Update for Windows (KB2570791)

Locale: All
Deployment: Windows Update, Microsoft Update, Important/Automatic Updates, WSUS, and Catalog
Classification: High Priority, Non-Security, Update Rollups
Supersedes: KB2443685 on Windows Embedded Standard 7, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP
Target platforms: Windows Embedded Standard 7, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP
Approximate file sizes:

Windows Embedded Standard 7/Windows 7 update: ~ 712KB
Windows Embedded Standard 7 x64/Windows 7 x64/Windows Server 2008 R2 x64 update: ~ 1152KB
Windows Server 2008 R2 IA-64 update: ~ 217KB
Windows Server 2008/Windows Vista update: ~ 457KB
Windows Server 2008 IA-64 update: ~ 148KB
Windows Server 2008 x64/Windows Vista x64 update: ~ 529KB
Windows Server 2003 update: ~ 499KB
Windows Server 2003 IA-64 update: ~ 1033KB
Windows Server 2003 x64/Windows XP x64 update: ~ 691KB
Windows XP update: ~ 502KB

Description:
Install this update to resolve issues caused by revised daylight saving time and time zone laws in several countries. This update enables your computer to automatically adjust the computer clock on the correct date in 2011. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.

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Nokia adopts Windows Phone

NOKIA AND MICROSOFT have announced plans to form a broad strategic partnership that is based on Windows Phone.

Nokia and Microsoft intend to jointly create mobile products and services. Under the proposed partnership:

- The Finnish phone maker will adopt Windows Phone as its principal smartphone strategy, innovating on top of the platform in areas such as imaging, where Nokia is a market leader.

- Nokia will help drive the future of the Vole's Windows Phone mobile operating system and contribute its expertise on hardware design and language support, and will help bring Windows Phone to a larger range of price points, market segments and geographies.

- Nokia and Microsoft plan to closely collaborate on joint marketing initiatives and a shared development roadmap to align on the future evolution of mobile products.

- Bing will power Nokia's search services across Nokia devices and services, giving customers access to Bing's next generation search capabilities. Microsoft Adcenter will provide search advertising services on Nokia's line of devices and services.

- Nokia Maps will be a core part of Microsoft's mapping services. For example, Nokia Maps will be integrated with Microsoft's Bing search engine and Adcenter advertising platform to form a unique local search and advertising experience.

- Nokia's extensive operator billing agreements will make it easier for consumers to purchase Nokia Windows Phone services in countries where credit-card use is low.

- Microsoft development tools will be used to create applications to run on Nokia's Windows Phone devices, allowing developers to easily leverage the ecosystem's global reach.

- Lastly, Nokia's content and application store will be integrated with Microsoft Marketplace for a more compelling consumer experience.

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Windows 7 arrives : Windows Vista leaves

The waiting is over, and the upgrading can begin. Today, Microsoft's new Windows 7 operating system arrives in stores and on new computers. Microsoft is celebrating the occasion with characteristic hype, staging a gala event in New York to unveil the software.

Windows 7 arrives

For many PC users, Windows 7's arrival also means it's time to kick Windows Vista to the curb. (Yes, some people say they like Vista; I myself prefer Vista to XP, though that may only reflect how tired I am of the 8-year-old XP.) As I wrote in my column and on this blog last week, I think Windows 7 represents a clear upgrade over its predecessor.

But it's too soon to declare every Windows 7 feature a positive (or negative) development. The responses of users, software developers and hardware manufacturers to this operating system will shape those verdicts. For example, will multiple-Win 7-PC households become common enough that its HomeGroup networking option wins wide use? Will new applications adapt to 7's Libraries folders or will they continue to assume, incorrectly, that all of a user's files belong in one huge My Documents folder? Will gadget developers take advantage of 7's Device Stage interface for managing peripherals? Will computer vendors build affordable machines that take advantage of 7's enhanced support for touch screens?

We'll just have to see about all that.

In the meantime, if you are thinking about upgrading to 7, first run Microsoft's free Upgrade Advisor to make sure that your current system's hardware and software will still work under 7. The Lifehacker blog has more tips about preparing for a Win 7 install, including advice on setting it up alongside an earlier copy of Windows or on a Mac. Ars Technica outlines your purchase and upgrade options, including a couple of ways to get 7 at a discount.

To repeat my own advice about the two most common Win 7 upgrade scenarios: Going from XP to 7 will be be a painful experience requiring either some acquaintance with the workings of Windows or a friend with that knowledge; moving from Vista to 7 should be far easier, but it wouldn't hurt to wait for a couple of weeks to give your computer's manufacturer time to crank out any necessary bug fixes to its software bundle.

If, however, you were waiting to buy a new Windows computer, go ahead. You've been waiting long enough.
Are you reading this post on a computer running Windows 7? Tell me how the new version is working out for you -- post a report on your upgrade experience in the comments.

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Google Chrome OS: Google takes on Windows

A Google operating system has been one of the web’s most consistent rumours for years, but today Google announced it is real: Google Chrome OS will be launched next year, going head to head with Windows.

Announcing the existence of the Google Chrome OS today, Sundar Pichai, Google’s vice president of product management and Linus Upson, Google’s engineering director said it would be “our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be.”

Promising the Chrome OS will be open source, lightweight and speedy, Google also pledges that Chrome OS will “start up and get you onto the web in a few seconds.”

Just like the Chrome browser, the Chrome OS will be designed to stay out of your way, maximising screen space for apps and web browsing. And on the subject of apps, Google says the Chrome OS will run software created using web techologies

“Of course, these apps will run not only on Google Chrome OS, but on any standards-based browser on Windows, Mac and Linux” Google explains, “thereby giving developers the largest user base of any platform.”

But the overall aim of Chrome OS is simplicity: Google has set out its mission by simply stating: “computers need to get better.”

Google first ever TV ad airs

“[users] want their computers to always run as fast as when they first bought them. They want their data to be accessible to them wherever they are and not have to worry about losing their computer or forgetting to back up files.” Google’s Chrome OS announcement states.
Of course, that sounds like the Chrome OS will be a glorified browser, putting all its emphasis on storage in the cloud, while the computer itself holds very little storage, or power. Classic Google.

So how long do we have to wait for the Chrome OS to appear? Not long at all: Google is already talking to manufacturers, pledging to launch the Chrome OS, and “bring a number of netbooks to market [running Chrome OS] next year.”

One thing is certain: Google just put itself head to head with Microsoft in the most crucial way yet. Forget browser wars, forget web advertising. Google just declared war on Microsoft’s home turf: the PC on millions of desktops all over the world.

Can Google win? The debate is already raging on the Electricpig forums. Get involved!

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Microsoft Story (Bill Gates)

CSC 5
Hofstra University

Topic Outline
0. Introduction
1. The Microsoft Success: How and Why
2. The Anti-Trust Case
3. The Latest Ruling
4. The Future

Some Websites
Microsoft Museum: ww.microsoft.com/museum/default.mspx
Bill Gates homepage: www.microsoft.com/billgates/default.asp
"Bill Gates before Microsoft": http://ei.cs.vt.edu/~history/Gates.Mirick.html

Books
James Wallace, Hard Drive: Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire (Wiley, 1992)
James Wallace, Overdrive: Bill Gates and the Race to Control Cyberspace (Wiley, 1998)
John Heilemann, Pride before the Fall: The Trials of Bill Gates and the End of the Microsoft Era (NY, 2001).
Randall E. Stross, The Microsoft Way: The Real Story of How a Company Outsmarts Its Competition (1996)
Stephen Manes and Paul Andrews, Gates: How Microsoft's Mogul Reinvented an Industry (1992)
Wendy Rohm, The Microsoft File: The Secret Case against Bill Gates (1998)

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