, operating system deployment and endpoint security management capabilities. It will be released in the first half of 2007 bearing its new name, System Center Configuration Manager 2007. The results of the test of SMS v4 Beta 1, indicated a renewed focus on Windows system configuration, user access and compliance reporting. New users of the software will need significant amount of time development policies to regulate how operating systems, applications, and policies are maintained throughout the enterprise.

The article presents a discussion on Windows' GPMC or Group Policy Management Console. Windows Vista will provide more power to Microsoft's Group Policy. Some changes are obvious, but all are significant and could cause some refocusing among third-party vendors that have sprouted up in the Microsoft ecosystem to deal with various deficiencies in previous iterations of Windows and Group Policy. Unlike previous Microsoft Group Policy management tools, the GPMC coalesces all GPO (Group Policy Objects) into a single interface and allows administrators to easily link the objects to Domains, Sites or OU (Organizational Units) in Active Directory.

The article discusses whether Microsoft is finally about to face real competition in desktop-computer software. For years, many in the computer business have hoped that Linux, a freely available computer operating system, would become a viable alternative to Microsoft's Windows, the near universal standard for the world's personal computers. Within the past month, some of the world's most powerful technology firms have pledged considerable support for Linux on the desktop, including Dell and Sun Microsystems. By the end of the decade, Linux's share could grow, reckons Al Gillen, an analyst at technology consultancy IDC, displacing Macs as the main alternative. That would still fall far short of Linux's growing popularity in the market for powerful server computers. Linux aficionados, however, say its chances on the desktop should be better. However, despite improvements Linux faces obstacles. Some of Linux's main backers have relatively modest ambitions for the operating system. Linux's main appeal is likely to be to companies rather than home users. But the future is uncertain, and Linux still might yet represent another kind of threat to Microsoft.

The article reports on Microsoft's Windows Vista. According to the author, many businesses have decided they won't migrate to vista as they are content with Vista's predecessor, Windows XP, and have decided that switching to the new operating system aren't worth it. According to the cover story reports, Vista has only increased the number of license shipments, but its unclear how many licenses actually have been deployed. Vista's hardware requirements and incompatibility with some applications remain a problem. He said that another common complaint of Vista is slow processing.

The author reflects on the inability by low-cost laptops to run the Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Vista operating system. He reveals that cheap laptops have no resources to run the Vista operating system because it requires 2 gigabyte. He believes that most personal computer vendors prefers to shift to Windows XP it is more stable and works with more software and equipment than Vista.

The article reports on the Microsoft's decision regarding the user's compliance with the Vista's End User Licensing Agreement (EULA). It mentions that Microsoft does not let users run the Home and Home Premium editions of the operating system under visualization on the Mac. Due to this, Mac users need to purchase the more expensive Vista Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise in order to comply with the licensing agreement. Although, Microsoft said that it would change the EULA to allow the visualization of the low-end Vista products, it maintained its original decision after reassessing the Windows visualization policy. Impacts of this decision to the end users are also discussed.

The article presents news briefs related to the computer industry. Microsoft has acknowledged a privilege-escalation bug that affects XP and Vista operating systems alike. The problem could allow an attacker to make system changes that Vista's User Account Control feature would otherwise block. Apple has patched another critical hole in its popular media software that affects both the Mac OS X and Windows XP and 2000 versions. The flaw enables attacks that use poisoned links starting with rstp:// to take over the computer.

The article reports that Microsoft Corp. has trained 110,000 partners on the Windows Vista operating system and the Office 2007 software package. Microsoft's Upgrade the Desktop marketing campaign offers sales and marketing tools for cross selling from the desktop to server. The demonstration showcase provides partners with role-based selling tools and other tools for assisting in marketing messaging. The launch sale tool kit assists in demonstrating the customer benefits of the Exchange 2007, Office 2007, and Vista software. Microsoft is planning a series of events to coincide with the January 29, 2007 launch of Vista.

The article presents the time line of the development of the computer program, Microsoft Windows Vista from Microsoft Corp. The company has disclosed plans for its next-generation Windows operating system , in a codename Longhorn on June 24, 2001. Bill Gates presented Longhorn at Microsoft's annual Professional Developers Conference in California on October 27, 2003. On November 8, 2006, Vista was released to manufacturing. It is scheduled to launch to business customers on November 30, 2006.

The article presents information on Microsoft Corp.'s new operating system Windows Vista. The new operating system is scheduled to be launched in January 2007. Computer analyst Heather Bellini says that the new operating system will create more demand than Windows XP and Office XP. To avoid any prelaunch shortfall in computer sales, Microsoft is offering Vista coupons on prelaunch purchases.

The article presents news briefs related to the computer industry. Microsoft Corp. is preparing the market for the debut of its Windows Vista operating system by announcing the holiday availability of computers, software, hardware and games that will work with Vista, even though the OS will not be available until early next year. Oracle Corp. has reported to release the scheduled Critical Patch Update on October 17, 2006.

The article comments on the support for the legacy products of Microsoft Corp. The author asked the readers to share the oldest Microsoft products still running in the area. Windows 98 is the oldest in the enterprise, according to a feedbacks from readers. Other systems still running includes DOS, WFW 3.1, Win 95, Win 98, Win 98se, Win NT, Win 2000, Win XP and Server 2003.

The article discusses the reason of the success of the Windows operating system by Microsoft Corp. and its security flaws. The Windows monoculture is considered the major factor in its success in the market, as it supports interoperability among users and across corporations. However, this culture is the same factor that put users and businesses at risk aside from security risk. Windows thrives in the market because of its presence everywhere. Microsoft addresses security flaws through its new version called Vista, and with its security initiatives like memory-address randomization. Meanwhile, corporations refuse software diversification, believing that the cost of risk is less than the cost of implementing new software.

The article reports on the announcement of Microsoft Corp. regarding its new and improved Windows Marketplace site on August 27, 2006 in the U.S. The site includes Digital Locker, a secure software download mechanism for Microsoft and developed software. According to sources, the updated Marketplace does not look like it is doing much to feature Windows Live services so it is anticipated that there is still a Windows Live Marketplace waiting. It is expected to resemble Xbox Live Marketplace more than Windows Marketplace, according to Microsoft officials.

The article presents a reprint of a report about the Microsoft 2007 Office and Windows Vista which previously appeared in the Weblogs of "Information Week. The author has installed the current beta of Windows Vista and he was struck by how remarkably similar it is to Mac OS X. Almost all the on-screen windows and graphic elements are a copycat of the Mac operating system.

The article examines the hardware specifications required by the Vista, the new operating system released by Microsoft Corp. On May 18, 2006, the company released the PC hardware guidelines for Vista Capable personal computers. As stated therein, taking advantage of all Vista features would require that the computers meet the following specifications: 1 GHz processor, 1 GB of random access memory, and 128 MB of dedicated graphics memory. It is inferred that the computers configured to meet the Vista Premium Ready requirements will generally serve the needs of the businesses.

The article provides an overview on the articles published in the May 22, 2006 issue of the journal "eWeek." The new operating system called Vista, released by Microsoft Corp. will have more system requirements than XP. It needs 1 GHz processor, 1 GB of memory and 128 MB of graphics memory for the user to fully experience the maximum potential of Vista. The author comments on the delay of release of Vista and projects the probable reason that may have caused it. One of the reasons maybe is the existing bureaucracy in the corporation.

The article focuses on the results of the evaluation on the new Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Vista operating system conducted by the Yankee Group Inc.'s analysts in the U.S. The group of analysts said that the intrusive nature of the security features found in Vista could turn off information technology administrators and users alike. The new operating system offers several advantages such as the Internet Explorer sandboxing, two-way firewall, device control, and integrated anti-spyware. Nevertheless, it has also several disadvantages which include reduction of account privileges, network access protection, disk encryption, and integrated anti-phishing.

The article reports that Microsoft Corp.'s MS06-15 security update to Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer are causing system hangs, Windows crashes, and the appearance of strange dialog boxes. The update includes a binary called verclsid.exe, which validates shell extensions before they are instantiated by the Windows Shell or by the Windows Explorer. The security update is causing Microsoft Office applications to stop responding when Office files are saved or opened in the My Documents folder and lockups when typing a web page address into the Internet Explorer. It also reports that the MS06-13 update, which changes the way Internet Explorer renders certain ActiveX controls, is also causing workflow issues for its enterprise clients.

The article reports on the anticipated launch of Microsoft Corp.'s Build 5365, a test build of its Vista operating system. Some web sites speculate that Build 5365 will include sidebar fixes, support for more gadgets, welcome center changes, installation and driver support improvements. Microsoft is increasingly relying on community technology preview processes in developing its products including the Vista. It also reports that Microsoft is committing to provide extensible firmware interface (EFI), the successor of PC BIOS, support for 64-bit Windows first in Longhorn Server. The EFI has been touted as an operating system independent interface that could aid in driver portability.

The article reports that Microsoft Corp. has delayed the release of the operating system Windows Vista from 2006 to 2007 in the U.S. It offers information about the system requirements of the Vista. Computer makers are counting on the Vista release to not only drive unit sales but also inspire purchases of high-end machines. According to analyst Steve Baker, by delaying Vista, Microsoft is essentially daring consumers to blink when it comes to buying a new personal computers. Several computer makers said they will move ahead by ensuring that their machines are Vista capable.

The article focuses on the advancements in the field of information technology related to the latest offerings from Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp. In an effort to get its next-generation operating system, "Longhorn" in shape for shipping, Microsoft has started tossing out some key features, most notably WinFS. The file system is one of those big thoughts in data storage and retrieval that would have made Longhorn a strong contender for inclusion in corporate data networks drowning in structured and unstructured data. The "AvaIon" user interface and the "Indigo" middleware infrastructure appear to be the two remaining intact legs. Microsoft has identified open-source software as a revenue threat in a recent United States Securities and Exchange Commission filing and has pinned much of its anti-Linux campaign on arguments that Linux is actually more costly to deploy than Windows and that the fragmented nature of Linux development precludes a comprehensive systemwide approach to corporate technology choices.

The computer software Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), which became available on August 6, is Microsoft Corp.'s bid to make its most prominent product adhere better to the promises of Trustworthy Computing. "eWeek Labs" has been testing the new service pack throughout its beta cycle, and we are impressed with the security improvements in what is proving to be a major Windows update. SP2's improved firewall, integrated Internet Explorer pop-up blocking and service vulnerability fixes make this a worthwhile update, but sites will have to test SP2 thoroughly to avoid potential compatibility issues, particularly with Web-based applications. Microsoft has aggregated information regarding a system's firewall, anti-virus and automatic update settings in a single place at the new Security Center, which should be most useful to home or small-business users who lack an IT team to manage these services for them. SP2 brings changes to the operating system Windows XP's wireless connection dialogs that provide more information than before about available wireless links.

Microsoft corp. will release its long-awaited Service Pack 2 for Windows XP next month, according to company officials. Until last week, the software maker had simply said the update would be available this summer. The Redmond-based, company last month issued a second release candidate of the service pack, an unusual move for an interim release such as SP2. SP2 is almost entirely a security update for the company's latest desktop operating system. The biggest change is that Windows Firewall will be turned on by default. Formerly known as Internet Connection Firewall, Windows Firewall will be set in a mode called On With No Exceptions. This means all inbound Internet traffic will be denied until the user changes the setting. The company said it is making some changes to the way IE operates. For one, the browser will include an integrated pop-up blocker, turned on by default, other popular browsers such as The Mozilla Foundation's Mozilla have included this functionality for some time. Customers will see a new Windows Security Center once they install SP2. This is an all-in-one view of the security settings in the operating system, telling users whether their firewall, anti-virus software and other security protections are enabled.

This section presents news briefs from the U.S. computer industry as of July 2004. Microsoft Corp. has announced that it will not release Windows XP Service Pack 2 by the end of June 2004. Because of testing issues, the release date has been moved back to July or maybe even later. Changes on the Netsky and Beagle worms scored 3 on Symantec's severity scale; most worms are rated at 1 or 2. Update antivirus definitions by using Symantec's LiveUpdate or McAfee's VirusScan.

Microsoft Corp. has created an elegant suite that makes a compelling upgrade for users who chose to pass on the previous version. Released at the end of last month, Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac is built to thrive in a PC-centric enterprise world. The suite boasts new features, including a Project Center for organizing and sharing projects and better compatibility with Microsoft's Exchange in the Entourage e-mail client. However, the lack of an internal database such as Microsoft's Access, as well as the absence of Microsoft's SharePoint collaboration tools, means Office 2004 for Mac still cannot compete with its PC-based sibling in most corporate environments. Business users will benefit greatly from the addition of compatibility reporting. The Compatibility Tool-a Mac OS-only feature-tells users whether documents will display correctly in other versions of Office. On the Mac OS side, the Compatibility Tool will check all previous Office versions, while Office 98 and later.

Compuware Corp's latest suite QACenter Performance Edition 5.1, is a good choice for enterprises looking for a flexible set of Web load and stress-testing tools. QACenter Performance Edition 5.1, which was released last month and runs on Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP, 2000, 2003 or NT 4.0, is priced staffing at $45,000 for 100 virtual users. Compuware also offers a flexible licensing scheme. Like the new version of Segue Software Inc.'s SilkPerformer, Version 5.1 of QA Center Performance Edition adds support for testing Citrix environments. QACenter 5.1 also improves its support for SAP AG's Web Application Server 6.2. QALoad Conductor controls all testing activities, analyzes results and provides test reports. QALoad Player modules, which simulate users, can be installed on multiple systems. System hardware will determine how many users can be simulated, with a limit of 1,024 virtual users per Player loaded system. In tests, we liked the ability to toggle virtual-user loads and use a dial on the interface that allowed us to turn up the test load to gauge the effectiveness of a test script quickly.

Segue Software Inc.'s SilkPerformer 6.5 Enterprise Edition gains support for new application environments, as well as improved reporting and visual scripting capabilities. eWeek Labs' tests showed that SllkPerformer 6.5 Enterprise Edition is a powerful and intuitive package that will meet virtually any enterprise Web load and stress testing need. eWeek Labs' tests showed that SllkPerformer 6.5 Enterprise Edition is a powerful and intuitive package that will meet virtually any enterprise Web load and stress testing need. This release of SilkPerformer maintains a strong portfolio of supported applications and services with the base license. Add-ons are available for some enterprise applications not supported with the base license, including Citrix and Oracle Forms. SilkPerformer runs on Microsoft Corp.'s Windows XP, 2000, 2003 and NT 4.0. In SilkPerformer 6.5, Segue has introduced visual script editing and recording for testing applications that are hosted in server environments running Citrix Meta Frame Presentation Server. This will ease application testing in Citrix environments and will be a welcome addition for sites seeking a way to test applications running on large Citrix server farms.

Reviews the Virtual PC 2004 computer software from Microsoft, which streamlines the use of multiple operating systems.

Presents updates on the computer industry as of July 2003. Settlement of a lawsuit between Microsoft and AOL Time Warner; Operating system in which the Adobe Photoshop computer software will run; Capabilities of the music-sharing software iTunes.

Presents news briefs on the computer industry in the United States as of November 1999. Features of the advanced version of the iPlanet Calendar Server software to be launched by Sun-Netscape Alliance; Pricing information for Windows 2000 operating system from Microsoft Corp.; Details on the Web-based system to be released by Intel Corp. by the end of 1999.

The article reports on the introduction of an immediate solution by Xandros Corp., a provider of easy-to-use Linux alternatives, for the 50 million disenfranchised Windows 98 and ME customers left without support and security patches. In response to the recent announcement by Microsoft Corp. to suspend support to these customers, Xandros is providing affected users a special opportunity to upgrade their now unsupported and vulnerable Windows systems to its recently released Desktop Home Edition or home Edition Premium, a secure and stable Windows alternative.

This article focuses on hardware-assisted central processing unit virtualization and its adaptability to x86 enterprises. Virtualization is associated with carving one physical computer into multiple independent virtual systems. The introduction of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions precipitated the need for x86 virtualization. A number of Windows applications, including Microsoft's own, can survive only in a 32-bit universe. The addition of hardware acceleration to AMD and Intel x86 processors will expand the market for virtualization. Microsoft has already moved Virtual Server 2005 closer to being a standard part of Windows Server operating systems, with licensing that permits running multiple instances of Windows on a single machine at reduced license costs.

This article reports on the impact of the detection of a code that is capable of exploiting a critical vulnerability in Windows 2000 computer operating system. This discovery lent urgency to efforts of information technology managers to patch their systems as quickly as possible. For instance, the American Red Cross, which in August 2005 saw traffic on its networks become saturated by the Zotob worm, was already deploying Microsoft Corp.'s latest patches. The organization had also installed intrusion-prevention technology on riskier segments of its network perimeter to provide additional protection against attacks.

The article reports that for a company that's not saying anything about the next version of its Office productivity suite, Microsoft Corp. sure has done a lot of talking of late. In fact, if all of the hints Microsoft has dropped recently come true, Office 12 will have many interesting new features. Office 12 will ship in the second half of 2006. Although it will be introduced around the same time as Microsoft's next-generation operating system--code-named Longhorn--one won't need Longhorn to run it. All indicators are that it will run on Windows XP and Windows 2000 as well. The new release will offer improved online collaboration features, including better instant messaging and support for voice over IP. To address new record-keeping regulations such as Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA, Microsoft is working on ways to "lock up" Office documents so that they can be read or shared only by authorized users. Microsoft also plans to offer new functionality for Excel, including the ability to create dashboards and scorecards to track complex and rapidly changing data.

This article focuses on the client operating system Windows XP by Microsoft Corp. This is the longest period of time that Microsoft has gone without shipping a new version of its operating system. In this period, one has seen numerous versions of Linux emerge, each one more capable than the last, and Apple is on its third major revision of Mac OS X. At first glance, Windows XP appears to have stagnated. Nothing could be further from the truth. XP has gone through two major service packs, both of which have increased security, reliability and robustness.

This article discusses the attempt of Microsoft Corp. to sway users away from the open-source operating system by spotlighting the need for strong intellectual-property protection. Yet even though half of the users polled via e-mail and telephone indicated that IP protection is important to them, the results also showed that it hasn't been a make-or-break issue for majority of companies that are using or experimenting with Linux servers. And the heaviest Linux users said they are doing a careful analysis to ensure that they mitigate any risks.