Newsletter Archives

• Microsoft finally posts the stolen source

  Posted on December 10, 2009 at 13:18 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  A month ago, I wrote about Microsoft pulling a utility that apparently contains stolen open source code. The Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool lets you put a bootable copy of the Windows 7 installation media on a USB drive.

  Word comes from Rafael Rivera, who first noticed the transgression, that – one month later – Microsoft has finally done what it said it would do, and posted the source code.

  Why the delay? Lots of conjecture. So far, as best I can tell, no hard facts.

  Windows News GPL, stolen code, Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool

• Windows 7 Home Premium Family Pack disappearing

  Posted on December 6, 2009 at 05:11 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  For many months, I’ve been recommending the Windows 7 Home Premium Family Pack as the best way to upgrade to Win7. Now, according to Paul Thurrott’s blog, the Family Pack has disappeared off store shelves in the US, and you can’t find it with any of the big online retailers.

  This may be the single worst Microsoft Marketing disaster in history. And believe me, history is lined with MS Marketing mess-ups.

  Why on earth would MS pull the best Christmas present on the US market, three weeks before the holidays?

  Microsoft Australia recently announced that the Family Pack would be available Down Unda starting on December 1, but I couldn’t find it on the Harvey Norman site (Harvey Norman is the largest online electronics store in Oz). Amazon UK lists the Family Pack for GBP 146, which at around US $ 240 is no great deal. (UPDATE: Amazon UK just sold out, too! The UK Microsoft Store still lists it, at GBP 150. I have no idea if they’re actually shipping the product.)

  It looks like the best deal in the US for the Win7 Home Premium upgrade is about a hundred bucks, which is something like 250% more than it used to be, just a few days ago. I guess MS figures it has a hit on its hands (it does) so they aren’t at all shy about gouging customers.

  Windows News Microsoft price gouging, Windows 7 Home Premium Family Pack

• December 2009 Cumulative Time Zone Updates for Windows available

  Posted on December 4, 2009 at 06:31 CST by EP • Comment in the Forums

  Here comes another round of Cumulative Time Zone Updates for Windows in December 2009: KB976098. Like with the previous Cumulative Time Zone/Daylight Saving Time patch, this new one is optional but can also be found on Microsoft Update/Windows Update.

  Windows News december 2009 cumulative time zone updates windows

• Microsoft drops the ball on its open license promise

  Posted on November 27, 2009 at 10:11 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  This burns me.

  Almost two weeks ago I talked about the way Microsoft stole open source software, repackaged it, and re-released it in a way that violates the original licensing agreement. Microsoft got caught red-handed and promised to release the offending offensive program as open source.

  Two weeks later, it’s become apparent that Microsoft has no intention at all of releasing the program as open source. Instead, it appears as if Microsoft is in the middle of re-writing the program, and the Softies now promise that, at some undefined point in the future, they will release the modified version of the program as open source.

  What a crock. As I said two weeks ago, can you imagine what would’ve happened if, say, Apple had stolen a program from Microsoft and released it in one of their own products?

  I don’t know how they get away with it. Oh, wait a minute, yes I do. The guys who got ripped off don’t have armies of lawyers. Ay, there’s the rub.

  Windows News Microsoft steals open source, Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool

• Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 coming November 24

  Posted on November 22, 2009 at 06:44 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Microsoft has announced that Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 will be available on November 24. I’m a little slow getting this posted – apologies.

  Think of PP3 as the Windows 7 extensions to Windows Home Server, with a little bit of new Media Center stuff thrown in. One of the glaring omissions in the Win7 launch was a way to automatically get the Windows Home Server shared folders tied into your Win7 libraries automatically. Power Pack 3 takes care of that little problem, and adds several new features as well. More details on the WHS Blog.

  If you have WHS set up for automatic updates (and, yes, as I explain in Windows Home Server For Dummies, I do turn on automatic updates for WHS), you’ll automatically get Power Pack 3 on November 24. If you suddenly discover that your Win7 computers have picked up the Server folders in their libraries, you know what caused it.

  Windows News Windows 7, Windows Home Server Power Pack 3

• Looking for a new graphics card?

  Posted on November 18, 2009 at 07:58 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  If you’re upgrading that old XP PC so it’ll run Windows 7, you probably need a new graphics card. (Details on what you need to get and how to get it are in Windows 7 All-In-One For Dummies.)

  NVIDIA has just announced a tremendous Win7 card, called the GT 240. For less than a hundred bucks, you can buy a hefty, DirectX 10.1 capable video card – exactly what you need to bring Win7 to life on an older PC.

  Personally, I have one remaining XP computer, and I’m going to buy a GT 240 card this week.

  Windows News Nvidia GT 240, Windows 7 video, Windows XP upgrade

• Clean-install Windows 7 from the upgrade disc

  Posted on November 12, 2009 at 20:22 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I’ve just published one of the most important (and best-received) articles I’ve ever written for Windows Secrets Newsletter.

  If you’re thinking about installing Windows 7, or if you’re in the middle of getting it working, check out this week’s Top Story. It tells you everything you need to know to get an upgrade to work.

  Windows News Windows 7 upgrade, Windows Secrets Newsletter

• Vista Ultimate victims get sucker-punched again

  Posted on November 12, 2009 at 05:53 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Did you pay for Vista Ultimate?

  We’ve known for quite some time that Vista Ultimate users who want to perform an in-place upgrade (which I don’t recommend) can only upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate. There are good technical reasons why that’s so, but it’s still quite an expensive slap in the face.

  Now you’ll be pleased to know that the only games ever released exclusively under the Vista Ultimate Extras program are about to be made available to everybody, free. Microsoft’s Games for Windows site has the details. Except, of course, Vista Ultimate isn’t mentioned anywhere on the page.

  Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on you.

  Windows News Vista Ultimate Extras, Windows 7 Ultimate
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