GuildCom

I found this while looking for something else altogether, and thought I’d share.  Microsoft crafted a quality product guide for Windows 7 that discusses (in pretty good detail) many of the new features and such of Microsoft’s shiny new OS.  Quite handy if you’re new to Windows 7 and haven’t been using beta versions of it for the last 6+ months like Bishop and I have.  The overview on the download page sums it up nicely:

The Windows 7 Product Guide provides a detailed look at the many new and improved features in Windows 7. The guide is designed as an accurate source of information that can help you to understand how Windows 7 Simplifies Everyday Tasks, Works the Way You Want, and Makes New Things Possible. The guide is also designed to provide IT Professionals with information about how to Make People Productive Anywhere, Manage Risk Through Enhanced Security and Control, and Reduce Costs by Streamlining PC Management. This is not a help and how to guide. Rather, it provides an overview of the many exciting features in Windows 7 and pointers to more information. The Windows 7 Product Guide is available in both XPS and PDF formats.

About two years and nine months ago, Microsoft released the much-maligned Windows Vista.  I didn’t start using it until nearly a year after it’s release (just a couple of months before Service Pack 1 was released, in fact), and didn’t go to using it full-time until a few months after.  For the most part, Vista ran problem-free for me, and I generally liked Microsoft’s newest OS.  I did have a few problems scattered throughout my year of full-time use (and some before I started using Vista full-time).  in fact, I’ve probably written about some of them here (just checked:  I have, namely the infamous The Long Week & The Longer Post article, which detailed many days of frustration of Games for Windows Live not working…and leading me to discover my .Net Framework was borked.).  There was also the time when Service Pack 1 was first released, I couldn’t get it to install (that was finally fixed by a reformat).  And there’s always little things like video drivers going apeshit and such, but that’s not unique to Vista anyways. 

For the most part, though, I liked Windows Vista, Read more…

Sources:  http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=2727
             http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=1006

Despite Microsoft always claiming the target release for Windows 7 was to be “three years after Windows Vista”, which would be Jan. 2010, we all have known it would come out sometime in the second half of 2009.  It had to.  Looking back to when Windows Vista was released, Vista sales suffered from missing the always-lucrative back-to-school and holiday seasons.

Now, Microsoft is saying Windows 7 *will* release in 2009, specifically in time for the holiday season this year.  No specific dates have been given yet, not even a month of release.  And while it remains unclear of whether Windows 7 will release in time for the back-to-school crowd (August/September), having it in time for the holiday shopping season this year is a good thing.  A new version of Windows generally means increased PC sales (particularly during the holiday season), which is something that would be quite welcome in our current economic state.

Personally, I’ll be keeping an eye out for more specific release dates and details, since Windows 7 is the second thing on my computer updates list (trailing a new video card, which is sorely needed…).

As we speak, I’m browsing an (extensive) list of changes made from the beta to the release candidate. I have not been disappointed. In fact, the Windows team has addressed several complaints I’ve had regarding UI functionality since Vista’s release — mostly relating to how we deal with folders and directories, etc; Scorpio will be happy to hear this. The Oblivion-modding bastard.
Read more…