Hundreds Turn Out In Japan to Welcome Windows Vista
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Geeks flock to the famous electronics district to get the jump on Microsoft's new operating system.
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THE SOFTWARE giant on which the sun never sets is releasing its Microsoft Windows mega-patch in Post Offices throughout Japan. Microsoft in Tokyo has announced that it will exploit a network of 25,000 post
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft and one of Asia's leading discount airlines teamed up on Wednesday to promote the use of a new software program, or desktop gadget, to access Internet information on the Vista OS. The AirAsia Vista Gadget is the first such software program ever made by an Asian company to run exclusively on Vista, according to Microsoft. The company hopes it will start a trend in the region, where it has made available developer tools and engineers to give them a push. The AirAsia Vista Gadget, a small software application or widget, allows users to manage travel itineraries and access other information and services on AirAsia's Web site. The widget sits right on the Vista desktop, allowing users to find Internet information without the need to open a browser. AirAsia hopes it catches on as a way for customers to keep up with fare sales, something the company is known for. On Wednesday, for example, AirAsia started the "craziest sale in town": 99 percent discounts on half a million plane tickets for travel between April 1 and July 1. And when it opened five years ago, the budget airline promoted $1 fares to users who booked tickets online. "Internet booking was new in Malaysia when we launched," said Kathleen Tan, an executive vice president at AirAsia. The stunt helped turn AirAsia's Web site into one of the top online destinations for Internet users in the region. The company now sells 70 percent of its tickets over the Internet. Microsoft aims to promote the use of such software in the future. The company has made available around 2,000 software engineers globally to aid developers, in addition to providing information on its Web site. "There's been a tendency to think of the Web as something you browse on, but it's becoming more popular to pull Internet information to the user," said Dilip Mistry, general manager of developer and platform evangelism in the Asia-Pacific at Microsoft. Instant messaging software is one example of a program similar to the AirAsia Vista Gadget, as are RSS (Really Simple Syndication) news aggregators, Sudoku games and widgets that put stock quotes, weather forecasts, time zone clocks and other Internet information right on a user's desktop. Vista makes better use of such gadgets because it was made with them in mind, said Mistry. A Windows XP user, for example, might have to find an update on Microsoft's Web site in order to use some widgets, but they shouldn't have to with Vista. One drawback for the AirAsia Vista Gadget is a lack ofÂ Vista users in Asia. The consumer version of Vista just launched, and many local languages in Asia are not yet supported. Mistry said Vista is available in about 20 languages now, and users will be able to find it in 99 languages by the end of this year. Security has also been noted as a potential problem with desktop gadgets and widgets, due mainly to their rising popularity. The fear is that some people might put malicious code into the applications, or create poisoned applets. The price of Vista is also an issue that may hold back users in some parts of Asia, particularly users who want access to information from a budget airline. When asked if Microsoft might follow AirAsia's example of crazy discounts, such as a possible $1 Vista promotion, Mistry declined to answer. There are around 80 gadgets and widgets for Vista available in Asia, excluding China and Japan, today, according to Microsoft estimates. The company predicts the figure will quadruple over the next few months, since it takes just a few weeks to create one. In Europe, French national railway company SNCF is using a Vista gadget to steer customers to its online travel agency, Voyages-SNCF.com, while electronics and entertainment store FNAC.com will offer its customers a gadget to simplify comparison shopping. Â
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While Microsoft trumpeted Vista worldwide on Tuesday, the Internet abounded with postings from people unimpressed or downright disappointed with the new operating system.
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By LEE GOMES The Wall Street Journal  The launch of Microsoft's new Vista operating system Tuesday was supposed to put Windows in the limelight.
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Forget the people lining up at Best Buy to get Microsoft's new Windows Vista operating system. The real selling took place yesterday in a packed ballroom at the Washington Hilton, where more than 3,000 people from local companies and government agencies gathered to catch a glimpse of the new software....
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A small group of testers is now putting Windows Vista Service Pack 1 through its paces.
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Microsoft Corp.  founder Bill  Gates said on Tuesday the company's Windows Vista operating  system has received an incredible reception.
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CHIBA, Japan  - Thousands of Japanese rocked to the rhythm of a virtual techno beat act on Saturday in the second of nine concerts worldwide aimed at persuading the globe to go green.
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Baseball fans across Japan Saturday honored Ichiro Suzuki, the Seattle Mariners&#39; Japanese player who broke major league baseball&#39;s record for a season&#39;s hits.
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As global software giant Microsoft proudly previewed its Windows Vista operating system, in the small Baltic nation of Latvia, people were clutching their sides about the system's name -- which means 'fowl' in Latvian.
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Tens of thousands of cheering Japanese gathered in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Wednesday to hear Emperor Akihito pray for the nation's happiness and world peace in his traditional New Year address.
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Microsoft Corp. has released a near-final version of its new Windows Vista operating system to a select group of technical experts who are testing the software.
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People around the world are coming together to celebrate the world wide web and its impact on people.
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Many Japanese gamers dress up as their favorite characters at the giant convention, where the chance to get hands-on demos of new titles draws huge crowds.
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Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O said on Tuesday   that is has begun widespread testing of Windows Vista, the   long-awaited new version of the operating system that sits on   more than 90 percent of the world's PCs.
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Vista continued to eclipse technology news headlines on Thursday as everybody from industry analysts to tech bloggers to home users chime in on the arrival of Microsoft's latest operating system.