CompUSA is offering consumers and small businesses a free evaluation to prepare them for the Jan. 30 launch of Microsoft’s Windows Vista. The free evaluation is available at all 229 CompUSA stores throughout the United States and Puerto Rico and is designed to answer computer readiness questions.

Taking the next step in its walk toward an on-demand version of its Dynamics customer relationship management software, Microsoft announced that it is releasing the code for its next major upgrade, Titan, to about 300 partners. The early look-see could help ease some partner fears around the impact of an on-demand model from Microsoft. Titan, expected this summer, has a couple of major attributes that bring it into the realm of SAAS (software as a service), or on-demand software: multi-tenancy capabilities (a shared infrastructure for all users) and a single code base across on-premise and on-demand versions.

Jim Allchin’s "I would buy a Mac" statement now has context. The email is publicly available. The email is out and about none too soon for Microsoft. Apple CEO Steve Jobs used the quote during his Macworld keynote. What an opportunity for Jobs, to quote the Windows executive saying he would buy a Mac. The quote was taken out of context, not that Jobs probably had any context to give. There’s a court case going on in Iowa, where the Mac-loving email appeared last month. It’s now available among plaintiff’s documents, but readers can read the entire email. Allchin, who is co-president of Microsoft’s Platforms & Services Division, sent the email to Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer on January 7, 2004.

VeriSign’s iDefense Labs has placed an $8,000 bounty on remote code execution holes in Windows Vista and Internet Explorer 7. The Reston, Va., security intelligence outfit threw out the monetary reward to hackers as part of a challenge program aimed at luring researchers to its controversial pay-for-flaw VCP (Vulnerability Contributor Program). The launch of the latest hacking challenge comes less than a month after researchers at Trend Micro discovered Vista flaws being hawked on underground sites at $50,000 a pop and illustrates the growth of the market for information on software vulnerabilities.

Symantec is thinking up ways to take the pain out of a security feature in Windows Vista. The company has plans to create a technology that makes security decisions for Vista owners dealing with User Account Control. This feature in the operating system asks for permission to lift security barriers to the inner workings of a PC whenever software tries to access these. But it makes too many requests to be effective, according to Symantec.

A senior editor for PC World Magazine was fatally shot in his home in what authorities said Wednesday was a drug-related attack. Rex Farrance, 59, the San Francisco, California-based magazine’s senior technical editor, was shot in the chest after four masked men broke into his home Tuesday evening, Pittsburg police said. The assailants also pistol-whipped Farrance’s wife, Lenore Vantosh-Farrance, 56, a registered nurse. She called 911, but the attackers fled before officers arrived. No one has been arrested, officials said.

Institutions for higher education and Not-For-Profit Organizations are experiencing a surge in attempts aimed at hacking their data. The more recent known examples were perpetrated against UCLA, the University of Texas, and Mississippi State University. Acunetix, a leading vendor of Web application security solutions, is offering all American Universities and Not-for-profit Organizations a complimentary Web site audit through its recently launched service, Acunetix SiteAudit.

A mysterious online countdown. USB drives containing cipher keys. Notes and videos from a woman who calls herself Loki. Bloggers’ reports of extravagant gifts, marked with a return address for Microsoft’s headquarters. And all trails leading to a Web site for something called Vanishing Point. After weeks of sifting through clues, bloggers, gamers and technology enthusiasts got some relief this week when Microsoft revealed that Vanishing Point is part of a viral-marketing campaign for Vista, the new PC operating system set for a consumer launch later this month.

With the release of 2X ThinClientServer version 4.0, administrators can free themselves from the grueling task of upgrading to the upcoming VISTA activation. This new version of 2X ThinClientServer provides users with Windows applications without the need for VISTA or XP at the desktop. 2X ThinClientServer provides a much needed solution to curb exploding software license, maintenance, hardware and energy costs.

Nathan Klein announced the launch of his new Microsoft Exchange Hosting reviews site. While other review sites revolve around general Web hosting with a section, or sub-section, for Exchange Hosting, Exchange Hosting Reviews’ sole focus is getting and displaying user’s reviews of the various Exchange Hosting Companies. Hosted (outsourced) Microsoft Exchange emails and features is a relatively new option for companies and individuals that need the power and flexibility of Exchange. Exchange 2003 was the first version that allowed a hosted architecture. Prior to this release, many companies had to struggle with the setup and maintenance of an in-house Exchange server, putting a limit on those who wanted the features but did not want to manage it.