Windows

A recent update to the Microsoft antivirus engine for Windows Live OneCare will quarantine the PST file used to store e-mail messages for Microsoft Outlook, preventing access to messages, appointments, tasks and journal entries. It affects versions of Outlook, including Outlook 97 and 2000, and Outlook Express running on Windows XP when the .pst file contains an infected attachment. Microsoft will issue an update on Patch Tuesday, March 13, 2007. In the meantime, in a post on one of the Microsoft forums, Microsoft representatives suggest the following actions to regain access to lost e-mail:

1. Close the Outlook or Outlook … Read more

Nikon has fixed a problem in software that caused problems with photos that people labeled and ranked using Windows Vista and the Microsoft Photo Info tool.

The camera maker published new codec software on its Web site that lets the Microsoft software understand its cameras' "raw" images, those taken directly from the image sensor without in-camera processing. With the earlier codec, if customers added metadata such as photo subjects and rankings such as four out of five stars, those images became unreadable in third-party editing software such as Photoshop.

"Updating an NEF (Nikon's raw format) file'… Read more

Microsoft would prefer that the press spend more time focusing on Windows Vista and less time writing about what will come next.

After a story in PC World last week quoted a Microsoft security executive saying the next Windows operating system would come in about two and a half years, the company put out a statement Tuesday saying discussion of the next Windows is premature.

"The launch of Windows Vista was an incredibly exciting moment for our customers and partners around the world, and the company is focused on the value Windows Vista will bring to people today," … Read more

Bill Gates apparently doesn't see much humor in Apple's "Mac vs. PC" ads.

In an interview with Newsweek, the Microsoft chairman defends the Windows-using masses.

"I don't think the over 90 percent of the (population) who use Windows PCs think of themselves as dullards, or the kind of klutzes that somebody is trying to say they are," he said.

He also takes umbrage at the notion that upgrading to Vista amounts to major surgery.

"Well, certainly we've done a better job letting you upgrade on the hardware than our competitors have … Read more

Bloggers are wondering if a teaser ad that Microsoft placed in a Consumer Electronics Show guide is a sign that Microsoft's rumored online storage service, Windows Live Drive, could be ready.

On first read, that seems a likely conclusion.

"All together now," the ad's headline reads. "Announcing a new way to share, protect and store what matters most."

However, a source close to Microsoftland says Live Drive is no longer, well, live. Instead, the ad appears to be more of a tease for some sort of local storage option, possibly some type of home … Read more

Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer still have travel plans to Iowa, but they can push off the trip for a while.

According to Microsoft, the plaintiffs in a class-action suit in the 29th state won't call the Microsoft chairman and chief executive. The plaintiffs, who allege Microsoft overcharged Iowans for Windows and Office, had won the right to call the pair of executives as part of their case.

Although the plaintiffs have changed their minds, Microsoft still plans to have Gates and Ballmer testify when it presents its case.

"This doesn't change our strategy to call Bill … Read more

The long road to the final release of Microsoft's Windows Vista refresh has taken another small step forward: On Friday morning, the company announced that it has released interim build 5728 of the much-anticipated operating system. In other words, selected beta testers--primarily developers and other technical audiences--will now have access to a more updated version of Vista that more closely mirrors what Microsoft will eventually release.

The interim build includes changes based on feedback to the Release Candidate 1 version delivered at the start of September, Microsoft said. Vista, which has been in beta since July and has seen … Read more

People pining for Microsoft's Windows Vista should circle the date January 30, 2007 on their calendars.

A listing on Amazon.com for Windows Vista says that the item will be available near the end of January next year.

Added below since the original post are a breakdown of individual prices posted on Amazon.com

Prices for the various editions of Microsoft's next desktop operating system were leaked and covered on Monday. Later in the day, industrious bloggers uncovered more details, namely the ship date.

Until now, Microsoft has said that the oft-delayed Windows Vista will ship in January, … Read more

Microsoft surprised more than a few people on Thursday when one of its developers told a technical crowd in Australia that 32-bit versions of Windows Vista won't be able to play back next-generation high-definition protected content, i.e. commercial Blu-ray and HD DVD discs.

Later Thursday, representatives in the U.S. said that senior program manager Steve Riley was mistaken.

"The information he provided to that audience was incorrect," a representative told CNET News.com. "Playback is possible with Windows Vista in 32-bit."

The decision of whether to offer that support, the representative said, won'… Read more