Microsoft's List Of 800 Windows Vista-Compatible Apps

Earlier this week, Microsoft published a list of 800 applications that should run properly on its new Windows Vista operating system. On its Web site, Microsoft says the number of applications certified for use with Windows Vista is constantly growing and that its list "will be update weekly.

"Virtually all of Microsoft's own offerings are on the list. Also included are a host of business and security applications from vendors ranging from Intuit to Trend Micro. Desktop applications from Google made it in, but some of the world's biggest software companies, including Adobe Systems, IBM, and Symantec didn’t make the cut. Tech industry analyst Rob Enderle of the Enderle Group blames the fact that IBM and Adobe are becoming increasingly competitive with Microsoft in the desktop applications market. Also absent from the list is any software from Apple. Enderle thinks Apple has purposely chosen not to make some of its more popular applications, such as iTunes, Vista-compatible.

View: Applications that Microsoft has approved for Vista

New Vulnerability Found In Windows Vista

A security vendor based in Aliso Viejo, California has found a vulnerability with a 'medium' security rating in Microsoft's Windows Vista. According to Marc Maiffret, co-founder and chief hacking officer of eEye Digital Security, the flaw is a privilege escalation bug and the sole reason it got a ‘medium’ was because it doesn't enable remote control of the system. The flaw, which eEye first found on January 9 and reported to Microsoft on January 19, is one of the first to be found in the brand new operating system. Vista wasn't released to the public until January 30. The vulnerability, which is similar to a buffer overflow problem, enables regular users to grab more power on the system:

"A main security feature added to Vista is that regular users have a lower level of privileges. They have fewer privileges in Vista than they did in Windows XP. When regular users are running the operating system, they have regular user-level access, but with this vulnerability, you can elevate yourself to system-level access. Any normal user can do anything they want to the system," says Maiffret.

News source: InformationWeek

Microsoft: Just five years support for Vista Home, Ultimate

Microsoft Corp. yesterday said it would limit support for three versions of the Windows Vista operating system, including its most expensive, to five years rather than the usual 10 years.

The company defended the difference by noting that the clock just started ticking. "End of life-cycle support for Windows Vista is still five years out," a spokesperson said in an e-mail response.

However, the software maker left the door ajar. "As we've done in the past, Microsoft will continue to evaluate the support life cycle for Windows Vista and make decisions about extending support if and when it is necessary," the spokesperson added.

News Source: Computer World

Gmaill open to all

Google on Wednesday morning said its Googlemail service is now open to anyone who wants an account. Previously the service, which provides users with 2.8GB of email storage space, has been by invitation only. The service, known as Gmail outside the UK, has proved very popular. When it was launched, Google raised eyebrows with its practice of indexing the content of emails so that the company could place contextual adverts in them. Nevertheless, early ZDNet UK stories garnered hundreds of Talkbacks from people looking for free accounts.

Google ceded rights to the Gmail name in the UK following a court case with Independent International Investment Research, which registered the trademark Gmail in the time between Google's Webmail launch and the search firm's own attempt to trademark the Gmail name. Its woes did not end there: across western Europe, a quiet battle rages on between Google and Daniel Giersch, a German-born venture capitalist who insists he'll never relinquish his six-year-old trademark registration of "G-mail... und die Post geht richtig ab" (translation: G-mail... and the mail goes right off).

News source: Neowin.net

Windows Vista = Windows Me II?

Is Windows Vista going to be a repeat of the Windows Me marketing and sales disaster that Microsoft experienced back in 2000? Over the past few weeks I've come across a number of articles on tech sites that are putting Windows Vista and Windows Me in the same sentence. Not good. Others are more blatant and are directly comparing Vista to Me. That's really bad and not the kind of comparison that is going to fuel sales.

Pointing out that you've fixed the flaws of the previous version hardly inspires people to part with money a second time around. When Windows Me was released by Microsoft back in 2000 it was a total debacle. The operating system offered the consumer very little in the way of new technology (a new interface that looked like Windows 2000 and features such as System Restore, UPnP and automatic Windows Updates). It was tricky to install, trickier still to get running, buggy, tough to get hardware working, even tougher to get legacy hardware running because Microsoft decided to remove non-PnP drivers from the installation CD, had compatibility issues with software, and quite often it just didn’t want to shut down properly. It truly deserved its #4 spot in “The 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time” list. On the plus side … it didn’t have any form of Product Activation.

News source: ZDNet