Microsoft launches its long-awaited new version of Windows with the promise of next-generation computing power, but experts have warned that the system may suffer from the same security problems as its predecessors.
Windows Vista, which has been beset by delays, is finally going on sale to the public with the backing of a huge advertising campaign and widespread support from the computer industry.
The system - promoted with the tagline “The wow starts now” ? is intended to bring huge advances to computer users worldwide, offering detailed 3D graphics, better performance and improved protection from viruses and other online threats. Some security experts, however, are already concerned that the system may not be as secure as users have been led to expect.

Webroot Software, one of the plethora of security companies that helps protect Windows users from attacks, said that buyers should be aware of the potential holes in Vista. “We want to make sure that users understand the system’s limitations,” said Gerhard Eschelbeck, a spokesman for Webroot, “and caution them that Microsoft’s anti-virus programs may not fully protect them.” In testing, the company said, the new Windows Defender program failed to block 84% of viruses - including 15 of the most common pieces of malicious code.
It is not the only criticism being levelled at Vista, which has been hailed by some as the most significant advance from Microsoft in a generation. A number of campaigners have criticised the heavy technological burden the new system will bring. In order to utilise Vista’s capabilities fully, many users will need to buy expensive add-ons, or buy an entirely new system.
The Green Party on Monday claimed that the combination of new hardware and “paranoid” software restrictions would afflict users and the environment.

“There will be thousands of tonnes of dumped monitors, video cards and whole computers,” said Sian Berry, the Green Party’s principal speaker. “Future archaeologists will be able to identify a Vista upgrade layer when they go through our landfill sites.”

But consumers and companies are looking forward to the launch. Analysts anticipate the arrival of Vista will significantly boost the number of IT and manufacturing jobs, and retailers are awaiting a windfall. Some PC World branches were planning to open at midnight to sell the new system.

No Comments Yet »

The frozen ocean was captured by cameras aboard the European Space Agency?s Mars Express probe, which revealed an expanse of pack ice just north of the Martian equator, in Elysium, a region strewn with dormant volcanoes.

A vast, dust-covered ocean of ice is the most likely place to discover life on Mars, according to a team of British scientists. The frozen ocean was captured by cameras aboard the European Space Agency?s Mars Express probe, which revealed an expanse of pack ice just north of the Martian equator, in Elysium, a region strewn with dormant volcanoes. Dust kicked up by violent storms appears to have settled on the icy surface, outlining fragmented ice rafts covering an area as large as the North Sea. The water is believed to have seeped up from fissures, perhaps carrying ancient microbes with it, before freezing some 5 million years ago. Research by a team at University College London suggests microbes trapped in the ice could be protected against lethal ultraviolet light. By modelling the radiation striking the planet, and the effect it would have on microbes found on Earth, the scientists calculate that intact organisms may be lodged within the ice at a depth of 7.5 metres. Lewis Dartnell, lead scientist of the study, said: ?What we really want to find are cells we can thaw out and grow in the lab. The long-term survival of cells is much better in this frozen sea in Elysium than anywhere else we?ve seen.? In December, scientists spotted what may be be the first signs of liquid water on Mars, which had frozen into icy trails after bursting out of crater walls. This boosted hopes that life may be able to exist in the warm depths of the planet, but the sloping sites will be difficult to investigate.

No Comments Yet »