Microsoft would like to remind us that Windows Vista Service Pack 1 support has ended, and if you’d like support on Vista, you really should upgrade (for free) from SP1 to SP2. It’s easy. Just run Windows Update.

Or, better yet, upgrade to Windows 7. (Microsoft’s suggestion, not mine. See?)

As self-serving as Microsoft’s suggestion of upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7 may be, I find myself in the rare position of actually agreeing with them on that. Yes, it costs money, but let’s face it, Windows Vista is a joke. It’s Windows ME2. Do you really want to be stuck on it?

Well, your choice. Either way, Microsoft’s point is that Windows Vista SP1 is officially dead to them.

No surprises there, as Microsoft probably wishes everyone would just forget that Windows Vista ever existed. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if support of Windows Vista ended with Service Pack 2 and Windows XP actually outlived it!

Speaking of, if you’re one of those people holding on to dear life to Windows XP (and I even fall into that category to some extent) the Windows XP support will end… One day… Maybe… If it isn’t extended again. I guess over in MS World, now that Windows 7 has finally given people something stable and usable to upgrade to (since Windows Vista failed miserably on that front) we’re all supposed to upgrade to Windows 7. (Except for those of us who can’t, of course.)

Here’s the really odd thing though. Microsoft claims that Windows XP will indeed die. It has less than 1000 days less of its extended support. Officially, on the 8th of April, 2014, Microsoft will no longer provide security patches, hotfixes, etc. for any version of Windows XP. I get that. It’s something of a bummer for those of us using it on low-powered low-memory laptops and netbooks where Windows 7 is a less-than-convincing “upgrade”, leaving us … well, SoL. Not to mention those of us just keeping old PCs alive! It’d be one thing if Windows 7 could actually run as well as Windows XP on an old or budget system, but it’s another thing entirely when it can’t, and in even more cases where Windows 7 can’t be installed on the box at all!

But things take an even stranger turn, because along come the rumors and innuendo of Windows 8. Microsoft exec Tami Reller just told folks at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference 2011 that if a PC could run Windows 7, it could also run Windows 8. It’s an assurance to PC makers (and consumers) that anyone who is running Windows 7 now will be able to upgrade easily to Windows 8. You won’t have to worry about memory or processor speed at all. (Which could be a Microsoft first since it left the concept of Windows as a DOS shell behind!)

However, that raises an odd question in my mind: What about the army of folks still on Windows XP? Can they upgrade to Windows 8?

Why do I ask that?

Why do I think that they even could if they can’t upgrade to Windows 7?

Simple!

Windows 8, supposedly, will not just be available for your PC, but also for your ARM-based tablet! And let’s face it, Android tablets are not running Windows 7 for a reason. (Well, a couple of them.) It’s not just a matter of ARM vs. x86, but also of resources. Linux and Linux-based OSes such as Meego, sure. Windows 7? Nuh-uh!

And Intel is still pushing hard for Atom to replace ARM in Android tablet manufacturer’s minds. Will it? I doubt it. It’s like swatting a fly with a … hardcover book. But a Windows 7 tablet, that’d be spiffy … if it could run faster than molasses in January. Which it can’t. (I would know, as I have an Atom-based tablet. I technically can install, but if I thought it was already slow running Windows XP…)

But if Windows 8 could run well on low resources like on a tablet?

Because let’s face it, Windows is a resource hog compared to Android or iOS as an operating system goes. We’re even seeing some grumbling from WebOS tablet users that the OS itself is sluggish. The performance of the OS on a dinky little tablet processor makes a world of difference. One that Windows 7 just can’t even try to compete. So if Microsoft wants people to actually bother putting Windows 8 on tablets, it’s going to have to trim up that kernel. Will Windows 8 be split into two worlds: PC running kernel-heavy like Windows always is and tablet running kernel-lite like Windows CE or Windows PHONE 7? Or will Windows 8 actually be lean by design and work for anyone and everyone equally well with the same kernel for all?

If the latter then it would be a Microsoft first! Which makes me very doubtful.

But it would be an extremely welcome change, especially as a lightweight kernel from Microsoft that still ran PC software might even just give all of those aging computers running Windows XP an actual upgrade path! If Microsoft were interested in listening to what customers want (instead of just telling us what we need) Windows 8 could possibly be the savior of Windows XP users who would like to upgrade, if only Microsoft would make an OS that they could actually upgrade to.

I wouldn’t hold my breath on it though. Because that just isn’t the Microsoft way of doing things. Even if it would make sense. And sales. Lots and lots of sales.

Today marks the end of Microsoft’s support for Windows XP SP2.  It’s a sad day, though we are reminded that support for Win XP SP3 does continue.

But for those of you who are still working on your migration to Microsoft’s latest darling, Windows 7, you just got a little more breathing room.

As was previously declared, your right to downgrade your shiny new Windows 7 box down to Windows XP Professional would end in 18 months from the Windows 7 launch, or until the release of the first service pack for Windows 7, whichever came sooner.  This put it at the date of October 22, 2010.  In other words, in a couple of months.  And right on track, the first beta of Windows 7 SP1 is heading out as we speak, regardless of how generally useless as it is to most people because it contains no new features, just the same security updates Windows 7 users already have.  But the death knell for Windows XP was ringing.

In typical Microsoft leniency towards Win XP however, they’ve decided to listen to customers, and delay that order.  OEMs were afraid that a date-based limit on when boxes could be shipped with downgrades to Windows XP Professional would be confusing to users, since so many people were still demanding them.  (For migration purposes, of course.)  And yet again, Microsoft listened, breathing yet more life in the the operating system that wouldn’t die.

Yes, that’s right.  In fact, according to the blog, there seems to be no new deadline for Windows XP.  Though we are reminded in a round-about way that again the official support for Win XP SP2 ends today on July 13th, 2010, and Win XP SP3 support ends in of April 2014.

Microsoft has announced its intent to end its support for those versions of Windows which users have not upgraded to their latest service packs.  Specifically, Windows Vista without any service packs will no longer have support after April 13th, 2010.  Windows XP with only Service Pack 2 (WinXP SP2) will likewise have its service terminated on the 13th of July, 2010.  As will any version of Windows 2000 (Win2K).  Also on the 13th of July, Microsoft is moving Windows Server 2003 from mainstream support to extended support, meaning that only the security updates will remain free and everything else will cost money to get help from Microsoft.

“Microsoft believes it is important that all customers take action prior to the end of support date, not only so that they know their options and can prepare, but also to ensure their environments are as secure as possible.”

Obviously, in most cases anyway, simply installing the latest service pack will allow you to continue to enjoy support from Microsoft.  It’s easy.  It’s free.  You really should do it.  For more information from Microsoft on how to upgrade to your latest service pack, look here.

News breaks that Google is no longer calling Gmail a beta version.  And everyone is left … baffled.

I mean first of all, it hasn’t really been a beta version for years.  It hasn’t even been some super-secret closed private (in theory anyway) trial service in years.  It’s been nicely public and released for a very long time.  The only thing about Gmail that was still beta was the damned logo.

But on top of that, just what made it not beta anymore?  Well, the fact that businesses typically don’t trust beta software is what made it not beta anymore.  It wasn’t a certain amount of testing.  It wasn’t a certain confidence in the software.  In spite of the fact that that is exactly what beta means.  In-house testing is Alpha testing.  When that passes muster it goes to limited customer-based testing, called Beta testing.  And then when that is cleared as good-to-go, it’s released.

Only somewhere along the line, Google, software mavens they are, seemed to have forgotten the little details like that.

Oh, sure, alpha, beta, they may be all Greek to you.

But to the software industry, these things are industry standards for testing and quality assurance.  Standards that, as Google becomes more like Microsoft, seem to go out the window for Google … just as they did for Microsoft.  Not because doing things differently is the “right” way to do things, but simply because they’re just too big and important now to do things the same way everyone else does them.  That wouldn’t be “cool”.

And the really sad testament to the sheep we people are, is that folks are already freaking out over the loss of the beta logo.  They’ve  become so used to seeing that their software is constantly in beta (which is a bad thing by the way, because it means it never has finished testing) that now that their software is officially considered tested and good to go, they’re forlorn.

Bah!

Whatever.

Does any of it really matter?

So Google keeps their software labeled as beta for far too long after, just because.  And then on a whim one day decides to take away the beta and call it released, not because it has been tested, but because they’re afraid of losing money from Big Business.  It was so ridiculous that it was a joke on Google to begin with.  So who cares?

The same as how Microsoft supposedly tests their operating systems and then releases them, but IT departments and computer experts world-wide know those first releases are actually the equivalents of beta-tests, and won’t move over to the newer version of an OS until the first service pack hits, because that’s when the problems found during testing are finally fixed in Microsoft’s world.

It’s all a joke.  They do business stupidly, we adapt.  Simple.

So none of it really affects anyone.

But for some reason, people pretend to care anyway.

Whatever makes them happy.

But we know better.

Yes, that’s right.  Microsoft’s famous (infamous?) Windows Vista operating system has just officially gotten its second service pack.  Those of you who want to run Win Vista SP2 will, however, have to make a few amends first.

For starters, right now it’s only available for download as a standalone install for the upgrade.  (32-bit version of Vista SP2 and 64-bit version of Vista SP2)  That’s, actually, the easy part.  Next, before you can install the official service pack, you have to first uninstall that beta version of SP2 you’ve already installed.  (Doh!)  And finally, if your Windows is set to any language other than English, German, French, Spanish, or Japanese you’ll have to switch to one of those five languages because that’s all these releases of SP2 support.  (Double doh!)

Of course Microsoft will eventually release Vista SP2 to the more normal distribution method of a Windows Update at some unspecified time in June.  And Microsoft will eventually get around to supporting the other languages, again, if you can wait.  But regardless, you still have to uninstall that beta version of SP2 in order to get the real SP2 installed.

Business customers (or at least their IT department heads) who don’t want SP2 to start popping up on company PCs all willy-nilly can use the same blocker tool kit that you used to block SP1 until you’ve evaluated the SP2 upgrade and declared it safe for your business.

For those wondering just what, exactly, Windows Vista gains by installing SP2, well, not much, really.  You see most of SP2 is actually just all of those hotfixes applied through automatic updates already.  That is not, however, to say that there is nothing new this time around.  These are the new features:

• Support for Via’s 64-bit CPUs.  (As if people actually use them?)
• Windows Vista Feature Pack for Wireless.  (Adds Bluetooth v2.1 and Windows Connect Now (WCN) Wi-Fi Configuration.)
• Better Wi-Fi performance after waking from sleep mode.
• RSS feeds sidebar performs better.
• You can now record to Blu-Ray discs.
• Windows Search 4.0 – blah blah blah.
• Windows Media Center (WMC) has “better” content protection for TV.  (Likely better for copyright holders, not better for users.)
• No more limit to the number of half-open outbound TCP connections.  (Which was a mere 10 before now.)

And that’s it folks.  There’s a bit more if you’re a Windows Server 2008 user.  But honestly, not much more.  And if you desperately need to know, chances are you can find that information just fine on your own.

So if you’ve been gnawing off your own foot in anticipation of Windows Vista SP2′s official release, get crackin’!