Posted 10/20/09 at 07:47:29 PM by Ryan Whitwam

Some screenshots have surface that purport to be from Windows Mobile 7. The interface looks cleaner overall, and has completely lost the trademark Windows start button from the corner of the screen. The pics cover a wide variety of the system’s basic functions. Confusingly, the shots are listed as WinMo 6.5.1. The interface is, however, significantly different from previous 6.5.1 leaks, leading most to speculate that these are the first moves into the WinMo 7 development tree.

The call screen has taken on a very iPhone-like aesthetic with a large contact photo. The calendar has been cleaned up dramatically, looking downright usable. The changes to the keyboard may be the most telling, though. Whereas the previous version was cramped and stylus friendly, the new version looks spacious, finger-friendly, and very similar to the Android keyboard. If authentic, these screenshots certainly indicate that Microsoft is moving in the right direction.

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Posted 09/01/09 at 09:09:09 AM by Paul Lilly

Here we go again. TechCrunch on Monday said it received a pair of screenshots claiming to show what Google's upcoming Chrome OS will look like. But this isn't the first time screenshots of the OS have purportedly been leaked, and likely not the last.

Google announced the browser-based OS back in July, prompting no shortage of alleged screen grabs surfacing on the Web. At least one of the incidents were confirmed fake, when a graphics designer who posted the false images admitted doing so on his blog.

So what makes these latest shots any different? Nothing, other than no one has confirmed or debunked them yet, so take these images at face value. Should they turn out to be legit, it would appear Google is taking a minimalistic approach to GUI design, just as it did with its Chrome browser. The supposed screenshots show a dock on the right-hand side with large icons to a handful of Google apps, along with an integrated search bar on the bottom of the screen. And that's it.

Anyone believe these are the real deal? Hit the jump and place your bets.

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Posted 07/29/09 at 08:24:42 PM by Pulkit Chandna

A week after Microsoft released Windows 7 to OEMs, crackers have cracked Windows 7 RTM Ultimate. Tech website Softpedia was the first to report on the matter, though it stopped short of linking to websites and forums where the proof-of-concept of the crack can be found. You don’t mind, do you? 

The OEM copy of Windows 7 RTM Ultimate being blamed for the crack is said to have been stolen/leaked from Lenovo’s safekeeping (or un-safekeeping). The crackers also managed to get their hands on the OEM-SLP (System-Locked Preinstallation) product key and the OEM certificate for Windows 7 RTM Ultimate, both of which are enough to crack open Windows 7 RTM Ultimate on a system posing as an OEM machine.

 

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Posted 06/07/09 at 04:13:30 PM by Justin Kerr

Engadget has gotten its hands on what it is calling “a leaked internal memo” which outlines Best Buys plans for the roll out of Windows 7. In addition to giving us the timelines for free upgrades, it also spells out pre-order plans, and a look at the new pricing model. The memo which describes Windows 7 as “Vista that works”, will first be made available for pre-order by customers on June 26th.

Home Premium upgrades will start at $49.99, while the professional edition will be sold at $99.99. These prices (if true) are significantly more reasonable than Vista upgrades which started at $129.95 for Home Premium, and $199.95 for Business. Pre-ordered copies won’t ship until the official October 22nd launch date, but at least this guarantees you the pricing shown above. 

In addition to pre-order sales, Best Buy also outlined its “Technology Guarantee Program” which will allow people who obtain copies of Vista after June 26th to receive a free upgrade. According to the memo, this will apply to both new PC sales, and retail copies bought separately. If this is true, this might be a good way to upgrade your PC to Windows Vista for next to nothing in the months leading up to 7’s release.

The moral of the story here is that if you were planning on buying a new PC from Best Buy, you should probably hold off until June 26th. If the contents of the memo are legitimate, this will likely be a painful lesson for Best Buy who will probably find it much more difficult to sell new PC’s for the next couple of weeks.

So, what do you think of the new upgrade pricing? 

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Posted 01/05/09 at 03:46:52 PM by Mark Edward Soper

When Build 7000 of Windows 7 leaked onto the Internet recently, some bloggers speculated that Microsoft had deliberately leaked Build 7000. If that's the case, Redmond has some 'splainin' to do: numerous users have reported that Windows Media Player 12 (the media player included in Windows 7) corrupts some MP3 files. 

According to posters at a Neowin.net forum, WMP 12 removes the first 2 to 3 seconds of MP3s that have large headers (over 16KB) when the "automatically fill in missing metadata using the online service" option is selected. This option is part of the Express setup defaults. According to ZDNet's Hardware 2.0 blog, the problem seems to be confined to variable bit-rate (VBR) MP3 files.

Microsoft is aware of the bug and is working on a patch, but if you've decided not to wait for an official Beta 1 of Windows 7, what should you do in the meantime to protect your MP3 collection? Join us after the jump to learn how to protect your precious rips and purchased files - and for your chance to tell us if this has happened to you.

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