Internet Explorer 8 beta 2 Browser reviews...

CNET Reviews Reviewed by: Robert Vamosi

CNET editors' take
Released on: 08/27/2008

With the public release of its second beta, Microsoft said it intends for the Internet Explorer 8 browser to be more customer-oriented than previous versions of its browser.

Our initial impression of Internet Explorer 8 Beta 2 is positive: we think Microsoft has not only caught up with Opera, Safari, and Firefox, but in some cases even surpasses these other browsers with its innovative new features. IE8 offers people several enhancements like color-coded tabs, increased privacy options, and greater security features baked right in. Most of the new features require systems to be running Windows Vista SP1 or Windows XP SP3. The final version of Internet Explorer 8 is expected in November 2008.

The user interface hasn't changed much since Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1, except to add a Security pull-down menu between Page and Tools on the main toolbar. In addition to blocking phishing sites, IE8 now highlights the main domain of any Web site you visit. Thus, if something other than eBay.com is highlighted, chances are you are on the wrong Web site. Perhaps the most anticipated addition is Internet Explorer's new antimalware protection. Opera 9.5 and Firefox 3 both recently added antimalware protection. Safari has so far not announced plans for similar protection. Using mostly its own antimalware technology, Microsoft will block emerging threats by masking the entire IE 8 browser screen with a warning to users. The addition of malware protection to the existing antiphishing protection will be rebranded as the Microsoft SmartScreen filter.

In another feature, known as InPrivate, Microsoft allows the browser to suspend caching functions while you surf. Some scenarios for using InPrivate might be when you're using someone else's computer, when you need to buy a gift for a loved one without ruining the surprise, or when you're at an Internet kiosk and don't want the next person to know which Web site you visited. While you can currently clear the browser cache with a mouse click, it's an all-or-nothing action. InPrivate temporarily suspends the automatic caching functions, allowing you to keep the rest of your browsing history intact.

IE8 also contains a cross-site scripting filter, one of the first in a mainstream browser. Cross-site scripting allows an attacker to execute script on a user's browser without them knowing. When the IE8 filter finds a Web page with a cross-site scripting request, it changes the content on the page with a notice. Users are not presented with an option; IE simply blocks the malicious script from executing and displays the rest of the page.

IE 8 Beta 1 has already introduced several changes when handling ActiveX components. Components will be installed per user, which eliminates the need for everyone to have administrator privileges. In addition, you must acknowledge or opt-in for the component to run, eliminating drive-by downloads. Components will be per site and will only be available from the site of origin. Finally, site developers can request killbits, code that identifies a particular ActiveX control, from Microsoft which can be sent via Windows Update to terminate risky or outdated components. Killbits look for a specific identifier; if the identifier is missing or marked bad, an application will not run within Internet Explorer until the developer issues an updated version of the application.

Getting back to the customer experience, there's an underlying assumption by Microsoft that everyone wants new tabs. For instance, opening a bookmark means automatically opening a new tab. To re-open a closed tab, you need first to open a blank tab; same if you want to restore a previous session within IE8.

Fortunately, IE8 has included a new color-coded tab system that interrelates tabs. If you are on one page and click a link to open another tab, the two will appear side by side and share a color. This may work for casual users, but for a power user who needs 10 to 15 tabs open with tools and sites frequently visited, the proliferation of new tabs becomes unwieldy--whether or not they are grouped and associated by color.

IE8 provides what Microsoft calls an "accelerator." Here's how it works: highlight any word or phrase on a Web page and the browser will prompt you with a blue arrow icon. Now, use that icon to associate that word or phrase with a Web 2.0 service, such as Google maps to conveniently find an address. You can customize the options. Your accelerated item will appear in a new tab that is color-coded and adjacent to the original reference tab.

All this is good news for loyal Internet Explorer fans, but loyal Firefox fans still retain the customization edge--for every new feature in IE8, there will undoubtedly be another Firefox extension produced soon enough. If anything, IE8 will serve notice to the other browsers that the sleepy giant has awakened. The browser wars have reignited.

Prostate cancer risk increased in obese men: study...

Health Reuters By Michelle Rizzo

Fri Aug 22, 2008. NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Use of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, especially long-term use, appears to raise the risk of prostate cancer among obese men, according to findings of a new study.

"Given the epidemic of obesity in the U.S. and the frequent use of statins, the positive association we observed raises substantial concern as to the safety of these widely prescribed agents," Dr. Janet L. Stanford of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle and colleagues wrote in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

In a population-based, case-control study, the researchers matched 1,001 men with prostate cancer diagnosed between 2002 and 2005 with 942 age-matched cancer-free controls from King County, Washington.

No overall association was observed between the risk of prostate cancer and the current or past use of statin treatment. Duration of statin use was also not associated with prostate cancer risk.

"We also found no evidence that use of a statin was associated with risk of developing more aggressive subtypes of prostate caner," Stanford said in an interview with Reuters Health. "Overall we found no support for the current hypothesis that statin use may reduce risk of prostate cancer."

However, the results do suggest a significant increase in the risk of developing prostate cancer associated with current statin use and with longer durations of use among obese men (defined as a body mass index of 30 greater).

"Among obese men," Stanford told Reuters Health, "current use of a statin was associated with a 50 percent increase in risk of prostate cancer; and use for 5 or more years was associated with an 80 percent increase in risk of the disease; both of these risk estimates were statistically significant."

These findings warrant further investigation, she said.

© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

Olympics set the stage for emerging Web tech fight | Technology | Reuters

Technology Reuters By Daisuke Wakabayashi

Mon Aug 25, 2008.SEATTLE (Reuters) - As the world's best athletes compete in Beijing, the summer Olympic games are setting the stage for a battle between Microsoft Corp and Adobe Systems Inc over the Internet's next big competition.

Microsoft's Silverlight technology and rival Adobe's Flash format are currently locked in a race over who delivers the world's online video, but the ultimate prize may be who powers the next generation of Web software.

Using Silverlight, the NBC site offers a glimpse of what is possible with future Web applications because viewers are able to watch up to four videos at once or follow the action with an online commentary that runs alongside the video.

More than 40 million U.S. viewers have gone to NBC's Olympics site to watch some of the 2,200 hours of live footage from the Beijing games. All those viewers need is a Silverlight player on their browser if they do not have one already.

By building up Silverlight's user base, the world's largest software maker is looking to win over developers who see Web platforms such as Silverlight and Flash as a new way to deliver powerful Web-linked programs incorporating rich graphics.

Currently, those platforms are mainly reserved for multimedia applications such as Google Inc's popular YouTube site, which runs on Adobe's Flash technology.

"It's quickly becoming a very popular way to build next generation applications. There's a lot of interest in capturing the hearts and minds of developers," said Jeffrey Hammond, an analyst at Forrester Research. "It'll be a big business."

Microsoft, which said nearly half the visitors to NBC's site did not have Silverlight, plans to expand its reach to close the gap on Flash, which is already running on most of the world's Web-connected computers and powers over 80 percent of the video on the Internet.

For Microsoft, keeping outside developers loyal is especially important at a time when there is a major shift in how people buy software.

After years of selling licenses for software that runs on a computer's hard drive, Microsoft is facing a new batch of competitors providing software free as a service through the Web browser in exchange for online advertising.

Taking advantage of Flash, Silverlight and other more simple Web-coding technologies such as AJAX, a new breed of interactive Web software -- known as rich Internet applications (RIAs) -- has emerged.

Like other Web applications, RIAs are cheaper to deploy and maintain than traditional software, but they differ from more simple Web programs by employing rich graphics, running faster and creating a seamless experience that does not require the application to constantly reload or refresh.

For example, a financial institution may use Flash or Silverlight to build a program to instantly chart stock prices or receive a steady stream of stock prices that do not require a trader to repeatedly hit refresh on his browser.

But those applications have yet to gain momentum with large corporate technology customers.

ADOBE VS. MICROSOFT

Gartner analyst Ray Valdes said 90 percent of the top global 1,000 companies have yet to deploy any sort of RIA, while 90 percent of the top 100 consumer Web sites have already done so using the nonproprietary and more simple AJAX format.

That opportunity has Microsoft eyeing current leader Adobe for business that extends beyond Silverlight and into the sale of design tools along with server and database software to enable these new applications.

"We have a large and established customer base. There is no doubt in our minds that Microsoft is going after this space very aggressively, but we feel very strong and confident," said Jennifer Taylor, director of Flash product development.

Historically, Adobe's developer tools have focused mainly on design and creating for the Web. Now, it plans to extend that to more traditional software development with Flex, a system to help developers create and deploy applications.

Adobe plans to take the next step with tools called Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR), which allow programs to run on the Web or offline on a computer's desktop.

On the other hand, Microsoft is approaching Silverlight from the opposite direction. It plans to take advantage of its legions of outside developers experienced in writing for its ubiquitous Windows operating system.

The next version of Silverlight, being tested now and due later this year, will support Microsoft's .NET framework -- tools used by developers to create desktop applications that work on Windows.

"This is a logical extension of the investment that we've had in the development space for decades," said Brian Goldfarb, group product manager for Microsoft's developer division.

Microsoft introduced its first version of Silverlight a year ago, but Gartner's Valdes said the second version is the first real form of Silverlight since the inclusion of .NET support turns the technology into "very different animal."

(Editing by Andre Grenon)

© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

Tunnels show Hitler's megalomaniac vision...

Reuters Madeline Chambers

Mon Aug 25, 2008. BERLIN (Reuters) - Three vast tunnels were opened under central Berlin this month, giving a glimpse of Adolf Hitler's megalomaniac vision of a new architectural centre for the capital of Nazi Germany.

The 16-metre (50-foot) deep tunnels were constructed in 1938 as part of an underground transport network beneath a series of bombastic buildings designed by Nazi architect Albert Speer, including the biggest domed hall the world had ever seen.

The overground plans, never completed because of World War Two, included boulevards, squares and huge buildings, such as an arch dwarfing the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and the 290-metre high Great Hall, with room for 180,000 people.

Hitler called the concept, a symbol of the power of the Third Reich, "Berlin -- the capital of the world" but in recent times it has come to be known as "Germania."

The tunnels, between 90 and 220 meters long lying beneath the Tiergarten park, would have accommodated roads and a railway line.

"The tunnels -- which are in surprisingly good condition -- were part of Speer's grand plans, what we now call 'Germania'," historian Dietmar Arnold, head of the Berlin Underground Association and bunker tour guide, told Reuters.

Last week, Arnold -- who runs an exhibition of Hitler's plans -- took journalists on a rare visit into the dank tunnels.

They are closed to the public most of the time because of safety concerns, but visits can be arranged.

"The acoustics are incredible," said Arnold, who likes singing a note and hearing it reverberate around him.

After the war, British forces in divided Berlin closed the tunnels. They were rediscovered in 1969 but have remained shut. In 1990, a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, they were handed to the city of Berlin.

The Berlin Underground Association, set up in 1997, has seen a surge in interest in tours of Berlin's remaining bunkers.

Although most were destroyed, some of the maze of 1,000 World War Two bunkers are intact and serve as a reminder of the city's violent history.

Propaganda posters and escape instructions on the walls convey a sense of the past. In one bunker, suitcases, helmets, and uniforms from various sites are on show.

"Interest is constantly growing -- we have about 150,000 visitors a year to the bunkers," said Arnold. "That is partly why we want the bunkers to be protected -- they are an important part of the history of Berlin."

By the end of the war, Germany's most heavily bombed city could protect up to 800,000 people in its bunkers.

(Editing by Andrew Dobbie)

© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

Country ordered to pay damages for sailor's suicide....

Reuters

Mon Aug 25, 2008. TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese government will have to pay damages to the parents of a sailor who hanged himself after being repeatedly insulted by his superior, in the first such court ruling involving a civil servant, media said.

The Fukuoka High Court in southern Japan ordered 3.5 million yen ($32,000) be paid to the parents of the petty officer third class, a court spokesman said, declining to give further details.

Kyodo news agency said the court recognized that the sailor's suicide had been caused by depression, a result of stress accumulated from insults such as: "You are not qualified as a petty officer third class" and "Are you dumb?"

The sailor had been 21 when he committed suicide aboard a destroyer in 1999, it said.

A lower court had ruled in the government's favor, saying the remarks from the sailor's superior had fallen within the scope of training, Kyodo added.

"It is disappointing that the court did not understand the state's claim," an official at the defense ministry quoted Vice Defence Minister Kohei Masuda as telling a news conference.

"We will closely study the decision and deal with it appropriately."

Japan's defense ministry has been hit by a string of scandals in recent years, including cases of bribery and security leaks.

Cases of bullying in companies and in schools have also made headlines in recent years.

($1=110.11 Yen)

(Reporting by Chisa Fujioka and Yoko Kubota; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

Cigarettes in movies seen to cause teen smoking...

Health Reuters By Julie Steenhuysen

A model smokes backstage before the start of the Jenni Kayne fall fashion show during New York Fashion Week February 7, 2007. Image by:REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Thu Aug 21, 2008. CHICAGO (Reuters) - Tobacco promotions and depictions of smoking in movies cause teenagers to start smoking, according to a sweeping report on tobacco in the media released on Thursday.

The report by the National Cancer Institute found the tobacco industry spent more than $13 billion on smoking-related advertising and promotion in 2005. These efforts boosted overall tobacco use, contradicting industry claims that they are intended to build brand loyalty.

"This is the first government report to present definitive conclusions that, number one, tobacco advertising and promotion are causally related to increased tobacco use in the population," said Dr. Ronald Davis, senior scientific editor of the report and past president of the American Medical Association.

"And, number two, (it shows) that depictions of smoking in movies is causally related to youth smoking initiation," Davis told a news conference.

The report, which examined more than 1,000 scientific studies on how the media influences tobacco use, comes at a time when efforts to keep young Americans from picking up cigarettes have stalled.

Tobacco use remains the single-largest cause of preventable death in the United States, accounting for more than 400,000 premature deaths each year.

Smoking is down from 42 percent of U.S. adults in 1965 to 21 percent in 2006. Still, more than 4,000 young people smoke their first cigarette each day, and another 1,000 become regular smokers. Nearly 90 percent of adult smokers began smoking while in their teens.

SMOKING IN MOVIES

The report found that even brief exposure to advertising influences adolescent attitudes. Three-quarters or more of hit movies depict cigarette smoking, and specific brands can be identified in about one third.

Last month, six major movie studios -- Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, News Corp's Twentieth Century Fox, General Electric Co's Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Co and Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros -- said they would place anti-smoking public service announcements on DVDs of all movies with youth ratings that depict smoking.

The campaign, brokered by the Entertainment Industry Foundation, a non-profit industry group, does not include youth-rated movies (PG-13 or below) in theaters.

But the report found mass media campaigns aimed at reducing smoking do work, especially when combined with other tobacco-control strategies. Health experts at the news conference called for much more money for such media efforts.

They said 1969 legislation banning smoking advertising in broadcast media and other curbs have led tobacco companies to shift marketing tactics. Price discount promotions, which accounted for 75 percent of total tobacco marketing expenditures in 2005, have proved to be highly effective.

"Any promotional technique that lowers the price the kids see when they go to buy a pack of cigarettes is extremely important," Davis said. "Partial advertising bans don't work."

Dr. Janet Collins, who directs chronic disease prevention and health promotion at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, endorsed the report's findings.

"The report speaks clearly to what amounts to an assault on the nation's health," Collins said.

The report comes just ahead of a Senate vote to give the Food and Drug Administration oversight of tobacco regulation. The measure passed the U.S. House of Representatives last month by a wide margin.

(Editing by Maggie Fox and Todd Eastham)

© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

Symantec buy creates Aussie millionaires...

News - Software - ZDNet Australia Renai LeMay, ZDNet.com.au

19 August 2008 11:17 AM The Australian founders of PC Tools are likely to be laughing all the way to the bank this morning after the locally based firm was acquired overnight by giant global rival Symantec.

PC Tools chief executive Simon Clausen and partner Peter McKow founded PC Tools back in 1998 as a website, with News Limited newspapers reporting the pair eschewed venture capital to fund their operations off the back of their credit cards.

As late as April 2007, Clausen told News Limited, the firm was on track to report revenues of greater than $50 million. At that stage the founders didn't have any plans to sell the venture.

However, acquisitive global security giant Symantec, which has its headquarters in the US, last night announced it had bought the firm for an undisclosed amount. It's likely, given PC Tools' reported revenues, that both Clausen and McKow have enjoyed a multi-million-dollar pay day, although no details are currently available.

PC Tools employs 200 staff worldwide, most of which are in Sydney and Melbourne, while Symantec has more than 700 employees across Australia and New Zealand.

"Part of the reason Symantec is acquiring PC Tools is because of the knowledge and experience possessed by PC Tools employees," a Symantec spokesperson said in a statement this afternoon.

"Therefore, we are very interested in retaining PC Tools employees after the acquisition and the plan is that PC Tools will continue with business as usual with no immediate changes."

This morning a Sydney spokesman for PC Tools declined to answer questions on the sale, punting all enquiries back to Symantec.

In a statement issued globally, Symantec said the deal was expected to close by the end of 2008 and was subject to closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

Clausen would continue to lead PC Tools as a separate operation within Symantec's consumer business unit, Symantec said, reporting to Symantec's group president of consumer products Janice Chaffin.

"PC Tools will continue to offer their products under the PC Tools brand and service its customers through its existing partners and channels," Symantec said.

Are you a PC Tools employee? Tip off ZDNet.com.au on the quiet as to what's going on at the company today. We'll keep you anonymous.

New porn channel lets Canadians strut their stuff...

Reuters

Mon Aug 18, 2008 TORONTO (Reuters) - Canadians who may have become tired of being passed over as porn stars will have a new, home-grown outlet to showcase their erotic talents.

Federal regulators have granted Alberta-based Real Productions approval to launch a new digital pornography channel, which promises to serve up at least 50 percent domestic content.

The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) approved the Category 2 pay-television service on Wednesday, allowing Northern Peaks to become "Canada's first adult video channel offering significant Canadian adult content."

"I think as Canadians there is a bit of a tiredness in seeing all American stuff," Shaun Donnelly, president of Real Productions, said during an interview on Friday.

"There is always that thrill for something that is local and you get the sense that these are people you can meet at the supermarket."

The CRTC only required 15 percent Canadian content, but Northern Peaks agreed to provide "not less than 50 percent of the broadcast day and not less than 50 percent of the evening broadcast period to Canadian programming," according to the license.

"We want to be Canada's adult channel and I think to do that, 15 percent wouldn't cut it," Donnelly said.

Real Productions boasts the largest collection of Canadian adult-themed content in the country with more than 200 film titles and 75 television episodes in its library.

The regulator stipulated the license will only be issued once Real Productions enters into an agreement with at least one licensed distributor.

Donnelly, who has also produced television programs for Playboy TV in the U.S. and Granada Television in Britain, said all five major Canadian cable and satellite carriers have expressed interest in hosting the channel and are reviewing the proposal.

"I've been in touch with the cable companies throughout the process and went ahead with it based on the interest we had," he said

Northern Peaks will be restricted to certain types of programming including long-form documentaries, dramatic series, feature films, game shows, mini-series, sitcoms and made-for-TV movies.

The CRTC received no interventions in connection with the application, which was initially launched in October 2007.

(Reporting by Ashleigh Patterson; editing by Rob Wilson)

© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

Blow-up church looks to lure beachgoers...

Reuters

Wed Aug 6, 2008. ROME (Reuters) - Catholic nuns and priests in Italy are following their flocks to the beach this summer, establishing an inflatable church and a beach-convent in the sands to lure sunbathers.

The 30-metre (98 ft) long blow-up church -- staffed by priests ready to take confession -- will debut on Saturday on the Adriatic coast in the Molise region, an organizer said.

"There will be four or five people singing, with music about God," said Chiara Facci with Catholic group Sentinelli del Mattino. Night time activities, which will not include Mass, will run from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.

The first attempt to inaugurate the inflatable church last month on the holiday island of Sardinia failed after strong winds forced organizers to relocate, she said.

Big cities like Rome and Milan empty in August, when Italians head to the beach for summer holidays, leaving streets empty and many businesses closed. Churches are hardly immune, and also see their congregations thin.

On the Mediterranean coast, nuns from a convent near the southern Italian city of Naples have relocated to beach cabins to join holidaymakers saying the rosary. An adjoining altar was set up under two tents.

"The concept of a beach-convent is something that is appreciated by vacationers and the nuns themselves," priest Antonio Rungi, who helped spearheaded the initiative, told Italian news agency ANSA.

(Reporting by Olivia Scarlett and Phil Stewart, editing by Mary Gabriel)

© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

British athletes bare all for advertising campaign....

Reuters

Tue Aug 5, 2008. LONDON (Reuters) - Some of Britain's top athletes have decided to bare all ahead of the Beijing Olympics.

Triple jumper Phillips Idowu, cyclist Rebecca Romero and swimmer Gregor Tait have all been photographed taking part in their individual sports stark naked as part of an advertising campaign for a sports drink.

"Everyone is used to seeing athletes in competition or winning, but we wanted to give people the chance to see the real make-up of an athlete and their muscle and power," said Cathryn Sleight, marketing director for Coca-Cola Great Britain, which launched the Powerade campaign.

Idowu said the photo shoot was "definitely one of the more unusual shoots I've taken part in, but also one of the most enjoyable."

(Reporting by Kate Kelland; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

© Thomson Reuters 2008 All rights reserved

Would you give the Feds your computers?...

Education IT ZDNet.com Posted by Christopher Dawson

August 4th, 2008 The Frederick News Post reported Sunday that FBI agents seized two computers from one of the Frederick County, Maryland, public libraries this weekend.

Darrell Batson, director of Frederick County Public Libraries, said two FBI employees came to the downtown Frederick library either Wednesday or Thursday. The agents removed two public computers from the library’s second floor. They told him they were taking the units back to their office in Washington, D.C., Batson said.

While this isn’t terribly remarkable, especially given that Frederick County is home to all sorts of government types on whom the FBI would gladly keep a watchful eye, usually such a seizure is accompanied by a warrant. According to Batson,

This was the third time in his 10 years with FCPL that the FBI has come to the library seeking records, Batson said. It was the first time they came without a court order.

The library’s procedure for such requests usually requires a court order, however after the agent described the case and the situation, he was persuaded to give them access, Batson said.

This isn’t meant to be a judgment of Batson by any means; however, I don’t know if I would have done the same thing. In a public institution like a library or a school, the government certainly has some purview, but we also have a responsibility to protect the privacy of our students and teachers (or patrons, in the case of a library). Without at least a warrant and/or some serious legal advice from district counsel, I don’t have a good feeling that I would be doing my job if I simply handed over machines to the Feds.

What do you think?

Would you release computers to the FBI without a warrant?

Yes I would, especially if they convinced me of a time-sensitive need

No - a warrant is an easy thing to get quickly if the need arises; my first responsibility is to my users

Open Education IT ZDNet.com to answer "Yes" or :No" and to see the results.

Loading …Christopher Dawson is the technology director for the Athol-Royalston School District in northern Massachusetts. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.

Windows XP: The facts about the future...

Windows XP:the future

The future of Windows XP. Last year you told us you weren't quite ready to say goodbye to Windows XP. We listened. That's why we delayed our plan to stop selling it until June 30, 2008.

We love that you love Windows XP. We've seen it on our website, in e-mails, and through independent online petition drives. Our engineers work hard to build innovative software that empowers our customers. It's nice when you tell us we've made a difference.

But our commitment to innovation sometimes means making tough choices. This is one of them.

After careful consultation with our customers and industry partners, we've decided to proceed with our plan to phase out Windows XP in June. It'll be a long goodbye. We plan to provide support for Windows XP until 2014.

We know there have been lots of questions—and some confusion—about our plans. Some key things you should know:

Did you know?

Windows Vista now supports 77,000 printers, cameras, speakers and other devices.

Over 2,700 software programs are now certified to work on Windows Vista, including 98 of the top 100 consumer applications.

62% of small business said Windows Vista saves them time, and 70% said that it makes them more productive, according to an independent survey.

More than 140 million copies of Windows Vista have already sold, making it the fastest selling operating system in Microsoft history.

71% of Windows Vista customers liked it better than their last operating system.

People who are familiar with Windows Vista are two to three times more likely to have a favorable impression.

Top questions we hear about Windows XP

Why do you have to stop selling Windows XP?

Microsoft was founded on a commitment to innovate and to provide our customers with the best software. That's part of our corporate DNA, and occasionally it means tough decisions.

We don't make them lightly.

The lifespan of every Microsoft product is carefully mapped from launch to retirement. Windows XP is no exception. We do this to ensure you always get the most out of your PC experience. (Read about Windows lifecycle policy.)

We've spent more than a year consulting with our customers and industry partners to ensure that we're doing the right thing. We understand that not everyone may agree with our decision—just as not everyone was happy to see Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows ME retire (OK, perhaps not ME).

But we think the time is right.

We also want to underscore that we're not, as some people have asserted, "pulling the plug" on our popular operating system. Let us be clear: Although Windows XP won't be sold in stores, Microsoft and its partners will continue to offer technical support for Windows XP for months and years to come. In fact, Microsoft plans to support Windows XP until 2014.

We're proud of Windows XP, a product that has empowered and entertained hundreds of millions of people in the last eight years. But technology doesn't stand still. And neither can we.

What'll happen to Windows XP after June 30? I'm confused.

In industry speak, this is called "end-of-sales." On June 30, Microsoft will stop distributing Windows XP as a stand-alone product that you can buy shrink-wrapped in the store. We'll also stop sending it to Dell, HP, Lenovo and all the other major PC manufacturers to sell on their PCs.

That said, Windows XP isn't going to disappear overnight.

You may still see copies of the software—or computers pre-loaded with it—for months, as stores and PC makers work through their inventory. Also, smaller local PC makers—known in the industry as "system builders"—can continue to sell PCs with Windows XP until January 2009.

Finally, Microsoft recently announced that computers with limited hardware capabilities—devices sometimes called Netbooks or ultra-low cost PCs (ULCPC)—can carry Windows XP Home until June 2010. (Read about the ULCPC program on Microsoft Presspass.)

I've heard I can get Windows XP for my small business past the June 30th deadline through something called "downgrade rights." What are those exactly?

If your business relies on Windows XP, there's still a way to get it.

When you buy Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate, you're automatically entitled to move back to Windows XP Professional via what we call "downgrade rights."

We've been working closely with our industry partners to develop new programs for small business customers interested in exercising these rights.

If you're interested in learning more about downgrade rights, contact your favorite PC maker.

My business relies on Windows XP. What'll happen after June 30 if I have technical problems?

We understand some of our customers aren't ready to upgrade their PCs to Windows Vista.

Although Windows XP will disappear from stores, we'll continue to offer Extended Support for the operating system for six more years, until April 2014.

Your PC maker can also provide technical support for your PC. Please contact them for more information.

For more details, see the Microsoft Support Lifecycle.

I've heard about two types of Windows XP support—"mainstream" and "extended." What's the difference?

Mainstream support delivers complimentary as well as paid support, free security updates and bug fixes to all Windows customers who purchase a retail copy of Windows XP (i.e. a shrink-wrapped, not pre-installed, copy). Mainstream support for Windows XP will continue through April 2009.

Extended support delivers free security updates to all Windows customers. Customers can also pay for support on a per-incident basis. Extended support for Windows XP will continue until April 2014. New bug fixes require the Extended Hotfix Support program.

Read the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy FAQ.