Archive for the ‘Operating System’ Category
If you’re one of those Windows 7 testers still running the Beta — and not the Release Candidate — of Microsoft’s next-generation client, it’s time to get the lead out.
Bi-hourly shutdowns of the Windows 7 Beta (which Microsoft released officially in January of this year) are set to begin next week, on July 1. On August 1, the Windows 7 Beta will be marked as “non-Genuine” software, with those running it becoming subject t the punishments that Microsoft has earmarked for pirates.
Testers have until August 15 to download the Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) build, which Microsoft made available for download starting in May 2009. The RC is set to begin its own bi-hourly shutdowns in March 2010 and to be designated “non-Genuine” in June 2010.
Windows 7 is expected to be released to manufacturing in July and will be generally available starting October 22, 2009.
On June 25, Microsoft took the wraps off its Windows 7 retail pricing. Bottom line: If you preorder (U.S., Canada and Japan only for now), you can save more than 50 percent over what comparable Vista versions cost. If you don’t, you’ll pay roughly the same for Windows 7 as you paid for Vista at retail.
(My ZDNet blogging colleague Ed Bott has a more thorough look at the retail pricing for each Windows 7 version.)
There’s still plenty we don’t know about Windows 7 pricing, such as how much Microsoft is charging PC makers per copy of Windows 7, which may have an impact on what PC makers will charge for new Windows 7 PCs. Microsoft isn’t talking about whether it will offer a Family Pack for Windows 7 and how much that will cost. (I asked; no dice.) And, as Bott noted, there’s no word on what the Anytime Upgrade pricing — for users who want to jump up to a more feature-rich Windows 7 SKU — will be.
Microsoft also acknowledged on June 25 that the Windows 7 Upgrade Option program will kick off on Friday, June 26, as was expected. Participating PC makers and retailers will be offering users who buy Vista PCs as of June 26 a coupon for a free copy of Windows 7 once it is available, after October 22. The official details on how the program will work are available on Microsoft’s Upgrade Offer site.
Some industry watchers had been predicting — and hoping — Microsoft would get a lot more aggressive with Windows 7 pricing, especially given the state of the economy. Others had been anticipating Microsoft would likely hold pricing steady, even though Windows 7 already is shaping up to be a lot more popular than Vista.
Microsoft is offering a retail price cut of 8 percent (for the upgrade version) to 17 percent (for the full version) for the Home Premium version of Windows 7. IDC analyst Richard Shim said that is a good start, and added he is expecting the preorders, with the 50+ percent cuts to “likely fly off the shelves.”
But given the fact that Microsoft sells new versions of Windows via PC preloads and volume-licensing deals — not in the form of retail copies — there are other more pressing pricing matters.
“The more important question is what are the cuts like to the OEMs?” Shim said. “That’s where Microsoft makes a majority of their revenue when it comes to the OS. Last time around with Vista, OEMs weren’t too pleased with the multiple versions, the delivery delays and the removal of some significant features and they grumbled about it quite a bit. This time around, Microsoft might want to try to win back some goodwill with OEMs.”
Charles King Principal Analyst with Pund-IT praised the “global uniformity” of Microsoft’s Windows 7 retail pricing, and said that Microsoft already has done a lot to make pricing simpler and easier to understand than Vista’s. While he said he is expecting fewer users to want to downgrade to Vista or XP from Windows 7, King said he was curious how downgrades will be priced by PC makers. Will users have to pay extra for “downgrade rights”? No word on that yet.
One item buried in Microsoft’s announcement on June 25 about its retail pricing plans for Windows 7 is how it intends to deal with Windows 7 E, the one and only version of Windows 7 it plans to sell in Europe.
Windows 7 E is Windows 7 without Internet Explorer 8 — or any other browser — preinstalled. The company is intending to release Windows 7 E in Europe in the hopes of potentially heading off the worst of the remedies expected to be imposed by European Commission authorities who have yet to issue their final rulings in the Opera browser-bundling antitrust case against Microsoft.
As my blogging colleague Ed Bott notes, it’s a case of good news and bad news for users in Europe. The good: European customers will be able to buy a full retail version of Windows 7 E at the same price as the usually cheaper upgrade version, at least for the rest of this year. (The fine print: “Upgrade price available for full editions of retail packaged product until at least Dec. 31, 2009.”) The bad: There will be no upgrade version for Windows 7 E users, and they will have to do a clean install in order to put Windows 7 E on their systems.
The reasoning for no Windows 7 E upgrade seems to be that there isn’t an equivalent version of Vista — with Internet Explorer removed — from which European users could/should upgrade.
In the EU, Windows 7 E Home Premium will be available for four percent less than Vista Home Premium (€119.99 vs. €125.00). Windows 7 E Professional will cost the same as Vista Professional (€285.00) and Ultimate, the same as Vista Ultimate (€299). After December 31, the full packaged prices might increase, according to information from Microsoft. Win 7 E Home Premium will stay at €119.99, but Professional could go to €309.00 and Ultimate to €319.00 (which are listed as the official “full” retail prices on Microsoft’s fact sheet.
Last I heard, Microsoft still hasn’t released a test version of Windows 7 E to users in Europe and hasn’t committed as to whether it will release to manufacturing the Windows 7 E version of the product at the same time as it does the “regular” Windows 7 product. Microsoft has said it plans to make Windows 7 E generally available on October 22, the same day as it will become widely available in the U.S. and other countries.
Storage utility software vendor Paragon Software Group on Tuesday said it had tweaked its Universal File System Driver technology to support Mac volumes on Windows systems. The driver is in beta release.
The company said its Paragon HFS for Windows beta driver will support read-write functions for Mac OS X volumes; it will not support older Mac Classic volumes. In addition, there is no limits to maximum file/partition sizes (other than the usual Mac and Windows limits).
It is well known that Windows cannot read from and write to HFS+ partitions. This limits the ability to exchange or share files between Windows and Mac OS X file systems? Occasionally, users will rely on the services of FAT partitions which can be read and written to by both Windows and Mac OS X. FAT partitions have disadvantages and limitations as well (i.e. you can not store/create files greater than 4GB in size). Moreover, what if your data is already stored on Mac-formatted partitions but you don’t have time or tools to migrate to Windows-formatted partition (NTFS) to preserve the integrity of the data?
Paragon HFS for Windows is designed to provide full (read and write) access to HFS+ partitions. It can be installed on all versions of Windows, and eliminates the need to use complex processes on different platforms, thus reducing your incurred costs.
Connecting your laptop to the local coffee shop’s Wi-Fi without a good firewall and thinking you’re secure is like using a condom with thousands of holes in it and calling it safe sex. Your antivirus application is a good start, but if you want to make sure you’re computer is safe while you’re connected to the internet, a solid firewall is a must. Earlier this week we asked you to share your favorite Windows firewall, and today we’re back with the five most popular answers. Keep reading for a closer look at the five best Windows firewalls, then cast your vote for your favorite.
Comodo Firewall Pro (Freeware)
Comodo Firewall Pro is a powerful, free firewall utility. The application’s simple, clean interface belies its power, but make no mistake: Comodo is an excellent firewall packed with advanced options. In addition to the firewall, Comodo also comes packaged with an anti-malware tool called Defense+. If all you want is the firewall, be sure to select that option during installation.
ESET Smart Security (Shareware)
ESET Smart Security comes from the same company that makes NOD32, one of the five most popular antivirus applications. ESET Smart Security includes the NOD32 Antivirus along with a firewall and anti-spam filter. As a full-service solution, ESET Smart Security isn’t cheap at $60, but a 30-day trial is available. Like NOD32, Smart Security is a powerful tool with a small memory footprint.
ZoneAlarm Free Firewall (Freeware)
ZoneAlarm is a free software firewall from a company called Check Point. Not only does ZoneAlarm detect inbound intrusions, but it also lets you set per-application limits for outbound connections—meaning you can stop Google Chrome or iTunes from phoning home whenever they want, for example.
Despite our request for a software firewall, many of you were still adamant about sticking with the firewall that’s built into the router you’re using on your home network. Fact is, if you don’t use your computer outside of your home, you don’t necessarily need a software firewall—and you don’t have to run a separate application eating up RAM to get great firewall protection. However, as soon as you and your laptop leave the safety of your home, your laptop has essentially no protection if you don’t set up some sort of software firewall. So while your router’s firewall may be great, just remember: It can’t follow you out the door.
Arguing that it gets a bad rap because it’s a Microsoft product, many of you are perfectly happy with the default Windows Firewall. It’s built directly into Windows, runs quietly in the background, and blocks suspicious attacks without requiring you to install any third-party software.