If you’ve recently purchased a new laptop, chances are that it came with Windows Vista installed on it. Now, depending on how easily you can adapt, that might be a little bit of a problem. Even though Vista has been out for about a year now, many users are still reporting on having a hard time with the new operating system. Some consumers just can’t get all of their peripherals to work properly, others are experiencing horrendous performance issues, while still others just hate the changes that Microsoft made.

One solution to this dilemma would be to take Apple’s advice and just “upgrade” back to XP. If you’ve already gone ahead and tried this approach, though, you may have noticed that this causes another problem — quite a serious one actually. XP refuses to install!

So what’s the problem, you ask? Well, let’s think about this chronologically, shall we. Windows XP is old. No wait, let me rephrase that: XP is ancient! This means that the software and the drivers included with the installation package are just as old; that’s six years to be precise. Back in 2001, when XP debuted, Microsoft expected motherboards to interface with hard drives via an IDE cable. But, six years down the road, PCs and laptops manufacturers have all dumped IDE in favor of SATA, which is faster, allows for hot swapping of drives, and insures better data integrity and reliability. This all sounds wonderful, until you consider that Microsoft never included any SATA drivers with their XP installers. So now what?

Fortunately, there is a fairly easy way to rectify this problem. The necessary SATA drivers aren’t included with the standard installation disc, so we’ll have to add, or slipstream, them using a neat little tool called nLite:

• First off, we’ll need to download and install nLite, a freeware application developed and hosted by Dino Nuhagic. The latest version can be found at www.nliteos.com. I got everything up and running with version 1.4.

• Next, we’ll need to locate and download the appropriate SATA driver. Since it took me quite a bit of time and effort to locate the necessary drivers, I’ll do my part to simplify the task by hosting the driver I used here.

• The only other thing that we need now is an XP installation disc – hopefully a legal copy – into which we’ll slipstream the SATA driver.

Okay, now that we have the right software and the correct driver, let’s get started. Since we’re going to be adding a component to the standard Windows installation files, we’ll have to extract the files from the CD. While doing so, it is important to make sure that the file structure stays intact. By far the easiest way of getting all the right files onto your system is to simply insert the CD, head over to My Computer, right click the CD directory, hit copy, and then paste it to the desktop. Once that is done you’ll be ready to get started with nLite:

• Once nLite is launched, go ahead and skip the first screen which only contains information about the program.

• The second screen will ask you to locate the Windows installation, which will be on the desktop if you followed the instructions above verbatim. Once you’ve located the correct directory, hit OK in the selection window and wait for nLite to analyze the directory. If you’ve identified the correct directory, you should be able to see the Windows version, what service pack you have, the version number and installer size. If you don’t see this information, chances are that you’ve identified the wrong directory.

• The third page isn’t really that important, so skip it and make sure you get to the Task Selection page, since that’s the part where paying attention becomes important; it’ll be where you tell nLite what to do with the Windows installation files. Depending on what version of the Windows XP installation disc you have, you might want to alter a few of the settings. However, for the purposes of this article, I’m going to assume that we’re dealing with a standard Microsoft installation disc that already has Service Pack 2 installed on it, and that we’re not interested in slipsteaming in any other components, hotfixes, addons or tweaks. So, with all these considerations in mind, go ahead and check the third box down, labeled “Drivers,” as well as the very last one, labeled “Bootable ISO.” Click next when done.

• We should now be at the Drivers page; this is where you should locate the correct driver for nLite to slip into the installation. In the bottom right hand side of the window, right above “Next,” you should see a button labeled “Insert.” Click it, and then select “Multiple Driver Folder.” Doing so should bring up yet another window within which you’ll have to locate the folder that the SATA driver, which you should have downloaded earlier, resides in. Clicking OK in this, as well as in the next window, should bring up a list of possible SATA drivers. Now, if you know exactly what hardware you have, go ahead and select the appropriate driver. However, if you don’t know exactly what you need, then you might want to try the fourth one from the bottom — that’s the one that worked for my HP DV6500T. Clicking OK again should kick you back to the Drivers page; go ahead and click next.

• This next page is really straightforward. If you feel that you’ve set everything up correctly, hit OK, and watch nLite got to work — okay, well maybe there isn’t that much to see…

• After nLite finishes working its magic proceed to the next page, where you’ll have to complete one last task. Now that nLite has analyzed and modified your XP installation files, it’s going to want to know what it’s supposed to do with the newly created files. Your two best options are either to burn a new XP installation disc directly from within nLite, or to have the program create an ISO image which you can then do with as you please. In my case, I went ahead and created an image (just in case I happen to loose the CD at some point), which I then burned to a disc with Alcohol 120% (there are plenty of other applications, such as Nero, that will do the exact same thing).

If you successfully followed the steps outlined above, then you should now have a brand new installation disc for Windows XP. The only remaining step is to insert the disc in your laptop and reboot. If everything went to plan, your machine will recognize the drive and start the installation process, which should be the exact same as it would otherwise be. If you have any remaining questions, please feel free to post a comment down below, and I’ll try my best to assist.

Note: This slipsteaming process will only work if you want to install Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Server 2003.

Series: Dual-Booting: XP and Ubuntu

Part I | Part II | Part III

I’ve been in the market for a new laptop for about half a year now and I’ve finally made up my mind and purchased an HP DV6500t. I was looking for a widescreen laptop of about 15″ in diameter with a decently fast “Santa Rosa” Intel chip and a decent nVidia graphics card. I also didn’t want to spend more than $1,500 in total (including taxes). Having looked at everything from Asus to Toshiba, I finally homed in my search on an HP, and eventually the DV6500t.

BUYING EXPERIENCE

I knew for quite some time that I wanted a new laptop, and so I was able to do quite some searching for the best places to buy my new DV6500t. Trolling between various sites, along with the occasional visit to a brick and mortar store, made it quite clear that if you want a specific laptop with certain chips, cards, and features, you’ll want to make your purchase from the manufacturer directly.

Buying from HP.com was easy and quite straight forward. I had no trouble selecting what I wanted, and it was always clear what I would end up getting and paying for it. Unfortunately, buying directly from the manufacturer has one major drawback: you’ll have to wait longer to get your new machine, since the item in question won’t be built until you order it. So, after three weeks of waiting, somewhat impatiently, I finally got my DV6500t – kudos to HP and FedEx for accurately predicting the correct arrival time, though.

PACKAGING

When the doorbell rang, I hurried to the door. Upon seeing the box, it was immediately clear what HP was doing to save itself some money. There on the porch, sat a plain cardboard box with nothing on it, save for a few rather large shipping placards.

Within this rather simple box, I found my new laptop wrapped in plastic and snuggled securely between two molded Styrofoam braces. Also in the box, I found the extra 12-cell battery that I ordered and all of the paperwork – plus a few ads. Oddly enough, the regular battery was packaged safely in a bubble wrap sleeve, while the bigger, potentially more dangerous, 12-cell was wrapped in a simple, pink, plastic bag.

The important thing is, though, that the laptop arrived safely all the way from China, even though the packaging was extremely basic.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

From a visual standpoint, if you can’t get a Mac Book, this is probably the next best thing. Unfortunately, as soon as all the plastic covers are removed, you’ll see every fingerprint, dust particle, wipe and scratch. The problem is especially prevalent on the shiny, piano-lacquer lid.

Apart from the visuals, the laptop feels solid and the ergonomics are decent. All ports and media bays are conveniently located on either side of the laptop, negating the need to reach around the back of the machine to connect peripherals.

Another feature that becomes immediately apparent is the fact that the DV series doesn’t have a latch. The lid is held down in the close position by sole means of hinges, which actually works really well, and aids in giving the machine a sleeker appearance.

SCREEN

The DV6500 series features a 15.4″ glossy screen with a native resolution of only 1280 by 800 pixels. The color reproduction is decent, but the screen suffers from a rather narrow viewing angle; color will look off unless you are perfectly in front of it. The problem is especially prevalent with darker colors. Black levels aren’t great either, but the screen performs adequately if you’re not doing anything more than basic text editing. To be fair, however, for under $1,500, you can’t reasonably expect to get anything drastically better than this.

Colors and black levels aside, however, one issue I do have with this relatively cheap display is that it has a glossy finish, as opposed to a matte finish. Why the hell would anyone prefer to have a display that reflects more light than is absolutely necessary? Glossy screens are usually advertised as being capable of producing a better viewing experience, but for a laptop this simply cannot be true. Glossy screens are only nice in a darkened environment, which is not exactly the average setting for a mobile user. If you happen to be using your DV6500t in a averagely lit room, than there is a fair chance that you’ll see a sharp, almost mirror-like reflection of your environment. I can’t stand it, but I’m sure that it does appeal to some.

KEYBOARD

The keyboard is pretty nice, with good key travel and decent flex. The key layout is pretty average for a Windows laptop. The F1 through F12 keys also serve as special function keys for: help, print, Internet, output switching, sleep mode toggling, locking, increasing brightness, decreasing brightness, play/pause, stop, previous and next, respectively. The home, page up, page down, and end keys are featured along the right side of the keyboard. Typing isn’t overly noisy, producing no more noise than what I’ve come to expect from laptop keyboards. The noise shouldn’t be enough to upset anyone around you in a quiet environment.

Unfortunately, keyboard ergonomics isn’t a strong point for the DV6500t. Hand positioning could have been better, but for a value laptop it isn’t too bad I suppose. The main problem I have with it stems from the fact that the touchpad has been perfectly centered in the middle of the laptop (for additional visual appeal), but this causes problems when typing. The alphabet keys are positioned on the left hand side, causing the user to place his (or her) right hand over the touchpad. This awkward hand placement results in erratic cursor movement while typing.

TOUCHPAD

The largest benefit of the touchpad is that it can be turned off to avoid accidental tracking—but that’s really the only high-point. The touchpad also features the standard left and right click buttons under the touchpad, but, in my opinion, these two buttons have too much travel, causing them to feel a little cheap.

Tracking isn’t perfect either. While the cursor’s reaction to the finger isn’t really a problem, the touchpad feels awkward once the laptop heats up. Depending on what you are doing the laptop will generate more heat, causing the touchpad to become quite warm. Using the touchpad once it’s warm produces a really awkward sensation, which might very well be considered annoying depending on personal preference.

QUICKPLAY

Just under the Altec Lansing speakers and to the right of the power button, there is a touch sensitive control strip, lined with media control buttons. The strip is rather elegant, but for everyday use, you’ll only find yourself using three of the functions: mute, volume up and volume down. In addition to audio control buttons, the strip also features media control buttons (i.e., play, pause, stop, forwards, backwards). To the very left of the strip, there is also a DVD button, which launches HP’s playback software, which as you might have guessed isn’t that great.

ACCESSORIES

One of the advantages of ordering a machine directly from the manufacturer is that you can choose exactly what you want your new computer to come equipped with. I opted to include a variety of extras such as built-in webcam, fingerprint reader and Bluetooth.

• FINGERPRINT READER

The fingerprint reader is a neat feature and works pretty well once you get used to performing the correct wiping technique. In order to set up the fingerprint reader, you’ll have to associate your prints with the machine. The software wants a minimum of three prints, but you can choose to include as many as you want.

I know that some people might be a little hesitant about using a fingerprint scanner to log in because of a variety of concerns, most of which are actually misconceptions. First off, setting up your computer to use the fingerprint reader does not mean that you can’t still log in using your regular password. Others might be worried about the fingerprint scanner from a security standpoint; someone might steal your machine, manage to get in, steal your fingerprint, and thus steal your identity. Well, this is not a problem either, as your actual fingerprint in not actually stored on the hard drive – in fact your print isn’t stored at all. When you first swipe your finger to register it, the scanner analyses your print for identifying features, and then takes those results and hashes them to create an irreversible number. So, on all subsequent scans the same happens and then if the numbers match, you’re in.

Using a fingerprint to log in might be convenient and easy, but there are a few problems with the reader and the accompanying software. First of all, when Vista starts up you have to select the fingerprint icon before you can swipe. This is only a minor gripe, but it’s one that has surprised almost everyone who’s used my laptop. The second complaint I have is the positioning of the fingerprint reader, which on the right side, directly under the direction keys. When using the direction keys or the other buttons in that region (page up, page down, end, and home), it’s pretty easy to accidentally trigger the reader, causing the software to sound a beep and display a pop-up.

• WEBCAM

Along with the fingerprint reader and the imprint finish, HP also included a simple webcam with the laptop with the configuration I chose. The webcam, however, leaves a lot to be desired; it simply isn’t that great. In fact, the webcam included in the DV6500t is, by all quantitative measures, worse than the one in preceding models. Instead of outputting an XGA resolution (1024 by 768) like previous models, the webcam in the DV6500t is only capable of producing VGA imagery (640 by 480). The reasoning behind this decision seems to have been that most applications, especially conferencing apps, have trouble handling high-res video in real-time (due to insufficient bandwidth and latency issues). On the bright side though, some reviews have claimed that the new webcam is far better suited for low-light situations than the previous edition. Regardless of this claim though, it would have been nice to be able to choose the resolution you want to use. Oh, well…

GRAPHICS CARD

Graphical performance is another area where HP decided to go down the cheap road. My initial intention was to purchase the DV6500z, which is the AMD variant. Unfortunately, at the time the best graphics card that HP offered for this laptop was the GeForce Go 7200, which just happens to be one of the most antiquated graphics chips available. Not only is it dog slow, it’s also two generations old. Now, considering that HP is marketing the DV brand as an “Entertainment” laptop, the decision to offer nothing else but the 7200 is downright appalling. And then, to make matters even worse, the next move they made was to get rid of the 7200 and replace it with the 7150, which is even worse.

Now, in all fairness to HP, it seems that this only happened because they were trying to get rid of the 7200 in order to replace it with a better card. Unfortunately, by the time they had upgraded the AMD-based model, I had already purchased the DV6500t.

The DV6500t offers a better, far more up-to-date, graphics card, but it’s still pretty far from ideal for anyone interested in any movie editing or gaming – even casual gaming. The GeForce Go 8400M GS that HP now offers in the DV6500t (both in the Intel, as well as the AMD based versions) comes with an impressive sounding 383MB of memory. Gee, that sounds like a lot… Well, it’s not that great. Only 64MB of that 383MB is actually on the graphics card itself; the other 319MB are shared with other hardware elements. If you’d like a far more serious graphics card, like a 7600GT for instance, I’d recommend checking out some of the newer Dells.

ADDITIONAL IMAGES

BUY: HP DV6500 | MORE INFORMATION: HP.COM

Despite having posted a variety of articles on Vista, I’ve had only limited access to the new operating system until recently when I purchased a new HP DV6500t laptop. The laptop came with Vista, and as such it has offered me the opportunity to some more exploring. Having spent two weeks with Vista now, there are things I like and, perhaps obviously, things I don’t. If you’re used to XP, like I am, then switching will present a certain number of adaptive challenges; below are some of my biggest qualms.

THE CONTROL PANEL

One of the things that bugs me most in Vista is the fact the Microsoft somehow decided that it would be good idea to completely reorganize the control panel in what seems to be an attempt at making it easier to use. Well, that didn’t work; for anyone who is used to the setup and organization of XP, trying to do something simple, like adding and removing programs, can be quite a chore. In Windows XP, performing this task was easily accomplished by hitting “Add and Remove Programs” in the control panel. Easy enough, right? Well, in Vista it took me a whole lot longer to do than I’d care to admit. The biggest problem I had was getting to the right place. As it turns out, “Add and Remove Programs” has been renamed to “Programs and Features.” Who’s bright idea was that?

Another change that I honestly don’t get is the removal of “Display” from the control panel. Don’t get me wrong, you can still modify all of the usual suspects, like resolution, themes, screen savers and appearances, but in order to do so you’ll have to head over to something called, get this, “Personalize.” And once you’ve figured this out and you’ve hit the icon, you’ll notice that the trusty old tabbed dialog box no longer exists in Vista as it did in XP. Instead, you simply delve deeper into the control panel.

Luckily, the rest of the icons and settings in the Vista control panel remain pretty much the same as they were in XP, but that which has changed is quite is annoying to re-locate, especially for “old skool” Windows users. Obviously, these are only petty complaints that most users will probably get used to pretty quick, but, nonetheless, if you’ve spent almost every waking hour on an XP system for the past half decade, it’s really annoying (and embarrassing) to be unable to quickly amend settings. On top of all this, I find that the changes don’t even make it any easier to get the job done.

FILE EXPLORER

Another rather large complaint that I have about Vista is that the “File Browser,” or whatever you might want to call this unnamed application, underwent major changes as well, and once again, I’m not too happy about what Microsoft has done. If you’ve spent any time with Vista, you probably know what I’m talking about.

First of all, why the hell mess with something that really isn’t broken? As a self-proclaimed computer geek, I spend a lot of time in the XP file browser, and I’ve gotten quite used to its already simple interface. One of the most used buttons in the XP version is the “Up” button, which allows me to move up the parent folder of the folder that I’m currently in. What Microsoft has done in a(n) (failed) attempt to “enhance” my computing experience is to get rid of this beloved button, and replace is with a dynamic address bar. Sure, it might be more noob friendly, but, in my opinion, it’s easier to just keep pounding the “Up” button to get where I want to be—but hey, maybe that’s just me…

If you want to make the Vista file explorer look and feel more like the XP version, head over to the “Folder and Search Options,” found in the “Organize” drop-down menu, and try changing a few things around. The same options menu can also be found in the Control Panel, and there it’s called “Folder Options.” Is it so hard to stay consistent?

I can understand that Microsoft would like to make the operating system friendlier, but the least that they could have done is include an option to revert back to the old, “Classic” scheme, much like you can with the themes.

USER ACCOUNT CONTROL (UAC)

Wikipedia describes User Account Control as a system infrastructure that “aims to improve the security of Windows by limiting applications to standard user privileges until an administrator authorizes an increase in privilege level. In this way, only applications that the user trusts receive higher privileges, and malware is kept from receiving privileges necessary to wreak havoc on the operating system.” Translation: it’s a nuisance for the experienced user.

If you are a new PC user and Vista is the first operating system that you have ever used, then this might be a pretty good security infrastructure to keep in place; if you didn’t launch an application and UAC pops up, then you know something, somewhere is up to no good. However, there is a huge drawback to UAC. It has the tendency to pop up with every keystroke, especially on a clean install, and this is sure to piss people off. All users, old or new, will eventually succumb to “pop-up fatigue,” meaning that every pop-up will be met with the same general response, either yes, no, or ignore—think of it as having Windows cry wolf far too many times.

If you know what you are doing, you shouldn’t have too much of a security problem if you just turn off UAC; in fact, I will go as far as to say that everyone will be better off with it turned off, because the level of annoyance it creates far outweighs the benefits. Just get a good anti-virus application instead.

SO WHAT DO I LIKE IN VISTA?

Good question! Vista is slower than XP, it’s not really any user friendlier, and it doesn’t really keep you safer in any meaningful way. So, there really isn’t that much to warrant a switch from XP—besides maybe the eye-candy.

Oh wait, there is one thing. Having a search bar built into the start menu is actually really convenient. It makes it a lot easier to find a specific application or file…And that’s really about it as far as I’m concerned.

Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows Vista, has been done for a while, but the time has finally come that the average consumer can get their hands on it. This means that all new computers sold from this point onwards, will most likely feature a ready-to-go installation of the highly anticipated operating system.

All versions of Vista will ship on a single DVD. Once a choice is made as to the correct version, users will have the ability to upgrade to any other mainstream version (Premium, Business and Ultimate).

As now seems to be the norm, there are multiple versions of Vista available, much like there are for Windows XP. Officially, there are six versions available for purchase:

Windows Vista Starter

– US$ N/A

This version is by far the least interesting. Much like the Starter version of XP, this edition of Vista will be aimed at developing markets, in order to offer a cheap, very basic, and legal alternative to pirating the software. Precisely because of its intended market, Windows Vista Starter will not be offered for sale within North America, Europe and Australia. This version is purposely very limited: a user cannot launch and run more than three applications at once, cannot accept incoming network connections and, amongst other things, is limited to a mere 256MB of RAM – can Vista even be run properly with this little memory? This version is also the only one that does not support 64-bit computing.

Windows Vista Home Basic

– US$199.00

This next version of Windows Vista is mainly intended for casual home users, much like the Home Edition of XP. The fancy, much-hyped Windows Aero Theme with all the nice translucencies will not be available in this version. Apparently, Home Basic isn’t really intended for those who enjoy heavy media use; for that kind of support you might want to look towards getting the next version.

Windows Vista Home Premium

– US$239.00

Vista Home Premium is comparable to Windows XP Media Center Edition in that it supports a far wider variety of multimedia playback and creation support. This version has HDTV support, allows for the authoring of DVDs, enables connectivity with an Xbox 360, and is the cheapest version to support the “Aero desktop experience.” The version also comes equipped with native Tablet PC support, as well as expanded networking abilities in comparison to Home Basic. If you’re a home user, than this is about as low as you can go without having to comprise on too many features.

Windows Vista Business

– US$299.00

This version is, quite obviously, intended for the business market, and as such is comparable to Windows XP Professional. To get a grasp on this version, imagine Premium without all of the Media Center functionality. It does, however, add better security features to Vista, such as file system encryption, a full version of Remote Desktop, Rights Management Services (RMS), and a bunch of other “security” benefits. One neat features that I am excited about, however, is dubbed ShadowCopy, which basically lets the operating system revert back to previous versions of the document – much like System Restore, but then on an individual file level. This version is geared towards small to medium sized businesses that have little need beyond the basic computing and security abilities that XP Professional provided for them.

Windows Vista Enterprise

– US$ N/A

One step up from Business is Enterprise, aimed at large enterprises in need of multilingual user interfaces, UNIX application support, and hardcore disk encryption, amongst other things. This version is not as easy to obtain as most of the aforementioned ones, since it only ships through the Microsoft Software Assurance program and not through retail or OEM channels. This version, much like Starter, is probably of little interest to the average consumer…so, next!

Windows Vista Ultimate

– US$399.00

Besides being pricey, the Ultimate version of Vista has quite a few extras to offer. Here is Microsoft’s explanation of Ultimate:

Windows Vista Ultimate offers all of the features found in Windows Vista Home Premium, including Windows Media Center, Windows Movie Maker with high-definition support, and Windows DVD Maker. It also offers all of the features found in Windows Vista Business, including business networking, centralized management tools, and advanced system backup features. And Windows Vista Ultimate has all of the new security and data protection features that help take Windows Vista to a whole new level of dependability.

And if you’re a gamer, you might be happy to hear that Microsoft has chosen to include a game performance tweaker (WinSAT), designed to maximize the performance of your machine for the torturous strain that upcoming DirectX 10.0 games will certainly put it under. As an added bonus, Ultimate users are also entitled to the “Ultimate Extras,” which are basically nothing more than a series of semi-useful tools and add-ons to enhance the Vista experience. These include the ability to show video desktop backgrounds with DreamScene, merge multiple bad group pictures into a single good one, with GroupShot; and, of course, the obligatory card game: Hold ‘Em Poker.

In short, if you want the most out of Vista, this is the version to get – but, as to whether it’s worth the price, is for you to decide.

For more information: Microsoft’s Vista Overview

Bill Gates started off the Microsoft CES keynote with his thoughts on the rapid advancement that the technology market has undergone in recent years, and quickly tied it all into the release of Windows Vista and the importance of the new operating system along with the other services that Microsoft has planned for the coming year.

As could be expected, the first area of focus was Vista, which as it seems still has plenty up its sleeve. A neat feature, showcased by Justin Hutchinson, is called Shadow Copy, which in essence provides Vista with another safety net from human error. In short, it allows users who accidentally saved an incorrect version of a document or overwrote the wrong file to “restore previous versions of [the] document with just a couple of clicks.” The feature is a lot like the current System Restore, but works on an individual file level. “It’s better than going back in time,” joked Justin.

After a brief Vista discussion, the topic changed to the Virtual Earth 3D technology that’s part of the Windows Live network. Using an Xbox 360 controller, Hutchinson was able to fly a camera around in a fully three dimensional recreation of Sin City. The concept felt a lot like Google Earth with SketchUp, but it’s always nice to see competition.

Back on the topic of Vista, Hutchinson described how the Ultimate version of Vista will include downloadable extras for those of us willing to shell out the extra money for this particular version. One of the more impressive downloadable programs is Groupshot, which allows users to select parts of different pictures and combine them into one for a better overall image. The aim of this program is to fix awkward facial expressions of an individual in a series of group shots, where the face of a person in one image can be transplanted over onto his or her face in another image.

Another Ultimate Extra is found in the form of Dream Scene, which allows users to use full motion video as a desktop background. This feature will probably only be recommendable for those who have enough graphics horsepower to spare after having turned on Aero Glass – not to mention the patience to deal with a distracting video playing in the background.

With that Justin Hutchinson ended his part of the presentation and handed to stage back over to Bill.

The next item of interest was the mention of a project that Microsoft has worked on together with HP, called Windows Home Server. As the name implies, this will be network attached device that will be available to multiple PCs, Xbox consoles, the Zune music players and any other compatible devices for: backups, additional storage and a lot more. Expect to see the HP Media Smart Server in stores later on in the second half of this year.

With Windows Vista, Microsoft will be introducing the concept of Live Anywhere, which basically amounts to being able to play a game, like Uno, on your Vista machine with someone else playing on their Xbox 360, and vice versa. In the future the service will also be expanded to other, more hardcore games.

The entertainment experience doesn’t stop with Live Anywhere. Microsoft also plans to provide its customers with a wide variety of TV content, which it will soon be offering in four different ways.

The first of the four ways to get high-definition movies on the Microsoft ecosystem is through the new HD-DVD add-on for the 360, which has been in “incredibly high” demand.

The second way to get into the HD experience is through the use of a Media Center PC connected to an Xbox 360 console.

The third way is through Xbox Live Video, which a recently launched service through which users can download HD and SD movies onto their consoles. The service already provides “a thousand hours of content. And it’s really simple, because the Xbox is already on the internet and, it’s connected to a big [screen].”

The fourth – and probably the most exciting – way to get TV is going to be through IPTV. Although the notion of offering IPTV is nothing new to Microsoft, they needed a stable and popular platform to put their front-end software on. The Xbox 360 fills that position beautifully. Together with third-party support from telephony companies such as AT&T, Deutsche Telekom, C-Com and SwissCom, Microsoft is planning to turn the 360 into a full featured Top Set Box (TSB).

The service should be able to handle both standard and high definition streaming for a variety of different channels with picture-in-picture support and a slew other neat features, such as TiVo style recording. Obvious this service is not going to be offered for free, but it will probably not be as expensive as regular cable.

This new IPTV service sounds a lot like what Apple doing with their iTV, which suggests that Microsoft is prepared to hand over yet another market sector to Apple without a fight – the music selling venture being the first.

The final major announcement to come forth from the CES keynote was that Microsoft has partnered up with the Ford Motor Company to offer a “fully integrated, voice activated, in-car communications and entertainment system for mobile phones and digital music players.” This Ford exclusive, called Synch, will support Bluetooth, phone book syncing, three way calling, and text-to-speech reading of text messages. Not only will it be compatible with the Zune and the iPod, there will also be a USB port for Flash and Zip drives.

Even though CES keynotes are meant to be really up-beat and forward looking, it really does seem like Microsoft is lining up for a great year. Whether they can pull it off successfully, however, is an entirely different matter…

With build 6000, Microsoft ended its traditional bug hunt party, finalized Vista and shipped it off to its manufacturing facilities. This was on the 8^th of November, but yet the average consumer can’t get their hands on it until the end of January. What happens during this time interval?

The worldwide retail availability is currently set for January 30^th of 2007. This is the date that you should be looking for if you want to get your copy of Windows Vista. However, the business and developer markets can already get their hands on it. Vista has been available to developers since the 17^th of November and to volume subscribers since the 30^th. Why is there such a major release date discrepancy between the professional and consumer markets if Vista is essentially finished and release ready?

The average consumer has to wait a little longer for two main reasons: Microsoft needs time to get Vista on its distribution media, and third party developers need time to make their products compatible.

For paying members of the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) as well as for volume customers, such as major corporations and businesses, physical availability is not an issue. Everyone in these market sectors is deeply involved in technology, and as such they will have no problem locating and downloading the image files needed to install the new operating system. Not only do they have the know-how, they most likely also have access to the network bandwidth needed to download the multi-gigabyte install files. The ISO image for the 32-bit version of Vista Ultimate is about 3.2GB, and the 64-bit version weighs in at a hefty 4.2GB—I would assume that the Business and Enterprise versions are just as big.

The difference in release dates is not only due to the fact that an install media is necessary for the masses, but also because software and hardware developers need time to create drivers that will play with Vista’s game. It would be a nightmare, not only for Microsoft, but also for every other computer and software vendor out there if no third party software or device worked right.

Imagine all of the questions and complaints that each of these companies would receive for days, if not weeks, on end. The customer service departments would be flooded with countless calls and e-mails from customers wondering why their five year old printer no longer works, or why their brand-name digital camera is not being recognized by their new machine.

By simply waiting for two months, Microsoft is allowing enough time to pass for enough physical copies to be manufactured and for a good majority of companies to release compatible drivers.

Over the past several years, Microsoft has practically done a one-eighty, becoming a lot more security conscious. This has become quite evident with XP’s Service Pack 2, which enabled the Windows firewall by default. Having the firewall automatically enabled was a major step forward, since it was the one major thing needed to protect the vast majority of novice users, who might otherwise not have enabled the firewall. As is often the case, the experienced users know how to protect themselves; it’s the novice users that need automatic protection.

The newest addition to the Microsoft security arsenal is Kernel Patch Protection, or otherwise known as PatchGuard.

Every operating system has a kernel, and it’s the central component that allows for communication and resource management between the software and the hardware of the system. As such, any tampering with the kernel should be kept to a minimum to ensure the stability of the operating system.

In the past, Microsoft’s “official” policy towards the kernel has been that no developer ought to touch it, but the company has failed to actively enforce this decision. As a result, the kernel has, as Steve Gibson puts it, gotten very little respect from third party developers and their software applications. The reason that almost every software company out there has broken into, or hacked, the kernel is that Microsoft has never released all of the APIs relating to the operating system. This made it very hard, if not impossible, for developers to write software packages such as firewalls, without breaking into the kernel to get the control they needed. Unfortunately, the practice did not stop at security programs; even trivial things, such as printer drivers, rely on access to the kernel.

With the upcoming switch to the first true mainstream 64-bit operating system, Windows Vista, the company has taken the opportunity to finally enforce its policy regarding kernel access with PatchGuard.

Unfortunately, trying to protect the kernel from “illegal” use is not quite as easy as it sounds. The main problem with PatchGuard is that it runs with the same level of protection as the kernel which it is trying to protect. This, by nature, is a flawed mechanic; if you know how the kernel works, you’ll also know how PatchGuard works. So, since the code is inherent in the operating system, it is possible for a skilled programmer to reverse engineer it, so that he or she can then circumvent the protection measures altogether. Luckily, Microsoft has already laid out plans to solve this problem, using hypervisor technology, which would monitor the kernel from another subsystem using virtual machine technology.

Microsoft, knowing about the possibility of workarounds, has tried their best to make the relevant PatchGuard code hard to locate in the first place—in effect securing it through obscurity. Microsoft has used various random number algorithms to randomly scramble the PatchGuard data structure, so that it cannot be located that easily. Regardless of how hard they try to hide it, however, the code still exists in memory, and can, therefore, be located, analyzed, and reverse engineered. In fact, it has already been done. There are various papers already on the Net that explain exactly how to do it—although, I do presume that Microsoft knows about them as well, and has probably fixed the exploits that they use.

What PatchGuard, and other future implementations of kernel protection imply for the end user is that it will be very hard for malicious content to effectively install itself on the host system. A lot of the worst spyware, malware, and rootkits need to hook themselves onto the kernel in order to be effective, and this is what PatchGuard is intended to protect against.

Another added security benefit to locking all third party developers out of the kernel, is that Microsoft is now free to make whatever changes to the kernel that it deems necessary to keep it up to date and as resilient as possible against security threats. In the past, Microsoft did not dare make any changes out of fear that their changes might make a lot of software incompatible.

So, now that hooking the kernel has actually become a dangerous practice, one done at the programmers own peril, it is reasonable to assume that all “good” programs will stay out of the kernel and that anything that does hook the kernel is malicious, and should be made incompatible with a kernel update.

PatchGuard will only affect the 64-bit version of Windows Vista, and not the 32-bit version. This is because there are too many existing “good” applications and drivers out there that rely on modifying the kernel in order to work on Vista, that any kernel protection measure would make a lot of unknowing users rather angry.

PatchGuard is only the first step in Microsoft’s march towards a clean kernel, and if all goes to plan Windows should be a lot more secure in the future…