MinWin, the core of Windows that allows administrators to run Windows at it’s very least components, is still around in Windows 8 – and much more prominent. At least, that is how the rumors are going these days. MinWin is basically just the very least that Windows needs to run: the kernel, HAL, TCP/IP, drivers and NTFS. With such little resources needed, you could run MinWin in a VM that takes up an extremely small footprint while still running what needs to be run.

Although the rumors are still flying about MinWin and the future of Hyper-V and XP Mode (they may be integrated into each other), the BUILD conference is where Microsoft will spill the beans on a lot of information on Windows 8. We’ll see how the predictions have been!

MinWin will allow Microsoft to decouple many subsystems from the core of Windows, including Internet Explorer. The underlying core that will be left will be the NT kernel. And that’s where Hyper-V may come into play, Villinger explained. It looks as if Hyper-V 3.0 could be baked into at least some Windows 8 client SKUs. The client-side Hyper-V hypervisor potentially could end up replacing XP Mode in Windows 7 and provide users with a way to run legacy apps on a much smaller and more secure virtualized Windows instance (MinWin), Villinger wrote.

Journalists were caught off guard last week when a authentic looking, but pretty fishy sounding, study was released. According to the study, Internet Explorer users scored lower on an online IQ test than other browser users. Many journalists reported on the story, and I had a post ready to be published, but it just didn’t feel right. I’m glad I didn’t, otherwise I’d be laughing at myself (although, to be honest, at first I thought it was legit). It made a lot of top stories, from the BBC to CNN. But, in reality, the company that did the research, ApTiquant, doesn’t even exist. The website for the firm was only recently registered and put online. Ouch. I guess in the age of the Internet, it’s difficult to verify information.

Windows XP is the leader when it comes to rootkits. With 74% of XP machines being infected with a rootkit. Windows 7 only accounts for 12% of infections.

Vlcek assumes that the big reason for this is the extra security built into Windows 7 and the huge amount of pirated copies of Windows XP installed. Many have not upgraded to the higher security of Service Pack 3 for Windows XP due to the fact it does expose that you are running a counterfeit copy of Windows. Microsoft will still serve you security updates as a pirate, but will label you as one in the process.

So, this is your reminder: it is best and most secure to run a legitimate copy of Windows and keep your box patched up with all the required updates for ALL of your software.

Rootkits have become an important part of the most sophisticated malware packages, particularly botnets, because they mask the infection from the user, the operating system and most security software. By installing a rootkit, the hacker insures the compromise goes undetected as long as possible, and that the PC remains available to the botnet’s controller for nefarious chores, such as sending spam or spreading malware to other machines.

At Microsoft, you’d probably not expect some weird job titles. But, deep in the Xbox Live team there is a team of “Unicorn Ninja’s” to help keep you safe and enjoy your online experience. They help keep hackers, cheaters, and those that keep you from enjoying your game (screaming obscenities, etc.) at bay. So, if you’ve had a close call with them, you probably weren’t doing something right on Xbox Live.

Day in and day out, the inboxes of Erickson and his fellow enforcers are piled high with stacks of complaints about offensive behavior, speech, and materials. They dutifully sort through it all and decide what’s next. That could be requiring a user to remove an offensive word or phrase from their profile to – in the more egregious cases – outright banning users.

According to NetMarketShare..com, Windows XP has finally fallen below the 50% mark in market share. Windows 7 is gaining and is at nearly 28%. Vista is well below that at just above 9%, and Mac OSX 10.6 is at ~4%. One thing I do notice is that the iPhone (iOS) is gaining and may pass the Mac OSX in market share. Apple knows it’s cash cow, and it’s not the Mac.

The DFT (Dark Forces Team) have been working on a utility that can load custom ROM’s on your Windows Phone 7 device. I’ve used custom ROM’s on my older Dell Axim Pocket PC, Motorola Q (Windows Mobile 6) and my Android powered phone, and they offer a lot over standard, vanilla ROM’s. From custom ringtones, to fully unlocked devices to extremely custom themes and features, the sky is the limit with custom ROM’s.

It’ll be interesting to see what the folks over at XDA Developers come up with in the coming weeks.

Microsoft has released a new theme for Windows 7 users, featuring beautiful beach sunsets from California and Hawaii.

I read this article at WinExtra this morning, and I’m glad I’m not the only one that this happened to. When I wanted to upgrade to a Windows Phone 7 through Verizon, I was first given a speech to buy the iPhone instead. Nope, I want the Windows Phone 7. I was two weeks away from an upgrade, so I waited. Two weeks later, I called again. Yet again, Verizon tried to convince me to go with a different phone: Thunderbolt, powered by Android. No, I still want the Windows Phone 7. After some pushiness on my side, I finally got it through his head that I wouldn’t accept anything less than the WP7. He thoroughly tried to convince me to NOT get a WP7 powered device. I don’t know if they have a lower profit margin or what, but I’ve never seen salespeople try and get someone to NOT buy a product. I’ve never had to argue with a salesperson to buy a product that I wanted that they had for sale. 

I hope Microsoft can get this under control. There are a lot of consumers out there that are being tricked and forced into buying a non-Windows Phone 7 device by the carriers that are supposed to be promoting the devices.  The carriers are forcing the Windows Phone 7 platform to failure, not the OS or the devices.

However it seems that, from everything I have read and seen personally, the carriers couldn’t care less about Windows Phone. Oh sure, head office might spin on and on about how much they like the phone and how they believe in the phone as part of their offerings to consumers; but when it comes down to the consumer in the store, Windows Phone might as well not even exist.

I’ve also seen a lack of advertising from Microsoft about their new phones. I’ve yet to see a commercial, much less a banner ad, from the phone operating system developers. If Microsoft plans on taking some market share from Apple and Google, it’s going to need to step up their game a bit and actively push this thing. I know Steve Ballmer can sell anything, I think he sold me a car once.

Google has always gotten a lot of flak from their advertising techniques. From snooping in email to checking out your browsing history, its all fair game from the “Anti-evil” company. While it may not mean much to some, it does show your lack of privacy while using Gmail. Microsoft has come up with a satirical video showcasing the Gmail Man and his snooping. “Ewwww!”

At a charity basketball game in Seattle, Martell Webster of the Minnesota Timberwolves, checks out Steve Ballmer’s guns. Not sure how in shape Mr. Ballmer is, but he’s built pretty stocky, and has the attitude to boot. I wonder if he could pull off a three pointer?

^{(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)}

As far as the lack of updates lately, I apologize. I’ve been cramming for a Cisco examination coming up very soon! Got the home lab set up and have been hitting the books pretty hard to beat this thing!