In this issue:

• Microsoft Announces Windows 2008 Line-up and Pricing
• Microsoft Security Bulletin
• Windows Updates
• Microsoft Settles Eolas Browser Patent Dispute
• Microsoft Launches Windows Live Suite
• Recent Support BBS Postings
• Administrivia

Microsoft Announces Windows 2008 Line-up and Pricing

by Arie Slob

Hello Windows users,

Last Monday, at the TechEd IT Forum 2007 trade show in Barcelona, Spain, Microsoft announced the pricing, packaging, and licensing options for Windows Server 2008, the upcoming upgrade to the Windows Server OS.

"Windows Server 2008 redefines what a server operating system delivers to customers," Bob Kelly, corporate vice president of Infrastructure Server Marketing at Microsoft Corp said. "With more than 1 million downloads and evaluation copies, we've built Windows Server 2008 based on a solid foundation of customer feedback, which is reflected in the product's ease of management, security enhancements and overall reliability. The unprecedented range of customer choices and the virtualization enhancements will help customers tailor solutions built to fit virtually any business need."

In his keynote, Kelly also announced that the official name of the server virtualization technology within Windows Server 2008 (previously code-named "Viridian") will be named "Hyper-V".

Like Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 will be available in a multitude of product versions; eight to be precise, three of which include Hyper-V: Windows Server 2008 Standard, Windows Server 2008 Enterprise and Windows Server 2008 Datacenter.

Two versions offered without Hyper-V are targeted at specific workloads: Windows Web Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems.

To complete the product offering, Windows Server 2008 Standard, Windows Server 2008 Enterprise and Windows Server 2008 Datacenter will also be available without the Hyper-V technology.

All server versions will be available in 32-bit or 64-bit versions, with the exception of Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems, which will only be available as a 64-bit version. Other changes include the availability of Windows Web Server 2008, a 64-bit edition of Web server. The Hyper-V feature will only be available with 64-bit editions of Windows Server 2008.

Pricing for all Windows Server 2008 products will be increasing by approximately 1 percent for all distribution channels. Estimated MSRP* are listed by each version below:

• Windows Server 2008 Standard: $999 (with five Client Access Licenses, or CALs)
• Windows Server 2008 Enterprise: $3,999 (with 25 CALs)
• Windows Server 2008 Datacenter: $2,999 (per processor)
• Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems: $2,999 (per processor)
• Windows Web Server 2008: $469
• Windows Server 2008 Standard without Hyper-V: $971 (with five CALs)
• Windows Server 2008 Enterprise without Hyper-V: $3,971 (with 25 CALs)
• Windows Server 2008 Datacenter without Hyper-V: $2,971 (per processor)

Windows Server 2008 is scheduled to launch in February 2008.

Microsoft Security

Microsoft Windows Security Bulletin Summary for November, 2007

The security update for November 2007 includes two updates for Microsoft Windows.

Severity Rating: Critical

• Vulnerability in Windows URI Handling Could Allow Remote Code Execution (943460)

Severity Rating: Important

• Vulnerability in DNS Could Allow Spoofing (941672)

Windows Updates

Microsoft issued a number of updates for Windows Vista in the past weeks:

• KB941600 - Update to resolve some reliability issues in the USB core components on the Windows Vista operating system.
• KB941229 - Update to address issues with Media Center for Microsoft Vista.

Microsoft Settles Eolas Browser Patent Dispute

In early 2008, Microsoft will switch Internet Explorer 7 back to its original behavior of dealing with ActiveX controls, removing the current behavior, where users are required to click once on the controls before they're activated. You've probably seen it, the "Click to activate and use this control" prompt, although that prompt is becoming rarer nowadays as web sites learn how to work around the changes. Those changes where required by a ruling against Microsoft in a long-running Eolas patent- infringement case. But because Microsoft and Eolas have recently settled that case, Microsoft is now able to reverse the ActiveX controls 'activation' again.