ArsGeek

REDMOND, Wash., June 30, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that the development of the Microsoft® Windows® Vista® Millennium Edition® Two® (Windows Vista Me 2®) consumer operating system has entered beta release and is set to ship to manufacturing in February of 2009. Windows Vista Me 2 is the latest version of the Microsoft operating system designed specifically for the home user. It improves the home computing experience by delivering enhancements in the areas of Virtualization, PC health, digital media, home networking and the online experience. Consumers will be able to purchase retail versions of Windows Vista Me 2 February 28, 2009.

“By focusing principally on the needs of the average user, we were able to create a more unified PC experience for users of all levels while enhancing existing users’ experiences by enabling new home-computing scenarios,” said Rory Smotes, group vice president of the Platforms Strategy, Marketing and Developer Group at Microsoft. “Windows Vista Me 2 supports our goal to evolve the Windows-based PC to continue to provide a rich and exciting user experience in the connected home, while not violating any of the numerous patents held by other companies.  In addition, Windows Vista Me 2 will host it’s own schema of Digital Rights Management, assuring that the user never commits a crimed against the United States or any of the other numerous treaty nations.”

Virtualization, PC Health, Digital Media, Home Networking and Online Experience Enhancements

Windows Vista Me 2 is a timely technology update for home PC users. Enhancements to the home-computing experience are focused in the following areas:

Virtualization.  Windows Vista Me 2 marks a departure for Microsoft from a monolithic kernel to threaded environment hosting numerous instances of virtual operating systems.  Windows Vista Me 2 will allow users to spawn a virtual, 32 bit or 64 bit instance of Windows Vista Me 2 on each processor core, allowing for multiple applications to be launched while not taxing the underlying operating system.  Users will now be able to play games, surf the web and run other applications concurrently.

PC health. Windows Vista Me 2 provides an easier, more intuitive and stable computing experience. New features include a self healing file system, in which the entire system is mirrored on a separate, remote volume hosted by third parties.  Remote hosting ensures complete file integrity and will allow users to restore everything from a single file to their entire computer for a small fee.  If at any time your file system, files or any of your virtualized operating system instances become corrupt, they will instantly repair themselves based on the remote copy.  A high speed connection is required to utilize this function.

Digital media. Using PCs to do more with pictures, video, music and games is becoming increasingly popular among home PC users. Windows Vista Me 2 provides advancements in each of these areas with features such as Windows Picture Organizer (WPO) to store, modify and organize all of your digital photos.  New playback functionality for digital media allows users to purchase and play videos or music directly from the internet.  Since Windows Vista Me 2 utilizes many of the same drivers as Windows Vista, manufacturers of third party devices such as digital cameras, scanners or MP3 players will be able to update their products quickly.

Home networking. Windows Vista Me 2 further enables the “connected home” through the HNW, a feature that helps users quickly and easily find shared resources and connect them.  Now with one click of a button, discover all of the available wired and wireless networks and devices attached to them and access them with ease.

Online experience. Windows Vista Me 2 will provide the best Internet experience for families by providing enhanced features for doing the things that matter most to them: browsing the Internet, shopping online, sending and receiving e-mail, purchasing digital media, playing games online, doing Web publishing, and chatting or conferencing with friends and family. Windows Vista Me 2 includes Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.5 technologies, which adds print preview functionality, core reliability and performance enhancements to improve the home Internet experience.

Windows Vista Me 2 Pricing and Availability

Windows Vista Me 2 will be available in retail boxes or as a download from Microsoft. In addition, Windows Vista Me 2 will be available pre-installed on new PCs. The estimated retail price for Windows Vista Me 2 is  $209 (U.S.) for the full-package product and $109 (U.S.) for a version upgrade (from Windows Vista only). Parties interested in learning the estimated retail price in local currency for other countries should contact their local Microsoft subsidiary.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.

Technorati Tags: vista me 2, microsoft, windows, technology, operating systems, announcement, press release, geek

Popularity: 2% [?]