Those that have recently reformatted a hard drive and re-installed Windows 7 knows only to well the eternity it takes to download and install Windows updates. Here is a quick way to cut short that process time.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is said to have let go of Steven Sinofsky, former president of Microsoft's Windows and Windows Live division, as he was too divisive, according to Cnet.
A Microsoft executive familiar with the senior management stressed that there wasn't a single event that led to Sinofsky's departure after the launch of Windows 8. Instead, it's said that the relationship between Ballmer and Sinofsky deteriorated as the development on the firm's latest operating system progressed.
Sources suggest the two executives came to a number of disagreements in the past months. Although Ballmer wanted Sinofsky to exit the software giant, Microsoft stressed that the decision was mutual.
Apparently, the biggest reason for Ballmer letting go of Sinofsky is his concern of the former employee not working well with fellow executives from other groups.
"Ballmer is on this big kick to get different pieces of the company working together and Sinofsky had his middle finger extended," said a former Microsoft executive.
Sources familiar with discussions to the naming of Sinofsky to manage the Windows division stated that it was an area of "concern" for both Ballmer and Chairman/co-founder Bill Gates. "Bill and Steve both knew Steven's flaws," said one former senior leader. However, the pair were willing to dismiss their worries as he fixed the problems within the Windows group after the launch of Windows Vista.
According to one former senior executive, Sinofsky had threatened to quit his position more than once due to strategic decisions not going his way. "They bet on Steven and they kept betting bigger and bigger," the ex-employee claimed.
Top Microsoft executives who clashed with Sinofsky and then lost left the firm such as the likes of former Chief Software Architect Ray Ozzie and former Server and Tools Division President Bob Muglia.
Ballmer's memo regarding Sinofsky's departure saw the CEO stating that in order for Microsoft to continue to be successful, "it is imperative that we continue to drive alignment across all Microsoft teams, and have more integrated and rapid development cycles for our offerings." Steven Sinofsky also sent his own memo to all Microsoft employees.
Paul Otellini told employees during a meeting in Taiwan that Microsoft needs to make improvements to the OS, according to a Bloomberg report, though he adds they can be done after the product ships.
Intel CEO Paul Otellini shows off Intel-powered tablets
(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET)
Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini slammed Windows 8 during a meeting with employees in Taiwan, according to a Bloomberg report, saying the operating system still has bugs and is being released before it's ready.
Otellini said Windows still needs some improvements, according to Bloomberg. But Otellini also said releasing Windows 8 before it's completely ready is the correct decision to help Microsoft and the PC makers compete against Apple during the key holiday season. He added that Microsoft can make changes after Windows 8 ships, the report said.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talks about Windows at a recent event.
(Credit: Josh Long/CNET)
Microsoft and Intel have been close partners over the years, but their relationship has been strained during Microsoft's development of Windows 8, which will be Microsoft's first version of Windows to run on an ARM Holdings architecture, not just the x86 architecture from Intel and AMD that dominates PCs.
Windows RT, the ARM-based version of the operating system, has faced some setbacks of late, with some companies, such as Toshiba and H-P, scrapping plans for such devices. Windows 8, meanwhile, has largely appeared to be on track. Intel has touted various tablet and notebook design wins with the software, and it plans to host a tablet event Thursday in San Francisco.
An Intel spokesman on Tuesday said in a statement that internal employee meetings are private, and Intel doesn't disclose what may or may not have been said.
"We continue to see Windows 8 as a significant opportunity across the board and are excited at our prospects in new form factors like Ultrabooks, tablets and convertibles," the spokesman said.
Microsoft, which plans to release Windows 8 on Oct. 26, said in a statement that it's looking forward to making the operating system available next month.
"With over 16 million active preview participants, Windows 8 is the most tested, reviewed and ready operating system in Microsoft's history," a spokeswoman said.
Brand-new laptop and desktop computers sold in China contain preinstalled malicious software, which has infected millions of computers around the world, according to an investigation by Microsoft revealed on Thursday.
The malware, embedded in counterfeit versions of Microsoft's Windows OS, is engineered to spy on users and conduct denial-of-service attacks, Microsoft said. It warned that the findings pose fresh questions over the integrity of computer-part supply chains.
Ascend IT Comment
This will prove very divisive. To power users who do not want to pin literally dozens of icons on the taskbar and have their desktop cluttered completely with icons and short-cuts, the removal of the traditional Start Button will be a bad decision. Although I personally have my most commonly used icons pinned, I still use the Start Button frequently for access to those less used programs and to generally access control panel settings together with the My Computer and My Documents/Pictures commands. To remove this feature will prove irritating to say the least for me personally and to many users.
Microsoft claims it took the controversial decision to remove the Start button from the traditional Windows desktop because people had stopped using it.
The lack of a Start button on the Windows 8 desktop has been one of the most divisive elements of the new user interface. It had been widely assumed that Microsoft removed the Start button to force people to familiarise themselves with the new Metro Start screen, which is the centrepiece of the Windows 8 overhaul. However, speaking to PC Pro at TechEd in Amsterdam, a senior Microsoft executive told us that the old Start menu had already fallen out of favour with users of Windows 7.
"We’d seen the trend in Windows 7," said Chaitanya Sareen, principal program manager at Microsoft, referring to the telemetry gathered by the Microsoft Customer Experience Improvement Program. "When we evolved the taskbar we saw awesome adoption of pinning [applications] on the taskbar. We are seeing people pin like crazy. And so we saw the Start menu usage dramatically dropping, and that gave us an option. We’re saying 'look, Start menu usage is dropping, what can we do about it? What can we do with the Start menu to revive it, to give it some new identity, give it some new power?'"
"So I’m a desktop user, I pin the browser, Explorer, whatever my apps are. I don’t go the Start menu as often. If you’re going to the Start screen now, we’re going to unlock a whole new set of scenarios, or you can choose not to go there, stay in the desktop, and it’s still fast. You can’t beat the taskbar."
Sareen also claims that people are taking advantage of keyboard shortcuts to open applications, instead of resorting to the Start menu. "Press the Windows key and 1 and you’re already in IE [if IE is the first item pinned to your taskbar]. It’s so fast."
Metro for desktops
Sareen was also quick to dismiss criticism that the Metro interface is better suited to touchscreen devices than laptops and desktops.
Demonstrations during the day had seen two Microsoft presenters struggle to make gesture controls work on laptop trackpads, with the Start screen intermittently failing to scroll when the presenters swiped two fingers across the trackpad, for instance. Sareen insisted that the touchpad drivers were still "very, very early" and were "still being refined".
He also claimed that the Metro interface "really works well with the mouse and keyboard", highlighting features such as the option to search for applications simply by starting to type its name on the Metro Start screen.
Recently a proportion of my clients have been contacted by a supposed Microsoft Engineer with regards to potential issues on their machines. These issues range from unstable Operating Systems, Windows system faults and errors, viruses and spyware issues and registry problems. The person will inevitably ask them if they can gain access to their machine virtually to highlight just where the problems are.
PLEASE BE AWARE THAT THIS IS A SCAM!!!
Once 'hooked up' to your machine, these operators will set out to baffle the user into thinking that they have serious errors on their system before suggesting that these errors could be fixed for a hefty fee. You should NEVER let ANYONE remotely access your computer unless it is a certified engineer who you have given specific clearance to do so.
After gaining access virtually the operator will then have complete access to navigate around your system as he or she pleases, possibly hiding potential harmful programs within the system to jeopardise the users identity and security.
If you are contacted in this way, then simply ignore the caller and hang up.
Microsoft has accused high street retailer Comet of creating and selling more than 94,000 counterfeit copies of Windows recovery discs.
The software giant has issued legal proceedings against the Comet Group for selling the alleged counterfeits to customers that bought computers loaded with Windows Vista and Windows XP.
“As detailed in the complaint filed today, Comet produced and sold thousands of counterfeit Windows CDs to unsuspecting customers in the United Kingdom,” said David Finn, associate general counsel for worldwide anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting at Microsoft.
“Comet’s actions were unfair to customers. We expect better from retailers of Microsoft products
“Comet’s actions were unfair to customers. We expect better from retailers of Microsoft products — and our customers deserve better, too.”
According to Microsoft, the legal action charges Comet with producing the counterfeits in a factory in Hampshire and then selling the media to customers at retail outlets around Britain.
Comet has yet to respond to requests for comment on the issue, but the action comes at a critical time for the company. Comet is currently owned by French retailer Kesa Electricals, but is expected to be sold to private equity firm OpCapita this year.
Microsoft said customers concerned that software was fake should visit the company's How to tell website.
Intel Chief Executive Paul Otellini slammed Windows 8 during a meeting with employees in Taiwan, according to a Bloomberg report, saying the operating system still has bugs and is being released before it's ready.
Microsoft and Intel have been close partners over the years, but their relationship has been strained during Microsoft's development of Windows 8, which will be Microsoft's first version of Windows to run on an ARM Holdings architecture, not just the x86 architecture from Intel and AMD that dominates PCs.
"We continue to see Windows 8 as a significant opportunity across the board and are excited at our prospects in new form factors like Ultrabooks, tablets and convertibles," the spokesman said.
