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The time has come to move on… to Windows 7 (especially if you’re still on Windows XP)

It’s time to make a move away from Windows… Windows XP that is.

As Rich Reynolds noted in his post on the Windows team blog commemorating Windows XP this week…

“We’ve been talking a lot about the anniversary of Windows XP and how much technology and business have changed since a decade ago when it launched. Today we officially commemorate its 10 year anniversary and we also celebrate the anniversary of Windows 7 officially being in market for two years on Saturday.

“We also thought it would be fun to represent the shifts over the last decade through this infographic.

“Although a lot has changed since we launched Windows XP, the one constant that remains is our focus on enriching people’s lives through the power of technology.”

I agree.

And perhaps with all the talk of “falling behind” and changing the batteries in your smoke detectors, I’ll say that upcoming “fall back” from daylight saving time is a good time to go out and get a new PC, or at least upgrade to Windows 7. (Disclosure: I upgraded my own HP Touchsmart to Windows 7 from Windows Vista.)

Get a good-looking new PC. It’s a great time to get a new PC that, as the Windows team says, goes great with your living room and your budget. I’m looking to replace my now three year old PC at home with a new All-in-One (love the design of the HP Touchsmart) and considering the latest version of the line, such as this HP TouchSmart 610-1151f. (The new 420 and 520 model in the line are also quite nice.) I’m also looking at the new Sony VAIO VPCL235FX/B and the Samsung DP700 (which you can use as a mega-slate, with it’s full flat design).

Tags: Microsoft, articles, blogs, Microsoft, Windows 7

Clubhouse Tags: Clubhouse, Windows 7, computers, how-to

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Microsoft Supports Next Generation of the Internet with World IPv6 Day

Today at 5:00PM PDT, Christopher Palmer, IPv6 Program Manager on the Windows Core Networking team posted on the Microsoft blog that Microsoft joins other members of the Internet Society (ISOC) in support of World IPv6 Day.

You may view the post here on the Microsoft Blog, along with more our information on the public IPv6 page at http://www.microsoft.com/ipv6.

In short, we’re providing IPv6 access for a one-day worldwide test to www.Bing.com, Xbox.com and Microsoft.com as part of a broad industry effort testing the next generation Internet Protocol version 6 (aka IPv6). Users with IPv6 Internet capabilities should automatically utilize IPv6 when connecting to a participating website.

Building on support in Windows, we know that applications and servers need to participate in the transition if it is to succeed. That is why we developed IPv6 support for our Office and Server products. We’ve also provided guidance to the developer community on how to build IPv6-capable applications and to the IT community on how to deploy IPv6.

We’re excited to support the test on World IPv6 Day and beyond, as we ready to upgrade to IPv6 with many other participants.  You can learn more about how to make sure your ready for World IPv6 Day with a simple readiness check in the blog post and available at http://www.microsoft.com/ipv6. 

As I previously noted, most people will be fine on World IPv6 Day.  As noted on the Windows IPv6 blog, some users with a misconfigured Internet connection may lose network connectivity when accessing web sites that support dual IPv4 and IPv6 connectivity. Knowledge Base article 2533454 repairs configurations where you have may appear to have IPv6 connectivity to the Internet, but it is not working properly.

Thanks for your support of World IPv6 Day!

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Microsoft Bing and Xbox.com Support World IPv6 Day

June 8 is just around the corner, and along with other members of the Internet Society (ISOC), Microsoft will participate in World IPv6 Day. (For more information on IPv6, you can Bing it: http://www.bing.com/search?q=ipv6)

On this one-day test, we will provide support for IPv6 on Bing.com and Xbox.com as part of a broad industry effort to validate the readiness of this new foundation of the Internet. Consumers with IPv6 Internet capabilities – with both a device that supports IPv6 (like a Windows 7 PC) and support from your Internet provider – will automatically utilize IPv6 when connected to participating website. While the protocols are different, the browsing experiences of IPv4 and IPv6 are identical. In fact, most users of these services won’t even notice that this test is happening. Users with only IPv4 connectivity will continue to connect via IPv4.

The Internet is gradually shifting to IPv6, representing a foundational shift in every Internet experience. At Microsoft, we have been working towards the promise of a smooth and prudent transition, and teams across the company have been readying our products and services to support IPv6. Many of our products, like Microsoft Windows, have had robust IPv6 support for years. Microsoft takes this transition very seriously, and this test is one of many investments to ensure there is no interruption of service for our users as IPv6 is widely deployed.

As noted, most people will be fine on World IPv6 Day.  As noted on the Windows IPv6 blog, some users with a misconfigured Internet connection may lose network connectivity when accessing web sites that support dual IPv4 and IPv6 connectivity. Knowledge Base article 2533454 repairs configurations where you have may appear to have IPv6 connectivity to the Internet, but it is not working properly. The post also provides a link to the test (included below) that can help you understand whether you will be negatively affected, as well as whether you have IPv6 web access.

Get Microsoft Silverlight

You can learn more about Microsoft’s support for IPv6 at http://www.microsoft.com/ipv6.

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Announcement: Microsoft Security Advisory 2490606: Vulnerability in Graphics Rendering Engine Could Allow Remote Code Execution

This just published on TechNet’s Microsoft Security Advisories and notred on the MSRC Blog: details on Microsoft Security Advisory 2490606, Vulnerability in Graphics Rendering Engine Could Allow Remote Code Execution…

Microsoft is investigating new public reports of a vulnerability in the Windows Graphics Rendering Engine. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run arbitrary code in the security context of the logged-on user. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

We are not aware of attacks that try to use the reported vulnerability or of customer impact at this time.

We are actively working with partners in our Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP) to provide information that they can use to provide broader protections to customers.

Upon completion of this investigation, Microsoft will take the appropriate action to help protect our customers. This may include providing a security update through our monthly release process or providing an out-of-cycle security update, depending on customer needs.

Affected Software:

  • Windows XP Service Pack 3 and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition Service Pack 2 
  • Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2, x64 SP2 and SP2 for Itanium-based systems
  • Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and SP2, as well as Windows Vista x64 Edition SP1 and SP2
  • Windows Server 2008 RTM

Non-Affected Software: Windows 7 for 32-bit and x64-based Systems, Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based and Itanium-based systems.

As noted, teams are are working to develop a security update to address this vulnerability. The circumstances around the issue do not currently meet the criteria for an out-of-band release; however, we are monitoring the threat landscape very closely and if the situation changes, we will post updates here on the MSRC blog.

As always, we encourage Internet users to follow the “Protect Your Computer” guidance of enabling a firewall, applying all software updates and installing anti-virus and anti-spyware software. Additional information can be found at Security at Home.

For more details on the Security Advisory you can subscribe to our comprehensive alerts here to receive email when there’s new information.

 

Tags: Security, what I read, Microsoft, Windows 7.

MSRC references: Security Advisory, Workarounds, Defense-in-depth, Exploitability

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Reminder: Microsoft Windows 2009 Daylight Saving Time and Time Zones Hotfix available for Egypt, Western Australia

In case you missed the announcement, there is a new Microsoft Windows 2009 Daylight Saving Time and Time Zones Hotfix available for Egypt and Western Australia. See my original post here.


Once again, as has happened in the past, a couple of countries will see new changes to their observation of Daylight Saving Time (DST), this time in Egypt and Western Australia.

A new Microsoft Knowledge Base article is up – KB 974176 – noting the hotfix now available to update the Daylight Saving Time for the “(GMT+02:00) Cairo” and “(GMT+08:00) Perth” time zones for the year 2009 for Windows Server 2003-based, Windows Vista-based, Windows Server 2008-based, and Windows 7-based computers.

Egypt has announced to change the Daylight Saving Time (DST) to end on midnight August 21st. This hotfix updates the end date of DST for the “(GMT+02:00) Cairo” time zone in 2009. The clock will move one hour backward at midnight between August 20th and August 21st.
Australia has announced the end of Daylight Saving Time for the Western Australia time zone. This hotfix removes the Daylight Saving Time for the “(GMT+08:00) Perth” time zone.


More specifically, this hotfix:



  • Sets DST end date for Egypt at 23:59:59.999 on August 20th, 2009

  • Removes DST for Western Australia time zone in 2009.

To get the hotfix, click here to view and request hotfix downloads.

<soapbox>

I have to recommend that in order to achieve more seamless transitions to new DST rules and time zones, governments should provide 1) official confirmations of planned changes to DST and time zones, and 2) provide ample advance notice and concentrated efforts on promoting the change to the affected citizens is a requirement.  If you look at how Australia approached their upcoming change in in 2008 (more details are available here), the national government allowed eight months or so between the announcement and the actual change.   

</soapbox>

Tags: Windows, Microsoft, Daylight Saving Time, Daylight Savings Time, RSS, DST, Egypt, Australia, ; 18,000,000 (up from 3M six months ago); 20,400,000 (up >3M)

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