http://www.winbeta.org Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:21:47 -0800 http://www.winbeta.org/images/WinBeta/images/logo4.gif http://www.winbeta.org Betas News and Reviews http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=20297 There are reports in a TechNet forum that claim a recently released reliability and stability patch for Windows 7 may end up making some PCs less reliable and stable.

The Ars Technica site discovered the thread about the fix, KB977074, late last week. KB977074, one of a number of Windows 7 updates Microsoft made available for download at the end of January, was designed to “resolve some reliability issues in Windows 7.”

View Full Article: Mary Jo Foley's Blog]]> http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=20296 Microsoft is aiming to make Web viewing of the Winter Olympics a lot more like watching the events on TV.

While Beijing brought the first widespread use of the Internet to deliver live video of the Games, the Vancouver Olympics--which starts February 12--will offer a range of new options, including TiVo-like features like pausing, rewinding, and replaying during a live broadcast. In addition, broadcaster NBC is using the adaptive streaming capability of Silverlight (Microsoft's rival to Adobe's Flash) to allow those with a good connection to get the Games in up to 720p high-definition quality...

View Full Article: CNET News]]> http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=20295 Good news and bad news for Microsoft this morning in its Facebook relationship.

The Redmond company, which has a minority stake in the booming social networking site, said in a blog post that the companies are deepening their relationship in Internet search, working on new features and expanding into markets outside the United States. At the same time, the company says it will no longer be responsible for display ads on Facebook. Microsoft calls it a "mutual decision."

View Full Article: Todd Bishop's Microsoft Blog]]> http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=20294 Corporate Vice President Mike Nash, who headed Microsoft's security efforts before spending the past several years in product management and strategy roles in the Windows unit, is leaving Microsoft.

His Windows roots run deep, though, with Nash having been the first product manager on the original Windows NT marketing team. In his long tenure, he also oversaw development of Microsoft.com and led the launch of Windows 2000, before shifting to head the security team...

View Full Article: CNET News]]> http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=20293 As of February 1, Microsoft officially jumps into the cloud-computing frey and now is charging customers for developing and running apps in its Azure cloud.

Microsoft has been working on Azure for more than three years; beta testers have been kicking its tires for more than a year. With Azure, Microsoft is attempting to recreate its Windows ecosystem in the form of a utility. Today, developers and customers can develop and deploy on the Windows Azure operating system and make use of the SQL Azure hosted database. In the coming months, Microsoft will make available to developers its Azure AppFabric Web-service utilities. And as 2010 progresses, Microsoft is slated to make available to developers and customers more of the on-premises “private cloud” complements to Azure...

View Full Article: Mary Jo Foley's Blog]]> http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=20292 report from within an Apple town hall meeting has revealed some of CEO Steve Jobs' blunt criticisms, particularly against Google. In the wake of the iPad launch, Jobs claimed the search firm's motto of "Don't Be Evil" is simply "bullsh*t" and that the new rival is fully intent on killing the iPhone with Android despite the companies' partnership on iPhone services. He similarly pointed out that the aggression was largely one-sided and that Apple hadn't entered search...

View Full Article: Electronista]]> http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=20291 Laptop owners upgrading their Windows XP and Windows Vista machines to Windows 7 are complaining that Microsoft's new OS has severely reduced their available battery life.

One user tells The Reg that after upgrading his circa 2007 HP notebook from Vista to Windows 7, the machine's battery life dropped from two hours to a half hour, and countless others are voicing similar complaints on Microsoft's TechNet forums...

View Full Article: The Register]]> http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=20290
View Full Article: Seattle PI's Microsoft Blog]]> http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=20289 Surely, there are going to be some people beating their heads against a wall in Redmond today.

After a decade of pursuing the notion of a tablet computer for consumers, it now appears possible, if not likely, that Apple will be the one that gets credit--and the revenue--for making the product mainstream...

View Full Article: CNET News]]> http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=20288 CompTIA is the computer industry group that oversees common certifications such as A+, Network+, and Server+, and its certifications have always been good indefinitely.

Not anymore. In a policy change announced this month, CompTIA dropped a bombshell on the hundreds of thousands of people who hold its certifications: those credentials are now good for only three years—and the change in policy is retroactive...

View Full Article: Ars Technica]]> http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=20287 Bill Gates dropped by The New York Times on Monday to discuss his full-time job as head of the Gates Foundation, the world’s largest philanthropy, especially its work in global health and development.

Mr. Gates was on his way to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he is expected to announce an expansion of the foundation’s vaccine programs in poor nations...

View Full Article: The New York Times]]> http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=20286
The best way to explain this complicated series of affairs is through a short timeline. Here’s the summary of what’s happened thus far...

View Full Article: Mashable]]> http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=20285 debut on Twitter was just the prelude. The Microsoft chairman and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation co-chair today is launching a new site, dubbed The Gates Notes, where he'll be writing about what's on his mind, posting information from his trips, and sharing excerpts from his exchanges with experts and leaders in areas including science, energy, philanthropy and other global issues...

View Full Article: Todd Bishop's Microsoft Blog]]> http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=20284
View Full Article: eWeek]]> http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=20283 Windows Experience Pack we are making available starting today for people with PCs running Windows 7 and/or Windows Live Essentials. While we can’t send all of you on vacation, we can give you something special to help you daydream and customize your PC and online experience...

View Full Article: Windows Team Blog]]> http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=20282 Apple on Tuesday updated its Boot Camp software and issued new drivers and utilities to allow users to run Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows 7. The Mac maker also issued its first security update of 2010, addressing 12 vulnerabilities.

The Boot Camp software was updated to version 3.1 for both 32-bit and 64-bit users of Windows 7. The updates add native support for the Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate versions of Windows 7...

View Full Article: AppleInsider]]> http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=20281 The shortage of IPv4 addresses has reached a critical stage, according to the registries that allocate internet numbers around the world.

The Number Resource Organization (NRO), which represents the registries, said on Tuesday that less than 10 percent of all IPv4 addresses remain available, threatening the future network operations of all businesses and organizations unless ISPs and businesses step up their migration to IPv6.

View Full Article: ZDNet News]]> http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=20280 At this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, NVIDIA had several things going on. In a public press conference they announced 3D Vision Surround and Tegra 2, while on the showfloor they had products o’plenty, including a GF100 setup showcasing 3D Vision Surround.

But if you’re here, then what you’re most interested is in what wasn’t talked about in public, and that was GF100. With the Fermi-based GF100 GPU finally in full production, NVIDIA was ready to talk to the press about the rest of GF100, and at the tail-end of CES we got our first look at GF100’s gaming abilities, along with a hands-on look at some unknown GF100 products in action. The message NVIDIA was trying to send: GF100 is going to be here soon, and it’s going to be fast...

View Full Article: AnandTech]]> http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=20279 The Microsoft veteran who helped lead development, sales, and marketing on Office and Windows is leaving the company after more than 20 years.

Bill Veghte has "indicated a desire to run a business in a more end-to-end fashion and continue to explore new areas in the broad technology, communication and services sector,s" chief executive Steve Ballmer said Thursday. Veghte leaves the company on January 30...

View Full Article: The Register]]> http://www.winbeta.org/comments.php?shownews=20278 The cloud wars are heating up.

One day after HP and Microsoft said they would spend $250 million to co-develop cloud computing systems, IBM hit back with the announcement of what it says is the biggest cloud deal to date...

View Full Article: InformationWeek]]>