Gloves come off over Vista

E-Brief News reports that security flaws have emerged while Apple is warning iPod owners that they risk corrupting their music players if they connect them to computers with Windows Vista. While Microsoft trumpeted Vista worldwide last week, the Internet abounded with postings from people unimpressed or downright disappointed with the new operating system. According to a report on the iafrica.com site, critiques mocked Vista\'s grand promotion campaign, contending the system that Microsoft spent five years and $6bn to create had little to offer that hadn\'t been available in Apple\'s Macintosh computers for years. Bloggers complained that Vista was expensive and slowed computers that lacked upgraded memory and graphics components. Windows Vista contains a number of new security features and technologies that, taken together, are designed to make Windows PCs more secure and online experiences safer. However, a flaw that could allow remote attackers to take advantage of the new operating system\'s speech recognition feature is already being investigated by Microsoft researchers. Computer World reports that the impact of the flaw is expected to be small. Vista users would need to have the speech recognition feature enabled and have a microphone and speakers connected to their system. Meanwhile, Microsoft has significantly raised what it charges retail customers for technical support for its latest software, while narrowing the help offered to users. Customers who buy full retail copies of Vista and Office 2007 will get unlimited calls, e-mails and Web chats with Microsoft technical support during the first 90 days after activating the software. But after that period, customers contacting Microsoft for help with Vista will pay $59 per incident, up from $35. Microsoft will continue to help customers free of charge for issues related to security or viruses, as well as Windows Update/Microsoft Update. Full report on the iafrica.com site First Computer World report Second Computer World report

Apple has warned iPod owners that they risk corrupting their music players if they connect them to computers with Windows Vista, and has told them to hold off upgrading to Microsoft’s new operating system until the compatibility issues are resolved. AustralianIT reports that since the launch of Vista, Apple has run a new series of its \'switch\' advertisements targeting those considering changing to Microsoft\'s latest operating system. Apple also issued a repair tool for Windows Vista-based iTunes users, which allows the playback of music, bought from the iTunes Music Store. According to Apple, the compatibility problems include the inability to play music or video purchased from the online iTunes music store, difficulties synchronising contacts and calendars, as well as possible corruption when an iPod is disconnected from a computer running Vista. The most recent version of iTunes – 7.0.2 – \'may work with Windows Vista on many typical PCs\', Apple said, but \'a number of iTunes compatibility issues\' were being addressed in the next release of the software. According to a report on the IoL site, a spokesperson for Microsoft said that it did not believe iTunes users \'should stop using Vista for these reasons\', and that it had worked with a range of partners, including Apple, to make sure their software was compatible with Vista. Daily Tech reports that one of the new Apple TV ads shows a PC having to undergo surgery just to upgrade to Vista. While Bill Gates admits that he hasn’t seen that particular ad, he’s taking exception to the depiction of the PC. \'I don\'t think the over 90% of the (population) who use Windows PCs think of themselves as dullards, or the kind of klutzes that somebody is trying to say they are,\' he said. Full AustralianIT report Full report on the IoL site Full Daily Tech report