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Office And Vista Distributed By WWW As Well

Microsoft changes its stance on software distribution methods, varying the way purchased software can be delivered to the customer's machine.

Consumers that want to buy Vista can buy and download new Microsoft Vista from the internet. The new Office 2007 will also be available for downloading on the same day it and Vista are launched: Jan 30.

Despite this new way of acquiring Vista (download from Microsoft's online software site, Windows Marketplace), most consumers will opt to buy Vista-ready PCs with Microsoft Vista already installed.

Another novelty is Microsoft offer of discounting two Vista Home Premium licenses for each Vista Ultimate Edition one buys. The discounted two Vista licenses purchased will only cost $50 each.

Bill Mannion, Windows marketing director:

"It's targeted at what we term the 'super-engaged customers.' This is a focused program designed to encourage these super-engaged customers to upgrade multiple PCs in the household. We're going to evaluate the program at that point and determine if we make any changes to the program."

According to Microsoft, Windows Vista contains hundreds of new features; some of the most significant include an updated graphical user interface and visual style named Windows Aero, improved searching features, new multimedia creation tools such as Windows DVD Maker, and completely redesigned networking, audio, print, and display sub-systems. Vista also aims to increase the level of communication between machines on a home network using peer-to-peer technology, making it easier to share files and digital media between computers and devices. For developers, Vista introduces version 3.0 of the .NET Framework, which aims to make it significantly easier for developers to write high-quality applications than with the traditional Windows API.

Microsoft's primary stated objective with Vista, however, has been to improve the state of security in the Windows operating system. One of the most common criticisms of Windows XP and its predecessors has been their commonly exploited security vulnerabilities and overall susceptibility to malware, viruses and buffer overflows. In light of this, then Microsoft chairman Bill Gates announced in early 2002 a company-wide 'Trustworthy Computing initiative' which aims to incorporate security work into every aspect of software development at the company. Microsoft claimed that it prioritized improving the security of Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 above finishing Windows Vista, significantly delaying its completion.