Tag: Announcements

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Microsoft’s Windows Vista OS released to manufacturing

It’s official: Windows Vista has been released to manufacturing:



“As Microsoft Windows Vista is released to manufacturing (RTM) today — a significant milestone for Microsoft and its partners — anticipation is building around that all-important question: How good is it really?


“Microsoft says Windows Vista is its most heavily tested operating system ever, with deep investments made to ensure greater security, reliability and usability. But after all the time, expense and effort to get it right, does Windows Vista meet the quality bar? For answers to this and other questions about the quality of Windows Vista, PressPass spoke with Sven Hallauer, release manager and director of program management at Microsoft.”


For more, see the following links:



As Sven Hallauer put it: “So yes, everything is on track and we’re very excited about it.”


The Seattle PI reports the announcement here…



“This is a good day,” said Jim Allchin, co-president of Microsoft’s Platforms & Services Division, in a conference call announcing the operating system’s release to manufacturing. “It’s rock solid, and we’re ready to ship.”


Computerworld reports that Windows Vista is done and released to manufacturing… gotta love the press.



“Microsoft today officially finished the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) version of its upcoming Windows Vista operating system. The RTM release is the first step toward the widespread availability of the operating system, which is slated to be available to corporate volume license customers via the Web or on CD sometime before Nov. 30, and to general consumers on Jan. 30, 2007.


“The RTM version will be offered first to system manufacturers, who use it as the basis for their installations of Windows Vista on new PCs. It is not yet available for consumer download, although Microsoft has said that it will be available to MSDN and TechNet subscribers some time this month.”


Jim Allchin also left this note on the Windows Vista Blog this morning…









“It’s time!” Posted by Jim Allchin on Wednesday, November 08, 2006 11:53 AM


Tags: Windows Vista, Jim Allchin, Annnouncement, Featured News, RTM, Release-to-Manufacturing 


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Movies & TV via Xbox starting Nov. 22

The Seattle Times reported the new agreements with several networks (including CBS, TBS and MTV), Paramount Pictures and Warner Brothers “to bring an initial lineup of more than 1,000 hours of hit television shows and movies to Xbox 360 consoles” starting November 22nd, with to bring standard and HD TV content via the Internet.



“It announced plans to offer movie rentals and full purchases of television shows, joining Apple Computer, Amazon.com and other rivals in vying for the “what do you want to watch tonight?” entertainment dollar.


“By year-end, the service is to have at least 1,000 hours of television programs and movies from partners that include the CBS and MTV networks, Turner Broadcasting System, Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.”


It’s the HD CBS content and remastered Star Trek episodes that put this as a top reason to add an Xbox 360 beyond the family room, in addition to Avatar: The Last Airbender, SpongeBob SquarePants. For the kids, of course. When you consider that the Hollywood Reporter notes that there are “4 million Xbox Live members worldwide that have downloaded more than 70 million pieces of gaming and such shortform entertainment content as music videos and movie trailers during the 11 months Marketplace has been available,” that’s an incredible installed base, a comparison that is hard to match in other traditional DVR and entertainment distribution services.


For others, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races from Race Rewind, “50 of its most intense fights” from the Ultimate Fighting Championship and more.


As ABC News reports, Xbox will add the Video Marketplace to the Xbox Live experience, using Microsoft Points as used in Xbox Live Arcade, Marketplace and Zune all use. As noted in Variety, “Microsoft hasn’t revealed its pricing plans, but Xbox Live is expected to be competitive with other VOD sites, ranging from 99¢ for some TV shows up to $4.99 for the newest pics. High-def pics may cost $1 or $2 more to rent.”


My main concern: the current 20GB hard drive on the Xbox 360 is too small in traditional terms of digital video recorders compared with the current crop of DVRs available today. For the casual viewer, maybe, but not if you’re looking to download a couple of HD TV shows and a movie or two. In our home, 30 to 40GB of space is the minimum.


Troy Wolverton of the Mercury News said that “given that the Xbox 360’s hard drive holds just 20 gigabytes of data, customers will be able to store only about five hours of high-definition or 15 to 17 hours of standard-definition video, far less than a typical digital video recorder.”


So some analysts predict that there will be a new larger HDD come January:



“Richard Doherty, an industry pundit with the Seaford, N.Y., firm Envisioneering, … predicted Microsoft will soon announce larger hard drives for the console, perhaps at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.”


More details are available on the Xbox.com site.

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News: Microsoft wraps up Office 2007

The Inside Office Online blog and CNET News report that Office is done today.



“Both Windows Vista and Office are slated for release to big businesses on Nov. 30. Microsoft has issued near-final test releases of Vista, but has not yet completed the final, or “gold,” code for the new operating system.


“As for Office 2007, the upcoming release sports some major changes from Office 2003, including new file formats and a radically revised user interface. In addition to those and other changes that have been known for months, Microsoft noted that it has also added a feature to Outlook to make it easier to send text messages to cell phones.”


The news is that Vista Enterprise is on track, too. Barring the ill effects of bad weather in the area all should be good.


More info on line at http://www.microsoft.com/business/launch2007/default.mspx.


And if you haven’t seen it, visit the new Office Online.

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Article, videos: Linux Linkup for Microsoft, Novell

Businessweek offers their coverageon the Microsoft-Novell announcement., which the WSJ said “makes it easier for customers to use both the Linux and Windows operating systems.“



“In a surprising development, Microsoft (MSFT) on Nov. 2 entered into a broad partnership with longtime rival Novell (NOVL) and agreed to provide some support to Linux, the open-source operating system that competes with its own Windows operating system. Linux, which is developed by a community of software developers who share their code, has long been viewed as one of the most serious threats to the lucrative Windows franchise.


“Under the agreement, Microsoft will offer sales support for SUSE Linux, a version of the operating system sold by Novell. The two companies have also agreed to develop technologies to make it easier for users to run both SUSE Linux and Microsoft’s Windows on their computers. “They said it couldn’t be done,” Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, said in a prepared statement. “This is a new model and a true evolution of our relationship that we think customers will immediately find compelling.”  


More info: the Video Press conference on the WSJ web site


Has Novell gotten the memo? See an example of Novell’s humour, which they term as a “public service announcement.”

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Changes announced today in Windows Vista transfer limits

CNET News reports today the changes in Windows Vista transfer limits. This was reported in the news last month (see this story link on InternetNews), when it was reported that in “customers will only be able to reinstall Vista on a new machine once. After that, they will have to buy a new copy of Vista.”


Not so. 



“Reversing a licensing change announced two weeks ago, Microsoft said on Thursday that it will not limit the number of times that retail customers can transfer their Windows Vista license to a different computer. On Oct. 16, Microsoft issued the new user license for Vista, including terms that would have limited the ability of those who buy a boxed copy of the operating system to transfer that license. Under the proposed terms, users could have made such a switch only one time.


“However, the new restriction prompted an outcry among hardware enthusiasts and others. Microsoft is returning the licensing terms to basically what they were in Windows XP–users can transfer their license to a new PC an unlimited number of times, provided they uninstall and stop using it on the prior machine.


“The software maker said it paid attention to the response both directly to the company and on blogs and decided to reverse course.


“…Microsoft product manager Mike Burk (said) “At the same time, after listening to the feedback that came in, (we) felt that we needed to make this change.”


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