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Whatacrock
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Re: Windows 9 to Be Unveiled on September 30

Post by Whatacrock »

Windows 9 Preview to Launch with New OS Update Feature – Report

The launch of Windows 9 Preview is already on the horizon, and some people close to the matter say that we should be able to get our hands on this early version of the next Windows release in late September.

As we’ve already told you on several occasions, Microsoft is testing a new OS update mechanism for Windows 9 Preview that would allow the company to update existing testing builds of the operating system automatically, without the need to download and install another release.

This way, Microsoft would roll out a single preview build of Windows 9, but keep it fully up to date thanks to a new feature which, according to Neowin, is entirely different from the traditional Windows Update.

This new feature is said to be part of the existing testing builds of Windows 9 and is very likely to ship with the Preview version in late September, although it’s not yet clear whether the company is planning to rely on the same mechanism for the full operating system due in April 2015.

And still, it does make sense for the final version of Windows 9 too, especially because the company is planning to update its operating system more often than before. The faster update cadence has been confirmed by several company executives until now and could go live next month in Windows 9 Preview.

Another thing worth mentioning is that this feature might not require a full reinstallation of the operating system, but only update the existing version with new options, just like it’s the case of the traditional Windows Update.

As usual, these are all just rumors, so don’t take them for granted until Microsoft rolls out more info.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows- ... 6004.shtml
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Re: Windows 9 to Be Unveiled on September 30

Post by Whatacrock »

What You Need to Know About the Windows 9 Preview Launching on September 30

Microsoft is reportedly preparing a new event in late September to introduce the very first preview build of Windows 9, and although this might sound very exciting for fanboys, there are a few things that you need to know before downloading and installing this early version of the operating system.

First and foremost, let’s not forget that Windows 9 Preview is exactly what its name says: an early build that allows you to try out some of the features that might or might not be part of the final product.

This means that the Windows 9 Preview could only bring minor differences at first as compared to Windows 8.1 Update, but what we’re hearing is that the Start menu and options to run Metro apps on the desktop are “very likely” to be there.

Secondly, a preview build of an operating system is not supposed to be installed on production machines for obvious reasons. Windows 9 is still in early stages of development, so a number of bugs and issues are also expected to be spotted. And despite this, expect lots of users to complain about Windows 9 Preview for crashing or returning errors all of a sudden.

Microsoft has prepared a smart strategy for those who want to download and install Windows 9 Preview. The build that’s expected to come out on September 30 could be limited to only a few features, but the company would then introduce more options through Windows Update.

Instead of rolling out new builds every time development of another feature is completed, Microsoft would thus update the existing builds via Windows Update to add new functionality.

Another thing that’s worth mentioning is that Windows 9 is very likely to be offered free of charge. People close to the matter revealed that this would be a public preview, meaning that basically everyone would be allowed to install the released ISO.

Windows 9 Preview won’t however provide access to all the features that will be part of the final product. Microsoft is obviously keeping some surprises for the full version of Windows 9, and we’re hearing that the desktop flavor of Cortana is one of them. As a result, do not expect Cortana to be available in Windows 9 Preview, not even in beta version.

The full version of Windows 9 is scheduled to launch in early 2015, and it’s no doubt that a lot can change until this happens. In the meantime, Windows 9 Preview is a great opportunity to see what’s to come for Windows users, so expect lots of users to give it a shot in late September.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/What-You ... 5919.shtml
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Windows Threshold: Rapid release is getting really interest

Post by parkd1 »

Microsoft is working feverishly towards a release of Windows Threshold that is expected to be released late next month. The build will likely be called Windows Technical Preview (the word 'Enterprise' may be tossed in there too), but what will be quite convenient when the preview is finally released is how you will go about upgrading to new builds.

On current internal builds of Windows Threshold, you can upgrade builds with a single click of a button. How it works is that when you open Windows Update, there is a new feature in this area that allows you to upgrade your build of Windows, meaning you could go from build 9825 to 9829 with a single click.

We must stress that this feature is built into internal releases of the Technical Preview and could be pulled before it is released to the public... but the feature is fully built out, meaning that it is integrated into the UI and it is a native part of Windows. So, knowing this, it seems logical that it will make its way into the public preview.

The best part, per our understanding of the feature, is that when you use it, it does not require a complete reinstallation of the OS, and makes upgrading to new builds of Threshold quite easy.

This feature represents an interesting addition to the OS and their rapid release cycle. While we do not know about Microsoft’s future plans just yet, this could make it very easy to deliver rapid updates to the OS without inconveniencing consumers. Seeing that the company is now pushing out monthly updates for Windows, this feature could be part of that strategy to help make the process go more smoothly.

We need to point out that this is not simply ‘Windows Update’ but a new feature for the OS that is currently present in the internal builds of Windows Threshold.

As with all of this information, it is currently accurate, but Microsoft can pull these features at any time before the public release.

http://www.neowin.net/news/windows-thre ... nteresting
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Re: Microsoft Releases Security Improvements for Windows Upd

Post by Whatacrock »

A recent check of the Installed Updates informed me that Windows Update Agent had a higher version number. It appears that Microsoft are slowly rolling out this update for Windows 7 and above.

How to check which version of the Windows Update Agent is installed

1. Open the %systemroot%\system32 folder. %systemroot% is the folder in which Windows is installed. For example, the %systemroot% folder is C:\Windows.
2. Right-click Wuaueng.dll, and then click Properties.
3. Click the Details tab, and then locate the file version number.

Note The latest version of the Windows Update Agent for Windows 8.1 is 7.9.9600.16422. The latest version of the Windows Update Agent for Windows 8 is 7.8.9200.16693. The latest version of the Windows Update Agent for Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP is 7.6.7600.256.

The version numbers for Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 should be higher than those listed above:

(from my systems, below)
Windows 8.1 --- 7.9.9600.17195
Windows 7 --- 7.6.7600.320
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Microsoft Wants Users to Become Spam Fighters

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Microsoft Wants Users to Become Spam Fighters

Microsoft has started sending out emails to Outlook.com users to ask for help in order to block more spam messages and thus make filters more effective in the web-based email service.

As reported by WindowsObserver, Microsoft wants users to become spam fighters, explaining that “we hate junk e-mail as much as you do.”

Hitting the “report as spam” button helps Microsoft discover junk email and block these messages from reaching not only your inbox, but also accounts belonging to other users.

“Helping is easy–every once in a while we’ll simply re-send one of your email messages and ask you if it’s junk or not. One click and you’re done. This helps us fine-tune our junk email filters to better protect you and everyone else. The messages we send you are real messages that were addressed to you. We’ll only send you one message a day at most, and you can quit at any time,” the company says.

Of course, clicking on the “Junk” button doesn’t take more than a second and since it can protect your inbox against spam, you should really give it a shot.

Obviously, the more users click this button when they receive unwanted emails, the more spam messages are blocked, so Outlook.com can be significantly improved if everyone lends a hand.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Microsof ... 5983.shtml
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Re: Users Still Getting BSODs on Windows 7

Post by Whatacrock »

Microsoft Removes Post Detailing Windows 7 BSODs

Some of the updates released by Microsoft this month are wreaking havoc on a number of Windows 7 computers, with lots of users reporting BSODs after installing the August patches.

Microsoft has since removed the patches, but it appears that the company has decided to go one step further and removed a complete thread from its Community forums where users were discussing the causes behind this trouble.

What’s more important is that the thread was also hosting the post of an alleged Microsoft employee who details the bug and explained that this month’s updates could really cause a “horrible user experience.” We first wrote about this post this week and most likely because everyone started to talk about the statements made by the Microsoft employee on the forums, the company decided to remove the whole thread.

In the meantime, Microsoft continues work on a fix and nobody can tell for sure when exactly this is expected to see daylight, by removing this month’s updates seem to be the only way to deal with the problem until the company provides more information.

At this point, it appears that only Windows 7 computers are affected by the issue, with only a few Windows 8 devices also reporting similar problems after installing August updates.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Microsof ... 6101.shtml
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Old Posted News

Post by TheAPGuy »

Here you will find old news that was posted. We will merge all the news into this thread every month or so.
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Unofficial Windows XP Service Pack 4 Available for Download

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Unofficial Windows XP Service Pack 4 Available for Download

Windows XP support came to an end on April 8 this year, so since then no other updates or security patches have been released despite the fact that 25 percent of the world’s computers are still said to be powered by this particular operating system.

Needless to say, without updates Windows XP is becoming a relic, but the Windows community is hard at work to develop what’s currently being called the “Unofficial Service Pack 4.”

Developed by Harkaz, who already has a good background on large pack of fixes for Windows, this new service pack includes all previously released updates for Windows XP 32-bit, as well as POSReady 2009 updates launched by Microsoft after the April 2014 retirement date.

POSReady 2009 fixes are said to be fully compatible with Windows XP installations, but it’s pretty clear that they cannot offer the same level of protection as the legitimate updates specifically aimed at this platform would do.

“Windows XP Unofficial SP4 is a cumulative update rollup for Windows XP (x86). It can be applied to a live Windows XP system which has SP1, at minimum, installed or it can be slipstreamed (integrated) in any Windows XP installation media,” the developer says in the description of its pack.

“It includes updates for most Windows XP components, including MCE and Tablet PC. Request-only hotfixes have been included. Currently, Microsoft .NET Frameworks 4.0, 3.5, 1.1 and 1.0 (Tablet PC only) are included in the Windows XP SP4 package. You can also scan for POSReady updates, because the POSReady trick has been included. In addition, all post-eol updates for .NET Framework 1.1, 3.5 and 4.0 until May 2014 have been included.”

This project isn’t new and actually started in late 2013, but the developer behind the whole idea rolled out updates in May, June, July, and August in order to keep all Windows XP computers fully up to date.

If you decide to install this service pack, keep in mind that it’s not related to Microsoft in any way and is just an unofficial release that might or might not help you protect a Windows XP computer against exploit targeting vulnerabilities found in the operating system.

Of course, Microsoft does not recommend anyone to install this, but such a service pack is clearly worth a shot if you’re still on Windows XP and you don’t plan to upgrade anytime soon.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Unoffici ... 6361.shtml

Please note WE DO NOT SUPPORT THIS SERVICE PACK AND RESPONSIBILITY LIES WITH THE END USER

Just reporting it a news article
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Re: Unofficial Windows XP Service Pack 4 Available for Downl

Post by DesertJerry »

What's really available is Beta 3 of SP4 - RC soon to be posted, and I believe I mentioned this back in March.

ZDNet also mentions it: http://www.zdnet.com/want-windows-xp-sp ... 000033030/
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Windows 9 Might Be Microsoft’s Last Standalone Windows

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Windows 9 Might Be Microsoft’s Last Standalone Windows Version

Everybody knows that Microsoft is working on Windows 9 as we speak, but the company isn’t talking too much about this project, leaving room for interpretation as to whether specific features could be part of the operating system or not.

But some interesting details about the way Windows 9 is going to change everything for both users and Microsoft have come out today from Microsoft watcher Mary Jo Foley, who writes that this could actually be the last standalone Windows version released by Redmond.

Such a plan actually makes quite a lot of sense, but let’s take things one at a time.

First of all, it’s a well-known fact that Microsoft is planning to switch to a faster release cadence for Windows and most likely for other products such as Office. Steve Ballmer said it, Satya Nadella said it too, and the company’s leadership team will most likely say it again during future events as well.

This fast release cadence basically means that Microsoft is willing to release big updates and improvements for its operating system a lot more often than before, with sources claiming that both fixes and new features are very likely to be part of these rollouts.

Foley says that it’s this faster release cadence that could make Windows 9 the last big standalone Windows version, as after the launch of the upcoming operating system the company will most likely focus on updates and other improvements.

“Instead of delivering Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows 12, Microsoft's focus will be on updating Threshold,” Foley explains, which means that from now on Microsoft might adopt a similar strategy to the one currently used by Apple for OS X.

The most important thing however is Microsoft’s plan for charging buyers for these OS versions, as the company might offer some of the updates for free, while others are obviously expected to come with a small fee.

In the last couple of years, Microsoft launched two major updates for Windows 8, namely 8.1 and 8.1 Update, both of which were offered free of charge, but this could obviously change if a similar strategy is adopted for Windows 9.

One of the reasons that could push Microsoft towards this new approach is the company’s effort to keep users fully up to date and encourage them to keep running the very latest version of the operating system. It already tried such a strategy in Windows 8, but only a few users actually agreed to migrate, so Windows 9 is expected to play a game changer role when it comes out.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows- ... 6420.shtml
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