Two interesting market surveys indicate that Windows has actually gained market share in the most recent quarter, even though PC sales have almost flattened and will likely grow at an abbreviated rate through 2003. According to market researcher OneStat.com, Windows now controls 97.46 percent of the global desktop operating system market, compared to just 1.43 percent for Apple Macintosh and 0.26 percent for Linux. OneStat.com says its figures are derived from real-time global Web site analysis, and are an average of the past two months.
Its code name is "Longhorn," and for many industry-watchers, Microsoft's next major operating system release promises some dramatic changes in the way information is organized, retrieved and displayed.
Microsoft already has made a significant commitment to production of the OS. Company chairman Bill Gates told analysts in July that the company will increase its 2003 R&D spending by 20 percent to US$5.2 billion and will hire 5,000 employees to prepare for a series of software launches that includes Longhorn.
Gates also explained that the upcoming release will "promise the greatest breakthroughs to date for information workers" in terms of how applications, operating systems and Web services will be more tightly integrated to better organize and display data.
A $4.6 million NEC server using Microsoft Windows has grabbed high marks in a closely watched performance ranking traditionally dominated by machines running the Unix operating system. The fifth-place ranking on the Transaction Performance Council's TPC-C speed test is an important step in Microsoft's years-long struggle to have its software used not only on PCs and low-end networked "server" computers, but also on high-end machines. Such servers often handle vital corporate computing tasks, such as tracking inventory or managing bank accounts.
Sun has declined to participate in the TPC-C benchmark battle, calling the speed measurement obsolete and encouraging would-be customers to try its actual software instead looking at a generic benchmark. Analysts say Sun may be simply reluctant to spend the millions of dollars necessary to participate, especially if the company can't guarantee a good score.
Providing a sneak preview of its future developments, Intel Corp. here today demonstrated its fastest microprocessors to date--a 4.7-GHz chip for high-end desktop PCs. Paul Otellini, Intel's president and COO, in a keynote address demonstrated a 4.7-GHz version of its Pentium 4 processor line. In addition, Otellini demonstrated a Pentium 4 processor operating at 3-GHz, saying it would be available this year with Hyper-Threading (HT) technology. The Intel COO also outlined LaGrande Technology (LT), which will be integrated into Intel processors in the future. LT technology will be the core hardware technology that helps create a safer computing environment for e-Business, enabling protected execution, memory and storage.
Microsoft posted Windows XP Service Pack 1 to its Web site on Monday as promised for users and administrators to download. The bundle of security and bug fixes can also be ordered for CD shipment.
The moderately large list of fixes for Windows XP SP1 includes issues addressed in more than 300 Microsoft Knowledge Base articles. The sectors with the most fixes are the base operating system with 87 fixes, the shell with 45 fixes, networking with 37 fixes, setup with 33 fixes and management/administration with 31 fixes. In all, there are 27 KB articles relating to security issues dealt with in SP1. The Service Pack includes fixes issued in 25 Microsoft Security Bulletins stretching from October 2001 to late August 2002. It even includes a critical fix issued Aug. 28 for a vulnerability that could allow an attacker to delete digital certificates in a users' system.
Intel will bring hyperthreading, a performance-enhancing technology until now reserved for servers, to the desktop later this year and introduce a new technology for securing data on hard drives next year. The two announcements were the highlights of the opening keynote speech by company president Paul Otellini at the Intel Developer Forum in San Jose, Calif. Despite the downturn in the PC market, the company will continue to boost chip performance and add features to enhance the PC experience and gain an edge over rival Advanced Micro Devices. "There's no doubt it gives us a competitive advantage, but it also gives us a market advantage" by expanding the capabilities of PCs, Otellini said in a briefing prior to the speech.
For many IT administrators, a piece of Microsoft software-particularly one as central to an enterprise as Windows-isn't ripe for rollout until the first service pack release. Judging from the number of security and bug fixes addressed in Service Pack 1, it paid to be cautious with Windows XP.
In eWEEK Labs' tests of Windows XP Service Pack 1, which Microsoft Corp. made available for free download today, we experienced no problems during installation or subsequent use. However, newsgroup posters have reported a few minor hitches post-upgrade, including trouble switching among Outlook Express profiles. Administrators should carefully test the package with their own hardware and software before undertaking the upgrade.
In another indication of how serious Microsoft is about cracking down on "mod chips" used for hacking its Xbox game console, the company is seeking to hire a software engineer to investigate the gray-market add-ons. A notice posted on Microsoft's hiring site seeks an engineer charged with "collecting, evaluating and conducting analysis of modification chips" as part of security research on Xbox hardware and software.
The engineer will "assist in designing hardware detection code fragments to be embedded in future versions of the product," according to the notice, another sign that Microsoft plans to devise technology to test for hacked Xbox hardware. "Preference is given to those with...gaming hacking knowledge," the notice states.
An advisory from the software giant last week warned companies of a number of attacks targeting servers running Windows 2000, the cause of which had initially puzzled Microsoft. After following a trail of evidence left behind on compromised Windows 2000 servers, the company now believes that hackers have systematically exploited Windows 2000 servers that haven't been properly locked down.
The attacks are linked by a common set of software detritus left behind to help an attacker keep control of compromised boxes. The most recent advisory warns that "successful compromises leave a distinctive pattern," including files identified as Backdoor.IRC.Flood and a modified security policy if the victim's computer is a domain controller. In addition, the hacked computers contain a common set of files, including Gg.bat, Seced.bat, Nt32.ini, Ocxdll.exe and Gates.txt. The file Gg.bat attempts to connect to other servers as an administrator or root user, while Seced.bat changes the security policy. Gates.txt contains a list of numerical Internet addresses; the advisory didn't offer details as to what the addresses may correspond.
With Microsoft Corp. coming off a major security push and moving headlong into its next major SQL Server release, code-named Yukon, eWEEK Senior Writer Matt Hicks recently sat down with the company's SQL Server Vice President Gordon Mangione at Microsoft's Redmond, Wash., offices. Mangione offered both a bird's eye view of what to expect in Yukon, due in 2003, and a deeper look at a revamped security push for SQL Server.
eWEEK: Microsoft is supposed to release a beta version this year of Yukon. Where does that stand?
Mangione: Yukon is a big release. I mean there's no ifs, ands or buts about it. The team's rolled off our whole security initiative-for SQL Server 2000 and Yukon. We'll be coding for most of this year, and you'll see us into beta early next year.