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Microsoft has made a change to an update for Windows 7 that can prevent certain systems from booting. While you might expect me to say, "good news, the software giant has fixed the problem", in fact what Microsoft has done is switch the update from "optional", to "recommended". So, on some systems, it will now install, and break Windows 7 automatically. There is good news though, and that’s you can solve the problem and get your computer working again by (can you guess?) upgrading to Windows 10. Hooray! The update in question is KB3133977 and what this does is fix...

Summary: The leading Linux desktop and the number one desktop of all, Windows, are both undergoing radical transformations, but which will be the better for it? Windows 8 Metro vs. Ubuntu 12.04 Unity 2012 has already seen a major update of what’s arguably the most important Linux desktop: Ubuntu 12.04 and we’re also seeing the most radical update of Windows with Windows 8 Metro coming since Windows 95 replaced Windows 3.1. So, which will end up the better for its change?1. Desktop interfaceUbuntu replaced the popular GNOME 2.x interface with Unity when their developers decided the GNOME 3.x shell wasn’t...

Need help from a computer guru. This is NOT for a criminal event. My nephew is going to be getting a divorce. He and his wife have a computer in their home. However, the wife has now put a password on the computer so that it cannot be accessed except by her. ALL their financial dealings is on this computer and he has no idea what is now been done. IS there a way to easily bypass a password to get into the computer and see what is on HIS computer? Do I need to take it to a computer...

<p>News Analysis. If you're one of those people who insist Macs are comparably priced to Windows PCs, read no further. This post will make you really angry.</p> <p>Last week, Microsoft started airing the newest "I'm a PC" ad, featuring Lauren—Ms. "I'm just not cool enough to be a Mac person." Lauren is clear on what she wants in her laptop: "Speed, comfortable keyboard and 17-inch screen," and within her budget of $1,000.</p>

[NOTE date of article, Feb 20, 2008] Responding to reports of endlessly rebooting PCs that flooded support newsgroups last week, Microsoft said on Tuesday it had pulled an update designed to prep Windows Vista for Service Pack 1. Although the update -- actually a pair of prerequisite files that modify Vista's install components -- has been temporarily pulled from Windows Update, Microsoft has not yet produced a fix for users whose machines either won't boot or reboot constantly. "Immediately after receiving reports of this error, we made the decision to temporarily suspend automatic distribution of the update to avoid further...

Last week Microsoft rolled out three prerequisite updates to prepare users computers for the first service pack for Windows Vista. However, one of these updates apparently caused serious issues among some users, prompting Microsoft to quickly suspend automatic installations of KB937287 after customers complained that their PCs wouldn't boot up properly once the update had been applied. For affected users who already received the update, the only solution is to reboot their computers, boot from their original Vista disc and restore their computer to a state several days prior. However, some users have reported hardware and hard disk problems after...

Microsoft released Windows Vista to the world one year ago with ads likening the new PC operating system to such awe-inspiring moments as the first American spaceflight and the fall of the Berlin Wall. Charles Walling just wants it to work with his printer. The retired Seattle warehouseman has spent hours on the Dell tech support line, installed all the drivers and, yes, double-checked all the cords and plugs. No luck. The cause of the problem isn't clear, but Walling knows one thing: The same printer worked with Windows Vista's predecessor, Windows XP. "You can see the frustration," Walling said...

In the year that has passed since Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT) released Windows Vista to business users, the operating system has gained a reputation in the channel as a bloated memory hog that many companies are avoiding like a trip to the dentist. But Microsoft partners have a more positive opinion of Windows 7, the next generation of Windows that Microsoft expects to ship in the 2010 timeframe. That's because Windows 7 will be based on MinWin, a scaled down version of the Windows core that will also serve as the framework for Windows Server and Windows Media Center. MinWin's source code...

Forget about the WGA! 20+ Windows Vista Features and Services Harvest User Data for Microsoft - From your machine! By: Marius Oiaga, Technology News Editor Are you using Windows Vista? Then you might as well know that the licensed operating system installed on your machine is harvesting a healthy volume of information for Microsoft. In this context, a program such as the Windows Genuine Advantage is the last of your concerns. In fact, in excess of 20 Windows Vista features and services are hard at work collecting and transmitting your personal data to the Redmond company. Microsoft makes no secret...

Report: Microsoft says open source violates 235 patents By Stephen Shankland Story last modified Mon May 14 06:16:01 PDT 2007 Microsoft claims that free and open-source software violates 235 of its patents, according to a magazine report published Sunday. In an interview with Fortune, Microsoft top lawyer Brad Smith alleges that the Linux kernel violates 42 Microsoft patents, while its user interface and other design elements infringe on a further 65. OpenOffice.org is accused of infringing 45, along with 83 more in other free and open-source programs, according to Fortune. It is not entirely clear how Microsoft might proceed in...

Pardon a vanity, please. So many articles are coming out about Vista horrors (I'm on Shadowace's Tech ping list) I need to ask a question and get assistance. My out-of-state sister, a complete computer newbie with absolutely no knowledge of how they work or why except how to save a Word document at the office, went and ordered one from Dell last month so she can get email and do some web browsing when she retires later this year. They sent her one with a Vista OS and what she is finding out is the almost no one can help...

XP Successor Doesn't Break New Ground on Ease of Use, But It's Best Windows Yet A new version of Microsoft Windows, the world's most popular and important computer operating system, will finally arrive for consumers on Jan. 30. It has taken the giant software maker more than five years to replace Windows XP with this new version, called Windows Vista -- an eternity by computer-industry reckoning. Many of the boldest plans for Vista were discarded in that lengthy process, and what's left is a worthy, but largely unexciting, product. Vista is much prettier than previous versions of Windows. Its icons...

Hackers have published code that could let an attacker disable the Windows Firewall on certain Windows XP machines. The code, which was posted on the Internet early Sunday morning, could be used to disable the Windows Firewall on a fully patched Windows XP PC that was running Windows' Internet Connection Service (ICS). This service allows Windows users to essentially turn their PC into a router and share their Internet connection with other computers on the local area network (LAN.) It is typically used by home and small-business users. The attacker could send a malicious data packet to another PC using...

Microsoft has begun wielding the law hammer against dealers it believes have been selling counterfeit software via eBay and other auction websites. Today, the company announced legal actions—both civil and criminal—against 55 resellers of Microsoft software in 11 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, South Korea, the UK, and the US. The software giant tracked down the dealers via the Windows Genuine Advantage program, using "tips submitted from consumers." Those who bought counterfeit software that subsequently failed to be validated via WGA were asked by Microsoft where they purchased the software after they contacted the company...

October 27, 2006 (IDG News Service) -- Microsoft Corp. yesterday attempted to clear up confusion over licensing of Windows Vista for power users who rebuild their PCs on a regular basis. But the answer from the software vendor did little to placate some users, who are still upset about Microsoft's one-machine transfer policy for Vista. According to Microsoft spokesman Mike Burk, Microsoft users who frequently change the hardware configuration of the system running Vista might fail Vista's new Software Protection Platform software-validation feature more than once. If they did, they would be required to purchase an additional license or use...

Hot off the newswire, C|Net is reporting that Microsoft is working on an issue with the Microsoft Update platform that was delaying distribution of today’s updates. Oddly enough, as of 10 minutes ago, my update worked just fine. "Due to technical difficulties experienced on the Microsoft Update platform, security updates released today are not currently available via Microsoft Update, Automatic Updates, Windows Server Update Services or Windows Update v6," the software maker said.

Windows 95 was 32mb. Win98 was about 200mb. This new OS is 2.5gig? Unbelievable. I'm downloading now and will try it out but my comp is a bit underpowered for it

SEATTLE - Microsoft Corp. has developed technology for people to pay by the hour to use a computer in their own homes, much like how many consumers use a pre-paid card for cell phone usage. The technology, called FlexGo, will be used as part of efforts to sell computers to lower-income consumers in developing countries, where Microsoft is eager to find new money-making opportunities but is battling software piracy and other barriers. Redmond-based Microsoft, working with computer maker Lenovo Group Ltd. and others, plans to launch a second trial of the FlexGo plan in Brazil beginning Monday. In the next...

I came across this article on BBC, which mentions that UK officials are talking to Microsoft about the new security measures in Windows Vista, specifically encryption of the filesystem, and expressing their concern that it would make it harder for them to gain access to a suspects’ computer. What surprised me is that the article notes that Professor Ross Anderson is asking the UK government to look at putting in ways to get around encryption in Windows Vista. And it seems the UK government is already talking to Microsoft about this. The question that immediately comes to mind is: Doesn’t...

Without any warning or even an official announcement, Microsoft has quietly pushed back the release of Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) to late 2007. This new schedule places the release at least a year later than the previous schedule, under which SP3 would ship sometime in 2006. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer previously announced that his company would ship SP3 "before" Windows Vista, which is now due in late 2006. Microsoft's new schedule for SP3 was revealed in a service pack roadmap that the company posted to the Web late last month. According to this document, Windows XP SP3...