Windows Factor

Microsoft's Bill Gates, in an NBC interview with Tom Brokaw, said a deal with Yahoo is unlikely, according to a CNBC report Friday.

Yahoo fell 2.81 percent to $20.77 per share in late morning trading, as the broader markets also slumped.

During his interview, Gates said "I don't think that one is likely," in reference to a Microsoft-Yahoo deal. He added, however, that he believes Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will find "plenty of other opportunities."

View Full Article: CNET News Blogs

In an unprecedented move, Microsoft has committed to providing support services for its soon to be retired Windows XP through 2014 -- a full 13 years after the operating system was originally released. In a letter sent to customers this week, Microsoft senior VP Bill Veghte said the software maker will provide security patches "and other critical updates" for Windows XP until April, 2014.

"Our ongoing support for Windows XP is the result of our recognition that people keep their Windows-based PCs for many years," Veghte wrote. That may be, but Microsoft normally terminates support for an OS within ten years of its release -- at the latest. For instance, it plans to end support for Windows 2000 in 2010.

Microsoft may have little choice but to support Windows XP for an extended period, given that the majority of its large business customers have not upgraded their personal computers and laptops to the newer, Windows Vista operating system.

Source: TechWeb

Video of the birth of Microsoft and how it became what it is today

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/billg/videos/



Edit - Just saw front page news, same post

Sure, you'll be able to pay out the nose for a Vista machine with a XP Professional "downgrade" soon enough, but Dell just pushed back its cutoff for straight-up XP machines. They'll be selling select Inspiron and XPS desktop with whatever flavor of XP you choose up until June 26th, at precisely 6:59AM EST.

View: Inspiron and XPS Desktops with Windows XP
View Full Article: Engadget

I look like Mininova [mininova.org] one of the popular torrent sites is have a problem with their Mysql database with repeated errors

I got this email a while back. Thought I would share it with you.
So, it doesn't really matter now.
Hello Windows Live Messenger beta testers!

Thank you for all of your efforts to help us test the latest version of Windows Live Messenger. You are some of our most engaged and passionate customers and over the last several months you've shown us just how much you care. You've sent us more than 1000 bugs and suggestions, provided valuable feedback on Windows Live Messenger v9.0 beta in three different surveys, and posted nearly 5000 messages in the newsgroup. We value your feedback - the good and the bad - and we are ready to begin using that feedback to enhance Windows Live Messenger.

For the past several months we've been gathering feedback from not only you, but also from past beta testers' comments, other external Windows Live Messenger customers, and Microsoft employees. We've compiled a thorough list of feedback, and it's now time to shift our focus to building the new version of Windows Live Messenger. Therefore, on June 24, we will close the official beta testing program.

Before the program closes we want to make sure we've reviewed and responded to all of the bugs and suggestions you sent in. The bug form will remain open through the end of this week. The newsgroup and Connect site will remain open after the bug and suggestion forms close so you can see our responses to your bugs and discuss them with other beta testers. This is a lengthy process, so we appreciate your patience as we respond to the remaining bugs and suggestions.

The good news is that even after the beta program closes you will still be
able to use the v9.0 Beta build. Please note, since the Connect site will be closed, there will be no way to download the bits from Microsoft should you want to install the build on a new or rebuilt machine. Installations you already have will continue to work.

If you have any last suggestions or bugs you want to send us, get them in by June 6 when the bug and suggestion forms will close.

Thank you again for your enthusiasm for Windows Live Messenger and all of your efforts during this beta program. There will be another beta later this year that includes the changes we're working on now, and we hope you'll participate in that and continue to send us your thoughts!

The Windows Live Messenger Team



Receiving e-mail messages from programs in which you are a participant is a mandatory part of your participation on Microsoft Connect. You can end your participation in a program at any time by visiting Your Dashboard (http://connect.microsoft.com/dashboard/) page and choosing "End Your Participation" for that program. If you do not wish to receive non-program related e-mails from Microsoft Connect, change the contact preference you have set on Your Profile (http://connect.microsoft.com/profile.aspx). This is an unmonitored e-mail address, so do not reply to this message.

So, after it closes, would I be allowed to release it hm?

Apple announced on Monday a much faster iPhone that's half the price of the current model.

The news is expected to address one of the biggest complaints about the hugely popular iPhone: That its Internet browsing is too slow. CEO Steve Jobs said the new iPhone, which is based on 3G technology, is 36% faster than top rival Nokia's N95 smartphone.

The new 8-gigabyte iPhone will cost $199 and a 16-gigabyte version will cost $299. It will be available worldwide starting 11 July and it will allow up to six hours of Web browsing and five hours of talk time.

It also includes new features such as a wireless system that automatically forwards e-mail to other devices, a friend-finding service called Loopt and mobile blogging software from TypePad. Other new applications include a service from MLB.com that provides a live scoreboard of major league games, and music-making software, called Cow Terry, for creating songs on the phone. The new iPhone now works with Microsoft's Exchange office server systems - a key feature if the iPhone hopes to seize market share from the BlackBerry.

Also, Jobs announced that the new version of the Mac operating system OS X is called "Snow Leopard."

Source:

This second Firefox 3 Release Candidate is a preview release of Mozilla's next generation Firefox browser and is being made available for testing purposes only

Firefox 3 is based on the Gecko 1.9 Web rendering platform, which has been under development for the past 34 months. Building on the previous release, Gecko 1.9 has more than 14,000 updates including some major re-architecting to provide improved performance, stability, rendering correctness, and code simplification and sustainability.

Firefox 3 has been built on top of this new platform resulting in a more secure, easier to use, more personal product with a lot more under the hood to offer website and Firefox add-on developers.


Download
http://download.mozilla.org/?product=firef...&lang=en-US

Mac OS and Linux downloads available at source site

Source
http://keznews.com/4505_Mozilla_Firefox_3_0_RC2

Its like ReadyBoost for Vista but now for XP here is the article............................

Windows Vista users could easily boost their computer performance with ReadyBoost technology which uses flash memory, USB 2.0 drive, SD card, CompactFlash or any kind of portable massive flash storage as a drive for disk cache. By using flash memory for caching, it allows Windows Vista to service random disk reads with performance that is typically 80-100 times faster than random reads from traditional hard drives. Windows XP users can enjoy the benefit of this ReadyBoost Technology if they purchase a Vista upgrade. However, if cost is a concern or users do not intend to do upgrading to Vista, users could enjoy the same benefit from the same technology using eBoostr, a powerful booster which was designed to allow users to speed up the booting of their operating system and applications startup.

eBoostr use an additional drive (flash memory or hard disk) as another layer of performance-boosting cache to speed up users' PC and improve application responsiveness. Besides, it also features a SuperFetch-like solution and makes use of the otherwise wasted free RAM to store frequently accessed files and data. This has resulted is faster loading every time users launch their favorite application because of the preloaded data in RAM. Users are not required to upgrade or purchase any additional hardware. Users just need to plug in one or a maximum of four flash memory drives with eBoostr. Users could thence enjoy the superb performance.

eBoostr has just released its 2.0.1 update. This latest release has tackled issues related to the compatibility and overall stability of previous versions. The update includes fixes that impact the following areas: upgrade installation, automatic rebuild process and compatibility with other software packages. eBoostr is free to try. It costs $24 for desktop edition, $29 for laptop edition and $39 for Pro Version.

Download Link for Trial Version
Source: My DIgital Life

Thursday, 05 June 2008 While Apple is encouraging its install base to upgrade to the latest version of the Mac OS X operating system, a new sales pitch by its Redmond-based rival to the north recommends that customers unhappy with Vista take a step in the opposite direction 'for free.'


Speaking at an event Tuesday in the nation's capital, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said his company's licensing policy allows for customers to install the previous generation of Windows should Vista not impress.

"Customers get both," he said. "I don't know how you can do better than getting both."

Baller's comments were in response to a question about whether Microsoft will continue to market retail copies of Windows XP for mainstream PCs beyond its scheduled June 30 expiration.
The Microsoft headman explained that his firm holds no such plans because any customer who wants to purchase XP after June 30 can just as easily buy Vista and trigger its built-in downgrade option.
Earlier this week, the software maker said it would extend the shelf life of XP for installations on "nettops" -- it's term for ultra-low cost desktop systems -- for an undetermined amount of time. That followed an earlier move to continue selling the six-and-a-half year old operating system for ultra portable notebook systems for up to two more years.

InformationWeek's Paul McDougall points out that a number of PC makers, including Dell, already offer business systems that have been "pre-downgraded" from Vista to XP. Though that raises the question, he says, about the accuracy of the sales figures Microsoft has provided for Vista.

"In April, the company said it had sold more than 140 million Vista licenses since the OS became available to the public early last year," he wrote. "But Microsoft did not indicate what percentage of those Vista licenses have been downgraded to XP."

Source: AppleInsider