One of Windows Vista's biggest selling points was that it was the only way you could get DirectX 10, the software component that would be required to play the very latest video games in their full glory. Sure, you could still play games in DirectX 9, but the differences with DirectX 10, Microsoft promised, would be striking.
Windows Vista Service Pack 1 Five Language Standalone (KB936330) Windows Vista Service Pack 1 is an update to Windows Vista that addresses key feedback from our customers. SP1 addresses specific reliability and performance issues, supports new types of hardware, and adds support for several emerging standards.
A genuine crack for Windows Vista has just been released by pirate group Pantheon, which allows a pirated, non-activated installation of Vista (Home Basic/Premium and Ultimate) to be properly activated and made fully-operational. Unlike cracks which have been floating around since Vista RTM was released in late November, this crack doesnt simply get around product activation with beta activation files or timestop cracks - it actually makes use of the activation process. It seems that Microsoft has allowed large OEMs like ASUS to ship their products with a pre-installed version of Vista that doesnt require product activation apparently because end users would find it too inconvenient.
In what may be an unprecedented decision, Microsoft said Thursday that it plans to lower the retail prices for several flavours of Windows Vista. For those in the U.S., Microsoft is cutting prices only on the higher-end versions of Vista, and only for the upgrade version used to move from XP or another copy of Vista. The suggested price for Vista Ultimate drops to $219 from $299, while Home Premium falls to $129, from $159. Other developed markets will also see price cuts, while in emerging markets, Microsoft is eliminating the distinction between full and upgrade versions of Home Basic and Home Premium as it attempts to convince more users there to use genuine software.
"Windows Vista Service Pack 1 contains many security, reliability, and feature updates for Windows Vista. A program may experience a loss of functionality after you install Windows Vista SP1 - Microsoft.
A free software tool that promises to strip down the Windows Vista operating system -- which even some Microsoft officials have called "bloated" -- to a minimalist state is attracting big interest on the Internet. vLite, created by developer Dino Nuhagic, automatically removes a number of non-essential Windows Vista components in order to pare the OS's heavy footprint by half or more. vLite allows users to preselect numerous Vista features for automatic removal prior to installing the OS on their personal computers. Among them: Windows Media Player, Windows Photo Viewer, MSN Installer, Wallpapers, SlideShow, Windows Mail and other utilities.
Microsoft is to withdraw an anti-piracy tool from Windows Vista, which disables the operating system when invoked, following customer complaints. The so-called "kill switch" is designed to prevent users with illegal copies of Vista from using certain features. But the tool has suffered from glitches since it was introduced with many Windows users claiming that legal copies of Vista had been disabled.