Windows Factor

Microsoft has surprised watchers by saying that it will shortly make a first beta of Internet Explorer 8 generally available, according to a staffer at IT Week who wishes to remain anonymous.

In a mail-out to previous testers, Microsoft said it would make the pre-release code available to the "general public" but pointed out that it is "focused on the developer community". Microsoft had already stated in the past that the main advances in IE8 will focus on compliance with web standards, security and user interface options, something the web developer community feels that IE7 failed to live up to.

The company has long been the target of criticism for not following standards in its browser but, as numerous critics have noted, any effort to make IE standards compliant runs the risk of breaking existing sites written for earlier versions. Microsoft will attempt to compromise by offering developers the option to stay in or out of the web standards mode.

IE 8 is scheduled to be demonstrated for the first time in public at the MIX '08 conference in Las Vegas that starts on the 5 March.

Source: Comvan

Greetings from the Internet Explorer Team! We are nearing the launch of Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 and we will be making it available for the general public to download and test. IE8 Beta 1 is focused on the developer community, with the goal of gaining valuable feedback to improve Internet Explorer 8 during the development process. We have identified you as a qualified beta tester and we would like to offer an opportunity to join our limited technical beta program for Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1. Participation in the Technical Beta will enable you to evaluate a common release of Windows Internet Explorer 8, the ability to submit feedback, post bug reports, download software answer surveys on product quality as well as vote on top bugs filed by others from the technical beta program. This is a very exclusive program, by invitation only. The only way to submit feedback is to enroll in the Windows Internet Explorer 8 Technical Beta program. As such, we would be happy to have your participation. To accept this invitation and to apply to become a member of this program, follow this link: http://connect.microsoft.com/InvitationUse...?ProgramID=2038 (If this link does not work for you, copy the full link and paste it into the Web browser address bar.) Follow the steps shown to you by that program to apply to become an active participant. You may be asked to take a survey, or submit other preliminary information. To report a problem or to ask a question, visit the Contact Us page (found at the bottom of every page). We hope to see you in the technical beta! Best regards. The Internet Explorer Team

SOURCE: ActiveWin

Greetings from the Internet Explorer Team! We are nearing the launch of Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1 and we will be making it available for the general public to download and test. IE8 Beta 1 is focused on the developer community, with the goal of gaining valuable feedback to improve Internet Explorer 8 during the development process. We have identified you as a qualified beta tester and we would like to offer an opportunity to join our limited technical beta program for Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1. Participation in the Technical Beta will enable you to evaluate a common release of Windows Internet Explorer 8, the ability to submit feedback, post bug reports, download software answer surveys on product quality as well as vote on top bugs filed by others from the technical beta program. This is a very exclusive program, by invitation only. The only way to submit feedback is to enroll in the Windows Internet Explorer 8 Technical Beta program. As such, we would be happy to have your participation. To accept this invitation and to apply to become a member of this program, follow this link: http://connect.microsoft.com/InvitationUse...?ProgramID=2038 (If this link does not work for you, copy the full link and paste it into the Web browser address bar.) Follow the steps shown to you by that program to apply to become an active participant. You may be asked to take a survey, or submit other preliminary information. To report a problem or to ask a question, visit the Contact Us page (found at the bottom of every page). We hope to see you in the technical beta! Best regards. The Internet Explorer Team

SOURCE: ActiveWin

Microsoft will feed Windows Vista users an update in the next week to finger illegal copies installed with cracks that the company will bust when it rolls out Service Pack 1 (SP1) in mid-March.

The just-announced update, which will go out via Windows Update (WU) and install automatically on most Vista machines, will detect two cracks commonly used to activate pirated copies of the operating system. The cracks evade Vista's built-in counterfeit-detection technology by sidestepping product activation and spoofing a legitimate installation.

One of the cracks, "Grace Timer," extends Vista's activation grace period, which is normally 30 days, until the year 2099. The other, called OEM BIOS, modifies system files and the PC's BIOS to mimic the product activation done by computer-makers at the factory.

Both will be blocked by Vista SP1, the major update that will hit WU as an optional download in mid-March and automatically download and install the next month.

February's Vista update, however, will only detect cracks, notify the user and offer up a solution, said Alex Kochis, senior product manager for Microsoft's Windows Genuine Advantage program, in a post to the team's blog. It will not disable, block or cripple the cracks.

"It's important to note that this update does not disable the exploits it finds," said Kochis. "It simply alerts customers that exploits exist." At the same time it rolls out the crack-detection update, Microsoft will also post a separate removal tool for download, Kochis added. "In the future, we will integrate the removal of the exploits with the detection," he said.


Source: Bink.nu

Source: The SkyDrive team

Windows Vista Service Pack 1 has been released on Windows Update and is now available for download and install.

It is unknown at this point whether it is Wave 0 or Wave 1.

An announcement about Toshiba's HD DVD players and recorders is due next week Toshiba has halted production of HD DVD players and recorders and is close to making a decision on whether to throw in the towel on the high-definition movie disc format, Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported Saturday evening.

The decision, which NHK said will likely cost the company several tens of billions of dollars, is being made in the face of flagging support by movie studios and major U.S. retailers.

Source: PCWorld

Ed Bott: In the midst of an otherwise interesting account of one IT professional?s experiences with Windows Vista, Andrew Garcia of eWeek lets fly with this bit of misinformed commentary:

Aero Glass is an uninteresting resource pig, completely unworthy of all the resources it consumes. Forty percent of my system memory is consumed out of the box right now, and Aero Glass is the largest consumer. For what exactly? A 3-D ALT-TAB screen selection screen, translucent window edges and a handful of Sidebar widgets. This feature single-handedly hamstrings Vista installations with only 1GB of RAM, making slower computers swap memory with just one or two applications open.

It?s really hard to know where to begin pointing out the errors in that one paragraph. But I?ll try...

View Full Article: Ed Bott's Windows Expertise Blog

Sony's PlayStation 3 beat Microsoft's Xbox 360 for the first time and came in slightly behind Nintendo's Wii in U.S. video-game console unit sales for January, according to numbers just released by the NPD Group market research firm. Microsoft hinted at the outcome yesterday when it reported that it had been experiencing Xbox 360 supply problems due to higher-than-expected holiday sales.

Here are the results for January:

Nintendo Wii: 274,000
PlayStation 3: 269,000
Xbox 360: 230,000

View Full Article: Todd Bishop's Microsoft Blog

Kevin Remde: The product team decided to give you TechNet and MSDN subscribers a little Valentine's Day gift by making SP1 available for download.

Go to the http://technet.microsoft.com/subscriptions/default.aspx page. Notice the "Top Subscriber Downloads" section.



You can also go here to get it -

• For TechNet Subscribers
• For MSDN Subscribers

And if you're a subscriber, it will require you to log-in with the Windows Live ID you associated your subscription with.

If you're NOT a TechNet Subscriber, I can save you $100 if you're interested.

</IMG> News Source: Kevin Remde's IT Pro WebLog & Winbeta