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Just wanted to remind fellow CS student slashdotters that your school is most likely part of the MSDN Academic Alliance, and you can get all sorts of microsoft stuff for "free". The only stipulation is you can't use it for for-profit stuff. In any case its a great way to get legit keys to use so you can get the updates "legally". I'm downloading the DVD of Vista right now, I'll prolly install it on a separate partition just to get a feel for it, but I'm gonna stick with XP for a little while.

Linky for the lazy like myself :-D Though you'll have to talk to your CS dept. about how to obtain login information.

I could not find anything like this in the EULA for XP home, XP Pro or Vista Business. To view the EULAs, visit the Microsoft EULA page

I watched the Vista introduction video this morning. On most of the stuff they demoed I was thinking to myself, "I've had this on Mac OS X for a few years now."

A few things I see Windows/Vista as being ahead of the game in are:

1) Microsoft Office 2007 (The Mac version will no doubt be way behind the Windows version in both UI and feature parity.)
2) HD Home Theatre/Media/IPTV (Apple TV has potential, but it's not quite there yet)
3) Gaming (I personally don't care much about gaming)
4) Enterprise - Active Directory, Exchange, GPOs, SharePoint, etc. (I wish Apple would tackle this)

What do you all think about Vista or it's introduction video? That family lady was sure proud she invented the "burn to cd" button ;)
Video: http://www.microsoft.com/events/executives/billgat es.mspx

Currently compiler support for parellelization is not very automatic. You need to provide hints like OpenMT pragmas.
A lot of good libraries are available which help in multi-threaded execution: For example Concurrency and Coordination Runtime is a excellent framework.

I use OpenMT for a lot of my work, it scales well for upto 8 processors beyond that shared memory has proved to a bottleneck (I don't have NUMA hardware)

In my opinion this article does not present any new facts. It has already been proven for years that server based computing can cut down costs drastically. Terminal server software like the Thinstuff RDP Server for Linux (www.thinstuff.com), Microsoft's terminal services (http://www.microsoft.com/), Citrix (http://www.citrix.com/) and others provide solutions which can never be perfectly solved in a distributed fat-client environment, with distributed updates, security policies for home working laptops,...

If all Windows users have to boot their PC daily, can you please explain my Windows box being up for well over a month so far without needing a reboot? While continuously running BOINC, microtorrent, Steam, Hamachi, and about 5-6 other programs in the background?

And of course, Windows has absolutely no way of hiding all those tasks, or the taskbar, or anything else. Of course, there are also no programs or add-ons straight from MS or anyone else that give you more than one virtual desktop for WinXP, and have been since 2002. I could go on but you get the picture - you, as usual, have no idea what you're talking about. Desktops are only as cluttered as the people who use them.

Our cable service provides spam filtering and a security bundle that is updated several times daily. We haven't paid a dime for maintaince software for over three years.

Then your thirteen year old, who knows way more about computers than you ever will..is taking programming classes at school, so you buy Visual Basic and Visual C++, and so on.

Visual Studio Express and XNA Express are free.

Coding4Fun is pure delight, the perfect place for your kid to begin.

Additional info about his Turing Award.

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/1999/0 5-14turing.mspx

I also suspect MS will release XPS readers for multiple platforms.

Like Windows 2003, Windows XP, Windows Vista, etc.?

Microsoft Calls for Reforms to the U.S. Patent System

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 10, 2005 -- As U.S. thought leaders and legal scholars gather today to consider patent reform at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith proposes a series of reforms aimed at improving critical issues in the current U.S. patent system.

Smith, the keynote speaker in a panel discussion today, has outlined reform proposals designed to ensure patent quality, curb excessive litigation, promote harmonization of international patent systems and increase accessibility -- changes he says would benefit companies and inventors, advance technological progress worldwide and boost the global economy. The AEI is one of America's largest and most respected think tanks. ...

PressPass: What key issues is Microsoft targeting for reform?

Smith: We believe that reform is most likely to create meaningful, lasting improvements in the system if it focuses on four fundamental issues:

Ensuring high patent quality amidst increasing patent quantity

Curbing excessive litigation and litigation abuse

Promoting international harmonization of patent law

Increasing accessibility for individual inventors and small companies around the world

The issue of quality of U.S. patents is linked to the issue of quantity. The combination of globalization and the rapid pace of innovation in new technologies has created an enormous increase in the quantity of patent applications. The PTO has witnessed a tripling of patent applications since the 1980s, with more than 350,000 applications now filed each year. This dramatic increase has strained the resources of the PTO and imposed unreasonable demands on the PTO examiners. We believe the onus for ensuring patent quality is not the PTO's alone, but instead should be borne by those companies like Microsoft that are both customers of the PTO and dependent on an effective patent system.

Regarding the issue of excessive litigation, recent estimates show that the number of patent lawsuits filed annually in the United States has risen from under 1,000 in the early 1980s to over 2,500 today. It is too easy for a holder of a weak patent to look to a lawsuit as the ultimate lottery ticket. This situation is exacerbated by the availability of triple damages and injunctive relief -- court action to compel a party to do or refrain from doing a specified act that can have the effect of bringing someone's business to a halt until a dispute is resolved. As a result, the American system, which has historically encouraged innovation so effectively, can be used too easily to stifle the innovation of others through litigation. If we don't act quickly to put the system right, we risk undermining the technological advances that patent laws are designed to encourage in the first place.

Regarding international harmonization of patent laws, the globalizing economy is making the world's patent protections less accessible to new inventors, especially small start-up firms and individual inventors. This is due in part to the fact that each of the 182 member nations in the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has its own patent regime. These regimes are similar in most important ways, but they differ in the specific "nuts and bolts" of how good patent systems should work. We believe international commercial laws -- including patent laws -- often benefit from harmonization. Lack of harmonization builds inefficiency into the global economy. We're not suggesting that the world line up to adopt the American system chapter and verse. We are well aware that harmonizing our laws with those of our trading partners will require some changes to our own system.

Finally, inc

[IE has] nothing like Web Developer

Actually, there is the Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar which is quite useful for debugging IE's quirks.

I've frequently found myself pirating a software initially and as I find more and more uses for it, and become dependent on it, I purchase a license. Is it proper?

No. If you want to try out software from Microsoft, almost every product will allow you to in a perfectly legal manner. What do you want to try out? How about Microsoft Office 2007 Pro? Visio? What about Visual Studio Pro? Money? Or maybe you'd like to try out some entertainment software like Age of Empires III, Halo, or Zoo Tycoon?

Don't see something you want in that list? Call Microsoft. They're actually really good at working with businesses (and we are talking about businesses here) at getting them trials and evals of whatever they want.

Is it wrong?

Yes, it is. No stupid rationalizations, no bandwagons, no mitigating factors, no ifs, ands, or buts; it's wrong, plain and simple.

They stealthily encourages piracy and then demanded all pirated users pay.

That's bullshit. How exactly are they encouraging piracy? Seems to me that with all of this WGA shit that's coming down, they're bending over backwards to the point of screwing up honest customers' computers in trying to keep piracy under control. What an idiotic thing to say. What exactly do they have to do to convince you that they don't want you to pirate their software? Send men in sunglasses and black hats to your house to break down your door, check your computer, and break your legs if you've installed their software illegally?

Are you basically saying that having only rudimentary CD-Key verification, or even no verification at all, in previous versions of Windows is somehow encouraging piracy? That's basically saying that right or wrong, it doesn't matter if someone rapes a girl if she was dressed like she wanted it, and like I said, that's bullshit.

Or maybe you're saying that because Microsoft offers sweet deals to OEMs, schools, governments, and big customers that they're encouraging piracy. Guess what... That's bullshit too. Every software company of any decent size does that. It's called trying to sell your software, not asking people to illegally use your stuff. If I make widgets and I offer a volume discount on them, am I asking for people to steal them? No. Do widget pirates have a right to fight back if I try to keep them from stealing widgets? No.

And god knows that I am not a fan of Microsoft or the BSA, but when I read comments like yours, it's hard to not cheer for them. That arrogant smugness, unapologetically doing what you know is wrong, is exactly what makes them look reasonable and justified and what keeps companies and organizations like them in business.

It's people like you who completely undermine everything that people who contribute to FOSS projects stand for. If more people were like you, there'd be no need for things like Linux, OpenOffice.org, Firefox, The Gimp, or any other FOSS. If someone wants an office application, there's no need to look for a FOSS alternative; just pirate a copy of Microsoft Office. Don't use Linux, just pirate a copy of Windows.

God, what a moron.

I've frequently found myself pirating a software initially and as I find more and more uses for it, and become dependent on it, I purchase a license. Is it proper?

No. If you want to try out software from Microsoft, almost every product will allow you to in a perfectly legal manner. What do you want to try out? How about Microsoft Office 2007 Pro? Visio? What about Visual Studio Pro? Money? Or maybe you'd like to try out some entertainment software like Age of Empires III, Halo, or Zoo Tycoon?

Don't see something you want in that list? Call Microsoft. They're actually really good at working with businesses (and we are talking about businesses here) at getting them trials and evals of whatever they want.

Is it wrong?

Yes, it is. No stupid rationalizations, no bandwagons, no mitigating factors, no ifs, ands, or buts; it's wrong, plain and simple.

They stealthily encourages piracy and then demanded all pirated users pay.

That's bullshit. How exactly are they encouraging piracy? Seems to me that with all of this WGA shit that's coming down, they're bending over backwards to the point of screwing up honest customers' computers in trying to keep piracy under control. What an idiotic thing to say. What exactly do they have to do to convince you that they don't want you to pirate their software? Send men in sunglasses and black hats to your house to break down your door, check your computer, and break your legs if you've installed their software illegally?

Are you basically saying that having only rudimentary CD-Key verification, or even no verification at all, in previous versions of Windows is somehow encouraging piracy? That's basically saying that right or wrong, it doesn't matter if someone rapes a girl if she was dressed like she wanted it, and like I said, that's bullshit.

Or maybe you're saying that because Microsoft offers sweet deals to OEMs, schools, governments, and big customers that they're encouraging piracy. Guess what... That's bullshit too. Every software company of any decent size does that. It's called trying to sell your software, not asking people to illegally use your stuff. If I make widgets and I offer a volume discount on them, am I asking for people to steal them? No. Do widget pirates have a right to fight back if I try to keep them from stealing widgets? No.

And god knows that I am not a fan of Microsoft or the BSA, but when I read comments like yours, it's hard to not cheer for them. That arrogant smugness, unapologetically doing what you know is wrong, is exactly what makes them look reasonable and justified and what keeps companies and organizations like them in business.

It's people like you who completely undermine everything that people who contribute to FOSS projects stand for. If more people were like you, there'd be no need for things like Linux, OpenOffice.org, Firefox, The Gimp, or any other FOSS. If someone wants an office application, there's no need to look for a FOSS alternative; just pirate a copy of Microsoft Office. Don't use Linux, just pirate a copy of Windows.

God, what a moron.

I've frequently found myself pirating a software initially and as I find more and more uses for it, and become dependent on it, I purchase a license. Is it proper?

No. If you want to try out software from Microsoft, almost every product will allow you to in a perfectly legal manner. What do you want to try out? How about Microsoft Office 2007 Pro? Visio? What about Visual Studio Pro? Money? Or maybe you'd like to try out some entertainment software like Age of Empires III, Halo, or Zoo Tycoon?

Don't see something you want in that list? Call Microsoft. They're actually really good at working with businesses (and we are talking about businesses here) at getting them trials and evals of whatever they want.

Is it wrong?

Yes, it is. No stupid rationalizations, no bandwagons, no mitigating factors, no ifs, ands, or buts; it's wrong, plain and simple.

They stealthily encourages piracy and then demanded all pirated users pay.

That's bullshit. How exactly are they encouraging piracy? Seems to me that with all of this WGA shit that's coming down, they're bending over backwards to the point of screwing up honest customers' computers in trying to keep piracy under control. What an idiotic thing to say. What exactly do they have to do to convince you that they don't want you to pirate their software? Send men in sunglasses and black hats to your house to break down your door, check your computer, and break your legs if you've installed their software illegally?

Are you basically saying that having only rudimentary CD-Key verification, or even no verification at all, in previous versions of Windows is somehow encouraging piracy? That's basically saying that right or wrong, it doesn't matter if someone rapes a girl if she was dressed like she wanted it, and like I said, that's bullshit.

Or maybe you're saying that because Microsoft offers sweet deals to OEMs, schools, governments, and big customers that they're encouraging piracy. Guess what... That's bullshit too. Every software company of any decent size does that. It's called trying to sell your software, not asking people to illegally use your stuff. If I make widgets and I offer a volume discount on them, am I asking for people to steal them? No. Do widget pirates have a right to fight back if I try to keep them from stealing widgets? No.

And god knows that I am not a fan of Microsoft or the BSA, but when I read comments like yours, it's hard to not cheer for them. That arrogant smugness, unapologetically doing what you know is wrong, is exactly what makes them look reasonable and justified and what keeps companies and organizations like them in business.

It's people like you who completely undermine everything that people who contribute to FOSS projects stand for. If more people were like you, there'd be no need for things like Linux, OpenOffice.org, Firefox, The Gimp, or any other FOSS. If someone wants an office application, there's no need to look for a FOSS alternative; just pirate a copy of Microsoft Office. Don't use Linux, just pirate a copy of Windows.

God, what a moron.

I've frequently found myself pirating a software initially and as I find more and more uses for it, and become dependent on it, I purchase a license. Is it proper?

No. If you want to try out software from Microsoft, almost every product will allow you to in a perfectly legal manner. What do you want to try out? How about Microsoft Office 2007 Pro? Visio? What about Visual Studio Pro? Money? Or maybe you'd like to try out some entertainment software like Age of Empires III, Halo, or Zoo Tycoon?

Don't see something you want in that list? Call Microsoft. They're actually really good at working with businesses (and we are talking about businesses here) at getting them trials and evals of whatever they want.

Is it wrong?

Yes, it is. No stupid rationalizations, no bandwagons, no mitigating factors, no ifs, ands, or buts; it's wrong, plain and simple.

They stealthily encourages piracy and then demanded all pirated users pay.

That's bullshit. How exactly are they encouraging piracy? Seems to me that with all of this WGA shit that's coming down, they're bending over backwards to the point of screwing up honest customers' computers in trying to keep piracy under control. What an idiotic thing to say. What exactly do they have to do to convince you that they don't want you to pirate their software? Send men in sunglasses and black hats to your house to break down your door, check your computer, and break your legs if you've installed their software illegally?

Are you basically saying that having only rudimentary CD-Key verification, or even no verification at all, in previous versions of Windows is somehow encouraging piracy? That's basically saying that right or wrong, it doesn't matter if someone rapes a girl if she was dressed like she wanted it, and like I said, that's bullshit.

Or maybe you're saying that because Microsoft offers sweet deals to OEMs, schools, governments, and big customers that they're encouraging piracy. Guess what... That's bullshit too. Every software company of any decent size does that. It's called trying to sell your software, not asking people to illegally use your stuff. If I make widgets and I offer a volume discount on them, am I asking for people to steal them? No. Do widget pirates have a right to fight back if I try to keep them from stealing widgets? No.

And god knows that I am not a fan of Microsoft or the BSA, but when I read comments like yours, it's hard to not cheer for them. That arrogant smugness, unapologetically doing what you know is wrong, is exactly what makes them look reasonable and justified and what keeps companies and organizations like them in business.

It's people like you who completely undermine everything that people who contribute to FOSS projects stand for. If more people were like you, there'd be no need for things like Linux, OpenOffice.org, Firefox, The Gimp, or any other FOSS. If someone wants an office application, there's no need to look for a FOSS alternative; just pirate a copy of Microsoft Office. Don't use Linux, just pirate a copy of Windows.

God, what a moron.

I've frequently found myself pirating a software initially and as I find more and more uses for it, and become dependent on it, I purchase a license. Is it proper?

No. If you want to try out software from Microsoft, almost every product will allow you to in a perfectly legal manner. What do you want to try out? How about Microsoft Office 2007 Pro? Visio? What about Visual Studio Pro? Money? Or maybe you'd like to try out some entertainment software like Age of Empires III, Halo, or Zoo Tycoon?

Don't see something you want in that list? Call Microsoft. They're actually really good at working with businesses (and we are talking about businesses here) at getting them trials and evals of whatever they want.

Is it wrong?

Yes, it is. No stupid rationalizations, no bandwagons, no mitigating factors, no ifs, ands, or buts; it's wrong, plain and simple.

They stealthily encourages piracy and then demanded all pirated users pay.

That's bullshit. How exactly are they encouraging piracy? Seems to me that with all of this WGA shit that's coming down, they're bending over backwards to the point of screwing up honest customers' computers in trying to keep piracy under control. What an idiotic thing to say. What exactly do they have to do to convince you that they don't want you to pirate their software? Send men in sunglasses and black hats to your house to break down your door, check your computer, and break your legs if you've installed their software illegally?

Are you basically saying that having only rudimentary CD-Key verification, or even no verification at all, in previous versions of Windows is somehow encouraging piracy? That's basically saying that right or wrong, it doesn't matter if someone rapes a girl if she was dressed like she wanted it, and like I said, that's bullshit.

Or maybe you're saying that because Microsoft offers sweet deals to OEMs, schools, governments, and big customers that they're encouraging piracy. Guess what... That's bullshit too. Every software company of any decent size does that. It's called trying to sell your software, not asking people to illegally use your stuff. If I make widgets and I offer a volume discount on them, am I asking for people to steal them? No. Do widget pirates have a right to fight back if I try to keep them from stealing widgets? No.

And god knows that I am not a fan of Microsoft or the BSA, but when I read comments like yours, it's hard to not cheer for them. That arrogant smugness, unapologetically doing what you know is wrong, is exactly what makes them look reasonable and justified and what keeps companies and organizations like them in business.

It's people like you who completely undermine everything that people who contribute to FOSS projects stand for. If more people were like you, there'd be no need for things like Linux, OpenOffice.org, Firefox, The Gimp, or any other FOSS. If someone wants an office application, there's no need to look for a FOSS alternative; just pirate a copy of Microsoft Office. Don't use Linux, just pirate a copy of Windows.

God, what a moron.

Don't assume that things which don't exist in your realm of experience don't exist at all.

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're *not* out to get you.

Aliens are real.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?Fa milyID=e59c3964-672d-4511-bb3e-2d5e1db91038&displa ylang=en

Could you please site a reference, maybe a section number or something? I looked at the XP EULA and I don't see it.

And guess what? Those linux PCs running Evolution against the Exchange Server need CALs. It's pretty clearly spelled out at http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/howtobuy/default .mspx (Exchange 2007 - but 2003, 2000, 5.5, 5.0 and 4.0 were the same):

Exchange Server is licensed in the Server / Client Access License (CAL) model. Under this model, an Exchange Server license is required for each operating system environment running Exchange Server. A CAL is required for each user or device accessing Exchange Server.

Note the complete lack of qualifiers on the CAL statement - all users or devices must be licensed. No you don't need to double-license a user.

If your company's workstations are networked, you will utilize a network server and the workstations on the network will access that server(s) software to perform certain functions such as file and print sharing. In order to legally access this server software, a client access license or CAL may be required. A CAL is not a software product; rather it is a license that gives a user the right to access the services of the server.....This guide is for reference purposes only and should not be used for purchasing decisions. Before purchasing you should visit the "How to Buy" section for each product and consult your local reseller.[1]

Why yes, Microsoft fanboi, since you're obviously "informationally challenged", how about reading:
Microsoft Corp. today announced...
or here
or This month's survey brings one of the largest one-month swings in the history of the web server market, as Microsoft gains 4.7 percent share while Apache loses 5.9 percent. The shift is driven by changes at domain registrar Go Daddy,
or The largest movement of sites from Apache to IIS was once again at Go Daddy, with over 1.6M hostnames moving from Apache to IIS this month.

Or just try Googling "Microsoft GoDaddy", you'll get the idea.

Is everyone going to completely ignore the fact that this feature is one of Microsoft's very, very few that aren't developed in Redmond??? The Microsoft India Development Center in Hyderabad, is responsible for this whole feature area.

Draw your own conclusions, but at a minimum, it would increase the chances of mis-communication...

Not that I helped ship this, or anything (yes, I work for Microsoft)

Here's a tool that will allow the restoring of files located in a .bkf file:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?Fa milyID=7da725e2-8b69-4c65-afa3-2a53107d54a7&Displa yLang=en

(WGA required, get a legal copy if you're gonna run Windows).

I know it's only part of the solution, but, hey, at least it'll restore your files that already exist in the .bkf.

Just to point out...I think this might be wrong. According to the following website, Microsoft states that you will able to do a "clean install" as one of it's upgrade paths.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsv ista/buyorupgrade/upgradepaths.mspx

I take it this means that you don't have to install 2 operating systems in order to get to Vista from a blank/formatted system. I don't have a copy of the upgrade CD myself so I couldn't test it. Anyone with an upgrade CD want to take a shot at it?

Metro is now called XPS The right comparison with XPS is Adobe's Mars Project.

This is simply untrue. Check http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsv ista/features/details/backup.mspx Some versions of Vista do not allow for AUTOMATED backup, but the backup utility, including the ability to make system image files, is present in all editions. Recovery is straightfoward. Make an image file (you can even span optical media in writing it). If your hard disk does the firework, you boot off your upgrade disk, select Repair and then select Full Recovery. You then provide the media holding your image and the whole thing is restored to the point when you took the image. It is also possible to recover to a particular restore point off the upgrade media (if your hard disk hasn't done the firework)

Here's some fairly technical details on output content protection from a Microsoft WinHEC conference: http://doxi.ca/60u4 (or original link for those with Word installed http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/D/6/5D6EA F2B-7DDF-476B-93DC-7CF0072878E6/output_protect.doc ).

A quick search of a Q&A forum on Microsoft's Vista web site shows a MS Vista support tech claiming that this is bull. There is no such thing as an "upgrade" DVD. There is one version of the DVD and it contains all version of Vista. The key you input determines what gets installed. You can even choose not to give a key, and install any version you want, but on the 30th day if you haven't activated, it will be severely locked down. Check it:

Hello,

I am currently in training as a Vista Support tech for Microsoft Tech
Support.

I have been reading the posts here and thought maybe some things need
clarifying.

First - the Vista CD contains all versions of Vista. The product key you
enter will determine the version that is installed. You have the option to
not enter a product key and uncheck the box that tells it to activate after
installation. This would seem like a good thing to those that paid for a
basic version and want to install the Ultimate.

However, once the installation is sucessfull Vista will start a countdown
timer. after about 72 hours it will begin to nag you to activate. You can
ignore this for up to about 28 days or so at which time it will get more
insistant.

If you do not activate it by the 30th day it will go into severly reduced
functionality, sort of like being in Safe Mode. You will basically only have
access to your data so you can back it up, which I would highly advise you to
do since there are only two ways out of this.

The first one is to call and activate or activate online by paying the fee
to upgrade your key from what you actually paid for and what you had
installed. You might want to go ahead and do that if you have found that
version of Vista is what you want.

The second option is to wipe your hard drive clean, and I mean wipe it
clean, and reinstall Vista, this time choosing the correct version and
entering your product key.

As stated earlier, you cannot upgrade from Win 2000. You can do a clean
install to another partition or another hard drive and keep Win 2000 in dual
boot, but you cannot start setup from within Win 2000. An upgrade
installation is where you start setup from inside the current operating
system and then replace the operating system.

You also HAVE to install to a partition that is NTFS. It will not install to
anything else.

You do not need a current operating system at all to install Vista. There is
no such thing as an upgrade CD, in fact there is currently no such thing as a
Vista CD, it is on DVD. All versions of Vista are on the same DVD.

Once you get it installed you have two activations available, in case you
make significant changes to your hardware after istallation. Microsoft is
stating that they are going to be very strict in this, not like the leanency
they showed with XP. So if you try to install on a different machine it
better be identical to the one it was activated on. This is one reason why
you have 72 hours after installation before it nags you to activate. You have
time to make hardware changes if you find your hardware does not work well
with Vista.

I HIGHLY advise, and Microsoft does too, to first run the Vista Upgrade
Advisor to identify any hardware or software issues that might get in the way
of Vista installation.

Find it here free

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upg radeadvisor/default.mspx

Also here is a site that will give you a lot of information to help you plan
your Vista implimentation:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/def ault.mspx

- Michael

Oh, and one computer per key. Period.

A quick search of a Q&A forum on Microsoft's Vista web site shows a MS Vista support tech claiming that this is bull. There is no such thing as an "upgrade" DVD. There is one version of the DVD and it contains all version of Vista. The key you input determines what gets installed. You can even choose not to give a key, and install any version you want, but on the 30th day if you haven't activated, it will be severely locked down. Check it:

Hello,

I am currently in training as a Vista Support tech for Microsoft Tech
Support.

I have been reading the posts here and thought maybe some things need
clarifying.

First - the Vista CD contains all versions of Vista. The product key you
enter will determine the version that is installed. You have the option to
not enter a product key and uncheck the box that tells it to activate after
installation. This would seem like a good thing to those that paid for a
basic version and want to install the Ultimate.

However, once the installation is sucessfull Vista will start a countdown
timer. after about 72 hours it will begin to nag you to activate. You can
ignore this for up to about 28 days or so at which time it will get more
insistant.

If you do not activate it by the 30th day it will go into severly reduced
functionality, sort of like being in Safe Mode. You will basically only have
access to your data so you can back it up, which I would highly advise you to
do since there are only two ways out of this.

The first one is to call and activate or activate online by paying the fee
to upgrade your key from what you actually paid for and what you had
installed. You might want to go ahead and do that if you have found that
version of Vista is what you want.

The second option is to wipe your hard drive clean, and I mean wipe it
clean, and reinstall Vista, this time choosing the correct version and
entering your product key.

As stated earlier, you cannot upgrade from Win 2000. You can do a clean
install to another partition or another hard drive and keep Win 2000 in dual
boot, but you cannot start setup from within Win 2000. An upgrade
installation is where you start setup from inside the current operating
system and then replace the operating system.

You also HAVE to install to a partition that is NTFS. It will not install to
anything else.

You do not need a current operating system at all to install Vista. There is
no such thing as an upgrade CD, in fact there is currently no such thing as a
Vista CD, it is on DVD. All versions of Vista are on the same DVD.

Once you get it installed you have two activations available, in case you
make significant changes to your hardware after istallation. Microsoft is
stating that they are going to be very strict in this, not like the leanency
they showed with XP. So if you try to install on a different machine it
better be identical to the one it was activated on. This is one reason why
you have 72 hours after installation before it nags you to activate. You have
time to make hardware changes if you find your hardware does not work well
with Vista.

I HIGHLY advise, and Microsoft does too, to first run the Vista Upgrade
Advisor to identify any hardware or software issues that might get in the way
of Vista installation.

Find it here free

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upg radeadvisor/default.mspx

Also here is a site that will give you a lot of information to help you plan
your Vista implimentation:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/def ault.mspx

- Michael

Oh, and one computer per key. Period.

I can see why they're confident: the upgrade from Windows 95 to Windows 98 was so easy and problem free!

Microsoft confirms this behavior:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930985/en-us

To resolve this problem, use one of the following methods.
Method 1
Upgrade to Windows Vista from an earlier, supported version of Windows that is already installed on the computer.
Method 2
Purchase a license that lets you perform a clean installation of Windows Vista.

"Windows 2000 and higher supports directory symbolic links" via Junction (thanks, Mark). No support for file symlinks, but still useful.

Impi - Diplomatic Corp, South Africa

The ongoing war against PHP by the GNAA has finally produced results that are a step in the right direction. GNAA have been aggressively involved in a campaign to educate the public at large about the tremendous control that MOSSAD has over the development of PHP and the subsequent clandestine information gathering technology that has been implemented by Jewish developers.

The co-founders of Zend, the PHP Company, Zeev Suraski and Andi Gutmans are known Israeli MOSSAD agents; they were recruited by MOSSAD during their formative years at the Israel Institute of Technology.

On Friday, 28 July 2006, Jani Taskinen, aka _sniper_ resigned from the PHP development team. FYI: I don't care at all what anybody thinks about me. I'm going to be openly anti-Israel from now on. This was the last straw for me. Fuck you Jews. I will also quit this project. As long as it's backed by some Israel company, I don't want to have anything to do with it. Good bye.

This was a direct result of the ongoing war against Hezbollah which has been backed by the USA and primarily been driven by the information gathering technologies embedded in PHP by Zend.

Several GNAA members who were also part of the PHP development team have also resigned in solidarity with Jani Taskinen.

timecop, the glorious president of the GNAA has reacted in the wake of these events by extending an invitation of honorary lifetime GNAA membership to _sniper_, for having courage in his convictions.

GNAA official website, located at http://www.gnaa.us/ is powered by Microsoft Internet Information Services and ASP.NET, running on INTEL hardware.

About Zend

Zend is an Israeli funded body that is controlled by MOSSAD.

About PHP

Crap.

About GNAA:
GNAA (GAY NIGGER ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA) is the first organization which gathers GAY NIGGERS from all over America and abroad for one common goal - being GAY NIGGERS.

Are you GAY ?
Are you a NIGGER ?
Are you a GAY NIGGER ?

If you answered "Yes" to all of the above questions, then GNAA (GAY NIGGER ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA) might be exactly what you've been looking for!
Join GNAA (GAY NIGGER ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA) today, and enjoy all the benefits of being a full-time GNAA member.
GNAA (GAY NIGGER ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA) is the fastest-growing GAY NIGGER community with THOUSANDS of members all over United States of America and the World! You, too, can be a part of GNAA if you join today!

Why not? It's quick and easy - only 3 simple steps!

• First, you have to obtain a copy of GAYNIGGERS FROM OUTER SPACE THE MOVIE and watch it. You can download the movie (~130mb) using BitTorrent.
• Second, you need to succeed in posting a GNAA First Post on slashdot.org, a popular "news for trolls" website.
• Third, you need to join the official GNAA irc channel #GNAA on irc.gnaa.us, and apply for membership.

Talk to one of the ops or any of the other members in the channel to sign up today! Upon submitting your application, you will be required to submit links to your successful First Post, and you will be tested on your knowledge of GAYNIGGERS FROM OUTER SPACE.

Microsoft do provide a program to burn ISO images - it's in the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit and it's called 'cdburn.exe'.

WHY they can't simply distribute a mission critical tool like this along with the OS I have no idea.

Bullshit.

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/sharedsource/Li censing/researchkernel.mspx

The Windows Research Kernel is available via MSDNAA Subscriber Downloads (accessible to administrators of participating departments) and/or via Faculty Connection portal (sign in to register for downloads) to eligible academic faculty or staff and may be redistributed to eligible users subject to the terms and conditions of the License.

The Windows Research Kernel contains the sources for the core Windows (NTOS) kernel. NTOS implements the basic OS functions for processes, threads, virtual memory and cache managers, I/O management, the registry, executive functions such as the kernel heap and synchronization, the object manager, the local procedure call mechanism, the security reference monitor, and low-level CPU management (thread scheduling, Asynchronous and Deferred Procedure calls, interrupt/trap handling, exceptions). The NT Hardware Abstraction Layer, file systems, network stacks, and device drivers are implemented separately from NTOS and loaded into kernel mode as dynamic libraries. Sources for these dynamic components are not included in the WRK. However, some are available in various development kits published by Microsoft, such as the Installable File System (IFS) Kit and the Windows Driver Development Kit (DDK).

Click here. He talks about a lot of things, including these "protected processes", and even says that the purpose is for DRM.

Melissa

I think he's talking about "Inside the Native API".

The closest thing currently at the MS version of sysinternals seems to be "Inside Native Applications". (In all fairness, this second link seems to contain information I don't ever remember seeing at the old SysInternals. But I am very disappointed that the aforementioned link disappeared.)

Err... Not quite. Not all of the SysInternals tools were migrated, and NONE of the source code was. Microsoft's hiding behind some pretty lame excuses (e.g. "They're using undocumented APIs!" or "Hackers are using it to make spyware!") for not distributing the source code.

The Winternals Administrator's Pak is also ">being discontinued, and have its functionality available only to those with Software Assurance agreements.

Whoa, check it out! All of the old catalogue of Sysinternals/Winternals software, plus some new stuff, has all been released as freeware! There's some useful stuff in there!

huh?

"You may use any information in intangible form that you remember after accessing the software."
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/sharedsource/li censingbasics/wrklicense.mspx/

True in theory, but Universities can license the source code of the windows kernel for academic purposes:

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/sharedsource/Li censing/researchkernel.mspx

This sounds similar in concept if not execution to CardSpace (http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/netframework/aa6 63320.aspx/).
Any thoughts on this?

I am not a computer professional and definately am not an expert on that type of thing, but either the netstat command or the free TCPView utility might be useful. Either one can be used to provide information about what is connecting to what on your TCP or UDP ports. The netstat command exists on Windows, Mac, Linux and Unix computers. The free TCPView program is a free Windows only GUI version of the netstat command. I mostly use Linux at home, so I rarely ever to use Windows utilities like TCPView myself.

• TCPView for Windows
• "The NETSTAT Command", Security Now Episode #49 transcript from 20 Jul 2006

There are probably other additional methods that could also be used.

I have XP installation CDs. Not SP2, XP barebone. I had to reinstall. I made it once. I got Blaster in less than 5 minutes. Then I installed it again, this time with the network unplugged. I don't know how I could have downloaded the service pack without a knoppix CD at hand...

Windows Firewall
How to Enable Internet Connection Firewall in Windows XP

Sysinternals... recently bought by Microsoft. Lots of great tools to inspect your windows box. http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sysinternals/defa ult.mspx

Yeah, 'cause clearly, nothing is more secure than a closed source solution. Security by obscurity is the ONLY ANSWER! And advice on computer security by random slashdot posters is far more trustworthy than anything from a company that's been making secure systems for longer than most of us have been alive.

"Sorry buddy, you're off in dreamland. Microsoft discontinued OS X support for Windows Media Player a while ago, and there is no OS X Intel-native version"

That's because Microsoft now offer Flip4Mac's Quicktime codecs instead, which do work on Intel-Macs. Here's the link:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/play er/wmcomponents.mspx

"While WMP might have been cross-platform, it's not anymore."

Because there's no longer any need for it due to another company having a set of free codecs that work with QuickTime which they maintain and keep up-to-date, thereby removing the need for MS to do the work themselves.

"Also, there's no Linux support."

iTunes doesn't support Linux either, so I fail to see the relevance of this comment.

"As a Mac user, you'd have to be crazy to buy PlaysForSure content, knowing that your platform has been orphaned by Microsoft."

Again, see the link above. They haven't orphaned the platform, but continue to support it, albeit in a different way, and one that's IMO better because (a) it helps give some publicity to a small vendor of Mac-specific software, and (b) avoids the need for a separate player just to use DRM'd WMA files, so it's effectively invisible to the user once installed.

Of course, WMP remains an option for people with PPC-based Macs (there are still more of them around than the newer Intel ones) because the fact that MS aren't supporting it anymore doesn't stop it from working, and they still offer it for download. However, I think that the current option is more compelling, especially for the large Mac-using content producer community, because Flip4Mac offer a number of reasonably priced packages that let a Mac produce content which Windows users can play without the need to install QuickTime.

I had an English class where the teacher forbid the use of Wikipedia because anybody could go on there and write whatever they wanted. Apparently, this is not how the internet works. All information is thoroughly checked before it appears in Google. Nobody would post biased studies or fake documentaries on the internet.

In my opinion Wikipedia is much more reliable than some random website because corrections can be made and there is more than one point of view. Besides, if you are writing a paper you should be using more than one source anyway, and if you are writing a paper just for the sake of writing, the facts don't matter anyway.

OK.

However, in response to the great-gandparent, that's still an average of more than one service pack a year from the time Windows 2000 was launched worldwide on February 17, 2000 to the time the last service pack (4) was released.

Just for the record: yes, you are wrong. Release date of Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 was on June 26th 2003. See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/260910.