Windows 7 News: Software, Virus Protection

Finally today,Microsoft has released the prices for Windows 7.Windows Team Blog has posted the full information regarding prices and other details.
Here is what the team blog reads
In fact, we know many people need that new PC sooner – for back to school specifically. And we have the answer for people who need a new PC now but still want to get Windows 7 and that’s the Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program, which kicks off tomorrow, June 26th! Anyone who buys a PC from a participating OEM or retailer with Windows …

Windows 7 upgrade path has been published and is available for download which outlines both supported and unsupported upgrade paths for Windows 7 SKU.
Here are the tables which depict the upgrade path to different versions of Windows 7

You can download the full document here or view it online here
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The new site Windows 7 Upgrade option has been revealed.Though still their is no information available.The page reads as 
Thank you for your interest. Please return to this site on June 26, 2009.
What will be provided on Friday is unknown but we may finally find out pricing options for Windows 7 upgrades or it could possibly show the paths you have to upgrade to Windows 7 but leaving out the pricing options. Microsoft also plans to release final versions of its Windows 7 keyboard and mice drivers on …

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Beta is now available for download.Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor scans your PC’s system, programs and devices to check if it’s able to run Windows 7. After a few minutes, the report will let you know if your PC meets the system requirements, if there are any known compatibility issues with your programs and devices, and will also provide guidance on your upgrade options to Windows 7.

You can download Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor beta from here
Search terms:Windows 7 (1)

You have read the heading right..The heading on the MS Canada site is
Upgrade now and get approximately 20% off Windows Vista and receive upgrade rights to Windows 7 when it’s released!
Here is what the page reads-
If you purchase Windows Vista Business through an Open Value license, you’ll not only save money now, but you’ll also get Windows 7 as an included upgrade when it’s released. For a limited time, your company can save 20% off the regular price of the Upgrade license and Software Assurance of an Open Value Agreement. …

With Windows 7, the likely reason that Redmond didn’t support an XP upgrade is due to the amount of validation and testing required to support it to Microsoft’s standards.  With such an aggressive schedule, my opinion is that those testing hours can be better utilized for other things like compatibility and performance.  Nevertheless, IT admins aren’t completely out of options.
Vista had many way to be deployed and in-place XP upgrades were one of them.  Because of the small number of core differences between Vista and Windows 7, it makes sense …

It shouldn’t surprise many testers that Microsoft has shrewdly closed the upgrade channel for users who will — probably sooner this year than later — be making the switch to Windows 7. Many who had chosen to steer clear of Windows Vista and hang on to Windows XP — by all rights, a decent operating system, at least for Service Pack 3 users — are pondering the nightmare scenario of having to upgrade to and validate (which usually means, pay for) both Vista and Windows 7, if it so happens …

TechArp has posted about the Windows 7 upgrade program.Here is what the site reads-
The official name for the program has yet to be determined. Microsoft is using "Windows 7 Upgrade Program" as the place-holder for the Windows Vista to Windows 7 upgrade program, which was also known as the Windows 7 Technical Guarantee Program. Microsoft will announce the final program name at a later date.
Overview Of The Windows 7 Upgrade Program
The Windows 7 Upgrade Program is designed to assist Microsoft’s OEM partners in minimizing the number of end users who …

MyDrivers.com reports that on December 10, Microsoft has released a report to all OEM partners on Windows 7 technical support for the draft plan,so that the OEM partners could give feedback regarding  this to the company by January 10 which would be the release date of the official program of the project.
The plan is designed to help Microsoft’s OEM partners who have been selling pre-installed Vista as a  brand, because many end users would be waiting for the release of Windows 7 and delay the purchase of a computer.The plan …

We’ve talked some about performance in this blog and recently many folks have been blogging and writing about the topic as well. We thought it would be a good time to offer some more behind the scenes views on how we have been working on and thinking about performance because it such an interesting topic for the folks reading this blog. Of course I’ve been using some pretty low-powered machines lately so performance is top of mind for me as well. But for fun I am writing this on my …