VistaBillGates.com | Vista!

New operating system is one of several new products honored at Consumer Electronics Show.

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Today, the Windows Vista(TM) operating system has been selected by the editors at CNET ( http://www.cnet.com/ ) as a winner of the “Best of CES 2007″ award in the computers and hardware category at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Windows Vista, scheduled to be broadly available on Jan. 30, 2007, was honored for enhancements and innovations that provide users with an experience that is easier, safer, more entertaining and better connected, at home or on the go.

“It is a great honor to have Windows Vista declared one of the best products at this year’s CES,” said Mike Sievert, corporate vice president for Windows(R) Client Marketing at Microsoft Corp. “We are in outstanding company here at the show, and this award is an indication of what customers can expect when they are able to experience Windows Vista for themselves later this month.”

The development of Windows Vista is the result of an unprecedented collaboration between Microsoft and its customers and partners. The product was designed with the help of millions of testers worldwide, including 50 families from seven countries taking part in the Wife with Windows Vista program. The feedback gathered from this testing was invaluable to the product development, and Windows Vista is better because of it. In preparation for the Windows Vista launch, thousands of PC manufacturers and system builders across the globe are preparing to deliver new PCs designed to run the new operating system. By Jan. 30, more than 1.5 million devices will have the Works with Windows Vista logo and more than 2,000 products will be Certified for Windows Vista, helping make Internet and networking connections, home entertainment and business tasks faster, easier and more secure. Many of those products are on display at CES, including two Windows Vista-based PCs — the HP TouchSmart PC IQ770 and the ASUS W5Fe SideShow(TM) Notebook — that were the other two finalists for the Best of CES award in the computers and hardware category.

The Best of CES awards, which are produced and judged by CNET, recognize the best products at 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show in 10 categories, plus a Best of Show.

Winners were chosen from hundreds of submissions and judged on their promise to pioneer a new category, establish an emerging category, or take an existing category to a new level; excite consumers with its style, innovation, usefulness, ease of use and/or capacity to entertain; endow its owner with a certain cachet — the “cool” factor; work readily with other products in a consumer’s life; and make its way into everyday life.

The 10 categories are car tech; cell phones, smart phones and PDAs; computers and hardware; cameras and camcorders; emerging technologies; gaming; home audio; home video; MP3 and portable video; and televisions. A video of the winners showcasing their technologies can be found at http://ces.cnet.com/.

The 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show reaches across global markets, connects the industry and enables it to innovate, grow and thrive. It runs Jan. 8-11 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

NOTE: Microsoft, Windows Vista, Windows and SideShow are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Website: http://www.microsoft.com/

Letters Mine’s better than yours

By The Letterman

Subject: Linux is not an option

Looking at this objectively and in the most unbiased way possible, I think you portray a much more realistic view of Windows Vista than Charlie.

Also, just to add, I think Charlie is either referring to OEM copies which most certainly are tied to the original computer, by either SLP (for Royalty OEMs) or just purely by license (for System Builders): the key point to remember is that this has been the case since Windows 95 - an OEM license lives and dies with the original PC.

The other issue he could be referring to is the, granted foolish, decision to change the licensing terms some time ago for Windows Vista, making copies tied to the ‘’original'’ PC rather than letting enthusiasts swap out as many components as possible. Please note: We back-tracked on this a few months ago - this is no longer in the license agreement!

So, either way, speaking in my personal capacty, I think Charlie’s view is completely unfounded and also completely void of any correlation to 99.9% of Windows Vista users - sure he will hit Activation problems by changing his motherboard every week, as he would have done with Windows XP, but he will not be breaking his license (whatever license he has, OEM/FPP) any more than he would have been in Windows XP.

A Vole

Subject: Laptop batteries

Letterman

All of this talk in recent months about laptop batteries is allowing me to realise how nice my very ancient stinkpad 600E really is. It has two very ancient Lithium ion batteries which still manage to keep the system running for 4-6 hours straight.

Sure, it is a brick… but only by form, not function. Snail would be more equivalent for function…

sigh…

elmars

Subject: Vista vs. Linux

Andrew and Charlie,

Your two recent columns on Charlie’s decision to switch to Linux sum up pretty well the state of the OS market. I have been saying for a while now that I just don’t ever see Linux making any headway with the average computer using public.

I think Andrew is overstating the Vista case, however. Most people I know absolutely do not want to buy a new PC every 2-3 years. More and more are willing to pay for PC support. Look at Best Buy’s Geek Squad. When it started about 3 years ago, I didn’t think it had a prayer. Why pay $150-$200 to have a PC problem fixed when you can buy a pretty decent new box for $400? For years I’ve done a small amount of freelance support work, but I charge much less than Geek Squad or its competitors because I didn’t think people would pay any more.

It appears that I was wrong. Geek Squad is still going, and if a conversation with a local Best Buy acquaintance is accurate, it is going strong.

What will Geek Squad and its ilk do on Vista boxes? Surely, they will be upgrading hardware in Vista machines, but how will they reactivate the OS? All I am trying to say is that, unless MS relents, average users WILL be affected by product activation.

Additionally, Mr. Thomas’ argument that most users never tinker with their computers actually is a case for Linux. The main arguments against Linux are ease of installation and software compatibility. There are others, for sure, but if a user is supplied with a box that contains all the software they need, will they care that it is running Linux instead of Windows?

Up to now, the answer has been “Yes!” Let’s check back next year to see if public sentiment has changed, if the current state of product activation and DRM remains the same.

I can see a scenario where people need to upgrade their PC or replace a broken part, only to find that their OEM copy of Windows is no longer valid. Will they pay hundreds of dollars for a new copy of Windows, knowing that this is likely to happen again, or might they be tempted to try a free, or nearly free, Linux distro?

Ultimately, Linux success in the home depends on its success in the business world. An important reason for Windows’ victory over Macintosh was that people wanted to use the same system at home as they had at work. The other main factor was price. Finding a Linux box on your office desk will make it a lot easier for you to accept Linux at home, especially since running Linux will cost less.

What do I think will REALLY happen? Microsoft didn’t get where they are by being stupid. Generally, they make acceptable to good products, because bad ones are scrapped or improved. I complain as much as anyone, but I haven’t changed to the Mac or to Linux yet, and it is because it doesn’t make sense for me to do so. With this in mind, product activation will be modified to make it less painful. I think Charlie suggested a scheme to check for multiple machines simultaneously running the same key as an anti-piracy measure. MS could easily do this by checking the MAC address on the network adapter now and then. This way, only if you change your network adapter, meaning your motherboard in most cases, will product activation matter. This will make average users happy, and to help people like Charlie, MS might offer a “deactivation” scheme for migration purposes.

I’ve learned to never underestimate corporate greed and stupidity, but MS has backed off in the past, indicating that the lights are still on in Redmond.

Best regards,
Sean Fowler

Subject: Let’s just be clear on one thing

Backdating stock options is no novelty, everybody and his brother has apparently already done it. CEOs are being lined up like dominos since a few years, you’ve gotta think that the head of financial crime fighting found himself a new market and decided to squeeze it for all it’s worth.

So Jobs did too, well whaddya know. Surprising ? Hardly. Important ? Barely, unless you’re the IRS or a shareholder. Presumption of innocence ? Oh please, don’t make me choke.

He took his chances and he lost, end of story. Just tell me what the fine is, and spare me the pseudo-drama.

More interesting : give me a list of the CEOs who most probably didn’t do it.

Pascal

Subject: Can’t believe I’m agreeing with you….

..but I read Charles’ article before yours and thought he was 100% on crystal meth. Give me a break. Who the hell changes out their motherboards and procs and often as Charles? Yes, I have 7 PCs and 2 Macs at home and have built my own rigs before, but honestly I’m done with that BS. PCs are so cheap that it doesn’t make sense to do the whole DIY thing. Of course I’ll add RAM, PCI cards, etc, but motherboards? Screw that. I’ve got too many cuts from doing that for years.

Charles can take a leap this time around.

RobG

Subject: Bluetooth

Ferchrissake we all know Al Gore invented Bluetooth. What’s a matter with these people?

Oli

Subject: I agree with you..sort of

Hello Andrew,

First of all, I want to say that your article was a bit more intuitive and thorough versus Charlie’s article regarding the bottlenecks that come with Vista (via the EULA). But, what Charlie hasn’t yet informed dedicated INQUIRER readers is that he was wrong. According to Chapter 15 of the Vista EULA (dated 02 Nov 06), it clearly states the following:

15. REASSIGN TO ANOTHER DEVICE.
a. Software Other than Windows Anytime Upgrade. You may uninstall the software and install it on another device for your use. You may not do so to share this license between devices.

b. Windows Anytime Upgrade Software. The first user of the software may reassign the license to another device one time, but only if the license terms of the software you upgraded from allows reassignment.

So, what the heck does all this mean? Well, in short it means if you plan to transfer Vista from one machine to another or to re-install the software on a routine basis, then the “Windows Anytime Upgrade Software” is not for you!

Until Microsoft officially released the final EULA, we’ll just have to hope they stick to their word to keep Vista as friendly as XP when it comes to re-installing the software.

In the end I just hope this helps to keep us away from the Penguins on the beach

Sincerely,

Dan Keen, MSgt, USAF

Subject: Regarding Vista

Finally someone talking about Vista who gets it!

I understand that anyone reading this site (including myself)might have problems with Vista, but as the author of this piece points out most normal users simply do not care about upgrading.

For all of the people saying “Microsoft just doesnt get it” you need to open your eyes. Microsoft gets IT fine, they just dont get US! With Microsoft though, that is just fine, as I’m sure they would rather cater to the 90% as opposed to the 10%

Many kudos to the original author of this article !

Ifell

Subject: Developers are killing software

Nick,

Another pertinent question is my pet peeve. Why does it almost always take three mouse clicks to do anything? Do software developers think users have nothing better to do with their time than to click, click, click every time they want a program to do something?

Panther

Subject: MacWorld?

If you’re going to mock us, Mr. Excellent Pseudonymous Purveyor of Superiority, at least get our name right.

It’s Macworld. No capital W.

Thank you.

jsnell

Subject: Vista, Ubuntu, etc

Dear Inq,

This is mostly in responce to Jason Weiands’ letter “Do you have Vista? I do..” Firstly he makes the point that Ubuntu does not currently have ATI or Nvidia drivers enabled by default, he goes on to sujest that it is a highly technichal and cryptic matter to install them, taking hours, this is simply untrue, if you make the decision that you want this code on your system it is simply a matter of running a script and letting it do its thing. The reason that they are not included in the default distribution is actualy a philosophical, moral and legal choice rather than a technichal restriction. The code used to make the drivers is closed, can not be viewed or modified by the users and is therefor a potential source of untrustworthy or dangerous programing, especialy as these drivers must run with high privilages and direct acess to the hardware. Additionaly, the next relese of Ubuntu will actualy have them enabled by default, in keeping with the aim to make things “just work”, much to the anger of many of their users who see this as abandoning much or the reason they chose Free (freedom, not just money) software in the first place.

Thanks for reading my rant, just wanted to set a few missrepresentations straight. Crispin

Subject: Volesoft

Hi Nick, Great story! Are deveopers not taught to consider their audience?

When I was in high school in my required English classes (and probably back in elementary school (jk-gr. in the later years when it came to writing essays or any written assignment, even in other classes that had writing assigments, we were taught many important thing. The most pertinent thing that we were taught was that we should consider our audience, who will be reading our work, or in some cases who is the intended audience rather than the teacher marking the assignment. I am pretty sure that in my high school computer classes this concept was applied to programming as well (sure it was just Turing, VB6, and HTML if you stretch and count HTML3.2 as a programming language). In fact at in my computer engineering technology program this was even told to us in our many programming courses, even when it came to programs written in HC11 Assembler this was important. The UI is all the average user really cares about (since they probably assume it works and does what it is supposed to.

Anyways assuming most professional developers are formally trained rather than self taught is anyone teaching them to consider their audience like you would normally do when writing an essay or something? You guys know that not every one who reads your articles speaks English as first language, hell many of you are writing in a language that inst your Mother tongue, we don’t care about the spelling and grammar errors published in the INQ. So maybe these developers arent getting trained properly and we should be complaining to all the programing textbooks and professors around the world.

Daniel Steinberg,

By Deb Shinder

Service hardening is one of many new security mechanisms in Windows Vista and the next generation of Windows server, currently known as Longhorn Server. Because it’s not always desirable or possible to disable Windows services that provide attackers with an exploitable point of attack, the new operating systems include features that make it more difficult for service exploits to do damage.

Here are a few facts you should know about service hardening:

1. SCM manages services
Windows services are programs that are managed by the Service Control Manager (SCM), which maintains a database of installed services and manages each service’s state. Usually services start automatically when Windows boots and run continuously, making them always available and thus attractive to attackers.

2. Higher privileges = greater exposure
In previous Windows operating systems, most services ran under the LocalSystem account, which has a high level of privileges. That meant that if the service were compromised, attackers could do major damage because they would have access to almost everything.

3. Vista and Longhorn Server run services with lowest possible privileges
In Vista and Longhorn, many of the services that used to run under LocalSystem now run under the NetworkService or LocalService accounts, which have a lower level of privileges. Services run with the lowest possible privileges. Any privileges that a service doesn’t need are removed, which helps reduce the attack surface.

4. Vista protects services by using “isolation” techniques
Isolation techniques includes Session 0 isolation, which prevents user applications from running in Session 0 (the first session created when Windows starts up). Only services and other applications that are not associated with a user session can run there. This protects the services from the actions of other applications.

5. Vista assigns a Security Identifier (SID) to each service
Assigning an SID to each service allows services to be separated from one another and enables the operating system to apply the Windows access control model to restrict services’ access to resources in the same way user and group accounts’ access can be restricted.

6. In Vista, access control lists (ACLs) can now be applied to services
An ACL is a set of access control entries (ACEs). Every resource on the network has a security descriptor that contains the ACLs assigned to it. Permissions defining who or what can access that resource are stored in the ACL.

7. Vista allows the application of network firewall policies to services
The policy is linked to the service’s SID. This allows you to control how the service is allowed to access the network and prevent it from using the network in ways it’s not supposed to, such as sending outbound network traffic. The Vista Firewall is integrated with the service hardening feature.

8. Specific services can be restricted so that they can’t make edits to the registry, write to system files, and so forth
If a service needs to perform those actions to function properly, it can be restricted so that it can write only to specific areas of the registry or a file system. Services can also be prevented from making changes to configuration settings and performing other actions that can be exploited by an attacker.

9. Each service is pre-assigned a service hardening profile
This profile defines what the service should and shouldn’t be allowed to do. Based on this profile, the SCM assigns the services only the privileges they must have. This all happens transparently, with no configuration or administrative overhead required.

10. Service hardening does not prevent attackers from compromising services
The Windows Firewall and other protective layers are designed to prevent that. The purpose of service hardening is to reduce the level of damage that can be done if the service does become compromised. It provides inner layer protection in Vista’s multilayered security strategy.

‘There is no expectation of any editorial payback,’ says a spokeswoman
by Eric Lai

January 02, 2007 (Computerworld) — Microsoft Corp.’s efforts to woo influential bloggers by sending them free computers loaded with the Vista operating system is generating controversy, with some online writers attacking would-be Vista reviewers for taking what are tantamount to bribes, while recipients defend their editorial independence, arguing that journalism-style rules prohibiting such gifts are outdated.

Bloggers who acknowledged having received the computers as part of the joint Microsoft and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. marketing program include Mary Jo Foley, Om Malik, Michael Arrington, Ed Bott and others.

In total, Microsoft and AMD gave away 90 PCs, all loaded with the highest-end version of Windows Vista — the 64-bit Ultimate edition. Most received Acer Ferrari laptops that list for between $2,000 and $2,400 at retail stores. Others received media center desktops made by Velocity Micro Inc.

In letters accompanying the computers, which arrived last week, bloggers were given the option of returning the hardware to Microsoft, keeping it or disposing of it in some other way. “Microsoft has been very open and transparent,” said a Microsoft spokeswoman. “There is no expectation of any editorial payback.”

Jason Calacanis, founder of blog network Weblogs Inc. and an entrepreneur-in-residence at the Sequoia Capital venture capital firm, called the PC giveaways “payola” and “bribes” that respectable bloggers should refuse.

“Any free product or service is a bribe, with very few exceptions,” he wrote in an online posting. “It’s wrong, and bloggers are simply new to the space and they don’t know what to make of this very, very obvious situation. The bloggers who go down the road of free products will learn, over time, that their credibility takes a hit. … At the end of the day your reputation is all you have, and life is too short to blow it on some free stuff.”

Skepticism also reigned at Slashdot, an aggregator of tech news, where 303 mostly negative comments about the Microsoft-AMD program were posted.

Long Zheng, an Australian college student and blogger who received a Velocity Micro computer, had received 199 mostly negative comments at his blog. He said he plans to donate the PC, after reviewing it, to his former high school.

Bott, a computer magazine editor turned blogger who plans to return his laptop to Microsoft, argued that traditional journalism strictures against keeping expensive gifts shouldn’t apply universally to all bloggers.

“I’m a journalist by training and by profession, and that dictates my decision,” Bott wrote. “But what if I were a starving student or an MVP who started a blog because I was passionate about technology and wanted to share that passion with a community? Everyone in the community wins when that person gets the chance to play with new technology. In that case, Microsoft is just doing some smart marketing, seeding the market and increasing mind share. They could spend the same amount of money hiring people to write white papers or running ads in the Wall Street Journal. But the world will get a lot more valuable feedback if that information comes from real people actually using this technology.”

Foley, who writes the All About Microsoft blog, wrote that accepting the Acer laptop from Microsoft made sense for her because she had no plans to upgrade her existing PC running Windows XP. Nevertheless, she told Microsoft that she is treating the Acer laptop as a “loaner, not a gift.”

The Microsoft spokeswoman said the computer giveaways were the latest element of a three-year program to work with independent bloggers whose musings on Windows and other Microsoft products are widely read by techies online. She did not immediately comment on reports that as part of the program, Microsoft also pays the expenses of some bloggers to travel to Microsoft events or trade shows.

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