09/25/05
Microsoft Set to Unveil 7 Versions of Windows Vista: Microsoft is all set to unveil as many as sen editions of their next PC operating system; Windows Vista. These editions have been particularly construed to cater to home and business requirements with various levels of functionality depending on the specific version.
Out of the seven new product editions, four of these - Windows Vista Ultimate Edition, Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, Windows Vista Home Basic Edition and Windows Vista Starter Edition – have been designed for the home segment. The remaining three products - Windows Vista Enterprise Edition, Windows Vista Professional Edition and Windows Vista Small Business Edition – will be targeting the business segment.
key calling card of the line up of seven new editions is that it is aiming to help consumers in the given categories at different points of their application usage expertise. For instance, the Windows Vista Starter Edition is meant for new users who will prefer to buy a low end PC and has only 3 applications to offer. But other versions in the home category will have advanced features. Its Windows Vista Professional Edition meant for the business market will be laden with Tablet PC functionality, Encrypted File System (EFS), IIS Web server, Remote Desktop, etc.
An additional feature is that they have been designed in a way that makes them compatible with non-Microsoft networking protocols as well like with SNMP and Netware. The Windows Vista Pro, more or less, promises to provide the same functionality as what we have now in Windows XP Pro. The most advanced new vista edition in the business category would be the Windows Vista Enterprise Edition, this will have unique features such as Secure Startup/full volume encryption security technologies, multi-language user interface (MUI) and Virtual PC.
09/24/05
Palm Teams With Microsoft for Smart Phone: Palm Inc. is teaming up with Microsoft Corp. to launch a Windows-based version of the Treo smart phone, marking the first time the handheld computer pioneer will sell a device based on its former rival's software.
LThe new Treo 700 will be offered through Verizon Wireless, according to market analyst Rob Enderle and other industry sources. "In terms of the level of importance, this would be — in this space — the same thing as Apple announcing they were going to be using Intel processors," Enderle said.
The three companies have scheduled a press conference for Monday. Spokesmen for Palm, Verizon Wireless and Microsoft declined to comment. The new device will run on Windows Mobile 5.0, the latest version of the operating system that has been challenging Palm OS for years. (AP)
09/23/05
Massachusetts Finalizes Plans to Phase Out Microsoft Office: The state of Massachusetts has finalized a proposed move to an open, nonproprietary format for office documents, a plan that involves phasing out versions of Microsoft's Office productivity suite deployed in the state's executive branch agencies.
Massachusetts released a final version of its Enterprise Technical Reference Model on the state's Web site Wednesday. According to the site, the new version, which became effective that day, "incorporates a new discipline for data formats within the information domain." As part of this new discipline, the state, going forward, will support the newly ratified Open Document Format for Office Applications, or OpenDocument, as the standard for its office documents.
Developed within the standards body OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards), OpenDocument is a file format based on XML (Extensible Markup Language) and covers the features required by text, spreadsheets, charts, and graphical documents.
09/20/05
Microsoft PDC 2005: Windows Vista and Office 12 Roadmap: If you thought there was going to be some resistance with software developers because Microsoft will soon release another new operating system and yet another new version of Microsoft Office, you thought wrong.
That is, according to several thousand software developers and programmers who attended the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference 2005 at the LA Convention Center, you did. They sold this event out two months ago, in anticipation of the major new Microsoft flagship product releases: the new Microsoft Windows Vista operating system and the new Microsoft Office 12.