The speed of FireWire is set to quadruple next year after the group behind it announced a new specification for the networking interface.
FireWire is the best-known brand name for the 1394 standard, which is also known as i.Link. The technology is used as a high-speed data interface for linking devices such as external hard drives and camcorders to PCs.
On Thursday, the 1394 Trade Association announced the S3200 electrical specification for FireWire. The specification builds upon the existing IEEE 1394b standard by boosting the maximum speed from 800 megabits per second to 3.2Gbps. Importantly, S3200 can use the cables and connectors already in use for FireWire 800 products, the association claimed.
Remember the "old" Microsoft, you know, the one that would promise products at a certain time and then deliver them months or even years later? The Microsoft of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, and WinFS? You know those guys. Well, that Microsoft may be coming to an end, if I'm reading the tea leaves correctly. In the last week alone, everyone's favorite recalcitrant monopolist actually delivered two major product milestones well ahead of schedule, and I'm surprised this hasn't gotten more press. First, after a nearly silent beta program, the company released Office 2007 Service Pack 1 (SP1) over a month ahead of schedule.
Microsoft denied on Friday antitrust claims from Opera Software that the software giant is abusing its dominant market position to lock users into the Internet Explorer Web browser.
"We believe the inclusion of the (IE) browser into the operating system benefits consumers, and that consumers and PC manufacturers are already free to choose to use any browsers they wish," a Microsoft representative said. "Internet Explorer has been an integral part of the Windows operating system for over a decade and supports a wide range of Web standards."
A spinoff of Microsoft Research today is set to unleash the first beta release of new software intended to make it easier to develop and run apps running on multiple mobile operating systems for handheld devices.
The software from Zumobi, until last month known as ZenZui, is designed to address some of the key shortcoming of mobile Web browsers -- that they are slow and difficult for most individuals to navigate. At the same time, Zumobi is promising that its software will ultimately support multiple mobile device platforms, allowing developers to build OS-independent mobile apps.
What was not supposed to happen in Windows Vista apparently has: Despite a layer of protection that was supposed to prevent against processes elevating their own privileges, Microsoft now says someone found a way to do it.A Microsoft security bulletin written earlier this week but publicized this morning cites security software engineers SkyRecon Systems as having discovered a way for processes in both 32- and 64-bit versions of Windows Vista to elevate their own privilege to administrator level.
Microsoft Research's eScience group is helping scientific researchers use database and online sharing tools in ways they might
not have imagined, and sharing those experiences with Microsoft product groups that can tweak their software for easier use
by the scientific community.
Microsoft researchers showed off some of their projects at the American Geophysical Union annual conference in San Francisco
this week, said Catherine van Ingen, partner architect with Microsoft Research's eScience group.
Microsoft Thursday did something it rarely does. The company released a beta for a long-awaited technology -- in this case
its Windows Server 2008 virtualization technology Hyper-V -- ahead of schedule.
Hyper-V, formerly code-named "Viridian," is now available for download from Microsoft's Web site and is ready to be used with the current x64 beta version of Windows Server 2008, which is also available online. The technology, called a hypervisor, is the underlying virtualization technology for the server release, which is a major
update that's expected to be released on Feb. 27, 2008. A beta of Hyper-V originally was planned to be released on that date as well.
In an attempt to further spur development for its chosen next-generation DVD platform, Microsoft is making the tool available for $2,999. The company says by offering an inexpensive way to test HD DVD videos for their playability before the movies are burned to disc, this should in turn reduce the number of problems with disc playback. All the testers need is a connection to Xbox Live and a console to use the emulator.
While specifically aimed at emulating its own player, due to the fact that all HD DVD players follow a strict standard, it should successfully emulate results for any certified player in testing the content.
For those wondering when touch features such as those found on the Surface PC or iPhone would make it into mainstream PCs, the answer appears to be "whenever Microsoft gets around to releasing Windows 7."
A Microsoft blogger said this week that the Vista successor will include an array of new touch features.
"I will say that if you are impressed by the 'touch features' in the iPhone, you'll be blown away by what's coming in Windows 7," said Hilton Locke, a test engineer on the Tablet PC effort. "Now if only we could convince more OEMs that Windows Touch Technology is going to drive their sales."
Without much explanation, Microsoft's PlaysForSure Web page, which had once been the meeting ground for its portable media tech partners, now bears a statement to users that the logo is being dropped.
"The PlaysForSure logo is getting a new look," the statement reads. "All the testing requirements for devices are the same, but instead of looking for the PlaysForSure logo to ensure compatibility, look for the Certified for Windows Vista logo."
That's the statement in its entirety, and apparently "compatibility" under the new definition is restricted to Windows Vista, not XP.