Source: bink.nu

This article was reported by Paul Thurrott today and is unconfirmed at this stage:

In its manic bid to keep Windows Vista on track despite constant development delays, Microsoft could cancel its eagerly anticipated Beta 2 milestone and simply utilize Community Technical Preview (CTP) releases until Release Candidate 0 (RC0) is ready in March or April 2006. According to my sources, this plan would allow the company to continue plotting the final release of Windows Vista for the third quarter of 2006.

When asked to comment about these plans, however, Microsoft denied that it was canceling Beta 2. “Microsoft is not canceling [Windows Vista] Beta 2,” a company representative told me, noting that comments by Amitabh Srivastava, the corporate vice president of Windows Core Operating System Development at Microsoft, made during yesterday’s conference call with the press, are relevant to this topic. During that call, Srivastava said that Beta was “less urgent” than before because of the company’s new engineering process and early CTP feedback.

Microsoft has now rejiggered the Windows Vista development schedule so many times it’s almost comical. But the previous major change, in which Windows Vista Beta 2 was delayed from December 7, 2005 to the end of the year and then until January or February 2006, at least kept all of the products major milestones intact. Now, it’s clear that the company feels it can get the feedback it needs with CTP builds, which are released in a more timely nature than major beta builds.

Despite yesterday’s conference call, in which Microsoft executives promised that users would see a feature-complete build of Windows Vista by the end of 2005, my sources say the company is internally targeting the February 2006 CTP build as the first that testers will see with all features intact. It’s possible that Microsoft TAP (Technology Adoption Program) customers will see a feature complete build of Vista as early as January 2006, however.

What’s not known, of course, is how this change will affect the public release of a Windows Vista beta build. Previously, Microsoft had promised to make Windows Vista Beta 2 available to the public for broad testing through a preview program. With that release first delayed significantly and now potentially canceled, it’s possible that Microsoft will either make the February 2006 CTP or the RC0 milestone available publicly instead. “The internal schedule is still taking shape as we accelerate the feature complete timetable, so we won’t be able to share any insights until early next year around milestones like Beta 2 or a preview program,” a Microsoft representative told me today.

Microsoft has opened up the beta testing of its OneCare Live anti-virus subscription software to the public.

The company is also beta testing an anti-spyware product. With Windows XP already featuring a bundled personal firewall, Microsoft will soon be able to offer a full range of basic security products.

The OneCare product has been in beta since spring and Microsoft has now extended the testing to anyone with a US English version of Windows XP with Service Pack 2.

Those using the service will get automatic anti-virus software updates direct from Microsoft, in the same way other users get them from the likes of Symantec, McAfee and Trend Micro.

OneCare will become a commercial product next year, and beta users will be among the first to be offered the service when it launches. Pricing for the product has so far not been finalised.

An enterprise version of OneCare is also in the offing from Microsoft. By the end of the year, Microsoft plans to release an initial test version of its new Microsoft Client Protection product, to protect business desktops, laptops and servers.

Today, on a Microsoft conference call with journalists about Windows Vista, Microsoft confirmed that the Windows Vista November CTP will not be released to all testers. Instead, it was released to only TAP (Technology Adoption Program) customers. Microsoft continued to say that the Windows Vista November CTP did not go through all of the internal quality assurance procedures that a wider released build would demand.

Some good news did come out of this call. Microsoft confirmed that there will be a December CTP of Windows Vista released to testers; which promises to be close to feature complete.

BREAKING NEWS:

Redmond, Washington
Friday, November 25, 2005

MICROSOFT Corporation today announced plans to extend the month of November by 7 days. The decision was made after the company promised to release it’s much anticipated CTP of Windows Vista by the end of the month. Company sources say that the November CTP will indeed be released no later than Tuesday, November 36, 2005.

—-
Patrick Elliott
MSBLOG

Everyone, I need some help and I know I shouldn’t really be blogging this but hey, I may as well.

Does anyone know of a direct download link for LDDM drives for a XpertVision GeForce 6200 AGP 32-bit video card so I can run Aero Glass on my Windows Vista machine?

Please leave me a comment, or email me at zack@msblog.org. Thanks very much!

When I had Internet Explorer 6 running, I had my homepage set to www.google.co.uk because I’m from England and like to have the option of searching pages from the UK or from the world. However I discovered when I installed IE7 that the search bar directly next to the address bar has the Google Search funtion in it, however it by default searches www.google.com and I just plainly didn’t want it.

I found a workaround 😉 Now you can use the Search bar up in IE7 to search the pages of where you live. So, if Jabez wants to search Malasia’s pages, he can type in anything he wants and he has the option to do that. If Squire wants to search New Zealands Google, he can do!

Note: this is only for users of Internet Explorer 7 – it won’t work on any other browser I cannot accept any responsibility from any damage this may cause. I’m pretty damn sure it’s safe but just make sure you backup your things just in case though.

OK, bit lengthy but this works. You will need to download Resource Hacker which lets you open up EXE files and other types of Windows files and extract resources from them and also change some parts of the code in the files. ResHacker is available from here or in Simplified Chinese then you guys can get it here

Then, you need to download the Google patch which will then let you set Google as your default search engine in IE7. You can normally download this directly from Google.com (there is a box pointing up to the top right of your screen) or if you can’t find it, just download it from my server here instead. You then need to open up the file into Resource Hacker so that you can edit the properties.

If you stuff it up, don’t worry. Whenever you save it’ll always save an original and save the new version as a seperate file.

1) When you’ve opened the file in ResHacker, expand “String Table” and then expand “16” and then click on the little flower thing that’s labelled “0”.
2) You may need to open up Internet Explorer and find out the default address for your local Google. For the UK, it is www.google.co.uk and for example, Google for New Zealand is www.google.co.nz. (This page may help)
3) In the ResHacker window, under line “253” where the web address is, replace the domain name suffix with your local Google, so you should just replace the “com” part with “co.uk” or “co.nz” depending on where you are.
4) Click “Compile Script”, and then File and Save. Close Resource Hacker.
5) Double click on the file you have just made (make sure it does NOT have “original” in the filename) and run the file. Internet Explorer should open up with a success message.
6) Try searching for something using the Search bar in IE7 and see if it works.

Now, hopefully that should end up with you having a localised search in IE7. If it doesn’t work, just run or download again the Google patch and use that instead. Leave me some comments and let me know how it’s gone

The November Community Technology Preview (CTP) release of Windows Vista has made its way into the hands of some, but seemingly not many, testers. The build number is 5259. What’s new? Windows Antispyware is now integrated in, as expected. Windows Media Player 11 is there. Instant Off seems to be working. And there are a number of user-interface changes, such as an “orb-shaped” start button and a new start-panel menu. ActiveWin.com has posted a bunch of Vista November CTP screen shots that are worth checking out. We’re betting more testers will get access to the new build in the next few days.

It looks like the long awaited Windows Live beta’s will be starting soon. I can’t comment on specific beta’s but testers nominated for testing have been sent emails out this evening saying that they will be getting “specific Windows Live beta invitations very soon” which should be hopeful news.

Some Windows Live beta’s are already running and are open for everyone to use. The Windows OneCare Live beta has been around for some time giving users of Windows XP Service Pack 2 constant care of their systems with an integrated virus scanner, advanced firewall and a tune-up wizard which performs defragmentation and other bits and bobs, and also Live.com is undergoing a public beta of which anyone can check out.

Roll on Windows Live Messenger!

Perhaps the most richest Man in the world and he just goes down to the local store to pick up his new Xbox 360!
Thats what I like to see! Someone who is admired by alot of people and he mixes with them!
Good On ya Bill!

(Click on image for a bigger view)

Patrick

A group called “Computer Terrorism” has released a Proof-of-Concept exploit for an unpatched Microsoft Internet Explorer vulnerability. The exploit allows remote code execution on most Windows systems including XP sp2. This vulnerability can e.g. be exploited if a user visits a web site controlled by the attacker.

The flaw is related to the JavaScript functionality in IE. So, one solution to this problem is to disable Active Scripting in IE. Another solution would be to use some other web browser. Also, as always, running as a restricted user greatly limits the damage these kinds of attacks can cause.

Apparently Microsoft was informed about this bug in May. Earlier it was seen as a denial-of-service vulnerability. MS has not released a patch yet but a Security Advisory on the issue is available.

Patrick

Ever wonder how to get your great idea in front of Microsoft developers? Ever wish Windows Server had a feature you thought of, but didn’t know how to let Microsoft know about it? Well, this is your chance. Microsoft has set up a dedicated website where you can submit your ideas for the next version of Windows Server (also known as Longhorn). If you choose to be contacted, we’ll also be able to send you a response or ask for clarifications about your feedback.

Contribute Your Ideas. Join the Team.

We want to hear from you! Whether you’re the sole IT person in a small business or the IT manager for a large enterprise, make sure to visit the feedback site to tell us about your great idea.

View: Here

A new service was added to the Windows Live Beta family today – Windows Live Custom Domains. The basic idea is that anyone with a domain can now point their MX record to the Live servers. What that means is that users can have Microsoft’s servers hosting their own domain’s email accounts for free. There’s a restriction of 20 email accounts per domain, with each mailbox getting 250MB of space.

In addition, the same account functions as a Passport account, and can be used to sign in to MSN Messenger, MSN Spaces etc. I’m assuming users also get access to the spiffy, new AJAX-enabled Windows Live Mail Beta service as the webmail frontend for all their accounts, although that isn’t explicitly mentioned anywhere on the site. The team that’s working on this also has an official blog, just like all the other Live teams do.

View Windows Live Custom Domains
 View: Custom Domains Blog

Microsoft Management Console 3.0 Pre-Release (Based on Windows Server 2003 R2 RC1).

MMC 3.0 (formerly MMC 2.1) ships as a component in Windows Server 2003 R2 and Windows Vista, and continues to be the host for a variety of OS and 3rd party administrative tools.

KB907265

Download Size: 1919 KB – 8164 KB

Download At Source

New CableCard function in equipped PCs will allow you to dump your cable box next year.

Microsoft today revealed a deal with a cable television consortium that will allow PC vendors to offer digital-cable-ready Windows Media Center PCs by next December. This move edged Microsoft a step closer to its vision of offering a complete home digital entertainment system through PCs running Windows XP Media Center Edition OS.

Microsoft has been working with Cable Television Laboratories (CableLabs), a nonprofit cable-research consortium, for two years. The technology partners have developed technology specifications for adding support for a CableCard module on Windows Media Center PCs, according to Justin Hutchinson, group product manager of the Windows client division at Microsoft.

In addition, Microsoft and CableLabs have documented final approval of Windows Media Digital Rights Management (DRM) as the PC CableCard module’s content-protection technology. This will allow Media Center PCs to receive one-way digital cable content from digital cable providers without having to use a set-top box, Hutchinson said.

“It’s really a first step in a relationship we’re going to build between Microsoft and the U.S. cable industry to deliver premium digital content and high-definition content via digital cable to Media Center PCs,” Hutchinson said.

Source: Bink.nu
Continued at source HERE

A day ago, Dean from the Internet Explorer team talked to Brad Graziadio from the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) team about the customers feedback that they have received. The feedback they received was, “We want to make sure our PCs are running genuine Windows and have access to all the content on the Microsoft Download Center; the experience when we’re running a Mozilla browser is not great. Do something about it.”

Source: here

A day later (today), there’s a link to download the WGA Plugin for Firefox.

WGA Plugin for Firefox

Seems that Microsoft is implementing whatever that they hear!

Source: Here