Lest you think Microsoft isn’t serious about Windows 7, get this: on November 8th the company will be sponsoring a big commercial-free Family Guy special on Fox.
According to AdAge.com, “The Microsoft-sponsored variety show, whose working title is ‘Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex’s Almost Live Comedy Show,’ is a mix of live-action ‘Family Guy’ musical performances, animated shorts and celebrity guest appearances, and is part of an all-Seth MacFarlane night on Fox.”
My Windows 7 Launch Party kit is finally here! As you may recall, I was selected to host one of these Windows 7 Launch Parties. I’m so lucky.
Oh, man, look at all this stuff. Streamers, balloons, party bags, playing cards, a puzzle, and a poster!!! Microsoft sure knows how to throw a party. Add some jello shots and a beer bong, and this party should be crazy. Oh, and the fact that I now have a full, legal copy of Windows 7 Ultimate 32- and 64-bit makes me smile too. Read More
Ah, late October – a time when a young man’s fancy turns to love, the autumn gingerly steps aside to make way for winter, and, this year, the beginning of at least a year’s worth of non-stop free tech support you’ll have to provide to any of your friends and family that decide to buy a new computer with Windows 7 on it.
The biggest question: How do I get all my dumb photos, tax returns, and Miley Cyrus MP3s onto my new computer? Your new answer: Buy this $40 cable and leave me alone.
It was only two weeks ago that the Windows 7 Launch Party video cut a burning swath across the internet, leaving only scorched sensibilities and a feeling that you’d lost something fundamental never to be regained. We lied to ourselves then that it couldn’t be more than a blip on the radar, a PR pitch gone awry and furtively uploaded, unfit for human consumption as it was — a tainted morsel of the promotional meat grinder. And to be honest, I was ready to let it lie. But it wasn’t just a morsel. Little did we know, the Windows 7 launch sausage factory would be squeezing gristle into our inboxes regularly — and now they’ve gone and sent us party favors.
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I was on a panel a few weeks ago with Rob Enderle a few weeks back and he was asked by an international journalist what he expected in terms of financial news in the next few months. He made a very interesting point that, being an Apple fanboy, I ignored at the time. He said that Windows 7 would drive a whole new wave of hardware buying and inflate (in a good way) IT spending.
I filed this tidbit away next to my thoughts of maybe one day buying a Zune, but then I cracked open the HP Envy 13 and thought back on my own recent experience with Windows 7— and what he’s saying makes sense.
A few calls later and I found that a number of IT guys I know are genuinely excited about installing Windows 7 in their shops, guys for whom Vista didn’t even register. We’re about see an IT renaissance, and it will be driven by Microsoft.
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Fancy yourself a system builder, do you? As long as you’re willing to do a clean install of Windows 7, you can grab a full OEM version for cheaper than the same retail upgrade version. Newegg has rolled out its selection of Windows 7 OEM packages (there are preorder discounts available until October 20th), so let’s take a look at what’s available.
What happens when your Windows 7 party gets a little crazy? People start talking about things like “boot sectors,” “man-on-man DIMM insertion,” and “[beep].”
Good then. Netbook manufacturers will be able to preload any version of Windows 7 onto their machines – not just Windows 7 Starter Edition. And while we found out in May that the arbitrary three-application limit had been removed from Windows 7 Starter (thereby making it virtually indistinguishable from Windows 7 Home Basic), the lack of other features like not being able to change your desktop wallpaper or use some of the cooler Aero stuff felt more than a bit underwhelming.
Guys, I’m really excited. I’m stoked that Microsoft choose me, ME, to host a Windows 7 Launch Party. That’s right, lame ol’ Burns is going to host a Windows 7 party. I just got my confirmation email saying I was a finalist and to head over to HouseParty.com ASAP. Once I filled out all the steps to create a party webpage and invite my guests, I got the email above confirming I’m the coolest person on Earth. Now all I have to do is wait for my pack of party supplies to arrive, which includes a signature edition of Windows 7 Ultimate thankyouverymuch, and watch those fabulous party instructional videos for pointers.
Gather ‘round, don’t be shy. Let’s all take a look at Windows 7 booting up in about ten seconds. How is this possible? Well, turn Aero off, strip out all the bloatware, and make sure you’re using an ultra fast solid state drive. That, and trim the BIOS start time down to a little over one second.
If you’re thinking of upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7 later this fall, set aside some time – especially if you’ve got a lower-end machine with a bunch of applications already installed and a hard drive full of files. One of Microsoft’s own engineers clocked in a 1220-minute upgrade time on just such a machine.
Could Windows 7 really get better? The latest ad says more happy is coming. Gosh, I’m already very happy with the OS but now a little curious if that’s just a nonsense PR statement or really a true statement. I guess we’ll find out. Your thoughts?
In case you missed out on the free Windows 7 RC download, head here to download the Enterprise RTM release. It will only work for 90 days, but that should give you enough time to buy 7 after it launches soon. Don’t worry about scrounging around for a serial number either, MS will give you one. How nice. [Windows 7 Enterprise 90-day Trial via lifehacker]
Hey, guys. If you haven’t downloaded the Windows 7 RC yet, you better do it soon. The free offer expires on August 20, 2009 – tomorrow. Sure, it’s not free forever as this release will turn off by itself every two hours starting March 1, 2010, but it’s a hell of a lot better than Vista. I have been running it as my main OS on two systems since it was released and it’s pretty much bulletproof.
Friends, you cannot go anywhere on the Internet without running into the OEM version of Windows 7. This is the same version of the operating system that’ll be loaded onto your Dells, your HPs, your Lenovos, etc.
Looks like Microsft may well have a hit on its hands in Windows 7. In just eight hours, Windows 7 pre-orders outpaced the total number of pre-orders for Vista on Amazon UK. Vista was available for pre-order for a full 17 weeks, so this is something of an accomplishment for Microsoft.
Microsoft has an interesting problem on the horizon in trying to persuade netbook owners to upgrade to Windows 7 when said netbook owners’ netbooks don’t have optical drives. What’s a giant software company to do?
Gather ’round the campfire, children, as we look at the Windows 7 boxes. There’s Home Premium… there’s Professional… and is that… yes! Yes, it’s Windows 7 Ultimate! Three cheers for life!
So there’s this leaked Best Buy memo that shows the store that I’ll never visit again selling Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrades for $49.99 and Windows 7 Professional Upgrades for $99.99. Does that mean that Microsoft will sell said Windows 7 upgrades for said prices across the boards? Eh, not really. I seem to recall Best Buy selling Vista upgrades for one price, then, when Vista actually comes out, it was going for a different price.
A leaked memo has outed June 26 as the starting date when Best Buy (and possibly other places, if this is a Microsoft-blessed program) will guarantee a free copy of Windows 7 at its launch if you buy a Vista-based system immediately. The memo itself is actually a bit catty, saying that Windows 7 isn’t just a “Vista that works” — cold as ice, Best Buy. But the point of that little crack is more that Best Buy employees should really be pushing this as a major update, to allay the fears of people who might be afraid 7 is just an updated Vista. Still, ouch.
