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WASHINGTON (AP) — A large U.S. spy satellite has lost power and propulsion and could hit the Earth in late February or March, government officials said Saturday.

The satellite, which no longer can be controlled, could contain hazardous materials, and it is unknown where on the planet it might come down, they said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the information is classified as secret.

“Appropriate government agencies are monitoring the situation,” said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National S ecurity Council.

“Numerous satellites over the years have come out of orbit and fallen harmlessly. We are looking at potential options to mitigate any possible damage this satellite may cause.”

He would not comment on whether it is possible for the satellite to be perhaps shot down by a missile. He said it would be inappropriate to discuss any specifics at this time.

A senior government official said that lawmakers and other nations are being kept apprised of the situation.

The largest uncontrolled re-entry by a NASA spacecraft was Skylab, the 78-ton abandoned space station that fell from orbit in 1979. Its debris dropped harmlessly into the Indian Ocean and across a remote section of western Australia.

In 2000, NASA engineers successfully directed a safe de-orbit of the 17-ton Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, using rockets aboard the satellite to bring it down in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean.

In 2002, officials believe debris from a 7,000-pound science satellite smacked into the Earth’s atmosphere and rained down over the Persian Gulf, a few thousand miles from where they first predicted it would plummet.

Source: CNN

Well I guess it was only a matter of time. Microsoft has already shipped the first testing builds of Windows 7, the successor of Windows Vista, to key partners. The Redmond company will not of course, under any conditions confirm this detail, or breathe a single word about the early testing development milestone of Windows 7, but various third parties were not as shy as Microsoft when it came down to sharing details about the next iteration of Windows. But despite the deafening silence from Microsoft around the next version of the Windows operating system, Windows

7 Milestone 1 Build 6.1.6519.1 indeed shipped outside of Redmond.

Included in this article are the first leaked screenshots of Windows 7, courtesy of ThinkNext. As you can see from the image at the top of this article Microsoft has dropped Windows 7 ULTIMATE into the laps of its selected pool of partner testers. Windows 7 Ultimate is version 6.1 (Build 6519.1.x86fre.winmain.071220-1525).
Windows 7 features support for multiple video cards from different manufacturers running simultaneously and comes with a new Windows Media Center. With Windows 7 M1 already available, Microsoft is now planning to drop M2 in April/May 2008 as well as M3 in the third quarter. At the same time the Beta, Release Candidates and RTM dates are yet to be set. However, Microsoft did indicate to its partners that it is looking to the second half of 2009 for the release to manufacturing of Windows 7.

Source: The Hotfix

Microsoft has again confirmed that the “big release” approach to software development is alive and well at Microsoft. Ballmer said as much earlier this year in advance of the retail Vista launch, but the company is reiterating the point now as it ramps up preparation for the next version of Windows and a renewed push for software subscriptions.

2 + 2 = the OS cycle

Recently, Microsoft’s COO Kevin Turner used the Worldwide Partner Conference (WPC) in Denver to confirm that the company still believes in rolling out its “big dogs” (monumental releases of Windows and Office) every few years, staged with interim releases of the OS. Turner told attendees that Microsoft would aim for major OS releases every four years and would resume positioning minor interim updates in between those major releases. For all intents and purposes, this means a new version of Windows every 2 years, with every other release being an architecturally significant one.

At a closed door session Thursday at Microsoft’s Global Exchange Conference in Orlando, Microsoft got a little more specific. Sources tell Ars Technica (and CNET, Mary Jo Foley, and Todd Bishop) that Microsoft confirmed a 2010 target for the next version of Windows, but this was already somewhat obvious; when you add 4 years to 2006—the year Vista was released—you get 2010. Microsoft has also confirmed that the working name of the next release is “Windows 7″ (no real surprise there, as Vista is Windows 6, XP Windows 5.1, etc.). Notably, there is no interim release planned between now and then. (I speculate that announcing such an interim, 2008 release would kill Vista sales to businesses.)

Microsoft didn’t reveal much else about Windows 7, other than it would have multiple SKUs (just like Vista), come in 32-bit and 64-bit flavors (let’s hope they change their mind on this), and that the company was planning to offer subscription services built around it. This latter point is quite important and is a major reason the company is talking openly about the next version of Windows now. It’s my view that the company is beginning what is essentially a four-year crypto-marketing effort for software subscriptions. 

Subscribing to Windows may become necessary

Microsoft desperately needs to reassure its partners that it won’t repeat another Vista-like development cycle. Love it or hate it, Vista’s tardy arrival has damaged the company’s reputation for putting out frequent, usually upgrade-worthy releases. This hurts the company in ways not obvious to end users.

Microsoft’s pie-in-the-sky, dream-come-true version of the future is one in which both businesses and consumers subscribe to Microsoft products rather than buy them. As I wrote way back in 2002, this is ultimately about annualizing software revenue for Microsoft (IT shops don’t mind it either, in theory). Obviously Microsoft’s big focus is on subscriptions for businesses, but the company is already testing “pay as you go” consumer subscriptions in developing countries.

It’s likely no coincidence that Microsoft is out reassuring everyone about their development cycle in the wake of a stinging Forrester study of Microsoft’s business-oriented subscription program (Software Assurance). That study found that customers who are subscribing to Microsoft’s OS are getting an especially bad deal right now because the time between releases is too long. More than a quarter of SA subscribers told Forrester that they did not plan to renew. This is bad news for a program that Microsoft would like to extend to as many customers as possible.

Indeed, the Gartner Group now predicts that Microsoft is positioning itself to make software subscriptions mandatory for future versions of Windows. A new report by Gartner notes that Microsoft is already making several business tools available only via Software Assurance, and Gartner expects to see this trend continue, according to ComputerWeekly. Gartner could be completely wrong, but if so, they are probably only wrong with regards to the mandatory angle. It is likely that Microsoft will continue to expand its practice of making important features available only to subscribers.

Windows 7 must be on time

When one thinks of “Windows 7,” one might be inclined to make all manner of jokes about it being 7 years out or some such. Windows 7 will, I dare say, be different. It has to be. If Windows 7 is significantly late, it will all but destroy anyone taking Microsoft’s subscription programs seriously.

Can Microsoft really hit this target? Microsoft has already said via its public relations face that while Windows 7 is targeted for 2010, “the specific release date will ultimately be determined by meeting the quality bar.”

I believe that’s only half the story. By returning to its vision of a new OS every 2 years, Microsoft has built a kind of escape hatch into the Windows development process. In this post-Vista era, Microsoft will need to aggressively cut features on upcoming OSes if it appears that they have any chance of causing a significant delay. If the company can carry through on its vision of a new OS every 2 years, cutting such features may mean nothing more than delaying them two years, or rolling them into service packs. As Vista has shown, this is the kind of discipline Microsoft needs. They need it to restore faith in the company’s development cycle, and they absolutely need it if Software Assurance is to become anything but a bad deal.

Source: Ars Technica

With Windows still managing to find its way to over 95 percent of the desktop computers sold each year, it’s not surprising that one can find plenty of people interested in giving their feedback about what future versions of Windows should be able to do. A few years ago, before Windows Vista had even shipped, Microsoft sent out a wish list form asking people what features they would like to see in the next version of Windows, currently code-named Windows 7. The top wished-for features in this list were recently leaked to the public and have popped up at various sites (e.g., Neowin). While anonymous sources at Microsoft tell us that they bear no relationship to the actual feature set Microsoft is currently writing for Windows 7, the list does provide interesting insight into what the Windows-using public most wants from Windows.

The features are listed in no particular order, but they break down into various categories depending on what part of Windows the feature request falls under. Many requests for improvements in Internet Explorer, such as a session restore function, are fairly obvious wishes for features that already exist in competitive products such as Firefox and Opera. Other suggestions, such as a tabbed Windows Explorer, look for features from web browsers to migrate into the general user interface.

Some of the feature requests are clearly unrealistic, such as the desire to “back up” Xbox 360 games to the PC (yeah, I don’t think Microsoft will be doing that one). Others are minor user interface enhancements that would be nice additions but wouldn’t really change the Windows experience, such as a progress bar when hibernating the system. However, there are a few that make good sense and would be welcome additions to the operating system, such as a built-in video and audio codec manager. 

                                                   Excerpt from the leaked list.

A Windows 7 insider who wishes to remain anonymous told Ars that the leaked feature list was gathered before any real development on Windows 7 was started, and readers should not expect to see requests from the list necessarily implemented in Microsoft’s next major Windows release.

The Windows 7 team was directed to look at all major desktop operating systems, including the latest Linux distributions and Apple’s OS X Leopard, but this was more for general impressions than to look for specific features to implement. Development of Windows 7, which is being built off the Windows Vista code base, is apparently proceeding at a fairly brisk pace, with about half of the desired features already implemented. Unlike the tortuous development process for Windows Vista, the Windows 7 team is actually ahead of schedule at this point, although as with all major software projects, this may not last.

One thing that Windows 7 is likely to contain is a new look for the user interface. The same Microsoft insider told Ars that several options are currently being considered, with the general goal being a cleaner look rather than adding on more gloss and shine. Of course, this too could change before Windows 7 hits the shelves. Microsoft has not committed to a firm release date for Windows 7, but a target date of somewhere between late 2009 and early 2010 is the current goal.

By Jeremy Reimer

Source: Ars Technica

Excited and whimsical speculation about future versions of Windows is a popular pastime, almost as much as complaining that newly-released versions are too different from the “old reliable” releases that everybody knows and (sometimes) loves. With Windows Vista recently celebrating its first birthday and preparing for the release of Service Pack 1, a team of developers at Microsoft is already busy working on its successor. While Microsoft has been pretty good about keeping the details of “Windows 7″ under wraps, a few enthusiastic employees have leaked out a few details. As is usually the case in these situations, people have taken these tiny tidbits and added their own—often highly improbable—speculation. In this brief report, we’ll review what we know, what we expect, and what we’re calling bunk on, all based on our knowledge of Windows 7 from inside sources at Microsoft.

Separating the wheat from the chaff

One thing we all know about Windows 7 is the management team that will be leading the project. Jim Allchin—the veteran who led the Windows XP and Vista teams—is gone, and in his place is Steven Sinofsky, who previously headed up the Office 2007 project. This has raised all sorts of speculation that the Windows user interface will be getting a similar sort of “face lift” as the venerable Office suite did in its last release. Some have even gone so far as to say it would be “Ribbon-based.”

Windows 7 will get a facelift, but the extent of the UI changes are not yet known at Microsoft: current Windows 7 builds, which we have seen in person, use the Vista interface. Final designs for the UI have not yet been decided, and likely will not be for several months. If someone shows you any leaked screenshots of Windows 7, you can tell them that they have almost certainly been duped by enthusiastic fakers with a copy of Photoshop. Humans are visual creatures, and for most people the user interface is the only way to know that something has changed with a new release of the operating system. Unfortunately, the UI is typically the last thing to be finalized. Those of you who have watched the development of previous versions of Windows know that even once you start seeing concept UIs, nothing is set in stone.

With Windows 7, even the boot screen hasn’t been designed yet. Currently, when Windows 7 boots, it displays a stylized “7″ taking up most of the screen, drawn like an artist’s quick sketch with thin lines using the Windows logo colors.

Don’t throw away those Win32 apps just yet

Another common prediction is that Windows 7 will do away with backwards compatibility, and instead, run all previous Win32 applications in a built-in virtual machine. This rumor is false. The theme of “throwing it all away” and starting over with something fresh and new is a common desire in computer enthusiast circles. Typically, people will reference Apple’s decision to virtualize the “Classic” Mac OS when the company released OS X, and assume that Microsoft is eager to do the same.

However, this argument completely ignores the reasons why Apple went the virtualization route in the first place: “Classic” applications were written to run on an OS with no memory protection and assumed that they could address any piece of memory they wanted. Such applications could only run in a virtual sandbox on a modern OS with full memory protection, such as Mac OS X.

Microsoft has no such limitation with Win32 applications, which ran natively on Windows NT ever since its first release in 1993. The Win32 subsystem has worked well ever since. Why would Microsoft throw away years of working, tested code to run Win32 apps in a VM sandbox, with all the attendant extra RAM requirements and barriers to inter-application communication?

We believe that Microsoft will be bundling the ability to run older applications in virtual machines if desired as part of the base Windows 7 product. Microsoft has been on this track for a while now: it released an older version of Virtual PC as a free download last year, and included a stripped-down version as part of Windows Vista Ultimate and Enterprise. Building a VM into Windows 7 will be the ultimate way of handling older applications that misbehave on modern versions of Windows. It will not be required, however.

The kernel gets smaller, but don’t expect MinWin miracles

Some technology journalists who read about the “MinWin” demonstration immediately thought that the Windows 7 core would magically shrink to MinWin’s specs of 25MB of disk and 40MB of RAM. Unfortunately, that excitement is a little misguided: MinWin is missing the entire graphical interface of Windows, as well as 90 percent of its functionality. Much of the bulk of Windows 7 will be due to the operating system supporting extra features that are not part of MinWin. However, the point of the exercise was to show that the Windows NT kernel continues to be developed and optimized.

Still, you can expect the trend of modularizing Windows to continue with Windows 7—Windows Server 2008 can already be run without the GUI, and this feature might eventually find itself in the consumer versions of Windows as well.

Multitouch? Multitouch.

The Internet was abuzz when a Microsoft employee in the Tablet PC division posted an excited message on his blog. Pulling no punches, he boasted that “if you are impressed by the “touch features” in the iPhone, you’ll be blown away by what’s coming in Windows 7.”

Microsoft has been working on multitouch technology with its Surface technology, and parts of this technology are indeed coming to Tablet PCs and laptops—Microsoft Research’s Steve Hodges demonstrated one possible way this transition could happen. Multitouch is definitely the future, and it looks like Windows 7 will be ready.

But when will Windows 7 be ready for the public? Microsoft isn’t saying, but my source tells me it is farther along than most people think: most of the features have been locked down, and work is proceeding at a steady pace. Longhorn this isn’t: Windows 7 is unlikely to fall into the tar pits of multiple, interlocking dependencies that plagued the Vista development team. Current estimates are for Windows 7 to appear in 2010, but it could arrive in late 2009 if all continues to go well.

Source: Ars Technica

Even with the tide apparently shifting in Blu-ray Disc’s favor, the HD DVD camp isn’t about to relent in the on-going high-definition format war. HD DVD still commands a significant portion of exclusive content and the most affordable hardware, giving the format a fighting chance – and nobody believes in HD DVD more than Universal Studios executive vice president Ken Graffeo, who also serves as the co-president of the HD DVD Promotional Group.
The HD DVD Group was rather mum on Warner’s surprise announcement right before CES to go Blu-ray Disc exclusive and cancelled its Sunday press conference. Graffeo, speaking to BetaNews, explains, “We heard about the whole move when everyone else did – when a lot of us were on planes flying to CES in Las Vegas … If we had our press event on Monday, it would have been different, but because it was right there on Sunday and we heard Friday afternoon we couldn’t even get to everybody … The entire flow of the presentation would have had to been changed. When we found out at the last minute, we had to regroup and say ‘Toshiba, what are you doing?’ and we didn’t have any answers.”
With HD DVD losing movie releases from Warner Bros. starting June, the HD DVD landscape could change drastically – something that the Promotional Group doesn’t yet have an answer for. “To be very honest with you, we have not addressed that yet,” Graffeo admitted. “Warner is still releasing HD DVD titles up until May. Warner has always been in two formats, and prior to Paramount’s switch, they had been in two formats, so now that Warner is exclusive… we just haven’t addressed it yet.”

View: Full Story @ DailyTech

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