Investigating Blue Screen of Death
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Microsoft
also spent part of the week investigating reports of the infamous "Blue
Screen of Death" appearing for some users who installed one of the
company's Patch Tuesday security updates. The problem, Microsoft apparently
surmises, either stems from the MS10-015 patch or an interoperability problem
with another component or third-party software.
"Our teams are working to resolve this as quickly as possible,"
Jerry Bryant, senior security communications manager lead at Microsoft, wrote
on the Microsoft Security Response Center blog. "We also stopped offering
this update through Windows Update as soon as we discovered the restart issues.
However, those using enterprise deployment systems such as SMS or WSUS will
still see and be able to deploy those packages."
By disabling the NTVDM subsystem, users not choosing to install MS10-015 can
leverage a workaround for the CVE-2010-0232
vulnerability.
On Feb. 15, Microsoft will offer a big piece of mobile-related news at Barcelona's
Mobile World Congress, which the company is keeping under wraps but which many
pundits and analysts expect to be the unveiling of its Windows Mobile 7. That
announcement will come days after research
firm comScore's Feb. 8 report showing that Microsoft's share of the U.S. mobile
operating system market declined exactly 1 point, from 19 percent to 18
percent, between September and December 2009.
Minor updates to Mobile 6.5, featuring tweaks to
areas such as touch-screen support, have already begun appearing; on Feb. 2,
the Sony Ericsson Aspen smartphone debuted with Windows 6.5.3 as its operating
system. But many analysts are suggesting that Microsoft will need to make a
more radical move to boost its share of the mobile OS market in face of
competition from Apple's iPhone, Google Android and other operating systems.
Rumors floated this week that Microsoft may also try to solve its ills in the
mobile space by acquiring Research In Motion, maker of the popular BlackBerry, but
at least one analyst has discounted this idea as one with a substantial
negative side for Microsoft.
"While there is often speculation about MSFT's
interest in purchasing RIMM, we think the
likelihood is slim and that MSFT's near-term
focus is on gathering support for its upcoming release of the Windows 7 mobile
platform," Mark McKechnie, an analyst with Broadpoint AmTech, wrote in a
Feb. 11 research note.
