It hasn't been too awfully long since Windows Vista SP1 hit the intertubes for real, but the Vista team is already talking up SP2. Granted, we all know Redmond is focused on moving beyond all of this Vista hoopla and forging ahead with Windows 7, but there's apparently still some work to do on the outfit's current OS. Unfortunately, the latest update isn't exactly enthralling, as we're given no set time frame for launch and we're not shown any forthcoming changes that really get our juices flowing. For instance, Vista SP2 will add Windows Search 4.0 for faster and improved relevancy in searches, the Bluetooth 2.1 Feature Pack, ability to natively record data on Blu-ray media and Windows Connect Now (WCN) to simplify WiFi configuration. Wait, did you just yawn? You did. We saw it.

If you're looking for something with a little style and refinement in the PC world, you have a few options -- and Gateway has added another with its latest laptop, the MC7803u. The handsome 16-incher isn't just looks; it packs a 2GHz Core 2 Duo T5800 CPU, a 16:9 (1366 x 768) glass display, 4GB of RAM, 320GB hard drive, an ATI Mobility Radeon 3650 with 512MB of memory, 802.11a/b/g/n, gigabit ethernet, an HDMI port, 4 USB jacks, and a 1.3 megapixel webcam. Besides housing other niceties like a 5-in-1 card reader and ExpressCard 54 slot, the system also sports illuminated multimedia controls down either side, a backlit keyboard, synthetic leather palm rests, and comes in either high-gloss black or burgundy. After playing around with it for a bit, we can honestly say we're fans, though just like some other glass displays we've seen recently, that glare is a bit annoying. The device goes on sale November 1st, and will retail for $999.99. Not too steep a price to pay for the respect and envy of your peers, is it?

Maybe you're running a six-year old pirated copy of XP because you still don't trust Vista -- "I'm waiting on one more Service Pack, just to be extra sure," you say. If that's the case, you might have to come up with a new excuse soon: Mary Jo Foley over at ZDNet is reporting that a beta build of Vista Service Pack 2 is already in the hands of some software and hardware partners, and that Microsoft intends to deliver both Vista SP2 and Server 2008 SP2 before it launches Windows 7 -- err, 6.1, no wait, yeah let's go with 7 -- which it supposedly hopes to release June 3rd of next year. At present we know very little about SP2's features, but we're sure you have a few ideas.

What do people think of Windows Vista when they learn more about some of its features? To find out, we located three people who had been living in a cave around the time of the massive advertising campaign at Vista's launch and started out by asking them what they thought of Windows Vista.

Subject 1: "My niece was looking up something for her nutritional science class and went to this Web site called apple.com. There were a lot of videos there that said Vista was bad."

Subject 2: "I've heard that Windows Vista gives you scabies."

Subject 3: "Four of my friends on the American Online forwarded me an email that said Bill Gates would give me $10 million if I would tell my friends to buy Windows Vista and he didn't. It must stink."

Then we told them about some of the great hardware that Windows Vista supports.

HP unsurprisingly isn't ready to touch this one in any sort of official way just yet, but BusinessWeek is reporting that at least some folks at the company are "exploring the possibility of building a mass-market operating system," which would be positioned as an alternative to Vista. That OS, as you might have guessed, would be based on Linux, although BusinessWeek's sources say it "would be simpler and easier for mainstream users." By all indications, however, this so-called "skunk works team" within HP doesn't seem to have moved much beyond the brainstorming stage, and HP is sticking strictly to its official line that it is more interested in "innovating on top of Vista," with HP chief technology officer Phil McKinney even going so far as to say that the idea that it's funding a huge R&D team to go off and create an operating system "makes no sense."

[Via Electronista]

Hold your horses, vaquero. Let's not blow this all out of proportion here. While it's no secret that a certain amount of Vista purchasers are utilizing that "downgrade to XP" option to its fullest extent, a small (and let us emphasize "small") collection of data suggests that some 35% of "mainly enterprise-class users" have opted for XP over Vista on their newly-purchased rig. By scouring data from the 3,000 or so members feeding information to the InfoWorld Windows Sentinel tool, the site found that just over 1 in 3 users had defected to Microsoft's previous OS. Granted, the tool cannot take into account Linux users or even the "Hackintosh crowd," though as Randall Kennedy puts it, 35% is "still a huge percentage, and way out of proportion for even the dramatically unpopular Windows Vista."

Alright, as much as we prefer blind conjecture, we've seen it for ourselves now and Microsoft's "Mojave Experiment" is pretty much everything we expected it to be. To Microsoft's credit, they've managed to get the nicest collection of statements ever made about Windows Vista condensed into cute little candid sound bytes from that really honest person next door. It's just too bad they had to use base trickery to do it. Oh, and in case you're into trumped up numbers: average rating of Windows Vista was 4.5, average rating of Mojave was 8.5. What are you trying to say, Microsoft? That people heard really bad things from their friends and co-workers, but a slick 10 minute sales presentation showed them the light?

Update: We're hearing you guys loud and clear in comments. We'll admit, we hate senseless Microsoft / Vista bashing just as much as the next guy, and that's not what this is about. The problem here is Microsoft basically filmed itself an infomercial (or "pulled a Pizza Hut," as pointed out in comments) and is passing it off as some interesting experiment into FUD. If these users had been sent home for a week or so with a Vista machine -- or better yet, a copy of Vista to install themselves -- that'd be a whole different story, but they weren't. There was no scientific method in play, no control experiment, nothing. They were shown a 10 minute demo. That's it.

Read - The "Mojave Experiment"
Read - Windows Vista Team Blog

You may have heard that Microsoft is "like, totally serious, guys" about patching up Vista's good name, and, well, so far they're off to a rocky start. After pushing up a few lackluster web ads, they've decided to trick users en masse to prove a point. They've termed the Punk'ing the "Mojave Experiment," which placed 120 regular computer users of all different OS persuasions in front of a Vista box, except they were told they were getting to look at the next Microsoft OS, codenamed "Mojave." Results of the test will be unveiled tomorrow in what are sure to be glowing customer reports. Scientific validity of this test aside, we're not exactly sure testimonials from a blind taste test are going to turn the tide of Vista ill-will, but now we're starting to sound like Demi Moore our parents.

[Via Techdirt]

The next-generation Q1 Ultra may be due next year, but Sammy's trying to squeeze every bit of life it can out of the current iteration with two new flavors. Announced today, the Q1U-CMXP boasts an integrated HSDPA 3G cellular modem, while the Q1UP-V is a Q1 Ultra Premium featuring Vista Business. As for the former, it includes just about every connectivity option you could wish for: 802.11b/g WiFi, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR, Ethernet and a WWAN modem that connects to the AT&T Broadband Connect network; outside of the one new feature, however, the specifications are the same as the standard Q1 Ultra XP model that was launched in May of 2007. Both newcomers (if you can call 'em that) are available as we speak for $1,499 and $1,449 in order of mention.

Being that it is Bill's special day and all, we figured we'd give you a shot at stepping into his shoes and shaping Microsoft into something even more dominant that the juggernaut it is. Just imagine taking a seat in the biggest corner office Redmond has to offer, getting your Outlook set up, fiddling through a mess of old floppy discs and finally conjuring up a business plan. How in the world would you tweak / overhaul / etc. Microsoft if you were suddenly dubbed the big kahuna? We know this one's wide (and we mean gaping wide) open, so feel free to write a book down there.

Oh no, Dell isn't forgetting to do its duty to Microsoft. Just as promised, it has now bumped up the prices for folks wanting to stick with Windows XP Professional. As of now, the only way to get XP pre-installed is by selecting an option that also throws Vista in the box, and if you're specifically after Windows XP Home Edition or Windows XP MCE, you're thoroughly out of luck. On eligible machines, it looks as if getting XP Pro along with Vista Business will cost you $99 more than Vista Home alone, while having Vista Ultimate ride shotgun adds another $50. Or you can look at it like Dell's tossing in XP for free with those upper-level Vista packs -- whatever floats your boat. Let us know if you notice any different pricing arrangements.

[Via ComputerWorld]

For those with identity crises, great senses of humor, or serious cases of Vista Fever, Spec-Works' VistaPerfection theme for the iPhone brings all the splendors of Windows Vista -- well, the important visual aspects, anyway -- to your pocket in a way that we can safely say Microsoft never intended. If the wow hadn't already started, ladies and gentlemen, it certainly has now.

[Via IntoMobile]

Just an update on the broadcast flag controversy: NBC has copped to an "inadvertent mistake" in flagging the broadcast of American Gladiators as content prohibited from recording, while Microsoft stated it is only following the FCC's rules, and "fully adheres to flags used by broadcasters". This conveniently ignores the fact that there is no legal requirement for Windows Vista Media Center to recognize the broadcast flag and disable recording, but it does. Errant metadata can and does happen, but for such a "feature" to be buried within one's software unknowingly is troubling. Expect to hear more from the EFF and others questioning why Media Center unnecessarily turns parts of itself off at a broadcaster's command, and rightly so. What's most disturbing, and likely to go sadly without protest is that someone out there is actually watching, and trying to record for later, American Gladiators. The more you know indeed.

[Via Techdirt]

Owners of HP's older MediaSmart HDTVs, your sometime is now as Chris Lanier reports the company's posted the long-awaited Vista Media Center Extender update. The SL4278N and SL4778N model TVs should prompt for the update automatically if they're connected to the internet, and afterwards connect to your fully patched Vista Home Premium or Ultimate edition machine and access your Media Center library (DivX, Xvid, h.264, MPEG-2 and WMV of course), live TV, recorded TV or other features directly through the TV. Check out HP's support page for a full walkthrough on the process and keep your Windows Media Center remote close by.

[Via Chris Lanier, HP press release]