Microsoft and Toshiba to battle it out for HD-DVD

The two companies said that they will form the Advanced Interactivity Consortium (AIC), an “open forum aimed at the promotion of superior interactivity for a wide range of next-generation consumer devices, digital content and distribution scenarios “, i.e in simple words make people adopt HD-DVD faster.

AIC will bank its prospects on HDi, the feature that brings PiP (picture in picture) commmentary.

Microsoft opens up IE7 to all

In a move to protect their market share from crashing down due to FireFox, microsoft today announced that they will remove WGA check for IE7 downloads .

And as usual they added the crap by saying that this was done to enhance user experience , protect users … blah blah.

Happy downloading

Microsoft releases new reliability, stability pack for Windows Vista

This update improves the compatibility, reliability, and stability of Windows Vista. This update includes the following improvements:

•	It extends the battery life for mobile devices.
•	It improves the stability of portable computers and of desktop computers that use an uninterruptable power supply (UPS).
•	It improves the reliability of Windows Vista when you open the menu of a startup application.
•	It improves the stability of Internet Explorer when you open a Web page.
•	It improves the stability of wireless network services.
•	It shortens the startup time of Windows Vista by using a better timing structure.
•	It shortens the recovery time after Windows Vista experiences a period of inactivity.
•	It shortens the recovery time when you try to exit the Photos screen saver.
•	It improves the stability of Windows PowerShell.

This update also resolves the following issues in Windows Vista:

•	A compatibility issue that affects some third-party antivirus software applications.
•	A reliability issue that occurs when a Windows Vista-based computer uses certain network driver configurations.

You can download the pack from here : http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/941649

New Zune on its way , Zune 2.0

One of the things that the new Zune 2.0 will offer is a thinner profile than the chunky first generation Zune players. Microsoft is rolling out a new flash based Zune at the press event sized along the lines of the iPod nano at 3-inches by 1.25-inches.

These small flash-based Zune’s are reported to be video and WiFi capable and will have higher storage capacities than competing products from Apple. One could gather from that last statement that the flash based Zune 2.0 would be available in 8GB and perhaps even in a 16GB capacity.

Microsoft will reportedly manufacture about 2.4 million Zune 2.0 devices for the holiday season. Two thirds of these devices are expected to be the flash based players. The new Zunes are expected to be available in November along with Microsoft’s new line of Zune accessories. Pricing information on the new Zune products is unavailable at this time, but expect pricing to be very competitive with similar offerings from Apple.