According to Microsoft it is considering to ship Windows 7 on USB
flash drives
to allow netbook owners to more easily upgrade their machines:

The move, which is still under consideration, is one of several things Microsoft has looked at to try to make it convenient to upgrade machines that don’t come with a CD or DVD drives.

Microsoft executives have said that they recognize that upgrading Netbooks poses a challenge and are exploring ways that the company can make it easier. In an interview on Thursday, Senior Vice President Bill Veghte said that Microsoft had nothing to announce on that front.

Although a USB flash drive could offer the simplest way to move a Netbook to Windows 7, there are other options. Buyers with an external drive could hook up that to their Netbook, while another option would be an upgrade through a service such as Best Buy’s Geek Squad. Microsoft also sells a downloadable version of Windows today, so, in theory it could do the same with Windows 7, allowing buyers to put the OS on their own thumb drive.

Matt Bonin, a merchant director at Best Buy, said this week that the company is aiming to work with Geek Squad to develop services to streamline Windows 7 upgrades. As for Netbooks, he said the company recognizes the challenge they present and said the store already offers services to load other types of software, such as antivirus programs.

via. Guru3D

Microsoft seems to think that there are a lot of people that are going to be resistant to Windows 7 for one reason or another and have extended the availability of XP downgrades.

Originally, Microsoft was only planning on XP downgrades for six months following the launch of Windows 7. This has now been extended out to 18 months or the release of Windows 7’s first service pack. Given the success of Windows 7 so far and the increase in quality that has been seen in the beta and RC versions, it should be quite some time before we see SP1 for Windows 7.

Why Microsoft has extended the availability of the downgrades isn’t for certain. One thing that we can be certain of however is that this will continue to hurt the push towards native 64-bit applications. While the hardware base is out there, unless we can get to an overwhelming install base for 64-bit OS’s, many application dev’s aren’t going to feel the need to develop 64-bit apps as much as they would without XP around.

Microsoft has set the launch date for its new Windows 7 operating system.

Bill Veghte, SVP of the Windows business, is quoted as saying: “We feel confident that we will deliver Windows 7 with our partners on Oct. 22.”

Gizmodo reports that this date has been confirmed by Microsoft. It seems as though this will be the General Availability (GA) date when consumers can actually purchase the software and PCs with the software preinstalled.

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Earlier on we reported that Microsoft would be enforcing a three-application limit on Windows 7 Starter edition. This particular limitation would hinder the user running more than three applications at once.

Microsoft seems to really want to do it right with Windows 7 and Via the Windows 7 Team Blog, Microsoft today has confirmed that the limit will not exist in the final version of the operating system:

There of course will also be Windows 7 Starter edition, but based on the feedback we’ve received from partners and customers asking us to enable a richer small notebook PC experience with Windows 7 Starter, we’ve decided to make some changes compared to previous Starter editions. For the first time, we will be making Windows 7 Starter available worldwide on small notebook PCs. We are also going to enable Windows 7 Starter customers the ability to run as many applications simultaneously as they would like, instead of being constricted to the 3 application limit that the previous Starter editions included.

This is good news for future netbook customers who want Windows 7. Now if Microsoft plays their cards right and will make pricing interesting as well, they might have something special in their hands.

I’ve been fooling around with Windows 7 for a while now, and though I do feel it’s very similar to Vista, it works really well, and the overall experience is just so much better than Windows Vista.

I’ve been installing the last release candidate on a SSD as well, just to see if I’d notice and performance differences, and good news there as well. It’s a lot faster, so the overall experience we here at Guru3D is going to be great. Now let’s hope we see some DX11 games at launch time as well

via. Guru3D

Initial reviews of the Microsoft Zune HD have been surprisingly positive with one review even calling the device beautiful.

Brian Lam for Gizmodo writes,
“The device is tighter and more physically beautiful than the iPod Touch and it’s got a better UI, the main menu’s scrolling so natural through the swipe gestures. There’s a little note on the side, under the volume toggle—”Hello from Seattle.” The power button is up top. The home button is nice and prominent, a bar rather than a round button on the Touch. It’s smaller. And the accelerometer is more swift in responding to repositioning; images rotate very fast.”

Take a look at the hands on video demo below…

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Zune HD Video Hands On from Gizmodo on Vimeo.

Some new details about Windows 7 pricing have emerged from Dell, via CNET’s Brooke Crothers, it indicates that Windows 7 license prices will be much higher than with Vista.

Windows 7 pricing is potentially an obstacle to Windows 7 adoption for some users, though in just about every other aspect the operating system is beating Vista, according to a Dell marketing executive. “If there’s one thing that may influence adoption, make things slower or cause customers to pause, it’s that generally the ASPs (average selling price) of the operating systems are higher than they were for Vista and XP,” Darrel Ward, director of product management for Dell’s business client product group, said in a phone interview, referring to the various versions of the Windows 7 operating system that are expected to appear.

Ward continued. “In tough economic times, I think it’s naive to believe that you can increase your prices on average and then still see a stronger swell than if you held prices flat or even lowered them. I can tell you that the licensing tiers at retail are more expensive than they were for Vista.” In the business market, Windows 7 Professional is expected to be more expensive than Windows Vista Business, the version that Professional is replacing, he said. Some schools and smaller businesses may not be early adopters due to price. “Schools and government agencies may not be able to afford (the additional cost). Some of the smaller businesses may not be able to enjoy the software as soon as they’d like,” Ward said.

The Windows 7 Release Candidate is available for download by MSDN or TechNet members now and will be available for others to download on May 5th, according to the Microsoft Partner Site.

We are pleased to announce that Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) is available. Windows 7 RC is the prerelease version of Windows 7. Since this is not the final release, your PC will gather and send information to Microsoft engineers to help them check the fixes and changes made based on testing of Windows 7 Beta.

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Apple has issued a comment on the new Microsoft laptop hunter ads for a recent Business Week article.

The article entitled, “Mac vs. PC: What You Don’t Get for $699″ suggests that a 17-in. PC may cost a lot less than a 17-in. Mac. But you get less, too, including security, multimedia tools, and, some say, satisfaction.

Usually silent on such things, Apple did give Business Week a comment on the Microsoft ads. “A PC is no bargain when it doesn’t do what you want,” Apple spokesman Bill Evans says. “The one thing that both Apple and Microsoft can agree on is that everyone thinks the Mac is cool. With its great designs and advanced software, nothing matches it at any price.” Microsoft declined to comment.

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Need a gaming mouse that fits your tight budget?, you might want to consider the Microsoft Sidewinder X3. This latest mouse from the computer company offers up fairly decent specs at a fairly decent price and sometimes, that’s all you’re looking for.

The Sidewinder X3 includes a 2,000DPI laser sensor that can be cranked down a notch for smaller and less sensitive movements to 800 and 400 DPI. It features an ambidextrous layout for easy use by either hand and has eight buttons.

The scroll wheel is textured for comfort and the mouse has small feet attached so movements are smooth and not clunky. It connects via USB and comes with Intellimouse software for your PC. However, the USB connection should make it pretty much compatible with any modern computer. You may need the software, however, to program the buttons and for the creation of macros. You can expect the Sidewinder X3 from Microsoft starting in May for $39.95.

via. Guru3D

A new ZuneHD image showing the user interface of the device has been leaked online by WMPowerUser.

They received the following details on the device from a source:
The ZuneHD will have a capacitive, multi-touch OLED screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio and TV out, from what looks to be a HDMI port on the side. The radio will now be HD and the device will support HD media playback, which will be available from the updated Zune Marketplace.

The device will come in 16 and 32 GB versions, and will support wireless sync. It will also finally come with a browser that supports multi-touch.

It is believed that the ZuneHD will ship in September and be available to the US, Canada, UK, France, and possibly other European countries.

The image has also been confirmed by the ZUnited Zune Community site.

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