Microsoft today revealed the official name of the successor to Windows XP, long referred to as Longhorn, a name inspired by a bar in the Whistler ski area.

The software giant has settled on Windows Vista.

“Vista” is evocative of clear and distant views, and partly alludes to the Avalon graphical subsystem. The interface overhaul is expected to narrow the gap between Windows and Mac’s lauded GUI as well as harness the power of 3D graphics accelerators.

Vista’s official page, while sparse, already contains clues as to the message behind the product push.

Aside from the “bringing clarity to your world” tagline, the site suggests that security and flexibility are two of the main selling points. RSS integration, XML-friendly underpinnings and an upgraded networking model are among many of the features that have seeped into the OS during its development.

On August 3rd, the company is planning the release of Beta 1. Another beta is expected in 2006 before Vista’s official launch.

Posted by Dablu as Operating Systems at 8:07 AM PDT

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Microsoft released limited new version of Windows Vista and IE7,
Aimed primarily at developers, IT professionals and system builders, the beta period gives those audiences the opportunity to test the core OS technologies as well as provide Microsoft with feedback well in advance of the official release. Another, near feature-complete beta is currently being prepared.

While many new features will be put through their paces (virtual folders, search, Aero GUI, underlying XML to name a few), beta users will undoubtedly pay close attention to Vista’s security enhancements. According to Vista Web site, these include:

User Account Protection allows users to be productive and change common settings without requiring administrative privileges. This prevents users from making potentially dangerous changes to their computers, without limiting their ability to run applications.

Windows Vista’s anti-malware capabilities detect many types of potentially suspicious software and can prompt the user before allowing applications to make potentially malicious changes.

The new outbound filtering in the firewall provides administrative control over peer to peer sharing applications and other similar applications that businesses want to restrict.

Participants are also likely to take a particular interest in the state of security improvements within Internet Explorer 7 (IE7). The browser, which is integrated into the OS, has also been released as a standalone limited beta today for Windows XP SP2. IE7 upgrades include phishing and spoofing safeguards, a protected zone, as well as functional tweaks such as rendering engine refinements and support for newer Web standards and technologies.

Windows Vista is scheduled to ship in the latter part of 2006.

Posted by Dablu as Operating Systems at 8:07 AM PDT

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Firefox 1.5 expected to include an auto-update service.
The next version of the Firefox Web browser, which will be called Firefox 1.5, is slated for release later this summer, and development work continues on new features that include an automatic update service.

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Chris Hofmann, lead engineer at The Mozilla Foundation, the Mountain View, Calif.-based open-source group that oversees the Firefox project, said Friday that contrary to news reports, the release hasn’t been delayed.

“There really hasn’t been any official date” for a release, Hofmann said. “We haven’t ever published a date.” Instead, the target time frame for a new release has always been mid- to late summer, he said.

Although until now the next release of the Firefox 1 browser has generally been referred to as Version 1.1, that nomenclature is being changed to Version 1.5. The reason, according to Hofmann, is that it will be easier for developers to test interim versions of the software using a wider gap in the version numbers.

Developers Hard at Work
So far, developers are making good progress in adding features to the upcoming version of Firefox, including development tools that can be used to encourage additional Web applications for the browser, Hofmann said.

First and second alpha releases of the new Firefox were released last month, and a beta version is expected soon. But no specific date has been offered for when the beta will be available.

Earlier this week, The Mozilla Foundation announced that international versions of Firefox and the Thunderbird e-mail client would be delayed so that several recent security fixes could be included. The delay arose from a number of software glitches that were introduced in last week’s release of English-language versions of Firefox and Thunderbird.

The open-source browser was released in November for free download and has grown as a popular alternative to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer browser and other competing browsers.

By April, Firefox had been downloaded 50 million times, according to The Mozilla Foundation.

Posted by Dablu as Browsers at 11:57 PM PDT

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Google sued Microsoft yesterday as part of a legal battle over Google’s hiring of a Microsoft executive to run its Chinese research center.

Google filed its lawsuit in state court in San Jose, Calif., two days after Microsoft went to court in Seattle to stop Google from hiring Kai-Fu Lee, a Microsoft vice president.

Google’s suit argues that under California law, Microsoft can’t restrain employees from “choosing where they want to work.”

Google hired Lee to open a development center in China to expand its international operations.

It is recruiting Microsoft staff to develop products that challenge Microsoft’s Internet and software businesses as the two companies vie for international Web business.

Some 39 percent of Google’s $1.38 billion in second-quarter sales came from outside the United States.

Microsoft accused Lee and Google of breaking a confidentiality agreement and a noncompete clause in his contract.

Lee, the most senior executive that Mountain View, Calif.-based Google has snagged from Microsoft, led a group working to improve Web and computer searches.

Microsoft spokeswoman Stacy Drake declined to comment because the company hadn’t seen the lawsuit.

Posted by Dablu as Search Engines at 11:56 PM PDT

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