Some facts since the
launch of Windows Vista:
·
Sales of Windows
Vista licenses have exceeded 100 million worldwide.
·
Security
– We promised that Windows Vista would be the most
secure OS yet and have delivered that experience. From popular features like
parental controls and Windows Defender to built-in safety features in IE 7,
Windows Vista is making consumers safer online and more secure overall when
using their PC.
o
Windows Vista
One-Year Vulnerability Report
–The
study, focusing on the first year of Windows Vista availability tracks the
progress of Microsoft’s latest operating systems against other current
operating systems, including Windows XP. The results clearly
demonstrate that Windows Vista has had fewer vulnerabilities than Windows XP
during its first year in market. [Reference Austin Wilson’s
blog; Jeff Jones security report available here: http://blogs.technet.com/security]
o
FACT:
Windows Vista had only 9 Patch Events in the past year while Windows XP SP2
over the same period had 26. Reduced number of patch days saves IT Pros time
and money that they would have to devote to deploying the updates.
Features
that make a secure experience possible:
§
Windows Defender
automatically scans
Internet Explorer 7
downloads to help bring spyware to user’s attention before it can
infect their computer. And thanks to SpyNet, an online community of
millions of users around the world that constantly reports new spyware back
to Microsoft, Windows Defender can even help to cure a PC even after it's
been infected. The
·
FACT:
Windows Vista-based PCs are almost three times less likely to be infected
with potentially unwanted software than Windows XP-based PCs. [SOURCE:
Microsoft Security Intelligence Report, Key Findings Summary. (Jan-June
2007.) The full report is available
here.
§
Parental
Controls
– With Parental Controls in Windows Vista and Windows Live OneCare Family
Safety, consumers can help protect their children online by determining when
they can use the PC, what they can and cannot see, and by regularly
monitoring their online activity
·
Digital
photos and Videos:
o
With Windows Live
Photo Gallery and Windows Live Spaces consumers can easily transfer,
enhance, organize, print and share their digital photos and home
videos. Only two clicks are needed to share digital photos and videos
from Windows Live Photo Gallery on their Windows Live Space, so family and
friends can share their memories
o
Windows DVD
Maker
easily allow consumers to
create professional-looking DVDs from your photos and videos
o
Consumers can easily
enjoy photos and videos on their television right from your PC using
Windows Media Center photo and video library
·
Staying
connected
- with the people we care and the information and devices consumers need:
o
All e-mail accounts,
from web-based services like Gmail and Yahoo, to ISPs like Comcast and
EarthLink, can be accessed and managed from just one application -
Windows Live Mail
o
With Windows Live
Messenger, consumers can connect to the people that matter to them most,
any way you want – by text, voice, or video, from their PC or their mobile
phone
o
All of the
Windows Live communications services (email, IM, Windows Live Spaces,
etc.) work from one single contacts list, making it easier to keep the
contact information for all your online services up-to-date
o
Access Windows
Live Spaces through their web-enabled mobile phone and post blogs or
photos while on the go
o
Keep PC and personal
information more secure with Windows Live OneCare automated antivirus
and antispyware protection
Getting more
done:
o
Instant search
in Windows Vista allows consumers to instantly find what they are looking
for, no matter where it is stored on their PC.
o
The Windows Aero™
interface is the best-designed, highest-performing Microsoft user interface
ever. It gives to the PC a whole new look and feel and makes it easier to
visualize and work with information.
o
Performance
Self-Tuning and diagnostics
in Windows Vista automatically help keep computers running at their best, so
consumers can spend less time fixing problems and enjoy a more reliable PC
experience.
·
Gaming
– Windows is a popular gaming platform, and people who have purchased
Windows Vista are finding they can get even more out their gaming
experience.
o
There are almost 50
Games for Windows branded titles on store shelves which have been tested for
quality, compatibility and safety with Windows Vista. Over 2.5 million game
units have been sold to date. Additionally, the majority of top game
publishers around the world are committed to developing titles under the
Games for Windows brand.
o
It is predicted that
over 16 million discrete DirectX 10 video cards for desktop PC’s will have
shipped by the end of CY07 (Source: Mercury Q1 2007)
o
2008 will see 60
million DirectX 10 capable video cards in gamers’ hands, and the next wave
of DirectX 10 titles coming
Progress we’ve made to
date:
·
To date, over 43,000
hardware products are now supported on Window Update, up from 23,000
thousand at launch.
·
Today more than 900
hardware partners have certified nearly 7,000 software and hardware products
for Windows Vista that support new innovations in graphics, networking and
imaging.
Our retail
partners are excited about the quality of certified products and are helping
millions of online shoppers identify certified products at online stores
like
Amazon and
CompUSA in the US and
PreisTrend in Europe.
·
More than 120
critical enterprise applications now support Windows
Vista (source: internal research), including from:
o
Adobe, HP, IBM,
LANDesk, Oracle, SAP, Sun, Tivoli
o
Top VPNs including
Citrix, Nortel & CheckPoint
o
Top A/V including
McAfee, Symantec, & TrendMicro
·
Top consumer and
small business applications are compatible with Windows Vista [Source:
Internal research]
o
5 of the top 5
security applications are compatible: Symantec, McAfee, Trend Micro, Webroot,
and Computer Associates
o
Adobe Reader, Apple
iTunes and Adobe Flash are all compatible today
More great
experiences coming in 2008 for Windows Vista users:
stay tuned!
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