New Whitepaper: The Merits of True Network LicensingThe difference between simple software protection solutions that allow licensed software to run on a standalone computer and a network licensing-enabled software protection (NLESP) application is significant. A software protection system with network licensing uses the inherent abilities of the enterprise network to broaden the market for software vendors. Since the enterprise market makes up a significant portion of total software sales, vendors are wise to consider the important benefits of NLESP when choosing a protection solution. From the enterprise perspective, NLESP benefits the organization by offering better and more flexible control of its software license management. CrypKey (Canada) Inc. offers the NLSEP abilities discussed in a new whitepaper as standard features in both the CrypKey SDK and CrypKey Instant software protection systems. Visit www.CrypKey.com to download this latest whitepaper. Casper: Secure Hosted or In-house Activation and Registration 24/7/365Casper (CrypKey Automated Software Purchasing & Electronic Registration) provides web-based activation and registration for CrypKey Instant, CrypKey SDK, and CrypKey DLM protected-products 24/7/365. Why Casper?
CrypKey offers a secure hosted or in-house solution. Call us today to find out how you can start using Casper for as little as $1.00 per activation. Try a demo of Casper today: http://www.crypkey.com/demo.asp. Vista SP1 Offers No Features, Focuses on Tweaks, SecurityFrom: http://www.pcworld.caWindows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1), just delivered to a group of approximately 12,000 beta testers, offers no dramatic interface changes, nor does it add new features to the operating system. Instead SP1 focuses on improving performance, reliability and application compatibility, and it extends support to emerging hardware such as the exFAT file system that will be used by flash memory storage and consumer devices. However, SP1 does change the way Windows search works, allowing third-party programs such as Google Desktop Search to integrate more easily into the operating system. Microsoft plans to release the final version of SP1 in the first quarter of 2008. Those who hoped that SP1 would introduce new features or interface improvements, as was done with Windows XP SP2, will be disappointed. David Zipkin, product manager for Vista SP1, said that the company's goal has been to focus on operating system improvements rather than on interface changes or new features. He added that Windows XP SP2 was an anomaly in that it made some significant changes to the way that Windows XP looked and worked. Those changes were made in response to emerging Internet threats, he said. Vista SP1, he said, is a return to a more traditional Microsoft approach towards service packs --- that they should focus on performance and reliability rather than on new features. Many corporate customers appear to be waiting for SP1 to ship before they move to Vista, and when the service pack ships, it may boost Vista 's adoption rate, which many observers have called sluggish. Performance, reliability, security and search Windows Vista SP1 will address many of the performance and reliability issues that some Vista customers have complained about. Microsoft claims that SP1 will speed up copying and extracting files, make PCs return more quickly from Hibernate and Resume modes, and improve laptop battery life by reducing CPU utilization. In addition, the company said that SP1 will fix problems that Windows Vista has encountered with newer graphics cards, improve networking and improve reliability when a PC enters or resumes from sleep. Browsing network file shares is expected to consume less bandwidth and perform more quickly. Microsoft also stressed that security will also be enhanced because SP1 addresses a complaint from third-party security vendors that they can't easily hook into the Windows Security Center. In SP1, Microsoft said, vendors will have a more secure way to communicate with the Windows Security Center. In addition, as an extension of Microsoft's 2002 antitrust settlement with government regulators, Microsoft has made it easier for third-party programs, such as Google Desktop Search, to replace Windows' built-in search technology. The Search link has been removed from the Start menu, and there are now ways to easily select a new search tool as the default for Windows search. Support for new hardware SP1 will add support for emerging hardware standards that are expected to become more important in the future. The exFAT file system, which will be used by flash memory storage and consumer devices, will now work with Vista. SP1 will also add support for Secure Digital (SD) Advanced Direct Memory Access (DMA), which is expected to be on SD host controllers. This will increase transfer rates and decrease CPU use, according to Microsoft. SP1 will also add support for Direct3D 10.1, so that games developers will be able to take greater advantage of Direct3D graphics. Administrative changes Systems administrators should be aware that SP1 makes changes in the way system administrators manage Group Policy. SP1 uninstalls the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC). By default, GPEdit.msc will be used to edit local group policy. When SP1 is released, administrators will be able to download a new tool for adding comments to group policy objects and individual settings and for searching for specific GPO settings. However, that tool will not be released until SP1 ships. Until then, administrators who install SP1 and want to use features previously offered by GPMC will have to open a remote desktop session to the server or to a PC running a non-SP1 version of Vista. Deployment plans When finalized, SP1 will be delivered in several ways. Existing Vista users will get it delivered via Windows Updates or from the Windows Update site. It is expected to be approximately 50MB in size. SP1 will also be delivered as a stand-alone installer. In either case, the installation will require 7GB of free hard disk space on 32-bit PCs or 12GB of hard disk space on 64-bit PCs. That space, however, will only be used temporarily during the installation process; most of it will be regained when the installation is finished. SP1 will also be available via "slipstream" -- integrated into the version of Windows Vista sent to PC makers and in the retail version of the operating system. In addition, slipstream media will be available to volume-licensing customers. Microsoft Gives PC Manufacturers Five More Months to Install XPFrom: http://www.pcworld.caMicrosoft Corp. is extending the time it will allow original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and retail outlets to sell PCs with Windows XP as customers continue to balk on upgrading to Windows Vista. Microsoft had planned to stop selling XP through OEMs and retailers on Jan. 31, 2008, while custom system builders have until Jan. 31, 2009, to pre-install XP on machines. But because sales of Vista PCs have not been as strong as expected, OEMs and retailers have asked Microsoft to extend XP's availability. OEMs and retailers will now have until June 30, 2008, to sell PCs with Vista preinstalled on machines, Microsoft said. Retailers also can sell XP out of the box until that time if they choose, the company said. "While we've been pleased with the positive response we've seen and heard from customers using Windows Vista, there are some customers who need a little more time to make the switch to Windows Vista," Microsoft said in a press statement. Microsoft also is extending the life of Windows XP Starter Edition, the version of XP for emerging markets. The software will be available until June 30, 2010, so users in those markets can take advantage of low-cost, hardware-constrained PCs that Vista may not be compatible with. Vista requires hardware upgrades that most PCs running XP do not have. Per Microsoft's policy as of 2002, a new Windows OS would stay on the market about four years after its original availability date. But XP was released on Oct. 25, 2001, more than five years before Vista limped out the door to consumers Jan. 31, 2007, after several delays and a major code overhaul. Microsoft had high expectations for customer adoption of Vista, and claimed the launch would be one of the most successful in Windows history. Unfortunately for the company, those predictions so far haven't panned out, and in July, Microsoft lowered its projections for customer adoption of Vista. The company had said the split between XP and Vista sales in its fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, would be 15 percent to 85 percent; now the company is saying the split will be 22 percent XP and 78 percent Vista. According to some, that may even be optimistic. Paul Ghysels, a custom system builder who owns the Neighborhood Computer Store in Moraga, California, said that Microsoft has "really blown Vista." He said he's not surprised Microsoft extended the availability of XP for OEMs. "I figured Microsoft would have to come up with something because Vista is so unprepared for the market right now," Ghysels said. He added that the extension likely won't affect his business much, since most of his customers come to him because they are already disillusioned with the major PC manufacturers and thus unlikely to want a name-brand PC pre-loaded with Vista. Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1), a rollup of updates for the OS that Microsoft has said will be available in the first quarter of 2008, should make Vista more market-worthy. In fact, many consumers and businesses have said they would wait for the update before moving from XP to Vista. Let us know which topics you'd like to see in upcoming issues of CrypKey Distributor News. If you'd like to learn more about specific technical aspects of CrypKey products, tell us. Send your requests and suggestions to sales@crypkey.com. We want to help. If you have questions about product subscription(s) or renewals, call us at 1-403-258-6274 or email sales@crypkey.com. PrivacyWe respect your right to privacy and never make our mailing lists public. In our efforts to better serve you, we want to be certain that you would like to continue hearing from us. To unsubscribe from future CrypKey product bulletins and marketing updates, please send an e-mail to optout@crypkey.com with "Remove Me" in the subject heading.
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