Windows 7 Info

Windows 7 Circle Dock

2010-07-22T12:13:00.000-07:00

What Circle Dock Allows You to Do:

Launch your programs from a circular dock.
Drag and drop your files, folders, and shortcuts onto a circular dock that you can re-size.
Rotate the dock with either your mouse wheel or the keyboard arrow keys.
Change the image shown for the icons and change the skins (compatible with icons and skins for Rocket Dock, Object Dock, etc.)
The dock appears where your mouse is by pressing a hotkey (default is F1) or your middle mouse button, other options available.
Tested on computers with multiple monitors, Windows XP/Vista/7, 32-bit & 64-bit, and requires only .Net Framework 2.0.
Automatically works on all Windows Vista and 7 computers and most Windows XP computers.
A new settings panel that allows you to customize many options. It updates your dock as you make changes. See it change in real time! No need to press an OK button.
Multi-language capable. Just translate the English.ini file to the language of your choice. 50+ Languages currently available
Change the image used for the dock icons with the easiest method out there: Just set the program to "Icon Replacement Mode" in the right-click menu of the center icon and you can change all the icon images by just dragging and dropping new PNG images onto them! Huge time saver when you are customizing your dock!
Built in support for Windows HD Icons. Vector and detailed PNG's come through with great clarity
toggle the visibility of the dock by moving your mouse to any edge of your screen. By default, the left and right edges are used for toggling. No need to press a button!
Rotate the dock with your mouse wheel or arrow keys (customizable).
Reorder and Organize the dock items with new adjustment interface. Located via right click on an item
By default, clicking on the center button does not open the start menu. You can enable this in the settings panel.
New easy method of upgrading from older versions.
Access help files from almost every setting window. Get the help you need immediately without having to search
Standalone Stacks 2 are now integrate and access directly by left clicking and selecting a stack option (Additional Options added v1.5.)
Portability creation has never been easier. Now with an improved Circle Dock Portable Maker for Back up and distribution, and excellent Individual and corporate solution!

India Joins The Browser War: Epic, The Nation’s First-Ever Web Browser Launched

2010-07-19T17:01:00.000-07:00

India’s long ambition of being a part of the ongoing battle royale of web browsers is fulfilled today with the rolling out of Epic Web Browser, the first-ever browser of the country. This wonderful feat has been achieved by Hidden Reflex, a software and web application product startup based in Bangalore.

Built on the Mozilla platform, Epic has certain striking features that make it a unique browser altogether. The first time when I opened the browser for a firsthand experience, I saw a peacock with full blown feathers. And it was enchanting enough. Here is what Epic looks like:

Some of its unique features are:

• An inbuilt anti-virus, powered by ESET, whose NOD 32 product is very popular the world over

• India centric with support for 12 different Indian languages including Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu, Bengali, Tamil, Malayalam, Urdu and Punjabi

• Indic app allows for typing in these Indian languages

• More than 1500 themes ranging from freedom fighters to film stars to represent the unity in diversity of the country

• A word processor to create or edit documents

• India specific news from popular publications

• Social Networking sites like Facebook and Twitter on the sidebar, apart from YouTube( watchable in a pop-up window), Gmail and Yahoo

• Other useful sidebar widgets include Travel, Stocks, Maps, and Jobs

• File backup and My Computer utilities

A team of 12 engineers have been coding and developing really for the last two years to come up with this indigenous, yet promising web browser. This is what Alok Bhardwaj, CEO of the company has to say, “Epic will be useful to all types of users, including hard-core multi taskers and newbies.”

All said and done, Epic does not seem to be another run-of-the mill browser. But it will definitely need some time, if not a lot, for it to make its presence felt in the market that is already being dominated by Mozilla Firefox.

You can downloaded Epic here.

SOURCE:: http://www.watblog.com

Please post your comments about this browser. I will be downloading this little browser and giving the once over. Look for my review in the coming days.

Browser Statisitics

2010-07-19T16:52:00.000-07:00

Web Statistics and Trends

Statistics are important information. From the statistics below, you can see that Internet Explorer and Firefox are the most common browsers.

Browser Statistics Month by Month

2010	IE8	IE7	IE6	Firefox	Chrome	Safari	Opera
June	15.7%	8.1%	7.2%	46.6%	15.9%	3.6%	2.1%
May	16.0%	9.1%	7.1%	46.9%	14.5%	3.5%	2.2%
April	16.2%	9.3%	7.9%	46.4%	13.6%	3.7%	2.2%
March	15.3%	10.7%	8.9%	46.2%	12.3%	3.7%	2.2%
February	14.7%	11.0%	9.6%	46.5%	11.6%	3.8%	2.1%
January	14.3%	11.7%	10.2%	46.3%	10.8%	3.7%	2.2%

2009	IE8	IE7	IE6	Firefox	Chrome	Safari	Opera
December	13.5%	12.8%	10.9%	46.4%	9.8%	3.6%	2.3%
November	13.3%	13.3%	11.1%	47.0%	8.5%	3.8%	2.3%
October	12.8%	14.1%	10.6%	47.5%	8.0%	3.8%	2.3%
September	12.2%	15.3%	12.1%	46.6%	7.1%	3.6%	2.2%
August	10.6%	15.1%	13.6%	47.4%	7.0%	3.3%	2.1%
July	9.1%	15.9%	14.4%	47.9%	6.5%	3.3%	2.1%
June	7.1%	18.7%	14.9%	47.3%	6.0%	3.1%	2.1%
May	5.2%	21.3%	14.5%	47.7%	5.5%	3.0%	2.2%
April	3.5%	23.2%	15.4%	47.1%	4.9%	3.0%	2.2%
March	1.4%	24.9%	17.0%	46.5%	4.2%	3.1%	2.3%
February	0.8%	25.4%	17.4%	46.4%	4.0%	3.0%	2.2%
January	0.6%	25.7%	18.5%	45.5%	3.9%	3.0%	2.3%

2008	IE7	IE6	IE5	Firefox	Chrome	Safari	Opera
December	26.1%	19.6%		44.4%	3.6%	2.7%	2.4%
November	26.6%	20.0%		44.2%	3.1%	2.7%	2.3%
October	26.9%	20.2%		44.0%	3.0%	2.8%	2.2%
September	26.3%	22.3%		42.6%	3.1%	2.7%	2.0%
August	26.0%	24.5%		43.7%		2.6%	2.1%
July	26.4%	25.3%		42.6%		2.5%	1.9%
June	27.0%	26.5%	0.5%	41.0%		2.6%	1.7%
May	26.5%	27.3%	0.7%	39.8%		2.4%	1.5%
April	24.9%	28.9%	1.0%	39.1%		2.2%	1.4%
March	23.3%	29.5%	1.1%	37.0%		2.1%	1.4%
February	22.7%	30.7%	1.3%	36.5%		2.0%	1.4%
January	21.2%	32.0%	1.5%	36.4%		1.9%	1.4%

2007	IE7	IE6	IE5	Firefox	Mozilla	Safari	Opera
November	20.8%	33.6%	1.6%	36.3%	1.2%	1.8%	1.6%
September	20.8%	34.9%	1.5%	35.4%	1.2%	1.6%	1.5%
July	20.1%	36.9%	1.5%	34.5%	1.4%	1.5%	1.9%
May	19.2%	38.1%	1.6%	33.7%	1.3%	1.5%	1.7%
March	18.0%	38.7%	2.0%	31.8%	1.3%	1.6%	1.6%
January	13.3%	42.3%	3.0%	31.0%	1.5%	1.7%	1.5%

2006	IE7	IE6	IE5	Firefox	Mozilla	N7/8	Opera
November	7.1%	49.9%	3.6%	29.9%	2.5%	0.2%	1.5%
September	2.5%	55.6%	4.0%	27.3%	2.3%	0.4%	1.6%
July	1.9%	56.3%	4.2%	25.5%	2.3%	0.4%	1.4%
May	1.1%	57.4%	4.5%	25.7%	2.3%	0.3%	1.5%
March	0.6%	58.8%	5.3%	24.5%	2.4%	0.5%	1.5%
January	0.2%	60.3%	5.5%	25.0%	3.1%	0.5%	1.6%

2005	IE6	IE5	Firefox	Mozilla	N7	O8	O7
November	62.7%	6.2%	23.6%	2.8%	0.4%	1.3%	0.2%
September	69.8%	5.7%	18.0%	2.5%	0.4%	1.0%	0.2%
July	67.9%	5.9%	19.8%	2.6%	0.5%	0.8%	0.4%
May	64.8%	6.8%	21.0%	3.1%	0.7%	0.7%	0.6%
March	63.6%	8.9%	18.9%	3.3%	1.0%	0.3%	1.6%
January	64.8%	9.7%	16.6%	3.4%	1.1%		1.9%

2004	IE6	IE5	Mozilla	N3	N7	N4	O7
November	66.0%	10.2%	16.5%	0.2%	1.2%	0.3%	1.6%
September	67.8%	11.2%	13.7%	0.3%	1.4%	0.3%	1.7%
July	67.2%	13.2%	12.6%	0.4%	1.4%	0.4%	1.6%
May	68.1%	13.8%	9.5%	0.6%	1.4%	0.4%	1.6%
March	68.2%	14.6%	7.9%	0.8%	1.4%	0.6%	1.4%
January	68.9%	15.8%	5.5%	0.4%	1.5%	0.5%	1.5%

2003	IE6	IE5	Mozilla	N3	N7	N4	O7
November	71.2%	13.7%	7.2%	0.5%	1.6%	0.5%	1.9%
September	69.7%	16.9%	6.2%	0.6%	1.5%	0.6%	1.8%
July	66.9%	20.3%	5.7%	0.6%	1.5%	0.6%	1.7%
May	65.0%	22.7%	4.6%	1.0%	1.4%	0.9%	1.4%
March	63.4%	24.6%	4.2%	0.9%	1.4%	1.1%	1.2%
January	55.3%	29.3%	4.0%	1.2%	1.1%	1.7%

2002	IE6	IE5	AOL	N3	N5	N4	IE4
November	53.5%	29.9%	5.2%	1.1%	4.9%	2.0%
September	49.1%	34.4%	4.5%	1.3%	4.5%	2.2%
July	44.4%	40.1%	3.5%	1.2%	3.5%	2.6%	0.5%
May	40.7%	46.0%	2.8%	1.2%	2.7%	3.4%	0.7%
March	36.7%	49.4%	3.0%	1.2%	2.4%	4.1%	0.7%
January	30.1%	55.7%	2.8%	1.3%	2.2%	4.4%	1.0%

IE	Internet Explorer
Firefox	Firefox (identified as Mozilla before 2005)
Chrome	Google Chrome
Mozilla	The Mozilla Suite (Gecko, Netscape)
Safari	Safari (and Konqueror. Both identified as Mozilla before 2007)
Opera / O	Opera
N	Netscape (identified as Mozilla after 2006)
AOL	America Online (based on both Internet Explorer and Mozilla)

Browsers that count for less than 0.5% are not listed.
W3Schools is a website for people with an interest for web technologies. These people are more interested in using alternative browsers than the average user. The average user tends to use Internet Explorer, since it comes preinstalled with Windows. Most do not seek out other browsers.
These facts indicate that the browser figures above are not 100% realistic. Other web sites have statistics showing that Internet Explorer is used by at least 80% of the users.
Anyway, our data, collected from W3Schools' log-files, over a five year period, clearly shows the long and medium-term trends.
SOURCE:: http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

Microsoft is creating the ultimate mobile music service

2010-07-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

Microsoft confirmed that Windows Phone 7 devices, like the last couple generations of Zune players, will be able to sync music, video, and large images with a user's PC over a wireless home network--no sync cable required. Wireless sync is one of my favorite features of the much-maligned Zune.

Microsoft also has an online service called Windows Phone Live that will provide backup for photos, notes, and other information. This service is similar to MyPhone for Windows Mobile 6.5, but will use Microsoft's SkyDrive service (registration required), which offers 25GB of free online storage and is rapidly becoming a very interesting part of Microsoft's arsenal. (SkyDrive also provides a way to send very large virtual attachments through the recently revamped Hotmail, and is the main entry point and storage space for Microsoft's Office Web Apps.)

Microsoft is ready to compete with other cloud-based music services.

Zune Pass is available to users who want a subscription service, which lets you pay a monthly fee for unlimited streams from a catalog of millions. The company hasn't officially said that Zune Pass will be available on Phone 7 devices. However I fully expect to see it on the device.

For users who want to store their personal music collections in their own online music locker, then stream or download it to their mobile device, Microsoft could add music to the type of material that can be synced with SkyDrive. The easiest way would be to add an option to the Zune PC software that would let users upload their libraries to SkyDrive, then update Phone 7 to enable streaming or downloading from that service. Windows Live ID (formerly Passport) would make the experience relatively seamless--just sign in once from Zune, SkyDrive, or Phone 7, and Microsoft would be able to associate your music in the cloud with all the devices you have.

The third option would be streaming directly from a PC over the Internet to a phone with no intermediary service--like Simplify Media offered before being bought by Google. Here, Microsoft could use the technology from the Remote Media Streaming feature of Windows 7, which lets you stream music and video from your Windows 7 PC's library to any other Windows 7 PC, again using Windows Live ID for authentication. Microsoft would simply put a Remote Media Streaming option into the Zune client software (it's in the Windows Media Player today), then make sure that Phone 7 could connect to it. Bonus: this might be a Windows 7 feature only, spurring upgrades to the new OS.
Many users of Apple's iTunes have already said that they'd be willing to pay for a cloud-based music service from Apple. Imagine if Microsoft launched a similar set of services for free. Surely that would get Apple fans talking, if not switching.

Surreal Territory by Chuck Anderson

2010-07-17T04:15:00.000-07:00

The work of artist Chuck Anderson explores places only the imagination can go. Put six of his surreal dreamscapes on your desktop with this theme for Windows 7.

LINK:: windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/downloads/surreal-territory

Do more with Windows Windows Live Essentials

2010-07-16T16:43:00.001-07:00

Windows Live Essentials includes free programs from Microsoft for photos, movies, instant messaging, e‑mail, blogging, family safety, and more. Get them all in one download and get more done with Windows. A new version of Essentials is coming!

Windows Live Essentials beta includes free programs from Microsoft for photos, movies, instant messaging, e‑mail, blogging, and more. Get them all in one download and get more done with Windows.

Windows Live Essentials beta requires Windows 7 or Windows Vista. Learn how to upgrade from Windows XP. It includes beta versions of Messenger, Photo Gallery, Mail, Movie Maker, Writer, Family Safety, and Sync, plus Bing Bar and Messenger Companion. You also get Microsoft Office Outlook Connector Pack and Microsoft Silverlight.

LINK:: http://explore.live.com/windows-live-essentials-beta

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) Beta Offical

2010-07-16T15:19:00.000-07:00

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta helps keep your PCs and servers on the latest support level, provides ongoing improvements to the Windows Operating System (OS), by including previous updates delivered over Windows Update as well as continuing incremental updates to the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 platforms based on customer and partner feedback, and is easy for organizations to deploy a single set of updates.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta will help you:

Keep your PCs supported and up-to-date
Get ongoing updates to the Windows 7 platform
Easily deploy cumulative updates at a single time
Meet your users' demands for greater business mobility
Provide a comprehensive set of virtualization innovations
Provide an easier Service Pack deployment model for better IT efficiency
In order to download and install the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta you must currently have a Release to Manufacturing (RTM) version of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 already installed.

Please Note: This early release of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta is not available for home users. The SP1 Beta does not provide new end-user features, and installation is not supported by Microsoft. In other words, the majority of you should not download this. You need to register at Technet to download it.

Link : Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) Beta *Offical*

2010-07-15T18:50:00.001-07:00

Looking for a new PC?
Simplify your search.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pc-scout/default.aspx

2010-07-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

8 tips for safer online shopping

Online threats today come in the form of attacks on you and attacks on your computer. Here are eight (8) ways for you to have a safer online shopping experience:

Keep your computer software up to date.

Keep all software (including your web browser) current with automatic updates. If you are not already running Internet Explorer 8, the latest version of our web browser, click the button to the right to get it.

	Defend your computer. Use firewall, antivirus, antispam, and antispyware software. For an added layer of protection on your PC, you can download Microsoft Security Essentials for free or find other antivirus solutions.
	Avoid phishing scams and malware. By default Internet Explorer 8 runs SmartScreen Filter to help block and warn you of malicious software or phishing threats. SmartScreen Filter alerts you if a site you are trying to open has been reported as unsafe and allows you to report any unsafe sites you find.
	Protect yourself from emerging threats Cross-site scripting attacks are one of the increasingly sophisticated methods online criminals use to get your personal information. By default Internet Explorer 8 helps protect you against these attacks with a built-in Cross Site Scripting (XSS) Filter that is always on.
	Identify fake Web addresses. Internet Explorer 8 helps you avoid deceptive websites that can trick you with misleading addresses. The domain name in the address bar is highlighted in black to make it easier to identify a site's true identity.
	Browse more privately. When you're using a public computer to check e-mail or you're shopping for a "surprise" gift on a family PC, it's a good idea to use InPrivate Browsing—a feature that helps prevent your browsing history, cookies, and other information from being retained on your computer.
	Make sure payment websites use encryption. To confirm that a website uses encryption when processing credit card information, look for: An "s" after http in the Web address—it should read https: A tiny closed padlock in the address bar, or at the lower-right corner of the window. A green address bar—Internet Explorer 8 uses this to indicate a trustworthy site.
	Never respond to unsolicited requests to update your account information. These e-mail messages might be scams for stealing your identity. Most legitimate companies never send unsolicited e-mail or instant message requests for your passwords or other personal information. And remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

2010-07-15T18:44:00.000-07:00

Download the Messenger Beta for Windows 7 and Windows Vista.

With the Windows Live Messenger Beta, the best way to keep your people closer gets even better. Video chat in HD* while you share photos. Get your Facebook and MySpace updates right in Messenger, and just the way you want them. Go mobile and chat on your phone. Get the Beta for your PC running Windows 7 or Windows Vista and be among the first to try the new Messenger.

Messenger Beta is part of Windows Live Essentials Beta, which includes beta versions of Messenger, Photo Gallery, Mail, Movie Maker, Writer, Family Safety, Sync, and Messenger Companion, plus Bing Bar, Microsoft Office Outlook Connector Pack, and Microsoft Silverlight.

Follow this link to learn how to install messenger beta: http://explore.live.com/windows-live-messenger-beta

7 Windows 7 Tips: Part 1

2009-05-06T14:56:00.000-07:00

Auri Rahimzadeh

5/5/2009 2:06:28 PM

Below are a ton of Windows 7 Tips & Tricks shared with us by Microsoft as part of the Microsoft Partner Program. Did you know Windows 7 has built-in screen recording? How about control-clicking the taskbar to switch between windows? Read on and learn how you can get even more from Windows 7!

I received three of these great documents, so this is part 1 of a three part series.

Tip 1: Shuffling Through Program Windows.
Tip 2: Managing Your Windows.
Tip 3: Project Your Display With Ease.
Tip 4: Multi-Monitor Window Management.
Tip 5: Aero Peek Your Desktop.
Tip 6: Live Clutter-Free.
Tip 7: Help the Help Desk Help You.

Shuffling Through Program Windows

If you’re running a number of files from the same program, such as multiple documents in Microsoft Word, Windows 7 allows you to switch through these windows with ease. Simply press down on the Ctrl key while clicking the icon from the taskbar. Each click will change the window to the next in the sequence, in the order that you opened them.

Managing Your Windows

Windows 7 simplifies document and program management by allowing you to “dock” a window or manipulate its size with one mouse maneuver or a simple keystroke. To dock your window on one half of the screen, drag it to the left or right and it will change its size to fit that half of the screen. To manipulate the vertical size of a window, drag the window to the top to maximize it, or double-click the window’s top or bottom border to maximize it vertically while keeping the same width.

You can also perform all of these functions with keystrokes: +Left Arrow and +Right Arrow dock to half the screen +Up Arrow and +Down Arrow maximize and minimize +Shift+Up Arrow and +Shift+Down Arrow maximize and restore vertical size.

Project Your Display With Ease

Plugging in a projector and projecting your display is a snap with the Windows 7 driver display utility, displayswitch.exe. Simply hit +P to display the following easy-to-navigate pop-up window:

By hitting your arrow keys (or +P) you can switch through multiple display settings, such as “clone”, “extend” or “external only.”

Multi-Monitor Window Management

Windows 7 makes using multiple monitors as convenient as it should be. When you’re working in multi-monitors, use the keyboard shortcuts +Shift+Left Arrow and +Shift+Right Arrow to toggle between monitors. The new window will keep its relative position to the top-left origin of the original.

Aero Peek Your Desktop

A lesser-known versatile tool introduced with Windows 7 is the Windows® Aero® feature, “Aero Peek”. Just click the rectangle in the lower right hand corner of the task bar for quick access to your desktop. The keyboard shortcut +Space performs the same function.

Live Clutter-Free

We live with enough clutter in our lives. Windows 7 gets rid of all the superfluous windows behind your active window. Just hit +Home to minimize all inactive windows. To restore the windows when you’d like them, just press +Home again.

Help the Help Desk Help You

Solving problems unique to a machine can be an arduous task for both the end-user and the help desk. That’s why Windows 7 introduces the Problem Steps Recorder, a screen-capture tool that allows the end-user to record the problems they’re having step-by-step. It’s as simple as hitting “record” then adding in comments as needed. A HTML-based file is converted to a .ZIP folder, which is easily passed on to the help desk. The program is accessible from the Control Panel under “Record steps to reproduce a problem” or run psr.exe from Explorer.

2009-05-05T06:33:00.000-07:00

Plan Ahead for Windows 7 Beta and RC Expiration Dates

Attention Windows 7 Beta and Release Candidate (RC) testers! To avoid interruption, you’ll need to start planning now to rebuild your test machines using a valid version of Windows before the software expires.
Windows will notify you that the expiration process is beginning and two weeks later your PC will begin shutting down every two hours.

The Beta expires on August 1, 2009, and bi-hourly shutdowns will begin July 1, 2009.

The RC will expire June 1, 2010, and the bi-hourly shutdowns will begin on March 1, 2010.

In both cases, you’ll need to rebuild your test PCs with another valid version of the OS, and reinstall your programs and data.

Download Windows 7 Release Candidate

2009-05-05T06:18:00.000-07:00

Get the all new OS from Microsoft today!!

Download it from here!!
Be sure to read all information on the pages before downloading and installing
Please come back and post your experiences here

-flasherstein

Wireless Woes in Windows 7

2009-05-03T06:41:00.000-07:00

So you got Release Candidate 1 all downloaded and installed but what's that can't connect wireless to your router? What a bummer? I repair/build computers and have already installed Windows 7 RC1 nearly 50 times on various set-ups. Today I am going to go through a resolution for the Linksys WMP54g. After you have installed Windows 7 RC1 you will notice in the device manager that there is an "other" category now this will only show up if Windows 7 did not find proper drivers for your installed hardware. . If there is no "other" then you are OK! However if you are trying to install a Linksys WMP54g you will need several thing to get this one working correctly.

Step 1. Download Ralink Driver HERE. Once you have downloaded the file. Open and follow the onscreen instructions.

STEP 2. Now Go to device manager(Start->Right Click Computer-> then Left Click Device Manager) Under the "Other" drop down Right Click "Network Adapter" and choose "Update
Driver Software" then choose "Browse my computer for drivers" then "Let me pick from
a list of device drivers on my computer" at the Select Adapter screen under the Manufacturer
side select "Ralink Technology Corp."(first one) then select 802.11a/g Wireless Lan PCI. You will get the "update driver " warning Click yes.

Step 3. You should now see you wireless connections that are available.

Hope this helps:) please feel free to email any solutions you have are commets and/or questions.

Windows 7 Launch

2009-05-03T06:37:00.000-07:00

This is an article I found on Computing World and I thought was worth reapeating.

April 30, 2009 (Computerworld) Microsoft Corp. will let users run Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) for more than a year, giving them free use of the new operating system for a significantly longer time than it did Vista's previews.

Windows 7 RC, slated for download by MSDN and TechNet subscribers today and by the general public on May 5, doesn't expire until June 1, 2010, 13 months from tomorrow, Microsoft confirmed today.

When asked why the company is giving users such a long free pass for the software, a spokeswoman declined to comment.

The date had been leaked more than a month ago, when a Microsoft site temporarily posted a page that revealed other details of the upcoming RC, including a May delivery and no limit on the number of downloads.

"You don't need to rush to get Windows 7 RC," the leaked page read in late March. "The RC release will be available at least through June 2009, and we're not limiting the number of product keys, so you have plenty of time."

The 13-month life span of Windows 7 RC is substantially longer than the time limit Microsoft put on Vista's release candidates. In September and October 2006, Microsoft issued Vista RC1 and Vista RC2, respectively; both expired June 1, 2007. Users of Vista RC2 then were able to run the operating system free of charge for nearly eight months.

Starting June 1, 2007, PCs powered by Vista previews, including the two release candidates, began rebooting every two hours, part of Microsoft's preplanned scheme to remind users to move to a paying copy.

Although Microsoft continues to be coy about a final release date for Windows 7 -- according to calculations by Todd Bishop, who writes the TechFlash blog, the company is behind schedule for such an announcement -- it has said that today's RC will be the only release candidate for the operating system.

The next milestone will be what Microsoft calls "release to manufacturing," or RTM, a stage that means developers have signed off on the code and the company has moved the product into duplication and begun handing it to its hardware partners for installation on new PCs.

Microsoft was having trouble serving up Windows 7 RC to MSDN and TechNet subscribers today, as the download sites for both services were overloaded early Thursday. As of 1 p.m. Eastern time, the MSDN and TechNet download pages for Windows 7 RC remained offline.

Windows 7

2009-05-02T21:04:00.000-07:00

Windows 7 public release is just days away. Is your wireless network adapter going to work after you upgrade? On this blog you can post your experinces with Windows 7! Here are two issues I was able to over come.

Belkin PCI F5D7000 Windows 7 driver 32-bit
Install card-> Start computer
Start->"Right click" Computer-> "Left click" Properties-> "Left click" Device Manager->
Should see "Ethernet Controller" in the Other Catagory "Right click" and choose "Update
Driver Software" then choose "Browse my computer for drivers" then "Let me pick from
a list of device drivers on my computer" at the Select Adapter screen under the Manufacturer
side selcet "Atheros Communication Inc." Now scroll down in the right panel till you see "Allied
Telesyn AT-WCP201g Wireless PCI Adapter" This should get you going. Tomorrow I will post
my resolution for the Linksys WMP54G Wireless PCI Adapter for Windows 7 64-bit which
should also work for Windows 7 32-bit.

-----hope this helps c-ya flasherstein