Curious to learn who’s still keeping the Vista spirt alive in the world, Pingdom took a look at the global market share of operating systems to find out who exactly still uses this OS (and then troll those parts of the world unforgivably) (actually, the Pingdom people didn’t troll anybody for their OS choices). After looking at data for 216 countries, Windows Vista was found to still be in use among 10.5% of all desktop operative systems. Windows 7 commanded the greatest portion of desktop OS market shares with 44% and Windows XP claimed 35% of all market shares.

And in case you’e wondering which country out there is still using Vista the most: Ireland. Oddly, the country with the lowest percentage of Windows Vista usage was Cuba. As much as I want to tease out conclusions from these findings, I wouldn’t go too far in extrapolating conclusions about the cultural climate of either country based on their Vista usage (or lack thereof), but simply smile, say an amused “Humh,” and enjoy the new piece of tech trivia. And really, the world seems to still love it some Vista: out of all 216 countries included in Pingdom’s survey, 182 of them – that’s 84.2% – Windows Vista is the third most commonly used OS.

One piece of trivia I do enjoy, however, and that does have some small validity to it: Windows Vista is still more popular worldwide than Mac OS X. In fact, only 16 countries in the world use Mac OS X more than Vista. And surprisingly, 2 countries out there can say that more PCs use Linux than Vista.

So if you’re one of the many out there still rocking the Windows Vista, I invite you to share with us in the comments why you’ve remained attached to this particular OS system over the years.

Microsoft announced this morning that they have filed suit against Comet, a British retailer that specializes in electronics and appliances. The suit accuses Comet of “creating and selling more than 94,000 sets of counterfeit Windows Vista and Windows XP recovery CDs.” The recovery discs were sold to customers who bought Windows PCs. In years past, Microsoft supplied such discs itself, but has stopped doing so.

In their statement, Microsoft insists that “Comet’s actions were unfair to customers,” and emphasized their concern to “ensure people get what they pay for,” and to shield customers from pirated versions of their software.

Meanwhile, Comet have issued a statement of their own. In it they insist that they are the ones who acting in the consumers’ best interests, based on their belief that “customers had been adversely affected by the decision to stop supplying recovery discs with each new Microsoft Operating System based computer.” Comet also asserted that their actions do not constitute infringement, and stated their intention to defend against the suit “vigorously.”

A request for comment from Microsoft has not yet been answered. This situation presents an interesting problem, in that both companies claim to be acting in the best interest of consumers. Moreover, Comet does not appear to be selling the discs to consumers independently. The only way to get them is to purchase a Windows-based PC from Comet. Which means that in effect, Comet’s customers are only receiving a product that they have already paid for. This is definitely a story worth watching. Check back for updates as it unfolds.

What do you think? Should Comet be allowed to make Windows recovery discs for customers who have bought Windows computers? Let us know in the comments.

[Sources: Microsoft Press Release; Comet Statement]

Which has the better OS: Apple or PC - Tell us what you think.

In the ad, which is entitled Broken Promises, the PC flashes back to previous versions of Windows and with each OS promises "it’s not going to have any of the problems my last operating system had. Trust me." Also you’ll notice that with each flashback their clothing styles change, and I use the term "style" very loosely there. Check out the ad for yourself below.

What did you think of the ad? Did it go to far? Let us know.

Of course if you are a Vista person who has already downgraded back to XP, today is a good day for you.  Microsoft has announced that the new Windows 7 OS will have downgrade support to both Vista and XP.

In an interview with Mary Jo Foley a Microsoft spokesperson explained:
"This is not the first time that Microsoft has offered downgrade rights to a version other than its immediate predecessor and our volume-license customers can always downgrade to any previous version of Windows."

What wasn’t so explicitly stated however was whether or not Microsoft will extend its support timeline for Windows XP.  The fact that they are going out of their way to let everybody know XP will remain a downgrade option with Windows 7 tends to lead me to believe they are not going to be in any big rush to mothball XP.

The Vista experience was nothing short of miserable for a huge number of Microsoft users.  It became fodder for Mac commercials and got so bad that Microsoft even quit calling it Vista in it’s own promos.  Opting instead to have users in the commercial talk about how cool the ‘Mojave Project’ was.  (If I’m Microsoft I’m still looking to downgrade the marketing genius that came up with that little gem.)

Microsoft doesn’t generally provide active support for more than 2 versions of Windows.  As a result, with Windows 7, there was probably more nervous apprehension about the loss of XP support than there was buzz for the new OS.  It’s probably a smart move on their part to come out well in advance of launch and settle down all their XP users.

The question now becomes…  how long?  For now at least, Windows XP is a currently supported downgrade option but at what point does that come to an end?  Maybe the thinking is that Windows 7 will be so universally loved and devoid of Vistas hardware conflicts and end user disdain, that people will flock to the new OS and forget all about XP and Vista in no time.  It would pretty much be an unprecedented first for Microsoft, but I guess stranger things have happened.

Yahoo has introduced a new Pingbox widget to Yahoo Messenger that makes it more social. The Pingbox application allows social networking users, Web site administrators, and bloggers to chat in real time once its embedded into a site.

Visitors to a site with Pingbox embedded can communicate anonymously or they can identify themselves. The end user can also be anonymous.

Other new features to Yahoo Messenger include three new skins (Silver, Ruby Red, Mystic Black) bringing the total number of skins to 12.

Yahoo has also introduced more spam control to its messenger application. An updated offline message window displays which messages are likely spam and allows users to report these messages from the offline message window.

Yahoo Messenger now updates a user’s status with their recent activity on Yahoo Buzz, Avatars, 360, or MyBlogLog.

Yahoo has also gotten rid of the larger emoticons on messenger and reintroduced the smaller original design. For users not familiar with Yahoo Messenger 9.0 while it was in beta, there are also six new emoticons created by Yahoo users in a contest over the summer. They include a thumps up, thumbs down, "It wasn’t me!," hurry up, rock on! and "Don’t want to see!!"
 

SaveXP.com is exactly what it sounds like – a site established to keep Windows XP from being discontinued.  About 41 days remain until sales restrictions will take place, leaving Vista as many people’s (and businesses’) sole option.

 InfoWorld’s Windows XP Countdown

SaveXP.com seems to have made some progress, as even Steve Ballmer has admitted that Vista’s far from perfect.  The UK government and Gartner have likely helped, too, since both of them have said less than positive things about Microsoft’s newest operating system.

There’s still a ways to go, though.  "Microsoft has declined to meet with InfoWorld to receive the petition and discuss the concerns of its customers who have signed it," according to a new article.

One alternative to saving XP is hurrying up with Windows 7, the next-gen operating system.  But with over 200,000 signatures behind saving XP so far (and who knows how many more to come in the next month), the pressure’s building for Microsoft to make some sort of course correction.

The purpose: to give you the means you can launch a virtualized environment of Internet Explorer 6 without spending a dime (not only is the image free, but the Virtual PC software hass been free for a while).

This is a great boon for website developers, who can do their work on just one PC (so long as they don’t care about Safari) but will also be useful to users for many reasons. If you have software you absolutely have to run, but can’t install under Vista, just load up the image and go. The image expires on April 1, 2007, but they plan to release more of these, including with other software configurations, if the program is well-received.

This is a smart move by Microsoft, which is competing with VMWare in the virtualization space. Giving every single web developer a compelling and free reason to install VPC 2004 or 2007 does a lot towards growing your share of the market.

Of course, I’ve heard there are VPC > VMWare importers that may allow the competition to run this image, so we’ll see how well that works. Also, the real question on everyone’s mind: Will it run on the Mac OS X version of Virtual PC? And will the free VPC image make Boot Camp a collosal waste of money and time?

(via Neowin)

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Nathan Weinberg writes the popular InsideGoogle blog, offering the latest news and insights about Google and search engines.

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While life in general will not allow us to return to an earlier time to make changes, we computer users do have such an option should we experience problems with our Windows XP operating systems.

If you update or install the wrong device driver for your video card, and you delete accidentally delete a critical Windows file, so what.

You can simply use Windows XP’s Restore Point feature and, Tada, you’re back on track and recovered that deleted file.

Restore Points are snapshots of the state your operating system was in during that time.Windows XP automatically creates a restore point when it senses a major change in your operating system.And Restore Points are created every 24 hours as a safety measure.But you can create a Restore Point manually any time you feel there is a need.

If you have a change of some sort that causes problems with the operating system, you can tell Windows XP to revert to any Restore Point established before the problem occured.After the rollback, every change in the operating system that happened after that Restore Point is eliminated.

Restore Points are generally used when you experience such pc problems as extremely slow performance of the system. Your computer responds far more slowly that it did before you installed or updated something.

Other times to run Restore Point is when your system stops responding after an update or installation. Be sure to create a Restore Point before making any significant change to your computer’s software or configuration.

To set a Restore Point, click on Start, point to All Programs, click on Accessories, System Tools, and then click on System Restore.When the System Restore windows appears, click on the button labeled “Create A Restore Point” and click Next.

Enter a description of the restore point, something like “Before scanner device driver install” and click the Create button.A notification will inform you that a Restore Point was made.Now click the Close button and you’re all set.

Reverting to a Restore Point is as easy as create one.Click on Start, point to All Programs, click Accessories, System Tools, and System Restore.When the System Restore window appears, click on the “Restore My Computer To An Earlier Time” and then click on the Next button.

Choose the date on which you set the Restore Point and click the Next button.Review the information presented and save any open files.Shut down any other programs that may be running.

Click on the Next button and now your computer will restart. As it restarts, it will present a message informing you of the restore point. Click OK and you’re done.

After reading all about setting and reverting to restore points, you should make a known restore point if you have not done so already.Whatever you do after reading this article, don’t say I’ll get to it soon.Familarize yourself with this feature and create a restore point one.

You should try Restore Point and see how it works before you need it.Create a Restore Point now and update something.You can update Windows Media Player for example.

After the update or the installation of a program,wait a day or so and go back to Restore Point.Revert to the Restore Point you created and see if the old version of Windows Media Player comes back.Or see if that old device driver is present.

Doing a simple task like this can and will boost your computer skills and give you much more confidence in yourself and the Windows XP operating system.

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This latest version of Windows Media Player offers consumers a test-drive of the breakthrough capabilities in Windows Media Player 11 for Windows Vista, including enhanced search and media management technologies, a visually driven user interface, and optimized support for portable music players.

“Windows Media Player 11 is the first media player to be truly designed with the digital entertainment lover in mind,” said Mike Sievert, corporate vice president of Windows at Microsoft. “The fresh, exciting new look, the ability to find songs and videos in an instant, and the enhanced capabilities for syncing with portable devices are not only exactly what customers have asked us for, they’re also a preview of what’s to come in Windows Vista.”

Windows Media Player 11 features seamless integration with URGE, MTV Networks Co.’s digital music service. URGE builds upon MTV Networks’ renowned music heritage, offering rich, hand-crafted programming, first-rate editorial content, and innovative music discovery features to create a truly immersive entertainment experience. The incredibly fast search capabilities of Windows Media Player 11 provide consumers with instant access to the entire URGE catalog of more than 110,000 artists and 2 million songs.

“MTV Networks’ collaboration with Microsoft on Media Player 11 gives URGE users a fully immersive and integrated music and entertainment experience,” said Michael Bloom, vice president of Digital Music at MTV Networks and general manager of URGE. “Our expertise in music programming and design combined with Microsoft’s technology gives music fans the best way to discover and stay connected with the music and artists they love.”

The search capabilities of Windows Media Player 11 also enable consumers to easily scroll through and access music faster than on any other media player, whether the library contains 50 or 50,000 tracks. The powerful Instant Search in Windows Media Player 11 provides results that instantly narrow with each keystroke, whether the consumer is searching in a personal library or browsing URGE. Innovative drag-and-drop capabilities make building playlists and moving music to portable players easier than ever.

Windows Media Player 11 also provides these key features:

• A visually driven experience using thumbnail and album art, an elegant and simple design, and customization capabilities for more personalized interaction
• Improved device experience with new shuffle sync and reverse sync options, device exploration using the library view, and intuitive help icons that ensure seamless and intuitive syncing and burning of rights-managed content
• Highly simplified navigation capabilities, enhanced shortcut options, and dedicated category views for all media types, including music, photos and video
• Better access to content with deep integration of services that blurs the line between online service and media player experiences
• Industry-first audio fingerprinting capabilities that recognize and import track information for unidentified or misnamed audio files
• New formats for ripping and music playback, including Windows Media Audio Professional and WAV Lossless

Windows Media Player 11 is designed to work with all versions of Windows XP with Service Pack 2, including Windows XP Home Edition N and Windows XP Professional N, so if you have Windows XP and haven’t downloaded Windows Media Player 11 yet, then what’s stopping you go ahead and do so!

Windows Media Player 11 x86
Windows Media Player 11 x64 (64-Bit)

Windows Media Player 11 Readme

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Darren Straight a Microsoft Student Partner (MSP) and Windows Live Butterfly
Expert is a University of Kent Student who is an avid blogger and technology
enthusiast who loves the passion of beta testing new products and services
from Microsoft.

Or we may want to receive that fax from our landlord so we can move into that apartment tomorrow.

Having a fax machine in your home could save you time in completing such tasks as getting a new job. Now what if you can fax documents without having to cough up big bucks to purchase a fax machine.

If you have a computer with Windows XP, Internet access, and a printer, you already have a fax machine. One of the optional components in your WinXP software package is the Fax Services Component. This package allows you to send and receive faxes through your computer using regular dial-up internet access.

To use this Fax Service you will need 3.7megabytes of free hard drive space, a dial-up modem and your WinXP Install CD. Since the transmission is sent through your phone line, a cable modem will not work.

The first thing you must do to use the Fax Service is to install it on your PC. This service is not installed when Windows XP was first installed. Perform the following steps to install this software.

Insert your installation CD in your CD or DVD drive and the welcome to Microsoft Windows XP will open .If it doesn’t open, open My Computer and double-click the CD or DVD drive. Click install Optional Windows Components.

A menu will open that lists all optional Windows XP components. Now click the box in front of Fax Services and then click next. Watch the installation status bar and once its installed click the finish button and exit. You will need to restart your PC to finish the process.

You can now configure the Fax Console by adding your contact information, the modem you will use, and where you want the system to save a copy of each fax.

To open the application, click on Start, choose All Programs, Accessories, Communications, Fax, the Fax Console, and click next once it opens. You can now type in the Sender information.

The next step in setting up the Console is to enter your TSD or Transmitting Subscriber Identification data. This allows the recipient’s computer to identify your computer as the sender of the Fax. The TSD contains your Fax number or your fax number and name.

You’re getting closer to finishing the Console. The CSID is next to be added. Your CSID is your Called Subscriber Identification and it can be the same data that’s in the TSD. When you receive a Fax, your CSID will appear on the sender’s confirmation page.

Now you must choose the routing options for the Faxes you receive. You may want the Faxes saved and printed, or just save. You now choose the printer you want the Fax to be printed on and this will be your default printer.

Click next to reach the last Console Configuration step. Here you verify the data you entered. A Configuration summary will appear for you to verify. Once you are satisfied that all information is correct, click finish.

After setting up the Fax Console and completed the Configuration setup, you’re computer is now ready to send and receive Faxes just as any Fax Machine would. The Console pops open automatically and looks similar to the Outlook Express Console.

Now select the device to sending and receiving Faxes. The modem will appear in the drop-down menu. All you need to do is highlight it and check both send and receive. Here is how you receive Faxes using Windows XP.

There are two options to receiving a Fax, Manual and auto answer. Checking the auto mode allows the computer to answer the phone when a Fax is received. To receive a Fax automatically, leave the modem and the computer on and the PC will save received Faxes in the inbox of the Fax Console.

If you have one phone line to use for your fax and voice calls, its good to receive your Faxes manually. You will need to be at your computer to receive a fax. When the phone rings, you will not know if its a voice or fax call until you answer it.

A way around this is to call the sender of the fax and ask them to call ahead to inform you the fax is on its way. Then you can hang up, connect your modem to the phone line and wait. When the call comes through, a dialog box appears and will allow you to receive the Fax.

To send a fax you can use the print option to Fax documents from any Windows application. Open the document from any Windows program such as MSWord ,select the printer, and click okay.

The Fax Wizard will now take you by the hand and help you create a cover page and sending your Fax. After this is done, enter your recipient’s data. When entering their Fax number, type it in a format such as +1 (123) 456-7890.

The Fax Console is linked to your Outlook Express Address Book where recipients names can be stored there. Your recipient’s name will appear in the Recipient Information Window.

You can now format the cover page by choosing ready made templates or create your own. And now you can schedule when your Fax can be sent. To send it now, just click Now. Or you set a time in advance but be sure to leave the modem and computer on when the time comes.

Click next where you can preview the cover page and Fax preview. If all is well, click finish and the Fax Monitor will appear and show you the status of your Fax. You will see a saved copy of your Fax if you did not send it now.

By following these steps, you can send a Fax from any Windows application. Such application include Microsoft Word, or Microsoft Excel. You can use a scanner with the Fax Service to made it more versatile. Go over to their web site at www.support.microsoft.com to learn how to use a scanner with the Fax Service.

If you’re considering using the Fax Service to send faxes, its a great time while rewarding this article to grab your WinXP CD, install the software and get going. There will be a lot more help in the software and you’ll see just how easy it is to fax with Windows XP.

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