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Apple releases iPhone firmware 3.0.1 to address ancient SMS security boo boo
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But Apple does not release security patches for its exploit-free platforms? Well as soon as mass popularity is met, it is inevitable...
Update Available for: iPhone OS 1.0 through iPhone OS 3.0
Impact: Receiving a maliciously crafted SMS message may lead to an unexpected service interruption or arbitrary code execution
Description: A memory corruption issue exists in the decoding of SMS messages. Receiving a maliciously crafted SMS message may lead to an unexpected service interruption or arbitrary code execution. This update addresses the issue through improved error handling. Credit to Charlie Miller of Independent Security Evaluators, and Collin Mulliner of Fraunhofer SIT for reporting this issue.
Source: here
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Microsoft reacts to recent Lenovo key leak
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The WGA blog (is there any team at Microsoft that does not have a blog?) has responded to the recent leaked OEM key by disabling the existing code and re-provisioning. They also went on to mention that Windows 7 has far more sophisticated anti-hacking measures hidden under its hood (than presumably it's successor Windows Vista).
"Windows 7 already includes an improved ability to detect hacks, also known as activation exploits, and alert customers who are using a pirated copy. There is a hack that is said to enable, when paired with the leaked key, a system to install and use a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate. Both the hack and the key are indications that a copy of Windows may not be genuine. The Windows Activation Technologies included in Windows 7 are designed to handle situations such as this one, and customers using these tools and methods should expect Windows to detect them. "
Source: here
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Let us not forget Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 has RTM'ed
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We should not forget that with a new version of Windows Server comes an updated Hyper-V (Hyper-V Server 2008 R2), this brings a wealth of new functionality and gives VMware's equivalent a real kicking!
"Market dominant VMware has something to fear." -PC Magazine
"Unlike VMware's offering, [Hyper-V] Live Migration doesn't cost extra and isn't particularly difficult to configure." -ZDNet
(An comparison of v.1 vs v.2 is seen in the table below)
The first thing that excites me is the support for 8 physical CPUs (not cores - they are virtual) and now with live migration and high availability too! But wait, there's more (and we are not talking a free set of steak knives here) Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 will BOOT FROM FLASH.
"Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 includes the unique ability (compared to Windows Server Hyper-V) to boot from flash. We're making the documentation available to our OEM partners as part of the OEM Preinstallation Kit (OPK). Boot from flash is specifically designed for our OEM partners who want to ship an embedded Hyper-V hypervisor and thus will be supported via our OEM partners."
For more information see this recent post over at the Windows Virtualisation Blog.
Source: here
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MSN UK launches rival to BBC iPlayer as early as next week
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For once us brits get something before the yanks, MSN UK is about to launch an iPlayer'esque video player that will stream over 300 hours of content from the BBC and All3Media. I would imagine given Microsoft's interest in IPTV this is only the beginning! Excellent news and very pleased the UK gets to run the beta first! (even if you are only trying to get a head start over Hulu)
Taken from Times online:
A spokeswoman for BBC Worldwide confirmed that all BBC programmes on MSN Video Player will be at least 180 days old. The choice of programmes will be aimed squarely at the 18 to 29 age group, and will include such series as The League of Gentlemen, Hustle, Dead Ringers and The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
The pilot service will run for an initial six months, after which – if successful – the number of content partners and available programmes will increase.
Source: here
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Off topic: The UK is set for 3DTV next year
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Next year Sky will be launching 3DTV, without the need for a new box (for HD customers)...but there is a catch, you need to replace your TV and wear polarising glasses! Sounds really interesting though - I guess I better start negotiating with the boss now 
Taken from The Register:
All content will be captured using HD cameras and broadcast over the firm’s existing HD infrastructure, making use of existing Sky+ HD set-top boxes.
In order to see a 3D image, Sky stressed that you will have to fork out for a 3D-ready TV and wear polarising glasses.
Source: here
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Remote Connectivity Analyzer for Exchange (and now OCS too!)
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The Exchange Team announced the Remote Connectivity Analyzer (RCA) for Exchange back in March, but now the OCS equivalent is available.
Microsoft Exchange RCA is here
Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 RCA is here
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OCS 2007 R2 capacity planning tool released
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The Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Capacity Planning Toolkit provides a set of tools and documentation to simplify capacity planning for Office Communications Server 2007 R2. The Capacity Planning Toolkit can be used as a complement to the Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Planning Guide.
This release of the Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Capacity Planning Toolkit contains tools and documentation to simplify your hardware planning, provide you with increased knowledge and best practices for performance tuning, and improve your ability to verify the performance of your intended Office Communications Server 2007 R2 deployments.
The Capacity Planning Toolkit is intended for use by IT professionals in a test environment prior to production deployment. These tools should never be used against a live production environment.
The tools in this Toolkit are designed to be used with Office Communications Server 2007 R2 only. If you are searching for tools that work with Live Communications Server 2005, please download the Live Communications Server 2005 Capacity Planning Toolkit from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=107a5e83-ca59-4bcb-a3bc-27efd97a477d&displaylang=en
Issues addressed in this release of the Capacity Planning Tool:
Issue Fixed: UserProfileGenerator load problem for AV and Appsharing scenario
Explanation: As mentioned in the release notes for the previous OCS 2007 R2 Capacity planning tools release, UserProfileGenerator was generating incorrect load for AV and Appsharing scenarios. This QFE fixes this issue and UserProfileGenerator should generate correct load for various load settings: low, medium & high.
Issue Fixed: Ocsstress needs a _Total instance
Explanation: A “_Total” performance counter instance was added to Ocsstress. This new instance makes it easier to monitor Ocsstress performance counters.
Issue Fixed: Ocsstress should not update the CallsFailed counter for 486 , 603 etc decline specific responses
Explanation: Ocsstress was wrongfully reporting calls which received valid responses such as 486 busy, 603 decline as calls failed. These calls are no longer marked as failed and are considered a successful call-routing scenario.
Source: here
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Windows XP vs Windows 7 (on a Netbook)
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See Windows XP put up against Windows 7 RC in a detailed review by Legit Reviews.
Excerpt:
Many in the industry are counting on Windows 7 to bring the netbook market to the next level. Having netbook manufacturers ship netbooks with 7+ year old Windows XP pre-installed surely deterred some from joining the ranks of households with the small, light and portable netbooks. It seems Microsoft has addressed most of the pitfalls of Windows Vista on a netbook by increasing battery life and performance to be very close to that of the lighter weight Windows XP.
We were happy to see that we did not experience any performance issues running Windows 7 on our ASUS Eee PC 1005HA seashell netbook. On some of our earlier netbooks we've reviewed, we noticed an occasional delay in responsiveness while simply typing an email. We did not notice any of this while running Windows XP or Windows 7 on the 1005HA.
Legit Bottom Line: Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system can and will be run on netbooks without a significant performance difference in most areas when compared to Windows XP. Consumers will be able to enjoy the enhancements had since 2002 without fear of turning their netbook into a clunker!
Source: here
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Microsoft pimps Yahoo's search engine with Bing!
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Well it looks like Yahoo! is about to gain a better search engine via a deal struck today with Microsoft (at long last!)
For more information read this Microsoft press release.
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Adobe Flash bad, Microsoft Silverlight good
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Patching Adobe products like Flash and Reader in the enterprise are a pain, especially when 57 CVEs are out (in some cases for up to seven months prior to being addressed). My consumer recommendation for an Adobe Reader alternative has always been Foxit, primarily because it is lightweight unlike the bloaty Adobe version. Read more on Hardware 2.0.
Source: here
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Windows piracy is bad mmmkay
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Since the introduction of Windows Geniune Activation (WGA) in XP, Windows piracy has become seemingly more difficult (and quite rightly so!) Pirates have previously worked around WGA by obtaining OEM certificates and updating the SLIC table within the computer BIOS (very risky, especially if you BIOS does not support SLIC v2.1).
Today Windows 7 WGA was breached using a similar exploit and unlike previous Vista attempts this time using a master OEM disc leaked by Lenovo (guess these guys will be waiting until it hits the shelves next time). The question I would like to ask "is it really worth it", within days, weeks or months Microsoft will patch this leak via Windows Update and to those that don't update - do you really want to run the risk of using an unpatched OS?
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Microsoft and Yahoo! deal struck and likely to be announced today
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Apparently, according to Kara Swisher at AllThingsD, the search deal between Microsoft and Yahoo has now been made.
Taken from AllThingsD:
"Sources said Microsoft search technology will be used on Yahoo sites, although it is not clear if it will be branded as “powered by Bing”–Microsoft’s handsome and innovative new search offering–or not.
In addition, sources said Yahoo would still sell search ads on its sites and on Bing too, although Microsoft’s AdCenter advertising sales technology will be underneath it."
Source: here
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Paul Thurrott posts a Windows 7 comparison update (post-RTM)
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Paul has posted an updated set of tables detailing Windows 7 features for easy comparison.
Source: here
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The proof is in the pudding
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This evening, before I left work and joined rush hour traffic I decided to show a couple of tech-savvy Vista haters (you know who you are!) how un-hardware resource hogging Windows 7 really is. I headed for the office laptop museum and pulled out an old HP nc4010, I ran the install off a 32GB USB key because this notebook does not have an integrated CD or DVD-ROM drive.
The install completed in under half an hour and picked up practically all drivers (wireless and sound were picked up via Windows Update), the performance was as good as XP if not better! The bottom line is that as a corporate customer we could not consider a mass Vista deployment without a comprehensive hardware upgrade program (not happening in this economic climate!), but with Windows 7 we could stay as is - dinosaurs and all!
Laptop Specifications:
- Intel Celeron Processor 715 – 1.5GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 400 MHz Front Side Bus (FSB)
- ATI Radeon IGP 350M with 400 MHz processor side bus
- 12.1-inch XGA TFT display
- 512-MB DDR SDRAM
- 80-GB 5400rpm