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This update addresses issues with Media Center for Microsoft Vista.

In addition to the fixes that are contained in the updates that are listed in the “Hotfix replacement information” section, the October 2007 Cumulative Update for Media Center for Windows Vista resolves the following issues:

• Several issues that are related to the Media Center Extensibility Platform
• An issue that affects digital cable card components when you use Scientific Atlanta cable cards
• Interaction issues that occur between Media Center PC and Microsoft Xbox 360 when Xbox 360 is used as a Media Center Extender.
• Autolaunch issues that occur with video CD (VCD) media

Supported Operating Systems: Windows Vista Home Premium; Windows Vista Ultimate.

Download x86(link, WGA free), X64(link, no WGA required)

Microsoft releases a new update for Windows Vista that improves the compatibility, reliability, and stability of the OS.

Download for 32bit Windows Vista(link, WGA Free) and 64bit(link, WGA Free)

This update, detailed in KB941969, resolves the following issues in Windows Vista:

• A compatibility issue that affects some third-party antivirus software applications.
• A reliability issue that occurs when a Windows Vista-based computer uses certain network driver configurations.

Click for more on Windows Update: Vista performance pack and DX9c Nov patch »

Microsoft have released a few updates on the Microsoft Download Center to resolve various issues in Vista and Server 2008

Vista:

• KB941229 (x86, WGA Free) (x64)
  This update addresses issues with Media Center for Microsoft Vista.
• KB941651 (x86, WGA Free) (x64)
  This is a reliability update. Install this update to improve the reliability of Windows Media Player 11 for Windows Vista in certain scenarios.
• KB941600 (x86, WGA Free) (x64)
  This update resolves some reliability issues in the USB core components on the Windows Vista operating system.
• KB941649 (x86, WGA Free) (x64)
  This update resolves some compatibility and reliability issues in Windows Vista. By applying this update, you can achieve better reliability and hardware compatibility in various scenarios.

Server 2008

• KB942239 (x86) (x64) (IA64)
  Install this update for Windows Server 2008 Beta 3 to provide the same storage upgrade support that is included with Windows Server 2008 RC0.

The stealth updates by Microsoft in July and August could prevent Windows XP users from installing up to 80 recent patches.

Microsoft officials say they are investigating reports that files the company deployed this summer prevent Windows XP users who run a built-in “repair” function from installing as many as 80 of the company’s latest security patches.

Click for more on Microsoft Investigates Blocked Patch Updates in XP »

The stealth Update that Microsoft released back in August isn’t quite as harmless as the company claims.

Ever since the Redmond company’s recent download of new support files for Windows Update, users of XP’s repair function have been unable to install the latest 80 patches from Microsoft.

Click for more on Microsoft ‘Stealth Update’ Proving Problematic »

Enjoy your TV program without a TV tuner in Windows Media Center.

Just as we expected, Microsoft is getting official with its Windows Media Center Internet TV feature, which is set to go live in beta fashion tomorrow morning. According to Microsoft, US-based users of Vista Home Premium and Vista Ultimate will soon be able to download a simple update.

Click for more on Microsoft launches Windows Media Center Internet TV beta »

Microsoft explained the [misleading] “back-door” of Windows Update service.

It was widely reported last week that Microsoft had automatically updated systems that had Automatic Updates set to “Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them”. Nate Clinton, a Windows Update Program Manager at Microsoft posted a response on his blog shortly after the widespread [misconceived] reporting had gone out.

Click for more on The Windows Update Stealth Affair Cleared »

Skype has clarified an earlier statement which appeared to blame Microsoft’s monthly patch for last week’s outage of the VoIP service. Skype had attributed the two-day crash of its service to a large number of Windows users logging on after rebooting their systems to install Microsoft’s monthly updates. 

Owing to a lack of additional information, the justification seemed to blame Microsoft. On Tuesday, however, Skype posted a full admission that sought to clear the software giant.

Click for more on Skype absolves Microsoft from outage blame »

Microsoft release several new downloads today, which include Office 2007 SP1 beta for testers, which has been leaked on torrent network, and some more:

Office 2007 Service Pack (SP) 1 Beta 1. Microsoft made the first test build of Office 2007 SP1 available to Technology Adoption Program (TAP) participants only. Microsoft declined to discuss plans for the final SP1 ship date or feature set. (One anonymous poster on this blog provided what s/he said was a list of what?s included.)

Windows Live ID software development kit. Windows Live ID is Microsoft?s single sign-on authentication technology of which Microsoft Passport is a subset. On August 16, Microsoft released version 1.0 of two SDKs, allowing users to move between Windows Live services without having to log-in multiple times, and to do the same among third-party Web sites that make rely on the Windows Live ID technology. The SDK runs not only on Windows, but also on Linux, believe it or not.

Expression Blend 2 August Preview. Microsoft posted for download on August 14 a new test release of the next version of Microsoft?s Blend user-interface design tool. The tool fixes issues that some developers dabbling with test versions of Visual Studio 2008 have encountered when trying to build early versions of Silverlight apps.

Windows Vista Hardware Assessment Tool 2.1. Another new release of this tool (following by just a few weeks the 2.0 version, announced in early July) includes a number of additional features, including SNMP discovery and IP range scanning. This tool is designed to help companies assess whether their systems are ready to upgrade to Vista and Office 2007.

PerformancePoint Community Technology Preview (CTP) 4: As the Microsoft bloggers promised, the company did deliver this week a new test build of Microsoft?s forthcoming scorecarding server.

Microsoft Update Catalog Version 1.0: The catalog allows users to search for updates available via Microsoft Update and download them. Users also can import updates fromt he catalog into WSUS 3.0, System Center essentials 2007 or System Center Configuration Manager 2007.

Final version of Office Outlook Connector: On August 14, Microsoft made available for download the final release of the free connector enabling access to Windows Live Hotmail or Office Live Mail from inside Outlook 2003 or 2007.