After giving Windows Vista Beta 2 less-than-stellar report cards, Windows testers are finding more to like about a new Vista test build that Microsoft made available for download on June 23.
Microsoft quietly released to Technology Adoption Partner (TAP) and other selected technical beta testers the first post-Beta-2 build of Vista, Build No. 5456, over the past weekend.
The new build contains very few new additions and no major code cuts, according to testers. It is mostly a bug-fix build, testers said.
Unlike Beta 2 -- the major milestone release Microsoft made available for download to two million testers -- the new Community Technology Preview (CTP) 5456 build has not gone through as rigorous a test pass, according to a note Microsoft issued to Vista 5456 testers. Nonetheless, the Vista team characterized the new build as "generally better than Beta 2."
Microsoft and Unisys have secured a deal to build the second generation of the Schengen Information System and Visa Information System, which will allow law enforcement agencies within the European Union to share data.
The platform will connect individual systems from 27 countries--the 25 in the European Union, plus Iceland and Norway--to the central SIS and VIS system hosted by the EU itself. The system currently connects 13 EU member states, plus Iceland and Norway.
Unisys will act as integrator for the national systems and has picked Microsoft to supply the software. Financial details for the deal were not disclosed.
Microsoft has bought iView, a British maker of digital asset management software, the latter company said Tuesday. Financial terms were not disclosed.
In an open letter, company founder Yan Calotychos said the acquisition would make it possible for iView to enhance its flagship MediaPro product, while also strengthening customer service and support.
IView MediaPro enables photographers and other creative professionals to manage and catalogue their works through a searchable repository. The software supports more than 100 file formats for images, audio, video and other digital assets.
A Microsoft security guru is pleading with Windows Vista beta testers to not turn off the User Account Control feature, regardless of how annoying it is.
Jesper Johansson, a senior security strategist in the Security Technology Unit at Microsoft, admits that the current implementation of UAC presents too many privilege escalation pop-up prompts, but he insists there is a method to the apparent madness.
"Unless we get feedback on what works and what does not, we can't fix it. If you disable critical technologies that we are trying to get to work, we can't fix them," Johansson said in a blog entry. "That means that, yes, some things will be annoying and not work quite right in the final release, unless people work with us to fix them," he added.
Microsoft has acquired iView Multimedia, the founder of the British photo cataloging software company said on its Web site.
"With Microsoft's purchase of iView, we are in a position to enhance our industry-leading product, whilst strengthening our customer service and support," iView Multimedia founder Yan Calotychos said in an open letter to customers.
The information on iView's site did not include any terms of the deal. Microsoft said in a statement that it bought iView "because of its great product offerings that deliver unparalleled digital asset management and cataloging solutions for customers."
"It's too early to comment on how and when iView's products will be incorporated into our product line," Microsoft said.
Microsoft is trying to allow people to try out the next Office--without the hassle of installing beta software or replacing their current version.
The software maker late Monday released a free, Web-based test version of the new Office.
Microsoft said more than 2.5 million people have downloaded the Beta 2 version of Office 2007 since it was released last month. "The online test drive offers the perfect opportunity for everyone to experience an easier and better way to work," Microsoft said.
Enterprises adopting Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphone Edition for road warriors can now integrate a VPN
system, certified by Microsoft, for secure and stable access to their applications.
Microsoft has certified NetMotion Wireless Inc.'s Mobility XE for use with its OS for advanced mobile phones such as the Cingular
Wireless Inc. 2125 model. The VPN product, a combination of client and server software, encrypts data exchanged during enterprise
application sessions and keeps the server sessions alive when the phone leaves a coverage area or roams to another network.
Mobile robots could become businesses' newest recruits in the not-too-distant future, raising questions about who will ultimately manage these machines.
The industry for mobile robotsmachines that can interact with their environment and navigate on their own versus fixed-function botsis emerging from university labs into the mainstream. Many robots are still rudimentary and expensive to manufacture. And companies that make the bots often admit they are still searching for an audience.
However, given that the latest mobile robots can perform jobs that are dangerous, difficult or even tedious for humanssuch as cleaning sewer pipesthe number of bots in use is expected to increase steadily over the next five to 10 years, robotics industry executives told eWEEK during the RoboBusiness Conference & Expo June 20-21 here.
With Warren Buffett's announcement Sunday that he would be starting to make an annual donation of about $1.5 billion to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest foundation has a new challenge: how to distribute twice as much money each year.
In a letter dated Monday, Buffett told Bill and Melinda Gates that the first donation of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. stock would go to the foundation, which has assets of $29.1 billion, next month.
Bill and Melinda Gates said they were "awed" by Buffett's decision. "And we are humbled that he has chosen to direct a large portion of it to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation," they said.
According to beta testers who contacted me this weekend, Microsoft shipped Windows Vista build 5456 late Friday, its first post-Beta 2 version of the next major Windows release. No word yet on what's changed since Vista Beta 2, but given the relatively buggy nature of Beta 2, one can assume that build 5456 includes various bug fixes and, hopefully, some performance updates. I'm told that testers have access to the Ultimate, Home Basic, Home Premium, and Business editions of build 5456. I'll have more information about Vista build 5456 as soon as possible.