[windows-vista-7-8] Forum Topics

So here I am working on a Sunday morning, as usual, and I when I fire up my laptop (which serves as my desktop) a message appears informing that an update is being applied and it won't take long. Imagine my surprise when it turns out that this update appeared …

 It's been a month since Windows 8, and if you've been using the new OS you're likely going through a period of confusion over the new Modern UI interface, as well as wondering if there's anything you're missing out on. The Windows 8 experiene is significantly different from …

Microsoft knows it has to do something in order to claw back some kind of market position, not now but five years into the future. The culture of computing is changing amongst the young and hip consumer, and it's moving away from the Microsoft Windows-centric vision of the past. While …

Reports are coming in thick and fast about 'state-sponsored' zero-day exploits hitting business websites in the UK. The latest, disclosed yesterday by [SophosLabs](http://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2012/06/20/aeronautical-state-sponsored-exploit/), involves an as yet unnamed European aeronautical parts supplier and follows on from another the day before involving a European medical company site. In both cases the …

Microsoft failed to make tablets work with Windows for PEN Computing twenty years ago, so why are some people saying that it is set to dethrone the iPad later this year? Can Windows 8 really prove to be a commercial threat to iOS? [ATTACH=RIGHT]24152[/ATTACH]I still have my Compaq Concerto from …

It's not often that Microsoft recommends that Windows users should disable a much hyped part of the OS, but that's exactly what has happened regarding the Windows Sidebar and Windows Gadgets found in Windows Vista and Windows 7. [Microsoft Security Advisory 2719662](http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/advisory/2719662) clearly states "Disabling the Windows Sidebar and Gadgets …

How will Microsoft differentiate Windows 8 in an already crowded Windows OS user space? How about, for one, with the use of a photographic gesture security system for logging in? The idea of using a photo to identify and authenticate the user is not without some pretty obvious problems (ambient …

[URL="http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2332430,00.asp?kc=PCRSS03079TX1K0000584"]John Dvorak at PC Magazine,[/URL] a grand old curmudgeon who never pulls any punches created a wish list for Windows 7. It got me thinking about my own wish list, so here goes: [B]1. Don't Make Me Wait Forever at Boot Time[/B] Nothing aggravates me more than waiting for Windows …

Apple and Microsoft have not had a lot of good press lately, but in spite of the issues both companies have faced, their quarterly reports released this week showed two companies that are still extremely profitable. [B]Microsoft Comes Through [/B] In spite of [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/news/story295211.html"]giving up on the Kin[/URL] and a …

I saw a report that read, "Video game sales plunge in April." Software sales dropped by 22 percent and hardware sales dropped by 37 percent. What's the story, folks? Do you have all the gaming miscellanea that you can afford? Are you satisfied with your current array of video games? …

Steve Ballmer dropped a bomb shell in a speech the other day at the University of Washington, letting it be known that the desktop software company was basically betting it all on the cloud. In a report on the speech [URL="http://paidcontent.org/article/419-ballmer-microsoft-betting-our-company-on-the-cloud/"]on PaidContent.org[/URL], Ballmer reportedly said the company was committing as …

So now we know that Microsoft is pushing out the release version of the latest in the operating system line-up, Windows 7, starting this week on the 30th April [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry4283.html"]according to official sources[/URL]. However, we also know from various news reports that many existing Windows users are not exactly head …

There was a a lot of news coming out Microsoft and Apple last week: * On Monday, Apple released its stellar [URL="http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2009/07/21results.html"]earnings report[/URL]. * On Monday, Microsoft opened up the [URL="http://www.mssharepointconference.com/"]SharePoint 2009 Conference[/URL] in Las Vegas * On Tuesday, Apple released its latest [URL="http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/article.html?Apple_launches_new_MacBook,_iMac,_Mac_Mini_and_Magic_Mouse&in_article_id=755089&in_page_id=150"]product lin[/URL]e * On Wednesday, Microsoft announced …

The popularity of Windows 7 features like Touch and Multi-Touch technology means more software developers are developing applications for Windows 7, according to a recent survey conducted by Embarcadero Technologies. [ATTACH=right]15815[/ATTACH]More than half of the 606 software developers surveyed – 54% – stated they are currently developing applications for Windows …

Gamers are used to unearthing cheats that will give them ultimate power over everything, but now it seems that Windows 7 users can also activate a God Mode of their own. Here's a really simple little Windows 7 tweak which activates an already pretty well documented developer shell feature that …

In quick succession, HP and Microsoft reportedly killed off two iPad wannabes this week. With HP's purchase of Palm and its WebOS, it meant that [URL="http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/29/hewlett-packard-to-kill-windows-7-tablet-project/"]the Windows 7 tablet[/URL] that Steve Ballmer showed off at CES in January (and which you can see here in [URL="http://byronmiller.typepad.com/byronmiller/2010/04/hp-video-shows-ipad-wannabe-teaser.html"]this video[/URL]) is suddenly shelfware. …

Yesterday was Microsoft's big day. Windows 7 was released. Did you go buy your copy already? Are you waiting? Whether you have or haven't doesn't really matter but I'm going to give you my five reasons why you [B]should[/B] switch to Windows 7 and five more why you [B]shouldn't[/B]. Both …

We seem to have reached one of those pivotal moments that come along every so often where the big three--Google, Microsoft and Apple-are fighting particularly hard to gain a dominant position. Of course, this is a constant battle, but for some reason it feels more acute to me lately. Maybe …

I suppose it had to happen. [URL="http://www.apple.com"]Apple[/URL] was rumoured to be launching a 'slate' computer so others including [URL="http://www.hp.com"]HP[/URL] have done so too. All of which leaves me a bit bemused. You see, I don't really know what these slate computers are for. Let's be straightforward. The first touch-sensitive laptops …

I think we can safely say that Windows Vista was a flop. The only one that doesn't seem to know it is Microsoft. Or does it? This week at [url=http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/winhec/default.mspx]WinHEC[/url], the company introduced a series of capabilities in [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7]Windows 7[/url] that it says will "make it easier for hardware partners …

As is to be expected as we fast approach the official launch of [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry4050.html"]Windows 7[/URL], more changes from the [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry3766.html"]Beta version[/URL] to [URL="http://www.itwire.com/content/view/23795/53/"]Release Code[/URL] functionality have been [URL="http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/2009/03/13/a-few-more-changes-from-beta-to-rc.aspx"]confirmed[/URL] by Microsoft. Although the Windows 7 team were at pains to point out that the latest update list is by no means …

Last post of the year from me and I've decided to ask five questions that could have some bearing on the areas I cover in this space in the next year. If you read me regularly, you know I write a lot about Google, Apple and Microsoft. I'm also fond …

Writing at the official Windows Experience blog, Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc refers to the latest NPD Retail Tracking Service data which shows that as of the February 2009 the Windows share of the US netbook market is a staggering 96 percent. That's up from less than 10 percent of US unit …

This is a bit off topic, but times are tough and money is money. There's an opportunity to earn between US$10 and $20 an hour working for the [U.S. Census Bureau](http://2010.census.gov/2010censusjobs/) for the 2010 population count. And after seeing number of hits that "[Craigslist: Developer's Jobs and Other Jobs](http://www.daniweb.com/news/story232973.html)" generated, …

I've done a bit of research on Windows 7 Enterprise to discover some of its new features and to uncover its secrets. From what I've seen so far, [URL="http://www.microsoft.com"]Microsoft[/URL] has provided some interesting Linux-esque features that might accidentally boost Linux adoption as a side effect. The two primary features to …

There was a good analysis [URL="http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/microsoft-google-and-the-bear/"]in the NYT yesterday[/URL] regarding the Google Android strategy, which according to author Saul Hansell, is intended not to make money for Google, but to block Microsoft from getting traction in the mobile space. Given that Google is giving Android away, it's a theory that …

Some people like to get their free Microsoft products by adopting the [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry4255.html"]eye patch and a parrot approach[/URL] via sites such as The Pirate Bay. Some of us, however, rather like the idea of getting Windows 7 totally free, totally legally, and direct from Microsoft for good measure. Yes, I …

It's supposed to be Windows 7's big week, but other news just seems to keep getting in the way. And it's not just competitors like the news coming out of Apple this week, it's big announcements coming from inside Microsoft too. You would think that Microsoft could at least keep …

So I'm helping host an event for [URL="http://www.google.com"]Google[/URL] yesterday - called Atmosphere, it was based in London and had about 300 CIOs present. I was lucky enough to be chairing a couple of panel discussions (and will put YouTube links in here if anyone's interested in what CIOs from Amazon, …

The [URL="http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/home?os=nonwin7"]Microsoft Windows 7[/URL] launch is all but upon us and I can't say I'm sorry. Not that I'm directly affected as a Mac user but Vista is now almost officially acknowledged as a flop and it'll be good to see Microsoft back in the game properly, in terms of …