One of the biggest changes for interface of Microsoft Windows Vista is the underlying icon file format support which we can’t notice by looking at Microsoft Windows Vista screenshots. According to rw-designer.com website, the icon images of windows vista may be stored as PNGs instead of traditional .ICO file formats. Because of the compression technology of PNG file format, the size of an icon is reduced but the quality of the icon still remains the same.

This PNG file format support feature is not available in Windows XP. Hence, this feature will ease designers in creating quality icons and might increase creativity of icon designers.

Read “Windows Vista Allows PNG for Icon Format”

CNet.com has done an excellent review on Internet Explorer 7 which will be bundled together with Microsoft Windows Vista, the next generation of Windows Operating System.

Firstly, the review shows about the makeover of the new Internet Explorer 7 and the design of the Internet Explorer 7 is very clean and net.

Read “Internet Explorer 7 Review”

It is officially confirmed that IBM will not install Windows Vista no matter Windows Vista will be released on time or not. According to LinuxForum 2006, IBM will completely switch to Linux desktops in Germany. This is definitely a significant blow for Microsoft as Microsoft is facing more and more obstacles before this software giant releases her long-waited operating system.

Read “IBM Drops Windows Vista for Linux”

The next version of Windows is coming very soon. One of the thing that we always care about are the games that come with the latest windows vista. Like old windows, we are still going to get games like Solitare, Minesweeper and FreeCell. Besides that Microsoft also adds some new games for us to kill time. The news games included in Windows Vista are Mah Jong (Microsoft’s version apparently will be called Shanghai Dragons), Purple Place and Windows Vista Chess. You can check out more screenshots of windows vista games in this post.

Screenshots of Windows Vista Games

Read “Windows Vista Games that You Can Play”

With little fanfare, Microsoft just announced that the x64 version of Windows Vista will require all kernel-mode code to be digitally signed. This is very different than the current WHQL program, where the user ultimately decides how they want to handle unsigned drivers.

Vista driver developers must obtain a Publisher Identity Certificate (PIC) from Microsoft. Microsoft says they won’t charge for it, but they require that you have a Class 3 Commercial Software Publisher Certificate from Verisign. This costs $500 [EUR 412] per year, and as the name implies, is only available to commercial entities.

Read “A Trouble for Developers: Windows Vista Requires Signed Drivers”

Back to first ever full GUI (Graphical User Interface) powered Windows - Windows 95, there is only one edition of it. At that time, you used Windows 95 at home, at work or maybe in restroom watching your VCDs. This one edition culture continues from Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows ME till Windows 2000. Then, when Microsoft released the Microsoft Windows XP, there were two versions - Home edition and Professional edition. As an IT guy, I was also being asked the same question by my clients, “which version of Windows XP I should buy?” I told them “it is easy, use Home edition at home, Professional edition at work. Using Home edition doesn’t mean you are not professional at all (Luckily, Microsoft didn’t name Professional Edition as Smarter Edition).” Easy, right? If you still get confused with Windows XP editions, then Microsoft Windows Vista will blow you away.

Do you ever wonder how many editions of Microsoft Windows Vista will be? The answer is 7. Yes, you read right, there are 7 editions of Microsoft Windows Vista and to be honest, if you ask me what are difference between these 7 editions, I can’t answer you on the spot. I still have to read my notes below.

Read “Windows Vista Versions”

ATI has released the 64-bit driver and also 320bit driver for Windows Vista Beta 2. The supported versions are listed below

Read “Download ATI Catalyst Beta Driver for Windows Vista Beta 2″

nVidia has released the latest ForceWare driver for Windows Vista x64 Beta 2.

To Downloads:
Download nVidia ForceWare Driver

NVIDIA has released nVIDIA nForce Beta drivers for Windows Vista Beta 2. The current ForceWare driver is a beta release that will enable you to test the basic features and capabilities of the new operating system.

Installation Notes:

• These drivers are tested for use only with Microsoft Windows Vista Beta 2 only.
• Package contents include Audio driver, SMBus driver, SataRAID driver, SMU driver, RAIDTOOL application.
• Network drivers are provided “In-The-Box” and are automatically installed during the Windows Vista Beta 2 installation process.
• This driver package does not include an installer. You must use the INF installation to install these drivers by going to the Windows device manager and manually updating the drivers.

Read “nVIDIA nForce Beta Driver for Windows Vista Beta 2 “

Read “Windows Vista Snapshots - More Pictures”