Windows Operating System Support for windows XP, Vista Support

Windows 7 is the successor of Windows Vista. Windows 7 is expected to be released sometime in 2010

Q: What is Service Pack 3?

A: Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) is the final Windows XP service pack, a collection of previously-released fixes and product enhancements, as well as a few new features that are unique to this release.

Q: Does SP3 include everything from SP1 and SP2 or do I need to install those first?

A: Though XP SP3 aggregates all of the previously-released XP fixes, Microsoft now says that you will need to install at least SP1 on XP before installing SP3. The company recommends installing SP2 first as well, though that is not required.

Q: What versions of Windows XP will work with SP3?

A: You can apply Service Pack 3 to Windows XP Home Edition, Professional Edition, Tablet PC Edition (any version), or Media Center Edition (any version).

Q: What about Windows XP Professional x64 Edition?

A: SP3 does not apply to the x64 version of Windows XP. Instead, that operating system is updated via service packs aimed at Windows Server 2003. The latest Windows 2003 service pack is SP2.

Q: Windows XP SP2 was released over three years ago. Why the delay on SP3?

A: While Microsoft is an enormous company with over 77,000 employees worldwide and over $50 billion in annual revenues, its organizational structure actually constrains which products are actively developed in some cases. For example, while a large team of developers, product managers, and program managers are involved during the ramp-up to any major OS release, Microsoft then pushes the product into its support organization for follow-up development in the form of hot-fixes, service packs, and so on. Other teams work on out-of-band updates that are typically shipped via the Web and, eventually, a new or existing team is constituted to work on the next major release and the entire process begins anew.

With Windows XP, however, Microsoft was forced to temporarily halt development on XP’s successor, Windows Vista, in order to complete XP SP2. That’s because this release, though provided to customers for free as a typical service pack, was in fact a major OS upgrade and was developed outside of the company’s support structure, a first for any service pack release. After XP SP2 was completed, the people involved with that project moved onto other things, typically Vista or Windows Server 2008.

In the case of Windows XP SP3, Microsoft simply dedicated every available employee it could to completing Windows Vista, which by that time was years behind schedule. So it’s only been since the beginning of this year that anyone turned their attention back to XP’s next and neglected service pack.

Q: What are these new features I keep hearing about?

A: Windows XP Service Pack 3 will not include any major new features, but it will include four minor new features that improve the system’s reliability and security. Contrary to reports, Microsoft has been very up-front about these functional additions for quite some time now.

These new features include:

Network Access Protection compatibility. Announced years ago, this feature allows Windows XP machines to interact with the NAP feature in Windows Server 2008. This functionality is built into the RTM version of Windows Vista as well.

Product Key-less install option. As with Windows Vista, new XP with SP3 installs can proceed without entering a product key during Setup.

Kernel Mode Cryptographics Module. A new kernel module that "encapsulates several different cryptographic algorithms," according to Microsoft.

"Black hole" router detection algorithm. XP gains the ability to ignore network routers that incorrectly drop certain kinds of network packets. This, too, is a feature of Windows Vista.

And that’s about it. Nothing dramatic, as promised.

Q: That’s it? Is there anything else?

Nothing major. Some features have actually been removed, like the taskbar-based Address Bar option.

Q: Why is Microsoft even bothering to release this update? Isn’t everyone moving to Microsoft Windows Vista?

A: Given the relative security, stability, and reliability of XP with SP2, and the subsequent release of Vista, XP SP3 may seem like a pointless update, but nothing could be further from the truth. Many businesses will roll out new XP-based PCs in the coming years, and as anyone who’s had to update an XP SP2 system can tell you, the 100+ updates that Microsoft has shipped since SP2 can be a nightmare to deploy. If you’re already running XP and have been regularly updating your systems all along, the release of XP SP3 will be a minor event. But if you have planned XP deployments in the future, look very carefully at this release and consider it the baseline for your next generation of PCs. Or, you could always consider Vista, which will of course be updated with genuine new features far longer than will XP.

Q: When will Microsoft ship XP SP3?

A: Microsoft finalized Windows XP Service Pack 3 on April 21, 2008 and will release it publicly to the Web on April 29, 2008.

Here’s the complete Windows XP SP3 release schedule:

RTM (release to manufacturing): April 21
Windows Update (optional update): April 29
Microsoft Download Center: April 29
MSDN/TechNet download: May 2
Windows XP SP3 fulfillment media (CD-based): May 19
Volume license customers download: June 1
Windows Update/Automatic Updates: June 10

source @ http://www.cubed3.com/topic/30935

For Windows loyalists, there’s no doubt that the future is bright (optimistically speaking) and the future is Vista. However, for people who cannot let go of the ageing XP, they can expect support if they invest in an emerging, new class of mobile personal computers commonly known as ULCPC (Ultra Low-cost Personal Computers).

Microsoft announced the worldwide extension of the availability of Windows XP Home operating system support for ULCPCs. Windows XP Home for ULCPCs will be available until June 30, 2010, or for one year after general availability of the next version of Windows.

Microsoft had earlier announced that it would stop selling Windows XP completely by January 2009 (albeit postponing the stoppage by a year), and that sellers would stop bundling the old operating system with machines June onwards.

Conversely, it seems that Microsoft has realized the potential of the up-and-coming breed of ULCPCs, like the Eee PC, and has therefore decided to not withdraw the much-loved-by-some OS completely from the market. After all, it cannot allow people to have only the option of Linux on such PCs; customers loyal to the Windows brand are sure to follow.

And Microsoft cannot offer its high-configuration-hogging Vista OS for this segment because of obvious reasons, hence it has decided to stay and battle it out with Linux, which has been gaining a steady grip over the OS (Operating System) market slowly and steadily.

On the other hand, the OS business in emerging markets has been tricky for Microsoft. India being one of the top countries in such markets that has a majority of people who cannot yet seem to embrace the legality issues that encircle a pirated copy of an OS. For markets like ours, Microsoft has announced that computer makers could sell Windows XP Starter edition until June 2010.

Here’s hoping that there are further reductions in the price of this one, so our countrymen can make a wilful transition to the legal software route.

There are still consistent signs of life on the Windows XP front. The Redmond company has decided to extend the availability of Windows XP for ultra-low-cost PCs for over two more years. Until the later of June 30, 2010 or one year after the availability of Windows 7, the next iteration of the Windows operating system. The availability extension applies only to the Windows XP Home Edition.

"Customers and partners have made it clear to us that Windows is the preferred operating system for ULCPC buyers, just as it is for mainstream PC users. That’s why we are extending direct OEM sales of Windows XP Home for ULCPCs so that they can preinstall Windows on these devices through the later of June 30, 2010 or one year after the general availability of the next version of the Windows operating system. While Windows Vista provides many benefits, including an easier and more secure user experience, Windows XP Home provides an effective solution on these devices from a performance and cost perspective," stated Michael Dix, General Manager of Windows Client Product Management.

According to Microsoft, well in 2010, Windows XP SP3 will not only still survive, but will also be available alongside Windows Vista and Windows 7. However, the company stresses that the initiative is only aimed at supporting ULCPCs and its OEM partners, which otherwise would have to go with the Linux open source operating system, because Vista is not an option due to the system requirements.

"There is no plan to extend sales of other editions of Windows XP beyond June 30, 2008. We are very proud of the progress that we have made with Windows Vista over the last sixteen months. Since its launch, Windows Vista has become the fastest-selling operating system in Microsoft history, and more than 100 million Windows Vista licenses have been sold worldwide," Dix added. "Given this landscape and after consulting with our partners, apart from today’s announced extension of Windows XP Home for ULCPCs, we are maintaining the timelines we announced in September."

According to IT Pro Microsoft has done a u-turn when it comes to charging users for Vista Installation or compatibility support with regard to Vista SP1. It says that Microsoft is now "offering free support to any Windows Vista SP1 user experiencing problems."

Quoting Microsoft MVP Brandon LeBlanc, it reports "you have a variety of options you can choose for support, all of which will not cost you any support fee."

Indeed, it would appear that the Microsoft Vista support site is now offering totally free support for SP1 installation and compatibility issues be it via email, IM or telephone to anyone enquiring during US Pacific time business hours, and the offer will run for a full twelve months.

If you have a machine with Vista pre-installed, then you no longer have to go via OEM support or pay Microsoft $59 for every support request, which has to be good news all round

 

Microsoft has a Knowledge Base article that goes into the issue. Here are the potential reasons :

• You are already running Vista SP1.
• Vista SP1 is not yet available for the language pack for your version of Windows.
• The Windows Service Pack Blocker tool is running.
• "You tried to install Windows Vista SP1, and the installation failed with a known inconsistency in the file or registry structure." Oops, this one sounds like you have a problem.
• A problematic device driver was installed on the system when you tried to update to Vista SP1. Windows Update can detect some of these and block SP1.
• You are running a pre-release of SP1. You must uninstall it first.
• You used vLite to configure your system and removed system components required for the installation of SP1.
• You have not yet installed other prerequisite updates before SP1.

You can visit the link for advice and solutions for these problems at microsoft technical support.

Microsoft has announced a new high-end wireless keyboard and mouse set designed to appeal to the executive.

The ultra thin keyboard has what Microsoft calls a ‘Comfort Curve’ design, which thanks to a six degree angle, encourages a more natural hand and wrist position to enhance comfort, the company says.

The keyboard sports a translucent border that Microsoft says is intended to echo the see-through borders around windows in its Microsoft Vista Support.

As well as a Windows Start button, the keyboard also features a button for direct access to Windows Vista sidebar gadgets and a Windows Live Call button to bring up your Windows Live messenger contact list. Also, a hardware zoom button lets you zoom in and out of digital pictures and maps and there’s direct access on both keyboard and mouse to Vista’s ‘Flip 3D’ feature.

The Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 employs a 1,000dpi laser and is powered by a AAA rechargeable battery. According to Microsoft’s figures, those who use rechargeable wireless mice reduce their battery consumption by 80 per cent over three years of use.

"We are thrilled to see the simplicity and beauty of the Windows Vista Aero experience conveyed in the Wireless Laser Desktop 7000," said Jeff Price, Windows Group senior director at Microsoft. "With the smoked translucent border and floating keys, this keyboard is a true extension of the dynamic design for Vista Support."

Recently Microsoft has dropped the price of Vista to encourage end users and businesses to upgrade.

SENIOR Microsoft staff complained about misleading advertising and Windows Vista incompatibility issues in a series of embarrassing emails made public during a court case.

In the emails, published online by The New York Times, corporate vice president for Windows product management Mike Nash said he "got burned" after purchasing a notebook computer advertised as "Vista Capable" that was incapable of running the full version of the operating system.

Even more embarrassingly, Microsoft chief operating officer Jon A Shirley chose not to upgrade one of his computers to Vista after discovering it was not compatible with several of his peripheral devices including a printer and two scanners.

Microsoft Certified Technical Support for Microsoft Windows vista, Microsoft Windows XP

Microsoft staff also discussed a decision to lower Vista’s hardware requirements to encourage sales, with one manager warning the move would result in "a complete tragedy".

In one email sent to senior Microsoft staff including general manager for Windows Brad Brooks, Mr Nash said he had wound up with a "$2100 email machine" after buying a notebook that was incapable of running the full version of Windows Vista.

"Are we seeing this from a lot of customers?" Mr Nash asked in the email.

"I know that I chose my laptop (a Sony TX770P) because it had the vista (sic) logo and was pretty disappointed that it not only wouldn’t run Glass, but more importantly wouldn’t run Movie Maker."

"Glass" is an internal code-name for the standard Windows Vista user interface shown in advertisements, officially called Aero. Movie Maker is a video editing program that comes with the operating system.

The messages, which reveal senior Microsoft executives suffered the same problems with Windows Vista reported by consumers, were made public as a US judge granted class-action status to a lawsuit filed against the company.

Original plaintiffs Dianne Kelley and Kenneth Hansen claimed they were mislead by stickers reading "Windows Vista Capable" when purchasing computers in 2006, as the computers in question could only run a cut-down version of the software.

Last month the suit was granted class-action status to include other customers in the US who bought a computer labelled "Windows Vista Capable" but were not informed of the fine print, the Times reported.

Conversations in the emails reveal even senior Microsoft officials were confused by the labels and were surprised to learn that computers with the sticker were not able to run Vista Aero.

One exchange between senior vice president for Windows Steven Sinofsky and Brag Goldberg, general manager for the Windows Client Product Management Group, was particularly frank.

"Is it true that Vista Ready doesn’t necessarily mean Aero capable? I got a Dell Lattitude (sic) that is Vista Ready but doesn’t have enough graphics (hardware)," Mr Sinofsky asked Mr Goldberg on July 27, 2006.

Mr Goldberg replied: "by windows vista ready do you meant the sticker on your pc that says ‘windows vista capable’. this certification means that the pc will run the basic experiences of windows vista."

He continued: "some pcs that are windows vista capable will run aero and some will not… originally we wanted to set the capable bar around aero but there are a bunch of reasons why we had to back off."

Mr Sinofsky replied: "I was in bestbuy (sic) listening to people and can tell you this one did not come clear to customers. We set ourselves up."

In an earlier email staff discussed negative feedback from retail chain Wal-Mart over the labels.

"Wal-Mart was very vocal today regarding the Windows Vista Capable messaging. They are extremely disappointed in the fact that standards were lowered and feel like customer confusion will ensue," wrote sales manager Robin Leonard on February 23.

"They would like to see Microsoft reconsider the program and allow for the use of 2 different logos; one that is strictly a Windows Vista Home Basic Capable, and the other Windows Vista Capable."

Steve Schiro, vice president of the home and retail division, replied: "This feedback has been consistent from all retailers around the world. We should not let consumers or retailers have to decipher what windows Vista capable means."

The class action against Microsoft is scheduled to go to trial in October.

Two weeks after it last handed a new build of Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) to several thousand invitation-only testers, Microsoft Corp. today posted that version for public downloading.

"We’re broadening the availability of the release candidate in order to receive further user feedback prior to the release of Windows XP SP3," a company spokeswoman said in an e-mail Tuesday afternoon. "Windows XP SP3 RC2 was made publicly available on 26^th Feb" On Feb. 7, Microsoft seeded Release Candidate 2 (RC2) with the 15,000 or so testers who had been working with SP3 for several months. At that time, the company said nothing about taking the version public.

Be there we will take the review in next post regarding Microsoft Windows XP SP3 RC2 Release 

Microsoft Corporation has slashed the price of some versions of Microsoft Windows Vista, the software maker said late Thursday.

The move from Microsoft Corporation came a day after court filings revealed internal dissent over which Windows XP computers would be considered capable of running the new operating system _ and a feeling on at least one executive’s part that the company had "botched" the marketing of computers as "Vista Capable."

Only copies of the year-old operating system that are sold in boxes directly to consumers are affected by the price slash not the versions pre-loaded on personal computers. The cuts will range from 20 percent to 48 percent.

The reductions are to coincide with the late March release of Vista Service Pack 1, a collection of security fixes and other improvements.

Microsoft said the new prices will apply to the Home Premium and Ultimate versions of Vista, in both their full editions and the editions that upgrade an older or more basic windows operating system.

At the launch, Microsoft was widely criticized for offering too many versions of the operating system _ including Home Basic, which didn’t have the snazzy new signature look called "Aero" _ and for setting the price too high for the high-end versions.

The question now is just how low Vista will go.

Some More related  posts to the Topic

SP1 for Windows Vista shines in some areas and introduces problems in others

Microsoft Partners: We Want Vista SP1 Now

Microsoft Vista SP1 Available by Mid-March 

With the computers and mobiles going globule today, a new domain of industry has started to build around and they are identified as Technical Support Services providers.

Technical support is a range of services providing assistance with computer hardware, software, or other electronic or mechanical goods. In general, technical support services attempt to help the user solve specific problems with a product—rather than providing training, customization, or other support services.

Technical support is now evolving from simple call handling into an integrated help desk. India can be considered the best to have proven its capabilities in outsourcing strategic technical services. With most Indian IT majors able to deliver services to any part of the globe, the current scenario is seeing waves of transition in tech support.

There has been a sudden surge in the number of companies providing online tech support with the reason being technological changes in products which certainly increase complexities for typical end users. They want to embrace advancements with right understanding of the product, a factor leading to steady growth of tech support services. The trend is the highest among computer savvy who look out for unique visual approach to troubleshoot their PC problems.

Opposed to this, there are many other upcoming computer support organizations which offer comprehensive online tech support and computer repair services ranging from simple installation to advanced PC diagnostic. These services now form part of new offerings, thereby driving an innovation in tech support industry. Of these renowned names are IBM, Geeksquad, iYogi and Firedog. The USP of these companies is their ability to move out of the background of the customer help desk function into the limelight as worthy aids for availing the best computer support at incredible prices.

Microsoft announced that Windows Server 2008, the most advanced Server operating system to date, has been released to manufacturing (RTM) and will be available to customers on March 1st, with global launch of Windows Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008 and SQL Server 2008, which will take place in Los Angeles on February 27th, 2008, and in Amman on March 11th, 2008.

Windows Server 2008 helps alleviate the pressures from rapidly changing technology, increasing costs, security concerns and expanding business needs by automating daily management tasks, tightening security, improving efficiency and increasing availability. It also offers virtualization solutions that will enable IT professionals to reduce costs, increase hardware utilization, optimize infrastructure and improver server availability.

“Building upon the strength and reliability of Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008 brings customers the most secure, reliable and tested version of Windows Server.”

To add to the benefits customers will be receiving from Windows Server 2008, Microsoft also announced that Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) has been released to manufacturing and will be available to customers in March so that when combined with Windows Server 2008 customers will see a number of improvements in security, manageability, overall system performance, as well as streamlined planning and deployment.

So, finally the Windows Vista SP1 have came along with some of customers, and will be their to others will be receiving it before the end of the week, and MSDN and TechNet subscribers will receive it by the end of the month.

Many Windows customers are excited about finally getting their hands on Windows Vista’s first service pack, SP1, which promised to deliver not only bugfixes, but performance upgrades.  After a slow release schedule, Microsoft picked up the pace and made plans to ship early to select customers.

One key question on Windows Vista users’ minds is exactly how does Windows post SP1 measure up against the initial copy of Windows Vista in terms of performance.  In initial testing at CNET Labs, the results are in, and they are rather mixed.  Testers found that while SP1 improves performance under some condition, it actually decreases performance under others.  For the most part, testers concluded, few will notice the difference between the base installation and an SP1 installed system.

Vista does offer bundled updated third party drivers which do upgrade performance significantly, but most of these were already available.  Customers who have kept current with Window’s Updates and their third party driver updates will find little new here, and thus will see no real performance change.  Microsoft definitely can take credit in a big picture sense for providing improved performance, though, as it has been devoting considerable resources to helping third party vendors make their products better compatible with Windows, gradually improving performance over the last year.

Probably the single biggest changes in performance have to do with file copying.  Windows XP used an cached I/O mode to improve write times.  Windows Vista on the other hand used a slower predominately uncached I/O system.  The upgrade to SP1 adds caching back into the mix, which in most cases, testers discovered, improves results. New service packs for Vista added security-related APIs to expand the use of anti-exploit technology.

On the other side of things, the SP1 update has somehow created a performance degradation in copy times to external USB 2.0 hard drives.  Something is going wrong in Windows Vista SP1 during USB copies, and the issue is currently under investigation.  Meanwhile Windows Vista SP1 takes a 40 to 50 percent performance hit in this type of file copies, when compared to base Windows Vista.

Testers did comment on SP1’s rather good job in delivering bug fixes.  This leads to a more stable environment.  Still, feelings towards SP1 will probably depend heavily on users’ expectations as it delivers a mixed bag of performance changes.

Many partners in the Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT) galaxy are none too pleased about Redmond’s decision earlier this week to withhold downloads of Vista service pack 1 until mid-March. But after a firestorm of online protest from disaffected partners, it appears that Microsoft may consider revising its decision.

During beta testing, Microsoft says it discovered device driver glitches in systems with Vista SP1 installed, which reportedly have to do with audio drivers, graphics drivers, and network drivers being disabled after installing Vista SP1. Although the issues can be fixed by uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers — a relatively simple task for most IT professionals — Microsoft decided not to release Vista SP1 while it spends the next six weeks ironing out the problems in conjunction with its hardware partners.

Several posters on the Windows Vista Team blog have been voicing their frustrations and demanding to know why Microsoft chose not to allow them to download Vista SP1 from its Download center, TechNet, or MSDN Websites.

"I can understand and even support not releasing it immediately to Windows Update to give IT folks and developers a head start, but [don’t understand] not releasing it to the download center, MSDN, and TechNet," wrote a poster who goes by the name ‘daedalus.’

"As an IT professional, I am disappointed that Microsoft does not see the benefit in releasing [Vista SP1] as a download for IT professionals. Although six weeks is not long, it could be [a] very valuable time to test SP1 in one’s business environment," wrote poster ‘rmwestbrook’.

Andy Kretzer, director of sales and marketing at Bold Data Technology, a Fremont, Calif.-based system builder, told ChannelWeb his firm would also have appreciated the opportunity to use this time to test the SP1 RTM.

"While Vista sales have been extremely slow for us, the last thing we would want is to have a much anticipated service pack in the hands of our customers prior to being tested and evaluated by our engineers on our systems," said Kretzer.

Susan Bradley, a Microsoft Small Business Specialist partner in Fresno, Calif., believes Microsoft is making an error in judgment by not allowing testers to download Vista SP1. "What will end up happening is that SP1 will end up on BitTorrent somewhere, thus reinforcing that piracy appears to the the way to go," Bradley said.

In a Wednesday comment on the Windows Vista team blog, Nick White, a product manager with the Vista team, told disgruntled posters he plans to relay their concerns to the Vista SP1 Release team.

"I for one understand where you’re coming from and am making that case accordingly; if anything changes, we’ll announce it here on the blog," White wrote.

However, a Microsoft spokesperson wouldn’t comment on whether Microsoft may be reviewing its plans for releasing Vista SP1.

Vista SP1 remains on track for a mid-March release through Windows Update and Microsoft’s Download Center, and systems containing drivers that are known to interfere with installations of Vista SP1 won’t be able to download the update, according to the spokesperson.

Microsoft has increased security on Vista, XP and the new Server offering, according to a source.

New service packs for Vista and XP will add security-related APIs to expand the use of anti-exploit technology.

The new APIs will allow developers to call Data Execution Prevention (DEP) into their applications and will especially benefit those writing solutions running on Windows Server 2008.

A blog post from Windows revealed the step up in security, saying that they wanted more people to "opt-in to using DEP" (also known as No eXecute).

The APIs lets the program opt-in to DEP support when they are run, meaning that both users and developers gain more flexibility.

"If you support DEP but want to allow customers to disable DEP if there are serious compatibility issues, then this is the API to use," said the blog.

A recent Windows flaw was described as "highly exploitable" by security experts and could open businesses up to attack, reported Computer World.

Spyware Removal   Virus Removal

A Service Pack for Microsoft Vista is awaited by the masses from a while but the wait has to be a there till March as users won’t be able to actually download it until mid-March, company officials said Monday.

During beta testing for Vista SP1, Microsoft found that some device drivers were causing problems on systems with SP1 installed. Although the issues can be fixed by uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers, Microsoft decided this would be too complicated for most users. As a result, Microsoft will spend the next month hunting for additional problematic device drivers, said David Zipkin, senior product manager in Windows Client Group.

"With drivers, we wanted to make sure when folks upgrade to Vista that they have a smooth experience," Zipkin said.

Microsoft is currently working with its hardware partners to hammer out the device driver glitches, according to Zipkin, who declined to name the partners.

In mid-March, Microsoft plans to release Vista SP1 in 5 languages — English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese — through Windows Update and the Download Center, Zipkin said, adding that Microsoft will ensure that SP1 isn’t pushed out to PCs that have the aforementioned drivers installed.

In April, Microsoft will begin auto updates of Vista SP1 to users who’ve chosen this option, and will also release the rest of the language specific versions of Vista SP1, Zipkin said.

Microsoft has handed off the final Vista SP1 bits to its OEM partners, and if testing goes well, they’ll soon begin building new PCs based on Vista SP1 images. Microsoft has also begun pressing Vista SP1 DVDs for its retail and volume licensing customers, said Zipkin.

Vista and Windows Server 2008 are closely aligned and are both very similar from an engineering point of view, with a 95 percent shared code base, said Bob Visse, senior director of marketing in the Windows Server Marketing Group.

Microsoft is working with ISV partners and hardware partners to help them build Server 2008 compatible applications. As part of this effort, Microsoft has established three tiers for ISVs to pledge their support for the Server 2008 platform, each with successively more stringent application testing requirements.

Microsoft currently has 80 ISVs in the highest tier and expects that number to jump to 225 within the next three months, said Visse, who expects the "vast majority" of Microsoft’s approximately 1000 ISV partners to extend their support for Server 2008.

News Source: Channel Web Network

When Microsoft bid $44.6bn for Yahoo on Friday the first question on everyone’s lips was: what will Google make of this? Now we have our answer…

Using the Official Google Blog, David Drummond - the company’s Senior VP of Corporate Development and Chief Legal Officer - was surprisingly defensive. In typical Google fashion, Drummond started by praising the concept of the Internet (an approach which will feed the company’s detractors who label it something of a technological hippy) before questioning the legality of the move.

"Microsoft’s hostile bid for Yahoo! raises troubling questions," Drummond explained. "This is about more than simply a financial transaction, one company taking over another. It’s about preserving the underlying principles of the Internet: openness and innovation. Could Microsoft now attempt to exert the same sort of inappropriate and illegal influence over the Internet that it did with the PC? While the Internet rewards competitive innovation, Microsoft has frequently sought to establish proprietary monopolies - and then leverage its dominance into new, adjacent markets."

Hang on, this isn’t what we were expecting! Where’s the bravado? He continued:

"Could the acquisition of Yahoo! allow Microsoft - despite its legacy of serious legal and regulatory offenses [sic] - to extend unfair practices from browsers and operating systems to the Internet? In addition, Microsoft plus Yahoo! equals an overwhelming share of instant messaging and web email accounts. And between them, the two companies operate the two most heavily trafficked portals on the Internet. Could a combination of the two take advantage of a PC software monopoly to unfairly limit the ability of consumers to freely access competitors’ email, IM, and web-based services?"

Drummond closed asking that "the merits of this proposed acquisition are examined and alternatives explored" and quite frankly, we’re rather surprised.

Riyad got it spot on in his editorial The Searchers, which addressed the takeover bid directly, when he questioned the considerable overlap between the two companies and whether "big MS feels that two struggling search strategies are somehow better than one". Personally, I suspect Google is being overly cautious here and could even stand to benefit long term as its biggest competitor is forcefully jammed inside the Redmond collective.

 News Source:- Trustedreviews.com

Microsoft has offered to buy Yahoo for around $44,6bn in cash and shares, to better compete with Google in the market for online services.

Microsoft expects the market for online advertising to almost double in size over the next three years, from $40bn in 2007 to $80bn by 2010. A merger will allow it to realise economies of scale and to reduce capital costs as it addresses this market, it says.

Microsoft expects to cut costs by $1bn a year by realizing synergies with Yahoo in four areas: obtaining economies of scale as its audience increases; combining its research and development efforts with Yahoo’s to innovate faster; eliminating operational redundancy to cut costs, and pooling expertise to innovate in video and mobile.

"We see this announcement as the next major milestone in Microsoft’s company-wide transformation to embrace online services overall and to invest very successfully in search and advertising," Ballmer adds.

A merger might give Google some extra competition, but it wouldn’t unseat it as the top search provider, and it would take some time to convince advertisers that they would do better on a Microsoft-Yahoo platform over Google’s highly successful ad business, said Mark Mahaney of Citigroup.

 Googles Stand on the Bid