Title: Windows Vista
Description: Delayed
Deltasix - March 22, 2006 01:38 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE |
Microsoft delays launch of Vista
Microsoft plans to delay the consumer launch of its much-anticipated Windows Vista operating system to January 2007.
It had originally aimed to launch Vista - the first major update since Windows XP was introduced five years ago - in the second half of 2006.
Now, a version will be available for corporate customers from November 2006.
Vista will then be rolled out for consumers after the holiday shopping season, said a spokesman for Microsoft - the world's biggest software maker.
But analysts said this could throw some PC manufacturers and retailers into turmoil.
"It's not the optimal situation, to be launching the next-generation version of Windows right after the big holiday sales season," said analyst Joe Wilcox at Jupiter Research.
Efforts to improve security in the new system were largely behind the delay, Microsoft said.
Six versions
Microsoft is planning six versions of the next incarnation of its Windows operating system.
Three versions of the software, called Vista, will be for home users, two will be for businesses and one will be for emerging markets.
Vista, which was known as Longhorn during its long development, is a major re-working of Windows that makes changes, among other things, to the way the operating system looks and how it handles networking and sound.
Microsoft said the six versions were designed to match the demands different users have for its software.
No details have been given about the pricing of the separate versions.
When Vista eventually hits the market it will be the longest gap between releases of Windows systems. |
I'm not sure I was very expectant of this to come out anytime soon, XP works pretty well and all.
Oh, and that six different version sounds...interesting. Anyone know how many there are for XP?
unitedcitizens - March 23, 2006 02:55 AM (GMT)
Im not too sure, but I have major beef with Microsoft. Hopefully this delay with vista will make sure that the new system doesnt have as many bugs as XP had when it first came out.
Microsoft obviously doesnt care about the security flaws in there OS.
Deltasix - March 23, 2006 03:23 AM (GMT)
I wouldn't say that. But when your OS is the OS on the market, people who crack securities are going to be focusing most, in not all, of their attention on it.
Arya - March 24, 2006 08:47 PM (GMT)
To my knowledge, there are three versions of Microsoft Windows XP - Home, Professional, and Media Center Edition. I searched Wikipedia and found that two other versions were made for 64-bit computers, but that doesn't apply for the majority of users.
I'm inclined to believe that the Media Center Edition didn't come out until a while after Home and Professional, which, in my mind, were the original versions on the opening day of the OS.
RancerDS - April 4, 2006 04:26 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (Deltasix @ Mar 22 2006, 10:23 PM) |
| I wouldn't say that. But when your OS is the OS on the market, people who crack securities are going to be focusing most, in not all, of their attention on it. |
The reason for security issues is that the Windows XP operating system is based upon the Windows NT system. NT has always been a security nightmare because there wasn't anything to restrict the port access. The reason Unix (and the free versions) isn't automatically at risk is because you actually have the ability to restrict port access in the /etc/services directory by editing one file.
If you have to download a software firewall (or hide behind a hardware one) to keep intruders from your system, then the operating system isn't a complete solution. Vista may address security issues, but I don't see it as addressing THE MAIN issue.
An example:
My system is currently listening to the common ports of 25, 80 and 110. If I do not actively use those, someone can access my system. Since I'm running an Apache HTTP server, port 80 is going to be busy... and all they'll be able to access is the locally hosted HTML. I've got a 3rd party application (Avast) scanning activity for the e-mail ports of 25 & 110 for protection Windows XP doesn't have. Even the program to "tell" me which ports are open is 3rd party (ActivePorts).
Now, here's where it gets frustrating. The following ports are open (in listening mode):
123 UDP, 135 UDP & TCP, 137 & 138 UDP, 139 TCP, 143 TCP, 445 UDP & TCP, 500 UDP, 1025 & 1027 TCP, 1028 UDP, 1900 UDP, 2869 TCP, 3001 to 3003 TCP, 3004 & 3005 UDP, 3011 UDP, 3028 & 3029 TCP (Firefox uses), 3030 & 3041 UDP, 3306 TCP, 8 ports in the 4K UDP, 5000 TCP and a couple in the 12K range TCP (Avast utils).
TCP is the protocol that is the biggest concern. Picking just one open port to illustrate... what is port 5000 open to and how is it often used? Is it a print service? A network service? All I know is that it's open because of the
svchost.exe. If I look up an online reference to get even a clue of how it is used, (See:
http://www.iss.net/security_center/advice/Exploits/Ports/) I won't learn anything at all. So how do I shut down an unnecessary port, if, in fact, it is unnecessary?? Where in the Windows control panel do I go? Or is it in the obscurely located Services? Which services do I not need that I can shut down to close those ports??
IF it weren't for my ISP having a firewall up and running, I would have to manually configure a software solution to keep out the hackers that would be flooding into my 24/7 online connection. They'd do their port scans and freely do whatever they wanted to my system, including installing spyware or other malicious applications. I had that problem on PeoplePC... they couldn't seem to keep them out.
Windows can keep releasing version after version after version... but until they learn to give the end-users abilility to actually control their system's security, it will still be the same "issues" in the future. We shouldn't need to be network admins or UNIX gurus to realize how to address the existing majour flaws and then have to overcome the new ones that come with a brand-new version of the operating system that has the same core problem(s). If it weren't for browser competition, Internet Explorer wouldn't have addressed many of it's security issues.
Deltasix - April 4, 2006 04:29 PM (GMT)
To deal with svchost.exe I juse use Hijackthis!
Google it, its free to download.
maxnight1189 - May 28, 2006 03:45 PM (GMT)
there are actually four main versions of XP, if you count "Media Center Edition" seperatately: Home, Professional and Small Buisness Server.
As fo the whole ports thingy, yea...windows seems to have taken the "user friendly" route where they cater the services and functions of their operationg system to the lowest common denominator. Itll take you a good twenty minutes just to FIND the registry editior(if you dont know where it is) but my sister can have her computer on, AIM up, email half checked and the latest episode of ALIAS(very good show by the by...) started in three minutes flat! Its extemely agrivating!
Deltasix - November 8, 2006 08:46 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE |
Microsoft Vista in store in 2007
Microsoft's Windows Vista will be available to retail customers from 30 January 2007, the company has said.
The news comes days after the firm said the next version of the Windows operating system would be available to corporate customers from 30 November.
New elements in the updated software include an improved 3D interface, more search options and extra security.
Vista will be Microsoft's first new versions of Windows for the PC market since 2001.
There will be six versions of Vista - three for business, two for home use and one for developing nations. The price of the software will range from $100 to $399, Microsoft said.
Holiday sales worries
However, the January launch means that the firm could miss out on the lucrative Christmas marketing period.
As a result, Microsoft is offering coupons for free or discounted versions of Vista to customers who buy a PC with the older Windows XP installed to convince consumers to buy computers over the holiday period.
Microsoft has estimated that the new system could trigger a rise of 10% or more in Windows PC software sales in the financial year to 30 June, with most of the increase coming in the second half of the year.
Vista is the long-awaited update of the Windows operating system that was originally slated to be released in August 2006. The software has been under development for more than five years.
The software is a major overhaul of Windows and updates many of the core technologies. New elements include improved security, an improved 3D interface, plus new sound and networking technologies.
Microsoft has already released information about what PCs will have to do to run the software. Many PC makers are now selling "Vista-ready" computers.
In the US the software will be unveiled by Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer at an event at the New York Stock Exchange. |
Its official.
Morpheus - November 14, 2006 05:35 PM (GMT)
I'm definitely not going to buy it right away. From what I hear, it runs slower than XP (they have probably fixed it somewhat since RC2), and I don't want to be a guinea pig for their drivers and stuff.
Deltasix - November 15, 2006 02:12 PM (GMT)
Same here. I'd pretty much never buy a product as huge as this when it first comes out, I've had friends who did that with both XP (mistake) and ME (HUGE mistake).
But it will be interesting to see.
Deltasix - February 2, 2007 02:31 PM (GMT)
Well, its been released. Anyone see anything interesting about it?
Kevin Beckman - February 2, 2007 10:02 PM (GMT)
Well...it looks pretty.
However this nowhere near even getting on my priority list considering I'm still running 98se.
sitegod - February 4, 2007 01:42 PM (GMT)
I'm running Windows 2000 SP4 and it's actually a lot more satisfying than XP was. Although once Vista gets to a more mature level then I'll look into buying it.
Deltasix - February 4, 2007 10:00 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (sitegod @ Feb 4 2007, 08:42 AM) |
| I'm running Windows 2000 SP4 and it's actually a lot more satisfying than XP was. Although once Vista gets to a more mature level then I'll look into buying it. |
Yeah, I'd hardly ever buy any sort of electronic product when it first comes out, especially a Microsoft product.
Deltasix - March 3, 2007 02:48 PM (GMT)
Popular Opinion at this point: Not so good.
Most people are comparing it to Windows 2000 or whatever that load of crap was
Morpheus - March 5, 2007 12:39 PM (GMT)
I've heard mixed reviews. It's not something I'll consider buying for moer than $100 until it seems like the initial release has quieted down.
RancerDS - March 15, 2007 03:54 PM (GMT)
Love that Mac commercial where "PC" goes in for the Vista upgrade.
PC has to upgrade a lot of it's hardward to run it... meaning Windows OS design really doesn't try to be backward-compatable. Something Apple/MacIntosh will always have going for it (while not perfect in that regard).
PLUG: Convert to free operating systems like *nix. :rancer:
