It may be another mistake by Dell or, a joke, or a complete rip off. Either way Dell is selling a Intel Core i7 Laptop for $101,353.
The Studio XPS 16 with a 1.6 GHZ i7 chip costs $101,353, but if you want to upgrade to a 1.73 GHZ chip you only have to pay about another $350. The good news is that they are taking $100 off faster memory, but frankly Dell I don't think that helps.
You’d think that upgrading from Windows XP to Windows 7 would be easy considering that 60% of PC’s worldwide run it. Unfortunately upgrading form Windows XP to Windows 7 is not as easy as simply pressing the upgrade button, because Microsoft did not add upgrade support. But don't feel sad because your not out of luck, there is a somewhat easy way to upgrade.
What you'll need are:
For a strange reason some people recommend that you upgrade to Windows Vista first then upgrade to Windows 7. I don’t recommend that method at all because it is a waste of your money. The other method (which Microsoft and I recommend) is a clean install which would obliterate Windows XP and replace it with Windows 7.
If you've been using Windows XP for the past 8 years chances are you have quite a bit of important data on the computer so its a good idea to back it up.
To back up or data insert the Windows 7 disk into the computer. If auto run opens click don’t run. Now, browse the DVD for a file named migsetup.exe, which is the Windows Easy Transfer tool. Windows Easy Transfer is designed to help easily move all of your documents and settings to a new operating system. Easy Transfer will not transfer or applications so remember to keep all of the product keys for your paid programs, and the download link for the free ones.
When the Windows Easy Transfer welcome screen opens you will be prompted to select three options for where you want to save the data to. I personally prefer the external hard drive or USB flash drive option because it’s easiest, but you can click whichever you prefer.
When the next window pop up just click “This is my old computer”
The Easy Transfer Tool will scan for user accounts settings and documents. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours so be patient.
You will then be prompted to type in a password so you can archive. This is used to prevent people from getting access to your data just incase you loose the USB flash drive. When you’ve installed Windows 7 you will need to type in that password so you can get access to the data.
Its now time to install Windows 7 so, reinsert the install disk and click install now. Because your upgrading from Windows XP you will need to click the custom install option.
You can now install Windows 7 as you normally would. You can see screenshots of the process here. Ignore the first 6 setup screenshots.
Once Windows 7 is installed and running on your machine, attach the external hard disc that you used to take the backup, to the machine, browse over to it and double click on the backup file that you’d created earlier.
The Windows Easy Transfer utility will then start, ask for the password that you’d set earlier and migrate all your XP settings and data to Windows 7.
Palm had this to say on their blog:
"That's right — you once again can have seamless access to your music, photos and videos from the current version of iTunes (8.2.1)."
But there are a bunch of other sweet new features, especially "person reminders," which let you set individual reminders for each person in your contact list (imagine a buddy calls, and a message pops up, reminding you to, say, congratulate him—or, if you're like me, to ask him to pay you back the money he owes you). So cool. Below is the full list of updates.
Version information
* Version: webOS 1.1.0
* Release date: 23 July 2009
* Configuration: Sprint 1.7New applications
NFL Mobile Live from Sprint* Watch or listen to live NFL games right on your phone.
Feature changes to existing applications
Calendar* For Calendar accounts you create on your phone, the default reminder intervals are 15 minutes for timed events and one day for all-day events. A few notes:
o This change applies only if software version 1.1 was on your phone when you bought it, or if you did a partial or full erase on your phone and signed in to your Palm profile again after updating to version 1.1. If you simply update your phone to software version 1.1, the default reminder intervals in Calendar do not change.
o This change applies only to Calendar events you create on your phone, not to events that are synchronized to your phone from an online account.Camera
* The Photos application opens more quickly when launched from the camera.
Clock
* Enhanced support for time zones in Clock.
* When you set an alarm in Clock, an alarm icon appears in the notification area at the bottom of the screen. Tap the icon to display alarm details. Alarm details include the following:
o If the alarm is set for the current day, the alarm time appears.
o If the alarm is set for tomorrow, the alarm time and "Tomorrow" appear.
o If the alarm is set for any day other than today or tomorrow, the day of the alarm appears.Contacts
* Friends added and deleted in Facebook on the web are now correctly added and deleted in the Facebook account in Contacts on the phone.
* As soon as you create or makes changes to a Google contact on the phone, the phone begins a sync to reflect those changes in Google on the web.* When you set up an Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) email account, you can enter the mail server name as an IP address.
* Support for self-signed certificates with multiple common names has been added.
* When you reply to an email in HTML format using an EAS account, the formatting of the sender's original message is now retained in the reply.
* Palm's EAS implementation now supports several Exchange ActiveSync Policies, including the following:
o PIN/Password Required. IT administrators can ensure a password is assigned to the phone. Administrators can also specify the minimum length of the password.
o Inactivity timeout. IT administrators can ensure that an inactive phone goes into a locked state after a certain time period. You cannot set a higher timeout interval for your phone, but you can set a shorter interval.
o Remote Wipe. IT Administrators can remotely erase all data on a phone from their Exchange console. IT administrators can also have the device wipe itself if an incorrect password is entered more than a specified number of times.Messaging
* You can enter emoticons in new text, multimedia, and instant messages. Emoticons also display in incoming messages.
* If you set the phone to use a 24-hour time format, the message times shown in a conversation appear in 24-hour time.
* If you go into an IM account's preferences, all the options are available even if you are signed in to the account. You can tap Remove Account to delete the account, enter a new password to update the password, or tap Sign In to sign in with your updated password. Previously, you needed to sign out of the account before you could use these preferences.
* When you delete an IM account, a message now appears asking you to confirm that you want to delete the account.Phone
* When multiple missed call notifications are displayed on the dashboard, the time of the most recent missed call is shown.
* When you slide the ringer switch off, a bell icon with a slash is displayed. Previously, the icon was a speaker with a slash.
* In Phone Preferences, the Show Contact Matches preference is now turned on by default. When typing on the keyboard in the phone app, the phone automatically displays both the numbers being entered and any contact matches for the characters entered.System
* Improved functionality of person reminders. A person reminder is a notification that you create in a contact entry. The notification appears when you have a call or exchange an email, text, multimedia, or IM message with a contact.
* Resolves an issue preventing media sync from working with latest version of iTunes (8.2.1).
* When you enter a search term in Card view or the Launcher to perform a universal search, if you select the Wikipedia web search option, results are shown in the Wikipedia Mobile site instead of the Desktop site.Web
* You can now use symbols from the symbols table (Sym Sym key icon + key) when you enter text into a web page dialog box.
* If you have a page open at a certain zoom level, leave the page, and use the onscreen Back Web Back button button or the back gesture to return to the page, the zoom level is restored right away.
* A new gesture is now available that works the same as the onscreen Forward Web Forward button button. To move forward through open web pages, make a short swipe left to right in the gesture area.
* When using the Wikipedia drop-down search feature in the address bar, results are shown in the Wikipedia Mobile site instead of the Desktop site.
* When you tap a link, the link appears highlighted to indicate it has been activated, even if it takes a moment for the linked page to open.YouTube
* After you enter search text, you can tap the Search Search icon icon to perform a search. You still have the option of pressing Enter Enter key to perform the search.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The bad news is that Windows Mobile 6.5 is not yet released, the good news it that you can install it today on your HTC Phone.
There are plenty of Windows Mobile 6.5 Roms floating around the internet, and despite the fact that installing Windows Mobile 6.5, the ROM’s are great. Unfortunateley most phones wont be able to run Windows Mobile 6.5 (sort of like Vista).
The Disclaimer: This tutorial will go deep into your systems software and there is a high chance that may brick your phone, deeming it unusable. If you are not geeky enough to do this don't even try it, if you are ready lets continue.
An HTC Touch Diamond or Touch Pro (GSM only. Folks with CDMA handsets—that's you, Sprint and Verizon—go here or here.)
A (free) account at XDA Developers
A Windows Mobile 6.5 ROM (Lotsa choices here: Diamond, Pro)
A Windows PC, set up to sync with your handset A device flashing utility (Both)
A bootloader (Diamond, Pro)
A device radio (Diamond, Pro)
Installing the bootloader:
Many of you have probably updated, or "flashed" your devices before, but this will have been with an official, signed utility from either your carrier or handset manufacturer. What we're doing today is installing unofficial software, something which your handset isn't currently set up to do. Our first order of business, then, is to install a new bootloader, called HardSPL, on the device, which will allow your handset to load software from third parties, i.e., your sweet, sweet Windows Mobile ROM. Let's go:
1. Connect your phone to your PC, and establish an ActiveSync (on XP) or Sync Center (on Vista, or Windows 7) connection to your device. You don't need to set up any sync rules—just makes sure the connection is active. You can check this by looking for a bi-directional arrow in your phone's taskbar.
2. Extract the bootloader you've downloaded, and note the location (see "What You'll Need" for links)
3. Find your extracted files, and run the executable file (usually called "ROMUpdateUtility.exe" or something like that.
4. Follow the instructions, carefully. The software performs lots of checks to make sure you don't goof this up, but make sure you a.) have at least 50% battery left in your phone b.) the correct bootloader c.) a host computer that won't shut off, go to sleep or otherwise interrupt the process. Heed! Or else there may be bricking.
5. Wait! You'll see paired progress bars on your phone and computer screen. This part of the process doesn't take that long, since you're only updating a small piece of software.
6. Restart your phone. The small text in the corner of your Windows Mobile splash screen will have changed to something unfamiliar, but don't worry about verifying your new bootloader. If you ran the utility to completion and the device restarted on its own, it's more or less a sure thing that you're upgraded.
Installing a new device radio:
This is the most esoteric part of the process, so I'll try not to get too deep into the nuts and bolts. Basically, your device has firmware that manages its various antennae, letting you connect to cellular networks, GPS, etc. Installing a fresh Radio onto your device usually won't make much of a change in how your phone works. it just lets us—or rather, your soon-to-be mobile OS, manage your phone's communication capabilities freely. Some radios can improve reception on certain networks, or even connect to entirely new mobile bands. For more info on that, I'l refer you again to XDA.
You'll probably notice that this process is seems an awfully lot like the last stage: that's because it is. Since we're "flashing" different parts of your phone's software in each step, the core utility, and general technique, is quite similar. Anyway!
7. Pair your phone with your PC, like you did in step 1.
8. Extract your downloaded radio files and note their location
9. If the radio came with its own bootloader, skip to step 12.
10. Extract your downloaded bootloader, noting location.
11. Copy the extracted radio file—it should have an .NBH extension—to the directory where you've put your bootloader.
12. Run the bootloader, as in step 3.
13. Follow the instructions, as in steps 4 and 5.
14. Let the phone restart. Nothing much will have changed, but you may need to perform some minor network setup. Don't worry too much about that now, since you're about to wipe your whole device.
Flashing the ROM, i.e. Installing Windows Mobile 6.5
This is when we get down to actually installing our new OS. This is the step that'll take the longest, and it's the biggest leap of faith, since you're replacing your device's main software. Luckily, if you've come this far, it'll be a snap. Same process, different .NBH file. Onward!
15. Pair your phone to your PC (this is the last time! promise!)
16. Extract your downloaded bootloader, again, to a different location. (Or you can use the same copy you used to flash your radio; just make sure you delete the radio file from the directory)
17. Extract your Windows Mobile 6.5 ROM, which should be an .NBH file of about 80-100MB, to the same directory that your bootloader is in.
18. Run the bootloader, and follow the instructions. Same warnings as before—don't let your PC or phone sever the connection at any point.
19. Sit and wait. This time it'll take a bit longer, but shouldn't top 15-20 minutes.
20. Your phone will reset, and you should see a fresh Windows Mobile 6.5 splash screen. It might look hacked or unprofessional—don't be alarmed! The guys who so graciously put together these ROMs, which often take a good deal of tweaking, leave their marks on the software in various ways. Anyhoo, you'll have to let your phone run through a set of initialization routines for a little while. Just follow along.
21. WinMo should automatically guess your carrier and apply the appropriate connections settings. If not, you can do it from the device's Settings page, found in the top level of the new start menu. As for the settings parameters, Google is your friend.
Conclusion: 
Resources:
• XDA Developers
• ModMyDiamond
So that's about it! Please add in your experiences in the comments-your feedback is a huge benefit to our Saturday guides. Good luck with your flashing (firmware only, please), and have a great weekend!
Pictures of alleged Windows 7 box shots appeared last month with many users analysing them in detail and coming to the conclusion that they were most likely photoshopped. The discussion was going back and forth but no one could really say that the boxes were indeed real of fake.
An indirect confirmation is now available in the form of boxes that are being shown int he Microsoft Store. Indirect because the store page displays three of the boxes that were leaked last month but does not mention explicitely that these are the boxes that Windows 7 will be sold in. It is however very unlikely that Microsoft will change the box art after showing the boxes in the store.
The store page shows the Windows 7 Ultimate, Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Home Premium boxes which are very likely to appear in that form in retail outlets. This also increases the chance that the upgrade box art that was shown last month is also the real deal
Having dual monitors not only gives you a really cool desktop, but it can also increase productivity by up to 60%. When working with dual monitors I noticed that using my computer was much easier and faster. There are many myths about dual monitors so I am going to separate fact from fiction:
1. Look at the backside of your computer to see if your video card can run dual monitors. If you have a laptop, look for a single blue monitor port. Check the monitor you have. If it came with the cord you need (a cord ending in a blue connector for a laptop, or a cord ending in what you have on the back of your computer for desktops) you can proceed to the next step. If not, you will need to buy the cord that matches the ports on your machine and on the monitor. For example, if you have a DVI port, and the monitor uses a VGA port, you will need to purchase a DVI to VGA adapter. Find out what you need, and shop around a little, checking prices online and in your preferred electronics retail establishment. This is important, as this little cable will probably run you about $30.
2. Obtain the monitor you wish to add.
3. Attach the cables to your monitor and to your machine. Plug everything that has a power cord in, and turn on your computer and the monitor.
4. Tell your computer what you've done. Right click on the desktop and select Properties. On the window that pops up, select the Settings tab. Select the grayed-out screen so that a blue box sits around it. Near the bottom of the window will be a checkbox labeled Extend my Windows desktop onto this monitor. This is so that you can extend your desktop onto two monitors instead of having both running the exact same thing. Check this box, and note what appears in the Screen resolution area. There is a sliding bar here. It should have defaulted to a resolution supported by your new monitor. If not, move it to a resolution the box or manual of your monitor says is supported. Click 'Apply'.
5. Be prepared for your screens to freeze up, go black, or see a message that may pop up telling you to wait. This is normal. Your computer is simply talking with the monitor, and figuring out what information it needs to send. After some period of time (could be a second, could be thirty), your new monitor should come to life, showing your desktop. Assuming everything looks in order, click 'OK'. You now have dual monitors.
Barley two weeks after Windows 7 Build 7127 leaked there is another build leaked to the wild.
This time around the build tag is 7137.0.090521-1745 meaning this build is only a week old. As ever the build is available at the usual places but it might be worth waiting until RTM as a lot of Windows 7 torrents have been hit by malware and viruses recently.
Microsoft is still target to complete Windows 7 this summer so there will be a fall launch. There is not much change but here is the screenshots:
The wallpaper is not the official wallpaper
At this point you still use the old Windows XP and your looking to upgrade to the new Windows Vista. Here is how to do it:
A e-mail sent this weekend alerted Windows 7 Beta testers that Windows 7 will shut down July 1st, not June 1st as stated before.
The e-mail warned users that the beta version of Windows 7 would expire on August 1 and suggested that users upgrade to "non-expired" copies, like Windows 7 RC or Windows Vista. Bi-hourly shutdowns of the beta version, however, will begin on July 1, not June 1.
"The Windows 7 Beta does expire on August 1, 2009; unfortunately the date for when bi-hourly shutdowns will begin for the Windows 7 Beta was incorrect. "Bi-hourly shutdowns for the Windows 7 Beta will begin July 1, 2009." Microsoft Spokesman- Brandon LeBlanc.
"We apologize for the confusion and inconvenience this may have caused," he said.
About 13% or 440,000 computers are in the process of upgrading to Windows Vista. The switch from Windows XP includes desktop computers on classified and unclassified networks.
The migration to Windows Vista in happening while they are upgrading from Office 20030 to Office 2007. The migration to Office 2007 started before the migration to Windows Vista. Currently half the Army’s PC’s have Office 2007.
The Army has been testing Vista since its release in late 2006 and expects that users comfortable with XP and Office 2003 will need time to adjust to the new "look and feel" of the upgrades.
“During this process, we are offering several in-house training sessions, helpful quick-tip handouts, and free Army online training,"Sharon Reed, chief of IT at the Soldier Support Institute
Vista has not been a huge success for Microsoft like Windows XP was. Reviews found that the Operating System was buggy and that applications and drivers did not work.
Given the Army bureaucracy and testing requirements, it's unlikely it would move to Windows 7 anytime soon, despite it's being rated as a better OS in terms of usability. Nevertheless, in response to the Army migration, Microsoft said in an e-mailed statement Friday that the switch from Vista to Windows 7 would not present the same challenges as moving from XP to Vista.
I have some good news for the people who plan to buy Windows 7 Starter for their computers. Microsoft is going to drop the 3 App limit which allowed onlythree programmes to run at the same time. Now you can run all of your favourite programs at once. Now I'm just wondering how they will get all the Windows 7 Starter users to upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium.
If your wondering I am currently running 14 programmes.
The Polish news site CentrumXP recently posted several images which may be the Windows 7 box. It is not clear yet if these are official box shots or simply photo shopped to look like the real deal. You can take a look at the images below. As always I would like to hear your opinion so please comment below.
Will Windows 7 be a whole new computing experience--or a nightmare that turns your computer into an unusable brick?
Rather than leaving it up to the OS gods, why not test out your system with Microsoft's Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. The program will determine if your computer will be able to run Windows 7 without displaying the ever-popular blue screen of death.
Microsoft released a beta version of Upgrade Advisor on Thursday, available now in English on the company's Web site.
"Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor examines a PC's processor, memory, storage, and graphics capabilities, identifies known compatibility issues with installed software and devices and finally provides guidance on how to resolve those issues if possible," Microsoft spokesman Brandon LeBlanc wrote in a blog post.
XP users take note. As Microsoft has previously mentioned, if you are running XP, you will have to do a clean install of the Windows 7 RC and the final product. Only Vista machines can upgrade to Windows 7.
LeBlanc encouraged users to plug in USB devices, printer, external hard drives, or scanners that are regularly used with your PC for a better assessment.
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