Windows 7 Sales 234% Higher Than Vista

NPD declared sales for Windows 7 were 234% higher than the sales for Windows Vista in the same amount of time on the market, says Nick Wingfield at the WSJ's Seattle desk. Oddly, Windows PC sales were down, 6% lower than they were during the Vista launch weeks. The NPD analyst take: "I think it's mixed. We would have liked to see a stronger jump on the hardware side." The non-analyst take: People who had XP knew that switching to Vista would suck without a new machine; now, the opposite is true, with so many people keeping their old machines but trying any means necessary to rid them of Vista. Still, these are early days, and we already knew pre-orders were insane. I'm just curious to see if PC sales will pick up for the holidays. [WSJ - Image Source]

Battery Juice No Longer Just an Expression, Still Not as Tasty as Orange Juice

You know how the Air Force has been working on a secret water-based battery technology for 25 years, but couldn't get it to work because of water's damned evaporative property? OK, me neither, but this research, which bears the ironically simple name "metal-air," might become our next great battery technology. They won't be using water, though. Instead, they'll use a clear, viscous, electrically conductive and mercifully non-volatile substance called ionic liquid. This stuff isn't going to be powering your Zune until the Zune itself is pretty much an implant (or a smart tattoo), but if you're curious, you should check out the super over-my-head chemical explanation. [MIT Tech Review - Image Source]

Verizon Calls AT&T's Ad Lawsuit "Junk"

As if AT&T's stupid "Map For That" lawsuit wasn't embarrassing enough on its own, Verizon Wireless's Jeffrey Nelson got a chance to ridicule it when AdWeek called him for comment. "This is a junk lawsuit," he said. "It's surprising that rather than defend the ‘blue' hot spots on their 3G map, our competitor instead focuses on their white spaces." This isn't working out according to plan, is it, AT&T? Reminds me of the Trojan Rabbit scene in Python's Holy Grail. [AdWeek via AllThingsD]

Air Filter Uses Plants to Get Rid of Yer Weed Smoke

There's a new air filter that draws air through the leaves, roots and soil of a house plant in order to filter impurities from the room. Well, it was designed in 2007, but it's now a reality. Hey, are you thinking what I'm thinking? If you grow pot in the filter, when you smoke it, the plant itself that bestowed it upon you can filter the smoke, and maybe recapture some THC for bonus stickiness? Wait, what? Oh man, I'm freaking out. You're crazy. This is crazy. Seriously. Let's do it. [Inhabitots]

Chuck is the embodiment of the dreams of thousands of DeviantArt users—he started out in screenprinting just after high school, worked for t-shirt maker Threadless by day and began creating a name for himself in the online art community by night. Under the pseudonym NoPattern (now the name of his design shop), he achieved incredible success at a startlingly young age: You've seen his work before on projects with Pepsi, Urban Outfitters, Reebok, and many more. My personal favorite has to be the cover art for Lupe Fiasco's fantastic debut album, Food & Liquor:

Today, at only 24, he's achieved a new level of stardom: His designs for Windows 7 will literally be seen by hundreds of millions of people over the lifespan of the OS. Microsoft hunted him down, and it was definitely a good call; Windows 7 is the best-looking Windows OS ever, and its style is reflected in the cool screens designed by Chuck. Check out some of his previous work in the below gallery (including a great graffiti-inspired piece for Zune) to get a sense of his style.

Since he's such an independent guy, I was curious to hear how he managed to collaborate with Microsoft, the tech corporation most likely to have the word "monolithic" as an epithet. Chuck says the actual design team he worked with was quite small and surprisingly open to his ideas. The first thing they showed him back in December 2008 were those glorious Dr.-Seuss-as-read-by-Hunter-S.-Thompson wallpapers, so it was clear right off the bat that censorship wouldn't really be a problem.

The two pieces took about four months, start to finish. Chuck started with a pencil and paper, and moved on to Photoshop for the Windows 7 sheen, but the two pieces retain that sketchy feel—in fact, all the individual threads on the login screen were hand-drawn with a Wacom tablet.

This first gallery shows the stages of the default login screen, the first image to be completed. Later came the default desktop wallpaper and Windows 7's physical packaging, which both have the login screen as their aesthetic jumping-off point. This is where it begins—click on the first thumbnail to read Chuck's own words about how his vision evolved.

The Login Screen

As it turns out, there are a few repetitions of the number seven in the login screen, but weirdly enough, that little Easter egg started out as an accident. Once Chuck and Microsoft noticed that there were seven white strands on the bottom left, they started repeating the number: There are also seven leaves, seven branches, and seven flower petals in the yellow quadrant of the Windows logo.

The default Windows 7 desktop is one of my favorites; usually the very first thing I do with a new computer is replace whatever wallpaper comes with it (Apple is a particular offender here—I hate that cheeseball space motif) and yet I happily left this one on my latest computer.

The Default Desktop

Microsoft sought out this young, independent, mixed media digital artist rather than going through traditional channels, and it resulted in a fresh new look that couldn't have come from another source. It's credit to them, as is the walkthrough itself. You'd never see Apple showing, say, the pieces that mysteriously got tossed aside in favor of that clip-art snow leopard on their latest OS X packaging, would you?

Thanks to Chuck and to Microsoft for showing us their rejects. [NoPattern, Chuck's Twitter]

Note: Speaking of rejects, you might notice that all the screens are capped at 700 pixels in width. It's because Microsoft isn't dumb: They don't want shots they took a pass on becoming the wallpaper of netbooks and PCs all over. Sorry guys, we tried.

I don't know what's funnier, that Apple has the balls to erect a billboard so large it's illegal, or that Apple has such pull—financial and political—that they can get away with it. Since 2007 the 13,750-square-foot billboard has been up in a Boston-based storage facility, and the state has argued that it should come down. Protected in part by Boston hizzoner Thomas M. Menino and others, the ad remains, but after a temporary permit ran out, its owners had to pay a $110,000 "settlement." Sounds like a fine to me. Either way, the mofo is still standing. [AppleInsider]

On what looks like the Japanese equivalent of Regis and Kelly, a TV presenter showing off a Sony Vaio L touchscreen Win 7 PC can't quite get it to work. It's not fully frozen—it's the IR touch interface that seems to be the problem. Whatever the case, you can see this poor bastard visibly mourning his own rapidly decreasing family honor. And as for Reeg-san and JKelly, I don't know what they're saying, but I am pretty sure I've heard it all before. [MacDailyNews via CrunchGear]

Wal-Mart is sticking it to Best Buy with their own army of overpriced teenage-son replacements. You pay anywhere from $99 to $339 for, as Reuters puts it, "basic television installation on the low end to setting up a home theater, wireless router network or a home office computer network" on the high end. So let me get this straight, somebody paying $600 for a 40" LCD TV is going to pay $100 for it to be setup? Better yet, someone paying $30 for a wireless router will pay 10 times that for some dude to come install it? I mean, I know we're a service economy, but this is ridiculous. [Reuters]

My favorite Canadian co-CEO, RIM's Mike Lazaridis, did a kind of evasion/denial response to questions about the gloriously hideous Bluetooth BlackBerry smartwatch, a kind of wristborne Foleo, if you will. He kinda just giggled and said that the accessories they release are generally accessories that keep the BlackBerry handset at the center. Clearly this would be different—and CrackBerry maintains that it still may come out, designed and built for BlackBerrys by a firm unaffiliated with RIM. Sounds like a recipe for awesome to me. [TechDigest]

• Our Complete Windows 7 Guide
• The Best Features and Tips
• Our Full Review

• Lifehacker's Complete Guide to Windows 7

• How to Install Windows 7 via Boot Camp on a New Mac
• Win SuperSite: How To Clean Install Win 7 With an Upgrade-Only Disc
• How to Virtualize Any OS for Free

And here's a recap of the finest launch moments of the past week...

The Launch Party

• Readers' Windows 7 Launch Parties
• Adam Frucci's One-Man Launch Party
• Host Your Own Win 7 Torrenting Party
• Microsoft Opens Its All-New Retail Store
• Microsoft's New Windows 7 Ads
• Apple's New Windows 7 Ads
• 38 Ways to Put some Sex Into Windows 7
• Saddest Example of Cross-Promotional Convergence Ever

The Steve Ballmer Interview

• Part 1: Ballmer Talks Natal, Says Blu-ray Add-On for Xbox Coming (Update)
• Part 2: Ballmer on the Smartphone Race: "It Doesn't Matter What the Critics Say"
• Part 3: Ballmer on Zune: Sometimes You Get It Right The Third Time?
• Part 4: Ballmer on Those Crazy Ballmer YouTube Videos
• Part 5: Ballmer Optimistic About Win 7, But Says Vista Is "Very Popular"

The Dealzmodo

• Last Minute Windows 7 Deals
• Windows 7 Deals of the Day
• HP and Best Buy's Super Insane $1200 Combo Offer

More Windows 7 Goodness

• 27 Reviews of Windows 7
• 7 Reasons to Stick to XP
• Battlemodo: Thin-and-Light Win 7 Laptops
• HP Envy
• Amazon Kindle Touchscreen App for Windows 7

Table of Contents

Intro

What It All Means: Windows 7 Review
So much anticipation has led up to the arrival of Windows 7, aka The Redeemer. But does it live up to the hype? Here we pass judgment, and then, because we like you, we give you a super-quick tour of its best features and tips.

Chapter 1

The Real Cost of Upgrading to Windows 7
Now that prices are announced and it's time to think about upgrading, here are all the different considerations you'll have to make. It's as smart a Windows upgrade as there ever was, but do your homework!

Chapter 2

How To Use Windows 7, or Why The New UI Is So Great
Windows 7 is Microsoft's biggest user-interface overhaul since Windows 95. It's no surprise, then, that even Windows veterans could use a crash course on how to use it.

Chapter 3

Device Stage Hardware Fun, Plus More Productivity Tips
Device Stage, the instant recognition of cameras, printers and other peripherals, is candy for the gadget-addicted, but knowing what works and what doesn't definitely matters.

Chapter 4

Windows Media Player and Media File Compatibility
Music and movies—not only are they more important than they were when Vista came out, but they also come from more sources in more formats. Windows 7 attempts to master them all.

Chapter 5

Couch Tricks: New Features for Windows Media Center
Our favorite "10-foot" media software shows up in Windows 7 with loads of new features—if you haven't yet seen why Media Center makes even TiVo look dated, you better pay attention.

Chapter 6

Important Changes to Networking and Security
When it comes to life online, there's no way to underestimate advances in networking and security. Windows 7 is full of them, and it pays to know what they are and how to use them.

Chapter 7

Natural Interfaces: Pen, Touch and Multitouch
Windows 7 comes of age at a time when the keyboard and mouse are giving way to newer more instinctive controls—luckily, it's got many of those controls built right in. Bonus: Here's a first look at the fun Surface-like Windows 7 Touch Pack which may soon be available on all touch PCs.

Chapter 8

Got Troubles? Here's How To Shoot 'Em Down
Even a good operating system can be bad once in a while. During the Beta test, we had our share of issues. Here's a discussion of many of the problems that can be solved, and a few that can't.

Is there something missing, a discussion you were hoping to have but aren't seeing here? We want to be thorough, so let's have it. Go ahead and hit us up, either in direct emails or to our tips line, with the subject "Windows 7 Guide."

You may have a few questions: Am I eligible for a cheap upgrade? How about a free upgrade? What's this about family packs? Should I be shopping for a new computer? Not to worry, Prof. Dealzmodo will help clear things up. First, let's start with the basics.

Is Your PC Ready?
If you have your heart set on upgrading to Windows 7, you need to meet minimum system requirements. For most of us, that ain't no thang:

• 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
• 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
• 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

If you can't hit these minimum numbers, I feel for you. It also means you will have to factor new hardware into the total upgrade cost.

To be honest, it's probably in your best interest to exceed these requirements moving forward. The good news is that there are many PCs out there that would more than satisfy your hardware needs for $500 or less.

The 64-bit Question
Every Windows 7 box, upgrade or full, comes with both a 32-bit and a 64-bit version of the OS, so you have a choice. You should probably brush up on the details of this transition, but in the meantime, just know that it mostly comes down to RAM: If you have 3GB or less, you can run 32-bit, but if you have 4GB or more, you'll need 64-bit to get the most out of your system.

We recommend the latter, for future coverage, and fortunately, RAM upgrades are damn cheap these days. In fact, you can get 4GB of DDR2 memory for less than $70 pretty easily. And if you are already running a Intel Core 2 Duo processor or better, you don't need to upgrade the chipset to enjoy the benefits of 64-bit computing. Either way, getting caught up on the CPU won't run you much more than $100 if you shop around. As I pointed out in this must-read column, it pays to upgrade hardware yourself. Only suckers pay manufacturer's prices.

Windows 7 Pricing
Standard:
• Windows 7 Home Premium: $120 for upgrade; $200 for full version
• Windows 7 Professional: $200 for upgrade; $300 for full version
• Windows 7 Ultimate: $220 for upgrade; $320 for full version
• Family Pack: $149

Anytime Upgrades:
• Windows 7 Starter Edition (you do not want this) to Home Premium: $80
• Home Premium to Professional: $90
• Professional to Ultimate: $140

Free Upgrades:
If you purchase a qualifying PC with Vista installed between now and January 31st you are eligible for a free Windows 7 upgrade. However, this only applies to participating manufacturers and products. Check out Microsoft's upgrade page for a list of these manufacturers. This also applies to anyone who purchases Vista retail packaged products.

Which Version of Windows 7 Should I Get?
If you are running something other than a Windows OS or an OS that pre-dates Windows XP that means you will have to buy the full retail copy—you're not eligible for the upgrade that pretty much everyone else is eligible for. If you fall into this slim category, there is a good chance you'll have to upgrade hardware as well. In that case, strongly consider putting your money into a new PC with Windows 7 already installed—there's no reason to pay $200 to $300 for the OS alone, when decent computers cost $500.

You can pretty much skip Microsoft's handy-but-convoluted upgrade chart when determining which path is right for you, though you may want to consult Ed Bott's easier-to-follow version, originally published on ZDNet:

There are really only three decisions most people will make: Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate, as the other versions are not offered to retail buyers. Most people will get Home Premium—if you are shopping for Professional or Ultimate, even you probably don't need the upgrade chart, because you know what you're looking for.

Whatever you do, try to avoid the Anytime Upgrade, the convenient but costly way to jump from, say, Home Premium to Ultimate. If, for example, there is even a slight chance that you might upgrade from Professional to Ultimate, it makes sense to just go for Ultimate right off the bat. An outright upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate costs $220, but upgrading to Professional then deciding later on to go to Ultimate will cost you $340 total.

What About Netbooks?
In the vast majority of cases, upgrading to Windows 7 from a netbook doesn't make sound financial sense. If you look at the prices, upgrades can cost more than half what you paid for the netbook in the first place. My recommendation here is to wait on purchasing a netbook until an optimized build of Windows 7 is pre-installed.

Furthermore, if you aren't prepared to deal with the Starter Edition, don't buy a netbook running it—go right for Home Premium if possible. The Anytime Upgrade to Home Premium will run you $80—which is probably still a chunk of change when compared to the price of the netbook itself. Seriously, I think that Starter Edition's sole purpose is to screw netbook users. And if you keep your wallet in a back pocket—yes...they're screwing you from behind. As far as I'm concerned, the only way it might make some financial sense to purchase an OS upgrade for a netbook is if you run Windows on multiple computers and you decide to purchase a Family Pack license—and you are comfortable dealing with different kinds of OS installations. That will at least allow you to run Home Premium on three machines for about $50 a pop.

[Back to our Complete Guide to Windows 7]

Source image from Flickr

The key and OEM certificate were extracted from Win 7 Ultimate's .wim files. A similar method was used to bypass Vista, and those vulnerabilities were never addressed so there is no reason to suspect that Microsoft will do anything about it now (but there are no guarantees). Supposedly, the crack works with 32-bit and 64-bit Ultimate versions and can be implemented on HP, Dell, and MSI computers in addition to Lenovo. Of course, you would need to engage in a little BIOS magic to fool the OS that you are using an OEM machine before any of this would work in the first place. [Softpedia via Download Squad via Lifehacker]

Apparently, a Microsoft spokesperson has confirmed that "you will not need to reinstall an older version of Windows before using an Windows 7 upgrade disk." Awesome right? No, not really. The problem is that you will not be able keep your current programs and data using this method. Instead, you are performing a "custom installation" that will herd all of your personal files into a folder labled "WINDOWS.OLD." The items in that folder are dead to the world, so you will have to reinstall—essentially making it more like a fresh install than an upgrade. However, since you don't have a full copy you would have to install XP or Vista first then upgrade to Win 7 should you ever have to reinstall down the line.

Yeah, it's kind of a hassle, but it is a little better than how the Vista RC upgrade was handled at least. Back then, you had to install a fresh copy of XP then upgrade to Vista. [TechBlog / Image via Aeroxp]

Here are the stories you need to read, if you haven't already skipped over to your favorite online retailer to reserve your Windows 7 copy:

• Where To Pre-Order Windows 7

• Windows 7 Pricing: The Full Story

• Windows 7 Packaging (Now With Flair—and Flare)

And, in case you've been living under a rock these past eight months:

• Gizmodo's Complete Guide to Windows 7: All the new features and benefits, plus our experiences with the beta and release candidate

UPDATE: We have confirmed that both 32-bit and 64-bit versions will appear in the same box, so you do not need to specify which version you want, nor do you need to worry about not getting the right one. Thanks to Mohammed and all the other readers who brought this query to our attention!

Remember, this is a limited-time offer, and it only applies to Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional—not Windows 7 Ultimate, which may be what you've been running in Beta or RC.

These retailers are also supposed to begin selling Vista systems tonight that will come with a free Windows 7 upgrade on October 22. In other words, buy it right now, use it right now, and upgrade in a few months for free. Just do yourself a favor and ask first, before plunking down cash, because though most manufacturers and retailers are on board (and why not?), some PC models may not come with the free upgrade.

The online retailers participating in Microsoft's pre-order Win 7 disc sale starting at midnight Eastern tonight are:
• Amazon
• Best Buy
• Costco
• Fry's Electronics
• Office Depot
• Office Max
• Sam's Club
• Staples
• Tiger Direct
• Walmart
• NewEgg
• Nebraska Furniture Mart (What the?)

In Canada, you can hit:
• Staples
• Future Shop
• Best Buy
• London Drugs
• Amazon
• The Source

And in Japan, the pre-order is available at:
• Yodobashi Camera
• Amazon
• Yamada Denki
• Bic Camera
• and "all small partners" (whatever that means)

Microsoft's own online store is also offering the pre-sale. If by some reason you go and the offer is sold out, we have something you can try. Go to the Microsoft store, click the OS version you want to buy, and click "Buy." Log in with your Windows Live ID (Microsoft Store, Hotmail, Messenger, Xbox LIVE, Zune or Passport accounts all apply) and enter this promo code:

WIN7PIFKYW2ZR0EDTEMG

Then follow the steps to complete the transaction.

The thing is, this code may not be of much help. Microsoft tells us that it lets 300 people get software through Sunday or Monday, even if the public allotment sells out. But we're also told there are a lot of copies out there for the discounted pre-sale. So please try to buy it first without using the code, leaving the 300 slots free to people who didn't act as fast as your PC-lovin' self. You can always copy it and quickly use it if you get rejected. But I don't think you're going to get rejected, especially not tonight.

If that's not wondrously clear, I apologize, though it's certainly not my fault. The good news is, you don't need a special code to get the special price. Not now at least.

Don't forget to read Windows 7 Pricing: The Full Story, and Windows 7: Cheaper Than Vista and Every Other Windows OS. And let us know down in comments if the pre-order process was smooth—or nightmarish.

Looking at full (non-upgrade) pricing of consumer Windows editions really tells the story: When you compare sticker prices, you can see that most editions hovered around the $200 mark, with a rare spike found in the $260 Vista Home Premium. When you adjust for inflation, that fairly regular pricing becomes a downward cascade—except for that Vista price hike.

The pro versions of Windows, starting with NT, tell the same story. $320 across the board, with a dip when XP Pro followed quickly on the heels of Windows 2000. But when you calculate for inflation, it's just a smooth downward curve.

[Windows 7 Pricing: The Full Story; prices sourced from the following multiple or official locations: Washington Post, Businessweek, Microsoft, Cnet, Wired, Microsoft, CBROnline, Microsoft, Microsoft; inflation calculations made with Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI Calc - Special thanks to Don the Intern for doing a ton of research on this!]

Odds are, you won't pay the official prices, so I'm telling you the launch specials first. If you play your cards right, you'll either get it as a free upgrade for buying a PC, or you'll pay $50 for Win 7 Home Premium and $100 for Win 7 Professional. It's not the $30 Mac users will pay for the Snow Leopard upgrade, but it's a move in the right direction.

Free Upgrades
If you buy a PC starting Friday, June 26th, it should be covered under a free upgrade plan. (I say "should" because it depends on the manufacturer, but most of them are jumping on this with both feet.) Say you buy a computer with Vista Home Premium this weekend; you get a Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade on October 22, free. If you buy Vista Business, you'll get Win 7 Professional, and if you buy Vista Ultimate, you'll get Win 7 Ultimate. There's no upgrade path for Home Basic (the reason is below) but as I understand it, the number of systems sold at retail with Home Basic on them are in the low single digits.

That should take care of most PC buyers.

The Half-Price Pre-Order Deal
People in the US, Canada or Japan who already own a PC running XP or Vista will be able to pre-order the upgrade disc at around half the price that they'll eventually sell for. The pre-order deal also starts Friday, June 26th, and will run for a limited time.

As I said, Windows 7 Home Premium, usually $120, will cost $50, and Windows 7 Professional, usually $200, will cost $100. Windows 7 Ultimate is not part of this discount plan, but it might get its own incentive plan later on. (You could technically buy Home Premium upgrade, then pay to convert it to Ultimate, saving at least a little cash.) The pre-order deal will be visible at store.microsoft.com and at "most major retailers."

What's this about a limited time? Mike Ybarra, general manager of Windows Product Management, told me that the pre-order deal will go away when a certain undisclosed number of licenses is sold. "We have enough quantity," he said, adding that the magic number was "equivalent to a year of Vista sales volume at retail." (Ironically, those of you who want this upgrade offer to last have to hope that the Mojave Experiment worked, at least a little.) Some Microsoft materials suggest that July 11th might be the cutoff for the deal, but from what I understand, that's an estimate—this is based on supply. Regardless, if you want Windows 7, pre-order the damn thing come Friday.

European Hijinks
Europe is getting kinda screwed in this deal, because of the European Commission's banning of IE8 from any Windows installer media. Basically, starting July 15th in France, Germany and the UK, Microsoft will be selling full versions of Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional at the discounted upgrade prices, but that means there's no way to upgrade directly from Vista.

Euros who buy Win 7 will be forced to perform a clean install, and migrate their data and apps over any way they know how. The logic is that, while the Windows team can do a clean install without IE8, there's not enough quality assurance on what an upgrade install would be like without IE8, with assorted HTML rendering apps co-existing in the OS already. Could be messy, says Ybarra. "We don't want to break anyone else's software, we don't want to break our own software, and we don't want the customer on the phone with support." That funky deal is supposed to run through December.

The Official Prices
So, now that we got the immediate realities out of the way, here are the "estimated retail prices" that we'll eventually see in stores, for the people who aren't yet moving on the upgrade offers:

Windows 7 Home Premium: $120 for upgrade; $200 for full version
Windows 7 Professional: $200 for upgrade; $300 for full version
Windows 7 Ultimate: $220 for upgrade; $320 for full version

To be clear, the term "upgrade" just means you already own and run a version of Windows on the PC you're upgrading. It's still a complete set of bits that you can clean install and even set up for dual booting. The "full" version is mostly for people who are building their own systems.

You may remember that there are other Win 7 SKUs such as Home Basic and Starter. Windows 7 Home Basic is not available in the United States or most of Europe though, along with residents of Burkina Faso and Vanuatu, Montenegrans will be able to buy it.

Windows 7 Starter will be offered to Dell, HP, Asus and other manufacturers to stick on netbooks. Just in case you were concerned, Windows XP will also be available, distributed and supported for 12 months after Windows 7 launches though limited to these same "small notebook PCs." I think Microsoft—and quite a few non-vested-interests—are expecting netbooks to ditch XP for Win 7 pretty fast.

When You Actually Get It
As we've previously reported, October 22 is the day when almost everybody gets Windows 7. Anyone, anywhere in the world, in 35 different languages, will be able to buy a Windows 7 PC on October 22. The actual box of software will be available in most countries, covering 14 languages, on the 22nd, with the other 21 languages getting their retail boxes by October 31. It's a damn fast rollout, especially given all of the terrain it's going to cover.

Stay tuned, because we're going to post more details on this pre-order business soon. In the meantime, talk amongst yourselves. Is this a good deal? Is it crap? And most importantly, are you going to pony up cash on Friday? [Windows Blog]

And don't forget to check out our Complete Guide to Windows 7, covering all the new features, plus our experiences with the Beta and RC1 releases.

OK, remember that crazy Windows 7 desktop art? If you look around the white rippling window, you can see wisps of cartoony icons dancing in and around the borders. And is that a full-on JJ Abrams Star Trek lens flare we see flashing through the middle? Microsoft didn't have anything more hi-res for us to examine, and I could be totally off base, but it's fun to see that the playfulness of Windows 7 come through on the box.

Its main purpose is to preserve and deliver a shiny silver disc, and Microsoft embarks on the task with admirable single-mindedness:

We've reduced the number of elements in the package down to three: the plastic case, the paper sleeve, and a simple Getting Started Guide. The plastic case opens easily like a standard DVD case and it will have a single easy-to-remove seal at the top—and that's it!

Did you hear, America??? That's it. [The Windows Blog]

Bill Veghte, SVP of the Windows business, is quoted as saying: "We feel confident that we will deliver Windows 7 with our partners on Oct. 22." Does this mean it appears in retail PCs before it appears in boxes, or will it all hit together on the same day? Regardless, it's a pretty nice early date, definitely good for the Christmas PC-buying season, assuming there is a Christmas this year.

We have confirmed the date with Microsoft, and have received this helpful definition: "General Availability (GA) is when consumers can actually purchase the software and PCs with the software preinstalled." Also, "release to manufacturing" (RTM), when the finished software is given to computer makers to pre-load on new machines, takes place in "late July," presumably over a matter of weeks.

No word yet on pricing. [Microsoft's Official Windows Blog; WSJ]

According to network world, the researchers said the hack is unfixable, as it loads itself into the system memory during bootup, which virus scanners will struggle to detect. The exploit then gives the CYBERTERRORIST the ability to pretty much do whatever they want on whatever computer they're targeting. But don't panic—this can't be installed remotely, so they'd have to physically use your machine to pull this off. [Network World via Electronista via Engadget]

There were apparently over 400 concept sketches shown off at the MIX conference, an event for developers where Microsoft spoke on the development process for Windows 7.

Bat Signal was a taskbar thumbnail preview that projected the window you mouse-hovered over up onto the desktop like a spotlight. Aero Peek, as you may know, now just pops up directly above the taskbar, with a much smaller thumbnail.Another feature, Aladdin, was the inspiration for Aero Shake, and essentially let you preview a background window by rubbing it with the mouse cursor.

There were other tweaks made as well, like scrapping thumbnails in the taskbar how they finally decided to make Jump Lists a right click function (they conducted user testing). It's a pretty neat article, all in all, and you should check it out at [TechRadar via Neowin]

Desktop and User Interface:

• Gadget view options
In the Windows 7 beta it was impossible to separate desktop icons from gadgets under the View setting available by right-clicking on the desktop. Now there is the option to hide just your gadgets or just your desktop icons.

Keyboard Shortcuts:

• Windows Flip (ALT + TAB) with Aero Peek
Aero Peek is now enabled for Windows Flip (or more commonly known as ALT + TAB).

• Improved Windows Logo + # keyboard shortcut
Pressing Windows Logo + # (where # corresponds to an item's order in the taskbar) in the beta would only launch the program in Windows 7. In the release candidate, it can both launch and switch between Windows. For example, if IE wasn't running and the second item on the taskbar, Windows Logo + 2 will launch the program. If IE is running with a single window, the same shortcut will now switch to the program. When IE is running with several windows or tabs, holding down the Windows Logo and tapping the 2 key repeatedly will actually cycle through the open IE items off the taskbar (with Aero Peek). Letting go simply switches to the corresponding window. It works really similarly to the ALT +TAB shortcut.

Multitouch:

• Aero Peek for touch
First, the taskbar's thumbnails now support a gesture so you can drag your finger across the taskbar and it will trigger Aero Peek. The Show Desktop button is improved so a press-and-hold will allow the customer to peek at the desktop. A regular tap still allows you to switch over.

• Windows Explorer
Multi-touch zoom is now enabled for Windows Explorer.

Power Options:

• Faster access to High Performance power plan
Clicking on the battery icon in the taskbar notification area offers two different power plans: Balanced and Power saver. Windows 7 laptops are configured to use the Balanced by default. Now in the popout menu, you can see all three options.

Taskbar:

• Increased taskbar space
There is even more increased space on the taskbar now. The release candidate will feature 24-39% more icons before the taskbar scrolls (depending upon resolution, icon size and the default notification area).

• Increased flexibility and changes to Jump Lists
When there are too many things pinned to Jump Lists, it defeats the whole purpose of easy access. Jump Lists now only automatically suggest the first 10 items (there is still the option to customize the length of the list).

Now you can also pin files and folders to programs that are not handle that file type. Pinning the item in most cases will create a new registration so that launching it from the Jump List will always open the file with that specific program (ex. a pinned HTML file to Notepad will always open the file in Notepad).

The Control Panel jump list will now list your most recent items.

• Newly installed programs
When a program is installed, it automatically and temporarily surfaces at the bottom of the Start Menu. It lets the user see it, giving them the option to launch it or drag it to the taskbar.

User Account Control:

• Increased security
There will be two changes to the release candidate to UAC settings. The first change is that the UAC control panel will run in a "high integrity" process (thus requiring elevation). The second change will now prompt for a confirmation when you are changing the level of UAC.

Now all we have to do is wait for April hopefully! [Microsoft: 1, 2, 3]

DEVICE STAGE
Many operating systems have pre-installed drivers for printers, scanners and other products, but Device Stage takes the concept to a ridiculously thorough level, with not just drivers but specialized icons, pop-up menus and XML pages full of things you can do with your camera, printer, scanner, phone or whatever.

Devices and Printers
Everything you plug in or can reach via Bluetooth or the network appears in the Devices and Printers page, clickable from the Start menu. Gadgets that have been programmed for Device Stage appear with specific icons representing them; those that haven't still get one of many different icon categories. Click once on anything on the page, and the contextual ribbon menu at the top changes to reflect the functions of the device you clicked.

Services Splash Page
When you double-click a Device icon, you get a pop-up splash page decorated by the company who made the gadget, usually with functions you can do on your computer (browse files, import pictures, customize your printer) and stuff you have to go out to the web to do (order ink, visit online gallery, etc.). Though some of the services are nice, they can get shamelessly promotional. You probably won't spend a lot of time on this page, though, because most options are reachable in an even better way, via the taskbar.

Taskbar Icon and Menu
The real meat of Device Stage is found in the amazing Windows 7 taskbar itself. Here, you can see what's connected, and instead of launching some big cumbersome window, you can right-click the icon itself and get most if not all of the services right there in a pop-up. The only thing better would be the ability to customize the stuff that appears in that menu, but it's a start. Not all devices automatically show up in the Taskbar, probably because it could get annoying to have a Taskbar full of stuff. Cameras always do, but printers only do when they're in use, or when you double-click them from the Devices and Printers page.

Availability of Device Stage Content
The big hitch here is that the device manufacturer, be it Canon, Motorola or Apple, has to build a splash page and a services list. If they don't, you get a generic icon and generic services (open folder, import content, etc.). Our guess is that most manufacturers will get on board, but it's early. Also, though supported devices do show up instantly when plugged in, some services, like advanced printing and scanning features, require the install disc, so it's not always a guaranteed automatic play.

[More Device Stage details and images]

Multiple Monitors
Got an extra monitor lying around? Hook it up brainlessly using Windows 7 in literally two steps.

FILE PRODUCTIVITY TIPS
Once files are off your devices and onto your computer, there are new integrated ways to work with those files. Here are some tips for extra productivity:

ISO Burning
Yep, ISO disc burning is native to Windows 7. Meaning you no longer have to pay money—or hunt for something free—to manipulate disc images that you should have been able to manage in the OS ages ago.

Those Pesky DOCX Files
WordPad now opens the XML Word Doc files that not even earlier versions of Word itself can. It's good news, though to be honest, if you've upgraded to Windows 7 without upgrading to Office 2007, there's something amiss.

Send To
It may not be as sexy as Play To, but Send To can be helpful in pushing and pulling files around your system and your network. As Lifehacker points out, holding down the Shift key expands those options.