[savagenator]

booo microsoft. I want my security back.

I know a few IT people that wont like this news.

[Osiris]

According to Paul Thurrot, Microsoft plans to ship the final pre-release version of Windows Vista this Friday. Unexpectedly, Microsoft will name the release as Release Candidate 2 (RC2). Previously, Microsoft had publicly asserted that it would not ship an RC2 milestone release of Windows Vista. But don't let the name fool you: RC2 is really just a standard interim build of Vista and will not be given out to millions of users as was RC1.

The RC2 build is 5743, and Microsoft is currently testing it internally. As with the previous interim build, 5728, RC2 will be given out to beta testers, MSDN and TechNet subscribers, and a random, limited selection of Consumer Preview Program (CPP) members

http://www.windowsitpro.com/Articles...eed=rss&subj=0

[Osiris]

The Windows team posted an exciting post on their new Shell:Revealed blog, giving people who wanted the black maximized window borders to disappear a rest, because the problem is apparently fixed starting from today's builds. Due to the very short time limit until the upcoming RC2 build, we're still unsure whether the final version distributed to testers will feature that change.

The "fix", although quite welcome, isn't really what people asked for: "In the end, we decided that we like the black and think it is the right thing to do, but we want to respect the user's color choice for users who bother to make a change. So - starting in today's build, we have significantly backed off the amount of black that is mixed in with the user's color for maximized windows". Basically, they are offering people the choice to customize the color, although there will still be a black shade to it. The fix isn't apparently very noticeable on the default color, though it is most useful on strong colors.

http://shellrevealed.com/blogs/shell...ack_2100_.aspx

[Osiris]

Microsoft said Wednesday that it plans to clamp down hard on piraters of its next-generation operating systems, crippling both Windows Vista and Windows Server "Longhorn" if users fail to activate their copies within 30 days.

While the restriction of operating system features has been around since the advent of Windows XP in 2001, the new program takes that process a step further. It would also make widely distributed volume-license product keys -- traditionally supplied to corporations -- harder to use.


Called the Software Protection Program, the initiative is made up of several parts. The first move is to make certain features unavailable unless the user has confirmed their copy of Windows as genuine. Only licensed copies would have access to Aero -- Vista's new user interface -- and ReadyBoost, which uses a flash drive to temporarily add more memory to a computer system.

http://www.betanews.com/article/Micr...sta/1159977311

[Osiris]

A Customer Preview Program download page has been discovered for the second and last release candidate for Windows Vista before it hits RTM. The build is, according to the page, slated to be numbered as 5744.061003-1945.

This is particularly interesting since Microsoft had previously announced that it would no longer release any builds as a CPP. We are still unsure as to what Microsoft is planning with this build.

Nothing is said about the build except that it contains the usual bug fixes, performance and compatibility improvements. As such, it is still unknown if the build will contains the maximized borders improvements that were announced yesterday by the Windows team.

Thanks to VistaReloaded for the heads up!

UPDATE: The page has now been taken down by Microsoft. This may mean that the build is being uploaded to the MS Servers. This is the same situation as with the latest release (Build 5728); the page had been temporarily taken down as the build was being uploaded

http://download.windowsvista.com/pre...n/download.htm

[savagenator]

Finnaly anoter build. Again i'm glad for getting 3 codes from M$.

Downloading it now

EDIT: i take it back. What i am downloading in 5600. Wierd.

[mikee]

Now it is for sure that ms is spying on you with there new software protection program which locks you out of everything but the internet if the copy of windows is not validated as genuine within 30 days

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=34861

[savagenator]

lol. In XP when you dont activate it within 30 days you get a screen saying "put the code in here" and it wont let you do anything.

Now we can use internet with a big watermark saying "put the code here". lol what is Microsoft thinking?

[Osiris]

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) will most likely ship its upcoming Windows Vista operating system on time and meet its deadline for both corporate and retail consumers, a Wall Street analyst said on Wednesday.

Goldman Sachs analyst Rick Sherlund sent a note to clients saying that Microsoft may be ready to send the final test version of its much-anticipated Windows upgrade later this week or next week, indicating that Vista will be available for business customers in November and retail PCs by late January.

Windows Vista, already five years in the making, has been postponed by Microsoft several times and some industry analysts have speculated that the world's largest software maker will again be forced to push back its release dates.

"We had been skeptical of the launch schedule," wrote Sherlund, who has a "buy" rating on Microsoft. "But the team seems to be making great progress in addressing issues of performance, reliability and compatibility."



In the next few weeks, Microsoft may start providing coupons that PC makers can give away for a free upgrade to Vista from the current Windows XP, Sherlund said.

"This might help offset the apprehensions in the industry that the January launch of Vista (a very awkward time to release a major new product) will negatively affect PC demand in the seasonally strongest holiday quarter as consumers hold off for the new product," he wrote.

Microsoft Windows sits on more than 90 percent of the world's personal computers and the Windows business accounts for about 30 percent of the company's $44 billion in revenue.

Shares of Microsoft rose 50 cents, or 1.83 percent, to $27.87 in afternoon Nasdaq trade.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articl...ST.xml&src=rss

[mikee]

wiell I think its worse in vista because if you try to modify the system files (when people try to patch the activation thing) it gives you a message saying reinstall windows and then puts you in reduced functionality mode.