Windows 7 Shows Off Simplified Hardware Interface, Improved SSD Support

The latest developments from Windows 7 focus on hardware

With the bits of Windows 7's pre-beta and milestone releases taking the torrent community by storm, there's more excitement than ever surrounding the highlights of the UI and top level features of Microsoft's upcoming OS, demonstrated and released at its Professional Developers Conference.  Many are pleased to see Windows 7 to be running leaner than Windows Vista, despite featuring rich graphics.

An important focus at Microsoft for Windows 7 has been hardware, though, not software.  Hardware was a virtual nightmare for both Microsoft and Vista users, when poor developer support led to incompatibility with many devices at launch.  Vowing not to repeat this problem, Microsoft is rethinking how it approaches hardware with its new OS.

At its Windows Hardware Engineering Conference, it released more official pre-beta copies of Windows 7 to hardware developers.  And it gave the same features overview, this time with a hardware twist.

Leading the way is Device Stage, a new invention from Microsoft.  This intuitive idea is something you might expect from OS X, but it’s a sign of the newfound creativity brewing at Microsoft.  The new center allows the user to select from any device attached to the system.  Microsoft is providing an interface that allows the user to access any capabilities of the device and to go online to fetch manuals and documentation on the device.  Microsoft is being stricter with hardware partners, demanding they provide quality interfaces and information.

An example of how this feature would work is if you plugged in your cell phone -- say a Blackberry Pearl. Clicking on the device in question, Device Stage has a section for manuals, a file browser where you can manage content or look through the files.  Any interface functionality, which the hardware provides will be accessible in Device Stage.

Julie Larson-Green, vice president of program management for the Windows Experience describes, "I can set up my sync capabilities [on my Motorola phone].  I can manage the media on my device. I can browse files. I can go and find that documentation because I probably threw out the manual when I got the box, so I can go online and get that. And anything that the device does can be exposed through the Device Stage."

Also improved is Microsoft's code to exploit SSD drives.  SSDs will be faster than before.  They will also provide much faster wake up and hibernation.  According to initial reports, the difference between a Windows 7 PC equipped with a SSD and a Windows Vista PC is visibly dramatic when it comes to wake-up and sleep times.

Microsoft says it is planning "Windows enhancements that take advantage of the latest updates to standardized command sets, such as ATA."  SSD makers are enthused about Microsoft's support as they feel it may give the turbulent industry the boost it needs.

While much of the Windows 7 hardware interface upgrades will require some work from developers, Microsoft is also mollifying them, by explaining that they will have less work to do adapting to the underlying interface than with Vista, as Windows 7 shares much with Vista on a base hardware level.

Microsoft is expected to elaborate more on new hardware features in coming weeks.

DailyTech - Windows 7 Shows Off Simplified Hardware Interface, Improved SSD Support

Windows 7's PC Safeguard sandboxes user accounts

One of the first pieces I wrote when I joined Download Squad covered Microsoft SteadyState, a free application that caches changes to your operating system and can remove all traces of them on rebooting. Now it looks as though that functionality will be part of the Windows 7 core - with one major improvement.

Whereas SteadyState will lock down your entire system, PC Safeguard can be configured on a per-user basis. Making changes under SteadyState can be a bit cumbersome and usually requires at least one reboot. With PC Safeguard, you've got two options. First, you log off the protected user and log in with your administrative account.

Second, you can simply run a command as an administrative user and the changes will persist. For example: right click the Firefox installer, run it as the administrator, enter the password, and it's there to stay.

Safeguard can also lock any hard drive you specify to prevent write access with just a couple of mouse clicks. There's a bit of startup delay when logging in a protected user, but it's barely noticeable.

It's a much more user-friendly way to prevent potentially harmful changes to a home system, and just one more feature that will make Windows 7 look good, and make Vista Ultimate owners very, very angry. Have a look at the gallery to see how it works!

Gallery: Windows 7 PC Safeguard

Windows 7's PC Safeguard sandboxes user accounts - Download Squad

Jurassic Mouse: Japanese scientists create clones from frozen tissue

The realignment of our bio-tech reality has hit a new milestone courtesy a group of cloning scientists from Japan. For the first time in human history the group managed to clone an animal from 16 year-old frozen animal tissue. The development makes wild scenarios such as the one seen in the film Jurassic Park, in which prehistoric animals are resurrected to co-exist with modern man, less sci-fi and closer to sci-fact.

The scientists managed to produce four healthy mice from the frozen tissue, raising the possibility that still undiscovered prehistoric mammals hidden in the arctic tundra may one day find their way into our present-day reality. Although the scientists confirm that cloning a human is far more difficult than cloning a mouse, this new turn in science opens the door to a new biological landscape that will prove hard to map with any real accuracy.

DVICE: Jurassic Mouse: Japanese scientists create clones from frozen tissue

Comcastic P4P trial shows 80% speed boost for P2P downloads

Comcast engineers have just released the first-ever real-world data on P4P technology—and it appears to be a massive success. While only a trial, the results do show that P4P's iTracker technology can increase P2P download speeds by 80 percent on ISP networks without materially increasing the network load.

P4P, which is being designed under the aegis of the Distributed Computing Industry Association, is meant to "localize" peer-to-peer transfers. P2P users generally grab data from all around the world, putting tremendous cost and bandwidth pressure on ISP peering and transit links with other networks. P4P uses an iTracker server to keep those transfers within an ISP's own network when possible, with the goal of boosting speeds for users and lowering peering-point loads for ISPs.

(Note that P4P has little to do with network neutrality, though companies sometimes suggest that it does. While it can decrease the financial hit ISPs take from sending traffic over transit links, P4P isn't designed to lower the total bandwidth on an ISP's network. In fact, by directing P2P users to "local" network sources, it might actually be expected to increase an ISP's local network traffic. More on that below.)

Comcast engineers have just filed the results of the first major P4P trial as an "Internet draft" with the IETF. The trial involved Pando, Yale, three (unnamed) ISPs, and Comcast, and it took place over the summer. It used a special, Pando-provided P2P client that is set up to check in with "iTracker" servers when searching for download locations in a BitTorrent swarm. The test used a 21MB video file (which was "licensed," in case you were worried), and measured the results of using the P2P client in order to see how the use of iTrackers affected uploads and downloads.

Data source: Comcast

Results were hugely positive. Compared to a random swarm, the use of any iTracker provided substantial speed boosts to Comcast network users, ranging from 57 to 85 percent above default behavior. For consumers, this would obviously be welcome news, but how does it affect Comcast?

Not too much, it turns out. "We did notice that download activity in our access network increased somewhat, from 56,030MB for Random to 59,765MB for P4P Generic Weight and 60,781MB for P4P Coarse Grained," wrote the Comcast engineers. That's a small increase, especially given that it reduced Comcast's "incoming Internet traffic by an average of 80 percent at peering points."

But uploads proved even more surprising. "It did not appear that P4P significantly increased upstream utilization in our access network," note the engineers. "In essence, uploading was already occurring no matter what and P4P in and of itself did not appear to materially increase uploading for this specific, licensed content."

Further good news came from a close examination of the various iTrackers. The fine-grained tracker provided detailed topology information about Comcast's network, and it took significant time to set up. "It was a detailed mapping of Comcast backbone-connected network Autonomous System Numbers (ASN) to IP Aggregates which were weighted based on priority and distance from each other," says the report. "Included in this design was a prioritization of all Peer and Internet transit connected ASNs to our backbone to ensure that P4P traffic would prefer settlement free and lower cost networks first, and then more expensive transit links."

Sounds like a lot of work. But Comcast found that it wasn't even necessary; simpler iTrackers provided even better results. The best results came from the coarse-grained iTracker, which featured 22 iTracker node identifiers and "resulted in a 1,461 line configuration file."

iTrackers can run on lightweight servers; for good results, every ISP should run one. While every network that deploys an iTracker will see good results, the system gets "dramatically" more impressive as more ISPs deploy it.

Comcast wants the iTracker mechanism made an IETF standard; more impressively, it recognizes that iTrackers should be "opt-in" mechanisms that each user can control. "The use of ISP-provided iTrackers should probably be an opt-in feature for P2P users, or at least a feature of which they are explicitly aware of and which has been enabled by default in a particular P2P client," say the engineers. "In this way, P2P users could choose to opt-in either explicitly or by their choice of P2P client in order to choose to use the iTracker to improve performance, which benefits both the user and the ISP at the same time."

Win/win scenarios haven't been common in the P2P wars, and it's important to note that this was only a preliminary test. But if P4P shows the same promise in larger trials and if P2P clients start to embed the technology into their software, faster downloads and lower-traffic peering points could be had simply by running some inexpensive servers.

Comcastic P4P trial shows 80% speed boost for P2P downloads

Amazon Stands Up to Manufacturers' Hard-to-Open Packaging

Amazon is pushing for a friendlier box -- both for the customer and the environment

Retailers like Best Buy, Circuit City, and TigerDirect (CompUSA) may be different on deals and external appearance, but when it comes to the manufacturer products they stock, they're all the same and they all feature virtually the same bulky, environmentally-unfriendly, hard-to-open packaging.  From hard plastic clamshells that would turn away even relatively strong scissors, to plastic ties and tape, opening your purchase can be a painful experience.

It is unclear whether this packaging provides any benefit.  It may provide some additional protection or security, but if it does, both the retailer and the manufacturer typically have not stated this justification for the hassle.

Now one of the internet's largest retailers is taking a stand against bothersome packaging.  Amazon.com is launching its "Frustration-Free Packaging" initiative (JPEG), which aims to ditch the bothersome plastic packaging and replace it with an easy to open recyclable cardboard container.

So far Fisher-Price, Mattel, Microsoft and Transcend, have all committed products (various toys and electronics) to the initiative.  Amazon is pressuring more manufacturers to jump aboard as well.  The initiative currently has 19 products, but Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos believes the potential is much bigger.  He envisions an "entire catalog of products in Frustration-Free Packaging".

The new shipping packages come in a variety of form factors, but generally can be either classed as a cardboard box with inserts to hold the product in position or a cardboard envelope for items such as flash memory cards (the smaller easy to open plastic storage case is still included).  All the shipping containers are easy to open and equally easy to recycle.

Will brick-and-mortar retailers and manufacturers team up to follow Amazon's lead?  Only time and customer enthusiasm will tell.

DailyTech - Amazon Stands Up to Manufacturers' Hard-to-Open Packaging

Circuit City Announces Plans to Close 155 Stores

Circuit City to close 20% of its stores by year's end.

DailyTech reported in late October that Circuit City was on the brink of closing 150 stores and slashing more jobs. Circuit City's stock price has dropped over 90% since the start of the year and this past Thursday, the company was warned that it could be booted from the New York Stock Exchange.

It appears that that closing time is finally arriving for what's left of Circuit City's nationwide chain. The Consumerist reported today that Circuit City plans to close 155 of its 711 stores nationwide.

According to sources close to the company, employees of the affected stores were told this morning about the closings. The store closings will be effective 12/31/2008 and according to at least one report, Firedog and car installation employees will likely be fired within 48 hours.

As for what will happen to the closing stores, The Consumerist provided this commentary from an insider:

A team of liquidators will be coming in and taking control of the store. They will set prices as they see fit, and price match guarantee, employee discounts, CC circulars, and the new one price guarantee are all out the window. The price you see is the price you will pay, although it ought to be at a bit of a discount. Firedog services as well as car audio installation are gone immediately. Returns and warranties have to be taken to a CC that's not closing. No new stock will be delivered, we just gotta crank away and sell off everything, and when it's sold, we hit the road.

For more information about the layoffs including a letter sent to affected Circuit City store, you can head over to The Consumerist.

Updated 11/3/2008
Circuit City today officially announced its plans to close 155 stores which are located in 55 markets across the United States. The 155 stores being closed accounted for $1.4 billion USD in sales for fiscal 2008 according to a statement released by the company.
You can view the full corporate press release here along with a full list of all 155 closing stores here [PDF].

DailyTech - Update: Circuit City Announces Plans to Close 155 Stores

Microsoft's Windows 7 Pre-Beta Leaked Onto Torrent Sites

Someone let the cat out of the bag

When Microsoft recently aired exclusive details of the upcoming Windows Vista successor, Windows 7, with the release of its pre-beta to a select developer crowd at the Professional Developer Crowd, Microsoft wanted public attention for the new OS. 

However, the pre-beta has found its way into the torrent community and is burning up the download queues as everyone wants to be the first to preview the new OS.  The OS was available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions on The Pirate Bay and Mininova as of Friday night.

Many of the copies had over a thousand downloaders.  One particularly active 32-bit copy had more than a thousand uploaders and about 7,000 downloaders. 

Apparently some of the copies also weren't the ones that the developers received, according to claims.  While these copies were indeed Windows 7, they were an earlier build that did not include the taskbar updates. 

One problem plaguing downloaders was the lack of people seeding the file and the accompanying slowness of the downloads.

Some people who downloaded the build were also unimpressed by it, despite the glowing media reception.  One user stated, "There is nothing (sic) new in it.  I wouldn't recommend this to download. Waste of time. Happy with Vista."

Others cautioned downloaders to be more reserved in judging the pre-beta.  One commented, "Seriously people. This was just a PRE-beta release that was given out at a trade show so writers would write about the new version. This SHOULD NOT be downloaded with the intent of using it as an everyday system. It is just so writers could get a feel for what was to come."

Some are saying the best is yet to come, though, for Windows 7.  Many users, like Peter Menadue, who holds the role of global director of solutions and technology, Microsoft solutions business within systems integrator Dimension Data, are most excited about the upcoming business-specific bits of Windows 7.  These include revamped application security, data security, and application deployment, according to rumors.

Mr. Menadue states, "I was in Redmond three weeks ago and had a sneak peek.  I think they've done a stellar job. Sinofsky's a genius," referring to Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president of the Windows and Windows Live engineering group.
According to Menadue, another key perk is Microsoft's increased commitment to virtualization.  He is also happy with Microsoft's promise to maintain driver compatibility with Vista.

Jo Sweeney, adviser at analyst firm Intelligent Business Research Services, says the full featured nature of Vista will appeal to consumers during this troubled economy.  He states, "What tends to happen (in times like these) is that IT professionals get much more focused on proving and not improving.  People will (move to) Windows 7 because if they can put greater management features into it, it will solve some of the problems of desktop computing."

Appealing features like the network id management should help to cut day-to-day costs, which account for 80-percent of the standard IT budget.  Windows 7 will allow the separation of user profiles and applications from the base operating system, so that you can see someone user profile anywhere on the network.  The key question, according to Mr. Sweeney, is how the IT administrators who have already implemented these features react to the new OS.

DailyTech - Microsoft's Windows 7 Pre-Beta Leaked Onto Torrent Sites