Windows XP Will Live Until 2010 or Even More Because of Low-Cost Laptops

The fans of Windows XP should thank Asustek because of its brilliant idea of making low-cost laptops. Because low-cost laptops ( like the Eee PC 900, MSI Wind PC and ECS G10IL) come with smaller RAM, hard drive and slower processor, they can not accept heavy OS like Vista but they can only run either Linux or Windows XP. Because of this hardware limitation and existence of Microsoft’s rival “Linux”, Microsoft has accept to sell Windows XP Home for low-cost laptops till 2010. Even Microsoft has mentioned that it will keep XP on the market even one year after releasing the next version of Windows (Windows 7). It means that windows may even stay in the market after 2011 or 2012.

AP Associated Press wrote:

The software maker said Windows XP Home will be available at least through June 2010 for computers like Intel Corp.'s Classmate PC and ASUSTek Computer Inc.'s Eee PC. But Microsoft also vowed to keep XP on the market for those machines for a year after the next version of Windows is released, which could mean 2011 or later.

The low-cost machines have smaller hard drives, less memory and slower processors than most Windows computers sold today, and most would have a hard time running the bulkier Windows Vista.
The Classmate PC is currently marketed with Windows XP Professional, and the newest editions sell for between $300 and $500. The Eee PC, which costs around $400, comes with a Linux operating system.


The interesting is that low-cost laptops considered to be perfect laptops for developing countries but so far the developed countries have shown that even they need these kinds of laptops badly. Also this high demand in the market shows that many people yet use cheap or budget desktop computers even in developed countries and they need windows XP yet to run their computers. I hope that the high demand for low-cost laptops could become a good prove for Microsoft that Windows XP is useful yet, for many computer users and I hope that Microsoft delay more the deadline (on June 30th)of stopping sale of XP.


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Microsoft Makes Its Own Vista SP1 vs. XP SP2, Leaves XP SP3 Out

Ever since the advent of Window Vista, at the end of November 2006 for businesses and in January 2007 for the general public, Microsoft has virtually invited the comparison between the two operating systems.

In this context, it was only natural that the Vista RTM vs. XP SP2 smackdown would evolve and survive with the growth of the two operating systems. The comparison continues to be an inherent accessory of the two platforms even after the launch of the latest service packs for the two products, namely Vista SP1 and XP SP3. Michael Kleef, Microsoft IT Pro Evangelist is the author of the latest face-off between Vista and XP, using a copy of Vista SP1 and XP PS2, but ignoring XP Service Pack 3, released to manufacturing on April 21, and to the public on May 6.



Kleef's demonstration involves a copy of Windows Vista SP1 and one of XP SP2 in a scenario designed to test the two operating systems' file copying speed. Kleef copied a 600 MB ISO file in both Vista SP1 and XP SP2 running as guest operating systems in virtual machines and connected to the same server. From the get go, Vista SP1 has an advantage over XP SP2, with a difference of approximately 20 minutes between the two copying processes. The conclusion is that Vista SP1 simply handles copying more efficiently than XP SP3. The entire demonstration can be accessed via this link.



"It's interesting that people seem to think that Vista underperforms in every area of the system which is quite an incorrect perception. In this demo I show how Vista outperforms Windows XP and I show the under the covers process traces of just how it achieves it. Demo environment consists of two images. One Vista SP1 and the other Windows XP SP2 both on the same HDD IO and communicating across my home wireless network to a Windows Server 2008 box on my main LAN. Once the two images get going latency gets introduced and things start to slow down... except Vista doesn't slow down," Kleef stated.

Source: Windows portal

Vista as insecure as Windows 2000

Good news for users of Windows Vista. According to figures compiled by PC Tools, the OS has experienced only slightly more vulnerabilities than Windows 2000, which appeared eight years ago when malware was far less common.

Or is that the bad news? Despite having a reputation as the least vulnerable of Microsoft's operating systems, Vista still managed to record 639 unique vulnerabilities over roughly the last half year, which puts it in a worse position than the aging Windows 2000, which experienced 586 over the same period.

Windows XP, which still accounts for the overwhelming volume of the Windows user base, had 1,021, with Windows 2003 Server reaching 478.

The Australian security company collected statistics on the number of infections by analyzing figures from anonymous users of its ThreatFire community, with vulnerabilities double-confirmed by third-party anti-virus engines. The numbers are per 1,000 machines on each platform.

"Microsoft has invested a great deal in making Vista more secure, by providing a number of security enhancements which were not in prior Microsoft operating system releases," concluded PC Tools CEO, Simon Clausen. "But industry experts have been reluctant to confirm its improved resistance to malware with good reason."

"Since its launch, Microsoft has flagged the increased level of protection Vista provides as one of the key reasons why consumers should upgrade from Windows XP to Vista. If Microsoft's forecasts for the operating system are correct and Vista's market share increases significantly, we could expect infection rates to increase further on Vista," he added.

The problem with these bare statistics is that they make no mention of how serious these vulnerabilities were -- Vista has recorded few that come into the 'most serious' category by comparison with XP. They also don't specify where the vulnerabilities were uncovered. The majority of vulnerabilities are not in the OS itself and are traced to problems in browsers, for instance, and can even apply across platforms.

Microsoft would also point out that the user access control (UAC) feature of Vista stops malware from exploiting the OS without the user at least being aware that something is happening. Windows 2000 and XP lack even this basic level of protection.

On the other hand, Vista has had its embarrassing moments, securitywise. Only weeks ago, Microsoft had to explain how the .ANI animated cursor bug was allowed to find its way into Vista code without being patched as part of the much-vaunted Security Development Lifecycle (SDL).

Techworld is an InfoWorld affiliate.

See Also

* Runaway 2 - The Dream of the Turtle
* Sacred Plus
* 10 ways to ensure your site does not get indexed on search engines.

Don't slipstream XP sp3 on Windows Vista!

So I build a new Windows XP ISO with SP3 integrated, this is a Volume License editions (VOL) which only accepts Volume License Keys (VLK).

When I want to install it on a clean machine, I noticed that setup prompts for a product key and it does not allow me to continue, which should be a new feature in XP sp3. OK so I fill in the VLK but it does not accept it, I try another one from a customer of mine, does not work either. Angry



I found out that the problem is when you do the XP Sp3 slipstream process on a WIndows Vista machine, the API gives a different response and screws up the PID process. This is a bug and Microsoft knew about this in December, still the bug remained and made it all the way to RTM, nice work Microsoft.



So XP SP slipstream only on XP or 2003 machines!!!



See the dicussion thread here: Key not working after SlipStream

Source: Windows portal

XP meets XO: What about Linux?

The One Laptop Per Child program will put XP on its XO laptop and children in the developing world will have a choice between Windows and Linux.

On the surface, a little choice isn’t going to kill anybody. In fact, choice is good. And if some poor kids can get a laptop, learn a bit and be exposed to the world I don’t care about the operating system.



But here’s what gives me pause about XP coming to the XO (statement, Techmeme): There’s no way Linux will get an equal shake on OLPC’s XO. In fact, I reckon that more XO units will ship with XP than Linux in the not too distant future. Why? Governments are making the buying decisions. Not kids.



As Mary Jo Foley reports XOs will go with either Linux or Windows based on the preference of governments. Quoting an OLPC spokeswoman, Mary Jo reports:



“Laptops will be installed with one of two operating systems - Microsoft Windows OR Linux-based Sugar OS at the factory, based on the preference of governments and NGOs. In the case of these trials, the XOs will ship with Windows. In addition to these choices, in the future OLPC intends to develop … the ability to have both on the same machine.”



How quickly will the OLPC (all resources) have both on one machine? Probably not quickly.



The big question: What OS would the kids choose? I’d argue that the Linux interface would win. I’ve seen my own daughter navigate the XO Linux operating system even though I couldn’t. Kids just get it. Let’s compare and contrast..

Source: Windows portal

XP SP3 Downloads

Although Microsoft recommends "customers use Windows Update to install the service pack, as it will provide the best experience," the Redmond company offers a variety of flavors of SP3. First off, a select pool of customers, namely TechNet and MSDN subscribers, get access not only to the SP3 stand-alone versions but also to the Integrated Builds, already slipstreamed by Microsoft. The general public will most likely come across SP3 via Windows Updates, with Microsoft serving them the smallest package possible, tailored specifically for their machine.



In addition, the Redmond company is also delivering the service pack through the Download Center. In this regard, there are no less than three variants of XP SP3 up for grabs, each set up to satisfy a specific scenario, unlike the WU distribution process. Essentially advanced users, but also IT professionals, system administrators and developers can take advantage of extra XP SP3 releases.



- Windows XP Service Pack 3 stand-alone version is available for download here.

- Windows XP Service Pack 3 Checked Build Network Installation Package is available for download here.

- Windows XP Service Pack 3 CD Image is available for download here.



According to Microsoft, the Windows XP Service Pack 3 Network Installation Package for IT Professionals and Developers "is intended for IT professionals and developers downloading and installing on multiple computers on a network." The Windows XP Service Pack 3, Checked Build "is intended for IT professionals and developers downloading to a machine intending to debug or develop software on Windows XP Service Pack 3." And the Windows XP Service Pack 3 - ISO-9660 CD Image File "includes all previously released updates for the operating system. This update also includes a small number of new functionalities, which do not significantly change customers’ experience with the operating system."

The Official Overview of Windows XP Service Pack 3

"Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) includes all previously released Windows XP updates, including security updates and hotfixes. It also includes select out-of-band releases, and a small number of new enhancements, which do not significantly change customers’ experience with the operating system. Windows XP SP3 provides a new baseline for customers still deploying Windows XP. For customers with existing Windows XP installations, Windows XP SP3 fills gaps in the updates they might have missed—for example, by declining individual updates when using Windows
Update," reads an excerpt out of XP SP3's overview.



Despite the 2004 – 2008 gap that separates Service Pack 2 and Service Pack 3 releases, the latest major update for Windows XP doesn't even come close to its predecessor. SP3 is nothing more than a standard service pack that manages to add only a handful of functionalities, just crumbs from the Windows Vista feast, including: "Black Hole" Router Detection, Network Access Protection (NAP), CredSSP Security Service Provider, Enhanced security for Administrator and Service policy entries, Microsoft Cryptographic Module, and a revamped Windows Product Activation model.



The "Overview of Windows XP Service Pack 3" is available for download here.

Eee PC 900 Windows Version and Linux Version Each for $549 at Newegg

Now that Eee PC 900 is available for Americans for purchase, the different stores have started to sell this laptop online. But the interesting part is that their prices are not the same. In my last entry I mentioned about the availability of Eee PC 900 at Buy.com, Linux version with the price of $565.99 and ZipZoomfly.com, Windows XP home version with the price of $549.

Right now, you can find Eee PC with two Linux version and Windows XP version at Newegg each pricing at $549!

Read more:

Asus Eee PC 900 (EEEPC900-W017) Available at Buy and ZipZoomfly


Here is the specification of these two models at Newegg:

ASUS EeePC 900 -Pearl White Intel processor- 8.9" Wide SVGA 1GB Memory

Color: Pearl White
Operating System: Linux/ Windows XP
CPU Type: Intel Mobile CPU
Screen: 8.9" WSVGA (1024 x 600)
Memory Size: 1GB DDR2
Hard Disk: 20GB Solid-State Disk for Linux version/ 12GB SSD for Windows version
Graphics Card: Intel UMA
Network: 10/100Mbps LAN, 802.11b/g Wireless LAN
Ports/Slots: 3USB ports, VGA out port, Audio Jack - Out (3.5mm); Audio Jack – In; (3.5mm); 1 Internal Microphone; MMC/SD(SDHC) card reader
Weight: 2.18 lbs
Others: 1.3MP webcam, 2 Internal Stereo Speakers, Hi-Definition Audio CODEC
Battery: 4-cell lithium ion
Dimensions: 8.86" x 6.69" x 0.79-1.33"

As you see, here, The Windows Version and Linux version have no differences except in the storage part.

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Automatically Ask for Admin Credentials

Normally if you have a program that requires administrator privileges, you have to manually right-click and choose Run As. Well, using this tip you don't have to!

1. Right-click the desired shortcut you wish to modify, and choose Properties. Note: Writing privileges are required depending on where the shortcut is located. If in which case writing privileges are needed, then refer to Running as a Limited User Part 2 for launching an instance of explorer.exe as an administrator before continuing.

2. In the Shortcut tab, click Advanced.

3. Enable Run with different credentials by placing a check mark next to it. Exit the shortcut properties.



4. The next time you left-click on the shortcut, you will automatically be asked for different credentials:



You can still choose to run as yourself, but be sure to uncheck the option bleow Current user.

That's it! Happy non-admining.

10 Easy Windows XP Tips Aimed At Saving You Time

1.

Firstly lets list Windows shortcut keys using the “WindowsKey” (Usually found to the left of the space bar)

Windows Key + D = Brings the desktop to the front of what you are working on
Windows Key + R = Opens the Run window
Windows Key + M = Minimizes All Windows
Windows Key + Shift + M = Undo actions caused by Windows Key + M
Windows Key + TAB = Tabs through current open windows
Windows Key + F1 = Opens Windows Help
Windows Key + L = Locks Computer
Windows Key + E = Opens Windows Explorer

Give them a try and get used to using them (Saves Time)

2.

Hold down the shift key when deleting a file to avoid it going into the recycle bin (remember you cant undelete it then)

3.

Want to open a file in another programme when double clicking, then right click it first and select the “open with” option


4.

Want to select a batch of files for deleting at once then hold down shift and click on the first one and then click on the last one while still holding down shift

Don’t want to select them all between the first and last file then hold down CTRL while selecting the files


5.

Download Microsoft Power Toys (TweakUI) this gives you the ability to tweak usually hidden settings in Windows XP. Here is the link.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx



6.

Access Web Pages from the Taskbar
When you're working with a document and suddenly decide that you need to look something up on the internet, you first have to load up Internet Explorer and type the relevant URL into the address bar. A considerably easier method is to add an address bar to the taskbar, and to do this you need to right-click an empty area and select Toolbars > Address. It's now possible to type addresses straight into this box, and when you press [Enter], Internet Explorer will automatically load that page for you.


7.

Launch Applications with a Shortcut
When you're working and need to quickly launch another program, it can be annoying to have to navigate through the Start menu for the relevant shortcut, even if you have opted to pin a program to the top of the list. By creating keyboard shortcuts for applications, you are able to launch them in an instant. Navigate through the Start menu and right-click on the program shortcut you're interested in, and then select Properties. Click in the Shortcut Key box and press the key combination you'd like to use – such as [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [W] – before clicking OK.

8.

Control what programs startup automatically with MSConfig.

Click Start Button, Select Run, and type msconfig in the run box and select O.K.
Then use the Startup Tab and untick anything you do not wish to start automatically, if you wish to reverse any changes simply put the tick back in.

9.

Insert special characters into you work the easy way.

Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Then Click “Character Map”


10.

Quick Shortcuts on desktop.

If you are tired of having to click start, Programs etc. to run your programs.

Why not create a desktop shortcut the easy way.

Click the start button and find the program you require a desktop shortcut to and then click it and hold the click and drag to your desktop.

A shortcut to it is created.

Fun With window()

I finally found a few sites with the window() javascript exploit that are a shameful ripoff of the exploit code you can find at FRsirt or Security Focus. Gee, thanks kind folks at FRsirt and Security Focus!

Anyway, if you use a limited account and NTFS partition then you are at no risk. At least the pool of sites I have been to weren't able to touch me. This exploit has been fixed in the latest batch of IE updates, you should go grab it now.

I decided to see if I could clean up an infected machine rather than cheat with virtual machine's undo disk feature. I loaded up the unpatched XP SP1 virtual machine and proceeded to an exploit site to get infected. Afterwards, I proceeded to cleanup. All was going well except one anti-virus and two anti-spyware scans later there was still some cleaning up to do. When I rebooted, the following error had appeared (click to enlarge):



Turns out that the Documents and Settings folder was unreadable. But my question is this: Do you really trust a computer that had been compromised? Are you sure it had been cleaned thoroughly?

My answer to both questions is "No." As a limited user, you could simply delete your profile's folder to allow the system to create a fresh profile. Limited accounts are contained that there is no way (and if an exploit will even bother to launch in a restricted user) an exploit can drop shortcuts or run commands in areas that are executed by all accounts, administrator or otherwise.

If you get compromised in an account with administrator privileges, you probably have more to worry about. The exploiter can simply replace "Default User" (the profile used for when accounts are created and logged onto for the first time) with his own version or drop files in "All Users." So even if you create a new profile you'll still have it.

So much to the people who think malware dictates their usage negatively into using least privilege (read: would rather use resource hogging programs).

Vulnerabilities in Graphics Rendering Engine May Still Exist Even After Applying the MS05-053 (KB896424) Security Update

As you have probably read in this blog, I go out into the dark side of the World Wide Web looking for exploits in the wild, and demonstrating how least privilege can save you.

While surfing around in Windows XP SP2 that is fully patched through 12/13/2005, I was almost sure that I was safe even in an administrator account. Turns out, I was wrong. Next thing I know, files are launching and the faux spyware message shows up in the tray, my background is changed, and Task Manager is disabled.



When I traced the files executing the code, it had come to mind that files with those particular extensions were supposed to have been harmless. They were Windows Metafiles going by the name xpl.wmf and xpladv470.wmf. Something was amiss, I know I had installed KB896424 [microsoft.com] to prevent Windows Metafiles from excuting code. According to Microsoft:

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the rendering of Windows Metafile (WMF) image format that could allow remote code execution on an affected system. Any program that renders WMF images on the affected systems could be vulnerable to this attack. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system.

Apprently, code is still allowed to execute whether I 1) visited a webpage containing the exploit, 2) the file is previewed in Explorer, or 3) by simply executing it in Windows.

I have confirmed the following that remain vulnerable:

* Windows XP SP2 with all updates through 12/13/2005 including KB896424
* Windows XP SP2 with KB896424
* Windows Server 2003 Sp1 with all updates through 12/13/2005 including KB896424

Windows XP SP2 Fully Updated:


Windows Server 2003 SP1 Fully Updated:


It appears to only run with the same privileges as the user. So if you are a restricted user, you don't have anything to worry about if this gets executed. It will simply die from lack of privileges.

12/28/2005 Update: Temporary Workaround and More Information

According to Security Focus:

Any code execution that occurs will be with SYSTEM privileges due to the nature of the affected engine.

However, according to the many different samples and websites I have tried, the code does not execute as SYSTEM even as a limited user. Who is right? I don't know, but for now I say I am. During any code execution of the metafiles, shimgvw.dll, the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer, is only loaded in explorer.exe. Explorer.exe has the same privileges as the user. It is unable to do any damage when executed in the limited user account.

You can stop code from being executed by disabling the Windows Picture and Fax Viewer:

1) Go to Start, and Run

2) Type the following command, pressing enter afterwards: regsvr32 shimgvw.dll /u

You must be admin.

3) Restarting is not required. The files are rendered harmless right away. However if you want to be thorough, you can.

The only trade off is that you will not be able to preview thumbnails in explorer.

Another Update: Microsoft Releases Security Advisory

Microsoft has released a Security Advisory. It confirms what I knew all along:

An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the local user. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights.

How to login to an expired Windows

Microsoft has a neat little way to prevent software piracy of their Windows operating system. "Windows Genuine Advantage"[edit: I stand corrected, it has nothing to do with WGA] with its "Product Activation" requirement. Essentially, even with a valid product key, you still need to activate your Windows to ensure that only one computer is using that specific product key. If you can't activate your Windows, there being many reasons for this, you are left with a 30 day grace period to change your product key to one that is fully valid or get in contact with Microsoft and plea your case.

Once your grace period is up, Windows refuses to let you login anymore. You cannot access your files. You cannot go on the Internet. You cannot do anything, except the thrill of trying to activate Windows.


Well, luckily for me I do not have to worry about this issues, as my Windows is valid and activated. However, for those who do not and have been so unfortunate enough to have their Windows expire on them, I present to you a bit of relief. How to gain access to your files on an expired Windows, with even enough functionality to surf the web, talk on MSN Messenger, and load up most of your applications. It doesn't give you full functionality of Windows, but it will be enough to get the job done until you can find the time to activate your Windows. Best of all though, it's all very simple and easy to do!!!

First, turn on your computer and wait until you get to the Windows login screen.

Next, click to login as usual. You should get an error from Windows telling you that your Windows has expired and is asking whether you would like to activate Windows now. Click Yes.


A "Let's activate Windows" window will appear. Let's minimize it. DO NOT close it.


Now, hold down the Windows Key on your keyboard while you also press the "U" key. This will open up the Narrator program to help assist those with poor vision. It is this program that will help us login to our Windows.

Click the little computer icon in the top left hand side of the Narrator window. A drop down menu should appear. The last option in this menu is named "About Narrator...". Click it. This should open up another window called "About Narrator".

In this window, there should be the text "Microsoft Web site". Click it, as it is a link and will open up your Internet Explorer, taking you to the Microsoft Accessibility website. Howrah! Internet access!

As if Internet was not enough, in the address bar of Internet Explorer, type "c:\". This should display all your hard drive contents on drive "C". From there you can load navigate your way around your computer, loading specific programs, and most whatever else.

Some common directories as to where you can find personal files and programs are:

C:\program files\
C:\documents and settings\username\Desktop\
C:\documents and settings\username\Documents\
C:\documents and settings\username\Start Menu\Programs\

On a side note, certain programs cannot be opened while Windows is still not activated. You will also not have a Task Bar at the bottom of your screen, as trying to open it will just result in it shutting itself down a few moments later. MSN Messenger works though, as well as most other non-Windows-based components.

Disclaimer: I do not applaud piracy, but I do feel people should have access to their personal files, regardless of whether Windows has expired or not. This tutorial should not be used to bypass Windows Activation, nor does it restore full Windows functionality, but I provide it to those who are in desperate need of accessing files that are suddenly lost to them through the Microsoft Genuine Advantage activation system.

[Update: some say it works even better with Vista, as the explorer.exe does not close shortly after you try to open it as it does in XP. Unconfirmed.]

The Windows Shutdown crapfest

I worked at Microsoft for about 7 years total, from 1994 to 1998, and from 2002 to 2006.

The most frustrating year of those seven was the year I spent working on Windows Vista, which was called Longhorn at the time. I spent a full year working on a feature which should've been designed, implemented and tested in a week. To my happy surprise (where "happy" is the freude in schadenfreude), Joel Spolsky wrote an article about my feature.

I would like to try to explain how this happened.

I worked on the "Windows Mobile PC User Experience" team. This team was part of Longhorn from a feature standpoint but was organizationally part of the Tablet PC group. To find a common manager to other people I needed to work with required walking 6 or 7 steps up the org chart from me.

My team's raison d'etre was: improve the experience for users on laptops, notebooks and ultra-mobile PCs. Noble enough. Of course the Windows Shell team, whose code I needed to muck about in to accomplish my tiny piece of this, had a charter of their own which may or may not have intersected ours.

My team had a very talented UI designer and my particular feature had a good, headstrong program manager with strong ideas about user experience. We had a Mac [owned personally by a team member] that we looked to as a paragon of clean UI. Of course the Shell team also had some great UI designers and numerous good, headstrong PMs who valued (I can only assume) simplicity and so on. Perhaps they had a Mac too.

In addition to our excellent UI designer and good headstrong program manager, we had a user-assistance expert, a team of testers, a few layers of management, and me, writing code.

So just on my team, these are the people who came to every single planning meeting about this feature:

# 1 program manager

# 1 developer

# 1 developer lead

# 2 testers

# 1 test lead

# 1 UI designer

# 1 user experience expert

# --

# 8 people total


These planning meetings happened every week, for the entire year I worked on Windows.

In addition to the above, we had dependencies on the shell team (the guys who wrote, designed and tested the rest of the Start menu), and on the kernel team (who promised to deliver functionality to make our shutdown UI as clean and simple as we wanted it). The relevant part of the shell team was about the same size as our team, as was the relevant part of kernel team.

So that nets us an estimate -- to pull a number out of the air -- of 24 people involved in this feature. Also each team was separated by 6 layers of management from the leads, so let's add them in too, giving us 24 + (6 * 3) + 1 (the shared manager) 43 total people with a voice in this feature. Twenty-four of them were connected sorta closely to the code, and of those twenty four there were exactly zero with final say in how the feature worked. Somewhere in those other 19 was somebody who did have final say but who that was I have no idea since when I left the team -- after a year -- there was still no decision about exactly how this feature would work.

By the way "feature" is much too strong a word; a better description would be "menu". Really. By the time I left the team the total code that I'd written for this "feature" was a couple hundred lines, tops. [edit: note that that are tons of other more complicated features that support this menu, like the control panel, the additional kernel work, etc., whose code was huge compared to mine. Note also that these features weren't, by a long shot, the only thing all these people were working on]

But here's how the design process worked: approximately every 4 weeks, at our weekly meeting, our PM would say, "the shell team disagrees with how this looks/feels/works" and/or "the kernel team has decided to include/not include some functionality which lets us/prevents us from doing this particular thing". And then in our weekly meeting we'd spent approximately 90 minutes discussing how our feature -- er, menu -- should look based on this "new" information. Then at our next weekly meeting we'd spend another 90 minutes arguing about the design, then at the next weekly meeting we'd do the same, and at the next weekly meeting we'd agree on something... just in time to get some other missing piece of information from the shell or kernel team, and start the whole process again.

I'd also like to sketch out how actual coding works on the Windows team.

In small programming projects, there's a central repository of code. Builds are produced, generally daily, from this central repository. Programmers add their changes to this central repository as they go, so the daily build is a pretty good snapshot of the current state of the product.

In Windows, this model breaks down simply because there are far too many developers to access one central repository. So Windows has a tree of repositories: developers check in to the nodes, and periodically the changes in the nodes are integrated up one level in the hierarchy. At a different periodicity, changes are integrated down the tree from the root to the nodes. In Windows, the node I was working on was 4 levels removed from the root. The periodicity of integration decayed exponentially and unpredictably as you approached the root so it ended up that it took between 1 and 3 months for my code to get to the root node, and some multiple of that for it to reach the other nodes. It should be noted too that the only common ancestor that my team, the shell team, and the kernel team shared was the root.

So in addition to the above problems with decision-making, each team had no idea what the other team was actually doing until it had been done for weeks.

The end result of all this is what finally shipped: the lowest common denominator, the simplest and least controversial option.

I have no idea how much of the rest of Vista ended up like this. I think (indeed hope) my team was a pathological case; unfortunately it's a visible one.