WM6 Devices get ‘Virtual BlackBerry’ Support

Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6 platform got a boost on Monday when Research in Motion announced a new software suite that will provide phones running on WM6 with a “virtual” BlackBerry experience.

The software will be available later this year, and is set to feature e-mail, browsing, instant messaging and other capabilities. The app will also let phones take advantage of BlackBerry services, such as BlackBerry Enterprise Server, according to RIM.

The app will not transform a phone into a BlackBerry, per se. Instead, users will see an icon for the program on their screen. Clicking it will load a BlackBerry UI and a series of programs. Windows Mobile apps won’t be affected and users will be able to switch between the two, according to RIM.

Windows Mobile Device Center 6.1 for Windows Vista

The Windows Mobile Device Center enables you to set up new partnerships, synchronize content and manage music, pictures and video with Windows Mobile powered devices (Windows Mobile 2003 or later). The Windows Mobile Device Center combines an efficient business-data synchronization platform with a compelling user experience. The Windows Mobile Device Center helps you to quickly set up new partnerships, synchronize business-critical information such as e-mail, contacts and calendar appointments, easily manage your synchronization settings, and transfer business documents between your device and PC.

This new version of the Windows Mobile Device Center contains key improvements and new features to support Windows Mobile 6 devices. The Windows Mobile Device Center 6.1 is only supported on Windows Vista.

Key updates in Windows Mobile Device Center 6.1 include: Windows Mobile 6 feature support Information Rights Management activation - Automatically configure the Windows Mobile 6 device to open IRM-protected documents and files HTML mail – Set up your Windows Mobile 6 device to sync HTML-formatted mail Certificate Enrollment - Acquire certificates through the PC the Windows Mobile 6 device is currently connected to Allow data connections on the Windows Mobile 6 device when connected to the PC File synchronization for smartphones – Synchronize files with your Windows Mobile 6 devices, including both touch screen and non-touch screen devices Automatic device authentication - Connect the Windows Mobile device to the PC without the need to enter the device-lock PIN every time upon connect Product Registration - Register your Windows Mobile device and get connected to information and offers available for your device.

For Windows Embedded CE 4.2, 5.0, Pocket PC 2002, and Smartphone 2002 devices, basic connectivity support includes connecting over USB and serial, using desktop passthrough with the PC’s internet connection, and file browse. Windows Mobile Device Center 6.1 is fully compatible with Windows Mobile 2003 devices and later.

Windows7 & Office14 to be just as big as Vista & Office’07

Microsoft has reiterated its commitment to the desktop. Building on its co-founder Bill Gates’ vision of a PC on every desk in every home, Microsoft will continue to focus on delivering desktop products. And in this context, nothing will change when it comes down to the development of the company’s main cash cows.

Windows Vista and the 2007 Office System will be followed by Windows Seven and Office 14. Kevin Turner, Chief Operating Officer, present at the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2007 in Denver on July 10 emphasized the fact that Windows
Vista will neither be the last of its kind, nor the last big operating system release from the Redmond company. The same strategy is valid for the Office 2007 System.

“You know, we started out as a client desktop company 32 years ago, and built a very successful and promising business. Certainly this last year has been an unprecedented year for Vista and Office and the launch. And we are still committed to the desktop. There will be another release and launch of a Vista type operating system. There will be another release of Office, and we’re going to continue to invest in that, because the customer wants a choice,” Turner stated.

Microsoft’s Joost Killer – LiveStation

LiveStation is a project currently under development, and a joint effort from Skinker and Microsoft. LiveStation is currently in beta stage, but essentially the project is designed to enable users to watch live television on their machines. “Interactive live TV on the PC that works” is in fact the slogan under which the LiveStation beta project went live. “LiveStation is a software solution, co-developed with Microsoft Research, designed to allow people to watch live TV on their desktop in a highly scalable way and without requiring broadcasters to invest a large amount of money in hardware and infrastructure,” reveals a message posted on the LiveStation website.

Steve Clayton, the CTO of the UK Partner Group is the author of the two Soapbox videos embedded at the bottom. Watch them in order to get an accurate idea of what LiveStation is all about and how it relates to Joost. “Matteo showed me one of their latest projects called LiveStation - a highly efficient video streaming service using Silverlight to deliver realtime video to your desktop. The UI was lovely and we talked about the potential to do it on a mobile too - not far off,” Clayton revealed.

Microsoft Issues Emergency Patch

Microsoft has reportedly released an emergency patch for a critical flaw in the form of .ani animated cursor files in Windows.

Spurred by concern over the possibility of widespread exploitation of the flaw, Microsoft has released the emergency patch almost a week ahead of its monthly Patch Tuesday.
The update fixes seven separate Windows vulnerabilities, but treats the .ani flaw as ‘critical’. It qualifies as the third such emergency patch released by Microsoft since 2006.

According to Mark Miller, Director of Microsoft’s Security Response Center, while attacks based on the flaw are still “limited,” exploitation of the bug is following trends ’similar’ to the WMF (Windows Metafile) and VML (Vector Markup Language) vulnerabilities that were patched in the other two updates, which is alarming.

Miller said as of now, only Web-based exploitation has been seen by Microsoft, although there are indications that email too has been used as an exploitative tool by hackers.

Both Microsoft and security agencies strongly recommend Windows’ users to install the patch, as the .ani flaw could be used to exploit computers running virtually any version of Windows, including Vista, even if they are running non-Microsoft browsers such as Firefox and Opera.

All said, Ken Dunham, Director of Malicious Code Intelligence, iDefense, says the attacks are widespread, and that they have already identified over 400 different URLs related to the attacks plus multiple emails that have been sent out.

Going further, Dunham feels the .ani attack vector will probably be one of the most prevalent and persistent type of attack in the coming months.

Vista Hacked Again, This Time Even More Effectively

This is not the first time I’ve mentioned a Windows Vista crack, and it won’t be the last, but now a hacker group known as NoPE somehow managed to create a cracked Windows Vista DVD that works immediately, out of the box, with no serial number or activation keys required. Just like some of those corporate versions of Windows XP that worked for years, the hacked Vista product appears to be already activated and it even automatically updates itself with the latest patches.

The cat and mouse game continues, where Microsoft will counter this, and then the hackers will respond, and so on, and so on. Of course, activation schemes, digital rights management and security measures only affect the honest people, inconveniencing them and sometimes even stopping them in their tracks, while the h4ck3rz rise to the challenge every time with their formidable skillz.

Microsoft to simplify downgrades from Vista to XP

Microsoft is simplifying the processes via which its PC-maker partners will be able to provide “downgrade” rights from Windows Vista to Windows XP for their customers.

Microsoft will implement the first of the policy changes for its Gold Certified (top-tier) OEM partners within the next couple of weeks. The company will streamline downgrade-rights policies and procedures for the broader channel somewhat later, said John Ball, general manager of Microsoft’s U.S. Systems Group.

Under current licensing terms, Microsoft allows customers buying PCs preloaded with Windows Vista Ultimate and Vista Business to roll back to Windows XP until they are ready to make the move to Vista. For OEMs, the process via which these rights can be activated has been quite cumbersome, Ball acknowledged.

Under the current rules, OEMs must call about and file for each and every machine the license keys required to downgrade from Vista to XP. But Microsoft is planning to move to a new policy which will allow its top 170 OEM partners to submit these keys online for groups of machines, which will save them time and reduce complexity, Ball said.

9 Updates for Windows Vista This Week

This week, Microsoft released some “important” updates that probably won’t come to Windows Update.

Here’s the shakedown:

Update for Windows Vista (KB931836)
February 2007 cumulative time zone update for Microsoft Windows operating systems
>> Download: x86, x64

Update for Windows Vista (KB932406)
The Windows desktop may stop updating correctly after a Windows Vista-based computer has been running for an extended period of time
>> Download: x86, x64

Update for Windows Vista (KB935652)
June 2007 Cumulative Update for Media Center for Windows Vista
>> Download: x86, x64

Update for Windows Vista (KB937077)
A high definition audio device may no longer work after you resume Windows Vista from hibernation or from sleep
>> Download: x86, x64

Update for Windows Vista (KB937123)
When running Windows Vista, the 802.1X network authentication times out, fails and network connectivity can not be established.
>> Download: x86, x64

Update for Windows Vista (KB938637)
In Internet Explorer 7 on a Windows Vista-based computer, you cannot enter user-defined words that are added to the Microsoft IME user dictionary
>> Download: x86, x64

Update for Windows Vista (KB929824)
Windows Vista cannot connect to any off-link addresses when the default gateway is configured to be the same as the client IP address
>> Download: x86, x64

Update for Windows Vista (KB930627)
The private data of the DEVMODE data structure may be corrupted when you use raw mode to print a document in a 32-bit application on a computer that is running a 64-bit version of Windows
>> Download: x64

Update for Windows Vista (KB935855)
Error message when you try to start Internet Explorer 7 in Windows Vista: “You must be an administrator to open Internet Explorer on this desktop”
>> Download: x86, x64