‘Vista blows’ says DirectX creator

One of the creators of Microsoft’s original DirectX specification, Alex St. John, has hit out at Windows Vista, saying that it’s holding back PC gaming.

When the guys at ExtremeTech asked if he saw DirectX 10 as a viable gaming platform, St. John replied that: ‘There are several, complex answers to this. First, Vista blows. DirectX came with it…you just want to slap Microsoft and go, “What the hell were you thinking?”‘

Along with Craig Eisler and Eric Engstrom, Alex St. John created DirectX for Microsoft in the first place back in 1995, but he now thinks that the resource-heavy OS is preventing PCs from being able to compete with consoles in the gaming industry. Read the full article on ExtremeTech.Com found via CustomPC.Co.Uk

Microsoft cleans fake antivirus tool from 994,061 PCs

“The Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) is a small program Microsoft pushes out to computers on Patch Tuesday to clean out a list of malware. On this month’s Patch Tuesday, Microsoft added scans for a malware file that masks itself as security software, and it found plenty of copies.

Win32/FakeSecSen has gone by various names, including Micro Antivirus 2009, MS Antivirus, Spyware Preventer, Vista Antivirus 2008, Advanced Antivirus, System Antivirus 2008, Ultimate Antivirus 2008, Windows Antivirus, XPert Antivirus, Power Antivirus, and Ultra Antivirus 2009. Furthermore, it is skinnable, so each of these variants has a different GUI, although the basic functionality is the same: bother users with warnings of malware until they pay up.

The Microsoft Malware Protection Center recently released some data on how the removal tool performed this month: FakeSecSen was removed from 994,061 machines.” Read the full story on ArsTechnica.Com

Forbes: Snow Leopard Endangers Vista

“…Vista, meanwhile, is tottering. Operating income for Microsoft’s mighty client division actually declined to $3.3 billion for the quarter ending in September from $3.4 billion during the year-ago period. Part of the problem is that businesses tend to switch to a new operating system all at once, and many are choosing to wait. General Motors (nyse: GM – news – people ) chief techie Fred Killeen has even said the auto giant may choose to skip Windows Vista and wait for Windows 7, due in 2010 or 2011.

Apple, meanwhile, is preparing to release an operating system focused on Vista user’s biggest gripes: speed and stability.” Read the Full article on Forbes.Com

More internal e-mails emerge from Microsoft

“More documents are coming out in court proceedings over the Vista Capable debacle. Internetnews.com has good coverage of HP’s fury over Microsoft lowering the requirements for a Vista Capable sticker, at Intel’s request. “Intel officials may have been pleased that Microsoft lowered standards for obtaining the company’s Windows Vista Capable logo program sticker, but the same can’t be said about HP’s execs. ‘I can’t be more clear than to say you not only let us down by reneging on your commitment to stand behind the [device driver model] requirement, you have demonstrated a complete lack of commitment to HP as a strategic partner and cost us a lot of money in the process,’ said one e-mail from Richard Walker, the senior vice president of HP’s consumer business unit, to [Microsoft executives].” PCPro.co.uk follows the trail of accusatory emails inside Microsoft from there: “HP’s email prompted then Microsoft co-President, Jim Allchin, to send a furious email of his own to company CEO Steve Ballmer. Allchin’s email suggests the decision to lower the requirements was made in his absence by Ballmer, following ‘a call between you and Paul [Otellini, Intel CEO].’ ‘I am beyond being upset here,’ Allchin wrote to Ballmer. ‘What a mess. Now we have an upset partner, Microsoft destroyed credibility [sic], as well as my own credibility shot.’ Ballmer, in turn, blamed another Microsoft executive, Will Poole, in a rather erratically typed reply to Allchin.” Via Slashdot. See also The Seattle Times, and InternetNews.Com

Steve Ballmer washes hands of Vista Capable claims

Steve Ballmer claims he wasn’t involved in the “operational decisions” involving Microsoft’s controversial Vista Capable scheme.

The software giant is currently facing a class action in the US over claims that the Vista Capable sticker scheme misled people into buying machines that were only able to run the stripped-down version of the OS, Vista Home Basic.

Plaintiffs in the case want Ballmer to give evidence, but in a document filed to the court, Ballmer denies all knowledge of the intricacies of the scheme.

“I was not involved in any of the operational decisions about the Windows Vista Capable program,” Ballmer claims in the document acquired by the Seattle Post Intelligencer.

“I was not involved in establishing the requirements computers must satisfy to qualify for the Windows Vista Capable program.

“To the best of my recollection, I do not have any unique knowledge of, nor did I have any unique involvement in, any decisions regarding the Windows Vista Capable programme.” See the full article on PCPro.Co.Uk

Microsoft Using Apple’s Macbook Pro In Promotional Material

“…sometimes one encounters stuff that is just too good to pass. So that other day my dad bought a new HP Pavilion desktop, and since I am the geek in residence I ended up setting it up for him. So while I was waiting for Microsoft’s endless configuration and setup screens I decided to dig into the fluffy paraphernalia and promotional material bundled with the Desktop. The first thing that fell into my hand was this Microsoft Vista promotional booklet that had an image of the ideal happy family computing on a laptop. What stood out was that the laptop looked awfully similar to the Macbook Pro!” [It IS a MacBook Pro - Jay]

See the full post including the Playstation in place of an X-Box on Royal HeHe2-ness

Under the Hood, Windows 7 Is Vista’s Twin

“…Bottom line: So far, Windows 7 looks, behaves, and performs almost exactly like Windows Vista. And it breaks all sorts of things that used to work just fine under Vista. In other words, Microsoft’s follow-up to its most unpopular OS release since Windows Me threatens to deliver zero measurable performance benefits while introducing new and potentially crippling compatibility issues.” Read the full article at PCWorld.Com

Engadget.Com asks “Which OS do you prefer?”

Head on over and answer their poll.