Microsoft Corp. today announced its thinnest keyboard ever - the Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000 - made exclusively for Bluetooth notebook and desktop computers. Projections show that over 55 percent of notebook PCs will ship with Bluetooth by the end of 2010. With mobile PCs getting more compact, the Microsoft Hardware team created the Bluetooth Mobile Keyboard 6000 to address consumers' need for comfortable and portable computing accessories.

Microsoft Hardware's Industrial Design team designed the keyboard so it doesn't sacrifice style, while creating a compact, clean and refined product, offering ultimate comfort with Microsoft's Comfort Curve layout. The keyboard also features a portable Bluetooth Number Pad that helps people stay productive wherever they work.

In what will go down as a wacky PR stunt, Microsoft will be rewarding you with special editions of its Windows 7 operating system - for hosting its launch party at your home in the week of its international release. In return for hosting the party, you'll be given Windows 7 Ultimate "Signature Edition", and Windows 7 Party Pack. You can choose between four themes for your party: PhotoPalooza, Media Mania, Setting up with Ease, or simply Family Friendly Fun.

Residents of the following countries can apply: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom and United States. If you're selected, you'll be assisted by House Party - a leading party organizer. "Pick a theme, then upload photos and videos, chat with other hosts, blog your experience, and download fun favours all from your personal House Party page." Here are the details, good luck.

Today marks another important date in the development phase of Microsoft's much anticipated Windows 7 operating system. Post signing the RTM (release-to-manufacturing) for Windows 7, the software is now officially available to MSDN and Technet subscribers. The English (En-US) version is available starting today, while the International versions will be available weeks later, on October 1.

It was further added that starting tomorrow, companies that are Microsoft Software Assurance license holders, will be able to download Windows 7 RTM (En-US) through the volume-licensing service center (VLSC). International versions will be available later. SA license holders will further be able to purchase Windows 7 through Volume Licensing on September 1st, as announced earlier.

Following the European Commission's recent welcoming of Microsoft's proposed "browser ballot" method of providing users a choice of web-browser software to be installed, Microsoft has decided to scrap the Eurozone-specific variant of the operating system codenamed "Windows 7 E", that lacks the Windows Internet Explorer web-browser component. The company will be shipping the standard version of the software to EU which it ships to the rest of the world.

In an interview with CNET, Microsoft's VP and Deputy General Counsel Dave Heiner said "One reason we decided not to ship Windows 7 'E' is concerns raised by computer manufacturers and partners." He added that "Several worried about the complexity of changing the version of Windows that we ship in Europe if our ballot screen proposal is ultimately accepted by the Commission and we stop selling Windows 7 'E'. Computer manufacturers and our partners also warned that introducing Windows 7 'E', only to later replace it with a version of Windows 7 that includes IE, could confuse consumers about what version of Windows to buy with their PCs."

Microsoft's Windows 7 has managed to capture quite some hype, with successive pre-releases living up to the expectations of many. This time, Microsoft will be offering "family-pack" licenses of Windows 7 Home Premium that lets users install one copy on three PCs in a household for a fraction of the cost of buying three licenses. Microsoft confirmed Windows 7 Family Pack, along with its pricing. It is priced at US $149.99, which amounts to savings of $200 in comparison to buying three Windows 7 Home Premium licenses.

This release however, isn't worldwide. Microsoft announced that it will be available on October 22, the day of the commercial launch of the OS. It will be available in the United States, and select markets. The Windows 7 Family Pack first surfaced as a listing on an online store.

The European Commission can confirm that Microsoft has proposed a consumer ballot screen as a solution to the pending antitrust case about the tying of Microsoft Internet Explorer web browser with Windows. This followed extensive discussions with the Commission which centred on a remedy outlined in the January 2009 Statement of Objections (see MEMO/09/15) whereby consumers would be shown a "ballot screen" from which they could - if they wished - easily install competing web browsers, set one of those browsers as a default, and disable Internet Explorer. Under the proposal, Windows 7 would include Internet Explorer, but the proposal recognises the principle that consumers should be given a free and effective choice of web browser, and sets out a means - the ballot screen - by which Microsoft believes that can be achieved. In addition OEMs would be able to install competing web browsers, set those as default and disable Internet Explorer should they so wish. The Commission welcomes this proposal, and will now investigate its practical effectiveness in terms of ensuring genuine consumer choice.

As the Commission indicated in June (see MEMO/09/272 ), the Commission was concerned that, should Microsoft's conduct prove to have been abusive, Microsoft's intention to separate Internet Explorer from Windows, without measures such as a ballot screen, would not necessarily have achieved greater consumer choice in practice and would not have been an effective remedy.

Microsoft Corp. today announced the release to manufacturing (RTM) of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, the next versions of its flagship desktop and server operating systems. With the completion of this development phase, industry partners are readying products in time for the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 worldwide general launches. Windows 7 will be generally available to customers around the world on October 22, and Windows Server 2008 R2 will be generally available on or before that date. As always, current customers of the Windows Volume Licensing program, Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) subscribers and TechNet subscribers will be among the first to get customer access to Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 in the coming weeks.

Microsoft will make the announcement on its Windows Team and Windows Server Blogs later today. More information about today's news is available via the following links:

• Windows Team Blog
• Windows Server Blog
• Partner Web sites: readyset7.com and talkingaboutwindows.com
• Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 for businesses: microsoft.com and microsoft.com/windowsserver2008

Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system will attain "release to manufacturing" (RTM) status soon, following which it will be made available to different sections of users on different dates, according to an official blog post at the Windows Team Blog. The elusive Windows 7 RTM in its English version will be made available to Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) subscribers on August 6. It will be available in other languages by October 1. Microsoft further added that Microsoft independent software/hardware vendor partners (ISVs/IHVs), along with TechNet subscribers will also be able to download Windows 7 RTM (English) on Aug. 6. Microsoft's original equipment manufacturer partners (OEMs) will begin receiving Windows 7 two days after RTM, although a fixed date on when exactly the OS gets its RTM status was not mentioned. Windows 7 is on course for an October 22 commercial release, when consumers will be able to buy retail versions of the operating system, as well as PCs and notebooks pre-installed with it.

Google's recent announcement of the Chrome OS, a web-oriented operating system that aims to use practicality and speed as its USPs, created more than just a few waves in the IT world. The firm later added that Chrome was going to be a free software, and has the support of some of the biggest names in the industry. At the receiving end of a potential competitor both in the operating system and cloud computing businesses, undoubtedly is Microsoft.

In an interview with CNet's Ina Fried, Bill Gates took the liberty of commenting on this development and implied that the waves Chrome OS created, are but in a teacup. "There's many, many forms of Linux operating systems out there and packaged in different ways and booted in different ways," Gates said, "In some ways I am surprised people are acting like there's something new. I mean, you've got Android running on Netbooks. It's got a browser in it," he added.

Today marked the first day of the Windows 7 upgrade deal for most european countries. Much like the US variant, customers in the EU were able to preorder Windows 7 Home Premium for 50 € or UK Pounds. According to the Hannoversche Allgemeine Newspaper the entire stock of the new operating system has been sold out within hours in the german speaking region. Large etailers like Amazon.de only had 1500 from the 10000 pieces of the german version - which sold out 7 minutes after the start at 9:00 AM - while others only managed to get 500 or less. Other german etailers like Alternate, OTTO, Neckermann managed to hold out a tad bit longer, but all of their servers - including the ones from Amazon Germany where brought to their knees so that many potential buyers missed out on the deal. Amazon UK on the other hand allowed pre-orders for about 6 hours until listing the item out of stock. Overall, most etailers all over Europe are sold out, while some traditional stores may have some left. It should be noted, that Microsoft actually planned to offer this deal from July 15th until August 9th.

Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system was supposed to reach the release-to-manufacture development stage around July 13, a build largely squared off as the final product of its development team before being sent for mass-production. Earlier this week, news from sources claimed another pre-production build (number 7600) as the RTM version due to its timing of a leak to sections of the internet. As it turned out, the build was not the RTM, though as indicated by the jump in build number, included a host of changes.

Microsoft further advises the community to wait for an official announcement from the company before taking any more pre-release versions to be the RTM, as was the case with build 7600. Expect the RTM to be out in the second half of July, and a confirmation from Microsoft when that happens. In related news, Microsoft indicated that the retail packages for all variants of Windows 7 will pack both 32-bit and 64-bit DVDs of the OS, as was the case with Windows Vista Ultimate. This leaves consumers the convenience of having to pick just one sub-variant.

Faced with a future competitor in general productivity applications, Google, which recently announced concrete plans with a web-friendly operating system, Microsoft expressed plans to make Office Online - a web-based version of Office - free. Microsoft's upcoming Office 2010 productivity suite will be available both as a paid software that you can purchase and use, and an web-based application that can be run from within a web-browser. According to the company, the upcoming Office Online is designed to work seamlessly with popular web-browsers such as Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari, apart from its own Internet Explorer. Currently Microsoft has a highly profitable business of selling the Office productivity suite, which amounts for $20 billion of the company's revenue. The company is working on pre-release community versions of Office 2010.

At the ongoing Worldwide Partner Conference held in New Orleans, USA by Microsoft, the company announced that its upcoming client operating system, Windows 7 will be made available to its business customers through volume licensing starting September 1, over a month ahead of its worldwide commercial launch on October 22. Starting September 1, business customers will be able to order the Windows 7 Enterprise variant through Microsoft Software Assurance licensing. The key features of Windows 7 Enterprise as listed by Microsoft are as follows:

• DirectAccess: Give mobile users seamless access to corporate networks without a need to VPN
• BranchCache: Decrease time branch office users spend waiting to download files across the network
• Enterprise Search Scopes: Find information on network locations including SharePoint sites with a simple user interface
• BitLocker & BitLocker To Go: Help protect data on PCs and removable drives, with manageability to enforce encryption and backup of recovery keys
• AppLocker: Specify what software is allowed to run on user's PCs through centrally managed, but flexible, Group Policies
• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Optimisations: Improved user experience for VDI with multimon and microphone support. Plus the ability to reuse virtual machine (VHD) images to boot a physical PC
• Multi Lingual User Interface: Create a single operating system (OS) image for deployment to users worldwide

Microsoft Corp. today promoted Steven Sinofsky to president of the Windows Division. Sinofsky, a 20-year Microsoft veteran, most recently led the Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, contributing to the Oct. 22 availability of Windows 7.

As president, Sinofsky assumes responsibility for the Windows business including both the engineering and marketing functions for Windows, Windows Live and Internet Explorer.

"Steven Sinofsky has demonstrated the ability to lead large teams that deliver great products. The work he and the team have done in getting ready to ship Windows 7 really defines how to develop and ship world-class software," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. "He is a perfect fit to lead the Windows group."

A very plausible rumor doing rounds has it that Microsoft may sell "family-pack" licenses for its Home Premium (and perhaps Home Basic) variants of the upcoming Windows 7 operating system. The license allows users to install and use a copy of the OS in three PCs in the same household, while being priced significantly less compared three individual copies or paper licenses. Last week, a blogger noticed an interesting term in the license agreement of a pre-release version of Windows 7 Home Premium which read:

b. Family Pack. If you are a "Qualified Family Pack User", you may install one copy of the software marked as "Family Pack" on three computers in your household for use by people who reside there. Those computers are the "licensed computers" and are subject to these license terms. If you do not know whether you are a Qualified Family Pack User, visit go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?Linkid=141399 or contact the Microsoft affiliate serving your country.

Today, an American e-tailer started accepting pre-orders for Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade "Family-Pack" (manufacturer product code GFC-00236). It is priced at US $144.99, a mere $25 more compared to its single-user retail price of $119.99. If this sort of a pricing scheme stays on with the full-version retail pack too, it would sweeten the deal many fold. Three fold to be precise.

It would appear as though rumours which surfaced around a month ago are going to be proved correct, as sources close to multiple technology sites have confirmed that Windows 7 will be released to manufacturing on 13th July. Although general availability is still not until 22nd October, this is a significant milestone as the RTM build will be the final code which also gets shipped to the general public later this year. As well as OEMs, the build should also be available to TechNet and MSDN subscribers and will also no doubtedly find its way on to torrent sites shortly after. The wait for Microsoft's highly anticipated operating system is less than four months away, but for many of us little more than a week of waiting stands in our way.

With Microsoft close to the finalization of Windows 7, MSI today also announced that from June 26 onwards it will support the Windows 7 upgrade offer that gives consumers the opportunity to pre-book Windows 7 upgrades online for a small processing fee. Once Windows 7 is officially released, Windows 7 upgrade DVDs will be sent out to consumers by Microsoft so they can upgrade their Vista operating system to the latest Windows 7. This offer will apply to owners of specific new and used laptops and all-in-one PCs under the MSI brand with legal Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, Business and Ultimate operating systems. The offer is legit till January 31, 2010. You can find more information on the MSI Windows 7 upgrade offer here.

Microsoft reminds you all that as of today systems running the Beta release of its Windows 7 operating system - launched back in January this year - will begin to automatically shut down every two hours. This is a precaution used by Microsoft to remind testers that their beta copy of Windows 7 will expire on August 1st, so they need to switch to an alternative ligitimate operating system as soon as possible. Users may upgrade to the newer Windows 7 Release Candidate, but this will temporarily stop the bi-hour shut downs. Windows 7 RC will also eventually expire. RC users will face bi-hourly shutdowns beginning on March 1st 2010, and will be prompted to install the already officially released by that time version of Windows 7. Following that, the RC will expire on June 1st, 2010.

We've learned that Microsoft might be considering the opportunity to distribute Windows 7 on USB flash drives to ease netbook owners when installing operating systems. Although nothing is confirmed yet, this approach makes distribution of Microsoft software products a lot more convenient, bravo Microsoft for the idea. These drives will be used primary for netbooks and computers without any optical drives installed.
Unfortunately, the use of USB flash drives for this tight segment is just one of the many choices Microsoft is thinking over. Currently the company sells a downloadable version of Windows, so the same might apply to Windows 7, also users might download the content to an external hard drive and then hook it up to their netbook or a notebook for installation, instead of buying the more expensive USB flash drive with the licensed software. Read more at CNET.

Microsoft unveiled the retail pricing structure of its upcoming Windows 7 operating system, and its three important variants: Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate, elaborating on the pricing on both the upgrade and full versions. Microsoft also announced that customers buying PCs pre-installed with existing versions of Windows from select sources (retailers or OEMs), will be able to upgrade to Windows 7 at "little or no cost". The company also announced that select retailers in certain markets will be able to offer for a limited period of time, a pre-order discount scheme that can reduce the price by as much as 50 percent.

Here are the prices (in USD):

• Windows 7 Home Premium - $199.99 (full version), $119.99 (upgrade)
• Windows 7 Professional - $299.99 (full version), $199.99 (upgrade)
• Windows 7 Ultimate - $319.99 (full version), $219.99 (upgrade)

Microsoft also detailed the global availability of the OS, and in different languages. The English version will launch on October 22. PC OEM vendors will be able to start shipping PCs pre-installed with the OS on the same day. Apart from the English version, Windows 7 in Spanish, Japanese, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Chinese (Hong Kong), will be available on the same day. Windows 7 in Turkish, Czech, Portuguese, Hungarian, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish, Greek, Ukrainian, Romanian, Arabic, Lithuanian, Bulgarian, Estonian, Slovenian, Hebrew, Thai, Croatian, Serbian Latin, and Latvian, will be available on October 31.

HP today announced it will offer the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system on consumer and business PCs beginning Oct. 22.

To meet customers' computing needs while protecting their investments, the company is participating in the Windows Upgrade Option Program to help customers transition easily to Windows 7. The program will enable customers who purchase qualifying HP PCs to enjoy the benefits of a new Windows-based PC immediately and receive a free upgrade to Windows 7 when it becomes available in October.

Software giant Microsoft has had disturbed relations with the EU markets following series of lawsuits to penalise the company's alleged anti-competitive market practices. Abiding by the courts' judgments, Microsoft will release two special types of its upcoming Windows 7 operating system to sell in Euro-zone countries. The OS will be devoid of Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 (MSIE 8) web-browser, and Windows Media Player (WMP) 12 multimedia software. The first type is Windows 7 E, which lacks MSIE 8 alone. The second is Windows 7 N, which lacks MSIE 8 and WMP 12. The standard type which includes both, will not be available in Euro-zone countries. These types maintain their variant hierarchy (with the lineup starting from Home Basic to Ultimate).

Furthermore, the copies of Windows 7 (E, N) will require a clean installation. Users will not be able to upgrade their existing Windows Vista installations with such types of Windows 7. This however, won't affect the standard version. The move puts users in a bit of inconvenience, since the OS will not remain web-capable as soon as it's installed. In an effort to make things as easy as possible for users, Microsoft is recommending OEM vendors to pre-install MSIE 8, or any web-browser they choose. MSIE 8 will be available as CD-ROM installation media at stores. It will also be available for users to download using FTP, so a web-browser could be downloaded and installed without the presence of another one. "We're committed to making Windows 7 available in Europe at the same time that it launches in the rest of the world, but we also must comply with European competition law as we launch the product," said Microsoft deputy general counsel Dave Heiner said in a written release. "Given the pending legal proceeding, we've decided that instead of including Internet Explorer in Windows 7 in Europe, we will offer it separately and on an easy-to-install basis to both computer manufacturers and users. We're committed to launching Windows 7 on time in Europe, so we need to address the legal realities in Europe, including the risk of large fines. We believe that this new approach, while not our first choice, is the best path forward given the ongoing legal case in Europe," he added.

VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 processor platforms, today announced that the recently launched VIA Vinyl HD Audio codecs, the VIA Vinyl VT1818S and 1828S, are now supported by ArcSoft's universal multimedia player, ArcSoft TotalMedia Theatre.

With the rising demand for a realistic cinema experience in the comfort of the home, along with the growth in adoption of the Blu-ray Disc video format, VIA and ArcSoft have collaborated to provide an enhanced playback solution that makes home movie viewing more enjoyable than ever.

The retail box packages of Microsoft's anticipated Windows 7 operating system, have shown up on one of the company's webpages. From that point on it's safe to say the box art pictures illustrated are to be the final to ship to future owners of Windows 7. The retail box covers are identical with previously leaked Windows 7 box art pics. Retail boxes will ship in green, blue and black, indicating the version of Windows 7, namely Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, and Windows 7 Ultimate. We already have official release date for Windows 7 (Oct. 22, 2009), now that we have the box art, it's time for the pricing and the final product itself.

Today during a keynote address at Computex 2009 in Taipei, Microsoft's OEM Division Corporate Vice President Steve Guggenheimer revealed that the company is confident with the progress made with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, and that as a result, Microsoft will deliver Release to Manufacturing (RTM) code to partners in the second half of July. Windows 7 will become generally available on Oct. 22, 2009, and Windows Server 2008 R2 will be broadly available at the same time.

"As we've said many times, quality is our primary goal," Guggenheimer said. "We announce each milestone once we're confident of where we are in the development cycle and that it is ready to be shared with customers and partners. We've received great feedback from our partners who are looking forward to offering Windows 7 to their customers in time for the holidays."