[Iria]

Microsoft Corp. last week released the first beta copy of its recently christened Windows Vista client operating system, as well as a test version of its next server operating system.
But only corporate users who are members of Microsoft's MSDN development program, TechNet or Windows Vista Technical Beta Program will be able to download the early releases of the client operating system. The Windows Server beta, which is still code-named Longhorn, is available to Technical Beta Program participants.

One newly detailed client feature that's expected to appeal to corporate I.T. shops is User Account Protection, which will enable administrators to give end users only the system privileges they need to do their work.

One I.T. manager, who asked not to be named, said his company has been forced to assign administrator privileges to many users because of application requirements and logistics. The company's limited I.T. staff doesn't have time to make changes to all remote laptops, so users are allowed to make simple changes on their own. But that isn't the desired approach. "We're trying to get more and more off the admin [setting]," the I.T. manager said.

Michael Silver, an analyst at Gartner Inc, estimated that he received 100 calls last year from clients who wanted to lock down end users' systems. He said even some mainstream software applications require users to run in administrator mode.

Microsoft's research indicates that 85% of corporate users and 97% of consumers run their machines as administrators, according to Neil Charney, a director of product management at the company. Charney said Microsoft hopes the percentages will decline as a result of the User Account Protection feature.
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Read More / Source: NewsFactor