Vista SP1

Many of you have asked us when the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) would be available for download now that Windows  Vista SP1 has been released. As of today, you can! RSAT is an excellent set of tools for IT Pros wanting to manage their Windows Server environment right from their desktop. RSAT also includes an updated Group Policy Management Console (GPMC), which was previously removed in Windows  Vista SP1.

Over two months since it was released to manufacturing, and just a week short of the first month since general availability, Microsoft is now showing strong movement on the Windows Vista Service Pack 1 RTM front. Even before Vista SP1 went gold, Microsoft started serving three updates designed to prepare RTM operating systems for the service pack. KB937287, KB935509 and KB938371 were set up to permit a smooth integration of Vista  Service Pack 1. KB937287 is the update responsible for throwing some Vista copies into an endless reboot cycle. Microsoft subsequently cut off the distribution of the Servicing Stack Update delivering the Service Pack 1 installation program.

Microsoft Corp. today said that it would resume automatic distribution of a Windows Vista update on Tuesday that two months ago sent some users' PCs into an endless wave of reboots. The company assured users ahead of the release that it has fixed the problem and that it is safe to download the update, one of two prerequisites needed before Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) can be installed. Besides re-releasing the update for automatic download and installation, Microsoft will also issue a fix to prevent reboots from overwhelming the PC.

Back in February, we posted about the release of a couple of prerequisites for Windows Vista Service Pack 1. While several million customers installed the updates successfully, you may have read that a few customers experienced an endless reboot cycle while installing one of the prerequisites: KB937287, the Servicing Stack Update (SSU), which contains the Vista Service Pack 1 installation program.

Every time MIcrosoft releases an OS, hackers will try to crack it. There is no exception for Windows Vista. The fact that Microsoft has relaxed its antipiracy mechanism built into Windows Vista concomitantly with the release of Service Pack 1 failed to stop hackers from providing a crack for the latest version of Windows Genuine Advantage Validation. Various reports point out that Genuine Advantage Validation and Notifications versions 1.7.69.1 (1.7.0069.1) and 1.7.69.2 released in March 2008, following the March 18 availability of Windows Vista SP1 through Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center, have been cracked.

Microsoft Corp. today said it will issue eight security updates next week, five tagged as "critical" to patch Windows, Office and Internet Explorer.One of the critical Windows updates scheduled for next Tuesday affects every version of the operating system Microsoft supports, including the just-released Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista and the newest server operating system, Windows Server 2008.

Top tier anti-virus vendors including McAfee, Trend Micro, and Sophos all failed to secure Windows Vista SP1 in recent independent tests.Virus Bulletin, the independent security certification body, said 17 of 37 anti-virus products tested failed to reach the VB100 certification standard. McAfee VirusScan, Trend Micro Internet Security and Sophos Anti-Virus overlooked threats known to be in circulation. Other vendors whose products failed to make the grade included Alwil, BitDefender, Norman, PC Tools, and VirusBuster. This is a picture about the test last year.

So, Windows Vista  Service Pack 1 is here and the results kind of speak for themselves. In some scenarios, there are performance improvements, but in others there is actually a performance drop – that’s something we weren’t expecting to see to be honest.At the very least, we were hoping that Windows Vista  Service Pack 1 would build upon the foundations laid by the five hotfixes that helped to fix the vast majority of performance-related problems in games – in some situations though, this sadly doesn’t appear to be the case.

We used the latest addition to the impressive Elder Scrolls (Publisher: 2K Games)series of titles, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion with the 1.2 patch applied. It uses the Gamebyro engine and features DirectX 9.0 shaders, the Havok physics engine and Bethesda use SpeedTree for rendering the trees. The world is made up of trees, stunning landscapes, lush grass and features High Dynamic Range (HDR) lighting and soft shadowing. If you want to learn more about The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, we recommend giving our graphics and gameplay review a read.

Built on an updated version of id Software's Doom 3 engine, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars（Publisher: Activision） is a team-based first person shooter that recently obtained the title of being the first game to use John Carmack's megatexture technology: a single texture that spans the entire map. ET:QW also makes use of many vehicles and large open areas which means the action in view can get really intensive in this team based shooter. It's also the only game in this suite that utilises OpenGL instead of the pretty much industry-standard DirectX API. We used the full retail version of the game patched to version 1.4.