If you talk about Windows Operating systems, you would be best off with Windows XP for now. Windows Vista is indeed the new kid on the block as far as the latest operating system in the market is concerned but it is far from being user-friendly which is something that most Microsoft software and applications have been known for. Issues such as slower processes and even driver incompatibility problems may ensue so unless you want inconveniences, chances are you would be better off sticking to Windows XP for now.

But in case you have installed Windows Vista already, you would be best seeking the help of technology experts or web references if you do decide to downgrade to Windows XP. You are bound to experience a lot of problems, something I have encountered for the past days. Formatting is easy but if you don’t have the right software tools, you may end up not being able to use your computer for a couple of days because of it.

In short, Windows Vista is more of a problem than a solution. While there are dual boot options, it is just a waste of space on your hard drive. Imagine having software

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Last week was an exciting week for Windows and blogging.  Senior Vice Presidents Steven Sinofsky and Jon DeVaan launched a brand new blog called Engineering Windows 7 (or E7 for short). In case you don't know who these guys are, Jon DeVaan manages the engineering team responsible for creating the central (or "core") components and architecture of Windows and Steven Sinofsky manages the group responsible for the user experiences in both Windows and Windows Live. The Engineering Windows 7 blog is designed to create an open discussion about how we're making the next version of Windows - currently codenamed Windows 7 - and to create a background of understanding for the engineering decisions made in order to ship Windows 7.

Engineering the next version of the most used operating system to-date is a very complex software project. Why? Because Windows has a very large user base and that user base is very diverse.  Planning the next version of Windows (and ultimately developing it) is a huge under-taking as it requires Microsoft to learn and understand the needs for all types of customers that use Windows today. On the Engineering Windows 7 Blog, you can

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The 2008 Beijing Olympics will be nearing its completion and for sure many people are trying to get their hands on memorabilia and souvenirs of the prestigious events. As spectators, you do not really have to go to Beijing to buy one. You can actually get one online in the form of Windows themes and wallpapers.

For some, this may come a bit late. Most people who have been waiting for the Olympics are sure to have downloaded their own share of themes, icons and wallpapers. Screensavers as well but most of these are pictures of the place and the mascots that Beijing had prepared. For sure a large demand would be the medalists and the key events such as swimming and basketball where Michael Phelps and the Redeem Team are heading the list of notable winners for the 2008 edition.

Much of these wallpapers are sure to be uploaded through the images taken from the event. While it may be drawing to a close, expect a lot of themes to be unleashed once the closing ceremonies get underway. Among the hottest names would include the best performers. Aside from Phelps, LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Kerri Walsh as well as

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Last Monday, HP invited me to visit the Innoventions Dream Home in Disneyland down in Anaheim, California - which opened this summer.

The Innoventions Dream Home sits inside Disneyland's Tomorrowland and uses Windows Media Center in Windows Vista - along with hardware from HP and others - to combine technology available today with technology we might see in our future.  Other partners such as Life|ware (more about Life|ware below), Honda, Siemens, St. Joseph Hospital, and Taylor Morrison also showcase technology at the Innoventions Dream Home providing a very rich experience to Disneyland visitors. 

When I arrived to the Innoventions Dream Home, I discovered that the building was actually rotating. Yes - rotating. Ok so

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Whether you are planning to deploy Windows Vista or already did, it is important that you keep security high on your list and make sure that all of your desktops are secured.  So, how do you know if your desktops have Windows Firewall settings turned off?  What if some desktops do not have Anti-Virus or Anti-Spyware software installed?

To quickly get an answer, please check out the new Security Center assessment feature that we have added to the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.1 released in June.  It auto-generates a security assessment report on your existing desktops as part of the "Windows Vista hardware assessment" migration report.

 

What's Next?

Start identifying these security vulnerabilities today with a free download of the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit.  You may also view the new MAP Toolkit demo video and learn how to get the Security Center assessment report as well as the hardware compatibility assessment report for Windows Vista migration.

Cheers,

Baldwin Ng

Sr. Product Manager, Microsoft Solution Accelerators Team

 

 

 

Windows Vista and SP1 focus on delivering greater performance and overall system responsiveness. By striking a balance between speed and responsiveness, windows vista and SP1 deliver a level of performance that has the greatest positive impact on the system’s usability.

This guide looks at the following areas of performance improvement:
• Making configuration changes that help a computer feel more responsive when you use it.
• Using hardware to boost the actual physical speed of a computer.
• Making configuration changes that help a computer to start faster.
• Making the computer more reliable may help increase performance.
• Monitoring performance occasionally so that you can stop problems before they get too big.

Improve Performance Quickly and Easily.
This guide focuses on performance improvements on a single computer, but also takes a look at some of the tools used in enterprise environments to help make performance tuning manageable on a much larger scale.

Download: Windows Vista Performance and Tuning