Microsoft Releases Windows Vista To Manufacturing
By Gregg Keizer
InternetWeek
Wed Nov 8, 3:23 PM ET
Microsoft on Wednesday released Windows Vista to manufacturing, marking the end of the operating system's five-year, and often difficult, development cycle.
"This is a good day," said Jim Allchin, the co-president of the company's Windows division, in a press conference Wednesday morning. "An hour ago we signed off [on the RTM build]. We're ready to ship."
The announcement, which was presaged in leaks from several Windows tipsters and analysts beginning last weekend, means that Microsoft has wrapped up its work on the Vista code, or at least the core code. Work can continue, for instance, on add-ons, including drivers, which will be delivered at launch or after via the Windows Update automatic update service.
"RTM [release to manufacturing] signifies the next step and the next phase for Vista," said Allchin, who added that the torch had been passed to computer makers, which will install the OS on new PCs, and third-party software developers.
Allchin also confirmed that Vista would release to corporate customers with volume license agreements before the end of November and that the next-generation OS would meet the previously-set deadline of January 2007. "January 30, in fact," said Allchin.
In late August, e-retailer Amazon.com broke the news of the Jan. 30, 2007 date by posting listing for pre-orders with that as the delivery date.
As reported earlier, all versions of Vista will be packaged on a single installation DVD, said Allchin. Five language editions of the OS are now completed—English, Japanese, Spanish, French, and German—and a total of 18 will be available by the Jan. 30 retail launch. "This is an incredibly happy day for us," said Allchin.
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Vista, Office 2007 cracked. Kind of.
11/12/2006 9:09:28 PM, by Jeremy Reimer
Microsoft has had a long history of battling against piracy, ever since Bill Gates' Open Letter to Hobbyists in 1976, long before there was even a personal computer software industry to speak of. Now, Microsoft finds itself in its latest piratical engagement, with the recent cracks of Windows Vista and Office 2007, both of which just hit gold release status. Torrents of the cracks are already finding their way around pirate sites.
The crack for Windows Vista (which is called "Vista BillGates") is not a true crack, as it replaces components from the final version of the operating system with those from earlier betas. This allows the would-be pirate to use a product key that worked with Beta 1, Beta 2, RC1, or RC2, with the Gold release of the operating system. This allows the OS to be activated normally over the Internet, but does not bypass the activation system itself. Microsoft had made these earlier betas available to the public on a limited basis.
The other piratical news today is that a copy of the Enterprise edition of Office 2007 was also made available on the 'Net. This version, like other "Corporate" editions of Microsoft products, uses a volume license key (in this case, Volume Activation 1.0) and does not require activation over the Internet.
Of course, Microsoft has methods of fighting back against these latest leaks. The company can push updates through Windows and Office Update that deactivate the pirated copies. As the company did with Windows XP Corporate Editions, Microsoft can invalidate corporate volume license keys that have leaked out at a later date. This latter strategy worked moderately well for Microsoft—at least a few people whose pirated copy of XP had its VLK invalidated did bite the bullet and replace it with a legitimate version. Also, Microsoft can continue their strategy of using Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) to restrict access to certain non-essential updates. Internet Explorer 7 was an example of a product offered only to users who passed WGA.
Microsoft's aim is to make piracy annoying enough that casual users will stop bothering with it, despite the fact that dedicated pirates will still manage to break it again and again. Still, it's clear that the battle between pirates and those who would wish to stop them is far from over.
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i really didn't expect it this soon.
umpkin:
By Gregg Keizer
InternetWeek
Wed Nov 8, 3:23 PM ET
Microsoft on Wednesday released Windows Vista to manufacturing, marking the end of the operating system's five-year, and often difficult, development cycle.
"This is a good day," said Jim Allchin, the co-president of the company's Windows division, in a press conference Wednesday morning. "An hour ago we signed off [on the RTM build]. We're ready to ship."
The announcement, which was presaged in leaks from several Windows tipsters and analysts beginning last weekend, means that Microsoft has wrapped up its work on the Vista code, or at least the core code. Work can continue, for instance, on add-ons, including drivers, which will be delivered at launch or after via the Windows Update automatic update service.
"RTM [release to manufacturing] signifies the next step and the next phase for Vista," said Allchin, who added that the torch had been passed to computer makers, which will install the OS on new PCs, and third-party software developers.
Allchin also confirmed that Vista would release to corporate customers with volume license agreements before the end of November and that the next-generation OS would meet the previously-set deadline of January 2007. "January 30, in fact," said Allchin.
In late August, e-retailer Amazon.com broke the news of the Jan. 30, 2007 date by posting listing for pre-orders with that as the delivery date.
As reported earlier, all versions of Vista will be packaged on a single installation DVD, said Allchin. Five language editions of the OS are now completed—English, Japanese, Spanish, French, and German—and a total of 18 will be available by the Jan. 30 retail launch. "This is an incredibly happy day for us," said Allchin.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Vista, Office 2007 cracked. Kind of.
11/12/2006 9:09:28 PM, by Jeremy Reimer
Microsoft has had a long history of battling against piracy, ever since Bill Gates' Open Letter to Hobbyists in 1976, long before there was even a personal computer software industry to speak of. Now, Microsoft finds itself in its latest piratical engagement, with the recent cracks of Windows Vista and Office 2007, both of which just hit gold release status. Torrents of the cracks are already finding their way around pirate sites.
The crack for Windows Vista (which is called "Vista BillGates") is not a true crack, as it replaces components from the final version of the operating system with those from earlier betas. This allows the would-be pirate to use a product key that worked with Beta 1, Beta 2, RC1, or RC2, with the Gold release of the operating system. This allows the OS to be activated normally over the Internet, but does not bypass the activation system itself. Microsoft had made these earlier betas available to the public on a limited basis.
The other piratical news today is that a copy of the Enterprise edition of Office 2007 was also made available on the 'Net. This version, like other "Corporate" editions of Microsoft products, uses a volume license key (in this case, Volume Activation 1.0) and does not require activation over the Internet.
Of course, Microsoft has methods of fighting back against these latest leaks. The company can push updates through Windows and Office Update that deactivate the pirated copies. As the company did with Windows XP Corporate Editions, Microsoft can invalidate corporate volume license keys that have leaked out at a later date. This latter strategy worked moderately well for Microsoft—at least a few people whose pirated copy of XP had its VLK invalidated did bite the bullet and replace it with a legitimate version. Also, Microsoft can continue their strategy of using Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) to restrict access to certain non-essential updates. Internet Explorer 7 was an example of a product offered only to users who passed WGA.
Microsoft's aim is to make piracy annoying enough that casual users will stop bothering with it, despite the fact that dedicated pirates will still manage to break it again and again. Still, it's clear that the battle between pirates and those who would wish to stop them is far from over.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i really didn't expect it this soon.
umpkin:
Buy on AliExpress.com
