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Windows 8 upgrades will cost $40 for XP, Vista, and Windows 7 users
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Microsoft, PC / Laptop, Software,
The launch of Windows 8 is just around the corner, and Microsoft has finally confirmed upgrade pricing. Users runing Windows XP, Windows Vista, and/or Windows 7 will be able to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for just $39.99. That's a big change for Microsoft, as upgrade pricing was previously $99 for Pro OS upgrades, and is a welcome change for consumers. Apple has been releasing major OS updates for under $30 for years now, with Mountain Lion launching later this month for $19.99, and we'd been hoping Microsoft would follow suit and drop the price.
The $40 upgrade fee applies to the digital download. If you prefer a DVD, that'ss run you $69.99 in stores. Also, both of those prices are just for a limited time, running through January 31, 2013. After that, we expect Windows 8 upgrade pricing to double.
Read More 
| Windows Blog
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McAfee pushes bad update, takes down Windows XP computers
Posted by Dan Hughes Categories: Corporate News, Editorial, Internet, PC / Laptop, Software,
Yesterday, McAfee pushed out a DAT file for its Enterprise virus-scanning software that tracked down a core Windows XP system file and quarantined it as malware. Thousands, if not tens of thousands, of computer systems were damaged as a result. Windows XP cannot run without the quarantined file, SVCHOST.EXE, and as a result, automatically shut itself down. Other weird settings and symptoms were evident, such as taskbars disappearing, blue-screens-of-death, and other crash-related symptoms.
On one hand, relief simply did not come fast enough. On the other…what more could McAfee have done to repair the damage? McAfee rolled back the virus definition as quickly as it found out, and released an addendum file that could be manually applied to infected PCs. The servers hosting the offered file were strained by the demand, resulting in disconnect errors and failures to update the McAfee software.
“We believe that this incident has impacted less than one half of one percent of our enterprise accounts globally, and a fraction of that within the consumer base,” said Barry McPherson, on McAfee’s blog Wednesday. He goes on to identify the error in the update, stating that it was an attempt to detect a potentially damaging virus, and the update “clearly did more harm than good.”
“Having talked to literally hundreds of my colleagues around the world and emailed thousands to try and find the best way to correct these issues, let me say this has not been my favorite day. Not for me, or for McAfee. Not by a long shot.”
Click to continue reading McAfee pushes bad update, takes down Windows XP computers
Read More | McAfee SI Blog
Viliv S7 finally priced, starts at $629 on Dynamism
Posted by Mark Rollins Categories: Handhelds, PC / Laptop, Wireless / WiFi,
For those wondering how much the impressive Viliv S7 swiveling tablet notebook would cost, wonder no more, because Dynamism has finally let it be known.
The S7 has a swiveling 1024x600 7-inch touchscreen and pack in a 1.33 GHz Intel Atom processor, 1 GB memory, 60 GB HDD/16 GB SSD, and Windows XP. It has an impressive 9 hours of battery life, and will go from sleep to wake in 4 seconds. Pricing starts at $629, and jump up to $799 is you wanna rock the 32GB SSD model with built-in HSPA 3G access. Head on over to Dynamism to sign up to be notified when pre-orders begin. These won’t last long.
Read More | Viliv S7 Product Page
MSI Wind Top All-In-One AE1900 PC
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: PC / Laptop,
MSI’s Wind Top AE1900 All-in-One PC with touchscreen is now on sale for $529.00. The PC has a 16:9 widescreen 18.5-inch touchscreen, a 160 GB SATA 2.5-inch hard drive, 4 USB ports, a 4-1 card reader and runs Windows XP. Energy efficient, it uses 80% less energy than most desktops. The all-in-one system has SRS Premium sound, a built-in webcam and comes with mouse and keyboard.
Packard Bell dot Netbook
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, PC / Laptop,
It’s Packard Bell’s turn to release a netbook. They have decided to make the “dot” more family friendly, since most of companies are going after business types. The mini-PC is 8.9-inches and has an Atom processor with 160GB hard drive, 1 GB RAM, and runs Windows XP, for those who are still nervous about Vista. Options include a webcam, a 3G module, and a 6-cell battery for longer life. Look for the dot in a European release first for £315 (~$584.00.)
Read More | Eee PC
OLPC to gain Windows XP
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft, PC / Laptop,
Microsoft has announced that it plans to install Windows XP to the inexpensive XOs that now run a customized version of Linux. To do this, OLPC spokesperson Kyle Austin says that they must redesign them and add $7.00 worth of hardware to build a stripped down version for an additional $3.00. While this might be a good thing for Microsoft, we note that the laptop, which started out as a $100.00 device, is now creeping up towards the $200.00 mark. As per usual, the OLPC people still claim that when the OX’s usage becomes more widespread, the price will come down.
Read More | Forbes
Parallels Desktop for Mac update adds complete Vista SP1, XP SP3 support
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: PC / Laptop, Software,
For those of you who religiously use Parallels for the WIndows virtualization needs in OS X, you should be aware that there was a new update released today that has the appearance of being fairly important. After all, it now completely supports Windows XP SP3 and Windows Vista SP1, including full Boot Camp support in both. In addition, MacBook Air compatibility has been greatly improved, too. Of course, there are your other generic bug fixes and and performance enhancements as with any new release. Anyhow, definitely a recommended upgrade.
Read More | Parallels Download
Windows XP SP3 now available
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Internet, Microsoft, PC / Laptop, Software,
A few days ago we told you that Windows XP SP3 would be released April 29. Well, that just happens to be today, so we felt it was our duty to remind you. This long-awaited update to Windows XP is the last, but seriously, we are expecting this to pretty much be the best currently-available version of Windows out there, so get to downloading. If you aren’t seeing it in Windows Update yet, then just go here to grab it manually.
Windows XP SP3 to be released on April 29th
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Internet, Microsoft, Software,
Man, April is just shaping up to bring us all sorts of goodness - Mario Kart Wii, Grand Theft Auto IV, and now Windows XP SP3. Don’t get me wrong, I sure as hell am not saying that XP SP3 will be anywhere near as enjoyable as two of the biggest console game releases of the year, but seriously, if those rumors about a 10 percent speed increase hold true, that is just one more reason to stick with XP over Vista. Look for WIndows XP SP3 in the Microsoft Download Center, as well as Microsoft Update, on April 29th.
Read More | Microsoft TechNet
Help Save XP Petition
Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Internet, Microsoft,
Those of us who are still PC users but don’t want to give up our XP for Vista were very unhappy to realize that it will cease and desist by June, and that support will eventually end, too. We can blog about it all we want but we are not sure that will convince Microsoft to change its mind, although they did extend the deadline once. Galen Gruman began a petition that you can sign to voice your displeasure, but so far the company doesn’t seem interested. Still, it can’t hurt to join the over 100,000 signatures already obtained. And if that fails, there is always Linux or Mac.
Read More | InfoWorld
