Windows

On Tuesday I reported on Microsoft Outlook 2007's unexcused absence from my Vista PC. I thought the problem might due to Outlook 2003 being installed on the same machine. When I upgraded to Office 2007, the older versions of the apps remained on my system, even though I never used them. This didn't appear to be a problem until Outlook 2007 took a hike.

My second surprise was my inability to uninstall Office 2003. Vista's Programs and Features Control Panel applet (which XP calls Add or Remove Programs) would pop up this error message: "This patch … Read more

Let's start with a disclaimer. Five-year forecasts are nearly always wrong and I have no reason to think Gartner's will be any different. Things tend to happen much faster or much slower than people initially forecast.

That said, if Gartner is even close to on point, there are plenty of trends that could be worrisome for Microsoft. First and foremost is the research firm's prediction that Apple will double its U.S. and western Europe market share by 2011.

Also of concern to folks in Redmond should be some of Gartner's other predictions. One is that … Read more

Last fall, Steve Ball, Microsoft's program manager for sound in Vista, posted a blog entry explaining some of the reasons why Windows audio can be glitchy. (That was supposed to be "Part 1" of a series; we're still waiting for Part 2.)

Today, Guardian writer Tim Anderson picks up the thread with an article called "Why Vista Sounds Worse." In addition to citing Ball's blog posting, he talks to the CTO for Cakewalk (a division of Roland that makes consumer and professional audio software) and an engineer at Steinberg (which makes the popular … Read more

OK, I offered several of my own perspectives on Vista's one-year anniversary on Wednesday. Today, I want to share some other takes on the big milestone.

Todd Bishop at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer had one of the most thorough looks at the big milestone, offering an in-depth story that looks at Vista's ups and downs. There were also blogs that looked at one user's struggle with Vista, the operating system's performance, and a computer repair shop that advertises in its window: "We remove Vista."

Windows Vista magazine had a most traditional birthday celebration, devouring a … Read more

Testers of the Yahoo Messenger for Vista preview version (story) with a need for speed should feel the rush after installing Microsoft's recent Windows Vista Hotfix.

The Hotfix purportedly makes response time in Vista's layered windows up to four times faster, a velocity that affects all applications built with layered windows. In Yahoo Messenger for Vista, menus that overlay the central interface, like the options menu or skin chooser, pick up the pace.

Users who have installed Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Beta already have the Hotfix. Microsoft reports that it will also be available in the service … Read more

When you save a file in an Office application, the program opens the Save As dialog box with My Documents (in Office 2003) or Documents (in Office 2007) as the default folder to store it in. If you're saving an image, Windows wants to put it in My Pictures, and it wants to put audio files in My Music and videos in My Videos. (Vista uses the same folder nomenclature, minus the "My".)

You can stick with these if you wish, but I prefer to store my personal files on a USB thumb drive with folders organized … Read more

Spurred by sales of Microsoft's Office 2007, the software market hit its highest level since 1999, according to a report released Wednesday by the NPD Group.

Overall, the U.S. non-game PC software market at retail stores totaled $3.3 billion in 2007, a 15 percent increase over the $2.9 billion generated in 2006. The rise is even more notable, as sales had been essentially flat from 2000 through 2006.

But, a whole lot of that is due to Microsoft, largely because of Office, but also because of Vista's debut. According to NPD's Chris Swenson, 80 … Read more

Frustrated with Vista's sluggishness, some people have been turning to a utility called vLite, which out components of the operating system deemed unessential.

Although the move does offer frustrated Vista users an option other than going back to XP or switching to a Mac, Microsoft said Wednesday that it doesn't endorse such changes to Vista's setup.

"Microsoft does not recommend using any tool to strip out applications from Windows Vista prior to installing it on your system, as it may affect your ability to download future Windows updates and service packs, and may cause your system … Read more

I'm a stylus user from way back, so I was really looking forward to using Vista's Tablet PC features to control apps on my touchscreen notebook. What I didn't realize was how much fun it is to mark up documents in Word 2007, and to send handwritten notes in Outlook 2007.

You can use Vista's pen features on a touchscreen laptop or tablet-equipped PC to do much more than simply mark up Word documents or write e-mail as handwritten graphics, but after many attempts I remain unconvinced of the usefulness of the OS's handwriting recognition. … Read more