As we reported on Thursday Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade at $50 with the Windows 7 Professional upgrade costing $100. Costco will give you $5 savings on each, putting Home Premium at $45 and Pro at $95. That's a 10% savings on Home Premium and a 5% savings on Pro...or about enough to take a healthy bite out of sales tax.
Since Friday, residents of Canada, the United States and Japan have been able to pre-order Windows 7. Europeans have to wait to July. Interested users from the three countries can currently purchase Windows 7 Home Premium for $49.99 instead of $119.99 and Windows 7 Professional for $99.99 instead of $199.99.
Microsoft has made the decision to not offer a pre-ordering discount for Windows 7 Ultimate which is something that caused some concern with users who would like to purchase this edition of the upcoming operating system.
If you are interested in ore-ordering Windows 7 here are some links. Microsoft said the offer will end soon so order soon!
Several reports say that Windows XP and Windows Vista are installing updates, at system shutdown, when the user configured the computer to ask to install updates first.
This Windows Secrets article explains it all. The problem comes up when Windows is configured to use Automatic Updates either to (Vista terminology here) "Download updates but let me choose whether to install them" or "Check for updates but let me choose whether to download and install them".
Now every tech know-it-all you talk to will tell you that you should have automatic updates set to “Install updates automatically”. There have been times when Automatic Updates shut down internet access to Zone Alarm users, but that is rear and the risks outweigh the benefits. People in the aggregate are better off installing updates automatically.
Scott Spanbauer in Windows Secrets explains what might have happened. The June 9th update was a rather large update. which addressed 10 updates and 31 vulnerabilities. Microsoft Knowledge Base explains how some problems can occur when a traffic is heavy on the update server.
Spanbauer puts forward one possible avenue for users who really want to avoid this problem:
If you consider it important to research patches before they're installed, one possible workaround involves selecting AU's option 2 or 3. Then, run Microsoft Update (a superset of Windows Update, both of which require IE) and specify every patch to be installed or not installed -- every time you plan to shut down or reboot. Running Microsoft's updater should eliminate any queued downloads that might install unexpectedly.
This doesn't seem quite right to me in a few ways. First, neither Windows nor Microsoft Update on Vista use IE, but they do on XP. Second, I have at least one system where running Microsoft Update does not eliminate queued downloads, and in fact Microsoft Update fails in that case; I have to let Automatic Updates proceed. Third, this sounds like a major pain.
If you are not familiar with anytime upgrade, it allows users to upgrade to a more powerful version of Windows by just typing in a product key. The key is just random numbers and letters, on a piece of paper.
Microsoft is not the only company who does this. Apple’s Mobile Me also comes in a huge box, which is just filled with air. Shame on them.
The Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) is an error message that appears when Windows experiences a fatal error. The error message can show up at any time, but it is still quite rear. I’ve compiled the BSOD of all the versions of the Windows, and they are shown below.
The Windows XP Vista and 7 BSOD
A unique Blue Screen of Death with only one line of error code as seen in Windows Vista, which is an ACPI-related error.
In Windows NT-based operating systems, the blue screen of death (displayed in 80x50 text mode as opposed to 9x/Me's 80x25) occurs when the kernel or a driver running in kernel mode encounters an error from which it cannot recover. This is usually caused by an illegal operation being performed. The only safe action the operating system can take in this situation is to restart the computer. As a result, data may be lost, as users are not given an opportunity to save data that has not yet been saved to the hard drive.
The text on the error screen contains the code of the error along with four error-dependent values in parentheses that are there to help software engineers fix the problem that occurred. Depending on the error code, it may display the address where the problem occurred, along with the driver which is loaded at that address. Under Windows NT and 2000, the second and third sections of the screen may contain information on all loaded drivers and a stack dump, respectively. The driver information is in three columns; the first lists the base address of the driver, the second lists the driver's creation date (as a Unix timestamp), and the third lists the name of the driver.[1]
BSOD from Windows 2000. The red portion highlights the error that crashed the computer.
Perhaps the most famous instance of a Windows 9x BSoD occurred during a presentation of a Windows 98 beta by Bill Gates at COMDEX on April 20, 1998. The demo PC crashed with a BSoD when his assistant (Chris Capossela, who is still working for Microsoft as Corporate VP in the Information Working business unit) connected a scanner to the PC, trying to demonstrate Windows 98's support for Plug and Play devices. This event brought thunderous applause from the crowd and Gates replied after a nervous pause: "That must be why we're not shipping Windows 98 yet."[3]
The simplest version of the blue screen occurs in Windows CE except the versions for Pocket PC, which appears similar to the ones found in Windows 9x/Me.
The very first Blue Screen of Death happens in Windows 1.0 if a computer fails to boot up properly, it will show random letters and symbols [4] If Windows 1.0 encounters any (MS-DOS related) critical system errors, it will instead show a Black Screen of Death.
Windows 2.0's BSOD is the very same thing.
Windows 7 is Microsoft's least expensive version of Windows yet 
When comparing prices to previous versions of Windows most editions cost approximately $200, with exception to the Vista price spike. When you adjust for inflation you can see that pricing has become a downward cascade (with the exception of Windows Vista Home Premium).
The Pro versions of Windows have also has a decrease in price.
Microsoft has finally officially confirmed Windows 7 pricing.
If you plan to buy a new PC after tomorrow chances are that you will not need to pay for a Windows 7 Upgrade.
Starting Friday June 26 if you buy a new PC you should be covered by a free Windows 7 upgrade program. If you buy a computer with Windows Vista Home Premium this weekend when Windows 7 comes out you’ll get Windows 7 Home Premium FREE. If you buy Vista Ultimate you will get 7 Ultimate and if you get Vista Business you’ll get 7 Professional. There is no free upgrades for buyers of Windows Vista Basic.
People in the US, Canada or Japan who already own a PC running XP or Vista will be able to upgrade to Windows 7 for half price as long as they pre-order. The offer begins Friday June 26 for a limited time only.
As I said, Windows 7 Home Premium, usually $120, will cost $50, and Windows 7 Professional, usually $200, will cost $100. Windows 7 Ultimate is not part of this discount plan, but it might get its own incentive plan later on. (You could technically buy Home Premium upgrade, then pay to convert it to Ultimate, saving at least a little cash.) The pre-order deal will be visible at store.microsoft.com and at "most major retailers."
Windows Product Management said that the half price deal will end when an undisclosed amount of licences are sold. "We have enough quantity," he said, adding that the magic number was "equivalent to a year of Vista sales volume at retail."
Europeans will not be getting any nice treatment from Microsoft due to the European Commissions banning of IE8 in Windows 7. Microsoft will be selling Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional but there is no way to upgrade from Windows Vista.
Europeans who purchase Windows 7 will be forced to do a clean install, and will have to migrate there data anyway they can. The logic is that, while the Windows team can do a clean install without IE8, there's not enough quality assurance on what an upgrade install would be like without IE8, with assorted HTML rendering apps co-existing in the OS already. Could be messy, says Ybarra. "We don't want to break anyone else's software, we don't want to break our own software, and we don't want the customer on the phone with support." That funky deal is supposed to run through December.
Here are the Windows 7 estimated retail prices, for the people who don't want to accept the upgrade offers.
Windows 7 Home Premium: $120 for upgrade; $200 for full version
Windows 7 Professional: $200 for upgrade; $300 for full version
Windows 7 Ultimate: $220 for upgrade; $320 for full version
You may remember that there are other Win 7 SKUs such as Home Basic and Starter. Windows 7 Home Basic is not available in the United States or most of Europe though, along with residents of Burkina Faso and Vanuatu, Montenegrans will be able to buy it.
Windows 7 Starter will be offered to Dell, HP, Asus and other manufacturers to stick on netbooks. Just in case you were concerned, Windows XP will also be available, distributed and supported for 12 months after Windows 7 launches though limited to these same "small notebook PCs." I think Microsoft—and quite a few non-vested-interests—are expecting netbooks to ditch XP for Win 7 pretty fast.
Winfuture.de says that the completion of the final Windows 7 Build has been rescheduled.
Although the RTM (Release to Manufacturing) branch of development is said to have been ready on June 12, it was not possible to create the final version of Windows 7 - actually planned for June 19 - because of bugs. What kind of problem affected the development is unknown.
Furthermore the report says that Microsoft wants to decide on June 29, 2009, which Windows 7 Build will be declared to be the final version of the new operating system.
Microsoft will turn off Windows 7 RC downloads on August 15 2009.
The download program closes August 15. After that, you won't be able to get the download, but you can still install the RC and get a key if you need one," Microsoft employee Stephen Rose said.
Microsoft released the final public 
Windows 7 will be launched on October 22 2009.
Windows 7 RC will not expire until June 10 2009 and will shut down at two-hour intervals starting March 1, 2010.
Testers who still use Windows 7 Beta will experience automatic shutdowns much sooner than Release Candidate users. You need to move to the RC and fast," a Microsoft employee said.
People who want to download the Windows 7 RC can do it here.
Just a quick reminder: Microsoft plans to allow the public to download a beta version of “Morro,” now known as Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) on June 23, starting around 9 a.m. PT.
Update (8 a.m. PT): The beta download is now live. Or maybe not. It was for a minute, there….
MSE is the free antivirus/anti-malware product that is replacing Microsoft’s paid Windows Live OneCare subscription service. It is aimed primarily at users who can’t or won’t pay for security software.
Here are the details about today’s beta kick-off:
Who is eligible: Anyone in the U.S., Israel or Brazil who wants to try MSE on XP SP2, Vista or Windows 7 (Beta or Release Candidate) can grab the beta. Last week, Microsoft officials told me there was no cap planned for the beta, but shortly thereafter a spokesperson said the beta will be capped at 75,000. “This could change though depending on what the download scenario is,” he added.
Download site: Testers will be able to download MSE beta from Microsoft Connect by going to this page: http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/
Versions: The MSE beta will be available in 32- and 64-bit flavors. It will be available in English and Brazilian Portuguese on June 23 and simplified Chinese some time later this year. Update: The beta is restricted by country. The beta site says: “This beta is available only to customers in the United States, Israel (English only), People’s Republic of China (Simplified Chinese only) and Brazil (Brazilian Portuguese only).”
How long will the beta be available: Microsoft plans to keep the beta open until the cap is reached or the final product is available, whichever comes first.
When is the final MSE release due: Official word is before the end of calendar 2009. I’ve seen several bloggers saying this fall.
If you’re among the testers who grab a copy of today’s beta of MSE, I’d be interested in hearing what you think. How does MSE compare to other free and paid third-party security offerings and Windows Live OneCare?
Like big shot Hollywood studios Microsoft is trying to generate buzz around its next version of Office by releasing an exciting trailer.
Microsoft posted a movie trailer that teases Office 2010 and added a “behind the scenes” button that pokes fun at recent leaks of Office 2010.
The "actor" being interviewed on camera likens the leaked preview to him being seen without his make-up and with a virus all over his face.
Microsoft quietly launched the website in April and has got lots of hits. Microsoft is not releasing any numbers. On the site is also a button to sign up for a technical preview of Office, which is slated to begin next month. For those who want an earlier peek, here are some screenshots.
The moment I herd that Microsoft was designing Windows 7 to run on netbooks I was wondering what hardware it would run on.
A Windows Club Forum member that goes by the name of “hackerman1” has impressively installed Windows 7 on an ancient PC. He installed it on a system packing a 266MHz Pentium II, 128MB of RAM and a 4MB graphics card. After succeeding, he decreased the RAM capacity to 96MB, which also handled 7. His experiment came to a temporary halt after dropping the RAM to 64MB. Hackerman’s fun won’t end there, though. He plans to try and get Windows 7 up and running on a 166MHz Pentium I and 1MB graphics card next.
Hackerman1 did not say how long it takes Windows 7 to boot or how long the install took. Other forum members said that on an ancient PC it took 17 hours to install, and 17 minutes to boot.
1. Check if you need the IDE (parallel ATA) or Serial ATA. While older computers support IDE (Parallel ATA), new ones may only support Serial ATA. If you are not sure, open the computer case and try to determine the type of the used drives from the view. It is safer to use the same type that is already installed, even if the sockets for another type also appear to be present.
2. Make sure you have room for an extra hard drive, here's one way to do this:
3. Get the actual hard drive. Go to your local computer store or buy online from Newegg or another retailer. Make sure that the type (SATA or IDE (PATA)) matches. If you plan on replacing your existing hard drive (see warning on replacing drives), be sure to get one with enough space to compensate for what you're losing.
4. Shut down your computer.
5. Unplug all of the cords from the back of your computer and pull the computer out from the desk.
6. Remove the case screws. If you have a Dell, you only need to push down on the release latch(s) on the back or sides. If you're having difficulty, it's a good idea to consult your manual on how your particular case is removed. Put the screws in a safe place so you don't lose them. Remove the side panel and place it out of the way.
FIG. 2:The thumb screw.
FIG. 3:The ribbon cable connection.
7. Find the area where all the flat ribbon cables (or SATA cables, which are smaller and usually red) connect to the main board.(fig. 3) Find the cable that corresponds to the free drive that was detected in step 1-6, either primary or secondary.
8. Set the jumpers so the drive knows whether to act as a master or slave. The jumpers are the set of pins on the back of the hard drive. They'll have a couple of rubber or plastic blocks covering some pins. Find the diagram or instructions for your new drive on to set the jumper for the master/slave. Note that if both the master and the slave are available on the slot you are using (primary or secondary), set the hard drive to master. (fig. 4) Note that if you are using a SATA drive, the jumpers do not need to be changed, because each SATA device uses its own cable, and multiple IDE devices can share a cable.
FIG. 4:The jumper in the slave position. If it says to remove a jumper completely, put it on the single pin so you don't lose it.
9. Find the empty bay in your computer case. Using the screws that came with the drive or computer case, mount the drive. (fig. 5)
FIG. 5:The hard drive mounted in it's holster.
10. Connect the cable that you found in step 6 to the hard drive. If it won't go in, make sure that the safety bump is aligned with the hole.(fig. 6)
FIG. 6:The ribbon cable installed.
11. Connect a Molex power cable, (a smaller connector with red, yellow, and black wires.)(fig. 7) A SATA drive will have a different type of power cable on the power supply.
FIG. 7:The power cable is installed.
12. Put the side panel back on the computer and put the screws back in.
13. Plug all of the cables back into the rear of the computer, and connect them to their power sources if you unplugged them.
14. Boot up the computer. Go into your BIOS at startup (most likely by pressing F10 or DEL as the computer starts). Check the BIOS auto detect to ensure the second drive is detected. On the screen that shows that primary master/slave, secondary master/slave you should see the name of your new hard drive.
When Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was asked if he could just have one do-over Ballmer said, "I would probably say I would start sooner on search."
For a few years now Ballmer has been talking about search and has said that Microsoft needs to put more effort into it. The Yahoo deal last year did not work out so now they are trying Bing.
In a blog post, on Thursday Microsoft said that the Xbox 360 is not even halfway through its lifetime. Microsoft also went on to say that they would not release a new Xbox until late into the next decade. Microsoft is planning to introduce Project Natal, a new gesture-recognizing controller, which is expected for release next year. Ballmer may have gotten this confused with the Xbox. Microsoft has not yet confirmed the release date.
"As the Xbox team stated at E3 two weeks ago, we are not even halfway through the current console generation lifecycle and believe Xbox 360 will be the entertainment center in the home for long into the next decade. Project Natal will be an important part of this platform, but we have not confirmed a launch date at this time."– Microsoft said in a blog post.
That doesn't completely shut the door on new hardware for 2010. Although Microsoft has said it plans to offer Natal as an add-on to the Xbox 360, it seems reasonable that the company might well come out with some new bundle or set-up to accompany Natal's arrival as it looks to convert all of those Wii owners.
Its still early in the game but Microsoft’s new search engine managed to hold onto its second place spot in the search engine market share.
Bing’s market share is up about 3 percentage points from where Microsoft was at pre-Bing in terms of both number of searchers and total query share. That is about a 1 percent gain from both categories in its first week.
For the week of June 8 to 12, Microsoft's search engines were used by 16.7 percent of those doing searches and accounted for 12.1 percent of all queries, both up 3 percentage points from where Microsoft was at before Bing's launch.
"It appears that Microsoft Bing has continued to generate interest from the market for the second consecutive week," ComScore Senior VP Mike Hurt said in a statement. "These early data reflect a continued positive market reaction to Bing in the initial stages of its launch."
Microsoft launched Bing at the beginning of the month, after a lengthy development period and months of internal testing.
For its part, Microsoft seems to recognize it is still very early. The software maker has declined to comment on the market share gains.
...we are focusing our strategy around a primary 'hero' client brand which is Intel® Core™. Today the Intel Core brand has a mind boggling array of derivatives (such as Core™2 Duo and Core 2 Quad, etc). Over time those will go away and in its place will be a simplified family of Core processors spanning multiple levels: Intel® Core™ i3 processor, Intel® Core™ i5 processor, and Intel® Core™ i7 processors. Core i3 and Core i5 are new modifiers and join the previously announced Intel Core i7 to round out the family structure. It is important to note that these are not brands but modifiers to the Intel Core brand that signal different features and benefits. For example, upcoming processors such as Lynnfield (desktop) will carry the Intel Core brand, but will be available as either Intel Core i5 or Intel Core i7 depending upon the feature set and capability. Clarksfield (mobile) will have the Intel Core i7 name. - Intel spokesman Bill Calder
Celeron, Pentium and Atom are staying put, but the famous core brands will be broken into the ones above. Intel said that the transition will take time, and will most likely be done in 2010.
A Windows enthusiast blog on Tuesday posted what it says are leaked screenshots of Microsoft's upcoming free security software, code-named "Morro," which is due for public beta release soon. Today another set of screenshots were leaked.
In November, Microsoft announced that they would no longer be selling or supporting it’s failed anti-virus software, Windows Live OneCare.
Microsoft says that Morro will be available in the second half of 2009. OneCare will be continued to be sold until June 30 2009.
Morro will be compatible with Windows XP, Vista and the upcoming Windows 7.
When OneCare launched 3 years ago it managed to make a dent in the security industry due to lower than normal prices.
The latest leak of Windows 7 is build 7260, and yet again the leak comes from Russia.
The build is available as a 32-bit Windows 7 Ultimate VHD image (virtual hard drive image) with the build string 6.1.7260.0.win7_rtm.090612-2110 which indicates that the build was compiled on June 12.
MICROSOFT.WINDOWS.7.BUILD.7260.WIN7_RTM.X86.VHD.ENGLISH-WZT – NEW
FILE: 7260.0.x86fre.win7_rtm.090612-2110.client_en-us.ultimate.vhd
(the original VHD in packed RAR archive, size RAR file: 1,919,600,205 byte
SHA1: 0FF53F8ED2BBC0B1B174B47F80055BB3DACF2F01)
SIZE: 5,185,507,840 byte
CRC: 67C23FE0
MD5: 0703C259676D7E4C58E0EF2184369663
SHA1: 7540399601506675CF1B329CB3507875F64C555B
Microsoft is currently aiming for the RTM build which might raise the build number to 7300. Below are the screenshots provided by Wzor of Windows 7 Build 7260.
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