Windows Vista has been out and about for a while now, and it has already been updated with a service pack, with a second service pack on its way. Vista's successor, Windows 7, is also getting closer and closer to release, but despite all that, Windows XP is still going strong, and demand for the operating system remains high. Because of that, Microsoft has yet again extended Windows XP's lifetime for OEMs and resellers.   via osnews.com

I'm sure you're all still (sadly) familiar with the recent 'debate' I had with InfoWorld's Randall Kennedy, which detailed a lot of silly things. The seed of that discussion was planted with Kennedy's first article which, among other things, claimed that Windows 7 performed similarly to Windows Vista (meaning, slower than XP). Leaving the thread count discussion behind, Kennedy did include a benchmark which showed that Windows 7 performed similar to Windows Vista. There's a new benchmark out now

In late October, Microsoft announced the beta of the second service pack for Windows Vista and Server 2008. This beta was limited in audience, and today Microsoft has fixed that: it opened up the beta for MSDN and TechNet subscribers, and coming Thursday, it will be opened to the general public. The releases will be distributed via TechNet.   via osnews.com  

Microsoft plans to offer one more public test version of Internet Explorer 8 before releasing the final version of the updated browser, the company said late Wednesday. The next test, essentially a "release candidate" version will come in the first quarter of 2009. That means the final release won't hit Microsoft's initial goal of finishing the browser this year. "Our next public release of IE (typically called a "release candidate") indicates the end of the beta period," general manager Dean Ha

A long and detailed preview of Windows 7 appeared on ActiveWin. Many screenshots included. "It's safe to say I am overwhelmed, overjoyed and most of all excited about Windows 7", the author concludes.   via osnews.com

Today, the Windows 7 operating system was announced at PDC. Attendees heard how the forthcoming release can help customers leverage previous investments in the Windows Vista operating system. Enhance security and control. Reduce power consumption. And seamlessly connect their people and devices.

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"Windows 2000 code was 5.0 and then we shipped Windows XP as 5.1, even though it was a major release we didn't' want to change code version numbers to maximize application compatibility."   ...   "That brings us to Windows Vista, which is 6.0. So we see Windows 7 as our next logical significant release and 7th in the family of Windows releases."   ...   "So we decided to ship the Windows 7 code as Windows 6.1 - which is what you will see in the actual version of the product in cmd.exe o