As stated, the alterations that Windows XP's third service pack brings to the game are background improvements. While some of them are more noticeable than others, the user won't actually see or "feel" any changes in the graphical user interface (GUI). The experience largely remains unchanged, and Vista-phobic users will probably appreciate that. That doesn't mean SP3 is without merit, though; its improvements are useful. Besides scores of security improvements, bug fixes, and other stuff that's already been released through Windows Update in the past two and a half years or so, it also includes.

via extremetech.com

Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday it sold 188,000 units of its Xbox 360 video game console in in the United States in April. Microsoft also said the Xbox version of Take-Two Interactive Software Inc's (TTWO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) "Grand Theft Auto 4" sold 1.8 million units in its first five days, making it the best-selling game in April. Microsoft was citing data from market research firm NPD, which is due to release its detailed monthly game sales report later on Thursday.

via uk.reuters.com

The $100 Linux Laptop is now a $200 Windows XP box. The XO (or OLPC) will eventually come as a dual boot machine, loaded with both XP and the weird icon-only XO flavor of Linux, called Sugar. First though, an XP-only version will ship, and will cost an extra $20 over the ever-fluctuating price of the original. $3 of this will go to Microsoft and the rest will take care of hardware changes to accommodate the new OS.

via blog.wired.com

Microsoft Corp. said that Windows Vista's first 90-days have been a huge success as compared to the first three months of Windows XP, three versions of Linux, and even the current version of the Mac operating system. Jeff Jones, the strategy director in Microsoft's security technology unit, tallied up vulnerabilities patched during the first 90 days of Vista, XP, Mac OS X 10.4, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 Workstation, Ubuntu 6.06 LTS, and Novell SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10.

via gameshout.com

Microsoft has announced new pricing and features for Windows Server 2008, which also includes Hypervisor which would be built-in some versions of the OS while still being available as a standalone product for all others.
When Microsoft released Vista with several different versions, critics pounded on the software giant saying they should follow the standard set by Apple and its single release of OS X. In addition, while that comparison is not completely fair since Windows is a more widespread Operating System the software giant will continue to distribute the Server 2008 product as it did with Vista.

via gameshout.com

The deployment will cover 10,000 computers and is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The cost of the rollout is covered by an annual service agreement with IBM. Although it's unclear if Defra is the first central government department to commit to a Vista deployment, it is among the early adopters. According to Defra, Vista's power-management features will help reduce the department's carbon footprint while the BitLocker encryption system will boost security.

via news.zdnet.co.uk

When Windows Vista shipped more than 15 months ago, I really thought I was through writing about Windows XP. Having written dozens of stories about XP by then, I had no problem with waving goodbye to the topic. And yet here I am, writing yet again about an operating system to which I first devoted a column in the spring of 2001.
My latest take on XP may be my least popular yet: While many people are demanding that Microsoft keep selling XP alongside Vista--and some are urging Microsoft to abandon Vista entirely--I have come not to praise XP but to bury it.

via blog.washingtonpost.com

Software developers are still writing applications for Windows XP, Windows 2003 and Linux in preference to Windows Vista more than 16 months after its worldwide release. A survey by Evans Data questioned 380 US software developers and found that just eight per cent are developing applications for Vista. Almost half the respondents are focusing development efforts on Windows XP, while more than one in 10 are still writing applications for Windows 2003.

via vnunet.com

Windows Home Server has finally been unleashed by Microsoft that helps small to medium size businesses while accessible remotely through the Web. The first servers running the new platform are available for pre-order and comes with the HP MediaSmart Server to ship this month. Microsoft said Home Server will open an entire new category of products for the consumer.
Microsoft has more than 100,000 people participating in its Windows Home Server beta and testing the backup and protective data functions of the new product.

via gameshout.com

Hewlett-Packard Co. today confirmed that some users of its AMD-based desktops have had problems after installing Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3), and said it would issue a patch this week to prevent machines from spiraling into endless reboots. HP also told users to delay installing XP SP3 until that patch was released. Microsoft, meanwhile, acknowledged today that it's working on a hotfix of its own. The confirmations were the latest additions to the weeklong saga of problems some users have encountered after upgrading Windows XP to SP3.

via computerworld.com

General Motors (GM), the world's fourth largest company in terms of revenue, might be going down a path that would make Microsoft very unhappy. According to an interview between BusinessWeek and GM's Chief Systems & Technology Officer Fred Killeen, the company may choose to wait for the next version of Windows: "We're considering bypassing Vista and going straight to Windows 7." The reason for this decision, according to Kileen, is that GM's software vendors haven't ensured all their programs will run on Vista and many of GM's PCs can't even handle Vista.

via arstechnica.com

Vista Loader is one of the most successful Vista activation crack available to date, second only to physical modify (hardmod) the BIOS to include SLIC table to make BIOS Vista activation-compliant. Vista Loader 2.1.3 also been named as “Windows Vista Activator 2008?. It’s an Windows Vista product activation activator in its purest form (also one of the best Vista crack tool)- without any crap, rubbish or potential virus or backdoor Trojan.

via keznews.com

It wasn't exactly Minority Report but Bill Gates' technology demonstration at the company's CEO Summit earlier Wednesday may be remembered years from now as a harbinger of the end for the keyboard and mouse era. Not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But soon enough. (Cue Winston Churchill here about how this is not the end, the beginning of the end, but perhaps, it's the end of the beginning.) As Gates demoed a 4-foot-by-6-foot prototype called TouchWall.

via keznews.com

Even with the general availability of Vista SP1 and XP SP3, Microsoft is still stuck gunning for Windows XP SP2 with the Windows Vista RTM "arsenal". But despite having sold in excess of 140 million licenses by the end of March 2008, Vista has failed to produce a kill, or to impact XP's install base in a manner that would have offered the latest Windows client the lion's share of the operating system market. But this is not stopping the Redmond company from beating the old drum of the superior level of security delivered by Vista in comparison to XP SP2.

via keznews.com

Oasys Mobile announced the availability of Sid Meier's Civilization IV: War of Two Cities for mobile phones, a new strategy game based on the legendary Civilization franchise created back in 1991 by Syd Meier and currently owned by 2K Games. The announcement comes after almost one year since Oasys got the license from 2K to develop the game, so they probably spent a lot of time in making everything suitable for our handsets. The mobile version of Civilization IV presents a striking resemblance to the original version, bringing a similar gaming experience, but it also comes with mobile-specific features.

via keznews.com