Okay, so I intentionally used a salacious headline to get your attention. It’s Thursday. The NSA didn’t really help make Windows 7. Rather, using their “unique expertise and operational knowledge of system threats and vulnerabilities” the National Security Agency helped shape “Microsoft’s operating system security guide”, according to Richard Sharffer, Information Assurance Director at the NSA. The NSA works with other companies, like Red Hat, Apple, and Sun, too. The NSA started the Security Enhanced Linux initiative in 2003, so it should come as no surprise that they’ve been working to help secure Windows, too.

Windows 7 users would be well-advised to block outgoing ports 139 and 445. Microsoft has confirmed the existence of a vulnerability that affects SMB in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 RC2. Worst case scenario: you connect to a malicious server then it crashes your PC.

Somebody should tell Doug “netbook” Aamoth that Windows 7 seems to be a battery hog. The fine folks at Laptop magazine have put three different netbooks to the test, determining their respective battery life under both Windows XP and Windows 7. Looks like Windows XP is the winner.

Anyone that has used both Windows 7 and OS X can see the similarities. It’s clear that some Windows 7 parts were sampled from OS X, but now there is confirmation from Microsoft’s partner group manager, Simon Aldous, that OS X was indeed the mold all along.

Arr… Vendors in Beijing’s Zhongguancun market are charging customers $7 to install Windows 7 onto any computer. The hilarious part? The copies of Windows are pirated.

With all the launch parties, cute ads, and reviews going on, you could be forgiven for thinking that the whole world was suddenly going to turn over to Windows 7 on the day of release. Unfortunately, that kind of instant turnover (hmm… sounds delicious) isn’t really feasible in the real world. Some people are getting 7 when they get a new computer. Some want to see it on a friend’s PC before they drop the bills on it. Others are still using the RC. And there must be some like myself who are just waiting for the initial hiccups to be worked out — something I’m waiting on with Snow Leopard as well.

How keen are you on touchscreens? Keen enough to navigate Windows 7 while using such a monitor? Acer has a new one, the T230H, which will allow you to do exactly that. A big selling point is that it’ll increase your productivity, but I’m not so sure.

Judging from this video, the Windows 7 launch in Japan was certainly more, shall we say, flamboyant then the launch here in the US. But the really amusing part is the fact that the host couldn’t get the touchscreen to work.

When I first heard that Microsoft was going to be publicizing Windows 7 in the legendarily offensive “Family Guy,” I thought “Wow, either Microsoft is cooler than I thought or they’ve never actually seen the show.” Unsurprisingly, it seems to have been the latter.

Oh, dear. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was on The Today Show (international viewers: The Today Show is a morning news and entertainment program that airs on NBC, a big TV network here) to unveil Windows 7. Call me crazy, but isn’t that a first-gen MacBook Pro in the background? Good job, NBC!

OMG. When I asked our Japanese readers to send in a pic of the Burger King Windows 7 burger, I was half hoping that it really didn’t exist. But nope, here it is. You probably shouldn’t look at this before breakfast, btw.

Mac users will need to wait a little longer until Apple officially supports Windows 7 through Boot Camp. A support document published today indicates that Apple Genius will be able to help you sometime before the end of the year. No worries though, many, including our own Nicholas, have already found out that even beta versions of Windows 7 currently run fine through Boot Camp. If you run in to a snag, a bit of Google’n or a local 13-year old can probably resolve your problem.

Look at these early Windows start-up sounds. They look primitive now but imagine being a young man in the late 1980s and your parents have just brought you home a new Packard Bell x86 machine. Back in those days sound cards were premium items and to hear an operating system sing to you when you start it up was a really big deal. The vast majority of computer users during that time would have never heard most of these sounds.

If you have a Costco membership and three computers that you want to upgrade to Windows 7, then you can get a giant wooden palette of operating systems for $135 – this same three-pack is priced elsewhere at $150 while a single version of the upgrade runs $120.