Posts Tagged ‘windows’

Microsoft starts to talk SP1 for Windows 7, Server 2008 R2

// March 18th, 2010 // No Comments » // Tech News

Microsoft began to talk about Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 today, though the company wasn’t yet ready to announce a beta or release timeline for the service pack. Rumors pegged SP1 beta for arrival this month . For Windows Server 2008 R2, the company revealed two new features that directly affect Microsoft’s desktop virtualization platform: Microsoft Dynamic Memory and Microsoft RemoteFX . For Windows 7, SP1 includes only minor updates: mostly hotfixes already delivered through Windows Update. SP1 will, however, feature an updated Remote Desktop client that takes advantage of RemoteFX introduced Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. Microsoft says it will be giving more detailed information regarding SP1 over the next several months. Read the comments on this post

The NBP and ISP competition: this fight’s just beginning

// March 18th, 2010 // No Comments » // Tech News

For a plan that puts “competition” as its number one goal, the National Broadband Plan is remarkably light on policies that will produce much of it in the wireline space. Talk of competition is everywhere, but all suggestions are remarkably general or terribly banal: “more data collection” and “future policy reviews” are everywhere. Suggestions about how such reviews should turn out is lacking. But the reviews will still be held, and at some point the consensus-building NBP will devolve into ugly battles of wholesale access, special access (middle-mile connections), and ISP disclosure. The FCC commissioners know it, and they’re already gearing up for the fights ahead. Read the comments on this post

Microsoft removes VM hardware requirements, improves XP mode

// March 18th, 2010 // No Comments » // Tech News

Microsoft made a slew of virtualization announcements today, affecting both current and future products. Arguably the most important tidbit is that the company has removed the virtualization layer’s hardware requirements for the XP Mode available in Windows 7. Those already running XP Mode don’t need to bother updating since they already have it working, but users who were unsure of their PC hardware can grab the update and try out XP Mode on Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, or Windows 7 Ultimate. The update is available for Windows 7 32-bit (3.7MB) and Windows 7 64-bit (4.1MB). Microsoft has been criticized for complicating things by having XP Mode only work on processors that supported either Intel’s VT or AMD’s AMD-V. This requirement was troublesome and confusing, as many Intel owners weren’t sure if their CPU supported hardware virtualization, and if it did, whether it was turned on in the BIOS. Now that problem has been eliminated, removing a barrier to the adoption of Windows 7 among small and mid-size businesses that still cling to Windows XP. Read the comments on this post

150,000 take FCC broadband speed test in first week

// March 18th, 2010 // No Comments » // Tech News

The FCC has had it with ISPs. For more than a decade, the agency has relied on ISP reports to get a picture of broadband speeds and availability in the US, and the results have been uniformly terrible. The ISPs don’t want to report numbers detailed enough to be useful, so the feds finally dropped a pile of cash on the table last year to do some proper broadband mapping. Last week, the FCC went a step further, rolling out tools for Android, the iPhone, and the Web that enable users to test—and, crucially, to report—their broadband speeds. In addition, it decided to fund a third-party measurement company that will use hardware devices to test actual line speeds in tens of thousands of US homes. It’s all about the data, and the FCC is determined to get it one way or another. Read the comments on this post

Unsurprisingly, IE9 won’t be supported on an obsolete OS

// March 16th, 2010 // No Comments » // Tech News

Internet Explorer General Manager Dean Hachamovitch all but confirmed today that the next version of Microsoft’s Web browser, Internet Explorer 9 , will not be supported on Windows XP. Hachamovitch stopped short of explicitly saying that XP would not be supported, but said that building a “modern browser” required a “modern operating system.” IE9 will be heavily dependent on hardware acceleration, courtesy of its use of Direct2D and DirectWrite; neither API is available on Windows XP. That IE9 would use these features has been known since last year’s PDC, and so the lack of XP support should come as a surprise to few. Nonetheless, there are sure to be some who will gripe that the newest browser (not likely to hit until next year at the earliest) won’t be available for a decade-old operating system. Read the comments on this post

House of Lords gives thumbs up to 3 strikes, site takedown

// March 16th, 2010 // No Comments » // Tech News

The UK’s House of Lords has passed a version of the Digital Economy Bill that eliminated one controversial anti-piracy measure but added a new one in its place. The bill, which includes a three-strikes provision that will suspend the service of repeat copyright infringers, will now be considered by the Commons. There are promises that a provision that would require ISPs to block access to sites used for infringement will be revised during the process, but the rush to complete work on the law ahead of the UK’s coming elections has left a number of advocacy groups feeling that major changes to copyright enforcement are being rushed through Parliament without proper consideration. The Digital Economy Bill was first introduced last November , at which point attention focused on a provision that some claimed would turn the UK’s Secretary of state into a “Pirate Finder General.” Although the government wouldn’t specify anti-piracy measures in the bill proper, it reserved the power for the Secretary of State to take unnamed actions in the future, if those actions were likely to reduce infringement. Read the comments on this post

FileMaker Pro goes to 11, admits people like spreadsheets

// March 9th, 2010 // No Comments » // Tech News

Apple subsidiary FileMaker has released version 11 of its flagship FileMaker Pro database. The updated software purports to make building and maintaining databases even easier, while acknowledging that many users are accustomed to using spreadsheets for database purposes by including pivot table-like reporting and Excel-like charting features. FileMaker Pro Server has also been updated, dropping the simultaneous client access limit for the Advanced version. FileMaker Pro already laid claim to being one of the easiest cross-platform database tools available, but the company added additional features designed to enhance that ease of use. The Quick Start screen has been improved, offering clear ways to begin a new database. You can start from scratch; import existing data in tab or comma-separated files, Excel spreadsheets, or Bento databases; or choose from a number of Starter Solution templates. A new invoicing template has been added in version 11 to make that common business task practically a plug-and-chug operation; customer data can later be linked for other purposes. Read the comments on this post

Microsoft Patch Tuesday for March 2010: two bulletins

// March 4th, 2010 // No Comments » // Tech News

According to the Microsoft Security Response Center, Microsoft will issue two Security Bulletins addressing eight vulnerabilities on Tuesday, and it will host a webcast to address customer questions about the bulletins the following day (March 10 at 11:00 am PST, if you’re interested). Both of the vulnerabilities are rated “Important” and both may require a restart. The list of affected operating systems includes Windows XP (x86 and x64), Windows Vista (x86 and x64), and Windows 7 (x86 and x64). In terms of the Microsoft Office suites, all supported versions are affected on both Windows and Mac OS X. Compared to last month’s whopper of a Patch Tuesday , this one is quite a small one, especially given that there are no “Critical” patches coming. The exact breakdown of the bulletins is as follows: Bulletin 1: Important (Remote Code Execution), Windows Bulletin 2: Important (Remote Code Execution), Office If you’re wondering, the IE/Windows Help vulnerability we reported on earlier this week is not yet ready to be patched. There are no known attacks, but Microsoft is still encouraging customers to review the advisory and apply the suggested workarounds where possible. Customers that are running Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, or Windows Server 2008 R2 are not affected. Along with these patches, Microsoft is also planning to release the following on Patch Tuesday: One or more nonsecurity, high-priority updates on Windows Update (WU) and Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) One or more nonsecurity, high-priority updates on Microsoft Update (MU) and WSUS An updated version of the Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool on Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Windows Server Update Services, and the Microsoft Download Center This information is subject to change by Patch Tuesday; Microsoft has been known to rush patches as well as pull them if it deems it necessary. Read the comments on this post

Windows XP downgrade lawsuit dismissed

// March 1st, 2010 // No Comments » // Tech News

US District Court Judge Marsha Pechman has dismissed a year-old lawsuit against Microsoft over alleged antitrust violations for the downgrade rules it set for Windows Vista and XP. Pechman said the plaintiff had not proved Microsoft benefited from the downgrade practices that it created and that OEMs implemented. Since the plaintiff did not pay to downgrade to XP after buying a Vista PC, there was no evidence shown that Microsoft retained a benefit without giving value, he ruled. “We’re pleased the Court agreed that Plaintiff’s complaint failed to state a viable claim and dismissed it in its entirety,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Ars. The decision puts an end to the lawsuit filed in February 2009 by Emma Alvarado, a Los Angeles resident who accused Microsoft of pushing OEMs to force consumers who wanted to run Windows XP to first buy Windows Vista (or later, Windows 7) before they were allowed to downgrade their operating systems. Alvarado claimed that she had paid a $59.25 fee in mid-2008 to downgrade her new Lenovo laptop from Vista to XP, but Microsoft denied it had profited since it does not charge or receive any additional royalty if a customer exercises its downgrade rights. Instead, it is the computer makers that charge users the additional fees for downgrading (Alvarado did not name Lenovo in her lawsuit).

Microsoft details Windows 7 memory leaks, hangs, freezes

// February 12th, 2010 // No Comments » // Tech News

Microsoft has been tracking some odd issues that occur on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. These bugs are not typically fixed via Windows Update, because these hotfixes should only be applied to systems that are experiencing specific problems. So if you are not severely affected by either of them, wait for the relevant service packs. Here are the four most prominent issues, listed in order of decreasing severity. The first manifests itself when the computer crashes after it runs for some time, with the user seeing the following BSOD (the four parameters vary depending on the computer): STOP: 0×0000000A (parameter1, parameter2, parameter3, parameter4) IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL Microsoft explains that the issue occurs because Power Manager opens an Advanced Local Procedure Call (ALPC) port and closes another port instead of closing the ALPC one, resulting in a successive memory leak, leading to an eventual crash. If you’re affected, this is for you: Hotfix Request . Few users realize the second issue is a bug. As described in KB958685 , it affects all versions of Vista, Windows Server 2008, and Windows 7. If the user puts the notebook to sleep while its lid is still open and then afterwards closes the lid while the computer is still asleep, Windows will only display a blank screen and a mouse pointer upon wake. This continues until a key is pressed or the mouse is clicked. You can wait for the next software update that contains this hotfix (SP1 on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, SP2 on Vista) or you can click this: Hotfix Request . The third issue is described in KB978789 and specifically applies to computers with  chipsets from the Intel 5 Series or the Intel 3400 Series families coupled with Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, or Ultimate. Using a USB bulk storage device that has pending control and bulk traffic with such a Windows-based computer will result in the device becoming unresponsive, with the iPhone mentioned as a culprit. Microsoft doesn’t have a hotfix for this problem, suggesting that the user contact the computer/motherboard manufacturer for a BIOS update. The last problem is explained in KB975360 and affects all editions of Windows 7. It is only evident with computers that have a quad-core processor and support multitouch, and involves the Microsoft Rebound game from the Microsoft Touch Pack for Windows 7 not responding if you try to launch it. Since this is entirely a Microsoft problem, here’s the solution: Hotfix Request . Microsoft is expected to offer SP1 for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 this fall.

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