It wasn’t too hard to see this one coming, but Microsoft has now officially rolled out the beta version of Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 which, among other things, brings with it a slew of new features that tie into Windows 7. That includes support for full image backup of Windows 7 PCs, Windows 7 libraries support for shared media folders, built-in Windows Search 4, and a number of Windows Media Center enhancements, as well as “better support for netbook computers,” although Microsoft doesn’t seem to have elaborated too much on that. No word on a release date for the non-beta version just yet, but Microsoft is apparently hoping to get it out in advance of Windows 7 — and, yes, it will be a free update for current Windows Home Server users.

[Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/17/windows-home-server-power-pack-3-beta-adds-windows-7-convenience/]

Microsoft has released many OS versions over the past and it turns out its latest Windows 7 is the least expensive of them all. Most of the Microsoft OS were in the price range of up to $200 with the exception of Vista Home Premium, which touched the $260 mark. Even the pro versions of Windows, starting NT reached a mark of $320 while the Windows 7 versions are still available at $50 for the Home Edition, $100 for the Professional version and $220 for the Ultimate version. Check out the images to check the sticker prices and the adjusted inflation prices for the different OS released by Microsoft and Windows 7 emerges as the undisputed winner with the lowest price.

[Source:http://www.newlaunches.com/archives/windows_7_is_the_least_expensive_os_by_microsoft.php ]

Microsoft has long offered the option to downgrade a Windows license and replace newer versions of its operating system with an older edition. This, however, gained notoriety with Windows Vista following numerous complaints from disgruntled users and computer makers actually advertising machines that were pre-downgraded to XP. Microsoft hopes to change this with Windows 7 – if early reviews are anything to go by it probably will – but it does plan to keep offering users a downgrade option.

In fact, Microsoft and its PC partners are going to allow Windows 7 users to downgrade not just to Vista but also to Windows XP. The company claims this is not the first time it has offered downgrade rights to a version other than its immediate predecessor, and clarified that selling XP to OEMs doesn’t necessarily mean it will continue to be supported. Microsoft is still expected to end mainstream support for the OS on April 14 and provide only security updates beyond that date. Downgrades will still cost interested consumers, presumably, as the software giant hasn’t detailed exactly how downgrade rights will work with Windows 7.

[SOURCE: http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2009/

4/8/microsoft-offers-downgrade-options-windows-7-xp/]

Additional news pertaining to Windows 7 was released earlier this week. This comes barely a month after the generally positive response to the first public beta of Microsoft’s next iteration of the Windows operating system. Though it’s not yet announced via official channels, a number of Internet sites have independently confirmed with Microsoft that there will be six versions of Windows 7 when it is finally released:

Microsoft may release to developers a trial version of its forthcoming Windows 7 operating system as soon as next week, according to a note on one of the company’s Web sites.

“Attend an upcoming MSDN Developer Conference and you will receive a Windows 7 Beta 1 DVD,” Microsoft said on a site it maintains for software developers. The next such conference is Tuesday in Chicago, according to the site, with other conferences scheduled for cities across the country throughout January.

The site promises that developers who attend one of the conferences will be “among the first to see Windows 7.” It also states that attendees will receive preview access to Windows Azure, an operating system that Microsoft is developing for cloud computing environments.

For those who can’t wait, an early build of a Windows 7 beta has appeared on numerous, legally questionable, file sharing sites. “I’m using this OS as I type,” wrote a Pirate Bay user going by the name ‘al966g’. “Looks like it’s OK to me, not too much different than Vista but a few new items,” the user wrote.

The user noted that he had Windows 7 running on a relatively underpowered Pentium 4 computer with only 768 MB of RAM. Vista, by contrast, was widely criticized for steep hardware requirements that forced users to upgrade their PCs.

A final version of Windows 7 isn’t expected until late 2009 or early 2010.

(Source: http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems… )

Screenshots:

More screenshots : http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-7…

Windows 7 Boot Screen Video: