This story has just started in my opinion and Microsoft has clearly stepped in it again. From Senior VP Steven Sinofsky admitting vendors didn't think Vista would ever ship to Mike Nash admitting his $2100 laptop he bought could not run Vista Ultimate the quotes are to say the least, revealing.

A few quotes:

Mike Nash, VP Windows: “I chose my laptop (a Sony TX700P) because it had the Vista logo and was pretty disappointed that it not only wouldn’t run Glass, but more importantly wouldn’t run Movie Maker. I know have a $2100 email machine.”

Jon Shirley, "I upgraded one of the two machines I use a lot to Vista. The most persisiten and so far hardest to fix issues are both with MSN products, Portfolio in MSN Money and Music (downloads that I had bought in the past.)

The discussion over the removal of WDDM, Glass, from "Vista Capable" and how Intel pushed this while Microsoft had told HP it would not happen is very revealing of how things are done between these guys. It may also explain why HP has such a large number of AMD chips in their lower end units which do support WDDM, they are not Intel 915 chipset based.

More to come I'm sure.

Anyone who has ran SP3 Beta to RC has probably found out pretty quick IE 6 will crash a lot! This forces you to run IE7 which some people don't like, some find is a memory hog and some find website issues under IE7. So run the latest SP (unreleased) IE7 or no SP3 for you. At least till now.

Fix IE6 crashing under XP SP3!

First let's get XP SP3 latest build, 3311:

This is really pretty easy by downloading a small patch from Microsoft so it will edit your registry to allow SP3 to show up as a Windows Update. If you have loaded any prior SP3 build you will need to uninstall that first.

Now just run Windows Update and you should find SP3 RC2 being offered.

Go grab a drink while it downloads and installs but come back at the end as you have to click to allow it to reboot your machine.

Ok so now you have XP SP3 Build 3311 installed but you also want to run IE6, no problem. First if you have already loaded IE7 let's get rid of tha t by using these Microsoft instructions.

Alright we have SP3 and IE6 so let's fix the crashing issue. This is actually caused by a prior Windows Update, KB 942367. For some reason however the crashing really didn't become a problem until SP3 Beta started floating around and it deals with the old urlmon that Microsoft has patched a few times. This is a pretty straight forward fix of adding a registry key, FEATURE_PROTECT_DECOMPRESSION_FILTER_FROM_ABORT_KB942367.

Registry information

Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall the operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.
After you apply this hotfix, you must create and enable the Iexplore.exe registry entry. To do this, follow these steps:

1.Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.

2.Locate and then click the following registry subkey:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main\FeatureControl\

3.On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click Key.

4.Type FEATURE_PROTECT_DECOMPRESSION_FILTER_FROM_ABORT_KB942367, and then press ENTER.

5.Right-click FEATURE_PROTECT_DECOMPRESSION_FILTER_FROM_ABORT_KB942367, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.

6.Type an asterisk symbol (*), and then press ENTER.
Note The asterisk symbol (*) represents any process name that uses Urlmon.dll. If you want to make this change for an individual application that uses Urlmon.dll, you can use the name of that application instead of the asterisk symbol (*). For example, you can use Appname.exe.

7.Right-click the asterisk symbol (*), and then click Modify.

8.In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.

9.Exit Registry Editor.

Now I've heard everything. A reported "leaked" recording produced by the National District Attorney's Association says very clearly in the recording that CD pirates are linked to terrorist.

The full video is suppose to be linked on various Torrent sites however here is a short clip:

Your message did not reach some or all of the intended recipients.

      Subject:             RE: billing
      Sent: 2/20/2008 12:58 PM

The following recipient(s) could not be reached:

      Sally xxxxxx on 2/20/2008 12:58 PM
            There was a SMTP communication problem with the recipient's email server.  Please contact your system administrator.
            <xxxxxxxxxx.com #5.5.0 smtp;550-xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx blocked by ldap:ou=rblmx,dc=worldnet,dc=att,dc=net>

Look familiar? ATT.net is using a private block list and it appears you cannot even check the list to verify it or why your listed.

From all accounts I can find on the web ATT.net uses a really bad RBL and blocks a large number of legit email servers. I spent an hour trying to locate how to ask them to unblock an IP so in case you end up needing it I’ll save you the hour:

http://worldnet.att.net/general-info/mail_info/block_admin.html

If you have installed IE7 or XP SP3 and found Remote Web Workplace no longer works then here are your fixes.

Fix Number 1: RWW gives error message: "Invalid server name specified"

1. Click Start-->Run, type following command and click OK.
regsvr32 /u "%windir%\downloaded program files\msrdp.ocx"
2. Click Start-->Run, type regedit and click OK.
3. Search for msrdp.ocx, export and then delete all the keys found.
4. Restart the client and check if the issue persists.

If the above did not solve the problem also try this:
Please click Start-->Run, type CMD and click OK. Then run following commands:
regsvr32 urlmon.dll /s
regsvr32 hlink.dll /s
regsvr32 msjava.dll /s
regsvr32 mshtml.dll /s
regsvr32 jscript.dll /s
regsvr32 vbscript.dll /s
regsvr32 shdocvw.dll /s
regsvr32 browseui.dll /s
regsvr32 actxprxy.dll /s
regsvr32 softpub.dll /s
regsvr32 scrrun.dll /s
regsvr32 shell32.dll /s
regsvr32 Oleaut32.dll /s
regsvr32 wintrust.dll /s
regsvr32 dssenh.dll /s
regsvr32 rsaenh.dll /s
regsvr32 cryptdlg.dll /s
regsvr32 dssenh.dll /s
regsvr32 rsaenh.dll /s
regsvr32 gpkcsp.dll /s
regsvr32 sccbase.dll /s
regsvr32 slbcsp.dll /s
regsvr32 cryptdlg.dll /s
regsvr32 schannel.dll /s
regsvr32 wuapi.dll /s
regsvr32 wuaueng.dll /s
regsvr32 wuaueng1.dll /s
regsvr32 wucltui.dll /s
regsvr32 wups.dll /s
regsvr32 wuweb.dll /s
regsvr32 atl.dll /s
regsvr32 wucltui.dll /s
regsvr32 initpki.dll /s

Fix Number 2: You attempt to connect to a Desktop or Server via RWW and you get the following:

"This portion of the Remote Web Workplace requires the Microsoft
Remote Desktop ActiveX Control. Your browser's security settings may
be preventing you from downloading ActiveX controls. Adjust these
settings and try to connect again."

1. Internet Options, Security, Internet, Custom Level, ActiveX Controls and Plug-ins:

"Allow previously unused ActiveX controls to run without prompt"

Set to enabled, restart IE, try RWW again, make a server or desktop connection and you will be prompted to reinstall the RWW ActiveX control, install it and finish connection to server or desktop. If this works then go back and set the control to default and you should be fine.

You might want to take a little look at Yahoo's Web Beacon statement as it sure looks like they are trying to do a FaceBook:

Yahoo! also uses web beacons on and off of Yahoo! for a number of purposes including research and reporting for some of our clients. Please use the second link below to learn more about how we conduct this research and how you can opt-out.

They go on to talk about how they are part of this Network Advertising Initiative however I for one am sick and tired of services and companies making me "opt out" when they should be asking me to "opt in".

Most content on the Internet-- from the latest political news to up-to-the-minute sports scores and stock quotes-- is free to consumers. Why? Because of effective Internet advertising.

What makes Internet advertising effective is the use of technologies that allow advertising networks to make inferences about consumer tastes and provide relevant content. Because of the seemingly complex nature of these technologies, many users have become concerned about their online privacy. NAI or the We Spy On You Network.

So if your not wanting Yahoo to now spy on you then go here and step through the process which says will stop their spying. Web Beacons

You might want to take a litle look at Yahoo's Web Beacon statement as it sure looks like they are trying to do a FaceBook:

Yahoo! also uses web beacons on and off of Yahoo! for a number of purposes including research and reporting for some of our clients. Please use the second link below to learn more about how we conduct this research and how you can opt-out.

They go on to talk about how they are part of this Network Advertising Initiative however I for one am sick and tired of services and companies making me "opt out" when they should be asking me to "opt in".

Most content on the Internet-- from the latest political news to up-to-the-minute sports scores and stock quotes-- is free to consumers. Why? Because of effective Internet advertising.

What makes Internet advertising effective is the use of technologies that allow advertising networks to make inferences about consumer tastes and provide relevant content. Because of the seemingly complex nature of these technologies, many users have become concerned about their online privacy. NAI or the We Spy On You Network.

So if your not wanting Yahoo to now spy on you then go here and step through the process which says will stop their spying. Web Beacons

Well I think I get to toot my own horn for a few minutes here as was back in July of last year I said,

"So if Vista SP1 Beta won't make it out till December then you're looking at end of February to March for RTM if we don't go through multiple Beta1, Beta2, etc and I don't think we will or at least if we do they will be very short lived versions. With a February Launch set for Longhorn it would only make sense that Vista SP1 would be released on or after that date from a marketing stand point as well as a technical one. If we can say that Longhorn is set for February and Vista SP1 for the same or early March then where does that put XP SP3? You know Microsoft isn't going to steal any Longhorn/Vista thunder so either SP3 much be before or after. Knowing again that Microsoft would never release XP SP3 prior to Longhorn Launch as well as Vista SP1 means XP SP3 will be after March pushing it back even further than some expected."

So today Microsoft just made me a fortune teller as they announced Vista SP1 was RTM and would be available to OEMs and VL Customers between now and March with general release via Microsoft Download and Windows Update in March. How's that for a call!

I also stated I did not think Microsoft would released XP SP3 until after Vista SP1 and so far I'm dead on the money with that call as well. From everything I can tell SP3 is ready as multiple Beta Builds have been fine with the only problem being it basically crashes IE6 so hello IE7 I guess. I have a hard time believing SP3 needs any further work so it's being pushed back strictly from a marketing perspective at this point I think. The beta is being widely used and several well known sites have posted SP3 makes XP faster than SP2 so with that kind of news and Vista's obvious bloat you can see Microsoft isn't going to make a big deal about XP SP3 nor hurry it's release.

So shall I make a call when I expect SP3 to make it out?