After one of the longest dress rehearsals in history, Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system is set to go.

Vista presents one of myriad decisions IT customers face
The hard part is over: Microsoft officially rolled out its Vista client operating system Thursday; now it must convince users, who have more desktop options now with Linux and Apple OS X, that the operating system is the way to go.

Bill Gates for president?
Dilbert creator Scott Adams has thrown his weight, such that even the best cartoonist can muster, behind a newly launched "Bill Gates for President" Web site.

Microsoft launches Vista, Office 2007 to businesses
After five years and numerous delays, customers can now get their hands on the final version of Vista.

Vista: Application compatibility concerns arise
While customers have run into trouble before when upgrading Windows – consider the XP Service Pack 2 update in 2004 – they should find more support from Microsoft when moving to Vista.

Existing malware could affect Vista users, Sophos says
Microsoft has touted Vista as a more secure version of Windows, but on the day of Vista's official launch, a security company has identified malware already in circulation that can infect computers running the operating system.

Office 2007 early adopter: Mary Kay putting together a SharePoint makeover
Mary Kay wants to be more than just another pretty face, and the company’s IT department is digging deep into Microsoft’s Office 2007 to make that happen.

Europe gets an extra version of Vista
When Microsoft releases Vista to business customers in Europe, it will offer an extra version to comply with the European Commission's antitrust ruling against the company.

Review of Windows Vista final code shows security needs admin attention
In our extensive tests, we found that many of the Vista Ultimate default settings are dangerous. That, coupled with the fact that Microsoft now offers a variety of ways to enforce its new security controls, means enterprise administrators will have to make a significant effort to pull off a secure deployment.

Mysterious Vista error messages
In our test of the code Microsoft released to manufacturing for Vista Ultimate, we were not short on error messages that popped up on the screen while we attempted many common administrative tasks. (5 slides)

64-bit Vista security: Should the kernel be completely walled off?
In 64-bit Vista, Microsoft is using Kernel Patch Protection to prevent unauthorized access to the kernel. Some security vendors say that by basically locking them out of the kernel, Microsoft is making it way tougher for them to protect customers. Is Microsoft right to block off the kernel? Or do the vendors really need access to the kernel? Join the debate.

Microsoft's statements should make their heads explode
Mark Gibbs: Vista's reduced functionality mode ensures that, should an authenticity check fail, the software will refuse to do anything really useful until reauthorized. Using this technique is in and of itself reasonable as long as it works. But Microsoft couldn't admit that this technique is an antipiracy measure. Oh, no, the company had to try to sell it as good for the consumer.

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