Sources: Windows 7 moving toward 2009 release

Microsoft is moving forward with plans to launch Windows 7 this year, although the company still refuses to publicly commit to that goal. PC industry sources in Asia and the U.S. tell CNET News that they have heard things are on track to launch by this year's holiday shopping season, which has been Microsoft's internal target for some time. Microsoft is also putting the finishing touches on a program to offer Vista buyers a free or low-cost update to Windows 7. That program could kick off as early as July, sources said. The company has run such "technology guarantee" programs in the past, typically allowing each PC maker to set the exact rules, but essentially offering buyers after a certain time to get a free upgrade to the next version. In an interview at the Consumer Electronics Show in January, Microsoft senior VP Bill Veghte cautioned that the release still could be pushed into 2010, depending on customer feedback. "I'm telling them that it could go either way," Veghte said in that January interview. "We will ship it when the quality is right, and earlier is always better, but not at the cost of ecosystem support and not at the cost of quality." That remains the company's official position, although the wheels are spinning toward a release in time for Windows 7 machines to be sold this holiday season, PC industry sources tell CNET News. The response to test versions of Windows 7 has been in stark contrast with the issues that dogged Windows Vista, which was a much more fundamental update to the operating system. Although Windows 7 adds things like an improved taskbar and snappier performance, the operating system shares most of the same underpinnings as Windows Vista. Microsoft has reiterated that it plans just a single beta for Windows 7. That beta launched in January and Microsoft this week stopped offering downloads of the test version. The company has said it will have a near-final "release candidate" version, but has not said when that will come.

Earlier this month, Microsoft confirmed that it plans to sell at least six distinct versions of Windows 7, although it also said it will focus its efforts around two editions--Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional. (By way of comparison, Microsoft announced the different versions of Vista in February 2006 before ultimately making the code available to business customers in November 2006). For those that can read Chinese, here is ZDNet Taiwan's earlier report on the subject. ZDNet Taiwan's Agnes Kuang contributed to this report.

[Via: cnet.com ]
[Tag: ]

Mozilla to weigh in on EU's Microsoft case

Mozilla has been granted a seat at the table in the European Commission's antitrust case against Microsoft, an EC source said Tuesday. Last week, Mozilla requested and was granted "third-party status," which entitles the organization behind the popular Firefox browser to receive access to confidential documents in the case and the ability to voice objections, the source noted. The Commission, which is the European Union's executive arm, in mid-January formally put Microsoft on notice, objecting to the bundling of the Internet Explorer browser with its operating system. The case, which initially stemmed from a complaint filed by browser maker Opera, gives Microsoft two months to respond to the allegations, as well as opens it up to third parties weighing in. Mozilla was not immediately available to comment, but its chairwoman posted comments on her blog. Mitchell Baker, Mozilla chairwoman, agrees with the Commission's allegations that tying IE to the Windows operating system harms competition between Web browsers and reduces consumer choice. She also noted:

There are separate questions of whether there is a good remedy, and what that remedy might be. But questions regarding an appropriate remedy do not change the essential fact. Microsoft's business practices have fundamentally diminished (in fact, came very close to eliminating) competition, choice and innovation in how people access the Internet.

One potential remedy that the European Commission is considering: a requirement that Microsoft include rival browsers with its operating system. Baker further notes in her blog:

I'll be paying close attention to the EC's activities, both personally and on behalf of Mozilla. Mozilla has enormous expertise in this area. It's an extremely complex area, involving browsers, user experience, the OEM and other distribution channels, and the foundations for ongoing innovation. An effective remedy would be a watershed event; a poorly constructed remedy could cause unfortunate damage. I'd like to offer Mozilla's expertise as a resource to the EC as it considers what an effective remedy would entail. I'll be reaching out to people I know with particular history, expertise and ideas regarding these topics. If you've got specific ideas or concerns please feel free to contact me. I'll post more as the discussion develops.

[Via: cnet.com ]
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Time's running out to download your (legal) Windows 7 beta

If you've already registered for the Windows 7 beta but haven't downloaded the installation disc image yet, you'd better hurry up. Microsoft is turning off the spigot on Thursday morning at 9:00AM PST.
In order to register your copy of Windows 7 once you download and install it, you'll have to have already signed up for the beta. The cutoff took place last night. While Thursday might seem like a long time from now, it could take a while to download the disc image, which weighs in at about 2.5GB.
Of course, this doesn't mean you won't be able to find Windows 7 download links in the future. Just don't expect to find them from publicly accessible portions of the Microsoft web site.

[Via: Download Squad ]
[Tag: windows-7, windows-7-beta ]

Need for speed spurs Opera JavaScript overhaul

 With Web applications imposing new demands on Web browsers, a previously behind-the-scenes programming technology called JavaScript is getting new visibility, and Opera is the latest case in point. The Norwegian browser maker announced a new JavaScript engine project called Carakan on Wednesday that the company. Carakan runs JavaScript code about 2.5 times as fast as the Futhark engine in the alpha version of Opera 10, said programmer Lars Erik Bolstad in an Opera blog post. Opera's main business is browsers for mobile phones, and its current JavaScript engine is optimized for minimum memory demands, but now performance is the priority, Bolstad said. "The Web is a changing environment however, and tomorrow's advanced web applications will require faster ECMAScript execution, so we have now taken on the challenge to once again develop the fastest ECMAScript engine on the market," he said. ECMAScript is a standard group's official name for JavaScript. JavaScript isn't the only way to build Web applications, but it's increasingly widely used. It's the foundation for Google Docs and Gmail, for example, and enables Yahoo Mail users to drag-and-drop messages into folders. Speed is particularly important because JavaScript is used for interactive aspects of Web pages, where fast response or annoying lags are noticeable by people controlling the application. But it's also widely used for many more mundane aspects of Web pages, so JavaScript speedup helps improve Web browsing performance broadly. Opera isn't alone here with a fancy name for its JavaScript engine. Mozilla's Firefox has TraceMonkey, Google's Chrome has V8, and WebKit, the rendering engine used by Apple's Safari, has Squirrelfix Extreme. (Chrome uses Webkit for some other tasks in displaying Web pages, but not its JavaScript engine.) For details on Opera's improvements--register-based bytecode, native code generation, and automatic object classification--check the blog post about Carakan.

[Via: cnet.com ]
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Track task times in your Google Calendar with a Gadget

There aren't many gadgets on my Vista or Windows 7 desktops yet. I have a hard time finding any that are compelling enough to keep installed. This handy little one from Raneri Web Design, however, is firmly lodged in the sidebar of my workbench computer.
The gCalTasks gadget is a slick desktop timer that integrates with your Google Calendars. Enter your credential and choose the calendar to track your times on - I decided to set up a brand new one specifically for tracking.
Enter a tag line for your task, click start, and then click stop when you're done. Information is automatically sent to your calendar, where the agenda view provides a nice recap of your activities. It's a simple, low-resource way to keep tabs on your time.
Thanks, Ricardo!

[Via: Download Squad ]
[Tag: billing, google-calendar, tasks, time-tracking, timer ]

The many faces of Windows 7

Not that this should come as a huge shock to anybody, but Microsoft doesn't plan to make Windows 7 available in a one size fits all package. As we've previously reported, there's been evidence of multiple SKUs for a while. But now Microsoft has come out and confirmed that there will be 6 different versions of Windows 7.
Here's the rundown:

• Windows 7 Starter Edition - for netbooks and developing markets, only runs 3 apps at a time
  
  
• Windows 7 Home Basic - also for emerging markets
  
• Windows 7 Home Premium - this version gets you Windows Media Center and other home use features
  
• Windows 7 Professional - the equivalent of Windows Vista Business, with extra security features
  
• Windows 7 Enterprise - this version will be sold in volume licenses for businesses
  
• Windows 7 Ultimate - has most of the features of the Enterprise version, but will be sold to end users

Microsoft will probably charge a different price for each version. One thing that's interesting to note is that the Starter Edition is intended for netbooks, even though Windows 7 Ultimate beta has been widely reported to run just fine on low cost mini-laptops like the Asus Eee PC. The problem is that Microsoft can't ask computer makers to pay full price for an operating system that will be sold with a $300 laptop. So the company created an intentionally crippled Starter Edition which will sell for a lower price.

[Via: Download Squad ]
[Tag: windows-7 ]