PCTips Box

The Multilingual User Interface Pack for Windows XP is designed to enable the end user to swap the languages for the graphical user interface. Microsoft has available a version of the MUI Pack which is tailored to XP Service Pack 2. Now, with the advent of XP SP3, the Redmond company has not made available a new variant of the MUI Pack, but instead introduced an update set up to make the Multilingual User Interface package for XP SP2 play well with Service Pack 3. The update is, in fact, meant to fix an incongruity between the MUI Pack and the gold bits of XP SP3.

“On a computer that is running the English version of Windows XP SP3 with the Windows XP SP2 Multilingual User Interface (MUI) Pack, you can select a non-English language for the user interface (UI). However, text may appear in English in the UI instead of in the selected language. The English text may appear in lists, menus, dialog boxes, product Help, and other locations,” Microsoft informed. (more…)

With the advent of Windows Vista at the end of 2006/the beginning of 2007, Microsoft has started pouring a consistent amount of efforts into enabling optimized desktops. Throughout 2007, and after the introduction of Windows Vista Service Pack 1, the Redmond company continued to fine tune a set of offerings bundled together under the umbrella of Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) for Software Assurance customers. The Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) in Las Vegas was the stage where the software giant stressed its constant commitment to both optimized Vista desktops and virtualization.

“The combination of MDOP and Windows Vista gives customers the tools they need to support more flexible work environments for their users, while making it easier and more efficient to manage and maintain their networks. This is the concept we refer to as the optimized desktop, and many of our customers have the tools to realize the benefits today. We’re responding to the enthusiasm our customers have shown for these products by continuing to improve upon them and roll out new updates in real time”, revealed Shanen Boettcher, General Manager of Windows Product Management for the enterprise. (more…)

Officially, Windows XP Service Pack 3 RTM is not yet available for download. Unofficially however, the story is a tad different. The third and last service pack for Windows XP has been up for grabs from various sources, more or less legitimate since a few days. And now the final bits of XP SP3 can be accessed straight from Microsoft, even though the Redmond company has failed to jump the gun on the previously announced general availability date: April 29, 2008. But failed only in appearance, as Microsoft has been serving the gold version of XP SP3 through its Windows Update infrastructure since the debut of this week.

The fact is that the Redmond company has debuted the preparations for the general release of Windows XP SP3 scheduled for April 29. In this context, the final bits of the service pack have begun making their way on the WU servers and propagating slowly. (more…)

Windows XP Service Pack 3 RTM is finally available for download. Microsoft released the service pack to manufacturing, at the beginning of this week, on April 21, 2008 and is now making headway towards the general availability of XP SP3. Officially, the final version of XP SP3 is scheduled for delivery starting with the end of this month. However, Windows XP SP3 RTM Build 5512 has been leaked and is already up for grabs, ahead of the release timetable outlined by the Redmond company.

At the start of this week, Chris Keroack, Release Program Manager Windows Sustainability Microsoft, announced the RTM of XP SP3, and pointed to April 29 as the date when end users would be able to access the service pack via both Windows Update and the Download Center. The Redmond company planned to serve the gold bits of Windows XP SP3 starting on May 2 to MSDN and TechNet subscribers, following general availability on April 29. (more…)

Although it was released to manufacturing on April 21, 2008, the third and last service pack for Windows XP has yet to make it to end users. Despite this, Microsoft has already made available the first update tailored on XP SP3. Update for Windows XP (KB942763) is designed to integrate with both Windows XP SP2 and SP3, and to tweak the Daylight Saving Time settings on the operating systems. Microsoft released KB942763 on the same day it RTM’d XP SP3, in an effort to correlate automatically the computer clock with the correct date in 2008, following the changes introduced via Daylight Saving Time laws in markets around the world.

“The update changes the time zone data to accommodate daylight saving time (DST) changes in several countries. This update also includes other DST-related changes, time zone-related changes, and settings-related changes. This is a cumulative update rollup that includes all the changes that were previously released in Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) articles 928388, 929120, and 933360,” Microsoft revealed. (more…)

Updates and service packs do not serve as exclusive methods of adding functionality to Microsoft’s operating system. In this regard, feature packs are designed to enhance a Windows platform with various components and features on top of the standard releases that are part of a product’s lifecycle. Case in point: Windows Vista Feature Pack for Wireless made available as of April 16. This is Microsoft’s way of delivering added functionality to Windows Vista on top of the recently released Service Pack 1.

“This software update includes the following components or features that improve wireless support in Windows Vista: Bluetooth version 2.1 support, Unified Pairing user interface, Windows Connect Now updates. Some of these features may work with existing hardware. However, you must have new hardware to take advantage of the new functionality,” Microsoft revealed. (more…)

Microsoft is gearing up for the next stage in the delivery of its first service pack for Windows Vista. The Redmond company has confirmed officially that the automatic distribution of Vista SP1 is just around the corner. Still, at this point in time, the deadline for the debut of Vista SP1’s serving through Automatic Updates has not been made public. Microsoft has stated all along that it plans to start the distribution of Vista SP1 through AU by mid-April, but offered no additional information to pinpoint the release.

Service Pack 1 was released to manufacturing on February 4, 2008, concomitantly with the gold version of Windows Server 2008. Only on March 18 did Microsoft manage to make the service pack available to end users via Windows Update and the Download Center. At that time, the Redmond company only released the English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese language versions of Vista SP1. (more…)

Keeping a close eye on Microsoft is not exactly an easy task, moreover since the company has entered a new era of translucency over transparency. But at the same time there are a variety of sources orbiting Microsoft and providing enough crumbs from the Redmond feast. The problem in this context is the centralization of information. In this regard, the Microsoft EvNet Dev Team has made available a collection of no less than five gadgets designed to integrate seamlessly with the Windows Vista Sidebar and deliver content from the main videocontent websites focused on the Redmond company.

“Check out this set of Windows Vista Sidebar Gadgets for keeping up to date with the latest content on Channel 8, Channel 9, Channel 10, TechNet Edge, and Mix Online. Features: automatic rotation of latest articles on the site allows you to quickly see what’s new and keep up to date without opening a browser, read articles and view videos right on your desktop or navigate directly to the post and the gadgets work with both Silverlight 1.0 as well as the SL 2 beta,” revealed Ronan Geraghty, a member of the Developer and Platform Group in Microsoft Ireland. (more…)

Following the availability of Windows Vista SP1, Microsoft is now offering additional resources tailored on the service pack. Case in point: Windows Performance Tools Kit, version 4.1.1. The Windows Performance Tools Kit is a set of performance analysis tools designed to integrate seamlessly with both Vista SP1 as well as Windows Server 2008 SP1/RTM. On April 1, 2008, Microsoft updated Windows Performance Tools Kit to version 4.1.1, permitting system and application performance analysis for the latest versions of Microsoft’s server and client operating systems. According to Microsoft, the tools are aimed at a select group of users from driver and application developers to hardware manufacturers and systems builders interested in testing the performance of Vista SP1 and Windows Sever 2008. (more…)

Microsoft has updated and re-released Windows NT Backup on March 27, 2008, making it available as a free download. The move comes as the utility needs to keep up the pace with the evolution of the latest Windows client and server operating systems. Microsoft released both Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 RTM/SP1 to manufacturing on February 4, 2008. Windows Server 2008 was launched officially at the end of the past month, while Vista SP1 was released to the general public on March 18.

Version 1.0 of Windows NT Backup dropped on March 27 is tailored to both Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008. The utility is designed to enable users of Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 to restore backups that were created on the previous versions of the operating systems, namely Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. In the move from XP and Windows Server 2003, Microsoft has evolved the backup infrastructure of the two platforms. (more…)