Microsoft products fit into two different life cycle stages — mainstream support and extended support. With mainstream support, users receive free security updates, stability improvements, bug fixes and occasional new features. In the extended support phase, security updates are available for free but other fixes require paid support. Microsoft reminded Windows XP users earlier this week that XP is now in the extended phase, and it said support for the operating system and Office 2003 will be officially discontinued by April 2014. Mainstream support for Windows Vista has also officially ended as of Tuesday, along with support for Office 2007. Both Windows Vista and Office 2007 will be in the extended support phase from now until April 2017. Microsoft recommends that users with PCs running Windows XP and Office 2003 should migrate to Windows 7 and Office 2010 before support is completely cut off and systems are left vulnerable to new forms of malware.

[Via Ars Technica]

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Microsoft has filed a lawsuit against Comet Group, LLC. for creating and selling more than 94,000 counterfeit recovery discs for Windows Vista and Windows XP. Microsoft said Wednesday that the discs were sold the customers who purchased new laptops. “As detailed in the complaint filed today, Comet produced and sold thousands of counterfeit Windows CDs to unsuspecting customers in the United Kingdom,” said Microsoft’s associate general counsel, Worldwide Anti-Piracy and Anti-Counterfeiting David Finn said. “Comet’s actions were unfair to customers. We expect better from retailers of Microsoft products — and our customers deserve better, too.” Microsoft believes Comet Group created the counterfeit discs in its factory and then sold them in its retail stores. Microsoft’s full press release follows after the break.

Microsoft Takes Legal Action Against U.K. Retailer Comet
A statement from David Finn, associate general counsel, Worldwide Anti-Piracy and Anti-Counterfeiting at Microsoft.

READING, England, and REDMOND, Wash. — Jan. 4, 2012 — Microsoft Corp. today issued proceedings against Comet Group PLC for allegedly creating and selling more than 94,000 sets of counterfeit Windows Vista and Windows XP recovery CDs. The alleged counterfeits were sold to customers who had purchased Windows-loaded PCs and laptops.

“As detailed in the complaint filed today, Comet produced and sold thousands of counterfeit Windows CDs to unsuspecting customers in the United Kingdom,” said David Finn, associate general counsel, Worldwide Anti-Piracy and Anti-Counterfeiting at Microsoft. “Comet’s actions were unfair to customers. We expect better from retailers of Microsoft products — and our customers deserve better, too.”

The suit charges Comet with producing the counterfeits in a factory in Hampshire and then selling the media to customers from its retail outlets across the U.K.

Comet is currently owned by French retail company Kesa Electricals PLC, although it is reportedly being purchased by private equity firm OpCapita LLP later this year.

With an emphasis on education, engineering and enforcement, Microsoft seeks to protect its customers from counterfeiting and piracy — and ensure people get what they pay for. If customers ever question the legitimacy of their software, be it a shrink-wrapped product or recovery media, they are advised to visit http://www.howtotell.com to learn more and, if they have any doubt, report the suspicious software to Microsoft.

When it comes to Twitter, we’re just as addicted as every other poor soul who got sucked in. We’re constantly connected on our phones and computers, always checking our timelines, and we crouch in a corner and cry every time the fail whale rears its ugly head. As addictive as the service is though, Twitter is often asleep at the wheel when it comes to features. Luckily, that’s where third-party developers come into play and when it comes to Twitter apps, there are now thousands of choices across every platform imaginable. Even once you’ve found your Twitter apps of choice, however, one of the most annoying things about being addicted to Twitter is constantly seeing the same tweets as you move back and forth between your phone, PC tablet and other devices. What’s more, when you make changes to your mobile client — say, adding a new list column — you have to make the same changes all over again in your other clients. But what if there was a better way?

MetroTwit developer Pixel Tucker and Rowi developer Hidden Pineapple on Friday took the wraps off a new project they’re preparing to roll out soon. Dubbed “The Nest,” their new joint endeavor is a cloud-based backend solution that allows their respective apps to sync data across platforms — MetroTwit, of course, being a popular Windows desktop app for Twitter, and Rowi being a terrific Windows Phone app. In its first iteration, The Nest will sync two crucial types of data: column configurations and unread tweet state. Add or delete a column in one app, and the same column will be added or deleted in the other. Read tweets in one app, and you won’t have to bother reading them again in the other. Fantastic.

The Nest functionality will be added to each app in forthcoming updates, and Erik Porter of Hidden Pineapple tells us the new versions of each app should become available in the next few weeks. The team will also be developing The Nest actively, and it looks like the initial implementation is just the start. We tried to get the tight-lipped developers to reveal their future plans for this great tech, but unfortunately they wouldn’t budge. We can dream, however, and we would love to see Hidden Pineapple and Pixel Tucker allow other developers on other platforms make use of The Nest — imagine being able to sync Twitter columns, read status and other data across your Windows Phone, your personal Mac PC, your Windows PC at work and your iPad 2 tablet. Despite the fact that we couldn’t get a confirmation out of The Nest team, we see this scenario as a definite possibility moving forward and we’ll be keeping a close eye on this project. In the meantime, MetroTwit and Rowi users should get ready to see this great new functionality introduced in the coming weeks.

[Via istartedsomething]

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Microsoft seems to be in a bit of a pickle – it has a fancy, schmancy OS in Windows 7 but a majority of its prized business customers are still clinging onto the now nine years old Windows XP operating system. On Monday at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference, Tammi Reller, the CVP of Microsoft Windows, dropped the bomb that 74% of business PCs are still running Windows XP. The reason for this slow adoption was not provided but presumably it has to do with the poor reputation that has plagued Windows Vista and possibly its successor Windows 7, which, thought its not being adopted, has fared better than its counterpart in the reputation department. Economics may also play a part as businesses have apparently been slow to upgrade hardware with the average business computer boasting of 4.4 years of faithful service. Rather than take a pessimistic view, Microsoft is putting a positive spin on this circumstance and viewing it as an opportunity to compel businesses to jump into the latest generation hardware and software. Microsoft is pretty upbeat- according to CEO Steve Ballmer, the software giant expects to sell 350 million Windows 7 licenses in 2010 alone.

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Well, the numbers for week 1 are in, and they look good for Microsoft and Windows 7. Microsoft’s latest OS venture has outpaced Vista in first week sales by, get ready for it, 234%. Not bad in a down economy for sure. The new OS has also outpaced Vista in terms of revenue: Seven has generated 83% more revenue for Redmond than the big “V” in its first week. We’ve got 7 on our fleet of machines, but how many of you out there have upgraded? What are your thoughts thus far? So far, we like!

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Yes, yes, y’all! Another BGR giveaway weekend extravaganza. Ok, that was a bit much, but we’ve just got a hold of Sony’s latest and greatest (and only, really) ultra-portable on Friday and we’re done reviewing it. What does that mean? Well, a full review is coming soon, but more importantly for you, we’re giving this bad boy away! Want to win this VAIO P loaded with a 64GB SSD? Sure you do! Here’s how you can win it:

• Send us a picture of your current laptop that needs replacing. (Maybe you’re constantly on the move but have to lug around a 17″ notebook with you, send a picture of that in!)
• You can send in as many photos as you like, but it won’t increase the chance of you winning
• Email the pictures to laptop at boygeniusreport dot com to enter
• Leave a comment that you entered so we can keep track of it. Make sure to comment from the same email address you sent in the photo/s from!
• We’ll run the giveaway until one Sunday from now, February 8th at 11:59PM ET
• The contest is only open to residents of the USA. Sorry!

Good luck everyone!

The first official beta of Microsoft’s knight in shining GUI will soon be issued but reviews are already beginning to pop up around the internet. No, it’s not the first look we’ve had of the upcoming OS but it is the first in a line of official betas we’ll see previewed before launch-time. Of course everyone’s first impression is “wow, it looks like Vista,” but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Vista’s problems at this point after all, are most definitely not cosmetic; in fact many enjoy Vista’s clean lines and organization. Vista’s problem is still a bumpy launch and a stigma. With Windows 7, Microsoft no doubt hopes to put the Vista folly behind it and the company really couldn’t be in a better position to do so – it most certainly shouldn’t have been hard for Microsoft to discover which elements people disliked most about Vista. We can only hope that beyond building a quality OS, Microsoft pays attention to feedback from Windows 7 beta testers and general internet buzz during the beta process. If one thing can be learned from Vista, it is that the internet can be a merciless critic and literally destroy a product if enough complaints and ridicule are issued. Vista isn’t enough proof for you? Ask Palm.

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As expected, the new Windows Vista commercial with Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates debuted on Sept 4th as part of Microsoft’s $300 million advertising campaign to restore Vista’s public perception problem. A perception problem that has mushroomed into everybody and their brother pouring hate upon Vista without ever having used it and one that persists despite Vista users relatively positive experience with the OS. Will this new commercial do what “The Mojave Experiment” advertisements failed to do? Umm, No. Sorry Microsoft but you have to do better than two old guys talking about shoes. Seinfeld’s whole “show about nothing” comedic approach is just so “90′s” and doesn’t carry over well to a commercial about computers. Suffice it say, Gates & Seinfeld are no Hodgman & Long. Apple can rest easy.