Tag: windows xp
Debuted last week for customers worldwide, the Windows Upgrade Option Program is designed to deliver customers and small businesses that buy designated PCs with premium versions of Windows Vista pre-installed free upgrades to equivalent flavors of Windows 7 once the operating system becomes available. The initiative is meant to feed consumers’ appetite for Windows 7 that could hurt Windows Vista sales and to make waiting for the next iteration of the Windows client drop pointless.
1. What is the Program Eligibility Period?
June 26, 2009 to January 31, 2010 – Only PCs preinstalled with qualifying Vista editions have to be acquired starting with June 26, but no later than January 31, 2010, in order to be eligible for a free Windows 7 upgrade through the Upgrade Option Program.
2. What are the qualifying Vista SKUs? To which Windows 7 edition will free upgrades be possible?
- Windows Vista Home Premium Upgrade free upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade
- Windows Vista Home Premium Full free upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade Read More»
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With the advent of Windows 7, Microsoft is making sure that it will keep Windows XP available for an additional 18 months after October 22, 2009, the official launch deadline for the operating system. Through the Windows 7 downgrade rights, customers with select licenses and SKUs of the next iteration of the Windows client will be able to downgrade and run older releases of the platform. In this regard, Microsoft explained that Windows XP would be given priority over Windows Vista. What this means is that the option to downgrade from Windows 7 to Windows Vista goes live only after XP downgrades are discontinued, namely after the 18-month period that will kick in on October 22 will come to an end.
Starting with the launch of Vista’s successor on October 22, 2009, customers with OEM/Software Assurance/Volume Licensing will immediately be able to buy Windows 7 but downgrade, deploy and use XP. According to the software giant, companies will need one of the following licenses to access downgrade rights: Select License and Open License; Licenses Enrolled in Software Assurance or OEM End User License Agreement (LICENSE TERMS). It is important to note that the licenses referred to by the software giant as the Full Packaged Product (FPP) End User License Agreements for the retail boxed versions of Windows 7 do not come with downgrade rights. Read More»
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To disable unneeded startup services for a safer, faster XP, use the “Services” Admin Tool (Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services). If you are a single user of a non-networked machine, you can disable the following items, with no ill effect.
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Concomitantly with this month’s security bulletin releases, Microsoft has also made available for download the June 2009 Security Release ISO Image. The ISO image is designed as a package containing all the patches released by Microsoft on June 9th, 2009, but only those plugging vulnerabilities in Windows client and server operating systems. June 2009 was synonymous with the release of no less than 10 new security bulletins. No less than six bulletins impact Windows, Microsoft explained.
“This month’s release addresses 31 total vulnerabilities with 15 rated as “1” on our Exploitability Index, meaning there is a high likelihood that reliable exploit code may be developed in the next 30 days,” stated Jerry Bryant, Sr. security program manager lead.
As it is traditional, Microsoft is offering all security patches designed to resolve vulnerabilities in Windows platforms in a single package. The June 2009 Security Release ISO Image comes to compensate the lack of Windows Server Update Services in IT environments that require security update to be downloaded in multiple individual language versions and then deployed. Read More»
Posted in Windows Vista, Windows XP | 1 Comment »
Microsoft is enriching the collection of language packs available for Internet Explorer 8 RTW. At the end of April 2009, the Redmond company promised that it would deliver the IE8 gold language packs aimed specifically at Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 in mid-May. With the release of the two Multilingual User Interface packages for the two operating systems, the software giant managed to live up to its promise. The IE8 MUI packs are designed to play nice with the 32-bit and the 64-bit versions of Windows XP SP2, Windows XP SP3, and Windows Server 2003 SP2.
Vishwac Sena Kannan – IE International program manager, and Jatinder Mann – IE Setup program manager, explained that end users would have to tailor the IE8 MUI pack to the specific language and architecture of their operating systems. In this regard, they will first need to install the IE8 bits in English, and only after deploy the MUI pack matching the OS MUI pack already deployed. Read More»
Posted in Internet, Windows XP | No Comments »
With the advent of Windows 7 Release Candidate, Microsoft also delivered a new version of Internet Explorer. Being bundled into Windows 7 as a default component, Internet Explorer 8 comes in a separate flavor tailored to the next iteration of the Windows client, still in development, although the versions designed for previous Windows releases have been made available in mid-March 2009. Along with the delivery of the new IE8 Build 7100 in Windows 7 RC, the Redmond company also updated the compatibility list associated with the browser. The software giant released a series of updates designed not only for IE8 in Windows 7 RC but also for the browser versions in pre-Windows 7 platforms.
“Windows Internet Explorer 8 improves browser interoperability and advances the Web by delivering a better implementation of Web standards. While this is a move in the right direction, users might encounter compatibility issues with some sites that still rely on the behavior of previous versions of Internet Explorer. Microsoft understands the shift towards standards compatibility with Internet Explorer 8 may take some time to complete for each organization or webmaster. To bridge this transition, we offer the Compatibility View list. The list helps make websites designed for older browsers look better in Internet Explorer 8,” Microsoft explained. Read More»
Posted in Internet | 1 Comment »
XP’s old looks have first been beautified with Vista’s sleek, shiny looks, and now it’s time to upgrade them with Windows 7’s set of visual improvements.
With Vista’s failure to capture the market’s attention, Microsoft didn’t want to reiterate that mistake and did its best to make out of Windows 7 what Vista should have been: a success. Even if 7 has raked a plethora of accolades from well known, trustworthy testers, there is still a percentage of skeptics that, although long for the sleek looks of the newer OSes released by Microsoft, cling with the utmost stubbornness to old, reliable XP, which for many has become obsolete or is rapidly heading towards this state.
The Windows 7 beauty session for your plain-looking but great-running XP takes 10 steps in which you have to opt for different enhancements, addressing aspects such as screen resolution, DPI setting, installation type, general system user interface for the Windows 7 look, system applications’ UI, Windows interface, installation of third-party apps necessary to bring XP’s looks closer to the latest OS fashion trend. Desktop enhancements and user account personalization are also present in the transformation procedure. Read More»
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It’s time once again for another episode of our Windows XP optimization series. In the past few months, you’ve seen tweaks that helped you change the Start Menu, Desktop, Display Properties, Control Panel, Folder Options, and so on. Most optimizations could not be made the old-fashioned way (from the Control Panel or any other native Windows configuration utility). As you might have guessed already from the title, this article isn’t any different: today, you’ll find out how you can easily customize the way your Internet Options window looks. So, if, for one reason or another, you need to remove a few tabs from Internet Options and have no idea how to go about in order to accomplish this, you’ve come to the right place.
If this is your first encounter with the Microsoft Windows XP registry tweaks saga, here’s a quick tour on all the highlights: we provide an absolutely free, easy tutorial on how to activate hidden tweaks inside your XP operating system, just by using good-old Notepad. You can start by reading the first article that not only provides a full insight into the highlights, but clearly specifies the few steps that must be taken before heading on. Read More»
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Addressing users of an iPod shuffle (1st and 2nd generation), or iPod shuffle (3rd generation), Apple has updated its Support section with new information on how to update your player’s software.
Apple outlines that it is very important to understand the difference between “update” and “restore.” Failing to do this may result in losing all your songs, or whatever data you have stored on your iPod shuffle. Update does not affect your settings or songs, but only installs the software that controls iPod shuffle.
However, the restore action erases the disk and restores iPod shuffle to its original factory condition. According to the iPod maker, you should use the computer where music is normally synced, if you only need to update iPod shuffle. “Updating on another computer will result in all songs being removed from the iPod shuffle,” the company warns. Additionally, users should make sure to back up the contents of their iPod shuffle. Everything can be synced back to the device, if the items are part of your iTunes Library. Read More»
Posted in Mac, Windows XP | No Comments »
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