Windows 7 Software, Windows 7 Review

Windows 7 Sale – 50% off

Posted on June 26th, 2009 by admin

The official Windows 7 Team Blog just announced a Windows 7 Sale – there’s 50% off.

In the US get it at Amazon.com. Ends July 11th.
In Canada get it at Amazon Canada. Ends July 11th.
In Japan get it at Amazon Japan. The offer ends in Japan on July 5th.

The Windows 7 sale is on pre-orders of the Home Premium and Business flavors. Microsoft is starting with US, Canada, and Japan and the offer runs from the 26th of June to the 11th of July.

Windows 7 Sale – Should I Buy It?

Yes, the half-price windows 7 upgrades are now #1 and #2 in software at both Amazon.com and Amazon Canada. I just bought it myself.

Even if you change your mind down the line you can cancel the pre-order. Might as well lock-in the 50% off price.

Its only till supplies last so it makes sense to get it now before it sells out. The offer is on -

Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade – The upgrade is just $49 during the offer.
Windows 7 Business Upgrade – This upgrade is just $99 during the offer.

The Windows 7 sale continues in the UK, Germany, and France and runs there from July 15th to August 14th (or until supplies last). The staggered dates are to ensure enough supplies for every country.

The news was first broken via the Windows 7 Team Blog.

Windows 7 Sale Details

You have to pre-order between June 26th and July 11th, and before stock runs out. The retailer will tell you how get your windows 7 upgrade software box when its released.

At Amazon.com you can get Release Date Delivery (free for Prime Members). There’s also a 3 copies limit – so you can only get 3 copies each of the half-price windows 7 upgrade.

Do note the Windows 7 system Requirements before you buy -

1GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor

1GB RAM (32-bit) / 2GB RAM (64-bit)

16GB available disk space (32-bit) / 20GB (64-bit)

DirectX 9 graphics processor with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

Windows 7 Sale – My Recommendation

I’ve been using the Windows 7 Beta since January and it’s been great. I’m now working with the Windows 7 Release Candidate and its better. Windows 7 is a really good operating system that eliminates the performance issues Vista had and is getting great reviews. You should definitely get it – especially during this half-price sale.

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Windows 7 Starter Edition aka Netbook Edition

Posted on June 3rd, 2009 by admin

The Windows 7 Team Blog has shed more light onto the version of W7 targeted at netbooks – Windows 7 Starter Edition.

Here are a few of the key details -

It’ll be available worldwide on netbooks. Windows 7 Team still uses archaic terms like ’small notebooks’.
Run as many applications at the same time as you like.
It does not include -

•Aero Glass, meaning you can only use the “Windows Basic” or other opaque themes. It also means you do not get Taskbar Previews or Aero Peek.
•Personalization features for changing desktop backgrounds, window colors, or sound schemes.
•The ability to switch between users without having to log off.
•Multi-monitor support.
•DVD playback.
•Windows Media Center for watching recorded TV or other media.
•Remote Media Streaming for streaming your music, videos, and recorded TV from your home computer.
•Domain support for business customers.
•XP Mode for those that want the ability to run older Windows XP programs on Windows 7.

Basically, Microsoft are still pitching Windows 7 Home Premium for netbook users. they`re saying that most flavors of Windows 7 will work on netbooks, and although there is a Starter Edition that works well with netbooks we should get a higher priced version to unlock Windows 7 functionality.

This is a weak post from the W7 Team Blog and a weak move from Microsoft – its basically a marketing post asking users to choose the more expensive Home Premium version.

Way to take a market you own 95%+ of and throw it away Microsoft. Don`t know at what point Microsoft are going to figure out that users will NOT buy a $350 machine and then pay $150 for an Operating System.

If Starter is getting you $50 per netbook, that`s still pretty good. Microsoft, owning market share is much more important at this point than making profits. Instead of sinking all that money into Live and MSN put some here.

Technorati Tags: windows 7, windows 7 starter edition

Windows 7 on sale Oct 22, 2009

Posted on June 2nd, 2009 by admin

Seattle Times is reporting that Microsoft has confirmed that Windows 7 will go on sale October 22nd, 2009.

There is speculation that there will be upgrades bundled with any PCs sold with Windows Vista up to 2 months before the release date. This would ensure that the back to school season goes well, and would let users upgrade to Windows 7 after the October 22nd release date.

From the article -

PC makers and resellers will offer free upgrades to Windows 7 for people who buy a new computer running the Home Premium, Business or Ultimate version of Windows Vista shortly before Windows 7 arrives. However, Microsoft did not say whether the upgrade program will begin in time for back-to-school shopping, another crucial period for the PC industry.

The WIndows 7 Team blog had confirmed that Windows 7 would be out in time for the holiday season – However, they haven’t yet given us a date, and its good to have Seattle Times supply the vital information.

Ramifications of a Windows 7 Oct 22nd release

Taking the upgrade into account, a lot of people would start buying PCs from around 1-2 months before the release date.
The holiday season should be very good for PCs.
Windows 7 having a netbook optimized Starter flavor, now with no ‘atmost 3 apps at a time’ restriction, means that netbooks will continue to favor Windows over other OSes.
The new Touch Pack means we will begin to see interest grow, and PC manufacturers get the chance to show off new hardware and, equally importantly, sell new hardware.
Apple’s Snow Leopard doesn’t really get a chance to make headway this holiday season.

Windows 7 is a really good operating system and a release in time for the 2009 holiday season is good news for Microsoft and PC manufacturers.

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Microsoft Surface SP1

Posted on May 11th, 2009 by admin

Microsoft Surface Service Pack 1 was released today. The really important news is -

Surface Team will be tasked with developing a set of common gestures for multi-touch that will be used across Surface, Windows 7, and Windows Mobile.

Hopefully this means some of Surface’s cool applications make their way to Windows 7.

Here’s a video of the Surface SP1 –

The video does a good (not great) job of focusing on the Surface and not on the interviewer. Something I’m beginning to notice more and more is gadget videos where you see the gadget only 50% of the time.

I absolutely love the little circle type menu used to find related photos etc.

They’re also made drag and drop APIs (if i heard the video discussion right) easier. Which is great as it’ll lead to more and cooler applications.

Why do I care about Surface?

Its really, really cool.
All the improvements and applications will sooner or later (hopefully sooner) show up in Windows 7.
It advances human computer interaction in a very meaningful way – not the least of which is applications that become multi-user, and not in the ‘connect two computers together’ way.

Everyone who’s excited about communicating with other devices and other people should be excited about being able to interact with other users on the same screen.

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Windows 7 Holiday 2009 release; RTM in August 2009

Posted on May 11th, 2009 by admin

Huge news out of Microsoft - Windows 7 is on track to be out in time for Holiday season 2009, and the RTM (release to manufacturing) will be in 3 months i.e. August 2009.

Brandon LeBlanc at the Windows 7 Team Blog says that RTM will be in 3 or so months -

If the telemetry we receive from the Windows 7 RC meets our expectations in terms of quality, then we expect to hit RTM in 3 months or so. Again, check out Steven’s blog post on this process. If this happens, it looks like we’ll be able to have Windows 7 done in time for the holidays.

Steven Sinfosky at the Engineering Windows 7 Blog writes -

Delivering the highest quality Windows 7 is the most important criteria for us at this point—quality in every dimension. The RTM process is designed to be deliberate and maintain the overall engineering integrity of the system. Many are pushing us to release the product sooner rather than later, but our focus remains on a high quality release.

Ultimately our partners will determine when their PCs are available in market. If the feedback and telemetry on Windows 7 match our expectations then we will enter the final phases of the RTM process in about 3 months. If we are successful in that, then we tracking to our shared goal of having PCs with Windows 7 available this Holiday season.

This news was broken today at the TechEd conference in LA.

This is really big news. There are a few related snippets -

Office 2010 Beta will release in July 2009. It will initially be available to TechEd and MSDN subscribers.
Microsoft Surface Service Pack 1 released today.

As far as Windows 7 -

Microsoft is recommending teams that were testing Vista to start testing Windows 7 instead.
It does seem like Microsoft is considering Vista a completely lost cause.
I spent all day yesterday using the Windows 7 RC and its very polished. Also, IE8 is no longer troublesome.
August RTM hints at late October to late November general availability. Dell would probably be one of the earliest manufacturers to offer Windows 7 machines.
The US Holiday shopping season is considered to start November 1st so that would probably be the date Microsoft targets for General Availability of Windows 7.

You can get the Windows 7 Release Candidate at Microsoft.

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Installing Windows 7 Release Candidate – Step by Step Guide

Posted on May 4th, 2009 by admin

Windows 7 Release Candidate Installation Steps -

May 5th 2:02 am Update: Installed Successfully so you know this guide works.

Installing W7RC Step 1: Getting the Release Candidate

First, download the file, and get and write down your Windows 7 Release Candidate key from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/download.aspx. W7RC will be available for download until July 2009.

The official windows 7 team blog is a good resource to keep in mind for official updates.

Step 2: Download software that lets you install without burning a DVD

I had written a small post on installing Windows 7 without burning a DVD. Crux is to use one of the available programs -

MagicISO – this lets you mount your Windows 7 ISO as a virtual drive and then install from that drive.
Virtual CloneDrivefrom SlySoft. They also have a promotion right now (till Jan 11th, 2009) if you want to buy

Step 3: Make a backup of the data on your PC

Make a back-up of the data on your computer and make sure that all your important data is included. Also, for especially crucial data save additional copies on www.box.net or in one of your email folders.

Note: Microsoft recommends installing Windows 7 RC only on a test machine. DO NOT install on your work machine as a messed up install might prevent you from working.

Step 4: Read the Installation Instructions

Yes, its boring. However, do read the possible issues, such as an issue with some HP PCs - Installation Instructions for W7RC.

If you have a touchsmart you might look at my Windows 7 + Touchsmart post. Although its for the Beta and not the RC it might help you find drivers etc.

Step 5: Mount the Windows 7 ISO file into a virtual Drive using the Magic Iso software.

Start the Magic Iso software and an icon will show up on your ‘currently running’ tray. Steps are -

Right Click on it.
Go to the very top and select Virtual Drive.
Selected whatever virtual drive is listed, and choose Mount.
Navigate to wherever you saved the Windows 7 RC file and mount it.
It’ll give you an option on whether you want to run Startup or open the folder. Choose to run Startup.

Step 6: Sit back and Let the Windows 7 Installation Run.

Things to keep in mind -

The Upgrade option is available. However it is not supported. Recommend a fresh install – strongly recommend it.
If you install on a drive that already has ANY version of Windows that version will get overwritten and its files will be moved to the Windows.old directory. If possible install into a new partition.
Once again, make sure you’ve backed up your existing data.
After this, Windows 7 will unpack files, install them, and in between reboot a few times. First few times if you get multiple options at start-up, always choose Setup. Do not choose ‘Roll back Setup’. After that choose ‘Windows 7′ – it’ll have an arrow indicator and will be the top option in the list.
After installation is complete, you’ll have to choose your region, a name, and also enter your product key. If you forget to write it down (like I did) you can just press next and enter it later.

Let me know how your Windows 7 Release Candidate installation goes, and best of luck.

Congrats – At this point you should have Windows 7 installed and running. Windows 7 RC took exactly 35 minutes from beginning to end for me.

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Windows 7 Release Candidate Available

Posted on May 4th, 2009 by admin

Windows 7 RC is available early, and here’s the link :

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/download.aspx

Will be available for download until July 2009. Also, the number of Windows Keys for the Release Candidate are not capped.

There is not yet any update on the official windows 7 team blog stating that downloads have been made available – however they are.

Still don’t like that you have to do a fresh install if you have Windows 7 Beta already. Do look at the Installation Instructions for W7RC.

Note: It sucks – however you have to sign up for a windows live id to download Windows 7 release candidate. The page is really slow – seems a lot of people are downloading. I ran into an error.

Update 2: Have the file, doing a back-up and will then install Windows 7 Release Candidate. Starting a new post to cover it.

Update: After 5-6 attempts I finally have the Akamai download manager downloading W7RC. Speed is really, really slow.

BTW, the Release Candidate has this rather interesting little feature -

The RC will expire on June 1, 2010. Starting on March 1, 2010, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will notify you two weeks before the bi-hourly shutdowns start. To avoid interruption, you’ll need to rebuild your test machine using a valid version of Windows before the software expires. You’ll need to rebuild your test PC to replace the OS and reinstall all your programs and data.

Shutdowns every 2 hours – that’s rather infantile.

Technorati Tags: windows 7, windows 7 release candidate