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Kevin Tofel of jkontherun has put together a fairly comprehensive list of what's inside the Vista SP2 update—just as the beta rolls out to MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Here is what users can expect:
Hey, what the hell people? I thought we were finally cool with Vista. We're all PCs, right? So why are analysts yapping about people buying used computers just for copies of Windows XP?
Chances are that today you have been waiting in line to get you further in debt at some electronics store. Good. That's how America reactivates the economy. Meanwhile, Giz reader OMGponies wrote to us proposing an idea for a Question of the Day. After having to go through a Java update in Vista, he was wondering what is worse: Waiting for Mac OS X's Spinning Beach Ball of Death or Vista's Spinning Ring of Death? I would add something else: Are any of those dreadful icons comparable to the Wedding Ring of Death waiting in line for Black Friday deals? Hookay. You may ignite your flamethrowers in the comments... now.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in October that he had no knowledge of the "Vista Capable" debacle that's since spawned a class-action lawsuit, but a federal judge wants him to testify in the case anyway. U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman smacked down Microsoft's earlier claims that Ballmer shouldn't have to testify, and wrote Friday that the plaintiffs had adequately shown the chair-throwing executive may have had "unique knowledge" of the disastrous "Vista Capable" PC program.
After a Jefferies Group analyst cut Microsoft's 2009 revenue forecasts, Microsoft's stock fell to its lowest levels since 1998. The projections were reduced due to "downward pressure on PC unit sales," not Vista or lawsuits. And indeed, when you study Microsoft's decline the past few months that's right in line with the S&P 500, it's tough to blame anything but the generally crappy economy. [Seattle PI and Yahoo]
The class-action lawsuit filed against Microsoft for allegedly lowering the requirements for a "Vista Capable" sticker to appease Intel (henceforth referred to as Stickergate) has begun to turn up some dirt. Apparently HP wasn't exactly thrilled to find out about the artificially lowered standards after they spent $US7m to bring their products up to speed, expressing their discontent in an email with lots of weird figurative talk about their collective mouth:
I hope this incident isn't a foretaste... it's left a very bad taste with me and my team"
The class-action lawsuit against Microsoft for its misleading "Vista Capable" marketing let loose another scandal when emails between Microsoft and Intel execs surfaced (PDF link), suggesting Microsoft cut Vista's hardware requirements to help out Intel. Originally, Intel's 915 series chipsets didn't qualify for the important "Vista Capable" sticker, but after a scheduling mix-up, Microsoft decided to throw Intel a bone by pretending the chipsets are up to Vista standards.
In the growing pile of reasons why Windows 7 will be a thousand times better than Vista, Microsoft has reported internal power specifications in which they tested an identical laptop playing back DVDs to battery failure. All things equal, the Vista configuration pulled 17.9W of power, while the Windows 7 machine pulled just 13.4W. It might not sound like much, but that's a big deal.
After receiving endless flak for their silly tiered Vista Compatibility scheme, Microsoft has decided to issue a single "Windows 7 Capable" sticker for hardware that works with the new OS. That means no more "Windows Home Basic", "Windows Ready", "Certified for Windows" and "Windows Ready When You Are, Asshole" labels slapped on every piece of hardware in the computer aisle at Best Buy.
Surprisingly, a really cool feature of Windows 7 called 'Aero Shake' has gone virtually unnoticed amid all of the hype. It is not groundbreaking or anything, but having the ability to minimise all background windows with a simple shake of the mouse seems like a smart, useful idea to me. Check out the video and see if you agree. [istartedsomething]
