The March 2007 Windows Vista Application Compatibility Update is a package of software updates that address common application compatibility issues in Windows Vista. When you try to install and run certain legacy games or applications in Windows Vista, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms: The game, the application, or the firmware may not be installed correctly. The game, the application, or the firmware may cause system instability. The primary functions of the game, the application, or the firmware may not work correctly.

Microsoft always says it opposes "software pirates" who sell thousands of unauthorized copies of Windows. But the Redmond company has made things a lot easier for pirates by adding a line to the Registry that can be changed from 0 to 1 to postpone the need to "activate" Vista indefinitely. Learn more how it works at WindowsSecrets

Microsoft pushes out several high priority patches, including two for Windows Vista.As promised, Microsoft Corp. did not unveil any security fixes Tuesday. But it did push out several other patches it deemed "high priority," including two for Windows Vista.
The last time Microsoft went a month without releasing security fixes was September 2005
Among the four updates Microsoft pegged as "non-security, high-priority" today were the usual monthly revamp of the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool and new signatures for the Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007 antispam filters.
One Vista-specific update was also on the list, as was another that affected both XP and Vista. PCWorld has more.

Microsoft is keen to stir up enthusiasm for Windows Vista, but when it comes to the 64-bit edition of the recently released operating system, the software giant is sending decidedly mixed messages.
Vista is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions, with the latter targeted at owners of recent computers with 64-bit processors. However, customers who purchase the retail version of Vista Home Basic, Home Premium or Business don't have the option of buying the 64-bit version directly.
Instead, they have to purchase the 32-bit version and then order a replacement CD from Microsoft, for which they are required to pay a postage charge. The charge is described as "minimal" by Microsoft, but comes in at just under AU$15 for Australian users.
Read on at ZDnet DownUnder

Finally two programs have been updated and are ready for Vista Vista:Virtual PC 2007
SQL Server 2005 SP2
Most interesting of them is the new Version of Virtual PC 2007, which supports Windows Vista as both a host and guest operating system

Microsoft's own antivirus software, Live OneCare, is unable to fully protect Vista users against viruses, and one of security firm McAfee's antivirus software packages also fails to protect users, according to independent research released Friday.
Security news Web site Virus Bulletin, backed by a team of security researchers based in Oxfordshire, U.K., tested 15 antivirus software packages used by businesses and designed specifically for Vista, Microsoft's newest operating system. The packages were released to businesses two months ago. Read on

Whereas one job of a personal firewall is to block potentially malicious inbound connections to your machine, another is to block potentially malicious outbound connections. For example, if some malware does find its way onto your system and then it attempts to "phone home" with whatever sensitive data it may have found, a good personal firewall should stop stop most outbound communications dead in their tracks until the end-user explicitly allows it (one problem with such conditional blocking is that end-users are rarely presented with enough information on which to base a decision).# Read on at ZdNet

ActiveWin reports: Last week, the media went schizophrenic over the Windows Vista speech recognition ?loophole? which allowed anyone with a microphone to have full access over your computer. Granted, you must also be partially-deaf, turned your speaker volume to full, carefully place your microphone next to the speakers, turn on speech recognition and train your speech profile as if you were someone else. It might sound incredibly challenging to get this exploit working properly, but the media assures this exploit is a ?fatal flaw?, so obviously Microsoft is to blame and Vista gets a big red ?Fail? on security.
This week, two top Swedish security experts only to be named ?Long? and ?Zheng?, to hide their identity from Microsoft, exposes many more ?fatal? security flaws inside the newborn operating system, Windows Vista. Here are the two most dangerous exploits you should be concerned about.

The Microsoft Windows Mobile Device Center enables data synchronization between Windows Mobile-powered devices and Windows Vista. Download for 32 and 64 bit

-This guide is done using Windows Vista Ultimate Edition. If you see something mentioned that you don't have don't stress out, just skip it.
-Is is intended as a step-by-step guide. In other words, this is the exact order I did it in.
-I very much want your tips, insight, and feedback.
-Since is this is BETA it is intended for Geeks. No pics or screen-shoots, just fast and furious.
TweakHound - Installing And Tweaking Windows Vista

A high definition audio device may no longer work after you resume Windows Vista from sleep or from hibernation and then restart the computer.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929685 In Windows Vista, you cannot access any resources on a remote VPN server after you switch a network connection from one network adapter to another network adapter and then dial a VPN connection.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/930163

Thanks for your patience as I looked into this. I heard back from the folks at the MSRC, and they let me know that Microsoft is investigating public reports of a possible vulnerability in Windows Vista?s speech recognition feature. Microsoft?s initial investigation reveals that this vulnerability could allow an attacker to use the speech recognition feature in Windows Vista to verbally execute commands on a user?s computer. The attackers? commands are limited to the rights of the logged on user. User Account Control prohibits the attacker from executing any administrative level commands. Read on at ZdNet

DRM restricts the kind of media content you can use on your Vista machine. This is meant to make life harder for pirates but in practice, as Sony learnt, it can make life harder for honest users too.
Alex Ionescu said on his blog that he had written code which could be used to bypass Vista's DRM. Ionescu has not published the code but promises in a later post to publish "some safe, generic, proof of concept code that targets what I believe is a flaw in the Code Integrity/Driver Signing model.". Read more at TheRegister

As we reported here there is a way how to install Vista Update Version without upgrading a WinXP.
An internal paper from Microsoft now confirms a clean installation.
READ MORE for the steps:

With a support note quietly posted to its Web site, Microsoft confirmed what enthusiasts have long feared: Users who purchase Upgrade versions of Windows Vista will not be able to perform clean installs of the operating system. Instead, they will need to first install their previous OS and then upgrade in-place to Vista. Read on at WinItPro Update: Warp2Search User Cuke2u reports that there is a workaround to install an Update Version of Vista clean and smooth:

This is the first part of a series on what's new in the Windows Vista kernel. In this issue, I'll look at changes in the areas of processes and threads, and in I/O. Future installments will cover memory management, startup and shutdown, reliability and recovery, and security. The scope of this article comprises changes to the Windows Vista? kernel only, specifically Ntoskrnl.exe and its closely associated components. Please remember that there are many other significant changes in Windows Vista that fall outside the kernel proper and therefore won't be covered. Read on at WinOsCentral

Microsoft recently unveiled a new web site called "Windows Vista Test Drive" designed to allow business users, consumers, and the merely curious to find out what running Microsoft's latest operating system might be like without actually having to install it.
The web site requires Windows 2000 or XP, Internet Explorer 6 or 7, and Microsoft's Virtual Machine Remote Control (VMRC) Advanced ActiveX control, which is installed when the user first visits the page?IE 7 dutifully reminds the user of all the inherent dangers of installing ActiveX controls first, but eventually allows the installation. For fun, I tried out the site under Windows Vista itself, and it worked fine. Read on at ArsTechnica

Microsoft has defended the digital rights management systems integrated into its new Vista operating system.
It follows reports that Vista would "downgrade" the quality of all video and audio, if they were not output via approved connections on the PC.
Microsoft said only the quality of "premium content" would be lowered, and only if requested by copyright holders. Read on at BBC News

After lots of wavering, Microsoft has finally made the due date for Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) official: The update will ship in the latter half of 2007. (Microsoft didn't issue a press release with that pronouncement. Instead, it notified its Technology Adoption Partner testers of it via an e-mail regarding the imminent start of the Vista SP1 testing program.) Source: ActiveWin

Chris Pirillo has written down the first nTop 10 Tweaks, Tips and Tricks for the upcoming Microsoft Vista. Chris Pirillo Thanks again to WinOsCentral FYI.