First Look: Windows 7 Release Candidate (build 7100)
Written by Wayne
Saturday, 25 April 2009 19:26
So, what’s different in this build? well, if you’ve been keeping up with all the leaked builds then there’s little new to see. In fact, when I compare it to say build 7057 there are virtually no visual changes to be seen (although I don’t remember this hideously scary and very disturbing wallpaper in build 7057 …). At this late stage of development all the changes have been under the hood. However, if you’re still using the Beta 1 build that was released back in January, there’s a lot of see in this new build. I’m going to leave coverage of what’s different to others, other than to look at one area - performance...read more on Our Forum
Windows XP Comes Integrated into Windows 7
Written by Wayne
Saturday, 25 April 2009 19:22
If you thought Microsoft was going to dump Windows XP completely, think again. Windows 7 is approaching its official release date not too long from now, and this week Microsoft unveiled one of the "secret" technologies that will ship with Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate. Called XP Mode or XPM for short, the new feature essentially virtualizes the legacy Windows XP operating environment within Windows 7. That is, users will be able to install all applications that were previously only fully work-ing with Windows XP, on their Windows 7 desktop without having to resort to a dual-boot solution. Indeed, Windows 7 comes with "compatibility mode" but XPM isn't the same. XPM is actually built on the same platform as Microsoft's Virtual PC 7 product. This isn't the same as running an XP environment through a hypervisor. It was previously believed that XPM would be a Hyper-V client for Windows 7, but it is not...Read more on Our Forum
Windows 7 secret: XP Mode
Written by Riso
Saturday, 25 April 2009 09:39
Microsoft had announced that there will be some additional features in Windows 7, which was kept secret by Microsoft. As the name suggests, XP Mode consists of the Virtual PC-based virtual environment and a fully licensed copy of Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3). It will be made available, for free, to users of Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions via a download from the Microsoft web site. Tnx. to Geeky tips
Windows 7 RC (both x86 and x64) Leaked on Torrent
Written by Riso
Saturday, 25 April 2009 09:28
2009.4.24 Both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the release candidate build of Windows 7 (Windows 7 build 7100) have been leaked to various P2P networks yesterday. Popular sites already show thousands of users who download the Windows 7 Release Candidate which is expected for a public release on May 5. The language of this leak seems to be English which stands in contrast to previous leaks which were only available in Chinese. The beta keys seem to work in the release candidate build as well. There is no additional information available at this point in time. Windows 7 RC Image Details: Build String: 7100.0.winmain_win7rc.090421-1700 File Name and Size (x86): 7100.0.090421-1700_x86fre_client_en-us_Retail_Ultimate-GRC1CULFRER_EN_DVD.iso (2,414 Mb) File Name and Size(x64): 7100.0.090421-1700_x64fre_client_en-us_Retail_Ultimate-GRC1CULXFRER_EN_DVD.iso (3,119 Mb) Remember that you cannot perform an upgrade install with this build without modifying a file. It is recommended that you do a clean install. Microsoft urges users to do the same or upgrade from Vista....more HERE
Microsoft 'best software brand'
Written by Wayne
Thursday, 23 April 2009 17:47
Microsoft has come in at first place in a list of top ten software brands compiled by one technology magazine. Computing named Microsoft ahead of Google (second place) and Amazon (fifth) in its analysis of the world's best software brands and said that its decision should not surprise readers. The publication estimated that the value of the Microsoft brand was just over £30 billion (44 billion US), almost three times the value of the third place candidate, Oracle. Computing explained that Bill Gates' empire was the clear winner 'even though the Redmond-based software titan has suffered a rare hiccup with the poor reaction to its Windows Vista operating system'...Read more on Our Forum
Microsoft’s regulatory scrutiny to end in 2011
Written by Administrator
Thursday, 23 April 2009 16:36
In January, technical experts indicated that Windows 7 would be tested “more thoroughly” than prior Redmond offerings as a result of anti-trust oversight documents provided by Microsoft to a three-member federal panel monitoring Windows 7’s development. It has now been revealed that anti-trust scrutiny over Microsoft’s proceedings will end on May 12, 2011. The three-member panel operating for federal antitrust officials has been investigating Windows 7’s underpinnings as early as March of last year. However, documentation provided to the panel prior to the release of February’s first beta prompted even closer attention from the government. With Windows 7 now nearing completion, federal anti-trust regulators and Microsoft have struck a deal that spells out the final stages of governmental oversight. Yesterday, the Department of Justice filed documents (download PDF) with U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly asking that she extend her oversight by at least 18 months, until May 12, 2011, to give Microsoft more time to finish documenting the communication protocols needed by competitors to craft software that works smoothly with Windows clients and servers....Read more here
Researchers show how to take control of Windows 7
Written by Riso
Saturday, 25 April 2009 13:06
Researchers Vipin Kumar and Nitin Kumar used proof-of-concept code they developed, called VBootkit 2.0, to take control of a Windows 7 virtual machine while it was booting up. They demonstrated how the software works at the conference. "There's no fix for this. It cannot be fixed. It's a design problem," Vipin Kumar said, explaining the software exploits the Windows 7 assumption that the boot process is safe from attack. While VBootkit 2.0 shows how an attacker can take control of a Windows 7 computer, it's not necessarily a serious threat. For the attack to work, an attacker must have physical access to the victim's computer. The attack can not be done remotely. VBootkit 2.0, which is just 3KB in size, allows an attacker to take control of the computer by making changes to Windows 7 files that are loaded into the system memory during the boot process. Since no files are changed on the hard disk, VBootkit 2.0 is very difficult to detect, he said. However....READ MORE
Windows 7: blocked upgrades
Written by Riso
Saturday, 25 April 2009 09:34
Microsoft has blocked upgrades from Beta and Pre-Release Candidate of Windows 7 to the full RC of the next iteration of the Windows client. The RC build of Windows 7 will check for the version of the operating system it is upgrading from and will kill the process if the upgrade is performed from a Beta or a Pre-RC flavour of the platform. Moving towards the development of Windows 7, the software giant informed that RC to RTM (release to manufacturing) upgrades would be blocked. When you try to upgrade a Beta or a pre-RC build you will find that you are not able to setup and then you can exit gracefully. You can install as a clean installation and use the Windows Easy Transfer feature if you wish to move your accounts,settings, files, and more. Here is a procedure for how to bypass the check for pre-release upgrade:Download the ISO as you did previously and burn the ISO to a DVD. 1)Copy the whole image to a storage location you wish to run the upgrade from (a bootable flash drive or a directory on any partition on the machine running the pre-release build). 2)Browse to the sources directory. 3)Open the file cversion.ini in a text editor like Notepad. 4)Modify the MinClient build number to a value lower than the down-level build. For example, change 7100 to 7000 (see screenshot). 5)Save the file in place with the same name. 6)Run setup like you would normally from this modified copy of the image and the version check will be bypassed.
Acer Launches 8 Phones in Singapore
Written by Wayne
Friday, 24 April 2009 06:05
Acer seems determined to make a great impression on the mobile phone market, and, after announcing at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona a series of new handsets powered by the Windows Mobile operating system, the company is now reported to plan launching no less than eight devices on the Singapore market. All the phones will become available during the ongoing year, only that five of them will come sooner, while the other three a little later. Basically, the dual-SIM DX900 ($530 USD), the dual-faced DX650 ($397 USD) and the compact X960 ($463 USD) are already available, while the F900 and the M900 should land in May, although no price has been unveiled yet. The other three devices, namely the F1, L1 and C1, will also be here before the end of the year...Read more at Our Forum
Researchers Show How to Take Control of Windows 7
Written by Wayne
Thursday, 23 April 2009 17:03
Security researchers demonstrated how to take control of a computer running Microsoft's upcoming Windows 7 operating system at the Hack In The Box Security Conference (HITB) in Dubai on Thursday. Researchers Vipin Kumar and Nitin Kumar used proof-of-concept code they developed, called VBootkit 2.0, to take control of a Windows 7 virtual machine while it was booting up. They demonstrated how the software works at the conference. "There's no fix for this. It cannot be fixed. It's a design problem," Vipin Kumar said, explaining the software exploits the Windows 7 assumption that the boot process is safe from attack. While VBootkit 2.0 shows how an attacker can take control of a Windows 7 computer, it's not necessarily a serious threat. For the attack to work, an attacker must have physical access to the victim's computer. The attack can not be done remotely...Read more on Our Forum
Windows 7 News: better security for road warriors
Written by Wayne
Wednesday, 22 April 2009 22:41
Microsoft has been working hard to try to produce software that is much safer for mobile workers and IT personnel, and it looks as though the new Windows 7 operating system might be on to something. The new OS includes technology that will erect different lines of defenses, this will depend on what form of network connection is in place. If you are a sales rep, then Windows 7 will automatically implement "public" firewall settings, this is the best setting if you connect to the Internet through a hotel broadband service. If the rep decided to establish a link to his company’s virtual private network, then Windows 7 will then activate the appropriate corporate "domain" settings which has been predetermined by his company’s IT department...Read more on Our Forum
