Microsoft is trying to improve the visuals in Windows 7 by working with hardware makers on a software interface that maximizes the use of graphics cards.
The OS will support a new API called DirectX 11 that enables better gaming through more realistic graphics and faster playback of multimedia files. The software giant is working with top graphics chip makers Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices on those features.
The DirectX 11 graphics drivers are designed to help Windows 7 effectively break up tasks over multiple cores to boost application and graphics performance. For example, Windows 7 will process video faster by unloading the task from the CPU to graphics processor cores.
Right on schedule Thursday morning, what can probably be described as the "latest final edition" of Build 7600 of Windows 7 was made available to subscribers to Microsoft's MSDN and TechNet services for developers and admins. This will enable them to begin the process of finalizing upgrades to applications and to the systems using them, prior to the general availability date for the operating system, which remains set for October 22.
Absent from this morning's distribution, though not surprisingly, was any hint of "Windows 7 E," the browserless build of the OS that had been slated for distribution exclusively in Europe in the event that the European Commission had not reached a decision on the company's browser selection proposal.
Oh Microsoft, just when we were starting to believe in this thing called Bing, you go messing with the search results.
Case in point: a
search on Bing for the phrase, "Why is Windows so expensive?"
returned this as the top link....
"Why are Macs so expensive."
That's right. You're not hallucinating. That was the top response on Bing to a question about the price of Windows.
But it's not just the top link. The rest of the links on the first search page don't get much better. There is one link about the price of vinyl windows, one on why Windows hosting providers are so expensive, and one about fish. The five other links on page one are about the expensive price of Macs. The Windows client OS is not even mentioned.
Microsoft today said it would deliver nine security updates next Tuesday, all but one affecting Windows. Five are pegged "critical," the company's highest threat rating.
One researcher speculated that most of the updates will tackle bugs introduced when a Microsoft programmer added an extra "&" character to a vital code library.
Of the nine updates previewed today in the monthly advance notification, eight affect various versions of Windows, while the ninth deals with vulnerabilities in Office, Visual Studio, Internet Security and Acceleration Server, BizTalk Server and other products.
A final piece of the puzzle meant to smooth the migration of Windows XP holdouts to Windows 7 is now available as a "Release Candidate," or RC, Microsoft said.
Microsoft first introduced what it calls XP Mode in April. The Windows 7 add-on provides a virtualized environment where users will be able to run Windows XP applications that won't run directly in Windows 7 itself.
Now, the feature is edging closer to its final version. That could be good news for XP users planning the move to Windows 7. With more than 50 percent of IT shops planning to go directly to Windows 7 from XP, the add-on may appeal a large group of XP loyalists, thus making the upcoming Windows release even more attractive.
It would appear to be the most lucrative new platform in all of computing: the "cloud" -- the space on the Internet from which applications and services can be presented to customers without the need for physical location. It was once called the "grid," but the fact that companies other than IBM managed to effectively rechristen the idea speaks to its inability -- along with everyone else's -- to build a clear and concise message around just what the cloud is.
Microsoft should abandon Windows Mobile, abandon Zune, and buy Palm. I know this will be hard for Redmond--admitting defeat after all these fears flogging Windows Mobile--but it is the only path to success. With Microsoft's help, Palm can really become an Apple spoiler.
Microsoft should leave Palm pretty much alone; offering mostly improved developer tools, access to capital, and better compatibility with Microsoft Office. Jointly, the two could build an applications and entertainment store.
The Palm brand name should stay, something that might be harder for Microsoft to accept than writing a check for the purchase. Most buyouts are subsumed into Microsoft, but this one shouldn't be.
Microsoft has published a case study detailing how to port an iPhone application to its Windows Mobile platform as it prepares to launch an online store for mobile applications to compete with Apple. A post on The Windows Blog highlights a case study published on Microsoft's Microsoft Developer Network site containing a detailed technical blueprint that describes the porting of the iPhone application Amplitude to Windows Mobile 6.5.
The report was created by a third-party consulting group, Crimson Consulting, and is meant to be a helpful document for developers as they build Windows Mobile applications for Microsoft's Windows Marketplace.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer gave a little more information to financial analysts than perhaps he planned. There are two versions of his slide presentation -- one with a slide he didn't present this morning. I downloaded the PowerPoint file, and then noticed it had disappeared from Microsoft's investor website. That was so Microsoft could remove the errant, and quite revealing, slide.
But the slide explains: "We will lose money in first 2 years ($300m total), then start making decent return ($400m steady)."
The slide reveals some information "context -- not for disclosure" that can be seen below. Microsoft expects $600 million to $700 million transition costs, with as much as $200 million in fiscal 2010, which ends June 30. The non-disclosure column breaks down the costs by category.
Microsoft has placed a $149.99 price tag on the Windows 7 Family Pack, which lets as many as three PCs in a single household upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium edition. Users in Canada will pay $199.99. Microsoft's official blogger Brandon LeBlanc confirmed the three-license pack last week, but did not include the price.
"We have heard a lot of feedback from beta testers and enthusiasts over the last 3 years that we need a better solution for homes with multiple PCs," LeBlanc wrote. "I'm happy to confirm that we will indeed be offering a family pack of Windows 7 Home Premium (in select markets) which will allow installation on up to 3 PCs."