Windows

A hint has appeared online that Vista, the long-awaited update to its Windows operating system, will debut in up to eight versions.

Microsoft posted names for six core and two non-Media Player variants of the software in a listing of SKUs (stock keeping units) on its Web site, but took down the information soon after it was posted.

The Web site posting said the six versions will be Windows Starter 2007, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Enterprise, Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Ultimate.

Both Windows Vista Home Basic and Windows Vista Business will also … Read more

Although Microsoft has supposedly added all of the features to Windows Vista that it plans to include, the company has yet to say which features will appear in which versions, or even just what versions there will be.

Such packaging decisions are typically kept close to the vest by Redmond, but enthusiast site Neowin claims that the company has made up its mind when it comes to Vista.

According to the site, Vista will come in the following flavors: Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Business N, Windows Vista Home Basic, Windows Vista Home Basic N, Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows … Read more

Want to know why you should buy Vista, the next version of Windows? Here's your opportunity to go straight to the source: Jim Allchin, the man behind Vista's development.

On Thursday, News.com editors will be meeting with Allchin, Microsoft's co-president of platform development. You can have the next-best thing to a seat at the table by sending us your questions on Vista, its development and where Windows is headed.

Email your questions to: send-us-news-tips@cnet.com. Include the words "questions for allchin" in the subject line, and be sure to include your full name, … Read more

The U.S. Government has reported that fewer vulnerabilities were found in Windows than in Linux/Unix operating systems in 2005.

Linux/Unix-based operating systems--a set that includes Mac OS X, as well as the various Linux distributions and flavours of Unix--had more than twice as many vulnerabilities as Windows, according to the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT).

The report, the Cyber Security Bulletin 2005, was published last week and found that out of 5,198 reported flaws, 812 were Windows operating system vulnerabilities, while 2,328 were Unix/Linux operating bugs. The remaining 2,058 were multiple … Read more

After skipping a November release, Microsoft is expected early next week to deliver an updated test version of Windows Vista.

Enthusiast site Bink.nu said to expect the Community Technology Preview release on Monday. Microsoft said last month that it would have a release before the holidays, which would at least seem to narrow things to next week.

The software maker originally hoped to offer up monthly CTP releases of Vista, but said last month that it was giving up the calendar-based commitments while still hoping to have frequent updates.

Microsoft released the first CTP version in September at its … Read more

Microsoft said Tuesday it is aiming to have all of the features that will ship in Vista, the next edition of Windows, completed by end of this year. A feature-complete beta will be ready early in 2006, it added. The full release is still slated for later that year.

However, the next release in its to the Community Technology Preview of Vista will not come until December, but will happen before the holidays. The first release in the CTP testing program was in October, and community testers had expected a monthly update in November.

CTP enables Microsoft to gather feedback … Read more

Do you know you want to beat your Microsoft addiction but don't know where to start?

Well, there is a new book with all the answers: "Just say no to Microsoft: How to ditch Microsoft and why it's not as hard as you think."

The tome begins with the most obvious of tips--Get a Mac--but moves on to offer suggestions on how to run a standard PC using operating systems, media software, browsers, office suites and all other manner of technology that Bill Gates and Co. had nothing to do with.

The book's author, Tony … Read more

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Chief Technical Officer Ray Ozzie are scheduled to headline a Nov. 1 press event in San Francisco.

The software maker was vague as to the topics the pair will discuss, saying only that "Gates and Ozzie will discuss Microsoft's vision and future direction and preview upcoming technologies from Microsoft."

As part of the company's recent reorganization, Ozzie has taken on responsibility for the company's software-based services push, though it is unclear if that will be the focus of the event, which will take place at San Francisco's Palace Hotel. … Read more

Businesses are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to plans for Windows Vista.

According to a Merrill Lynch survey of 100 North American CIOs, two-thirds of businesses are waiting for more information before planning their upgrade schedule to the next version of the operating system, which is due out late next year.

Just 8 percent said they are planning to upgrade in 2007. Twice that many are planning upgrades in 2008, while 5 percent said they plan to wait until 2009.

Meanwhile, just over half of those surveyed said they planned to increase their spending on Linux, with the … Read more