How To Keep XP Running In A Windows 7 World

Many organizations are facing a major decision about what to do with their PC operating system: upgrade it for all users, phase in an upgrade, or stay with their current OS. Migrating poses challenges from equipment upgrades, to installing and configuring the new OS, to moving user data and settings. Many organizations will instead choose to stay with their current OS, which is most likely Windows XP. This alleviates the cost of upgrades, but it introduces its own share of maintenance challenges.

The good news, however, is that these challenges can be overcome with a proper maintenance plan. Follow these tips to keep your XP platform running at peak performance, and you’ll have the foundation in place to squeeze every last dollar out of your XP investment.

Patch regularly. A good patch management strategy  can reduce risks, costs and complexity within the IT environment. Patch management can be manual or automated, depending on how much control you want to exercise over the process. As part of its weekly schedule, Microsoft will continue to provide critical system patches for XP (with SP2) and Office 2003 until 2014. It is important to note that XP must have Service Pack 2 (SP2) or later in order to receive these system patches.

Update and test gold images. “Gold” system images should be created for all systems. These images should have all OS and application updates applied regularly. Once the images are updated, a complete test should be performed. Document an associated test plan that encompasses both the OS and applications.

Ensure software compatibility. Before downloading and installing new software, research its compatibility and known issues with the OS. Incompatible software could have an adverse impact on other components within the IT infrastructure and should be avoided.

Ensure document compatibility. It’s important to manage the compatibility of Microsoft Office documents, across versions, for both internal and external users (clients, vendors, partners, etc.). Office compatibility packs allow legacy users to open/view/edit files from newer versions of the program. Be aware, however, that certain features and functionality might not be supported. Without compatibility packs, legacy users would constantly have to tell users of newer versions that they couldn’t open their files.

Upgrade memory. Most XP platforms ship with 1 GB to 2 GB of memory. However, you can significantly improve system performance by upgrading to 3 GB or 4 GB. Note however, that upgrading to 4 GB of RAM on a 32-bit XP system will provide access to just 3.39 GB due to resource limitations. (It’s a little better in Vista 32-bit, which provides access to 3.54 GB). In the future, consider using 64-bit, because it’ll give you full memory access.

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Windows 7 Licensing - A “Disaster” For Businesses?

Doom and gloom warnings about a new Microsoft operating system from some corners sure aren’t anything new, but it looks like a particular licensing issue with Windows 7 could well cause some serious headaches for businesses transitioning from Windows XP.

As InfoWorld reports, as things stand now, businesses that buy PCs before April 23, 2010 with Windows 7 preinstalled will have the option to downgrade them to Windows XP, which will let them upgrade to Windows 7 whenever they’re finally ready to make the transition. Businesses that buy Windows 7-loaded PCs on or after April 23rd, however, will only have the option to downgrade to Windows Vista which, as Gartner analyst Michael Silver notes, is obviously of little help to XP-based organizations.

Of course, Windows 7 does have its much talked about XP Mode, but Silver says that won’t help many businesses since their IT departments would still be faced with the added workload resulting from managing a whole new OS. There are, however, a few workarounds, like Microsoft’s Software Assurance Program, but those all involve an added cost, added work, or both.

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Windows 7 Arriving October 22nd 2009

Microsoft has recently confirmed that they will be offering Windows 7 worldwide this October 22nd, which is pretty near, hence cutting short the life of the ill-fated Windows Vista operating system. Dell has stepped up to the challenge by allowing users to purchase Windows 7 factory installed on your favorite Dell configuration. This is the fruit of having worked with Microsoft over the past three years in order to come up with the best computing solutions possible, which means most of new Dell computers will have a Windows 7 option come this October.

Microsoft also confirmed that as with previous Windows launches, they are partnering with PC manufacturers like Dell to offer the Windows 7 Upgrade Option program. Later this summer, if you purchase select systems through retail or directly from Dell you may order a Windows 7 upgrade kit. It’s important to note that the Windows 7 upgrade kits will not be shipped until AFTER Windows 7 has officially launched (Oct. 22 as noted above). Once the Windows 7 Upgrade Option program is officially announced more details will be available including supported PCs, languages and countries.

Does this piece of news help you hold off your new computer purchase for at least a few more months, or you are fine with Vista running in your life?

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Windows Vista SP2 Available for Download

Windows: Service Pack 2 is officially available for download, bringing better Wi-Fi and BlueTooth connectivity, processor compatibility, native Blu-Ray support, and faster search to Windows Vista.

Just as with the release candidate, installing SP2 technically requires having SP1 installed. Knowing that a few of our readers held off on that update, that makes SP2 kind of a pain for those cautious users, and Microsoft notes that the only solution for a missing or incomplete SP1—or, in some cases, stripped-down installations made with vLite or other custom disk makers—is a lengthy re-install.

Still, for those waiting on even more fixes for Windows Vista, SP2 should be a welcome download. You should see it through Windows Update around June 30, but you can download and install it directly from the links below, as well as check out the official list of changes. Tell us how you’re liking SP2, in performance and features, in the comments.

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Microsoft Cancels Antitrust Hearing in Europe

Microsoft has canceled an upcoming June hearing with the European Commission, where the company was expected to defend itself against antitrust allegations.

The Redmond-based software behemoth was going to discuss its Internet Explorer Web browser after the European Commission charged that Microsoft’s inclusion of IE in Windows was breaking competition laws in Europe.

The EC brought the case against Microsoft after Opera Software ASA, the Norway-based company behind the Internet browser Opera, filed a complaint with the commission in December 2007, saying Microsoft was being anticompetitive.

Opera’s complaint alleged ongoing competitive harm from Microsoft’s practices. In addition to tying in Internet Explorer, other software inclusions, such as desktop search and Windows Live, have also been brought to the attention of the EC.

Microsoft, however, states that its integration of the IE browser into Windows is regulated by European law, and computer users can choose Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Google Chrome, or Opera as browsers that run on Windows.

Timing Not Perfect

The hearing, scheduled to begin June 3, 2009, was canceled after Microsoft realized that the commission’s senior regulators — who would weigh in heavily on the case — would not be present because the hearing coincided with an intergovernmental competition law meeting, the International Competition Network.

“As a result, it appears that many of the most influential commission and national competition officials with the greatest interest in our case will be in Zurich and so unable to attend our hearing in Brussels,” blogged Dave Heiner, Microsoft’s vice president and deputy general counsel.

Heiner said the company spoke out about the scheduling conflict with the commission and asked the commission to consider other dates.

“We pointed out that there’s no legal or other reason that the hearing needs to be held the first week of June,” he said. “We believe that holding the hearing at…

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GameTap Adds Microsoft Game Studios Titles

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Windows 7 Release Candidate Now Available

Microsoft has a lot riding on the upcoming release of its new operating system, Windows 7, and it’s doing everything possible to insure that the software gets a favorable reception — including effectively giving it away for free for the first year.

Starting Thursday, MSDN and TechNet subscribers can download the official release candidate for testing. The general public will be able to get downloads beginning May 5. The RC version of Windows 7 will not expire until June 1, 2010.

There were some initial reports that demand for the RC software was so heavy that Microsoft’s servers failed under the load, and visitors were greeted with the message “We’re sorry! The page you were expecting to see has been removed or is unavailable.” By early afternoon, however, the servers were back up and running.

Almost Perfect?

The release candidate is considered by Microsoft to be a “near-finished” product, with only minor changes likely before to the official Windows 7 release late this year or early next year. According to company representatives, the milestone means the software is ready “for partners to develop new applications, device drivers, and services, and ready for IT pros to evaluate Windows 7 and examine how it will operate in their environment.”

“Listening to our partners and customers has been fundamental to the development of Windows 7,” said Bill Veghte, senior vice president for the Windows business at Microsoft. “We heard them and worked hard to deliver the highest-quality release candidate in the history of Windows.”

Microsoft says more than 10,000 companies have signed up for access to development tools designed to help existing software and hardware work with Windows 7.

Home Run Needed

It’s a little difficult to reconcile Microsoft’s earnings last quarter of $13.65 billion with its palpable sense of urgency over the success of Windows 7. But there is no…

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Microsoft expects PS3 price drop ‘in the next couple of months’

Now that the PS3 costs less to make, shouldn’t Sony be passing on its savings to you? That’s what Xbox 360 product manager, Aaron Greenberg, expects will happen via a price cut before summer.

Speaking to Edge Online, Greenberg said that, “We [Microsoft] absolutely expect the PS3 price drop to happen in the next couple of months,” adding, “We’re frankly surprised it’s taken this long.”

Sony isn’t surprised; it’s poised to turn a profit on the system for the first time … in the next couple of months. SCEI president Kaz Hirai very much wants this to happen — no doubt even more so given the fine mess Sony currently sees itself in — but the pleasing of stockholders just might have to take back seat to making sure PS3 stands a fighting chance with consumers.

Source: Joystiq

Microsoft Reveals Top Xbox 360 Games of 2008

As the trend of looking back at 2008 continues, Microsoft has provided lists of the year’s 20 most popular Xbox 360, Xbox Live Arcade, and original Xbox games.

As noted by Xbox Live programming director Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb, the original Xbox and 360 lists were calculated by the amount of online Xbox Live users playing each game, while the Xbox Live Arcade list was based off sales of the 360 downloads.

1. 1. Halo 3
   2. Call of Duty 4
   3. GTA IV
   4. Gears of War 2
   5. Gears of War
   6. CoD: World at War
   7. Guitar Hero III
   8. Battlefield: Bad Company Demo
   9. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Demo
   10. Rock Band
   11. Fable II
   12. Mirror’s Edge Demo
   13. Madden NFL 09
   14. BF: Bad Company
   15. Rainbow Six Vegas 2
   16. UNO
   17. Castle Crashers
   18. COD: World at War Multiplayer Beta
   19. Forza Motorsport 2
   20. Too Human - Demo

Xbox 360 Top Live Titles

To see the rest of the lists, visit ShackNews.com