I keep saying that I don’t really do news here… but I’m excited about Windows 7 I heard a whisper that Microsoft was going to announce ship dates at a conference in Taiwan tomorrow (thanks Dave). I also heard via the OEM channel that there would be a programme for Windows Vista to 7 upgrades on new PCs purchased this summer… which was supposed to be top secret but that’s been announced too.
According to the Windows Team Blog (breaking Microsoft’s own embargo on this news…) Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 will RTM in July and Windows 7 will be in stores for 22 October. The blog post also confirmed that plans are in the works for a Windows 7 upgrade option program (with more details expected soon).
Other Windows 7 related developments in recent days include that:
- PC World (the UK’s largest computer retailer – not the magazine!) is removing Linux netbooks from its shelves as Windows now dominates that market (even if some of us do run OS X on ours…) – and Windows 7 should capitalise on that, replacing XP as the Windows version shipped by OEMs on netbooks. What Microsoft failed to mention in their blog post is that PC World will still stock small screen (sub 10″) and Linux models online. I never thought I’d be in agreement with PC World but they also said that “netbooks are for viewing, notebooks are for doing” (which is pretty much what I said a few months back).
- Microsoft has removed the 3 application limit from Windows 7 Starter Edition (not that it was ever a problem in reality… just a PR disaster waiting to happen). There are a number of other limitations though that mean I will be using another version of Windows 7 when my netbook is rebuilt soon (things like Aero Glass, domain membership, multi-monitor support, and DVD playback – but there are other features that are missing in Starter Edition too, as should be expected from the name of the product).
Notice that I said “when my netbook is rebuilt” – I may be playing with OS X on my S10e but that’s just a geek project and I expect it to be a Windows 7 machine again soon. Perhaps more significantly, my everyday notebook PC (upon which I depend to do my work) is already running the RC build of Windows 7 Ultimate Edition (64-bit). I may be reticient to say “I’m a PC” (I also use Macs and Linux at home) but the accompanying graphic has appeared on a few e-mails in my Inbox this week and, at least for work, it’s entirely appropriate for me.