Future Publishing has been awarded the contract to publish the official windows Vista magazine. The first issue will be published in autumn 2006 and will be available in the UK, US, France and Italy.
Future publish a wide range of magazines including the official xbox magazine, .Net magazine and Computer Arts.
The contract will run for 5 years.
24.Oct.05 
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Good review of build 5231 at Windows Supersite, Paul Thurrott concludes that Microsoft are on the right track with Vista :
Windows Vista Build 5231 (Community Technical Preview 2) could have been horrible and I’d still be happy about it, because we’re finally getting regular Windows Vista builds. That build 5231 is not horrible, and includes a number of exciting new features, is just the frosting on the cake. After a rough beginning and a particularly bad 2004-2005, Windows Vista is finally on track. And that’s good news for all Windows users, not to mention Microsoft, which, let’s face it, desperately needs some good news on the client side. This month, build 5231 is that good news. I hope things continue this smoothly going forward. So far, so good.
Read The full Review at Windows Supersite
24.Oct.05 Reviews Read more Comments (0)
Schedule #1
Windows Vista Beta 1: July 27, 2005 (limited public beta August 3, 2005)
Windows Vista Beta 2: November 16, 2005
Windows Vista RC 0: March 17, 2006
Windows Vista RTM: June 28, 2006
Schedule #2
Windows Vista Beta 1 code complete: March 16, 2005
Windows Vista Beta 1 internal release and domain rollout: April 2005
Windows Vista Beta 2 (and product) code complete: July 1, 2005
Windows Vista Beta 2 internal release: Q3 2005
Windows Vista Beta 2 public release: September 2005 (PDC 2005)
Windows Vista Release Candidate 0 (RC0) internal release: Q4 2005
Windows Vista Release Candidate 1 (RC1) internal release: March 2006
Windows Vista release to manufacturing (RTM): May 2006
24.Oct.05 News Read more Comment (1)
Have yourself a Vista Wallpaper, click image for full size version :
19.Oct.05 Wallpapers Read more Comments (0)
This is something Im looking forward to, having been a fan of Konfabulator for some time now.
Gadgets or Widgets are small applications that sit on your desktop and can provide information and features such as a stock ticker, weather forcasts, they can pull rss feeds off websites and so on.
They are fairly easy to create if you have knowledge of web design or development.
Microsoft will be providing three types of gadgets :
Gadgets for Windows Sidebar will run on your desktop or dock into Windows Sidebar, an upcoming feature in Windows Vista alongside other applications. Desktop Gadgets can developed using Windows Presentation Foundation, DHTML/Atlas, and even ActiveX controls. The beauty of Desktop Gadgets is that they are visually and programmatically rich – scaling from vector-based graphics and managed code to standard techniques you’d use for the Web. You’ll be hearing more about Windows Sidebar over the coming months here as we approach release around Beta 2 of Windows Vista.
Gadgets for Start.com (a.k.a. Web or Server-based Gadgets) provide a fast, customizable homepage with a clean user interface – putting the user in control of more of their online experience. Currently in incubation/public preview, Start.com is a place where consumers can customize the web to their liking by adding their own sources of content including RSS web-feeds and web-based Gadgets that extend functionality of their site- anything from custom calendars to service integration. Start.com demonstrates the use of DHTML and ASP.Net Atlas, which separates the data from the UI resulting in significant performance improvements. In addition, Start.com Gadgets can easily support docking into the Windows Sidebar.
Gadgets for Windows SideShow(tm) (a.k.a. Auxilary Display Gadgets) allow users to view their information on devices. Users can view their data where they want it, whether it is for instant access on the lid of a laptop PC, for notifications on a keyboard display or for convenience on a detached device like a cell phone. Gadgets for Windows SideShow run on the PC and use COM interfaces to send data to devices. This Windows SideShow platform combined with the power of desktop applications allows for new scenarios and opportunities.
Read More On the Microsoft Gadgets Blog
19.Oct.05 General Read more Comments (0)
ATI has made vista drivers available for developers, the following product series are supported :
19.Oct.05 Drivers Read more Comments (0)
Microsoft has updated the old favourites of Minesweeper and Solitaire and added a few new games for the release of Vista :
Chess
Minesweeper
Shanghai Solitaire
Purble Place
Solitaire
18.Oct.05 Screenshots Read more Comments (0)
Office 12 is due to be launched with Vista next year. As you can see from the shots below, the interface has been upgraded to match Vista.
18.Oct.05 Screenshots Read more Comments (0)
Wow, vista’s not out yet and it wont be for a year but these guys are getting in early. Meet TweakVista™ , here’s what their site has to say :
TweakVista™ is the worlds first tweaking utility written specifically for Microsoft Windows Vista™!
Tweak Vista makes it easy to tweak and customize Windows Vista Beta 1
- Tweak Desktop Windows Manager
- Enable support for unsupported cards (Still need Vista LDDM drivers!)
- Tweak Window Buttons
- Tweak Window Transparency Blurring
- Tweak Window Scaling
Screenshots :
You can visit the TweakVista site here
17.Oct.05 Tips & Hacks Read more Comments (0)
Microsoft released another version of Vista today, based on the code that will be used in the Beta 2 build. This article and pictures are from cnet :
Inside Windows Vista Build 5231
On Monday, October 17, 2005, Microsoft released another interim build of its new Windows operating system. Based entirely on the programming code that will be used in Beta 2 (which is not yet available), Build 5231 emphasizes three points: diagnostics, collaboration, and a new Internet Explorer for Windows Vista. This build of Vista is available only to developers, not the public.
Solutions Center
To prevent system crashes, Microsoft has gathered tools to detect and automatically resolve problems associated with defective physical memory. In theory, you should see no more Blue Screens of Death.
Windows Disk Diagnostics
To guard against hardware failures, Windows Vista monitors the health of the hard drive and can proactively warn a user of impending disk drive failure, allowing users to back up their data and replace defective hardware before the situation turns critical.
New Control Panel icons
The Control Panel icons in Build 5231 reveal controls for auxiliary displays, network map, peer-to-peer, secure startup, Sync Center, and Windows Parental Controls. Some of these controls exist; others are mere placeholders at the moment.
Windows Vista Network Center
Want to share network media players, or just hook up a network router or wireless access points? The new Windows Vista Network Center replaces the My Network Places and the Network Neighborhood found in Windows XP, providing a one-stop location for all of your networking needs, interconnecting your computers and devices on your local network.
Windows Mobility Center
Microsoft has grouped together the tools you’ll need to go mobile. From this control panel, you can adjust display brightness, power plans, volume control among applications, wireless status, synchronization status, and presentation status.
Sync Center
Windows Sync Center allows you to make offline copies of network files, as well as manage offline copies of Web pages saved from Internet Explorer.
Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Vista Favorites Center
Although we saw an earlier preview of IE for Vista in the last build, Microsoft is offering a more finalized beta with a reorganized Favorites Center. Here you can quickly access History, RSS feeds, and, of course, your Internet Favorites. Other changes include grouping open tabs for reuse at a later time (say you like to read certain news sites; now you can open them all at once)
Quick Tabs in IE 7
And, with more than one tab open, IE 7 for Windows Vista allows you to view thumbnails of each page. Called Quick Tabs, you can quickly choose a destination by the contents displayed rather than having to remember the name of each tab. This is another benefit of the new Windows Presentation Foundation graphics system seen in last month’s build.
Windows Media Player 11
There’s also an advanced preview of Windows Media Player 11 in this month’s build. We really like WMP’s clean interface, with program controls placed front and center, à la QuickTime. Along with that, there’s also a new taskbar control so that you don’t have to open WMP to stop, start, or skip to your favorite track.
Migration Wizard
Although not yet ready for public consumption, the new Windows Migration Wizard eliminates the need for third-party software to help transfer data from your old hard drive to a new hard drive, helping you with system upgrades or when your hard drive starts to go south.
17.Oct.05 News Read more Comments (0)
