This post was written by Jeff Johnston
Microsoft’s tricky balancing act in 2009 will be to phase out Windows XP while boosting demand for Windows Vista and building anticipation for Windows 7. Compounding this challenge is that Vista has been Microsoft’s most embattled operating system, and though recent reports say that Vista has improved over the past year, there are also reports of a growing indifference from users. Many are sticking with Windows XP for now (or even requesting to “downgrade” to XP with new computer purchases) with the hope that Windows 7 will be more nimble and efficient than Vista.
Microsoft Corp. has launched the first public beta of Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2). It is now available in five language-specific editions: English, French, German, Japanese and Spanish. Microsoft has not committed to Vista SP2 delivery or RTM dates, but a Web site that has a solid track record of predicting such things said the update would hit RTM in April 2009. Vista SP2 can be downloaded as a 388MB stand-alone installer for 32-bit versions.
To complement its Windows Vista operating system, software giant Microsoft Corporation recently launched its latest suite of hardware products composed of two mouse pads, a keyboard and a webcam. In a press briefing last week, Katherine Teu, regional marketing manager of Microsoft Hardware Southeast Asia, said the products were made with a combination of innovation, style, and functionality aimed at delivering high performance and comfortable use, be it for work or entertainment. Teu said the products were designed to enhance the PC user’s experience and complement the capabilities of its Windows Vista operating system.
Microsoft has released two security updates for Windows 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, Server 2008 and Office 2003 and later. The patch described in Bulletin MS08-069 closes three holes in Microsoft’s XML Core Services 3.0, 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0. Microsoft has rated one of the errors as critical. The cause of vulnerability is a memory error that occurs when XML code is being parsed. It allows code to be injected and executed. This rating only applies to MSXML version 3.0, but in the other versions Microsoft still rates the threat as high.
Software giant Microsoft Inc. is to stop selling its XP operating system to retailers and computer makers this week. The move, which will see retailers and computer makers having to buy the newer Windows Vista operating system for any new stock they order, comes despite protests from some PC users who prefer the older XP. Existing computer hardware stocks running XP will be unaffected, and smaller retail outlets will still be able to sell XP until January.
Microsoft Corporation has reported that its own ActiveX browser plug-in technology has brought Windows Vista (the operating system which is lesser prone to infection) under threat. During the past six months, most of the browser attacks against Vista leveraged bugs in ActiveX controls of third-party companies. ActiveX is Microsoft’s technology to create add-ins for Internet Explorer. George Stathakopoulos, the general manager of Microsoft’s product security and security engineering group, has defended ActiveX but accepted that it was not possible to monitor its technology.
Microsoft Inc. is intending to release this patch Tuesday, on July 8. It is made up of four important-rated fixes, two of which target Vista and XP/2000/2003 respectively, one the Microsoft SQL Server and one Microsoft Exchange Server. The most expected of the four patches is the one affecting Windows Vista and Windows Vista Service Pack 1, as well as Windows Server 2008. The code injection flaw it fixes enables remote code execution through a code injection flaw. The other Windows patch targets Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, and enables spoofing.
Chris Flores, a director with the Windows Client communications team, has confirmed that 