Earlier this week, Redmond software giant Microsoft looked like it might change its licensing agreements to permit Home editions of its Windows Vista operating system to be used under virtualization. But in the end, the company has decided to leave its licensing agreements unchanges, meaning that if computer owners want to run legally Windows Vista in virtualized environments, they’ll need to shell out the extra money for Business, Enterprise, or Ultimate editions of the operating system.
Microsoft originally outlined its virtualization policy under its end-user licensing agreements (EULAs) unveiled at toward the end of 2006. Those polices remain unchanged.
The decision to stick with existing EULAs is particularly irksome to Macintosh users looking to run the occasional Windows application using virtualization tools like Parallels Desktop or VMWare Fusion, (Users of Apple’s own Boot Camp dual-booting technology are not impacted, since it enables an Intel-based Mac to start up using a Windows operating system, rather than running Windows as a virtual OS within Mac OS X).
Earlier this week, Microsoft had indicated to Macworld that it would be changing its EULAs to permit virtualized use of Home editions of Windows Vista, in response to customer feedback.
Virtualization developers say they will continue to work with Microsoft on licensing for Windows Vista Home editions, but note that most virtualization users—on the Mac, anyway—are running Windows XP rather than Vista.
Mozilla is giving Firefox’s Smart Window two new tricks. If you haven’t tried it yet, Smart Window is an optional AI mode in Firefox with a built-in chat that helps you get things done while you browse. With this update, it can fill out online forms using details from your tabs and keep an eye on websites for you.
Tired of typing the same details into every form?
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.