Posted 07/03/09 at 05:29:22 PM by Andy Salisbury

Until now, it was assumed that Microsoft would only sell single license versions of Windows 7. But, thanks to a recent discovery in the latest license agreement, there’s some evidence suggesting otherwise.

In section two, there’s a new clause that clearly details a family pack, which will allow you to “install one copy of the software marked as ‘Family Pack’ on three computers in your household for use by people who reside there.” Which, for those keeping score, would finally let them combat Apple in this particular field.

Still, there’s no official word from Microsoft on pricing or availability, or if this is even true.

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windows, microsoft, Software, apple, windows 7

Posted 07/03/09 at 04:41:22 PM by Andy Salisbury

In what appears to be a desperate dig for traffic, Bing has decided to add Twitter messages to their search results in an attempt to take some market share from Google.

“We’re not indexing all of Twitter at this time… just a small set of prominent and prolific Twitterers to start. We picked a few thousand people to start, based primarily on their follower count and volume of tweets. We think this is an interesting first step toward using Twitter’s public API to surface Tweets in people search,” wrote Microsoft search general manager Sean Sucher. These results will appear in a separate box alongside the normal search results within Bing.

Ultimately, it’s not too surprising to see Microsoft do this – considering how Google has already admitted defeat in the real-time information race with Twitter.

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microsoft, Google, twitter, search, Bing

Posted 07/03/09 at 09:48:55 AM by Paul Lilly

Microsoft apparently has had second thoughts about associating vomit with Internet Explorer 8. As part of a new ad campaign designed to push IE8 onto the masses, one of the four new ads showed a woman barfing all over her husband and the floor after borrowing her hubby's laptop and seeing whatever site he had been viewing, a site so horrendous as to cause her to lose her entire breakfast, and then some. Maybe he was watching Failure to Launch.

The video, which garnered a ton of online media attention, has since been pulled from the IE8videos channel on YouTube, as well as from BrowsefortheBetter.com, a site that is part of the ad campaign. In its place is a tag that simply reads "coming soon."

"We make a point of listening to our customers," a Microsoft representative told CNet. "We created the OMGIGP video as a tongue-in-cheek look at the InPrivate Browsing features of Internet Explorer 8, using the same irreverent humor that our customers told us they liked about other components of the Internet Explorer 8 marketing campaing. While much of the feedback to this particular piece of creative was positive, some of our customers found it offensive, so we have removed it."

Or maybe it just hit too close to home for some. Either way, if you missed it the first time around, you can still catch ad here.

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microsoft, commercial, ad, vomit

Posted 07/02/09 at 08:56:32 AM by Paul Lilly

The free ride is officially over - sort of. If you installed Windows 7 beta on any of your machines, the next time you fire it up, the OS will initiate a shutdown sequence every 2 hours, a move intended to guide users to the Windows 7 Release Candidate.

"If you're still on the Windows 7 Beta you should certainly look at giving the Windows 7 RC a try!," Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc wrote in a Windows team blog post.

The good news is that the Windows 7 RC (Release Candidate) is still available for download, it includes several new features and fixes, and will continue to run uninterrupted until June 1, 2010. But you'll have to act fast, as the RC download program comes to a screeching halt on August 15.

Even better, Microsoft has temporarily reduced pricing on retail upgrade versions of Windows 7 Home and Professional to $50 and $100 respectively. The pre-order pricing remains in effect until Saturday, July 11, at which point prices will jump to $120 (Home) and $200 (Professional).

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microsoft, operating system, Software, OS, beta, windows 7

Posted 07/01/09 at 04:22:28 PM by Andy Salisbury

Looking to pave the way for Windows 7, many netbook vendors are hoping to clear out all of their Windows XP-based stock.

When Microsoft announced their Windows 7 upgrade program, they didn’t include Windows XP devices, causing some vendors to believe that their customers aren’t willing to pay a premium for the new OS. There are others that believe that many consumers would prefer to stick with the lower-cost Windows XP for their lightweight netbooks.

Currently, an OEM version of XP runs $25-30, while quotes form Microsoft show that Windows 7 for a netbook would run around $45-55. It’s expected that this confusion may cause some negative publicity for Microsoft in the netbook market.

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windows, microsoft, XP, consumer electronics, windows 7, netbook

Posted 07/01/09 at 10:30:40 AM by Paul Lilly

Far be it for Microsoft to shy away from hiring known celebrities to pitch its products, as was the case with hiring Jerry Seinfeld as its OS pitchman. But now the software maker is looking to push Internet Explorer 8 in the cutthroat browser wars, and it's getting a bit of help from TV Superman Dean Cain. Oh, and there's puking too.

So far there are a total of four adverts, each one starring Dean Cain as the on-screen narrator. But it's the fourth video in the series that will get all the attention for its vivid portrayal of a woman puking after viewing something apparently offensive online - or maybe she's a Houston Rockets fan and just read up on Yao Ming's foot.

Take a peek:

• G.R.I.P.E.S.
• F.O.M.S.
• S.H.Y.N.E.S.S.
• O.M.G.I.G.P. (NSFWS - Not Safe For Weak Stomachs)

Hit the jump and tell us what you think of the new ads.

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microsoft, Software, video, Internet Explorer, browser, IE8

Posted 06/30/09 at 05:10:59 PM by Andy Salisbury

While for some of us, the pricing for Windows 7 is easy on the wallet thanks to the OEM solution, there are others that aren’t too happy due to the retail prices.

According to a recent study by The NPD Group’s VP of industry analysis Stephen Baker, the mostly free upgrade program for PCs bought on or after June 26, 2009 is extremely commendable, but the retail pricing is a bad idea, especially in today’s economy. “Besides the fact that $119 is a price point that fits nowhere in these economic times, it is still way too much for the software,” stated Baker. “… It is in Microsoft’s best interests to erase all vestiges of Vista from consumers’ homes, and by making the upgrade expensive … Microsoft is creating a large disincentive for consumers to move to a far superior platform with a better user experience.”

So what do you think? Is the pricing for Windows 7 too rough on the pocketbook, or is the pricing just fine the way it is?

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windows, microsoft, windows 7, retail, NPD Group, pricing

Posted 06/30/09 at 04:35:50 PM by Mark Edward Soper

While Windows 7, unlike Vista, runs well on netbooks, there are two big problems that must be overcome to make Windows 7 easy to install on netbooks:

• Most netbooks lack CD or DVD drives
• Netbooks run Windows XP or Linux, neither of which are supported for upgrade installations of Windows 7

As far as problem number one is concerned, there may be a solution: Cnet's Ina Fried reports that Microsoft is mulling over the idea of providing Windows 7 on USB thumbdrives to make upgrading netbooks easier without connecting an external CD or DVD drive. As we demonstrated earlier this year, you can install Windows 7 from a USB key after a bit of finagling. Creating a version of Windows 7 that's USB key-friendly would make the process a lot easier for clean installs.

However, what about Windows XP netbook users who want an easy upgrade? Fried reports that Best Buy's Geek Squad is looking at developing Windows 7 upgrade services.

Windows 7 does include Windows Easy Transfer to move user accounts, email, and data files from Windows Vista or XP systems, but is there a better solution that also works with programs? How about Linux netbook users? Any apps or scripts that can at least get the data over to Windowsland safely? We're looking for better suggestions for making the move from Windows XP or Linux on a netbook or other PC to Windows 7 as painless as possible for non-technical users. Think simple, think reliable, and join us after the jump to pass them along. 

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microsoft, upgrade, usb, windows 7, rumor, netbook