HelpWithWindows Newsletter

01. Microsoft to Launch Vista Ad Campaign

by Arie Slob

Hello Windows users,

Windows Vista may have been on the market for a good year and a half now, but Microsoft finally thought it would be necessary to launch a multi-million dollar ad campaign. The aim of this campaign is to remove doubts & misconceptions about the OS. Finally Microsoft seems ready to defend itself against the inaccuracies raised by Apple in its infamous "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" ad campaign, something I think they should have done much sooner.

Microsoft's Brad Brooks, the VP of Windows Vista consumer marketing acknowledged that Apples campaign had been having an effect: "We've got a pretty noisy competitor out there. You know it. I know it. It's caused some impact. We're going to start countering it".

The upcoming campaign will also focus on tackling user's perception of Vista as an OS that suffers from incompatibilities in both hardware and software.

On the compatibility issue, Microsoft has reported that 77,000 devices are compatible with Windows Vista today (double the number when Vista launched) as well as 99% of the major business applications. Microsoft has launched two Web sites, Windows Vista Small Business Assurance and the Windows Vista Compatibility Center, to help turn these perceptions around.

C|Net's Ina Fried this week came out with an interesting piece of news: Microsoft last week traveled to San Francisco, rounding up Windows XP users who had negative impressions of Vista. The subjects were put on video, asked about their Vista impressions, and then shown a "new" operating system, code-named Mojave. More than 90 percent gave positive feedback on what they saw. Then they were told that "Mojave" was actually Windows Vista.

It seems likely that Microsoft wants to use footage from this 'exercise' in its upcoming campaign, which will be run both in the more traditional 'offline' media as well as online.

So what is your take? "Too late", or "About time"?

Your Comments.

02. Windows Updates

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

Windows Vista:

KB950888 - Update to resolve the issue in which users cannot create multiple Rights Management Services client sessions per user context.
KB952664 - Update to resolve the issue in which the Crimson service stops responding when a remote subscription disconnects while a client is being delivered events.
KB951072 - Update to resolve an issue that is caused by revised daylight saving time laws in many countries.
KB952709 - Update to resolve some performance and reliability issues in Windows Vista.
KB952093 - Update to resolve the issue in which Microsoft Windows Search Indexer stops working and closes.
KB950125 - Update to resolve issues with Xbox 360 Extenders used with Media Center for Windows Vista.

Windows XP:

KB954086 - Update to resolve an issue in which a Windows Media Center configuration that uses an analog TV broadcast without a set-top box, displays a protected content message when recording television shows.
KB952230 - Install this update to display the Remote Desktop Connection 6.1 interface in multiple languages on systems using Windows XP Service Pack 2.
KB952155 - Update to use new Terminal Services features on a computer that is running Windows XP Service Pack 2 connecting to computers that are running either Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 operating systems.
KB953979 - After you install Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3), Device Manager may not show any devices, and Network Connections may not show any network connections.

03. HelpWithWindows Newsletter Schedule

The next Newsletter will be published on August 16th, followed by a September 6th publication.

04. S P O N S O R

06. Recent Support BBS Postings

Poll: For which tasks do you use your computer at home?

Vista is slow after upgrading - Windows Vista
KB953356 - SP3 Fix for AMD Processors - Windows XP
Vendor firewalls - Windows Server System
Fraudulent emails: where do I report them - General Security
Can read from DVD but cant write - Hardware

07. Windows Home Server Power Pack 1

Earlier this week Microsoft shipped Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 (PP1), the first mayor update to Windows Home Server (WHS). PP1 ads a lot of new features to WHS including: Vista x64 compatibility; Home Server backup and a number of improvements to remote access. Microsoft also fixed a rare but alarming data corruption bug (for details see this article)

08. Free trials of Microsoft Forefront security products for business

Forefront makes it easier to defend your servers, clients, and network edge.

Download a trial today

09. Latest Microsoft & Windows News from around the Internet

Latest Microsoft & Windows News from around the Internet

10. Windows XP Tip: Internet Explorer Cannot Connect to Secure Web Sites

Quite a number of people have been reporting problems connecting to Secure Web sites (the ones that start with https:// ). There are a number of possible causes, which in turn have a number of suggested fixes.

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11. Windows Vista Tip: Disable Hibernate in Windows Vista

Windows Vista doesn't have an option in the GUI to switch off the power option Hibernate, so even if you don't use it, there will be a Hiberfil.sys file the same size as your computers memory (RAM) located on your system drive (the hard drive where Windows is located).

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12. Troubleshooting Windows Explorer Errors

Having problems with Windows Explorer crashing when you rigt-click an object, or try to browse through the folders on your computer? In a lot of cases, these errors are caused by 3rd party shell extensions that are not functioning properly.

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