Windows Vista is more susceptible to malware vulnerabilities than its eight-year-old predecessor Windows 2000, according to a recent independent study conducted by PC Tools.

With the public re-release of Vista Service Pack 1 comes a host of new updates including the retirement of the Reduced Functionality Mode.

After compatibility issues last week many of you may already be aware that Vista SP1 and XP SP3 were delayed. They are now back with a vengeance, available for download since last night. I know just how excited you guys are to download these service packs which will greatly enhance your operating system adding much needed fixes, with a side of glitches in Vista SP1’s case.

Users testing out the new service pack 1 for Vista are reporting issues when using Windows Update for the latest sound drivers, experiencing problems with no audio after the update. This issue mainly seems to affect users with Sigmatel or now known as IDT high def sounds, which are used quite a bit on Dell’s PCs (mine included).

Microsoft announced their plans to retire Windows XP licensing to OEMs and via retail chains by June 30, 2008. However, according to ARN Net some top PC vendors such as Dell are planning on using a loop-hole to get PCs out the door to businesses with XP pre-installed on them rather than Vista. What’s the loop-hole you may ask? The loop-hole is a clause in Vista Ultimate and Vista Business that allows one to downgrade their operating system if the customer wishes to do so.

It’s amazing that at this juncture that Microsoft still has any partners left but it does and those partners want the company to stop its own bashing of Vista which they say is making selling Vista more difficult; as if it wasn’t hard enough.  Some partners claim recent statements from Microsoft have undermined efforts to sell the operating system.

This has been a long time in coming.  While other more popular and paid anti-virus solutions had refined interfaces for a while now, AVG was growing long in the tooth with AVG versions 7.0 through 7.5 the interface was functional but not too terribly attractive, well, version 8.0 is here with major interface changes, all for the better.  The updated version is not exclusive to Vista and is compatible with Windows XP and Windows 2000 as well.

If it’s time to replace that aging desktop of yours and if you must do it now, today, then this computer is probably one of your best bets.  If you can hold out I would suggest waiting for Windows 7 but this system will do very nicely in a pinch.  The HP Pavilion Elite M9250F brings a lot to the table for $1,150.

It’s no secret that when you buy a new computer today you have no choice but to get it with Windows Vista; unless you buy a Mac or buy/build a Linux System.  For the most part, the average consumer will buy a computer and most of those will head out to the nearest retailer buy an off-the-shelf desktop or laptop which will have Vista on it.

Windows Vista is costing Microsoft both time and money.  That money is in the form of losses due to lawsuits (mostly court fees so far) and lost revenues compared to the same time last year.  During the first three months of 2008, revenues are down for the company by 24% when compared with the same period in 2007.

Everyone following the power struggle between the tried and true older sibling in the Windows family, XP, and the younger, brasher, very-out-of-shape-from-too-many-cherry Pop-Tarts sibling, Vista, knows that Windows XP SP3 is offering a strong and fast update to a familiar OS for those who aren’t feeling Vista’s SP1.  If, for whatever reason, you can’t wait until Microsoft debuts the service pack itself, you might be happy to find out there’s a working torrent floating around of SP3 for your pirating pleasure.

If you bought a new computer just recently and if you were very lucky or unlucky as the case may be, it may have come with the 64-bit version of Vista.  While this will make the computer more efficient when running native 64-bit applications and allow you to address larger amounts of memory some applications that aren’t 64-bit compliant won’t run on it.  Yes, even some 32-bit applications won’t run under a 64-bit environment even though they should.

Some days it takes a reader to point out these things and point it out he did.  Steve Ballmer hinted that Windows XP might get an extension at least until Windows 7 is released.  This is mainly because Enterprise customers want nothing to do with Vista and all along he has been saying that Microsoft would listen to customer feedback and extend XP if that was the demand; they aren’t listening very well.

With all the lawsuits, bad press and negative feelings towards Vista, Ballmer had said that Microsoft would change its mind about discontinuing  XP if consumers (aka Businesses) asked (demanded) the continuation of XP.  Well, they have shown no signs of accepting Vista and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer hinted that XP will not end come June 30.

Our recent poll showed that Vista isn’t the worst operating system when compared with Windows ME but which is the worst?  Let’s start right in with a list of most operating system or operating system “add-ons” from Microsoft since the company started and see which our readers thinks is/are the very worst.