US | Windows 7

Finally Australia gets Windows 7 Family Pack!

Jan 122010

Guess I got it all wrong! In my post on November 1, 2009 entitled “So much for product loyalty” I reported that Microsoft wasn’t releasing the Family Pack version in Australia and I complained about their short-sighted view.

As you all know Microsoft released it in the United States, Canada and in Europe leaving us here in Australia “out on a limb” so to speak. Well the Family Pack version sold out pretty quick in the United States and Canada with many complaints from thwarted customers who missed out.

Here in Australia, several weeks ago, the Family Pack became available and all the regular retail stores stocked it. It is freely available at $247 give or take where you go to buy it. A curious thing is that the Australian packaging is different. It is green instead of the orange colour of the American version. (See Picture)

United States Version – Orange Australian Version – Green

I like to think my earlier complaint was helpful in us out here getting access to the Family Pack but more likely Microsoft’s strategy was to blitz the bigger markets first and then move on to the smaller ones, namely Australia.

I was keen to get a copy and thinking we’d never see it here bought a copy from Amazon and had it sent to a friend in the United States. The cost converted from United States dollars was significantly below the current price in Australia.

I had to use this method to get it as Amazon are really difficult about computer software and refuse to send this to you if you live outside of United States and Canada. They’re happy sell everything else but computer software is a big NO, NO!

So I am happy with my imported copy and I installed it on my three computers – a desktop, a laptop and now a new Netbook which initially had XP on it. The installation for the Netbook was trouble-free. All three computers are sweetly talking to each other using Windows HomeGroup. This feature makes communication across two or more computers a real breeze. Perhaps HomeGroup is one on the best features of Windows 7 given the hassles you used to have setting up a network with Windows XP.

Microsoft Denies IIS Flaw

Windows 7 No Responses »

Dec 302009

In August, Microsoft began an investigation into IIS (Internet Information Services) after claims of a vulnerability involving the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) in IIS version 6. At the time, the Redmond giant reported that they were not yet aware of any existing attacks exploiting the flaw; however, code was posted on Milw0rm the 31st of August that reportedly exploits the flaw on any fully patched version of Win2K running IIS 5 with FTP enabled.

It didn’t take long for Microsoft to report attacks on vulnerable servers, with the first official notice released on the 4th of September. The company then said that it was working on a security update to fix the problem, but said in the meantime that users should disable various sections of the FTP protocol to help secure vulnerable systems, with US-CERT (U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team) suggesting that anonymous access also be disabled.

However, in a new blog post yesterday, Microsoft refuted any claims of a flaw in IIS, stating that it is only due to user error:

What we have seen is that there is an inconsistency in IIS 6 only in how it handles semicolons in URLs. It’s this inconsistency that the claims have focused on, saying this enables an attacker to bypass content filtering software to upload and execute code on an IIS server.

The key in this is the last point: for the scenario to work, the IIS server must already be configured to allow both “write” and “execute” privileges on the same directory. This is not the default configuration for IIS and is contrary to all of our published best practices. Quite simply, an IIS server configured in this manner is inherently vulnerable to attack.

The company went on to say that anyone using the default configuration of IIS 6 or following the “recommended best practices” as set forth by Microsoft are not susceptible to the vulnerability. Newer versions of IIS are also not affected.

If, however, you are running IIS in a configuration that allows both “write” and “execute” privileges on the same directory like this scenario requires, you should review our best practices and make changes to better secure your system from the threats that configuration can enable.

A list of the suggested practices and more information can be found on the blog post itself.

Microsoft Complies with Court Ruling on Office and Word 2007

Windows 7 No Responses »

Dec 292009

Back in August 2009, Microsoft lost a court case to a small Canadian software firm I4I. The lawsuit involved patent infringement. I wrote about the law suit earlier, and additional details can be found here. Microsoft has lost its last appeal and has begun to make changes to it Office 2007 and Word 2007 xml code to comply with the ruling.

Windows 7

The lawsuit accused Microsoft of infringing a 1998 XML patent in its Word 2003 and Word 2007 programs. The

subjected technology in question involves “any Microsoft Word products that have the capability of opening .XML,

.DOCX or DOCM files (XML files) that includes custom XML,” according to a copy of the injunction released in

August. Loudon Owen, chairman of Ii4i, said that he does not expect to stop sales of Word or Office 2007, rather that their patents have to be honored, even by software leviathans like Microsoft.

“We could not be more satisfied with the ruling from the appeals court which upheld the lower court’s decision in its entirety. This is both a vindication for i4i and a war cry for talented inventors whose patents are infringed,” said Owen.

Microsoft Office Logo

The Redmond Washington company was allowed until January 11, 2010 to make the change to the software or stop sales. The judge also issued an injunction that would ban Microsoft from selling versions of its word processing program Word that violated on the patented technology. For it’s part Microsoft dismissed the XML feature as a “little-used feature.” While, nevertheless with its attorneys, putting on a full court press. (!) Word, a part of Microsoft’s Office suite of software is used worldwide by several hundred million people.

What is XML and why is it important?

The value of XML is that it allows multiple data formats to be used by Word. At one level, XML’s set of tools allows developers to create web pages. But it offers more. Developers can set document standards defining what kind of information that should appear in a document. The sequence that it should follow can also be specified.

It can be used in combination with other standards. The content can be defined separately from its formatting, making it easy to reuse that content in other applications or for other presentation environments. But what makes it truly valuable is that XML provides a basic syntax that can be used to share information without going through conversion layers. It is like a universal translator. Speak XML and the language may be French, the country may be Australia, and the car may be Nissan…but the end result no matter where or when…will be the same. So the information in question may be between different kinds of computers, different applications, and different organizations and you will not need to pass through many layers of conversion. XML can take information from one context and apply it to another.

Microsoft may be disingenuous when it says the feature is little used…That may be but it knows how important it really is. It wouldn’t have included it if it wasn’t going to be a player in the future. The software inclusion could be so that in future editions of Word or Office, the stage is set for use. The i4i software patent clearly was a way for Microsoft to set up that future use of XML, whether it was a “little use feature” or not.

Microsoft has released a mandatory patch for Office 2007 that will bring Word in compliance with the court’s decision. Note that the original order only affected versions of Word and Office 2007 sold in the US.

Microsoft may be forced to comply, but this may only put a push on the release of Office 2010, which was slated for June 2010. Although it hasn’t been stated, the June date may be pushed up.

The original Microsoft response to the ruling is here.

Move over WordPad, here comes Jarte!

Windows 7 No Responses »

Dec 272009

In Windows 7, the old trusty WordPad has undergone a refit with Microsoft adding the Ribbon Bar. On it are new features that include the ability to:

Change spacing and alignment
Change Font, size and color
Add subscript and superscript
Add bulleted and numbered lists

You compare the older version of WordPad and the new version in Windows 7 the difference is amazing and the improvements outstanding.

Earlier WordPad

Windows 7 WordPad

For more information on the new WordPad, check out Andrew’s post on WordPad: A Closer Look at: Windows 7 Wordpad | Windows 7 News

Another Option for a Basic Word Processor

If you are looking for something a little different, consider Jarte. This is what Jarte’s website says about this different word processor:

Jarte is:

“A free word processor based on the Microsoft WordPad word processing engine built into Windows.”
“A fast starting, easy to use word processor that expands well beyond the WordPad feature set.”
“A small, portable word processor whose documents are fully compatible with Word and WordPad.”

What is Jarte?

Jarte, a small, powerful word processor, has been around for a while. Its documents are fully compatible with Word and WordPad. As each new version develops more and more features are being added.

Jarte version 3.4 is now available. While it is a free download there is an upmarket version called Jarte Plus Upgrade available as well. According to the Jarte website it costs $19.00 US for a downloaded version.

System Requirements for Jarte

Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7. It will also work with older versions of Windows with the exception of Windows 95. Jarte works with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows 7.

How do you get it?

Check out their website by clicking here: Jarte download page

You can install it directly using the installation file or you can install it as a zip file containing the Jarte program and associated files. The latter method is for those users who want to perform a manual installation.

Now you know where to get it, here are some screen shots. As I’ve only discovered Jarte recently I’m still checking it out. It appears to be very customizable.

Opening Screen

Toolbar Menu for Changing the View

Jarte in Classic View

Yes it is True…Microsoft is Prohibited from Selling MS Word

Windows 7 No Responses »

Dec 222009

In August 2009 a US district court sided with a small Canadian company called i4i in the case i4i v. Microsoft that holds a 1998 patent on the way the XML language is implemented. The ruling of appeals court in December was that Microsoft was in violation of that patent. The original ruling is upheld.

The amount of the monetary damage that i4i won in it’s August 2009 ruling was upwards of 200 million.

The patent infringement issues was over how XML was used in the word processor. Apparently it was not much because in the next Word product version the infringement does not take place at all.

According to i4i, the growth in XML as a database product feature, so i4i is providing software that would make that database information universal through XML. Microsoft apparently is in violation of the patent that i4i owned regarding XML.

The official Microsoft Response is “ We have just learned that the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has denied our appeal in the i4i case. We are moving quickly to comply with the injunction, which takes effect on January 11, 2010.

This injunction applies only to copies of Microsoft Word 2007 and Microsoft Office 2007 sold in the U.S. on or after the injunction date of January 11, 2010. Copies of these products sold before this date are not affected.

With respect to Microsoft Word 2007 and Microsoft Office 2007, we have been preparing for this possibility since the District Court issued its injunction in August 2009 and have put the wheels in motion to remove this little-used feature from these products. Therefore, we expect to have copies of Microsoft Word 2007 and Office 2007, with this feature removed, available for U.S. sale and distribution by the injunction date. In addition, the beta versions of Microsoft Word 2010 and Microsoft Office 2010, which are available now for downloading, do not contain the technology covered by the injunction.

While we are moving quickly to address the injunction issue, we are also considering our legal options, which could include a request for a rehearing by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals en banc or a request for a writ of certiorari from the U.S. Supreme Court.”