Over the past 2 months, Microsoft has launched a barrage of information to the public on their upcoming operating system, Windows 7. Finding the information hasn’t been too difficult as they’ve also done a pretty decent job linking up the variety new websites and blogs, including the most recent readyset7.com . (If you haven’t seen this, it’s a very cool rendering of what Silverlight 3 can do). Yesterday, another list of new resources was posted to the Windows Team Blog here by Microsoft’s Yochay Kiriaty. A host of tools and resources supporting the RTM (Release to Manufacturing). The Windows 7 website that still hasn’t seen much press (or internal links) and does a great job augmenting the Springboard Series on Technet, is the recently-launched TalkingAboutWindows.com which can be found here ….. Lots of familiar Microsoft faces and more. For those that haven’t tried the RC or weren’t able to download the RTM from MSDN or TechNet yesterday (see below), you can get an inside look at Windows 7 with this easy-to-navigate Microsoft website. Note: The videos are powered by Silverlight which can be downloaded here . If you weren’t able to downloads the RTM yesterday, visit Brandon LeBlanc’s updated post to the Windows Team Blog here . (IE: There’s probably a reason). A few reminders. Free Downloads of the Windows 7 Release Candidate will terminate on August 20 . I recommend downloading a ’spare’ if you can find your original DVD and/or don’t qualify for the RTM. The RC will be fully functional until March 2010 (and you may decide to install it later). Keys are still available as well. The shortest path to the RC is here . If you don’t save this post (or print it), just remember Windows7.com. It doesn’t get any easier. Microsoft positively has a hit with this latest operating system and the recently released pricing makes it the most affordable in the company’s history. The Windows Team Blog remains the best source of breaking developments and can be subscribed to in RSS, or viewed here . You can follow the team updates on Twitter here .
Posts Tagged pricing
Google Reader is one of the first things I look at each day. (You can subscribe to my list of current subscriptions anytime from the link in the right column). As more and more people discover the new features unleashed yesterday in Google Reader , a few are beginning to appear in my ‘left column’. Initially I’m ‘green lighting’ all of them just to see what I’ve been missing (and trying to avoid information overload at the same time 
. So far, I really ‘like’ the new community features …. As always, there are a LOT of smart people out there and discovering all of them would take up a greater part of anyone’s lifetime, even with all the tools available. This is new and should be interesting to watch. I’m already growing a small list of new people to follow on Twitter, Facebook and Friendfeed while at the same time offloading many that no longer update or just don’t talk about stuff that I’m interested in. I’ve always liked the ‘Like’ feature that first appeared on Friendfeed then migrated to Facebook and now has been embraced by Google Reader, so I decided to ‘like’ a few posts this morning. Then came the all-serious acid test. The same test I threw at Facebook when they implemented ‘likes’ (and cracked a few ‘friends’ up in the process). Here’s your big chance to Like Yourself! Either Google has complete respect for your ego …. or somehow this slipped through
Logging in just got easier
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I always had a difficult time having to ‘join’ or log-in a blog or website just to make a comment. Although I understand the logic, there have been many times, I’ve turned the page on a post on CNET (and numerous other sites). While Disqus has made this a LOT easier, at least in many of the places I travel, the latest move to ‘log-ins you may already have’, is making it even easier. The ‘inspiration’ for Alltop , Thomas Marban’s PopUrls perhaps has the widest group I’ve seen yet (graphic above). Friendfeed and many others are also implementing this easy way to log-in as well. Keep in mind, that in some cases, your favorite blogger is paid by page views and the more comments, the more likely the piece will stay fresh and they’re hard work rewarded (I don’t know how they do it …… but they do, and MANY are still very much around). Perhaps the most significant example of what I call ‘easy log-in’ is the use of Facebook Connect by Digg . Instead of having a network which includes a bunch of people you probably don’t know, the recently implemented connection allows you to send an invite to your FB friends. Result (at least for me and many, many others so far) …. an instant Digg network of people that you’ve been hanging with on Facebook and probably share your true interests. Should you trust your password to others sites? Despite steps taken by those offering the vehicle and / or the log-in, that decision is yours. It’s an open question how much ‘real security’ is in these pipes. Reality dictates that if a hacker really wants you …. they’re probably going to get you one way or another. As opposed to a few short years ago, there’s hardly anyone that’s completely invisible on the web anymore. I suppose it’s a good time to remind those who haven’t recently taken a look at their Facebook privacy settings. Many changes have been made there and you now can be much more selective on what you share and what you don’t. …..and yes, I’m going to do it again. Wander over and check out Friendfeed (no I’m not on the payroll . While it’s hard to make predictions in this crazy economic climate, it’s my guess, you’ll see Frieddfeed right along side Twitter and Facebook on blogs and websites in less than a year … maybe two.