Home Media server from Apple [ December 29th, 2008 ] Posted in » Latest gadgets and Technology

9to5Mac reports that Apple has been working on a home media server to access your iTunes and other files anywhere you have internet access. The site compares it to HP’s just updated Media Smart Server which offers a centralized location for backup, storage and file delivery to your computers locally as well as remotely:

Your music, photos, videos and other media are part of your life — but they’re scattered over multiple computers, disk drives, CDs, DVDs, and MP3 players…. Macs and iPods too. The HP MediaSmart Server centralizes all your files, from all your home computers, in one place so you can grab them anywhere you have an internet connection and share how you want.

Apple’s take on the system would reportedly expand out Time Capsule’s functionality from being a single drive backup system into a more robust multi-drive backup server. In addition, tie ins would be made to Apple’s MobileMe services to deliver access to your files and media from anywhere on the internet.

9to5mac suggests that media could also be shared to your iPhone and iPod touch, providing full access to your media while mobile. The device could also serve media files to other computers at home as well as to your Apple TV.

Source: Macrumors.com

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Windows 7 Beta already on torrents

Apparently you won’t even have to wait until January to get your hands on the Windows 7 Beta release. That’s right, there’s already been an ISO file leaked to several torrent trackers.

The ISO appears to contain the Windows 7 M1 build (7000) highlighted by Paul Thurrott on SuperSite. So far the new build seems to perform slightly better than 6801, and memory usage has been improved. A number of previously hidden features - like the iconized task bar - are also now active.

Before comments start asking why there’s no link to the file, it’s because this is something that we’re not supposed to have yet. If you want to get your hands on it, check your favorite torrent search site. Also keep in mind that this is a leak, and there’s always the possibility that the ISO has been tampered with.

Source: Downloadsquad.com

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December 28th, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Windows 7 could be out next year

If you haven’t figured it out by now, Microsoft has two release dates for Windows 7: early 2010 according to its corporate PR stooges and sometime around mid 2009 according to everyone else. The reason for the padding is a fairly transparent attempt to avoid the public opinion fiasco resulting from Vista’s chronic delays. Now Ina Fried over at CNET has it from Microsoft Director, Doug Howe, that Windows 7 should be ready for general consumption by the 2009 holidays. According to Fried, Howe’s WinHEC presentation covering Microsoft’s Velocity program to improve PC quality seemed to imply a mid-year Win7 launch. Apparently, a slide said that the Vista Velocity program would run through next spring and then continue on with Windows 7. Afterward, in an apparent direct response to the launch date question, Howe told Fried, “Definitely the holiday focus is going to be on 7.” Using the Vista launch as a guide, that would put the new OS in the hands of OEMs and big business IT staff by mid-year, about 3-months before consumers if Vista’s timeline holds true. This also aligns nicely with Microsoft’s stated plan to launch the public beta early next year followed by a hinted, single release candidate prior to release for manufacturing. So go ahead, just make it official already Microsoft. You had us at pre-Beta.

Source: Engadget

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November 7th, 2008 | 2 Comments

Windows 7 installed on a new MacBook Pro

It’s a next-generation operating system and mirror all in one!

Source: Engadget.com

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November 3rd, 2008 | 2 Comments

Microsoft’s Windows 7 Pre-Beta Leaked Onto Torrent Sites

When Microsoft recently aired exclusive details of the upcoming Windows Vista successor, Windows 7, with the release of its pre-beta to a select developer crowd at the Professional Developer Crowd, Microsoft wanted public attention for the new OS. 

However, the pre-beta has found its way into the torrent community and is burning up the download queues as everyone wants to be the first to preview the new OS.  The OS was available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions on The Pirate Bay and Mininova as of Friday night.

Many of the copies had over a thousand downloaders.  One particularly active 32-bit copy had more than a thousand uploaders and about 7,000 downloaders.  Apparently some of the copies also weren’t the ones that the developers received, according to claims.  While these copies were indeed Windows 7, they were an earlier build that did not include the taskbar updates. 

One problem plaguing downloaders was the lack of people seeding the file and the accompanying slowness of the downloads.

Some people who downloaded the build were also unimpressed by it, despite the glowing media reception.  One user stated, “There is nothing (sic) new in it.  I wouldn’t recommend this to download. Waste of time. Happy with Vista.”

Others cautioned downloaders to be more reserved in judging the pre-beta.  One commented, “Seriously people. This was just a PRE-beta release that was given out at a trade show so writers would write about the new version. This SHOULD NOT be downloaded with the intent of using it as an everyday system. It is just so writers could get a feel for what was to come.”

Some are saying the best is yet to come, though, for Windows 7.  Many users, like Peter Menadue, who holds the role of global director of solutions and technology, Microsoft solutions business within systems integrator Dimension Data, are most excited about the upcoming business-specific bits of Windows 7.  These include revamped application security, data security, and application deployment, according to rumors.

Mr. Menadue states, “I was in Redmond three weeks ago and had a sneak peek.  I think they’ve done a stellar job. Sinofsky’s a genius,” referring to Microsoft’s Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president of the Windows and Windows Live engineering group.

According to Menadue, another key perk is Microsoft’s increased commitment to virtualization.  He is also happy with Microsoft’s promise to maintain driver compatibility with Vista.

Jo Sweeney, adviser at analyst firm Intelligent Business Research Services, says the full featured nature of Vista will appeal to consumers during this troubled economy.  He states, “What tends to happen (in times like these) is that IT professionals get much more focused on proving and not improving.  People will (move to) Windows 7 because if they can put greater management features into it, it will solve some of the problems of desktop computing.”

Appealing features like the network id management should help to cut day-to-day costs, which account for 80-percent of the standard IT budget.  Windows 7 will allow the separation of user profiles and applications from the base operating system, so that you can see someone user profile anywhere on the network.  The key question, according to Mr. Sweeney, is how the IT administrators who have already implemented these features react to the new OS.

Source: DailyTech news

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November 3rd, 2008 | 2 Comments

Windows 7 super cool details

Microsoft’s Windows 7 announcement earlier today was followed up by an extensive demo of the new features during the PDC keynote, and since then even more info about the new OS has flooded out, so we thought we’d try to wrap up some of the more important bits here for you. Microsoft seems to have done an impressive job at this early pre-beta stage, folding in next-gen interface ideas like multitouch into the same OS that apparently runs fine on a 1GHz netbook with 1GB of RAM, but we’ll see how development goes — there’s still a ways to go. Some notes:

* Obviously, the big news is the new taskbar, which forgoes text for icons and has new “jump lists” of app controls and options you can access with a right-click. You can select playlists in Media Player, for example. Super cool: when you scrub over the icons, all the other app windows go transparent so you can “peek” at the windows you’re pointing at.
* Gadgets now appear on the desktop — the sidebar has been killed. That makes more sense for all those laptop owners out there with limited screen space, and you can still see gadgets anytime by peeking at the desktop, rendering all other windows transparent.
* Window resizing and management now happens semi-automatically: dragging a window to the top of the screen maximizes it, pulling it down restores; dragging a window to the edges auto-resizes it to 50% for quick tiling. Nifty.
* The system tray now only displays what you explicitly say it should — everything else is hidden, and the controls have been streamlined.
* User Account Control settings are now much more fine-grained — you can set them by app and by level of access.
* They demoed multitouch features on an HP TouchSmart PC — it was pretty cool, although the usual nagging “what is this good for / that’ll get old fast” concerns weren’t really addressed. The Start menu gets 25 percent bigger when using touch to make it easier to handle, and apps will all get scroll support automatically. There’s also a giant on-screen predictive keyboard. Again — could be amazing, but we won’t know until it’s out in the wild.
* We’ve always known Microsoft intends Windows 7 to run on netbooks, and we got a small taste during the PDC keynote: Windows SVP Steve Sinofsky held up his “personal” laptop running Windows 7, an unnamed 1GHz netbook with 1GB of RAM that looked a lot like an Eee PC, and said that it still had about half its memory free after boot. (We’re guessing it was running a VIA Nano, since most Atoms run at 1.6GHz.)
* At the other end of the scale, Windows 7 supports machines with up to 256 CPUs.
* Multiple-monitor management is much-improved, as is setting up projectors — it’s a hotkey away. Remote Desktop now works with multiple monitors as well.
* Media Center has been tweaked as well — it looks a lot more like the Zune interface. There’s also a new Mini Guide when watching video, and a new Music Wall album artwork screensaver that kicks in when you’re playing music.
* Devs got a pre-beta today; a “pretty good” feature complete beta is due early next year. No word at all on when it’ll be released to market apart from that “three years from Vista” date we’ve known forever.

That’s just the good bits — hit the read links for piles of more info and screenshots, and we’ll keep our eyes out for anything else interesting. Exciting times!

Read - Keynote videos on the PDC site
Read - Technologizer Windows 7 hands-on
Read - Ars Technica Windows 7 interface walkthrough
Read - Laptop Windows 7 hands-on
Read - Windows 7 Media Center revealed

Source: Engadget.com

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October 28th, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Windows 7 to get device hub, animation API

Source: Electronista.com

Microsoft’s formal unveiling of Windows 7 at the Professional Developer Conference on Tuesday will show several key infrastructure changes, journalist Mary Jo Foley has revealed ahead of the event. The replacement for Vista aims to solve a common Windows problem of integrating with peripherals through Device Stage, a central repository for external devices; users will have a central location to manage and sync cameras, cellphones, media players and other hardware supported by the platform.

The software should also have multiple architectural changes. In addition to expanding use of the ribbon interface, multi-touch support and a tighter integration of the taskbar with the Windows shell through unknown means, Windows 7 should also receive a new animation framework for customizing animation in the operating system. It’s unclear whether this is a parallel to CoreAnimation in Mac OS X or relates to the Avalon presentation layer first shown for Vista.

More features should also be shown on stage that won’t be immediately available to developers, Foley adds.

The reporter further supports claims that the operating system will quickly become public. A public beta version of the platform will allegedly be available in mid-December and represents a relatively quick turnaround for the operating system, which has been rumored to be finalized as early as mid-2009 and so could ship slightly ahead of its publicly stated early 2010 goal.

Separately, the platform is also expected to solve issues with performance for netbooks. The company has until now been forced to use Windows XP on most of the low-budget systems due to their reduced hardware and in many cases has lost sales altogether to Linux, which is both free and consumes less resources than Windows.

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October 27th, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Windows 7 Server to be ‘minor release’ | CNET News

In a somewhat surprising move, Microsoft said Monday that the next minor update for Windows Server will be the server version of Windows 7, which will be known merely as Windows Server 2008 R2.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft said on Monday that the server version of Windows 7 will not be a major release and will bear the name Windows Server 2008 R2.

The move is surprising, given that in the past, Microsoft has used R2 monikers to signify a product with a few new features, as opposed to major changes to a product.

Microsoft declined to discuss what will be in Windows Server 2008 R2, but a spokesman confirmed that it is the server version of Windows 7. The release is due sometime in 2010, Microsoft said.

The server move calls into question just how different Windows 7 is going to be from Windows Vista on the desktop side. Steven Sinofsky, the head of development for the desktop version of Windows, has said that Windows 7 on the PC side would not make major changes to things like the kernel and driver model, but has maintained that it would be a major release of Windows.

Microsoft has said that the desktop version of Windows 7 would include a new multitouch interface, but has not talked about other features.

The software maker confirmed its naming plans, following a report by ZDNet blogger Mary Jo Foley. Initially Foley reported that Microsoft was skipping its minor R2 release and moving straight to its next major release. However, Microsoft clarified that it indeed sees Windows 7 on the server side as a minor release.

On its server roadmap page, Microsoft describes its minor, or update releases this way:

Update releases integrate the previous major release with the latest service pack, selected feature packs, and new functionality. Because an update release is based on the previous major release, customers can incorporate it into their environment without any additional testing beyond what would be required for a typical service pack. Any additional functionality provided by an update would be optional and thus not affect application compatibility or require customers to recertify or retest applications.

The question is, if Windows 7 Server needs no more testing than a service pack, is it really possible for the desktop team to add enough features on top of it to make Windows 7 a big improvement upon the oft-criticized Windows Vista.

If you are having trouble reconciling Microsoft’s server and client positions, you are not alone. I pressed Microsoft’s server side for more details on how this could be understood, but didn’t get much help. I’ll also check in with some folks on the desktop Windows team and see what I hear back.

Microsoft has said it will share technical details on Windows 7 at its Professional Developers Conference in late October in Los Angeles.

Source: Posted by Ina Fried from Cnet.com

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August 18th, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Official: Windows 7 date is confirmed

Official: Windows 7 date is confirmed

Bill Gates may have only just said his goodbyes, but the Microsoft machine keeps on running with the company announcing information about the release of Windows 7.

The paint may not have even dried on the Windows that is Vista, but it seems that Microsoft is already looking to launch its successor within the next two years.

In a letter to enterprise and business customers on Tuesday, vice president of Microsoft Bill Veghte announced that the approximate launch date for Windows 7 is January 2010.

Official: Windows 7 date is confirmed | News | TechRadar UK

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June 28th, 2008 | Leave a Comment

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