Windows 7 Data Recovery

150 Million Windows 7 Licenses Sold – Microsoft.

2010-06-30T11:01:00.000+05:30

Windows 7 – The Fastest Selling Operating System

Microsoft Corp. has announced that it had managed to sell 150 million licenses of Microsoft Windows 7 operating system released last October, which essentially makes the new OS the fastest selling operating system in the world.

“First off, we are excited to announce that Windows 7 has sold 150 million licenses to-date. As I’ve said before, Windows 7 is the fastest selling operating system in history with 7 copies of Windows 7 sold every second,” said Brandon LeBlanc, a spokesman for Microsoft, in a blog post.

Approximately 75% of enterprises are looking at Windows 7 for their organization, according to Microsoft. Moreover, since the economic situation gets brighter, consumers are accelerating the pace of buying new personal computers, which virtually all come with Windows 7 pre-installed.

According to estimates of IDC, sales of personal computers will total 355 million units in 2010, which means that around a million of personal computers is sold daily. As a result, it is not a surprise that over six months after the introduction Microsoft may claim 150 million copies of Windows 7 sold.

Resource: http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/other/display/20100628212413_150_Million_Windows_7_Licenses_Sold_Microsoft.html

Microsoft to patch unhackable Windows 7 bug later today

2010-04-14T18:02:00.000+05:30

Later today, Microsoft will play it safe by patching a Windows 7 bug that it says can't be exploited.

Of the 11 security bulletins that will be released in a few hours, Bulletin 7 will address one or more vulnerabilities in Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

But Microsoft will also offer the same update to users running Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008, even though the company maintained last week that they were impervious to attack.

"Windows 7 users will be offered Bulletin 7 as a defense-in-depth update even though the [advanced notification] states that the issue does not affect Windows 7," said Jerry Bryant, a group manager with the Microsoft Security Response Center, in one of several e-mails replying to questions. "This means that the vulnerable code is in the software, but due to the improved protections built into Windows 7, there are no known vectors to reach it."

In other words, the vulnerability is there -- in Vista, Windows 7 and Server 2008 -- but Microsoft doesn't know how it could be exploited.

Better safe than sorry, security experts said.

"Absolutely, it's a good practice to fix these bugs," said Andrew Storms, director of security operations at nCircle Network Security. "Just a year ago, DEP [data execution prevention] and ASLR [address space layout randomization] were mitigating nearly every vulnerability for Internet Explorer on Vista. Yet we are seeing a steady rise in more researchers' finding and taking advantage of DEP bypass methods. And if DEP bypass continues to happen more often, then we'll be happy that Microsoft issued these fixes."

Wolfgang Kandek, chief technology officer at security risk and compliance management provider Qualys, not only agreed, but cited DEP and ASLR circumventions as well. "Installing the update for Windows 7, Server 2008 and Vista is definitely a recommended, and preemptive, action," he said. "We have seen cases in the past where attackers were able to string together multiple vulnerabilities to reach their goal, most recently at CanSecWest, where Peter Vreugdenhil used two bypasses to first get by ASLR, then DEP when he exploited IE8."

For his exploit expertise, Vreugdenhil, a Dutch freelance researcher, last month won $10,000 during the Pwn2Own hacking contest. His one-two punch was called "particularly impressive" by the contest organizer because it sidestepped DEP and ASLR, two cornerstones of Vista's and Windows 7's security.

Microsoft has patched untouchable vulnerabilities before, Bryant confirmed, citing several examples, including MS09-032, a July 2009 update that disabled a company-made ActiveX control said to be unexploitable in Vista or Server 2008. Prior to that, Microsoft issued MS09-015 (April 2009) and MS08-062 (October 2008) for similar defense-in-depth reasons.

Windows Live Essentials 2010/Wave 4 Only for Windows 7 and Vista SP2

2010-03-29T18:04:00.002+05:30

Image via CrunchBase

It looks like users still running the decade-old Windows XP will not be able to upgrade to the next generation of Windows Live Messenger, or to any of the clients offered under the umbrella of Windows Live Essentials 2010 / Wave 4. Just as it is doing for Internet Explorer 9, Microsoft is reportedly planning to support only Windows 7 and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 with the upcoming version of Windows Live Essentials. At this point in time, it is only confirmed that Windows Live Essentials 2010 / Wave 4 Beta only works with the latest iterations of the Windows client, with current members of the select testing pool of applications such as Messenger, Mail, Writer, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, and Family Safety having revealed that they are unable to run on top of Windows XP.

“Windows Live Essentials 2010 Beta includes free programs from Microsoft for photos, movies, instant messaging, email, blogging, and more. Get them all in one download and get more done with Windows. Essentials is currently available in seven languages and requires Windows 7 and Windows Vista,” an excerpt from the description of Windows Live Essentials Wave 4 reads, according to LiveSino. (via LiveSide)

Of course, customers must understand that Microsoft hasn’t offered any official details of Windows Live Essentials 2010 up to this point in time, let alone a confirmation of the system requirements for Wave 4. However, there are some rather interesting details on the platforms that Windows Live Essentials Wave 4 will support, namely the 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) Windows Vista SP2 (with Platform Update for Windows Vista), Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 SP2 (with Platform Update for Windows Server 2008) and Windows Server 2008 R2.

Interesting because of the Platform Update mention. As users of Windows Vista already know, Microsoft back-ported various technologies from Windows 7 to its predecessor, including DirectX 11. This was done with the release of Platform Update for Windows Vista, which was offered only to customers running Vista SP2. Coincidentally, Vista SP2 with Platform Update and Windows 7 are also the only supported operating systems for Internet Explorer 9 Platform Preview.

As far as IE9 is concerned, Microsoft explained that Platform Preview was not offered to XP users, precisely because of the lack of DirectX 11 that supported hardware acceleration via GPU through the Direct2D and DirectWrite APIs. Could this be an indication that Windows Live Essentials 2010 / Wave 4 will also be hardware accelerated?

Resources: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-Live-Essentials-2010-Wave-4-Only-for-Windows-7-and-Vista-SP2-138605.shtml
windows 7

Windows 7 Startup Error: 'System Volume on Disk Sis Corrupt

2010-03-23T18:01:00.003+05:30

If, a computer running Windows 7 fails to boot, it automatically starts a repair process on detecting any boot failure related problem. Windows loader keeps a check on a flag that clears off once the boot process completes successfully.

So if the flag remains uncleared, Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) launches in place of Windows 7, assuming it to be a case of boot failure. During the startup repair of Windows RE, it several errors might be displayed indicating the issue. Problems, which remain unresolved by automated startup repair process, need to be manually dealt and sometimes require Windows Disk Recovery by clean re-installation. So, it is advisable to keep a backup copy of all vital data that you store on a Windows 7 disk.

Most of the Windows 7 startup problems result because of unexpected power outage or hard disk problems. To illustrate further, consider the below error message that might appear when a user starts his/her Windows 7 computer:

"System volume on disk is corrupt"

The same error can also occur when manually repairing the corrupted Windows 7 disk using 'Startup Repair' option and booting the computer with Windows 7 installation disk.

Reason of Startup Repair Failure:

'Startup Repair' cannot fix issues of unbootable computer if the hard disk is infected with virus or there are some issues with Windows 7 clean installation or its upgrades.

Recovery Methods:

Here are some tips to solve the depicted startup repair problem:

Boot the computer in safe mode and perform 'System Restore' to rollback the changes, if any
Boot the computer using Windows 7 boot DVD and run chkdsk /r from its command prompt option
Perform a clean Windows reinstall to remove all disk related problems and restore the data from a backup

When backup is unavailable, corrupted, or incomplete, a Hard Disk Recovery utility for Windows can help. Using advanced scanning procedures, these Windows Disk Recovery tools can competently locate and restore all the missing or deleted data from a logically crashed Windows disk.

To get guaranteed results, it is recommended to use Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery software. With its interactive design and non-destructive algorithms, this Disk Recovery software can prove to be the best option to recover lost/deleted data. The tool supports Windows versions like, Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2003, and 2000. E-commerce

Resources: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/windows7-startup-error-system-volume-on-disk-sis-corrupt.html

Fixing “STOP:0x00000050 ” Error Message in Windows 7 and 2008

2010-03-17T17:34:00.001+05:30

Image by Remko van Dokkum via Flickr

Commonly known as STOP errors, BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death), and Blue Screen of Doom, these error messages can be a cause of worry for any Windows computer user. A STOP error message appears when the system encounters some critical problem, caused primarily due to poorly-written device drivers and hardware malfunctioning. Since, a STOP error message appears at the time of booting, it results in inaccessibility of files saved in a hard drive. In such cases, the user needs to follow the traditional approach of restoring the data from an updated backup. But, with inaccessibility of data backup or the user only having a partial backup, it becomes necessary to use an advanced Recovery Software to recover the data.

To elaborate the above case, consider a practical case where you either have a Windows 7 or 2008 based system. You install a new third-party software which uses WFP (Windows Filtering Platform) callout driver. However, after the installation process is completed and you attempt to boot your system, you encounter the below STOP error message:

“STOP: 0x00000050 (parameter1, parameter2, parameter3, parameter4)

PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA”

The four parameters listed in the above STOP error message differ with the configuration of your system.

Inaccessibility of data is one of the major hazard that you encounter after the above error message appears on the software.

Cause:

The main reason liable for the above STOP error message is an error in TCPIP.sys system driver. The moment the WFP callout drive executes the FwpsReleaseClassifyHandle0 function in order to free few computer system resources, the error message appears.

Resolution:

To resolve the above error message and to access the data post the above STOP error message, you will need to make changes in the Windows registry. While modifying registry is an easy task, it can be dangerous if you perform some wrong changes in the registry. This will increase your problem manifolds and leave you with no option, but to format your hard drive. To perform Data Recovery from a formatted hard drive, you will need to search for advanced Data Recovery Software.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery carries out maximum recovery of data by using advanced scanning procedures. The Data Recovery Tools is compatible with FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, VFAT , NTFS and NTFS5 file systems and supports Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2003, and 2000 operating systems.

Resources:http://hubpages.com/hub/Fixing-STOP0x00000050-Error-Message-in-Windows-7-and-2008
Atlanta IT Network Support

Making Windows 7 Work For You

2010-03-16T17:53:00.002+05:30

Recent economic conditions have forced many CIOs to do more with less--and get by with the infrastructure status quo. As a result, commercial client computing has reached a tipping point. Many businesses face aging client infrastructures, an ever-changing workforce and new, more efficient technologies on the horizon.

In the midst of this turmoil, CIOs have a huge opportunity to rethink the IT infrastructure status quo and unlock new potential. And Windows 7 Enterprise from Microsoft ( MSFT - news - people ) is one of the key drivers of the biggest client computing shift in 25 years.

The first step in virtually any operating system migration is to understand your starting point. However, with thousands of desktops, laptops, and mobile devices to track and maintain, large enterprise IT departments do not always have a complete picture of which operating systems and applications employees and key contractors are using. To make matters worse, few enterprises are currently leveraging automation technologies to manage and maintain client computing environments efficiently.

Although IT administrators typically operate in hybrid environments with some level of automation, they also continue to rely largely on manual intervention. Unfortunately, without a comprehensive understanding of the assets already in use throughout the enterprise, IT organizations often cannot leverage automation to best advantage and reap the benefits of migrating to Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise--the version of Windows that is specifically architected for business users.

Five key steps can help ensure a smooth transition to Windows 7 Enterprise:

Evaluate the readiness of the organization and of end users: Determining readiness to migrate to Windows 7 Enterprise starts with understanding the way workers in your enterprise are currently using their computers. Proper advance notification and training can help to minimize IT support calls and avoid interrupting business productivity.

Gap analysis is typically the best way to determine how to announce the migration and give employees the training they may need to use Windows 7 Enterprise effectively. Take stock of how workers feel about their current OS, identify needs that are not currently being met, and communicate the advantages of Windows 7 Enterprise in terms of new capabilities that can help increase productivity and efficiency.

Determine hardware compatibility: Windows 7 Enterprise requires certain hardware features to run--features that are available in current generation client systems like Dell ( DELL - news - people ) OptiPlex desktops, Dell Latitude laptops and Dell Precision workstations.

For organizations that choose to maintain legacy systems, ensuring that all hardware platforms meet these prerequisites can help avert headaches during the migration process. Start by taking an inventory of the desktops, laptops, and mobile devices workers are using. Next, create a return-on-investment business case for improving quality of work and lowering costs for client system deployments. Address bottom-line considerations by explaining how the strategic investment in capital equipment can both advance business goals and save on operating expenses. When necessary, refresh client systems--perform user-specific automated image and application configuration, migrate data and settings, and update any outdated drivers on end-user devices.

Resources: Making Windows 7 Work For You

Windows 7 Data Recovery

Data Recovery Software
Custom USB

Antivirus 7 Rogue Has Nothing to do with Windows 7

2010-03-15T17:59:00.000+05:30

Don't trust in Antivirus 7! Although the name looks legible, it's just one more trick. Nowadays, more often hackers use legible names of the applications in order to mislead computer users. This time they have chosen to imitate the latest Windows version, Microsoft Windows 7. Antivirus 7, also known as Antivirus7, comes from the same family as Antivir rogue. Both applications are based on some legible software which is respected by computer users. These cyber criminals play with the opportunity to mislead PC users when they are looking for legible applications such as Windows 7, or in the case of Antivir, Avira AntiVir. Keep in mind that you must always know the exact name of the product (rather than a loose one) you are looking for.

Antivirus 7 is usually installed through some malicious sites you are visiting or when you are redirected from one fake website to another. Due to the fact that Antivirus 7 is based on Trojans, it is installed without your permission. Contrary to legible software, you must accept the license agreement and the installation of the software. However, these viruses just crawl into your computer as you don't expect that.

After the fake application is installed, it begins what it can do best - scanning your computer as you just boot Windows up. Of course, be sure that all the scans are simulated. None of the results are realistic. In addition, the popping warnings are made to scare you and make you believe you are in a great need of buying Antivirus 7.

All in all, just don't get into trouble with Antivirus 7. It might promise you gold and happiness but it will just remain dreams. Keep in mind that Antivirus 7 is neither able to detect, nor to remove any viruses from your personal computer.

7 Steps to Windows 7 Migration Success - A Tutorial

2010-03-12T17:12:00.001+05:30

Image via CrunchBase

With the Windows 7 release now a reality, the question for many organizations is no longer whether to migrate, but how. But what compatibility challenges accompany this new operating system? What tools are available to help? Industry expert Nelson Ruest and systems management appliance provider KACE provide the necessary steps to make the Windows 7 migration a smooth and painless process.

View this TechRepublic Webcast to understand the 7 steps necessary to embark on a strategic, faster approach to a Windows 7 migration, learn about tools that can help in the process and benefit from years of migration expertise. View this Webcast to learn:

How to take advantage of the new security, manageability and ease of use capabilities that Windows 7 offers
What considerations should be made for transitioning to a 64-bit platform
How to migrate directly from XP to Windows 7 while retaining user-specific files and settings

Resources: http://webcasts.techrepublic.com.com/abstract.aspx?kw=windows&docid=1160063&promo=100700

Microsoft To Have Minimum Hardware Requirements For Windows Phone 7

2010-02-24T12:07:00.000+05:30

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Microsoft, which revealed the Window Mobile 7 OS at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona, has announced that the latest smartphone operating system offered by the company will come with a minimal hardware requirement which will allow phone manufacturers to distinguish their smartphone handsets.

According to the statement released by the company, other than the Zune-like interface, the Windows 7 mobile operating system will come with minimum hardware requirements that will not restrict the OS to a particular phone.

Explaining the minimalistic requirements of Windows 7, Andy Lees, senior vice president of Microsoft's mobile communications business, said in a press conference that “With this new model, we provide a minimum as to what the hardware needs to be capable of; we don't stop people from adding value over and above that. And what the means is, that means the software and hardware is optimized to work together.”

Microsoft, the Redmond based software giant, has plans to work closely with phone manufacturers to synchronise Windows 7 with their hardware but maintain the user interface offered by the OS.

At the press conference, Lees also added that the user interface offered by the Windows 7 OS will enhance user experience by grouping media functions into a single Hub, which will contain a entertainment hub that will offer media content and a productivity hub which will offer OneNote office tools.

Windows 7 Desktop Optimization Pack 2010

2010-02-23T17:59:00.000+05:30

Microsoft has labored to tailor its Desktop Optimization Pack solution accelerators to the latest iteration of the Windows client and server. On February 22nd, the Redmond company delivered the first Windows 7- and Windows Server 2008 R2-friendly components of the Microsoft Optimization Pack 2010 (MDOP 2010), which are designed to play nice with additional technologies from the software giant, including the upcoming Office 2010.

Both the final version of Application Virtualization (App-V) 4.6, and the Release Candidate development milestone of Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) Service Pack 1 are now up for grabs. App-V 4.6 along with App-V 4.6 for RDS have been already wrapped up and are offered to customers in their final form. Microsoft still has some work to do to complete MED-V SP1, but launched the RC to coincide with the release of MDOP 2010.

“As Windows 7 continues to gain excitement across the industry, enterprises are evaluating their desktop strategy including Office deployment, application compatibility and desktop management. Together, App-V 4.6 and MED-V 1.0 SP1 with Windows 7, Office 2010, Windows Server 2008 R2 and System Center deliver a world class desktop for your enterprise,” stated Karri Alexion-Tiernan, director of Product Management, App-V.

With MDOP, Microsoft is offering a comprehensive package of solution accelerators exclusively for enterprise customers, designed to streamline the adoption and migration of its latest software releases including Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Office 2010. The collection of various deployment tools is available only to Software Assurance customers, with some exceptions, including App-V 4.6 for RDS (which was former referred to as App-V for Terminal Services).

“With App-V 4.6,which is available via MDOP 2010, customers can have access to apps from anywhere, improve app delivery and management, and accelerate migration to Windows 7 and Microsoft Office 2010 as virtual apps can be deployed in many desktop scenarios including VDI, TS, and local desktop,” revealed Gavriella Schuster, senior director, Product Management for Windows Client.

“Today we are also releasing MED-V 1.0 SP1 RC, which provides full support for Windows 7. For incompatible apps that cannot be fixed to run natively in Windows 7 or are dependent on Internet Explorer 6, MED-V allows IT to create managed virtual machines running previous versions of Windows and Internet Explorer so users can upgrade to Windows 7,” Schuster added.

With the delivery of MDOP 2009 R2 in 2009, the software giant revealed that it was planning to launch MDOP 2010 in the first quarter of this year. To this date, there are in excess of 25 million MDOP licenses, which allow customers immediate access to MDOP 2010 via Microsoft’s Volume Licensing Site.

Data Loss in Windows 7 System Post BIOS Upgradation

2010-02-22T17:39:00.000+05:30

Image via CrunchBase

A system BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is a first program that is executed when you turn on your system. It ensures that the chips, ports, hard disks, video display card, and CPU (Central Processing Unit) are working together.

Upgradation in BIOS is performed by a firmware upgrade, which is called as 'flashing'. While BIOS upgradation is an easy process, the data saved in the hard drive might become inaccessible after the completion of the process. This happens primarily due to a bootable error message that appears at the time of booting the system. In such cases, if you need to access the hard drive data, then you can restore in from an updated backup. However, if no backup is backup is available, or the backup file is damaged, then you will need to use advanced third-party Data Recovery Software to recover the data.

To illustrate the above scenario, consider a practical case where you have a Windows 7 based computer system. You upgrade your BIOS on your system. However, when you try to boot your system after upgradataion, you receive a BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death).

After the above error message appears, your system becomes unbootable and the data saved in the hard drive becomes inaccessible. Additionally, the same error message pops up every time you attempt to boot your system.

Cause:

The primary reason liable for the occurrence of a BSOD error message in such cases is that the Windows 7 operating system sees your system as a different machine.

Resolution:

To resolve the BSOD error message and access the hard drive data, you will need to format the hard drive and reinstall Windows 7 operating system. While formatting the hard drive proves to be an adequate solution to overcome the error message, it also results in erasing the data saved in the hard drive. In such cases, the data erased after the formatting can be recovered by using advanced third-party Data Recovery Software.

A Data Recovery tool ensures complete recovery of all the files, irrespective of their reason of inaccessibility.

Data Recovery Software is a user-friendly recovery utility that recovers data from formatted FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, VFAT, NTFS, and NTFS5 file system volumes. The original data in hard drive, however, remains untouched and unmodified. Compatible with Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2003, and 2000, the read only tool allows you to store the recovered data at your desired location.

Windows Phone 7 highlights SharePoint collaboration

2010-02-19T10:03:00.001+05:30

An application that many users have never seen--Microsoft's SharePoint--plays a key role in Windows Phone 7 Series' Office Hub, the centre of business activities in the new smart phone operating system.

On a phone with rich social networking features, adding business collaboration through SharePoint seems only natural, if not obvious. Microsoft, however, might not be alone in offering this capability.

SharePoint is a mature technology that Microsoft has invested in for more than a decade. It has, however, morphed over time and is variously promoted to both individual and enterprise customers.

SharePoint is offered as a standalone server, a Microsoft hosted service, and even as a limited free product, the Microsoft Office Live workspace. The SharePoint name has been associated with a variety of components over the years, leading to some confusion as to what its actually does and who is its intended customer.

Microsoft has sold more than a million licenses for SharePoint Server and considers the collaboration platform to be one of the fastest-growing products in its server portfolio, in terms of sales, according to Microsoft. (HP has recently updated records management software to provide back-up services for SharePoint files and workspaces.)

I find it easiest to think of SharePoint as a tool for creating intranets and extranets for businesses, workgroups, projects, or even single documents. These might include document management, calendar, to-do lists, member lists, and similar features. These shared workspaces are powerful ways for teams to work effectively together, especially on complex tasks.

SharePoint can also be used to create complex business portals, which gather information into dashboards for use by C-level decision makers. At the high end, SharePoint is a Lotus Notes competitor, and also powers complex document management systems.

Google, meanwhile, has recently been adding collaboration features to its Google Apps and Google Docs cloud-based applications suites. Neither comes close to matching the capabilities of SharePoint, but many users might not notice the difference in basic collaborative workspaces.

Is Windows Phone 7 Right For Business?

2010-02-18T17:58:00.005+05:30

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Amid all the hoopla surrounding the introduction of Windows Phone 7 Series this week in Barcelona, Microsoft's core customers have been almost totally left out.

It's hard to imagine that business customers aren't important to Microsoft anymore, but at the announcement of the new smartphone OS in Barcelona, business certainly got short shrift.

Here's one way to gauge the importance Microsoft places on the business features of the new operating system: Out of a 70 minute keynote presentation, less than two-and-a-half minutes were spent demonstrating business-specific features, and none in detail.

Despite a large installed base of business users--second only to Research In Motion's BlackBerry installed base--Microsoft has taken a decidedly consumer approach to its new phones. The user interface, intended to generate ooh's and ahh's, is perhaps a tad precious or at least very busy.

It demonstrates beautifully, but how will it work when fully loaded with a busy user's contacts and other information? How will it deal with a glut of Facebook friends and business social network updates? Will the animations help or get in the way?

Compared to Apple's iPhone, the Windows Phone 7 interface, with its animation and panoramas, might be considered over the top. On the other hand, it makes Android look more like a Windows PC than a modern smartphone.

Can such a dazzling user interface be effective for busy business users? Or will all the consumer features get in the way? How will third-party business applications look and behave? Time will tell. HTC says it will ship its first Windows Phone 7 device in the fourth quarter.

So where does business become part of Windows Phone 7?

The flashy (lower-case, since Flash is not part of the device) new UI is fronted by a start page and five "hubs" that serve as centers for user activities on the smartphone. The hubs are: People, Pictures, Games, Music + Video--and, yes, Office.

It is hard to find much information on the Office Hub in Microsoft's Windows 7 launch material and it was barely shown or discussed during the introduction keynote. (You can view the keynote presentation here. Fast forward to 2:00:00 for the beginning of the 2 minute, 20 second segment.)

Windows Mobile 7 provides Outlook functionality--e-mail, contacts, and calendar--both as part of its basic smartphone features as well as from the Office Hub, which provides a single home for access to Office applications, SharePoint, and OneNote.

We do not know what those applications will look like under Windows Phone 7 Series. They were not shown during the demo, making me wonder whether they are actually finished.

"I'm a huge fan of OneNote. I love taking notes in OneNote. And that's a scenario that's great on a phone," said Microsoft VP Joe Belfiore, during his keynote demonstration.

Indeed, OneNote is a key component of the Office Hub, perhaps more key than any current user of a Windows Mobile device would have chosen to make it.

Also getting a spotlight is SharePoint, which Windows Phone 7 surfaces as a key technology for sharing and collaborating

"SharePoint is a terrific experience, whether you're a company that has SharePoint Servers inside your firewall, or a small business or individual and you want to store documents in SharePoint as part of Windows Live. So, what we've tried to do is take that experience from the applications, and documents, through note taking to the service, and bring it together on the phone," Belfiore said.

The Office Hub, along with integrated Outlook functionality, is intended to gather the business features and functions into a single place. The Office Hub UI (see illustration with his story) right-to-left to reveal three work areas: Notes, documents, and SharePoint.

The demonstration and screenshot looks very simplistic. Again, I am concerned about what happens when a user has a large number of notes, documents, and shared projects. How fast and facile will the user interface seem then?

We also haven't been told about enterprise services and connectivity for the phone, although Belfiore said the document editing experience is "consistent" with the forthcoming Office 2010.

It is far too early to make any real judgments on Windows 7. I want to think it will be as exciting for business users as for consumers, but that is almost impossible. Business apps just aren't as much fun as music, video, and games. At least not where I work.

What we can hope for, however, is that the consumer glitz won't actually impair business use of Windows Phone 7. Regardless, one thing is certain: All of today's other smartphone user interfaces look pretty staid by comparison.

Resources:http://www.pcworld.com/article/189430/is_windows_phone_7_right_for_business.html

Error ' Setup cannot continue..' Upgrading to Windows 7 and Data Loss

2010-02-17T15:57:00.004+05:30

Image via CrunchBa

Windows 7 is the latest Microsoft release and is equipped with top operating system qualities. This is the reason why most of the Windows users opt for upgrading to Windows 7. From data preservation perspectives, it is however suggested to backup all your data prior trying to upgrade. Users not following this practice can fall in critical data loss situations and may require a Partition Recovery utility.

The following scenario illustrates one such problem that can occur while upgrading to Windows 7. Consider you use Windows Vista or XP. Next, you try to upgrade to Windows 7, but the operation cannot continue properly as you receive the below error message:

“Setup cannot continue due to a corrupted installation file. Contact the vendor of your Windows installation disc or your system administrator for assistance.”

This error usually occurs if the Windows 7 installation disc is corrupted. As the corrective measure of this specific problem, you download the Windows 7 ISO file. Additionally, you experience some unexpected symptoms such as:

You cannot boot into Windows 7 and rollback the system
You try to boot in Safe Mode and select the 'Last known good configuration' that enables you to boot in Windows 7
After logging in Windows 7, you observe most of the data missing from the disk partitions. Though you may be able to see the folder, but not the files.

Tips to Recover

The similar problems, as mentioned above, are typical examples of data loss with Windows 7, however, you can try the following tricks to solve it:

Detach the hard drive in issue from the system and move it to another computer running Windows. The data should be accessible now. If it is, backup all the files and folders to a backup storage media.
Make a rescue CD on another computer running Windows 7 and boot the failed system using this CD. Image or backup the partition to a storage media.
Use a Partition Recovery Software that might be available with boot CD/DVD support and allow you to read Windows 7 NTFS partitions. A Partition Recovery utility uses specific scanning algorithms to retrieve inaccessible or deleted data from hard disks and other storage media.

Data Recovery Software is a professional utility designed to recover lost/deleted/inaccessible data from Windows partitions. The Partition Recovery Software is compatible with Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2003, and 2000. The tool also allows you to create disk image, clone the disk, perform RAW data recovery, and several advanced options.

Resources: http://hubpages.com/hub/Upgrading-Windows-7-and-Data-Loss

Microsoft Set To Launch Windows Mobile 7

2010-02-15T18:04:00.002+05:30

The Mobile World Congress is expected to be the launching pad for Microsoft's refreshed mobile platform.

Anticipated for months, Microsoft's Windows Mobile 7 is expected to be unveiled by CEO Steve Ballmer at the Mobile World Congress February 15 - 18 in Barcelona. Ballmer has scheduled a Monday press conference at the show.

After allowing its earlier versions of Windows Mobile languish, Microsoft is in the position of smartphone darkhorse to Apple's iPhone, Google's Android phones, and Research In Motion's BlackBerry devices. The software colossus will have to unveil something special to attract attention.

Predictions call for a consumer-oriented platform built on Microsoft's Zune HD player, but with links to Microsoft's traditionally strong enterprise products such as Office, Outlook ,and Exchange. Microsoft's Xbox and Bing search engine are expected to figure into any Windows Mobile 7 announcement, as are free navigation features.

When will Windows Mobile 7 handsets see the light of day? There is no official word, but reports have surfaced that LG plans to introduce a Windows 7 handset in September.

While its market share has dropped precipitously in recent months, Microsoft's smartphone platform still commands a respectable 18% of the market, according to research figures released by comScore. BlackBerry dominates the category with 41.6%, followed by 25.3% for the iPhone and 5.2% for Google's Android phones. Android handsets are catapulting into the market and their shipments have jumped 100% in recent months. The iPhone, too, is growing rapidly.

Microsoft released its Windows Mobile 6.5 incremental update on phones in October, but the release didn't generate much buzz. At least one observer believes the Windows Mobile platform needs a complete redesign.

Resources:http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222900246&subSection=All+Stories

10 Ways Windows 7 Will Beat Back the Mac OS X Challenge

2010-02-10T11:26:00.002+05:30

Image by Javier Aroche via Flickr

Although Apple touts Mac OS X as a fine alternative to Windows, its chances of capturing major market share away from Microsoft's OS are getting smaller by the day. Windows 7 is enjoying major success. As a result Apple will find it is harder to make inroads among corporate PC users.

Since the beginning of this year, Apple and its many offerings have dominated the news. Speculation ran rampant over what it had planned for its tablet, now known as the iPad. Some folks were wondering if the company would finally bring its iPhone to Verizon Wireless and update the device to include multitasking. In recent weeks, some of that attention has shifted to Mac OS X and its chances of stealing more market share away from Windows.

As exciting as Apple's success might be, perhaps it's time to focus on Microsoft. The software giant has slowly but surely revamped its OS image, thanks to a solid PR campaign and a vastly improved operating system that consumers, the enterprise, and vendors can get behind.

Mac OS X might be a fine operating system in its own right. It might even be more capable than Windows 7 in some areas. But as 2010 progresses and market share figures change throughout the world, it will be Windows 7, not Mac OS X that will be gaining market share.

Windows 7 will stifle any chances for Mac OS X to capture market share: Let's take a look at why.

1. Windows Vista is in the past

Although some who prefer Apple products like to point to Windows Vista as the reason not buy a Microsoft operating system, the troubles Microsoft faced with that OS are in the past. Windows Vista was a failure that lived up to no one's expectations. But Windows 7 has mended fences with the Windows community. And as time goes on, it makes even more people forget about Vista. The market has moved on.

2. Windows 7 is a fine OS

Windows 7 provides an outstanding experience that easily matches Mac OS X. The OS sports a revamped design and improved taskbar making it much easier to use. And thanks to few (if any) compatibility problems and improved security, it improves upon Windows Vista's troubles. Most importantly, Windows 7 improves upon Mac OS X.

3. Mac OS X is lacking

Speaking of Mac OS X, Apple's operating system is missing several key features that make it a less than ideal choice for many consumers. As nice as the OS might be, there's no telling if it's really as secure as Apple lovers claim. Worst of all, Apple has largely ignored the possibility of a major security outbreak in its OS, making it even more likely that something disastrous happens. On the features side, Mac OS X's native apps, including Mail and Finder are in desperate need of an overhaul. They're not awful software packages, but they leave much to be desired. If Mac OS X is to challenge Windows 7 this year, Apple must address some obvious feature flaws as soon as possible.

4. Vendor support

One of the main obstacles limiting Vista's success was vendor support. Dell, HP, and other major vendors gave customers the option of deploying Windows XP rather than Windows Vista after realizing all the troubles the latter OS suffered from. Now that Windows 7 has been vetted and it easily bests its predecessor, vendors are in full support of Microsoft's latest operating system. Apple's best chance at acquiring more market share ended when Windows 7 hit store shelves.

5. The enterprise is key

Until Apple realizes the value of the enterprise, the company will have a hard time challenging Windows 7. The business world has been a major reason for Microsoft's success over the years. And by making several improvements to its OS in an attempt to make the corporate world even more vested in Windows, it's likely that Microsoft's operating system will continue to dominate that space. Without the enterprise, Apple's growth will continue to be stunted. And so far, the company has done little to stop that.

6. Vendors are starting to understand design

Since Mac OS X only runs on Apple computers, Apple can make the design of its hardware a selling point. Microsoft doesn't have that luxury. And in recent years, PC vendors have sold ugly computers. But that's starting to change. Recent HP and Dell designs reveal that both companies are starting to realize that the design of a product is just as important as its price. The more appealing PCs are, the less likely Apple will be able to capitalize on its own designs. That, in turn, will hurt Mac OS X market share.

7. Affordability comes into play

Apple's products are offered at a premium. When things are going well, that might not be a problem. But the world is still struggling to get out from under a major recession that has left millions unemployed. As consumers go back to stores, they won't necessarily choose the more expensive computer any more. In many cases, they will be looking for the best value. Considering some HP and Dell notebooks are available for just a few hundred dollars, it's likely those consumers will start there. If nothing else, Microsoft has affordability on its side.

8. It's the feature set

Windows 7 offers several new features that make it more appealing than Mac OS X. For example, Windows 7's improved taskbar easily beats out Mac OS X's Dock as a viable navigation tool. The revamped Start menu is a treat to use. And thanks to encryption features like BitLocker and BitLocker to Go, keeping data hidden from the wrong people is much easier. Windows 7 is a full-featured OS that trumps Mac OS X on several fronts. Customers are starting to realize that.

9. Microsoft won't repeat past mistakes

Microsoft has committed several mistakes that has set the company back. But Microsoft has shown that with Windows 7 that it can adapt and learn from those mistakes. Apple had a window to drastically increase OS X market share when Microsoft was down. But now the software company is back with a better operating system that is selling extremely well. Windows 7 has practically ensured that Microsoft won't repeat the mistakes it made with Windows Vista. That can't be good for Apple.

10. Windows XP mode

One of the major complaints about Windows Vista was its incompatibility with software and peripherals. It especially impacted the enterprise, which relied upon those extras to perform work. Responding to that, Microsoft has delivered Windows XP mode. The virtual installation of Microsoft's old OS has revolutionized the company's operating system. It practically ensures that no matter the software version or the peripheral, if a Windows 7 user has Windows XP mode running, they will be able to get it working. Apple has nothing of the sort. And for the past few years, it relied upon those compatibility issues to lure customers away from Microsoft. Now that advantage is gone.

Apple is undoubtedly a successful company with several fine products. But Windows 7 has changed everything. And it will likely stunt Mac OS X's growth.

Resources: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Windows/10-Ways-Windows-7-Will-Beat-Back-the-Mac-OS-X-Challenge-423078/

The Biggest Pirate of Windows 7 Revealed

2010-02-09T17:27:00.004+05:30

Image via CrunchBase

A survey carried out by software giant Microsoft revealed the best place to buy pirated copies of their Windows 7 operating system.

It turns out that Moscow is the biggest Windows 7 pirate ever, and that more than 25 percent of the dealers in the city sold pirated copies of the software. Also, one in ten of the dealer come to your house and install it for you. Not much different from India then.

Microsoft has surveyed 2500 computer and software retailers in 53 cities across the Russian Federation. The Far Eastern part of Russia shames China and India when it comes to software piracy, with places like Yekaterinburg recording 41 percent pirated sales, Chelyabinsk 30 percent and Moscow 27 percent. However Moscow wins the pirate game due to the sheer volume of the Win 7 DVDs sold. And according to Yuri Zlobin, the head of the anti-piracy association, "The Russian Shield", it was a lot worse than that in Moscow. Also, the numbers reported are still less than the actuals. Incidentally, Russia has the second-largest market for pirated products after China.

As we reported earlier, China is doling out gratuitous amounts of copies of Windows 7 on USB drives. The pen drive is being sold for a paltry 98 yuan, or about $14 (Rs 670). What's more, the USB drive features Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer's signature on the outside.

Pirated copies in DVD format of the new operating system continue to be sold openly in many malls and markets in China. You can get a pirated copy of Windows 7 (non-beta presumably) for 20 yuan (which is about $3 bucks). Windows 7 is cheapest in China, and is available for a paltry $58, and inspite of that most folks prefer to opt for the pirated deal of $3. Although China isn't the only nation pirating Windows 7, India has followed suit and the pirates are selling the OS for as little as Rs 500 ($10) and those in Philippines are selling it for $1.5. While Windows Vista was widely pirated as well, Windows XP remains the most illegally distributed Operating System of all time.

Note- If your data have been deleted whatever the reason (physical data loss or logical data loss) Stellar provide the data recovery solutions for both cases, and you can download the free windows 7 data recovery software from here http://www.stellarinfo.com/partition-recovery.htm to recover your logical data.

Resources: http://www.india.com/technology/computers/the-biggest-pirate-windows-7-revealed_7128

Windows 7 Compatibility: Still a concern for enterprises?

2010-02-06T17:55:00.002+05:30

Image via CrunchBase

According to the research firm, Windows 7’s reaches another milestone and market share passes ten percent mark. Since its launch, the operating system breached various milestones. It had reached the 4 percent milestone in just one month; in contrast, Windows Vista took about seven months to reach there.

The Redmond giant, Microsoft Corp has recently announced record revenue of $19.02 billion for the second quarter ended Dec. 31, 2009, which is a jump of 14 percent helped by a rebound in PC sales and Windows 7 operating system. As of January, all Windows versions accounted for about 92% of devices accessing the Web.

Windows 7 Compatibility with enterprises

Despite good initial reviews of the operating system, many organizations are still waiting for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 to resolve all the probable compatibility issues with legacy hardware and software. Microsoft’s Windows 7 is the most secure version from the software giant’s desktop operating system. Also, various research firms also provided their consent to adopt new OS from the software giant.

Market analysts said every time new software arrives in the market, the prime concern for the firms is its compatibility. This is also true with Windows 7, as the SMBs questions about the compatibility with the thousands of Windows-based third-party programs and applications already on the market.

Recently, it is reported that the software giant has prepared the code for the new operating system's first service pack and included various already-issued security patches as well as new bug fixes.

Availability of wide choices

It is suggested that the availability of different versions of Windows 7 may create problem to various companies for adoption. Further, 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 have different requirements for the existing system like memory and graphics card configurations.

The systems based on Windows 7 come with Internet Explorer 8, which could not display web pages that are written for IE6. In addition, companies have to invest in relatively new hardware products such as Web cams, printers, and even sound cards.

Microsoft offers discounts

To increase the market share of Windows 7, Microsoft is aiming SMBs clients by providing the new OS and the Office 2007 productivity suite up gradation at half off the suggested retail pricing. However, to avail the offer, customers have to be a part of Microsoft's Open Value Subscription (OVS) program and presently using one of the listed prior versions of those products.

Further, the company is continuously working on free diagnostics programs on its Web site to check for computer compatibility for people using Windows Vista and XP.

Discussion

According to latest survey by a research firm, it is reported that about 8% of the enterprises had already opted for Windows 7, 31% will switch by the first half of 2010 and rest in the second half of 2010. The research report suggests that the enterprise segment is ready to accept the new version of Windows operating system from Microsoft and after the launch of SP1 more organization will switch over to new operating system.

If you are using windows 7 and your data have been deleted then you can download the windows 7 data recovery software from here http://www.stellarinfo.com/partition-recovery.htm

Resources: http://www.itvoir.com/portal/boxx/knowledgebase.asp?iid=1777&Cat=23

Stop Error in Windows 7 post device driver damage

2010-02-05T17:57:00.002+05:30

Image via CrunchBase

A device driver (also known as software driver) is a program, which interacts and controls with the hardware device attached to your computer system. Few common hardware devices for which a normal computer user installs a driver are printers, diskette drives, and displays. Corruption or damage in any of the device driver results into serious issues, even resulting into making your system unbootable. In most cases, you receive a STOP error (BSOD) on the booting screen of your system. The data saved in the hard drive becomes inaccessible after the above error message pops up. To access the data in such cases, you will need to restore the data from an updated backup. But if in case, you have not created any backup file, then you will need to use advanced Data Recovery Software to recover your lost data.

To illustrate the above scenario, explained is the complete drive corruption scenario – You receive a “STOP Error” message when you start your Windows 7 based system. The error message specifies a name of the damaged device driver, which the system is unable to load. After the error message appears, your system becomes unbootable, making the hard drive data inaccessible.

Few main causes for device driver damage are discussed below:

Operating System malfunction
Improper system shutdown
File System damage
Virus Attack
Loading an incompatible device driver

To resolve the STOP error message, try the underneath measures:

Uninstall any new hardware from your Windows 7 based system.
If the STOP error message still persists, then format your system and reinstall Windows 7 operating system.

While the second measure creates a way to resolve the STOP error message, it also has a disadvantage of deleting all the previously saved data from the hard drive. For comprehensive recovery of formatted data, Read On...

When ever a hard drive is formatted, a new file system is installed. This deletes all the entries of the previous file system. The data saved on the hard drive, however, remains intact and can be recovered easily by using a third-party data recovery tools. Such data recovery utility scan a hard drive and salvage all the data stored on its platters. Such recovery software are easily available on the Internet. However, if you want to choose the best recovery application, then you should firstly go through its trial version.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery provides a complete preview of all your formatted files in its free downloadable demo version. The Data Recovery Software supports recovery from FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, VFAT, NTFS, and NTFS5 file systems based volumes. It is compatible with Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2003, and 2000.

Resources: http://hubpages.com/hub/Stop-Error-in-Windows-7-post-device-driver-damage

Microsoft probes Windows 7 battery problems

2010-02-03T17:45:00.002+05:30

Image via CrunchBase

Microsoft said Tuesday it is looking into battery problems apparently affecting Windows 7 notebooks.

Users have complained of battery issues -- including premature warnings that the power is exhausted, as well as more dire demands to replace the battery -- for months, long before Windows 7 went final.

Microsoft claimed that the problem was in the Windows 7 tool that decided when the battery had been drained, or was unable to hold a charge. "We are investigating this issue in conjunction with our hardware partners, which appears to be related to system firmware (BIOS)," a Microsoft spokeswoman said today, referring to the firmware that boots the PC and initializes the hardware components. "The warning received in Windows 7 uses firmware information to determine if battery replacement is needed."

A very long thread on Microsoft's support site dedicated to Windows 7 battery problems kicked off in early June 2009, and remains active; more than a dozen new messages were posted on Tuesday, for example.

While some users on that thread agree with Microsoft that the warnings are spurious, others believe that the new operating system has permanently crippled their batteries.

"I have tried charging the battery while the computer is off or in another OS, and it does not work," said someone identified as "DanLee81" today. "It will charge for a few minutes, then stop. The battery will say it's full when it actually only has a few minutes of charge, and when you take out the A/C, it will either last for a few minutes, or completely shut off your laptop. This behavior happens in all [OSes] after Windows 7 damages the battery, not just within Windows 7."

Others reported that their batteries underperformed, even after they abandoned Windows 7 and returned their notebooks to running Windows XP or Vista, or switched to Linux. "Rolling back does not work either," said "Dreklia" in another message on Tuesday. "I feel rip[ped] off!"

In some cases, Windows 7 claimed that brand new notebooks were unable to hold a charge. "Until yesterday it used [to] state that I had 7 hours battery life after a full charge; today after a full charge, it states that I have 4 hours left," said "tigger1962" of a three-week-old Toshiba Satellite T110. "I've only had it on now 15 minutes and my charge has now gone down to 2 hours 24 minutes."

Users reported a wide variety of affected makes and models, including laptops from Acer, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Samsung, Sony and Toshiba.

Laptop owners are not the only ones who have noticed battery irregularities in Windows 7. Last summer, reviewers for several publications and sites said that Windows 7 slashed battery life by almost a third when compared to XP. That ran counter to Microsoft's promise that Windows 7 would actually increase battery endurance.

Microsoft said it was looking for a common cause to the battery complaints. "We are working with our partners to determine the root cause and will update the [support] forum with information and guidance as it becomes available," the spokeswoman said.

Resources: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9151098/Microsoft_probes_Windows_7_battery_problems?taxonomyId=125

Windows 7 Upgrade Program : It's Not Too Late To Upgrade From Vista/XP

2010-02-02T18:01:00.002+05:30

Image via Wikipedia

Microsoft ran a Windows 7 Upgrade Program, a scheme which essentially allowed users who purchased an eligible PC or laptop, to upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7 for free with, in many cases, a minimal shipping fee attached.

The program ran from 26th June 2009 to the 31st of January 2010 and eligible OSes included Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Business, Windows Vista Ultimate but not Windows Vista Home Basic.

Microsoft did attach a number of restrictions to each upgrade. For example, you'd only be able to upgrade from say, Windows Vista Home Premium to the equivalent Windows 7 OS. You wouldn't be able to upgrade or downgrade.

Furthermore, you can only upgrade a 32-bit Vista to a 32-bit Windows 7 under the scheme and the same applies to the language version of the qualifying Windows Vista product.

In all cases, you will possibly have to deal directly with the vendors rather than going through the retailers (like Dabs or Ebuyer). The orders are being fulfilled by Mentor Media, Microsoft's authorised replicator in charge of sending the Windows 7 upgrades in Singapore.

However we did experience significant issues with Acer (which charges only £12.80), Lenovo and Samsung. It might be simply that the offer has ended, but it would have been so much nicer to have a proper landing page.

We've researched a list of ten major computer resellers. Some of them, like Dell and Sony, have already closed their upgrade sites altogether saying that the registration and order period has ended.

Others, like HP, might have stopped selling eligible kit but are still taking orders for Windows 7 Upgrade Kit for eligible systems until the 15th of February with the last day to submit proof of purchase for such systems set to the 1st of March 2010. HP will charge a whopping £22 which it says will "cover shipping, handling and other fees."

Note also that up to 25 Windows 7 upgrade kits may be ordered for eligible systems, for bigger orders, system administrators will have to visit the Microsoft Volume Licensing Program website.

Likewise, Asus will be accepting online orders for the much-sought after Windows 7 Upgrade kit until the 15th of February but warns that in some cases, there might be up to 4 weeks worth of lead-time for orders to be fulfilled and that shipping and handling fees may apply. Asus also used the Mediacorp website.

Fujitsu is the most flexible of the lot with last day for orders being pushed until the end of February 2010 and charges a jaw dropping 36 Euros (roughly £33) for shipping and packaging, 50 percent more than what HP is asking for.

Only Toshiba however has extended the purchase date of Windows Vista equipped laptops (there's no PC) to the end of February. In addition, even if you downgraded your Windows Vista originally to Windows XP Professional, you would still be able to upgrade if the original Windows Vista version qualifies for the upgrade.

MSI chose to link to the official Windows 7 Upgrade Option page directly, instead of Mentor Media. The site, from which users of any brands with eligible products can order, highlights the fact that the final software fulfillment date is the 30th of April 2010.

There are obviously other manufacturers like Medion, Advent, Gateway or Packard Bell, whcih haven't been covered in this featured article. You might want to check directly with the vendor to see if they offer the Windows 7 Upgrade Option.

Resources: http://www.itproportal.com/www/news/article/2010/2/2/windows-7-upgrade-program-its-not-too-late-upgrade-vistaxp/

Microsoft Includes Windows Mobile 7 in More Upcoming Events

2010-02-01T17:59:00.003+05:30

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Windows Mobile 7 is confirmed as present at the upcoming Mobile World Congress 2010 in Barcelona in two weeks from now, but it seems that Microsoft won't stop only at showing the next-generation operating system there. Other events that the Redmond-based company has in store for the following weeks and months will also include discussions on the Windows Mobile 7 platform, such as the MIX10 tech conference in March, or the Energize IT 2010, which is set to take place on March 30, 2010 in Canada.

The Windows Mobile 7 name popped up in a scheduled session at Energize IT 2010 , called “From the Client to the Cloud V 2.0.” Stephen Chapman from msftkitchen is the one who spotted the upcoming mobile operating system in Microsoft's plans for the event, and he says that this should be seen as yet another confirmation that the next-generation platform version will be unveiled officially within a matter of weeks.

“Windows Azure. Office System 2010. Visual Studio 2010. Windows Phone 7. The Microsoft-based platform presents a bevy of opportunities for all of us. Whether you are an IT Manager, Developer, or IT Pro knowing how these will impact you is critical, especially in the new economic reality,” is an excerpt from the description of the session. “You’ll see how to build next generation applications with technology like Silverlight, .NET 4.0 and Visual Studio 2010. You will find out how to consume those applications on a variety of devices, like mobile devices running Windows Phone, netbooks and PCs running Windows 7, as well as the web,” the description continues.

Rumor has it that the mobile client will include a wide range of new services, while also being tightly connected with Microsoft's Zune or Ebox live services, not to mention that the handsets it will run on are expected to be much more powerful than what is available on the market today. Microsoft has been already said to plan rising the bar with Windows Mobile 7, and some of the above might prove real when the OS is unveiled, yet we'll still have to wait for that official announcement to learn the exact details.

Resources: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Microsoft-Includes-Windows-Mobile-7-in-More-Upcoming-Events-133682.shtml

Windows 7 data recovery from backup in a snap

2010-01-30T11:35:00.004+05:30

Some time back, I loaded Windows 7 RTM on my laptop. I ran into an unexpected issue with BootMgr while installing, which reinforced the need for proper backups.

Like all good IT soldiers, I did a complete system backup using the Windows 7 Create an Image Backup feature. I performed the backup to an external USB2 hard drive. The backup image gets created in .VHD format.

Windows 7 has several methods you can use to back up and restore data, including the Easy Transfer Wizard. If there are many customizations to retain, for example, the Easy Transfer Wizard may be your best option & you can also use the best windows 7 data recovery software to recover the lost data.

In my opinion, browsing a backup image and just copying your files back is much quicker--at least for my purpose. I'll show you how I did this in the steps below.

After loading Windows 7 on my laptop, I simply connected the external USB drive and browsed to the location of my VHD backup, as shown in Figure A

Figure A

Then, I selected the larger of the two volumes in which my data was stored (Figure B).

Figure B

To access the backup data from the new system, you must take ownership of the object (Figure C). Here's how to do it.

Right-click on the target file, select Properties, then the Security tab, and click Advanced.

Figure C

Click the Owner tab and then the Edit button (Figure D).

Figure D

Select the new Owner account and click OK (Figure E).

Figure E

Click OK in the resulting dialog box. Click OK until you see the operation completing (Figure F).

Figure F

Now, go to Start | Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Computer Management and open Disk Management (Figure G).

Figure G

From the Action menu, select Attach VHD. Browse to the image file and it will mount as if it were a local disk! Once your restores are complete, select Detach VHD from the Action menu.

It is a good idea to hold on to the image for a while in case you later realize you need access to data from the old image file.

Resources: http://www.zdnetasia.com/techguide/network/0,3800010800,62058905,00.htm

Microsoft's bottom line gets a Windows 7 boost

2010-01-29T15:02:00.004+05:30

Image by Esparta via Flickr

With a boost from the release of Windows 7, Microsoft on Thursday said that its quarterly revenue topped $19 billion as the company sold a record number of copies of its operating system.

The software maker said it earned $6.66 billion, or 74 cents per share, on revenue of $19.02 billion for the three-month period that ended December 31. Those results included revenue deferred from the prior quarter, as the company was preparing for Windows 7 and offering free upgrades to those who bought Windows Vista-based computers. Excluding the deferred revenue, Microsoft said it had revenue of $17.31 billion, and diluted earnings per share would have totaled 60 cents per share.

"Exceptional demand for Windows 7 led to the positive top-line growth for the company," chief financial officer Peter Klein said in a statement. "Our continuing commitment to managing costs allowed us to drive earnings performance ahead of the revenue growth."

Chief Operating Officer Kevin Turner touted the record quarter for Windows unit sales, spurred by the Oct. 22 launch of Windows 7. "We are thrilled by the consumer reception to Windows 7 and by business enthusiasm to adopt Windows 7," he said in a statement.

The company said that through the end of December it had sold more than 60 million Windows 7 licenses, which it said made Windows 7 the fastest selling operating system in history.

In October, Microsoft reported better-than-expected sales, also boosted by stronger demand for Windows.

The company said overall PC sales grew 15 percent to 17 percent in the quarter, although that was led by a 20 percent growth in consumer sales as the business market remained roughly flat. The market for new servers remained weak, down slightly year over year, although Microsoft's server and tools business unit managed to grow revenue 2 percent as compared with a year ago.

Microsoft's online unit saw its revenue dip 5 percent, led by a 2 percent drop in online advertising, although the company noted that its Bing search engine continues to gain market share.

The Microsoft Business Division, which includes Office, saw sales off 3 percent, perhaps as customers await this year's launch of Office 2010.

On the Xbox side, Microsoft said it sold 5.2 million consoles during the quarter, down 13 percent from a year ago, leading the entertainment and devices unit to post a double-digit decline in revenue.

The company didn't give a full forecast for the coming quarter, saying it would have more to say on a 2:30 p.m. PST conference call. It did tell analysts to expect operating expenses for the full fiscal year ending June 30 to total $26.2 billion to $26.5 billion.

Here's a chart of how each of Microsoft's individual business units performed:

Resources: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10443802-56.html

Windows 7 Updates Headed for Service Pack 1

2010-01-28T17:52:00.004+05:30

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Microsoft hasn't said yet when it plans to release the first service pack (SP) for Windows 7, but more pieces of what are likely to be bundled into that release seem to be surfacing.

That momentum picked up speed on Monday evening when Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) released several non-security patches for Windows 7 and its counterpart Windows Server 2008 R2.

The batch of patches mostly consists of "reliability updates." This is not the first set of reliability updates, which are meant to make the system more stable. Microsoft actually released the first of those in October just before Windows 7's consumer launch.

Microsoft's new updates include four reliability updates, as well as two more updates aimed at fixing a very specific problem that involves 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. The problem only crops up if the user's PC has a particular NVidia chipset, at least 4 GB of memory, and experiences system crashes while using a USB device, according to a description of the update on Microsoft's site.

Other updates include new versions of the System Update Readiness Tool.

Users can get the latest updates by going to the Start menu, clicking on All Programs, and selecting Windows Update.

These fixes only add to what will inevitably make up Service Pack 1. Service packs normally include all of the security and non-security patches issued between the release of the operating system and the period just before the service pack appears. They rarely include new features and are usually just putting all the patches into one collection.

Historically, IT shops have waited until the release of the first service pack before they begin deploying or even testing a new operating system. Typically, the first service pack arrives about a year to 18 months after a new system's public release.

The clock began ticking SP1 last July, when Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Windows Division President Steven Sinofsky signed the golden copies of the Windows 7 disks, sending them to manufacture.

The first hint of a service pack came in early January, when blogger Raphael Rivera announced in his Within Windows blog that he had found entries in Windows 7's registry meant to enable a service pack to run.

Microsoft nearly always plays coy about when it will release the first service pack of a new operating system, and they have yet to even admit that there will be a service pack for Windows 7, at least any time soon. "We are not discussing SP1 at this time," a Microsoft spokesperson told InternetNews.com in an e-mail.

If you are using windows 7 O/S and your data have been crashed then go for windows 7 data recovery software & you can use the demo version of software from the company site http://www.stellarinfo.com/partition-recovery.htm

Resources: http://www.internetnews.com/software/article.php/3861316/Windows+7+Updates+Headed+for+Service+Pack+1.htm

The second generation: new netbooks boast more storage, Windows 7

2010-01-25T17:26:00.002+05:30

Image via CrunchBase

The second generation of netbooks is here and they’ve brought more storage with them.

The pint-sized mobile computers typically now come pre-loaded with Windows 7, but consumers should remember that not every netbook running Windows 7 is quicker than older models with Windows XP.

Models released onto the market in the Christmas run-up are often running on the same hardware as their predecessors.

More powerful models are only now trickling onto the market. The newer devices typically have bigger hard drives, with 250 gigabytes (GB) as the new unofficial standard. Because netbooks are sold as highly affordable and mobile web-surfing machines with good battery life, Thomas Rau from Germany’s PC Welt magazine doesn’t anticipate any “exorbitant upgrades.” “Most manufacturers want to keep the basic price below 400 dollars,” Rau says.

While computer maker Acer hasn’t revealed prices yet, it has indicated that new netbooks are on the way -- and soon. The new models include the Aspire One 532 with a 10.1-inch display and, optionally, with WSVGA or WXGA resolution (16:9). The major difference from previous devices is the 250 GB hard drive. The processor once again is an Intel Atom chip from the N series.

The new Eee PC 1005PE netbook from Asus also has an Atom processor and a 250 GB hard drive. Yet Rau doesn’t see netbooks suddenly mutating into multimedia machines. Manufacturers don’t want to cannibalize the market for their bigger, more powerful -- and somewhat more expensive -- laptops with CULV energy-saving processors.

Netbooks continue to sell briskly around the world, reports the industry association BITKOM. And the trend is pointing upward. The experts anticipate that Windows 7 will bring another bump in 2010.

As usual, the new operating system comes in various versions. The starter edition is the one typically installed on new netbooks. It is not slower than the more expensive variants, but it does lack some of their functions. Switching between user accounts via hotkeys is not available, for example. Nor is the Aero user interface. It also does not support 64-bit systems. However, these features tend to play a secondary role on netbooks.

Most devices work with Atom chips from Intel. There are two series typically used here: N and the somewhat slower, but less power-- thirsty Z series. Computerbild magazine recently tested a variety of netbooks and found that the differences in performance between different processors were less marked than on desktop PCs. The experts nevertheless recommend using the speediest model possible.

RAM size is another difference between current and older netbooks.

Devices are even starting to show up with two gigabytes of RAM instead of just one. That makes a big difference with Windows 7. Yet that alone shouldn’t make or break a purchase, since the memory on most netbooks is easily upgraded, although memory prices can fluctuate wildly.

One way or the other, netbooks remain a good choice as an affordable web-surfing device for use on the sofa, with long battery lives at low prices. Those who need processing power should probably look elsewhere, though. Many consumers seem to know this: BITKOM has not seen netbooks replacing full-sized laptops or desktop PCs. They tend to be used as backup computers instead.

For those who can afford to wait a bit, this year may bring even more interesting products, says Thomas Rau: netbooks with touch displays. Those devices would represent the real next generation.

Resources: http://beta.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/article94040.ece?homepage=true

Windows 7 worldwide market share jumps past Mac OS X, growing faster than Vista

2010-01-22T17:57:00.000+05:30

Image via CrunchBase

Windows 7 has turned out to be the darling of the operating system market share these days, nabbing a larger slice of the pie in a shorter amount of time than Vista - and overtaking all versions of Mac OS X.

According to a report published on Ars Technica, a month after being released Windows 7 was already at the 4.00 percent mark, compared to the Microsoft OS that frustrated everyone (Vista), which was at 0.93 percent after a month. After two months, Windows 7 was 5.71 percent, while Vista was at only 2.04 percent in its early days.

A lot of Windows 7’s success is being attributed to the fact that it got the 2009 holiday season to boost sales numbers.

Interestingly, while it seems like Windows 7 was skyrocketing, almost everyone (Windows 7, Vista and Mac OS X) were all dropping percentage points in the last few months. Only Linux showed positive percentage growth in December 2009.

Nevertheless, since Windows 7 jumped from 4.00 percent to 5.71 percent, they surpassed all versions of Mac OS X (10.4, 10.5 and 10.6) combined (4.87 percentage points total).

Resources: http://blogs.zdnet.com/gadgetreviews/?p=11476

Windows Mobile 7 Will Introduce Two Versions

2010-01-20T17:55:00.002+05:30

Image via CrunchBase

New rumors appeared concerning Windows Mobile 7. They say that the company will release two versions: a business version and a media version. The mobile OS can be available with a range of futures like Office, high-definition video, online collaboration, Xbox Live and streaming TV.

According to some resources the new versions of Windows Mobile 7 can be lunched at different times, Windows Mobile 7 will probably appear next month in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress and the media version will come later.

It became known that Microsoft may refuse using Windows Mobile and will call its mobile operating system “Seven”. It will be a bit strange, but probably Microsoft is going to line up the PC version of Windows 7 and Windows Mobile 7 into one brand.

Windows Mobile 7’s business edition is considered to be the main version of the mobile operating system, it will come with some excellent features like the ability to take a photo and automatically insert it into a document a user is working on, also there will be live document collaboration. Moreover, the business edition can work with some forms of multimedia like video.
The media edition will be full of features. One can observe high-definition video capability, Facebook and Twitter integration from the WinMo homepage, a Zune-like music player, and also Microsoft staples such as Silverlight and Mediaroom.

If you are using windows 7 and Your data have been deleted or formatted then you can go for the windows 7 data recovery solutions.

Resources: http://www.latestngadgets.com/windows-mobile-7-will-introduce-two-versions/1876.html

Windows 7 Security: What You Need to Know, Part Two

2010-01-19T17:31:00.001+05:30

Image via CrunchBase

Application compatibility is one of the most difficult obstacles users face when migrating from Windows XP to Windows 7. Fortunately, Microsoft offers some solutions, including XP Mode. This week, as part of my continuing series about major security changes in Windows 7, I'll focus on XP mode.

[See Windows 7 Security: What You Need to Know, Part One]

I should add that I'd planned on discussing both XP Mode and AppLocker this week but didn't want to skimp on either by cramming both into a single post. Thus, I'll discuss the latter next week. Also, as I noted in part one, I'm a full-time Microsoft employee.

XP Mode is but one option for dealing with app compatibility issues that might arise once you've deployed Windows 7. Microsoft does offer an excellent Application Compatibility Toolkit for troubleshooting and resolving compatibility issues, but many organizations lack the expertise or time to investigate every little problem. Alternatively, you may find that an application that worked with Windows XP simply will not work with Windows 7.

Enter XP Mode, available for Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Windows 7, as a free, downloadable, licensed virtual copy of Windows XP Service Pack 3. It's a pre-packaged VHD (virtual hard disk) that auto-logons when launched, although this feature can be disabled. When applications are installed in XP Mode, they appear as stand-alone apps in Windows 7, showing up under the menu bar. You also place them as regular desktop icons on the host desktop.

Most users probably won't notice that they're running a particular app in virtualization mode, other than the conspicuous slowness they'll experience the first time after booting up. It's pretty cool to see Internet Explorer 6 running alongside Internet Explorer 8 on the same desktop, which is a fairly common need for application compatibility (and XP Mode).

XP Mode can also be started as a normal, full-screen, virtualized desktop. XP Mode starts in NAT mode by default and can be joined to a domain just like any other workstation. It supports external media drives, including USB (yeah!), and it can perform drive mappings.

Installation takes a few steps. First, XP Mode relies upon a virtualization hardware feature, built in the BIOS, called Virtualization Technology by Intel or AMD-V by AMD. Most enterprise-class computers have this particular technology. Lower-end computers don't usually have it, and those that do rarely have it enabled. So boot up into your BIOS, look for the relevant virtualization technology, enable it, save the BIOS change, and reboot.

Prior to installing XP Mode, users must download and install Windows Virtual PC (WVPC), the new Windows 7 virtualization product. Microsoft has many virtualization technologies, and figuring out which product you need for XP Mode can be confusing. Hint: It's the one listed in this paragraph.

Installing WVPC creates a shortcut named Windows Virtual PC on the Windows 7 Start menu. Clicking on the shortcut opens the Virtual Machines folder, with a command bar that has an option to create a new VM. You can create a new VM using a guest OS image, such as ISO image or a VHD containing the OS image.

You must uninstall older versions of Microsoft desktop virtualization products before installing WWPC. After installing it, you can install the XP Mode VHD (in the form of a pre-packaged installer file). During the installation, you'll be prompted for a logon name and password, which you'll use for the true Administrator account. You'll be logged into this account automatically when XP Mode or an XP Mode-virtualized application is started. You'll also be asked to confirm the automatic downloading and installation of patches via Windows Update. Additionally, you can password-protect the XP Mode session, although I usually disable that feature. A user should already be preventing unauthorized access to his or her machine.

When XP Mode starts for the first time, the virtualized sessions can easily take a minute or two to come up. Subsequent launches take less time (several seconds on most hardware), although the first start after a reboot always takes a little while. Also, be prepared for XP Mode to download and install XP patches, sometimes unexpectedly. Determining what is being patched, Windows 7 or a virtualized copy of XP, can be confusing.

I love the superintegrated features of XP Mode, but I hope Microsoft makes the patching distinction a little clearer in future versions (if possible). While not perfect, XP Mode is an excellent way to make sure old, incompatible applications can get up and running inside Windows 7.

XP Mode has its downsides. For one, all changes to the default XP Mode image are saved as per-user diff files. This means, for example, that on a multi-user computer, each user running XP Mode will have to patch his or her copy; one user's version will not know that another user has already patched it. The same goes for any configuration change or installation within the virtualized session. This wastes time and space. If this particular problem is unworkable for you, Microsoft suggests using one of its more flexible virtualization technologies.

Additionally, bear in mind that any virtualized session means more IT support. If you run Windows 7 and Windows XP, you'll be required to support both as if each user is running two different computers, including patching, anti-malware, security configuration changes, and so on. Many organizations may not think to factor the additional costs and resources into their Windows 7 Data Recovery .

My overall recommendation for XP: When running into application compatibility problems, first try using Microsoft's Application Compatibility Toolkit (and its supplied "shims") to fix issues. Most customers can solve a large majority of their issues this way and, thus, not subject themselves to the additional support costs of running two OS versions. Use XP Mode where you have to, and if you do, make sure you manage and maintain it just like you would when running XP in stand-alone mode.

Resources: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/187136/windows_7_security_what_you_need_to_know_part_two.html

Best Windows 7 features, Part 2: Networking made easy

2010-01-18T14:49:00.001+05:30

Image by nDevilTV via Flickr

Networking is another area where significant progress has been made since Vista and XP.

The new HomeGroup feature makes accessing files on another Windows 7 PC on the home network almost as simple as retrieving files on the PC itself.

Installing printer drivers is now a one-off job, with PCs joining the homegroup automatically sharing the settings. Microsoft's decision to allow only Windows 7 PCs into homegroups seems a cheap trick to convince people to upgrade, but the emergence of Family Pack upgrades makes such shenanigans a little more palatable.

And, after more years of unnecessary dialog boxes than we care to remember, connecting to a Wi-Fi network is now merely a matter of left-clicking on the icon in the System Tray and choosing your network.

Talking of the System Tray, this too has been tidied up. Icons no longer spew forth - only three are permitted to show by default, with the rest tucked away in a pop-up overspill area.

Meanwhile, the new Action Center (curiously represented by a white flag icon) swallows up all Windows updates, maintenance and backup issues, with pop-up reminders now thankfully banished.

The revamped User Account Control is less needy, with a sliding scale of alert options ranging from Never to Always Notify. A step above Never is all that's needed to avoid pointless disruptions, but to still be warned in advance of major (or potentially malicious) activity.

Note--Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Software is a remarkable software that utilizes high-end mechanisms to recover all your lost, missing or inaccessible data comprehensively. This software is designed for Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2003, and 2000.

Resources: http://www.pcauthority.com.au/News/164987,best-windows-7-features-part-2-networking-made-easy.aspx

Windows 7 Scores Enterprise Wins

2010-01-16T17:39:00.003+05:30

Windows Vista was widely shunned by businesses, but there are indications that its successor, Windows 7 will fare better in commercial environments.

Microsoft noted this week, for instance, that numerous businesses are moving from to Windows 7 as they update their client systems.

The account wins for Windows 7 include Bergen County Camera, of Westwood, NJ, Latin American tractor distributor Hidrau Torque, Ames Golf & Country Club in Iowa, and the Gurgaon, India-based Galaxy Hotel.

The wins were noted in a blog post by Windows senior marketing director Erwin Visser.

Galaxy IT director Yogesh Kumar said the hotel upgraded to Windows 7 to take advantage of BitLocker security and what he said was Windows 7's enhanced stability over previous OS's.

"We are seeing efficiency improvements in virtually every facet of our internal operations, from guest registration and check ins, to accounting and IT support, all due to Windows 7" said Kumar, who was quoted in Visser's post.

Microsoft needs Windows 7 to be a hit in the business sector, as well as on consumer devices.

Windows sales were off a whopping 39% in Microsoft's most recently announced quarter. Investors will be watching the company's next report, slated for Jan. 28, to see whether Windows 7 has stopped the hemorrhaging.

Windows' sales slump in recent quarters was due in part to the fact that businesses shied away from Vista en masse. Many corporate IT managers cited concerns about Vista's incompatibility with older applications, intrusive security measures, and heavy horsepower requirements.

With Windows 7, Microsoft has toned down the obnoxious security warnings. The new OS also features XP Mode, which allows apps built for XP to run seamlessly in Windows 7. Windows 7 also carries lighter hardware requirements than Vista in some versions.

Microsoft is hoping it's all enough to convince corporate IT managers to finally move off XP and onto its newest flavor of Windows.

Resources: http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/operatingsystems/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222301162

Windows 7: Reasons to upgrade

2010-01-15T17:51:00.002+05:30

The elegant, quick and simple Windows 7 might be just a few months old but its features are catching eyeballs and generating sales like nothing seen before. Microsoft's new and improved operating system was created by working meticulously on the feedback from users.

The looks of the software are stylish and impressive. It embodies the freshness that fills the void after the charm of Windows XP wore off. But looks can be deceptive, which is why one must know in detail to learn if what Windows 7 claims to be is all true. This article is about the success of an operating system, owing to its readiness to work on its follies and come up with something much enhanced and superior.

Take for example the nimble user interface adds immense value to the product. Just one amongst the features, Peek adds to your ease of maneuvering through your windows right from the comforts of your desktop. All you have to do is point to the right edge of the transparent, which would reveal all other hidden icons and gadgets. To see just one window, point at its taskbar thumbnail and it shows up on the desktop.

The simplicity with which the system works is commendable; take for example the facility to search something straight from the Start button or the graceful Flip that lets you see all the windows that are active and what needs to be worked on next. The Aero desktop experience too mixes cool graphics with useful new ways to manage your desktop.

Aimed at making work easier, Windows 7 pampers you with ready reckoners or Jump Lists that take you right to the documents, pictures, songs, or websites you turn to each day. To open a Jump List, just right-click a program icon on the Windows 7 taskbar. Thus, Internet Explorer 8 shows frequently-viewed websites and Windows Media Player 12 lists commonly-played tunes.

Users can also bid goodbye to the tedious task of creating a network of computers. The process includes connecting computers with cables and then spending time with each of them to create a network. In the case of Windows 7 however, this pain is taken care of. When teamed with two or more PCs running Windows 7, HomeGroup automatically starts sharing your music, picture, video, and document libraries with other people in the group. That also does not mean that you compromise your privacy. The sharing will obviously commence only after you grant permission by typing in the required password which will only let other users to see your stuff but not touch.

As a user, one would go through the above features impressed but would still be left with a nagging doubt regarding security. Windows 7 promises to take care of that worry with Internet Explorer 8's SmartScreen filter. The SmartScreen filter and other built-in security features help you stay safe by protecting you against deceptive and malicious websites which can compromise your data, privacy and identity.

It also gives you a hand with your memory in case you can't remember the full address of a new website you visited a week ago. Type a few characters in the new Address Bar and Internet Explorer 8 will automatically recall sites you've already visited based on your entry. It searches across your History, Favorites, and RSS Feeds, displaying matches from the website address or any part of the URL. As you type, matched characters are highlighted in blue so you can identify them at a glance. In addition, you can delete any address in the drop-down box by clicking on the red cross symbol. This is especially useful for getting rid of misspelled URLs.

Well, no amount of praise would do any good because after all, seeing is believing. This article stands testimony to the effortless excellence that Windows 7 is.

The following captions will be put under the pictures.

Flip and Peek lets you easily skim through your open windows.
Start Search eases your search procedure.
Jump Lists gives you easy access to your files.
The SmartScreen filter protects your PC from malice on the web.
The address bar that helps your memory.
Sharing Home Group lets you share data easily.

Resources: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/technology/windows-7reasons-to-upgrade_435388.html

What to Expect from Microsoft Windows 7 SP 1

2010-01-13T17:51:00.003+05:30

Although Windows 7 is in good shape, many users won't adopt it until Service Pack 1 arrives. Here's what appears to be on deck for SP1

It's a rule of thumb: Like measuring twice before cutting or looking both ways before crossing the street, you should never deploy a version of Windows until the first service pack has been released. That way you can be sure that any showstopper-type bugs have been resolved before committing to the new platform. Better to be late to the stampede, the thinking goes, than to end up face down in a ditch with a bunch of arrows sticking out of your back.

Of course, in the case of Windows 7, Microsoft is hoping that you'll throw caution to the wind and roll it out anyway. And given the lack of drama emanating from the early-adopter camp -- true deal-breaker bugs have been few and far between with Windows 7 -- some IT shops will be tempted to ignore their thumbs for a change and take a chance on the RTM build.

However, for the majority of Microsoft's corporate customers, the "wait unti SP1" mentality will prevail (once burned, twice shy), which is why they'll be happy to learn that the first inklings of a public SP1 beta program are beginning to emerge. For example, bloggers have discovered some hidden registry keys related to a download prequalification check associated with an as-yet-unreleased SP1 build. And others have posted a leaked list of post-RTM build numbers that would seem to indicate a continued evolution of the Windows 7 code base -- a good sign that Microsoft is hard at work on an update.

A Tale of Two OSes

Clearly, the SP1 wheels are in motion early with Windows 7, which is ironic in that virtually nobody is yet clamoring for this combination of patches, tweaks, and performance enhancements. By contrast, Windows 7's immediate predecessor, Windows Vista, was in such dire straits out of the gate that Microsoft couldn't rush a service pack to market fast enough.

Early Vista adopters -- including yours truly -- waited with bated breath for promised resolutions to vexing issues, like registry corruption and debilitating network I/O bottlenecks. In fact, it was InfoWorld's headline-generating malaise that fueled the Save XP campaign and prompted Microsoft to refocus Windows 7 from long-term innovation to short-term fix for the Vista debacle.

History will likely show this to have been a wise decision, with Windows 7 now gaining a reputation as one of the most polished initial desktop OS releases Microsoft has ever put forth -- even better than the legendary Windows 2000 Professional. So it really comes as no surprise that the interest level surrounding a potential SP1 beta in the spring/summer of this year is still quite low. Everyone seems so content with the Windows 7 RTM build that speculation about what might be in such an initial service pack barely registers on most IT shop radars.

What Windows 7 SP1 Will Likely Do

Yet speculate we must. Beyond the obvious bug fixes and security patches, we'll no doubt see support for the new USB 3.0 standard. Likewise, enhancements to the Bluetooth and Wi-Fi stacks will be slipstreamed in, allowing Windows 7 to retain its mantle as the most easily configured version ever.

But perhaps the most significant "update" to come out of Service Pack 1 will be the fact that it exists at all, and that by delivering it to market Microsoft will be signaling that it is now OK for IT shops to pull the trigger on their Windows 7 deployments. So here's to an early SP1 release -- and a final dismissal of that pesky rule of thumb.

Resources: http://www.pcworld.com/article/186765/what_to_expect_from_microsoft_windows_7_sp_1.html

How to Change Computer Name in Windows Vista and Windows 7 Operating System

2010-01-11T18:00:00.000+05:30

Default names of PCs are truly irksome to memorize and it also makes difficult an interconnection of PCs. To keep things simpler, you prefer to keep a more descriptive name of your PC instead of those names. Alteration of PC names was very simple in Windows XP but with Windows Vista and Windows 7, it becomes hard to do the same.

To change the name of PC in Widows Vista and Windows 7, one has to work upon following three routes.

* Type sysdm.cpl into the start menu search box (this is the quickest method)
* Right-click on the Computer option on the start menu.
* Open Control Panel, and go to System and Maintenance, and then System.

If you opt for one of the last two options, then you will have to click on Advanced System Settings, which is on the left menu.

In Windows Vista, you will find the "System" utility in Control Panel (System and Maintenance section) and in the left panel of the System screen; you will be finding “Advanced System Settings.”Now click on both, which will be opening “User Account Control” dialog box with a ‘continue’ tab.

In “Computer Name Changes” dialog box, you need to enter a new computer name and click on the [OK] button.

(Note – while changing computer name, you will have to keep in mind that a computer may have only 15 characters and allowed characters lie between a-z and 0-9 without any ‘hyphen’ and ‘spaces’.

To Change User Profile Name –

* First click on "Start" button and then on "Control Panel."
* Now double-click on "User Accounts."
* This will be followed by a click on "Change an account," then click the account name that you would like to change.
* Now click on "Change the name."
* To give a new name to the user profile, type the desired name and you can also set a password for the same.

These steps will let you change your computer’s name as well as the name of user profile. Now give your computer your own recognition.

Resources: http://community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10014824o-2000683556b,00.htm

Windows 7 the Fastest Selling Operating System in History

2010-01-07T17:16:00.003+05:30

Microsoft is indicating that Windows 7 is nothing short of a smashing commercial success. And yet, while the Redmond company is indeed sharing a few statistics with the public, it isn’t really sharing those that count more, namely the actual number of Windows 7 licenses sold to customers, or at least those shipped into the channel. At the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Microsoft Chief Executive Office Steve Ballmer noted that it was a combination of the work done by over 3,000 Microsoft engineers along with feedback from more than 8 million Beta testers that helped make Windows 7 what it was. In 2009, the software giant noted that Windows 7 had out-sold Windows Vista by 234%, comparing sales figures after launch.

At CES 2010, Ballmer revealed that Windows 7 was the fastest selling operating system in history, by far. According to the company’s CEO, the latest iteration of Windows also helped boost computer sales, as the number of PCs sold in the week of Windows 7’s launch exploded by 50%.

“Windows 7 is being well received all around. We saw strong demand for Windows 7 through the holidays – Year-over-Year PC unit sales increased over 50% for each of the 4 weeks of December according to NPD’s Weekly Tracking Service. This is on the heels of a strong start to the holiday season, where NPD reported that PC sales increased 63% Year-over-Year on Black Friday 2009,” revealed Brandon LeBlanc, Windows Communications manager on the Windows Client Communications Team.

According to data provided by internet metrics company Net Application, Windows 7 had grown to a market share of 5.71% in just two months after launch. Just to help you get an idea, that’s a third is all the market share that Windows Vista grabbed in approximately three years, albeit Vista’s user base is withering and is now down to just 17.87%, with Windows XP also dropping to 67.77% from 70.48% ahead of the Windows 7 GA. The 5.71% market share would roughly translate into some 60 million copies of Windows 7 in use around the world, but this is my estimate and not an officially confirmed number from Microsoft.

“Netbooks were one of the hot items where Windows 7 has been strong. According IDC’s recent survey and its resulting paper “Mininotebooks: the New PC Phenomena” (which was sponsored by Microsoft), more than 99% of the netbooks sold today in the US (95% worldwide) now run Windows. And just 2 months after launch, more than half of those netbooks are running Windows 7. Of course it’s only natural to also want to know how Windows 7 did in comparison to its predecessor,” LeBlanc added.

According to Ballmer, Windows 7 will continue to drag the PC market along with it. Market analysis outfit Gartner has corrected PC sales forecasts, revealing that it expects a growth of 3% instead of the previously announced drop of 2% for 2009. At the same time, Gartner forecasted a boost of 12% in PC sales in 2010.

Note--Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Software provides maximum Data Recovery in comparison to other applications. The software supports almost all Windows operating systems, including Windows 7.

Resources: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-7-the-Fastest-Selling-Operating-System-in-History-131358.shtml

Case Study: A Windows 7 Early Adopter

2010-01-06T15:51:00.002+05:30

Deciding to become an early adopter for Microsoft's new Windows 7 operating system was one of those moments when all of the stars aligned. It was time to replace the hardware at Allen Matkins, and we wanted to improve the efficiency and administration of our technology environment as well as making our lawyers more effective with 24/7 access to mission-critical tools. Windows 7 happened to become available at the right time, and the operating system performed as well as the marketing materials said that it could. Allen Matkins is an entrepreneurial firm by nature so this fact, coupled with our track record of choosing effective early solutions, made it relatively easy to gain firmwide approval.

CHALLENGE: IMPROVE TECHNOLOGY TOOLS WHILE RETAINING OLDER APPLICATIONS

At the start of 2009, Allen Matkins was dealing with several challenges that influenced our decision to upgrade our technology environment for our 500 employees working from seven offices across the state of California. Our goal was to create an environment that would help conserve costs and facilitate more timely service to clients. To support this goal, we recognized the need to improve our attorneys' technology tools while still supporting our older applications that work properly and meet our current business needs.

The majority of our computers were running an older version of Windows; we were using the Windows XP operating system on 130 portable computers and Windows 2000 on 350 desktop computers. The reason why so many computers were still on Windows 2000 was because we were early adopters of previous versions and wanted to maximize the investments we had made in purchasing and deploying them over the years.

Another challenge we faced was the vast array of specialized applications that our attorneys require for certain cases, practice areas and other specific uses. In many instances, these critical legacy applications only functioned on older operating systems, which discouraged us from making any wholesale upgrades or operating system changes. This reality created additional problems. Having outdated images, for example, meant that restoring a failed computer could take as long as 2.5 hours. Because so many applications had to be installed manually, it could be easy to forget an application, resulting in additional delays for attorneys and an enormous burden on our IT staff.

We also needed to ensure our attorneys could always be equipped to deliver superior client service, which we consider a competitive differentiator for our firm. To that end, we provided third-party options for remote connectivity so that our attorneys could respond quickly to their client needs, wherever they were located. Yet, instead of using the best connectivity method for the location, our attorneys tended to chose the one with which they were most familiar and comfortable. If that didn't work, they'd call us for technical support or opt for time-consuming work-arounds. Both of those options created frustration on the part of our attorneys and unnecessarily consumed valuable time for all parties involved.

SOLUTION: MIGRATE TO WINDOWS 7

In March 2009, we had planned to upgrade our desktop infrastructure by adopting Microsoft Office Professional 2007 and move the 350 desktop computers on Windows 2000 to Windows XP. We did not view Windows Vista as an option for us. Although I had heard positive feedback about the capabilities of Windows 7, we were skeptical about the difference that it could make for our firm. However, after personally seeing the product in action, I told my team that we needed to move to Windows 7 right away.

A few reasons stand out in influencing this decision. First, I believe that Windows 7 can help us enhance our ability to serve clients. By providing our attorneys with a flexible remote access system, we can position them to improve client service worldwide. Doing so can increase the daily efficiency of each attorney to meet client demands and deadlines, and it can eliminate loss of billable time for administrative functions.

The firm also viewed Windows 7 as a solution for improving our professional and support staffs' access to resources. The DirectAccess feature in Windows 7 gives us fast, remote connectivity to corporate resources. We're seeing that DirectAccess is flexible and easy to use and believe that our attorneys will find it easier to effectively connect remotely and get work done. Since DirectAccess can detect user needs, we're planning on time savings and reduced frustration for everyone.

Windows 7's AppLocker feature is also important for better controlling our software. The capability helps us to make sure that our users are kept out of harms way in accidentally loading software or applications that cause their core applications to become unstable.

SOLUTION: MICROSOFT APPLICATION VIRTUALIZATION

Another important solution for the firm is to extend our investment in existing software by running our dated applications in a virtualized environment. For those applications that are too old to work with Windows 7, we're using Microsoft Application Virtualization, where the application layer itself is virtualized, not the entire operating system. This technology is part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack for Software Assurance and it enables us to run separate, virtualized versions of up to 30 percent of our applications. Microsoft Application Virtualization is enabling us to continue to gain value from those older applications and maximize our investment.

We will soon be creating and running multiple virtual machines on a single computer running a Windows operating system. Each virtual machine can run a different operating system, such as Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows 7. This enables our attorneys and professional staff to run our older applications that will not work with Windows 7 and does not force us to replace those applications so we can adhere to our cost containment goals.

THE IMPLEMENTATION TO DATE

As of October, we had a prerelease version of Windows 7 running on 28 computers, nine of which are used by members of our IT department and the rest by word processors and other personnel. We used the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit to aid in this initial installation and have found that the Windows 7 operating system does an excellent job of recognizing new hardware. The system automatically installs about 98 percent of the necessary drivers, so it takes significantly less staff time to make the computers fully operational. We also will upgrade several server computers to the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system to take advantage of image multicasting and other advanced features.

We've been pleased by the stability and performance of Windows 7. Our core applications run well on our version of Windows 7 and we anticipate that more of our software will be compatible when we expand our deployment across all of the firm's computers. We waited for the general release version of Windows 7 to broaden use and now plan to utilize Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 for future deployments and system updates.

System Center Configuration Manager enables us to assess, deploy, and update our servers, clients, and devices across physical, virtual, distributed, and mobile environments so that we can gain better control over our IT systems. It also addresses some of the challenges that we had experienced before the Windows 7 rollout by ensuring that our IT systems comply with our firm's desired configuration state to improve availability for our attorneys along with security and overall performance across Allen Matkins.

BENEFITS TO DATE: COST SAVINGS, IMPROVED EFFICIENCY, REDIRECTED IT RESOURCES

While we are still early in the Windows 7 rollout, we are already realizing benefits. We have eliminated several third-party products, such as those that provided us with remote connectivity options. We expect an annual licensing savings of up to $60,000.

We are also utilizing energy-efficient features in Windows 7 to conserve energy and realize related cost savings due to Windows 7 improved "sleep mode." We've found that sleep mode recovery with Windows 7 is far more seamless than with other operating systems. Since "waking up" from sleep mode quickly reconnects the computer to network resources, our users currently on Windows 7 are less likely to switch away from the energy-efficient default settings. We're expecting this utilization to continue as the implementation expands for ongoing savings.

Another benefit that we have realized is increased maintenance efficiency. Our IT staff is restoring Windows 7 computers five times faster than before, and the restored computer receives the right applications automatically. This is enabling everyone to get back to work more quickly.If you data have been deleted then you can use windows 7 data recovery software to recover the data.

Like most firms, we had to reduce the size of our IT staff in response to the recent economic downturn. Windows 7 is helping us to increase the efficiency of our team and improve their ability to run our firm more smoothly. We now have more time for higher-priority tasks.

As the rollout expands to more attorneys and professional staff, we expect that our users will be able to think less about technology and more about servicing clients. We can see how Windows 7 will increase their efficiency due to better remote connectivity so they can be more responsive to clients.

Resources: http://www.law.com/jsp/lawtechnologynews/PubArticleLTN.jsp?id=1202437415887&Case_Study_A_Windows__Early_Adopter

Microsoft Continues Promotion On Windows 7, Office 2007 For SMBs

2010-01-05T18:06:00.001+05:30

In an apparent bid to lure the small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) still using earlier iterations of Windows and Office suites, Microsoft Corp. has started the New Year with some significant discounts on Windows 7 Professional as well as Office 2010 Professional applications.

Last week, the software giant has noted that it would be extending its ongoing half price volume discount offer to SMBs still working with Windows XP and Server 2003 suites.

Under the “Up To Date Discount” scheme, which expires on the 30th June 2010, the software maker is offering to prospective customers a full 50 percent discount on Open Value subscriptions of the first year’s charges of Windows 7 Professional upgrade, or Office 2010 Professional upgrade.

The extension of the discount offer was quoted by Eric Ligman, global partner experience chief with Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Group, in a blog post on New Year’s Day.

Incidentally, when it’s about the operating system business, Microsoft is its own major competitor, as sometimes the tight budgets as well as the comfort level with the existing versions hinder the businesses to go for comprehensive OS upgrade.

This time too, Microsoft is pouring efforts in enticing SMBs to shift from the previous versions of Windows OS, primarily XP, to the latest Windows 7 Professional edition.

Resources: http://www.itproportal.com/www/news/article/2010/1/5/microsoft-continues-promotion-windows-7-office-2007-smbs/

Smartphones & Windows 7 top targets of hackers in 2010

2009-12-30T15:21:00.002+05:30

Hackers may target popular new devices with a rapidly growing user base like smartphones and Microsoft's operating system Windows 7 next year, a study said.

Security solutions firm Websense Inc in its list of security predictions for 2010 said that hackers will look to compromise new platforms such as smartphones and take advantage of the popularity of Windows 7.

"With a rapidly growing user base, business adoption and increasing use for conducting financial transactions with these devices, hackers will begin more dedicated targeting of smartphones in 2010," Websense chief technology officer Dan Hubbard said.

Moreover, Windows 7 is also a target of malicious attacks with the expected fast adoption of the operating system, he added.

Websense has also warned the users of Mac, lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc.

"There exists additional risk for Mac users because many assume Macs are immune to security threats and therefore employ less security measures and patches, so attackers have additional incentive to go after them," the research added.

Resources: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/infotech/software/Smartphones-Windows-7-top-targets-of-hackers-in-2010/articleshow/5363074.cms

Windows 7 Windows Media Player 12 Video Flickers Fix

2009-12-30T15:14:00.003+05:30

In certain scenarios, watching a video on a computer running the latest iteration of the Windows client might not be an enjoyable experience. Microsoft informed of the existence of a problem related to the Enhanced Video Renderer in Windows Vista’s successor that can cause Windows Media Player 12 to deliver an inferior quality user experience.

According to the Redmond company, the issue is related to Windows 7 computers paying video via Windows Media Player from a DVD while also grabbing subtitles from the media. Users will find that the video begins to flicker when the text appears on screen.

“You have a computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2. You configure Windows Media Player 12 to display subtitles when you play a DVD. However, the video image flickers every time that a new line of subtitle is displayed,” Microsoft explained.

With the issue already identified, the software giant already has a fix available for customers affected by this specific problem. “This problem occurs because of an issue in the way that the Enhanced Video Renderer (EVR) handles subtitle notifications,” the company added.

A hotfix is already available for download via Microsoft Support and will correct the problem described in this article, according to the Redmond company. However, users that are in no way impacted by video flickering glitches when using Windows 7 and Windows Media Player to play video from a DVD complete with subtitles need not deploy the hotfix. The best course of action for customers unaffected by the issue is to wait for the first update that will automatically integrate the hotfix with their operating systems. Most likely this hotfix will end up in the first Service Pack for Windows 7, a release Microsoft is keeping mum at this point in time. If u Need any data recovery solutions for windows 7 then use windows 7 data recovery software.

Resources: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-7-Windows-Media-Player-12-Video-Flickers-Fix-130778.shtml

Windows 7 fails to impact Mac sale

2009-12-29T16:31:00.001+05:30

The release of Windows 7 has definitely helped in increasing the sales of the PC at work, but have failed to slow the increase in adoption of Macs at the workplace, according to a study. Apple is expected to grow at the same time, while the number of companies buying Mac desktops remains flat at about seven percent, the number of those buying MacBooks has grown by 10 percent, according to Electronista.

The ChangeWave study also reports that Dell and HP should benefit from a slight increase in corporate sales with a respective 33 percent and 18 percent companies planning to buy both desktops and notebooks from the two. Also, 93 percent of those who had tried Windows 7 were either somewhat or very satisfied with the OS, that hasn't translated into significant decisions to move up upgrades at the office. But only 19 percent plan any sort of change, and only three percent plan a "significant" change to get Windows 7 into their businesses early.

It's not known what's leading to Apple's increase, though native Exchange 2007 support in Snow Leopard may contribute to the results along with overall less expensive MacBooks and MacBook Pros from the past few months.

Resources: http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Windows_7_fails_to_impact_Mac_sale-nid-64087-cid-3.html

Windows Mobile 7 not ready until late 2010

2009-12-21T16:25:00.003+05:30

Windows Mobile 7 will have to put their expectations on hold for perhaps another year.

Moreover, Microsoft’s Phil Moore, the software giant’s UK head of mobility, has relayed to technology magazine NetworkWorld that the company’s latest iteration of Windows Mobile will not be ready for launch until the latter part of 2010.

Yet Moore also promised that the nudged release will enable Microsoft to give enterprise users and general consumers exactly what they want from the package, which will include focused flexibility across a significantly easier touch-based User Interface (UI).

“[Windows Mobile 7] has been put back until late next year,” outlined Moore in the NetworkWorld article. “but it is definitely coming.”

Microsoft’s decision to push Windows Mobile 7 further back on its release schedule is perhaps not especially surprising given that platform stopgap Windows Mobile 6.5 was released to fill the hole when the seventh version of the mobile operating package missed its initial 2009 completion target.

However, grand promises related to a product some 12 months away are unlikely to help Microsoft’s position in the global smartphone market, which, according to a third quarter report by Canalys, is presently just 8.8 percent – a notable year-on-year drop compared to the 13.6 percent it amassed in Q3 of 2008.

The quarterly Canalys report places Nokia’s Symbian at the top of the pile with 46 percent of the market, followed by the BlackBerry platform with 21 percent, and Apple’s iPhone operating system with 18 percent. Google-backed Android, which is new to the market this year, has already managed to secure 3.5 percent of the market.

Resources: http://www.thetechherald.com/article.php/200951/4976/Windows-Mobile-7-not-ready-until-late-2010

Preparing Your Computer for Windows 7

2009-12-19T11:25:00.004+05:30

Upgraded hard drives will result in much faster application load times and overall snappier system performance, since Windows 7 uses the hard drive extensively, especially on systems with limited RAM. Note that these drives hook up to your computer internally using the now ubiquitous SATA interface. Make sure your PC supports this.

You don't have to buy a new computer to upgrade to Windows 7. If your PC is relatively young -- no older than four years, say -- chances are good that Windows 7 will run just fine on it.

A few pre-installation upgrades, though, may help you get the most out of Microsoft 's new operating system. Read on to learn more.

Q: I have a Windows XP computer with a 3.0 GHz Pentium D chip. The machine also has 1 GB of RAM and an 80 GB hard drive. Should I upgrade any components of this machine before installing Windows 7?

A: Although you did not mention the type of graphics card in your computer, your PC as it stands should run Windows 7 without problems. But if you want to get the best performance using your current processor and motherboard, the best upgrade would be adding more memory and, perhaps, upgrading the hard drive.

Running Windows 7 with just 1 GB of RAM will limit the number of applications you can open and run before noticing slowdowns. Those slowdowns will be due primarily to the fact that Windows 7 will need to start using your hard drive to swap out portions of code that it cannot fit in available RAM.

Microsoft says that 1 GB of RAM is the minimum amount required to install Windows 7. Adding at least an extra gigabyte of RAM will be of benefit.

But you'll likely see the most tangible performance improvement by upgrading your hard drive, particularly since, in an older Pentium D computer, your 80 gig unit may be spinning at only 5400 revolutions per minute (rpm), slow by today's standards.

You can pick up a Western Digital VelociRaptor 150 GB unit, which runs at 10,000 rpm, for about 150 dollars. The 300 GB VelociRaptor is only marginally more expensive and will give you twice the space.

Both drives will result in much faster application load times and overall snappier system performance, since Windows 7 uses the hard drive extensively, especially on systems with limited RAM. Note that these drives hook up to your computer internally using the now ubiquitous SATA interface. Make sure your PC supports this; older models may have only IDE connections for hard drives.

Assuming you do have SATA connectors inside your PC, the ultimate upgrade for your existing hard drive would be a solid state disk (SSD). While 80 GB SSDS will generally cost around 300 dollars, these disks currently provide the fastest read and write times and will result in the best Windows 7 performance when it comes to disk access, typically one of the biggest performance bottlenecks.

As to the graphics card, chances are good that your current card is sufficient to run Windows 7. If you're interested in gaming, you may be well advised to look at upgrading. Just be sure you know how your current graphics card connects to your motherboard -- whether it uses the PCI Express interface or the older AGP interface -- and purchase an appropriate replacement.

Q: I have a Core2 Duo notebook computer with integrated graphics. Currently I run XP. If I upgrade to Windows 7, will I be able to use Aero? I have heard that Aero requires a dedicated graphics card.

A: There is quite a bit of misunderstanding about the hardware required to support Aero, the default graphical user interface in Windows Vista and Windows 7. Because Microsoft has specified that a 128 megabyte (MB) dedicated graphics card is required for PCs to be deemed "premium ready," many have concluded that Aero will not run without a card that at least meets this specification.

That, however, is not the case. Many notebooks with integrated graphics cards will run Aero. Integrated graphics cards rely on the computer's main memory for storage , so the amount of overall system memory in your notebook will influence whether Aero can be supported.

Generally a 64 MB integrated graphics card with system memory at 1 GB or more is all you'll need to run Aero without a hitch.

If you have any doubts about the compatibility of your graphics subsystem or any other component of your notebook, download and run the Window 7 Upgrade Advisor utility (http://bit.ly/2popc).

Q: My current Vista PC is only a year old, and I would like to install Windows 7 on it without losing any of my applications or data . Can I do that?

A: Most likely, yes. Windows Vista is, in fact, the only previous version of Windows from which you can perform a traditional upgrade to Windows 7 -- that is, one that allows you to leave your operating system in place and simply place the Windows 7 DVD in the drive and choose the "upgrade" option during installation.

There's one caveat, however: In order to upgrade Vista with Windows 7, you must be moving to a corresponding or higher edition of Windows 7 than the Vista edition you currently use. So, for example, if you're currently running Vista Ultimate, you'll need to have Windows 7 Ultimate to upgrade.

You should know that there are many who believe that upgrading your operating system in this way is a bad idea under any circumstances, for by doing so you lose the benefits of the "fresh start" that installing a new operating system from scratch can afford you.

There's some validity to this claim, since the operating system you're using has probably become bloated or bogged down by files and unused registry entries that would not be transferred over if you installed Windows 7 from scratch.

That said, there's also a compelling case for upgrading in place: namely, you'll save a lot of time and won't have to worry about losing data or application settings.

Note--If you are using windows 7 and your data have been lost then use Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery that recovers your lost, deleted or formatted data in almost all logical data loss scenarios. The software also provides you with various advanced features like Disk Imaging, Disk Cloning, etc. The non-destructive tool natively supports Windows 7 RC1, Vista, XP, 2003 and 2000. This software is compatible with FAT32, VFAT, NTFS, and NTFS5 file systems.

Resources: http://www.newsfactor.com/news/Preparing-Your-PC-for-Windows-7/story.xhtml?story_id=102003BVZOYC&full_skip=1

Is Windows 7 the last major chapter in Windows story?

2009-12-17T17:51:00.003+05:30

Microsoft Windows 7 may represent the last ever, large in-mass upgrade of the Windows client environment and define the line where the desktop PC was no longer the center of the end-user universe, according to IDC.

"We have come to the conclusion that Windows 7 represents a really important demarcation line in the evolution of client devices," says Al Gillen, who helped co-author a list of year-end predictions from IDC. "We think Windows 7 is going to be the last really big refresh, in-mass, of the Windows client environment as we have known it for the last decade plus."

Gillen said the Windows 7 adoption and replacement cycle will go on for the next five to seven years, but during that cycle "the industry is going to look quite a bit different and I would have to argue that the next really big release of Windows will launch into a world that is a lot less centralized around the PC than it is today."

Gillen is not predicting the death of Windows, however. In fact, he predicts Windows 7 will be a great product and a huge success for Microsoft. "I see it being hugely successful; the problem is that it is going to be hugely successful in a market space where the customer preferences are going to move away from that model totally."

He says a good analogy is the television. "The television market has been mature for a long time. We've stopped replacing televisions every time a new one came along, and the television is no longer the center of the universe in the living room."

He adds that the market for Windows operating systems won't go away. "It is just going to be one of a multitude of options," he said. "Because this transition will begin with augmentation and won't significantly displace PCs in the short term, this is a trend that will play out literally for the next decade (or longer)."

Gillen said Microsoft won the battle in the PC market and owns the desktop, "but all these devices are going to come along that Microsoft does not own, which creates a whole new battle field," Gillen said. He said the transition will fuel the rise of virtualized and cloud-based software and "in the process, help break the dependency on fat clients and full local processing."

And he predicts those devices will mostly run on open source, Linux-based and non-Windows software whether they be smartphones, thin clients or browser based devices.

Microsoft has not been successful to date in the mobile or device markets, especially against the likes of Android, iPhone, and Palm's webOS.

Microsoft has a working realization of its coming challenges that is expressed in its Azure cloud platform and three-screens-and-a-cloud strategies.

"There are changing dynamics and demographics that are going to shift the world as we know it and the world we live in," Gillen said.

The world for corporate IT, Gillen noted, also will feel the shift. "Because none of these platforms will be individually dominant across multiple devices, enterprises will be challenged to decide how to support users that bring personal/consumer-driven devices into their organizations," he said.

Note--Stellar Information System Limited is an ISO 9001:2000 certified company that specializes in developing various robust data recovery software & applications to recover your data from systems based on almost all operating systems including Windows 7 data recovery, Mac, Linux, etc.

Resources: http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/121609-microsoft-windows7.html

Is Windows 7 in your future?

2009-12-16T18:00:00.002+05:30

Time for an all-too-familiar song-and-dance routine as Microsoft Corp tries to convince you that you should upgrade to its new operating system, Windows 7. Tech pundits are spinning tales of its supposed greatness - that wouldn't have anything to do with Microsoft pulling its ads if one said otherwise, of course.

Now that Windows 7 is out and about, we're suddenly being told how old and outdated Windows Vista was. The talking heads in tech circles are talking about what a huge embarrassment Vista was for Microsoft (remember, these are the same guys who told us, when Vista was first introduced a few years ago, how great it was). Their message is that if you don't upgrade to Window 7, you're simply making do with a piece of crap OS. Extremely strange.

Then again, the same people say the same things each and every time a new version of Windows is rolled out. The old version was crap, the new version is faster, better, smarter, requires less hardware support, is easier to use, razzle dazzle, boom, boom, boom. And it always - always - winds up being slower than your previous version, and more demanding of your hardware so that you have to go out and buy more memory, and so on. And always, one of your favourite little applications or features will be missing because Microsoft decided to get rid of it. And, on top of that, some of your old applications won't work anymore because the innards of the OS got changed around, so you'll either have to upgrade those other applications or stop using them.

I can remember the days when Windows 3.1 came on six floppy disks and required less than 10MB of your hard drive. Then Windows 95 came along, but it was much more hardware intensive and if you wanted to use it, you had to basically buy a new computer. It wasn't until Windows 98 (in 1998) that Windows 95 finally got all its bugs worked out. Then we turned and there was Windows ME. After years of work, Windows XP was released, and people actually liked it for a change. Microsoft stuck with that for a while, but finding itself in need of more cash from upgrades, it introduced Windows Vista.

Now, here we are - and Windows 7 is sitting on the shelves, promising to be better, faster, easier on your hardware, easier to use - the whole song and dance, again.

Should you go rush out to adopt Win 7? You have to ask? My opinion is that if you're satisfied with the way your machine runs, stick with what works. I still have XP and see no reason to upgrade it. I've never had a bit of trouble with it and it's very nicely matched with the hardware. Why would I want to potentially mess everything up with an upgrade? I also have a laptop with Vista, and to be honest, I can't tell the difference between XP and Vista. I'm sure there are some changes under the hood, but they may or may not have made any difference to my computing experience.

If you absolutely have to have the latest and greatest and you've got plenty of money to throw around, by all means, go out and buy yourself an upgrade to Win 7. If it makes you happy, so much the better.

Some of us, though, would rather take a wait and see approach. Myself, I'd like to wait and see whether Windows 7 data recovery really does offer a better user experience, better features, a better interface. I'd like to hear what real people have to say about it, not the talking heads in the magazines. I'd like to hear readers say that Win 7 takes up less space on your hard drive (I was scanning my XP machine the other day and there were more than a million files on it, most of them the operating system!). I'd like to hear users of Win 7 say that it runs faster and boots up quicker. That they have an easier time setting up a home network. That they don't have problems with application compatibility.

Resources: http://www.bangkokpost.com/tech/technews/29384/is-windows-7-in-your-future

Can Windows 7 dominate over Snow Leopard and Chrome OS ?

2009-12-15T17:46:00.002+05:30

After the release of source code for Google Chrome operating system to developers, the software giant, Microsoft’s Windows 7 and Apple’s Snow Leopard, who leads the operating systems market, had received reasons to respond for the growing competition from the search giant. However, Google will launch the stable release in the second half of 2010 for netbooks.

Google Chrome OS is an open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks. Whereas, Windows 7 can handle designers’ requirement and Apple’s Snow Leopard can have an edge over other operating systems for handling daily routine works.

But, the question is who would win the ultimate war in the battle of OS domination? Windows 7 or Snow Leopard or Google Chrome OS?

User Interface

Microsoft Windows 7 comes with a renovated Windows Shell with a new taskbar, updated control panel interface, slideshow for the opened windows, start menu and window management enhancements and an advanced font management.

In Snow Leopard, users can view a subfolder via stacks without launching Finder, Dock icons will have new looks with semi-transparent charcoal background, higher-resolution iChat and display the windows of a single program via Exposé by left clicking and holding its icon in the dock. However, various analysts said that the Mac OS offers the best overall user experience, presently.

In the upcoming Google Chrome OS's UI, single tab strip combines apps and standard Web pages to save the space of screen. Various secondary tasks like chat and music players can be operated through “panels.” It may also feature split screens for viewing two pieces of content side-by-side. The new software will also use HTML 5's offline modes, background processing, and notifications.

System Enhancements

Windows 7 supports the DirectX 11 version, multi-touch facility for Tablet PCs, WWAN and has enhanced security features. Also, the software features Office Open XML and ODF support in WordPad, Windows Media Player 12 and Windows XP Mode.

However, Snow Leopard features 64-bit support with enhanced performance via multiple processor cores and GPUs. It also supports new version of Quicktime, out-of-the-box support for Microsoft Exchange and automatic updates for printer drivers.

The new Google Chrome OS based machines are strictly for cloud computing and they will be connected to the web via Wi-Fi and will play only web-based applications such as Google Docs, which the company approves. Also, all such apps will be stored in cloud not in users’ netbook. Hence, you do not require much storage in your PC.

Boot time

Microsoft Windows 7 comes with faster boot time compared to Vista, and Apple’s Snow Leopard also claims for quick boot time with upto 80% faster, saving precious time of users. However, in the early build of Google Chrome OS, it took as little as 7 seconds to reach a login screen, and then reached almost instantly into the browser.

Cost Factor

The Snow Leopard single user license will be available for about $29, whereas Windows 7 is available within a price range of $120 to $320. But, the Google Chrome OS is an open source software available for free.

Discussion

According to the Web metrics firm Net Applications, Microsoft Windows 7’s market share in first three weeks was more than what Vista had achieved in five months. Now, Windows 7 passed the 5% market share milestone, which is more than the total market share of all versions of Apple's Mac OS X.

Recently, Microsoft has announced that it will close down the support for Windows XP SP2, which suggests that the company wants to convert XP users into the new Win7 buyers. Various analysts predict that there is a huge tail of XP in the market and Windows 7 Data Recovery is the great opportunity for all those people who declined to move to Vista. Therefore, the recent move from software giant will certainly toughened the competition for new comers.

Resources: http://www.itvoir.com/portal/boxx/knowledgebase.asp?iid=1729&Cat=23

Windows XP to Windows 7: Planning your upgrade strategy

2009-12-10T13:08:00.003+05:30

Windows 7 is poised to save organizations from the quirky Vista and an aging XP, but there are strategic options to consider before you make the move. For those who skipped Vista, the migration will have a few more challenges and risks -- including increased risk of data loss -- but will also alleviate potential problems associated with the security flaws in XP.

While many organizations won't migrate to Windows 7 until early 2011, after the 12- to 18-month period it takes to traditionally prepare for a new operating system deployment, it's important to understand where you are now as you plan ahead.

There probably won't be the big-bang IT overhauls of Windows 7 anytime soon, because the economic climate will limit many wholesale upgrades to Windows 7, according to Michael Cherry, vice president of research operating systems at consultancy Directions on Microsoft in Kirkland, Wash. Current hardware may not support Windows 7 and customers will more likely migrate to Windows 7 only on machines purchased in the last year and slowly integrate it that way.

A lot of newer machines are not Windows 7-ready, according to Rob McWalter, senior vice president of ConverterTechnology Inc., a company providing software to help with Microsoft migrations. "I have two relatively new laptops at home, and neither one of them are on the Windows 7 compatibility list," he said. "You can still upgrade if the computer meets all the space and memory requirements, but you can get a lot of messages that are going to seem scary if you aren't confident about what you're doing."

Cherry said midmarket CIOs should first ask themselves how long they can afford to stay with XP. Take into consider the challenges that come with running an 8-year-old operating system -- such as Microsoft putting all of its resources behind Vista and Windows 7, known security flaws and the loss of application developers who will design for XP.

Also , don't let Microsoft's decision to extend XP support until 2014 unduly influence you, "because you don't get much with that support," Cherry said. You can report a problem when you have support, but Microsoft still chooses whether or not to fix it.

So decide how comfortable you are with XP, how long you can stay on it and when you should aim to be on Windows 7, Cherry said.

Strategy consideration: Clean install vs. custom install

Moving from Windows XP to Windows 7 is not an in-place installation because the folder structure has changed significantly from XP to Windows 7. So you have two choices -- a clean install or a custom install. As with other operating system installs, a clean install will format the drives and all applications, custom settings, files and data will be lost. According to McWalter, a custom install can prevent some data losses because the folders on the C drive remain untouched.

For custom installs, there are tools to help keep most files and settings intact and cut back on data loss: the Windows Easy Transfer Wizard (for attended installations) and the User State Migration Tool 4.0 (for unattended installations).

But Cherry said not to shy away from a fresh install because there are some benefits to starting from scratch in some cases.

For example, a clean install provides the opportunity to upgrade to a 64-bit version of Windows. Most newer computers have 64-bit processors, but many are still running 32-bit versions of the operating system.

A 64-bit operating system can better handle large amounts of available random access memory (4 GB or more) and be more responsive when running several programs at once. But in order to run a 64-bit version of an operating system, both the processor and all the device drivers need to be 64-bit. And even then, moving to the new version is a project. According to Cherry, if you are currently running a 32-bit version of Windows you can't upgrade to a 64-bit version -- you would need to back up all of your files and perform a clean installation of a 64-bit version.

Windows 7 is available in multiple versions, including the 32-bit version, but if you have the capabilities to upgrade to the 64-bit version, Cherry said to go for it.

You don't want to end up in a situation where you lose all your installed applications and then you realize you don't have
the proper documentation.
Rob McWalter
senior vice president, ConverterTechnology Inc.

"This is another opportunity to take advantage of what you already have because with the clean install, you get the Windows 7 and possibly the option to move into the 64 bit version of the operating system," Cherry said. "You can get more relief for your pain because there are two incentives there."

And the extra data backup steps that are necessary for a clean install should be viewed as a chance to get a good backup copy of your data -- one that you're sure can be easily restored.

But whether you go with the clean or custom installation, you will still have to reinstall your applications. McWalter said that it's important to make sure you have all the product keys and necessary materials to reinstall your apps now, so you aren't scrambling for them later. "You don't want to end up in a situation where you lose all your installed applications and then you realize you don't have the proper documentation," he said.

McWalter also recommends application discovery and application compatibility testing to figure out whether or not key application are going to run on Windows 7 so you can plan accordingly, including any re-engineering of custom apps. Packaged applications will need to be certified for use with Vista/Windows 7; custom application re-engineering can range from one to three months if you use automation, or roughly six to 12 months if you do it manually, he said.

The official migration may be a while off, but organizations shouldn't avoid strategically planning for it, Cherry said. "The age and security concerns with XP are not going away," he said. "So it's absolutely worth looking into Windows 7 now."

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Software is a powerful and efficient solution that recovers lost data from a Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2003, and 2000 installed system. The advanced Windows Partition Recovery tool provides advanced features like Raw File Recovery, Drive Status, Disk Cloning, and Disk Imaging. The software supports FAT32, VFAT, NTFS, and NTFS5 file systems.

Resources: http://searchcio-midmarket.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid183_gci1376414,00.html

Microsoft patch day includes patches for Windows 7

2009-12-09T17:51:00.003+05:30

Microsoft has released three critical and three important updates on its December Patch Tuesday. The most important of them is undoubtedly the cumulative update for Internet Explorer, which is designed to close a security hole that has been known for several weeks.

In addition, security bulletin MS09-072 reports four further critical vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer that were privately reported to Microsoft. In the security team's opinion, reliable working exploits will soon be circulated for all of these vulnerabilities. Three of the holes affect Internet Explorer 8 under Windows 7 to a degree that could allow malicious websites to infect a computer. Embarrassingly, the vendor had to fix another hole related to the Active Template Library flaw.

Bulletin MS09-71 reports that two holes were found in Microsoft's Internet Authentication Service (IAS). The problem doesn't only affect servers, as the client-side code for establishing connections that are authenticated via MS-CHAP2 also appears to be affected. However, Microsoft points out that Windows itself doesn't use this code on clients – or at least it doesn't use it in a way that makes the hole exploitable. Apparently only third-party software exposes the hole.

MS09-074 is the third critical bulletin and describes a hole in Microsoft Office Project that can be exploited via specially crafted project files. A web page can apparently be set up in such a way that simply visiting it is enough to make the vulnerable Office application open the file.

This doesn't seem to be the case in the specially crafted Word 97 documents that exploit a security hole in the text converter of Wordpad and Office. As a result, the hole described in MS09-73 was not given the highest threat rating, although potentially it also allows attackers to gain full control of a Windows PC.

The two Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) holes discussed in MS09-70 only affect (web) servers. Finally, MS09-69 describes a flaw that potentially allows attackers to cripple the LSASS service of a Windows server system via IPSec.

Resources: http://www.h-online.com/security/news/item/Microsoft-patch-day-includes-patches-for-Windows-7-880525.html

Microsoft introduces ‘browser shuffle’ ballot in Windows 7

2009-12-08T17:38:00.003+05:30

Microsoft will revise its ‘browser ballot’ Web browser installation routine for European editions of Windows 7 and present the top five browsers in a random order.

The beleaguered EU edition of Windows 7 has taken another twist, with Microsoft agreeing to randomise the list of the most popular browsers during the operating system’s setup.

The previous plan, hatched earlier this year, arrayed the five leading browsers according to alphabetic order of the vendor or parent company.

This saw Apple’s Safari in pole position followed by Google’s Chrome, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Mozilla’s Firefox and Opera’s Opera.

The intent was to ensure that Internet Explorer didn’t gain any unfair advantage when customers were prompted to choose their default Web browser.

But the execution of this ‘browser ballot’ rankled Mozilla, with Firefox designer Jenny Boriss claiming the proposed ordering of browsers “is about the worst option possible, both for user choice and the Web as a whole. Windows users presented with the current design will tend to make only two choices: IE because they are familiar with it, or Safari because it is the first item.”

One of her suggested alternatives was to randomise the browser orders for each Windows installation, which according to Bloomberg is the path Microsoft has now adopted.

“Under the modified settlement, computer users with Windows will see a ballot screen that randomly lists the top five Web browsers that compete with Internet Explorer” Bloomberg’s Matthew Newman writes. “Users would then click on a browser’s icon and the program would be downloaded from the Internet.”

If you are using windows 7 and your data have been corrupted then you can use windows 7 data recovery software and recover your data in the effective manner.

Resources: http://apcmag.com/microsoft-introduces-browser-shuffle-ballot-in-windows-7.htm

The best of Windows 7's new interface features

2009-12-05T15:18:00.002+05:30

Do you need Windows 7? If you're happy with your current PC—whether it runs Vista, XP, or some other operating system—probably not. But if you're in the market for a new system, there's a lot to like about Windows 7, particularly in the look-and-feel department.

You can read all about Win7's new features on Microsoft's official Windows 7 site. But some of my favorites are the subtle interface tweaks that can be easy to miss.

Starting with the basics

I like to keep the Windows desktop free of icons, so the first change I make to any new Windows setup is to right-click the desktop, choose View, and uncheck Show Desktop Icons. Windows 7 gives me a reason to keep those icons in view. Move your mouse to the far right end of Windows 7's taskbar to "Peek" through all open windows to the desktop.

Windows 7 also lets you "Shake" a window to hide all other open windows and shake it again to get them back. Or "Snap" a window to the top, bottom, left, or right side of the screen to fill that portion of the screen, which is great for comparing files or folders.

The Notification area gets a facelift in Windows 7. To open the new-look Notification Area Icon Control Panel applet, right-click the Start button, choose Properties > Notification Area > Customize. The options to hide icons, always show them, or show only notifications are the same as in Vista, but the interface is slicked up a bit.

The Notification Area Icons options have a new look in Windows 7.

(Credit: Microsoft)

A new icon in Windows 7's Notification area is the Action Center, which centralizes all pending system alerts. Hovering over the Action Center's flag icon displays the number of messages in the queue. The How-To Geek explains how to customize Action Center messages and also provides instructions for disabling the feature.

Jump to a recent file or open window

Previous versions of Windows have offered ways to return to files, folders, and applications that were opened recently. Two new methods in Windows 7 are Jump Lists, which appear when you right-click a taskbar icon, and Aero Peek, which previews files when you over their taskbar thumbnails.

A new look for some old favorites

I've been using Paint and WordPad for so long the programs—both of which have been baked into Windows for years—feel like old friends. I was delighted to see that the versions of these apps in Windows 7 sport ribbons similar to those in Office 2007 programs. Of course, not everyone likes the ribbon interface, but I think it's easier to access the items I use most.

Frankly, I'm just glad Microsoft hasn't remove these Windows stalwarts the way it jettisoned Windows Mail, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, and other formerly-built-in components to create the separate Windows Live Essentials.

Getting a feel for the Windows 7 interface

Perhaps the most impressive interface tweak in Windows 7 is apparent only to touchscreen users. Any iPhone user will appreciate the ability to control screen elements by using your fingertips to drag and tap elements on the display. CNET Senior Associate Editor Seth Rosenblatt gives a video demo of Win7's touch features.

But touch will be a novelty until significant numbers of PCs with touchscreens arrive. As Ina Fried explains in her Beyond Binary blog, consumers have balked at the added price of touch-enabled systems. However, as the price of touchscreens drops and software arrives that takes advantage of the feature, you may find yourself spending less time clutching your mouse.

Resources: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13880_3-10409186-68.html

Windows 7 Starter includes hidden wireless feature

2009-12-04T11:35:00.002+05:30

Microsoft may have buried a wireless networking feature in Windows 7 Starter, the edition installed on most netbooks, but it did not actually disable the ad hoc wireless feature, as the firm's marketing materials claim, a noted Windows blogger said today.

Ad hoc wireless networking, which lets several Windows computers share a single connection, was one of several networking features Microsoft claims are not available in Windows 7 Starter. Those features, which include ad hoc networking, Internet connection sharing and network bridging, are present in the more expensive, tools-laden editions, such as Home Premium and Professional.

But according to Rafael Rivera, ad hoc networking is present in Starter, albeit hidden.

"On Windows 7 Starter Edition, the 'Set up a wireless ad hoc network' link in the [Set Up a Connection or Network] dialog is missing," said Rivera in an entry on his Within Windows blog yesterday.

Rivera, who regularly roots out under-the-cover facts about Microsoft and Windows, most recently made news when he took Microsoft to task for lifting code from an open-source project for the company's Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool (WUDT). After Rivera disclosed the code appropriation, Microsoft yanked WUDT and then later announced it would re-release the tool as open-source. Last week, however, it postponed the re-release, saying it needed more time to test the revamped WDUT.

In an interview conducted via instant messaging today, Rivera confirmed that ad hoc networking is part of Windows 7 Starter.

"You're licensed to use ad hoc networking ... you're [just] not licensed to use the shortcut in this dialog [in Windows 7 Home Premium]," Rivera wrote in this blog. "To access the wizard that this link normally points to, simply Start Menu search for 'adhoc'."

By searching for "adhoc" in Starter, then launching the executable, netbook users can create an on-the-fly connection for sharing an Internet connection.

Rivera expects that Microsoft will close the loophole in a future update, hotfix or service pack. "I believe it's safe to assume this is an unintentional screw up. Enjoy it while you can, netbook cheapos," he said.

This is not the first time that a hidden networking feature of Windows 7 has been revealed. In October, a Philadelphia developer found an unfinished feature of Windows 7 that turns any laptop into a wireless access point, allowing other Wi-Fi-enabled devices to share the connection without special software. The "Virtual Wi-Fi" feature in Windows 7, which Microsoft at one point touted, was only half-finished, said Alex Gizis, CEO of Nomadio, whose programmers dug up the hotspot-making code.

Virtual Wi-Fi is similar to, but more flexible, than ad hoc networking.

Microsoft did not immediately reply to questions about ad hoc networking in Windows 7 Starter, including whether it will, as Rivera speculated, issue a patch that will completely disable the feature.

Resources: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9141750/Windows_7_Starter_includes_hidden_wireless_feature_says_sleuth?taxonomyId=1

Migrating to Windows 7 without Microsoft's help

2009-12-02T17:19:00.002+05:30

Although there is no direct upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7, that doesn't mean there is a shortage of tools on Microsoft's part to help you migrate. But -- perhaps due to the abundance of Microsoft's tools combined with the complexity of using each tool (or learning how to use the tools in the correct order) -- some IT pros have decided to seek alternatives. And there are plenty to consider.

Note: If you aren't aware of the bevy of migration help from Microsoft, check out my article "Ready for Windows 7? Here's how to deploy it right," which covers tools like the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit (MAP 4.0) and the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT 5.5); the latter includes tools such as the Standard User Analyzer (SUA), the User State Migration Toolkit (USMT 4.0), the Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) for Windows 7, and the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT 2010).

[ Read J. Peter Bruzzese's analysis "Is Windows 7 really worth the investment?" | Keep up with the latest trends in Windows with InfoWorld's Windows Pulse monitoring service. ]

So what can you do to make this migration smoother for yourself (the decision maker) and your users? There are a handful of important factors to consider, including the following:

Can your existing hardware support Windows 7, or will you be moving to a new system completely?
How to handle the personality move (desktop background, personal files saved locally, settings) of the desktops?
What is the application support (or lack thereof) between XP and Windows 7?

I'm not endorsing one option over another here, as this isn't a side-by-side product comparison. These are just a few tools and solutions that are worth investigating, and by no means an exhaustive list. With those caveats, here are non-Microsoft tools to consider in your Windows 7 migration that may be easier than Microsoft's options.

Resources: http://www.infoworld.com/d/windows/migrating-windows-7-without-microsofts-help-544

How to select the Windows 7 version that's best for you

2009-11-30T17:02:00.004+05:30

If you haven't got your hands on Microsoft's latest OS, Windows 7, already, you're probably very close to heading down to your local retailer to pick up a copy. But before you do, you really need to decide whether you'll opt for the 32 or 64bit version.

You might want to get the 64bit version so you can load up on RAM or just to get a jump on the future of home computing. But software and hardware designers are still catching up, so even with your beefy hardware and shiny new operating system, you might end up having a 32bit computing experience anyway.

64bit vs 32bit

The difference between 32 and 64bit systems basically comes down to this: 64bit systems can handle more RAM and more data. That's basically it.

Both versions of Windows look the same, it's just a matter of how much data these systems can handle at once.

A 64bit system can handle more than 4GB of memory (the maximum for 32bit), and can also process more pieces of data at once. For the average consumer, the most significant advantage this translates into is better graphics, since a 64bit system can process more visual detail than a 32bit machine can.

The 32bit problem

Even though 64-bit Windows systems were first introduced with Windows XP and then given a real push under Windows Vista, parts of the computing world are still coming to grips with the 64bit reality.

During the Vista years, most Windows users were still using the 32bit version of XP, so software designers remained focused on these customers and did not pay much attention to what was possible with 64bit Vista systems.

One example is Real Player, which only recently came out with a 64bit compatible version - Real Player SP 1.

Although you may have a tough time finding some applications primed for 64bit systems, it should be rare to come across software that simply won't work with the more powerful version of Windows.

As a general rule, 32bit versions of software will work on a 64bit system. But that kind of defeats the purpose of upgrading, doesn't it?

If you're not sure whether your favourite software will work on a 64bit system, find out at Microsoft's Windows 7 Compatibility Center.

It's a 32bit web

The most obvious example of a 64bit Windows user living in a 32bit world is online.

Windows users can get a 64bit version of Internet Explorer, but if you use other popular browsers like Chrome, Firefox or Opera, then you're going to have to go 32bit.

In fact, if you're a dedicated Firefox user, you may want to think twice before making the 64bit switch.

Although Firefox is supposed to work on a 64bit system, some Firefox users say the have had to resort to Windows 7's XP mode just to get Firefox to open, while others could only run the browser in Windows 7 if they were logged in as an administrator, according to this recent forum post.

But even if you're an IE fan and want to use the browser's 64-bit flavour, there's one major problem: Adobe Flash - the browser plug-in responsible for most online video and animation - doesn't have a 64-bit version for Windows.

Since Adobe Flash is present on almost every site you visit on a daily basis, using a 64bit browser means you'd be dealing with severely crippled if not unusable internet access.

The alternative is to use the 32bit version instead, and wait for Adobe to come out with its 64bit plug-in. But you might be waiting for a long while, since Adobe has only one version of 64bit Flash in development at the moment, and it's for Linux.

However, Adobe recently said it is committed to bringing 64bit versions of Flash to both Windows and Mac operating systems.

Despite these promises, some users aren't too impressed with living in a 32bit world.

One recent 64bit adoptee recently told me: "[The fact] that my 64bit Internet Explorer doesn't work 100 percent is pathetic. I do understand it's an issue with Adobe Flash, but if I wanted to use a crippled browser I'll use my iPhone".

If you're the anti-Flash type anyway, check out the work this group of developers is doing to build a 64bit version of Firefox.

32bit devices

In addition to software, you may find that some of your peripheral devices no longer work with a 64bit system.

If, for example, you're using an XP-era printer or scanner, it's a pretty safe bet that your device will not be 64bit compatible. Check out your device manufacturer's support pages to see if the company offers a 6-bit device driver.

If it doesn't, you'll finally have to shell out for that new printer you've had your eye on.

The 64bit question

Things might be a little rough for 64bit Windows users right now, but you shouldn't be left out in the cold forever. Bit-by-bit (pun intended), the rest of the computing world is moving to 64-bit systems.

Apple's Mac lineup is already there, and Linux is also forging ahead with 64bit architecture. As more people move towards the 64bit version of Windows, holdouts in the software world will also start making the switch. But unfortunately for you early adopters, we're not there yet.

Resources: http://www.itbusiness.ca/it/client/en/home/News.asp?id=55553

Windows 7 Global Marketshare Surpasses MacOSX

2009-11-27T09:32:00.002+05:30

According to a report released by the Internet metrics research firm Net Applications, the new Windows 7 OS has crossed the 5 percent mark in market share, beating the Mac OS X by a slight 0.14 percent last weekend.

It was found that approximately 5 percent computers logged on to the net on Saturday were running on Windows 7 and the figure was 5.14 percent on Sunday when it crossed Apple’s Mac OS X. Interestingly Windows 7 was just launched on October 22nd 2009 and it has, in its very first month of sale, already taken over a significant market share

Experts believe that the reason for the increase is the overall market share of Microsoft which today stands at a massive 92.5 percent. Also they are of the opinion that Microsoft concentrates on the sale of the software, as it is not involved in making PCs. On the other hand, Apple focuses on the sale of Mac computers which incidentally have Mac OS X, as the operating system, onboard.

The current holiday season is expected to see an exciting contest between the two much vaunted operating systems with each vendor looking to increase its share and both Apple and Microsoft are pulling up their socks to market their products.

Our Comments
It is interesting to see that Net Applications actually lumps together the various versions of Windows 7 OS into one. Windows 7 RC1 still accounts for some significant figures given the fact that it has been launched well before the final version of Windows was released to market.

Resources: http://www.itproportal.com/www/news/article/2009/11/26/windows-7-global-marketshare-surpasses-macosx/

Windows 7 S'pore sales Microsoft's fastest-ever

2009-11-25T17:49:00.001+05:30

Windows 7 is the fastest-selling operating system (OS) in Microsoft's history here in Singapore, according to a company executive.

Haresh Khoobchandani, senior director, business and marketing organization, Microsoft Singapore said Windows 7 has in the first 30 days since its launch, already outsold more copies than predecessors Vista and XP reached in their first 90 days.

"This is indicative of the strong momentum and positive buzz that we're witnessing in the consumer space right now," he told ZDNet Asia during an interview.

This consumer momentum is creating a "spillover effect" in enterprise demand as well, he noted.

Last Thursday under its Microsoft New Efficiencies marketing drive, the software giant launched a bundled suite of products--Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Exchange Server 2010--aimed at enterprises. Local organizations such as National Healthcare Group (NHG), Trusted Source--the IT services arm of Temasek Holdings--and Starhub said during the launch event that they are in the process of testing Windows 7 for compatibility with their respective IT infrastructures and applications.

Khoobchandani said: "The standardization of platform as well as software...will lead to reduced costs, easier tool management and simplifying training process for businesses."

Ong Leong Seng, director, enterprise architecture development center of the Integrated Health Information Systems (IHIS), NHG's IT arm, said the healthcare institution is looking to replace its Windows XP platform as the older OS comes to its end-of-life.

"At the enterprise level, we made a conscious decision to skip Vista. My team and I have been actively following and doing a fair bit of testing [since] Windows 7 was in its beta stage," said Ong. "Between April and May this year, we identified a set of 20 key clinical applications that most of our staff use, to conduct compatibility tests with Windows 7."

Ong is also looking at some of Windows 7's newer features to help further develop some of the Group's upcoming applications, such as "multi-touch capabilities" and exploring "gesture-based input" to improve the overall performance and efficiency of its healthcare services.

NHG also hopes to achieve better power management and energy efficiency through the combination of Windows 7 and Windows Server on the backend for their COWs (Computer On Wheels) initiative, which provides mobile workstations to push on-demand diagnoses and test results to doctors and nurses.

"Windows 7 provides us with a better platform to develop and implement the next generation applications that are visually more appealing and can leverage on newer technologies such as multi-touch. It is faster, more stable and has a less confusing user interface, enabling [us] to take full advantage of the latest PC capabilities," Ong had said in a previous statement.

Ong revealed that the organization relies largely on backend servers running Windows, with many of its applications built on the .NET framework. "We are looking at achieving better power efficiencies and new capabilities in virtualization," he said.

The IT head added that in future, IHIS will be looking at creating applications reducing the amount of paper used, involving efforts such as electronic clinical documentation, as well as a unified communications deployment for its staff to better interact with the current IT systems.

Resources: http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/software/0,39044164,62059587,00.htm

For Netbooks, Windows 7 and Chrome Make a Perfect Match

2009-11-24T17:51:00.001+05:30

Windows 7 plus Google’s Chrome browser is an excellent netbook combination.

The two together make pretty good use of a netbook’s most limited resources: screen size and processor power. The result is a surprisingly pleasant combination for browsing, working in GMail and Google Docs, and other lightweight tasks.

In other words, Google might be onto something with its plans to make a Chrome-based operating system for netbooks.

Over the weekend, I finally got around to upgrading the computers at home to Windows 7. As part of the chore, I also switched my MSI Wind hackintosh to Windows 7. It had been functioning primarily as the kids’ computer, although use it for work in a pinch — for example, I used it when I was covering the Google Chrome OS press conference in Mountain View last week — and occasionally for checking e-mail at home. Running OS X on the Wind was a way of making it easier for the children to use, but it had persistent drawbacks: For instance, the trackpad didn’t always behave as expected, and the screen was sometimes squashed into the left two-thirds of the display, leaving a big black bar along the right side that only disappeared after rebooting.

That’s not a criticism of OS X. After all, it’s not made to run on a netbook, and by forcing it to do so, you have to be willing to accept the tradeoffs and bugginess that come with any hack. And, while I like working with OS X, one of its chief advantages to me is the seamless way it works. In short, working with a hacked version of OS X on nonstandard hardware takes away most of the operating system’s advantages.

In that light, it’s clear that Microsoft has a far more challenging job in building operating systems, because it has to make Windows work acceptably well with a wide range of computers, processors and accessories. It’s a credit to the Redmond company that Windows 7 works as well as it does on a netbook, and while it hasn’t entirely eliminated Vista’s annoyances (such as confirmation dialogs and an overly-aggressive automatic update system that sometimes reboots the computer, unpredictably, while I’m in the middle of doing something), it goes a long way towards making Windows more “transparent.” For the most part, it just works, and doesn’t get in the way, while I concentrate on my work.

Adding Google’s Chrome browser to Windows 7 complete the picture for the netbook user. That’s because Chrome is lightweight and fast, rendering pages (especially JavaScript-heavy ones, like Gmail) especially quickly. And because of the compact way it presents the address bar, tabs and toolbar — especially if you’re using the “Minimalist” theme — more of the screen is available to display web pages — no small consideration when you’re working with a tiny 9- or 10-inch LCD.

Windows 7 may not be as speedy as a stripped-down Linux distro, but on the other hand it is familiar, runs well enough, and appears to support every component on the MSI Wind without trouble. By deep-sixing Internet Explorer and replacing it with Chrome, it becomes the best netbook option I know of.

Resources: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/11/windows-7-chrome/

Microsoft Countering Google Chrome OS Release with Windows 7

2009-11-21T09:51:00.002+05:30

Microsoft issued an official response to news of Google releasing its Chrome Operating System to open source for developers. Although the Chrome OS will not be available to end users for at least another year, Microsoft is already citing Windows 7 as a more viable alternative for working on both the Web and the desktop. The initial target of the Chrome OS will be netbooks, whose always-on data connection will allow the browser-based operating system to launch and run its applications from the cloud.

Google's Chrome Operating System may not be available to end-users until late 2010, but Microsoft has a response to its rival’s release of the OS to open source for developers on Nov. 20.

The Chrome OS is browser-based, and will run on netbooks as a Web-centric alternative to traditional desktop-based operating systems built by companies such as Microsoft and Apple. Users’ applications and data will be stored in the cloud and accessible through Google Chrome Web browser, which will run in conjunction with Chrome OS.

Google already has another operating system, Android, that primarily operates on smartphones such as the Motorola Droid and the HTC Droid Eris.

"From what was shared, [Google Chrome] appears to be in the early stages of development," a Microsoft spokesperson told after the Google presentation. "From our perspective, however, our customers are already voicing their approval of the way Windows 7 just works—across the Web and on the desktop, and on all sizes and types of PCs."

The spokesperson also echoed a line originally delivered by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer during Microsoft’s Nov. 19 Annual Shareholder Meeting, suggesting that Windows 7 had sold "twice as many units" of both boxed and pre-installed software as any other Windows operating system over a comparable period of time.

During that meeting, Ballmer declined to give exact sales numbers other than to describe them as "fantastic." He also suggested that Windows 7 would give Microsoft the opportunity to make in-roads with a younger demographic of users, such as college students, who are ostensibly enamored with Apple.

In the short time, Microsoft has reason to hope that the release of Windows 7 will allow it to maintain primacy in the operating-system market. Statistics-analysis firm Net Applications estimated in a recent report that Windows 7 occupied more than 4 percent of that market by Nov. 9, outpacing Vista; another research note from NPD Group suggested that U.S. sales of Windows 7 boxed software were 234 percent higher than sales of Vista during comparable time periods.

It remains to be seen, however, how the rising prevalence of cloud computing and browser-based operating systems such as Chrome OS could potentially affect the complexion of the OS market in the medium- to long-term. Chrome OS allows users to access applications such as Google Gmail, Calendar and other programs through a series of tabs, but will apparently not support traditional desktop applications—something that could potentially retard its spread among business users who rely on such applications.

Resources: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Windows/Microsoft-Countering-Google-Chrome-OS-Release-with-Windows-7-523107/

Free Windows 7 Custom Acer Aspire 1420P from Microsoft for PDC Participants

2009-11-20T10:27:00.002+05:30

The Acer Aspire 1420P, featured in the images accompanying this article, is a custom PC built by Microsoft in collaboration with Acer and offered for free to full-conference attendees who are onsite at the Professional Developer Conference 2009, in Los Angeles. It was Windows and Windows Live Division President Steven Sinofsky that announced PDC2009 participants that they would be getting the free machine during his keynote in day two of the conference. The Acer Aspire 1420P Convertible Tablet PC is offered as a sign of the Redmond company’s gratitude for the support from PDC attendees in building Windows 7.

“This laptop promotion is the result of a collaborative effort with Acer, whom we worked closely with to have these laptops ready for PDC. This PC is not yet available in the US (Acer has not yet announced pricing and availability for this PC) so that makes this “PDC Edition” of the laptop exclusive to PDC attendees,” revealed Brandon LeBlanc, Windows Communications manager on the Windows Client Communications Team.

The Aspire 1420P PDC Edition features the 64-bit (x64) flavor of Windows 7 Ultimate preinstalled and is powered by an Intel Celeron CPU SU2300 running at 1.2GHz. The computer comes equipped with 2GB RAM, an Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 4500MHD, a 250GB HDD, and sports an 11.6” Widescreen capable of a resolution of 1366x768.

“The laptop features a unique design with a metallic textured design just above the keyboard and a metal hinge for converting the laptop into Tablet mode. Its design is essentially a small laptop with Tablet PC features. (…) This laptop features a CTRL+ALT+DEL button and a Flip 3D button. Also, the Aspire 1420P uses the Windows 7 Sensor and Location Platform to adjust the screen depending on which way you hold the PC (in Tablet mode). For example: if you’re holding it a landscape position, the screen will display in landscape for you. Vice versa if you hold it in a portrait position,” LeBlanc added.

Resources: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Free-Windows-7-Custom-Acer-Aspire-1420P-from-Microsoft-for-PDC-Participants-127469.shtml

Over 2,000 Indian firms adopt Windows 7

2009-11-19T09:56:00.001+05:30

Microsoft had set a target of having Windows 7 installed on over 100 PC models.

In less than a month since its launch on October 22, over 2,000 Indian companies are in the process of installing Microsoft’s latest operating system (OS), Windows 7. The companies include major IT companies like Infosys, Wipro, NIIT, car companies like Maruti and even the Bangalore airport, and Manipal University, besides many small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), according to Steven Guggenheimer, Microsoft’s corporate vice-president, OEM.

“We also see a reasonable amount of Windows XP (which has been around for eight years) on machines. We expect the natural refresh cycle over the next 12-24 months,” says Guggenheimer. Microsoft has tied up with 17 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in India. During the launch, the company had set a target of having Windows 7 installed on over 100 personal computer (PC) models.

All major PC manufacturers in the country, including HP, HCL, Acer and Dell, among others, have come forward to offer the new OS with their range of desktops and laptops. “We have reached around 80 PC models. The target is well within our reach,” he asserts.

Windows 7 has five versions priced between Rs 5,800 and Rs 11,000. The starter edition is cheaper but is not available on shelves (only through OEMs). And the Windows 7 versions are 25-35 per cent cheaper than comparable versions of Windows Vista.

So, what did Microsoft do right with Windows 7 that it did “wrong” with Vista? “Vista was good for security. And while its acceptance was not as good as XP, users forget that it had a very good core model. Windows 7 has been built on that framework, hence it’s so robust. As for Vista, we did have compatibility issues. Besides, there was probably too much hype versus the delivery on our part. This also explains our low-key launch of Windows 7,” says Guggenheimer.

Windows 7, he adds, “has undergone a lot of work which explains its success”. For instance, there were 8 million data testers for the OS, and Microsoft conducted around 16,000 interviews from around 100 cities. “We also worked very hard with our partners to set things right, and ensure that the user experience is complete,” explains Guggenheimer.

So, what was the feedback? First, he says, was the fact that the partners wanted the PC to have good security, and boot quickly. They also wanted the navigation to be easy. “This explains why Windows 7 has easy navigation from a corporate network to a home network. Currently, you have to use a virtual private network or VPN which is expensive. With Windows 7, you can use our ‘tunneling’ technology with lowers costs,” says Guggenheimer.

Microsoft also received feedback from its partners that the “battery life should be extended since notebooks sell more than desktops”. Mobility is the key, hence battery life is important, acknowledges Guggenheimer. “We worked with our partners who now say that the battery life with Windows 7 can extend from 6-12 hours,” he says.

On the media entertainment front, Windows 7 makes watching videos and internet TV easily accessible. “With our premium version, you can pretty much do what our mediacentre PCs did — sharing media, watching videos and effectively making a TV on your PC,” says Guggenheimer.

Windows 7, says the company, is also picking up in the retail market, which accounts for around 10 per cent of all sales. But Guggenheimer does not give any numbers. “All I can say is the experience is too exciting,” he says, adding: “We have received a lot of positive consumer and partner feedback globally.”

Meanwhile, to accelerate its sales, Microsoft is offering its customers who have existing enterprise ‘Volume Licensing’ agreements to access Windows 7 from the second half of August 2009. Microsoft does not charge for the licence. The Software Assurance (SA) offer is an offer for an upgrade license to Windows 7 Professional purchased through Volume Licensing.

For customers who do not have this agreement, Microsoft is providing them an option to upgrade to Windows 7, through a limited time customer promotion of 15 per cent off the price of the Windows 7 Professional upgrade price. The offer is available until end of December 2009. Any PC with a qualifying operating system such as Windows Vista Business or Windows XP Professional is eligible, regardless of when it was purchased. However, it requires a minimum purchase of 50 licenses of Windows 7 upgrade versions. Besides, there is a Windows 7 Enterprise 90-Day trial version.

Resources: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/over-2000-indian-firms-adopt-windows-7/376953/

Migrating to Windows 7: Final Touches

2009-11-18T18:03:00.003+05:30

For the past month or so, I've been leisurely migrating to Windows 7--at my own pace. If you've been following along, thus far we've partitioned the hard drive and installed Windows 7 on a new partition, and then used a couple free programs to install favorite apps and copy over Firefox bookmarks. This week I'll show you how to finish up the process by migrating your Apple iTunes library and copying over your data.

Move Your iTunes Library

Copying over your iTunes library is a drag-and-drop procedure, though it may take some time.

Start by making sure you're running the latest version of iTunes in your original version of Windows (XP or Vista). Then boot to Windows 7 and install that same version of iTunes. Any mixing of old and new iTunes library files could lead to unpleasant results.

While still in Windows 7, exit iTunes, then click the Windows Explorer icon in your taskbar. (Wasn't it nice of Microsoft to finally make Windows Explorer readily accessible?)

Browse into the Computer section; find your original Windows XP/Vista partition (on my system it was Drive D:, even though it appears as Drive C: when I boot to that partition); then navigate into the Users, Your Username, My Music, iTunes folder.

You should see various iTunes Library files and subfolders. Now, find the corresponding iTunes folder in your Windows 7 partition--but don't open it. Instead, select all the files and folders from within the original partition's iTunes folder, then drag them to the new partition's iTunes folder.

Depending on how much music, video, apps, and the like you have, the copy process could take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour or more.

Along the way, Windows will likely notify you of a few duplicate files. Make sure to select the Copy and Replace option, as you want to overwrite the newer (and mostly empty) iTunes files with the ones from your original installation.

Once Windows has finished copying everything, start iTunes. Everything should be exactly as it was in your older OS. One cool exception: When you mouse over the iTunes icon in the Windows 7 taskbar, you'll see Play/Pause and Skip controls you can use for music playback without needing to maximize the program.

Copy Important Data

It's time to start wrapping up the process, installing any programs that didn't get installed earlier, copying over data files, and setting up peripherals like printers. In other words, the time has come to start living under Windows 7's roof, returning to XP or Vista only when necessary. Before you turn off the lights and lock the door, however, make a list of the programs you still need to install and the data you need to copy. Allow me to help with the latter.

Here's a list of common data you'll want to make sure you don't leave behind:

Everything in your My Documents folder, and in any other folders you use to store Word files, spreadsheets, presentations, and the like.

If you don't use iTunes, or you keep your MP3s in a folder other than My Music, make sure to copy them over.

Most folks store them in the My Pictures folder, so all you have to do is copy the contents to the eponymous folder in Windows 7. Same goes for...

Most folks store them in the My Videos folder, so copy the contents to that same folder in Windows 7.

If you use Intuit Quicken or Microsoft Money, your best bet is probably to use either program's built-in backup option, saving the backup file(s) to an easy-to-find spot on your Windows 7 partition (the Documents folder, for example), then run the program in Windows 7 and restore the backup.

If you use Gmail, Yahoo, or another Web-based e-mail service, you're golden. Just sign into your accounts as usual using your browser. However, things are a lot trickier if you hang your e-mail hat in Mozilla Thunderbird or Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, or Windows Live Mail. Because I can't cover the migration steps for all those programs here, I advise you do do a little Google searching and find the instructions you need. They're out there.

As I've noted before, the beauty of this slow migration is that if you forget something, no problem: You can copy it over as needed.

At some point, perhaps after a month or so, you can make this move more permanent by shrinking the partition for the old OS and enlarging the one with Windows 7. I'll cover that at a later time.

Resources: https://www.myemploywise.com/asperm/ervlet/ggs.erm.servlet.setup3.LoginS?customer_code=sisl

Microsoft Warns On Windows 7 Zero Day

2009-11-17T17:59:00.003+05:30

Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT) has released an advisory for a zero day bug that cropped up in Windows 7 the day after last week's November Patch Tuesday release.

The vulnerability lies in the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol, which is used for file and printer sharing, and can reportedly be used by attackers to remotely crash any Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 system.

In the advisory, Microsoft says the vulnerability can't be used to take control of affected PCs or to install malware, which limits its potential impact. However, Microsoft also acknowledges that detailed exploit code has already been published for the vulnerability.

"Microsoft is not currently aware of active attacks that use this exploit code or of customer impact at this time," according to the advisory.

Microsoft is "actively monitoring" the vulnerability with the help of partners in its Microsoft Active Protections Program (MAPP), and may decide to fix the issue in next month's Patch Tuesday update or through a rare out-of-band patch, the company said in the advisory.
In the advisory, Microsoft also chides unnamed parties for not following the principles of responsible disclosure. Last week, security researcher Laurent Gaffie published a proof of concept for the flaw on the Full Disclosure mailing list.

"We believe the commonly accepted practice of reporting vulnerabilities directly to a vendor serves everyone's best interests," according to the advisory. "This practice helps to ensure that customers receive comprehensive, high-quality updates for security vulnerabilities without exposure to malicious attackers while the update is being developed."

Last week, Microsoft's MS09-065 bulletin addressed a vulnerability in the Windows kernel pertaining to the processing of Embedded OpenType fonts. This serious remote code execution vulnerability, which attackers could exploit by setting up a maliciously crafted Web site, was exacerbated by the fact that the party that reported it to Microsoft also disclosed it to the public.

Resources:http://www.crn.com/security/221800251;jsessionid=DQWEYFOHWM3WBQE1GHRSKH4ATMY32JVN

Microsoft: Windows 7 tool used GPL code

2009-11-16T17:24:00.002+05:30

Microsoft said Friday that its inquiry confirms a tool aimed to make it easier to load Windows 7 on a netbook does in fact contain open source code.

"After looking at the code in question, we are now able to confirm this was indeed the case, although it was not intentional on our part," Microsoft's Peter Galli said in a blog posting. "While we had contracted with a third party to create the tool, we share responsibility as we did not catch it as part of our code review process. We have furthermore conducted a review of other code provided through the Microsoft Store and this was the only incident of this sort we could find.

As a result, Microsoft said it will make available next week the source code for the tool as well as the binaries under the terms of the General Public License (GPL v2). Microsoft will also make the tool again available to customers at the Microsoft store.

Microsoft had pulled the software utility down earlier this week after blogger Rafael Rivera noted in a posting that the tool appeared to use code from the open source ImageMaster project. (Of note, that project is now no longer available on CodePlex, where it had been posted).

Though somewhat arcane, the Windows USB/DVD Tool was Microsoft's answer to a tough problem--upgrading the operating system on netbooks and other PCs without an optical drive.

Microsoft had been exploring for months different ways to handle the issue, eventually settling on this software program, released last month, which lets users take a downloadable copy of the operating system and create a bootable drive.

Releasing software under an open-source license is not entirely new to Microsoft, although Microsoft typically doesn't do so under the GPL, which it sees as one of the more restrictive of the open-source licenses.

The software maker did release a few Linux drivers under GPLv2, although it may have had its hand forced there as well. Some have suggested the drivers contained GPL code, meaning that they necessarily would have had to be released back under the same GPL license.

Resources: http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/software/0,39044164,62059344,00.htm

Microsoft Shrugs Of Suggestions That Windows 7 Is Modelled On Mac

2009-11-13T16:42:00.000+05:30

Microsoft Corp. has moved promptly to reject the remarks made by one of its executives that Microsoft’s latest OS avatar Windows 7 user interface was modelled on Apple Mac OS.

The software giant rushed in to respond to the comment of one of its employees who asserted that the company attempted to “create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics” in its Windows 7 OS similar to that of Apple’s Mac OS.

Incidentally, in an interview published on the website PCR on 11th of November, Microsoft’s partner group manager Simon Aldous created the unrest in the company’s camp when he asserted that a number of users believe the Mac OS is ‘fantastic..........and very graphical to use’.

He was further reported as saying, “What we’ve tried to do with Windows 7 – whether it’s traditional format or in a touch format – is to create a Mac look and feel in terms of graphics”.

This controversial comment from Aldous made Microsoft’s Brandon LeBlanc, who runs the Windows’ official blog, to come forward to repudiate the circulating report that Windows 7 is anywhere inspired by Mac OS, and marked his colleague’s comments as “inaccurate and uninformed”.

Lambasting Aldous’ comments, LeBlanc wrote: “Unfortunately, this came from a Microsoft employee who was not involved in any aspect of designing Windows 7. I hate to say this about one of our own, but his comments were inaccurate and uninformed.”

Resources: http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2009/11/13/microsoft-shrugs-suggestions-windows-7-modelled-mac/

Windows 7 may be secure, but are Windows users safe?

2009-11-11T17:49:00.001+05:30

Windows 7 users got a nice surprise on Tuesday when Microsoft released its first set of security patches since unveiling the new operating system last month. Of the 15 bugs patched, none affected Windows 7.

When Microsoft launched Windows 7, it was billed as the company's most secure release ever -- the culmination of a nine-year "Trustworthy Computing" effort to shore up a product line that had been riddled with major security holes.

But does stress-tested software really matter to Microsoft's customers, seemingly besieged by more online attacks than ever before? Microsoft had years to improve Windows XP, but the Conficker worm, which began spreading last year, is now thought to have infected more than 7 million Windows machines. And for every Windows bug that gets squashed, hackers seem to find new problems in the software that runs on top of Microsoft's operating system -- Flash Player, QuickTime and Java.

"Windows 7 is definitely by far the most secure system they've shipped," said Dave Aitel, chief technology officer with Immunity, a security company that spends a lot of time finding the latest software bugs. "I guess the question that everybody is asking right now is, 'Is this enough?'"

The man behind Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing initiative, Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie, says the industry still has work to do. “We’ve made huge progress with respect to security around the core OS technology in the Windows PC," he said in a recent interview. "But as we did that and the 'Net became more prevalent, the bad guys continued to evolve their attacks."

This is Microsoft's conundrum. Windows may be safer, but cyber-criminals still have plenty of other places to attack. And when you can hit hundreds of millions of users with a single attack, why change the game plan? So most of the worst attacks today still target PCs running Windows, whether the OS itself is secure or not.

Take spear-phishing. Attackers are getting so good at sending these highly customized e-mail messages, complete with malicious attachments, that the underlying security of Windows is almost irrelevant.

"The problem with the targeted attacks is that there's so much money that they can actually trump the security," said Alan Paller, director of research for the SANS Institute, a security training company. "The amount of money that governments and large industrial crime groups have to spend is enough to trump any of the defenses we have."

In a report released last month for a congressional advisory panel, Northrop Grumman analysts detailed exactly how this happens. Looking at known attacks, the report found that targets are carefully selected, and then sent very believable e-mails with maliciously encoded attachments that exploit bugs in a product such as Adobe Reader -- something that's outside of Microsoft's control. The victim opens the .pdf and suddenly attackers have a foothold on the network.

Microsoft customers like Paul Melson think there will be much broader enterprise adoption of Windows 7 than there was with Vista, which was largely ignored by corporate users. But while Microsoft has its own house in order, security is still a problem on the Windows platform, according to Melson, a manager of information security with Priority Health.

"As long as third-party patching continues to be a challenge, client security will continue to be at the forefront of information security defense and incident response," he said via e-mail. "Windows 7 won't significantly reduce client-side attacks that lead to compromises, but I don't think that Microsoft should bear the burden for it, either."

Microsoft thinks it can go a long way toward solving this type of problem by improving the way people identify each other on the Internet. For the past few years it has promoted an idea it calls "end-to-end" trust, saying it wants to develop better identification mechanisms for people, computers and software on the Internet.

Microsoft has taken its first step in this direction with its Windows CardSpace identity management software. It could help give people a better sense of who they're really dealing with on the Internet, but whether the rest of the industry will buy into this vision remains to be seen.

"This is the next phase in the battle for trustworthy computing and that is still getting ramped up," Mundie said. "Clearly there's always more to do."

Resources: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9140642/Windows_7_may_be_secure_but_are_Windows_users_safe_

Vista sold more PCs than Windows 7 did

2009-11-06T17:54:00.001+05:30

Microsoft moved a lot of install disks, but hardware makers got a bigger bump two years ago

Photo: Philip Elmer-DeWitt

When Microsoft (MSFT) launches a new operating system, as it did two weeks ago, PC manufacturers like Hewlett Packard (HPQ), Dell (DELL) and Acer are supposed to reap the benefits. And everything seemed to be in place on Thursday Oct. 22 for that happen.

"Never before has the industry launched such a variety of new form factors, price points, technology upgrades, and design innovations at one time," wrote NPD's Stephen Baker just before Windows 7's release. "This past weekend I happened by a Best Buy store and there was not one single PC for sale with Vista on it. Lots of Windows 7 machines, however, all of which were marked 'not for sale until October 22.' Someone did a great job in the supply chain making this happen. This will give Win 7 a tremendous boost out of the gate." (link)

Two weeks later, Baker is singing a different tune. Microsoft got a big boost according to NPD's weekly tracking data, racking up sales of Windows 7 that were 234% higher than Vista's during its first few days of sales. (More on that below the fold.)

But PC makers didn't make out quite as well. Although they had a relatively strong week, with unit sales up 49% year over year and 95% from the week before, it was nothing like Vista's launch in Feb. 2007. Then, sales soared 68% year over year and 170% from the week before.

In a press release issued Thursday, Baker explained what happened:

“A combination of factors impacted Windows 7 PC sales at the outset,” Baker wrote. “Vista had a slight advantage at launch, as January traditionally has a bigger sales footprint than October. The other hurdle Windows 7 faced was sales of PCs with older operating systems (XP and Vista) were high, making up 20 percent of sales during the Windows 7 launch, compared to just 6 percent of older operating sales during Vista’s launch week.”

Another thing to remember about that Vista launch week is that it set a relatively low bar. Retail Vista sales were considerably below Microsoft's forecast — almost 60% lower than sales of Windows XP during its first week in 2001.

Ironically, it was the computer manufacturers who did best in Feb. 2007. Sales of new PCs with Vista pre-installed were up 67% the week that Vista launched compared with the same week in 2006.

Apple (AAPL), of course, sells both OS X and the Macs that run it, so when it launched Snow Leopard in August, it made money on both sides of the deal.

Resources: http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/11/06/vista-sold-more-pcs-than-windows-7-did/

Microsoft Windows 7: Piracy VS License

2009-11-05T17:37:00.002+05:30

It was estimated that almost 50,000 pirated DVDs of Microsoft Windows 7 were sold since it was launched officially on October 22.

The cause of the pirated versions was the cost Rs 40-Rs 250. As for the cost of legal new operating system launched by Microsoft Corp, it was between $150-$300 (Rs 7,500-Rs15,000) in the international markets. But the company decided to make the prices lower, i.e. 20 percent below international rates in India. It is possible to purchase the new operating system between Rs 6,000-Rs 11,000.

But regardless the discount made by the company, many customers still obtain the pirated version.

Also it was noted that many computer service providers used pirated software as they were not so expensive, for that reason there was no need to buy licensed softwares. Pirated operating systems included cheap pirated anti-virus software that was available for free and this should be considered to be another reason to purchase such systems.

But still there are anti-virus softwares such as Awast that can be downloaded from the Internet and, moreover, there were considered to be efficient.

According to AK Pathak, police spokesperson, the police was helpless concerning struggling against piracy. Only due to a formal complaint it would be possible to act.

Resources: http://www.thelatestnews.in/microsoft-windows-7-piracy-vs-license/21311.html

Windows 7 launch could give economy boost

2009-11-03T17:26:00.002+05:30

Microsoft Corp. says it won’t be the only one to benefit from sales of its new Windows 7 software. The local economy could see a lift, too.

Windows 7, released Oct. 22, is the much-ballyhooed update to the software that runs most personal computers. Microsoft hired research firm IDC Corp. of Framingham to conduct a study of the ripple effect of the Windows 7 launch. It found that American companies could hire an estimated 25,000 additional workers to cope with the Windows 7 launch, including about 2,500 new jobs in Greater Boston, through the end of 2010.

“There is a bounce effect based on the introduction of Windows 7,’’ said Amie White, vice president for global research at IDC.

That a software launch could have such an effect reflects the sheer dominance of Windows and the vast “ecosystem’’ of tech companies that depend on the software giant’s fortunes. Some make Windows computer hardware; others produce software that runs alongside Windows; others sell Windows-related products, or install and maintain them. Those companies are affected when a new version of the Microsoft operating system, its core product, is a hit or a miss.

The IDC study estimated that technology companies nationwide will sell an extra $110 billion in Windows 7-related products and services through the end of next year. Those companies will also boost the economy by investing $41 billion to develop, sell, and support new products for Windows 7 users.

In the Boston area alone, IDC said, Windows 7 could generate about $2.3 billion in additional revenue for tech companies, and those firms could invest $826 million they would not have spent otherwise.

But that all depends on whether Windows 7 becomes a bestseller. Its unpopular predecessor, Microsoft’s Windows Vista, was plagued by poor performance and incompatibility with other hardware and software products.

Nearly three years after its release, only about a quarter of the world’s personal computer users run Vista. By contrast, between 60 and 70 percent are still running Microsoft’s eight-year-old Windows XP software, which many find more compatible and easier to use.

Vista “just disappointed everybody,’’ said IDC’s chief research officer, Frank Gantz. “There were a lot that were turned off.’’

In a study commissioned by Microsoft for the January 2007, release of Windows Vista, IDC predicted that the product’s launch would prompt the creation of 3,500 jobs in Massachusetts. Gantz now says that number was too high, although he’s not sure of the actual figure.

However, Gantz believes IDC’s estimates for Windows 7 are on firmer ground, because early reviews of the new software have been overwhelmingly favorable. “That gives us faith that we haven’t been sabotaged by a product that didn’t live up to expectations,’’ Gantz said.

IDC expects worldwide personal computer shipments to decline by 1 percent this year, but rise by 9 percent in 2010, and many of those new machines will run Windows 7.

Tech Networks of Boston, a South Boston computer retailer that mainly sells to small businesses, expects a Windows 7 sales surge in the coming year. “The opportunity to move people to a new operating system is fairly substantial for us,’’ said Tech Networks president Susan Labandibar.

She said many customers have held on for years to underpowered machines running Windows XP, but “you cannot stay on XP forever. It’s time to get off.’’

Labandibar doesn’t know whether she’ll need to hire more workers to keep up with demand for Windows 7 work.

PlumChoice Inc. of Billerica, which provides nationwide computer technical support services, isn’t expecting much of a bump. “We’re just seeing small effects,’’ said founder Ted Werth. “It is not causing us to go out and hire more people or take any drastic action.’’

Werth said that the Vista experience will lead many businesses and consumers to hold off buying Windows 7 until they’re confident that the new operating system is reliable.

Michael Cherry, a Windows analyst with Directions on Microsoft, a research firm in Kirkland, Wash., said any uptick from the Windows 7 release will be muted by the economic downturn.

He said Windows XP will continue to predominate for a long time, because cash-strapped companies are in no hurry to buy new machines. “We’re going to see the buildout of Windows 7 take anywhere from three to five years,’’ Cherry said.

Resources: http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2009/11/03/windows_7_launch_could_lift_economy_too/

Windows 7: wipes out memory of Vista

2009-10-27T18:01:00.002+05:30

Microsoft's long operating-system nightmare is set to be over with the introduction of Windows 7, launched worldwide on October 22, 2009.

The new software is a faster and much better operating system than the little-loved Windows Vista, which did a lot to harm both the company's reputation and productivity. PC makers will rush to fill physical and online stores with new computers pre-loaded with Windows 7, and to offer the software to Vista owners who wish to upgrade.

With Windows 7, PC users will at last have a strong, modern successor to the sturdy and familiar, but aged, Windows XP, which is still the most popular version of Windows, despite having come out in 2001. While XP works well for many people, it is relatively weak in areas such as security, networking and other features more important today than when it was first introduced around 1999.

This latest instalment of Microsoft Windows mostly banishes Vista's main flaws - sluggishness; incompatibility with third-party software and hardware; heavy hardware requirements; and constant, annoying security warnings.

Here are some of the key features of Windows 7:

New Taskbar: In Windows 7, the familiar taskbar has been reinvented and made taller. Instead of mainly being a place where icons of open windows temporarily appear, it is now a place where you can permanently "pin" frequently-used icons anywhere along its length, and in any arrangement you choose. This is a concept borrowed from Apple's similar feature, the Dock. But Windows 7 takes the concept further.

Desktop Organisation: A feature called Snap allows you to expand windows to full-screen size by just dragging them to the top of the screen, or to half-screen size by dragging them to the left or right edges of the screen. Another called Shake allows you to make all other windows, but the one you're working on, disappear by simply grabbing its title bar with the mouse and shaking it several times.

Networking: Windows 7 still isn't quite as natural at networking as Mac is, but it's better than Vista. For instance, now you can see all available wireless networks by just clicking on an icon in the taskbar. A new feature called HomeGroups is supposed to let you share files more easily among Windows 7 PCs on your home network.

Speed: On every machine it has been tested on, Windows 7 ran swiftly and with far fewer of the delays typical in running Vista. Start-up and restart times were improved. Reviewers have compared six laptops with Windows 7 with a MacBook Pro laptop. The Mac still started and restarted faster than most of the Windows 7 PCs, but the speed gap has narrowed considerably.

Nagging: In the name of security, Vista put up nagging warnings about a wide variety of tasks, driving people crazy. In Windows 7, you can now set this system so it nags you only when things are happening that you consider really worth the nag.

Compatibility: A wide variety of third-party software were tried, and they all worked fine on every Windows 7 machine. Windows 7 is also more compatible with a lot more hardware devices than Vista was.

System Requirements: Nearly all Vista PCs, and newer or 'beefier' XP machines, should be able to run Windows 7 fine. If you have a standard 32-bit PC, you'll need at least one gigabyte of memory, 16 gigabytes of free hard-disk space and a graphics system that can support Microsoft technologies. You'll also need a processor with a speed of at least one gigahertz.

Installation, Editions and Price: There are four editions of Windows 7 of interest to consumers. One, a limited version called Starter, comes pre-loaded on netbooks. A second, called Business, is mainly for people who need to tap remotely into company networks. A third, called Ultimate, is mainly for 'techies' who want every feature of all other editions. Most average consumers will want Home Premium, which costs US$120 for upgrades.

Microsoft made Windows 7 Release Candidate available through June 2009. The RC is a great opportunity for PC users to take Windows 7 and begin testing in a real environment. Windows 7 RC will expire on June 1, 2010, so if you installed the RC release you will either need to upgrade to the final version of Windows 7 before that date, or install a prior version of Windows.

Microsoft has also offered a free Windows 7 Release-To-Manufacturing, or RTM, to PC users. This final version of Windows 7 was released with a 90 day free trial. At the 90 day mark, the trial automatically, and without warning, shuts down the PC every hour of operation. So to avoid all that inconvenience it is advised that you buy the real copy.

To help consumers who bought a new PC running Windows Vista or a copy of Windows Vista itself after June 26, 2009, participating PC manufacturers, including Dell, HP and Acer, are offering free upgrades as part of Microsoft's Windows Upgrade Option Program to help customers transition easily to Windows 7.

Unfortunately, XP owners, the biggest body of Windows users, will have to back up their files elsewhere, then wipe out their hard disks before installing Windows 7. Microsoft includes an Easy Transfer wizard to help with this, but it moves only personal files, not programmes. This painful XP upgrade process is one of the worst things about Windows 7 and will likely drive many XP owners to either stick with what they've got or wait and buy a new one.

Bottom line, Windows 7 is a very good, versatile operating system that should help Microsoft bury the memory of Vista and make PC users happy.

Resources: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/TeenAge/html/20091026T190000-0500_162615_OBS_WINDOWS____WIPES_OUT_MEMORY_OF_VISTA.asp

Looking through Windows 7

2009-10-26T18:08:00.002+05:30

After the delays that plagued the launch of Windows Vista, Microsoft has surprised us by announcing the launch of the next version — Windows 7 — ahead of schedule.

We had high expectations of Vista. The expectations increased as the launch got delayed. And when it finally happened, we realised Vista was not really a worthy successor to the old workhorse Windows XP. Vista was bloated and resource-hungry. And the world started looking at Microsoft for something better than XP but without the drawbacks of Vista.

Now comes Windows 7. By the time you read this, Microsoft will have officially launched Windows 7. If you still think nothing can beat XP, or if you have Vista and are desparately looking for something better, will Windows 7 satisfy you?

We were able to boot and log in within 90 seconds, which is really good, as we installed the new OS in a machine that is two years old. We installed Windows 7 in a machine that had XP. The old files were backed up in a folder called Windows.old. For someone used to Vista, Windows 7 looks like an upgrade with a few, but significant, bells and whistles. The Start menu has a familiar look. The default theme looks like the Vista’s Aero. When you click on the Windows icon on the left, it opens up the Start window, which is again similar to that of Vista’s.

Taskbar

This is one of the most important changes in Windows 7 as this is one feature you will be using often. You realise this is not just an upgraded Vista once you look at the taskbar. The changes in the taskbar make it extremely user-friendly. Microsoft has done away with the puny icons and replaced them with bright and big icons. You soon realise the change is not cosmetic. You can pin programs — both opened and from the Programs menu — to the taskbar. If you want to unpin the programs, you can right-click on the task bar icons and click on ‘unpin’. The right click also gives you the various options related to the program. This new feature is called Jump List.

For instance, when you right-click on an Internet Explorer icon, you get options to open a new tab or browse ‘In Private’ mode. Similarly, right-clicking on a Windows Media Player icon on the taskbar opens a list of frequently played tracks. You also have the option to ‘Resume previous list’ or to ‘Play all music’. Right-clicking on the Windows Explorer icon allows you to open frequently opened programs. If you frequently work on Word, it is enough for you to right-click on the Windows Explorer icon and select Word from the list of the frequently used programs.

If you have opened several programs and minimised them, just hovering above the icons opens up a small thumbnail of the program. You can see a full-sized preview of the program bringing the cursor over the thumbnail. You can also close the program without leaving the preview by clicking on the ‘x’ button on the thumbnail. There is no need to go to the program to close it.

You can also shuffle around the icons in the task bar according to your preference. Right-clicking on an empty part in the taskbar opens up the usual menu.

What about Quick Launch? No. Windows 7 does not have it. But with the improved taskbar, you don’t feel the need for it. What if you are in a program or have opened several windows and want to go to the desktop screen? Windows 7 has a blank rectangle on the extreme right. If you just want to have a look at the desktop, it is enough if you hover on the rectangle — you will see a preview of the desktop in full size. If you want to go to the desktop, click on it.

As you move to the right, you have the usual System Tray. Wait, you realise there is none of the clutter you find in XP or Vista. Yes. You have the option to decide what programs should be displayed in the system tray. Click on the small arrow and click on the ‘Customize’ icon. Or right-click on the time and date and select ‘Customize notification icons’. For every system tray icon, you have options to:

1) Show icon and notifications

2) Hide icon and notifications

and 3) Only show notifications.

While on the system tray, there is a minor tweak in the clock settings. You can have up to three clock settings. Though only the default clock is visible in the system tray, the other two clocks can be seen if you click on the time and date display.

Gadgets

If you have used Vista and liked the sidebar, but felt it was occupying too much real-estate, Windows 7 has come up with a solution. It’s called Gadgets. You can select the gadgets you want from the Desktop Gadget Gallery. The default gadgets available include calendar, clock, CPU meter, currency conversion, feed headlines, slideshow, stocks, weather, Windows media, picture puzzle, etc. There is also the option to get more gadgets online. The difference between the Gadgets and the Vista sidebar is that you can select just the gadgets you want, keep them wherever you want on the desktop, and delete them if you don’t want them.

Resizing programs

One feature that is sure to take the pain out of working in two different programs side-by-side is the resizing option. For instance, if you have to use data from an Excel sheet in a Word document, you can open both the programs. If you move one of the windows to the side, it will dock to the side and occupy half the screen. Similarly, you have to drag the other program to the other side. You will now have both programs side-by-side. There is no need to constantly minimise windows to switch between programs or waste your time resizing the windows to the correct size. This is possible with any program, including Windows Media Player or Internet Explorer. If you want to compare two Web sites, you can have both side-by-side.

Parental controls

Windows 7 allows you to set parental controls for other users. You can set time limits, control games by ratings, content or title, and block specific programs. Turn the controls on and off by clicking on a radio button.

Themes

Switching themes has been made easy. There is no need to click multiple buttons and get a shock when you realise the settings you have selected are not what you really wanted. As you right-click on the desktop, click on ‘personalise’. This opens up a screen with the different themes. Just clicking on the theme immediately changes it. If you don’t like the theme, change to a different one in seconds. The personalisation screen also allows you to change the desktop background, window colour, sounds, and screensavers. The desktop backgrounds you get are related to the theme you have selected.

Libraries

An important change is the introduction of libraries. Your documents, music, pictures and videos can be accessed across all drives and folders from the library. Wherever the files are, you can find them all at one place.

Windows Media Centre

If you keep missing TV programs, use Windows Media Center to record programmes and watch them at leisure later. You can also pause, rewind or just watch Live TV without the need for set-top boxes or monthly fees.

Sticky notes

Windows 7 obviates the need to download a third party program for sticky notes. It’s right there on the Start menu. Choose the colour of individual sticky notes, and also cut, copy, or paste the text across notes.

Default programs

If you have struggled to change or set a browser as default browser, you will realise the importance of the Default Programs option. This sets defaults for any program you use. If you want to use Media Player to open all media including TV, music and pictures, set it with a click. You also have the option of choosing the specific file types and protocols the selected program should open. You can set MS Paint to open only jpg and png files. The other picture file types such as BMP can be set as default for another program.

Autoplay settings

When you insert a pen drive or CD, you usually get a prompt asking you what to do with the media. With autoplay settings, you can configure what different media should do when you insert them. You can make a folder open every time you insert a pen drive. If you get confused, you always have the ‘Take no action’ option.

Should you upgrade?

Windows 7 is what Microsoft failed to do with Vista. If you have Vista in your machine, and if your machine is unable to cope with Vista, waste no time to switch to Windows 7. It uses less resources, is faster and more stable. If you have XP, you can upgrade if your machine configurations permit.

Resources: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/ew/2009/10/26/stories/2009102650010100.htm

Five Ways Windows 7 Could Become another Vista

2009-10-23T17:28:00.002+05:30

Windows 7 is finally here. The sun can shine and the birds can chirp. Ding dong, Windows Vista is dead! Perhaps that is a bit premature. Windows 7 hasn't been officially released for 24 hours yet, so its understandable if the jury is still deliberating. There are certainly those who think Windows 7 is nothing more than Windows Vista with an extra bell or whistle thrown in for eye candy.

To be honest, I like Windows 7 and believe it will be a phenomenal success for Microsoft. Earlier I wrote a post detailing 5 reasons to upgrade to Windows 7. But, just to play devil's advocate, let's take a look at 5 ways Windows 7 could become another Vista.

1. UAC still there. UAC-- the bane of Windows Vista-- hasn't gone away. Microsoft altered the behavior and added a configuration slider than enables the user to select what level of protection UAC will provide, thus controlling the volume of pop-up alerts generated by UAC.

However, after much debate with the security community during the Beta testing, the default setting is still set to what users experienced with Windows Vista. Frankly, UAC serves a purpose and it is better to leave it alone. But, those who dislike UAC are going to have to go into the control panel and modify the configuration to their liking or be faced with the same pop-ups that annoyed the world with Vista.

2. Hardware and Drivers. Windows Vista stumbled and fell right out of the blocks as a result of lagging hardware and device driver support. The vendors just weren't ready when Vista was launched and Vista never really recovered from the damaged reputation even after most of those issues were resolved. The legal issues Microsoft faced with the Windows Vista compatible logo debacle didn't help either.

Users get upset when they get a new operating system and find out that their existing printer, wireless router, webcam, or other peripheral hardware doesn't work with it. They are left with the choice of not having the hardware or springing for new hardware that is compatible which doesn't make them happy campers.

3. Performance improvement minor. A lot of fuss has been made about performance tweaks that ostensibly make Windows 7 faster than Windows Vista or Windows XP. In my opinion, vendors in general and Microsoft specifically should make these improvements, but not market them.

The problem is that ‘performance' is so subjective to the exact hardware the operating system is running on, or the types of applications being run, or the number of applications being run simultaneously. Citing performance as a selling point almost always backfires because A) the performance improvement is generally not enough to make a difference to normal users, and B) there are almost always just as many studies and reviews showing equal or even slower performance which turns into a sort of he-said / she-said marketing nightmare.

4. Expensive. Face it. Windows 7 is not cheap. For those who are purchasing a new computer system with Windows 7 pre-installed, Windows 7 is great. For those running Windows XP or Windows Vista and just wanting to upgrade the OS on their existing hardware, spending $100 to $300 depending on the flavor of Windows 7 can be a tough pill to swallow. You can get a brand new desktop computer with Windows 7 for around $300, and the latest version of the Mac OS was only $29.

5. No direct upgrade from XP. To me, this is the most obvious mis-step by Microsoft in developing Windows 7. Maybe it just couldn't be done, but I would have had all of my best developers working night and day to figure out how to make it happen. After the issues with Windows Vista, and knowing that the vast majority of users-both consumer and enterprise-are still relying on Windows XP, it seems like a direct upgrade path is a necessity.

Many users may be frustrated by the lack of upgrade path and having to do a fresh install, reinstall all of the other software and migrate user settings. Microsoft has provided tools to ease the pain, but this is still the biggest opportunity for negative PR or backlash related to Windows 7.

My take: Windows 7 will be a success and restore some lost faith in Microsoft. I also think that Windows XP users should upgrade to something...anything. The Windows XP operating system is a decade old. If you don't like Windows 7, by all means switch to Mac OS X or load Ubuntu Linux or something, but enough already with the Windows XP.

Resources: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/174201/five_ways_windows_7_could_become_another_vista.html

Gateway announces first new Windows 7 all-in-ones

2009-10-07T17:48:00.002+05:30

You can't buy them yet, but Gateway seems to be the first major PC vendor with a new Windows 7-equipped PC announcement. Surely every other major (and minor) player will follow, but the Gateway One ZX6800 and ZX4800 series are the first systems built specifically Windows 7's touch capability in mind.

We've already reviewed the $1,399 One ZX6810-01, which you can read all about here. This higher-end model comes with a 23-inch touch screen, a 2.33GHz Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200S, a 64GB solid state hard drive, a 1TB storage drive, and a 1GB ATI Radeon Mobility HD 4670 graphics card. Sadly there's no Blu-ray drive, but will a TV tuner make up for it? It didn't for us either.

We found the ZX6810-01 actually made a strong first impression as far as its performance, but the touch input could be frustratingly unresponsive. The apps Gateway includes to take advantage of touch are also less than amazing, ranging from a semi-useful note taking program to crash-prone video chat using the Web cam. We're not too down about touch falling flat here, since without a wider selection of useful programs touch is really just a novelty at this point. We'd wait to see what other vendors cook up in this price range, but the One ZX6810-01 is a solid start thanks to its other features.

On the lower-end of the scale, the $749 Gateway One ZX4800-02 has a 20-inch touch display and a slower, dual core Intel Pentium T4300 chip, along with a handful of more pedestrian features (DVD burner, 750 GB hard drive). The touch input becomes a more important selling point in this system, as it has no high-end doo-dads to distract from it. Perhaps a smaller screen will result in fewer tracking errors. Let's hope.

Resources: http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-31012_7-10368944-10355804.html

Windows 7 Data Recovery

150 Million Windows 7 Licenses Sold – Microsoft.

Microsoft to patch unhackable Windows 7 bug later today

Resources: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9175402/Microsoft_to_patch_unhackable_Windows_7_bug_later_today

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