Techzone

Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer, is expected to announce the availability of Windows 7 Beta 1 to pre-approved testers in his Consumer Electronics Show keynote address on January 7.

As reported on the technology site, techarp.com, Microsoft has issued a draft of the Windows 7 Technical Guarantee Program to their OEM partners on December 10. Also per the report, the Redmond-based software major has given its OEM partners exactly one month to provide their feedback before Microsoft finalizes the program details. Techarp has managed to obtain a copy of the draft, which tentatively refers to the program as the Windows 7 Upgrade Program.

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According to a report in ars technica, Microsoft has plans to offer POP3 access to all users of Windows Live Hotmail. As of September 2008, Windows Live Hotmail Plus — subscribers pay $19.95 a year — users have had the option of using POP3 (pop3.live.com on port 995) from any device with an e-mail application. This has certainly led to a lot of outcry from hardcore Hotmail users, who do not have access to this feature, more so because other e-mail services offer it.

But we must mention that it was not an official nod from the software giant. The report was published based on an answer to a question in windowslivehelp.com, where the answerer states that "there is a plan on releasing POP3 to free Hotmail account users. However, he went ahead to say that they do not have a "definite date on when this will happen."

Cygnus, a small Indiana company, has sued the Big Three of Tech — Microsoft, Apple, and Google — claiming that it holds the patent on a common file preview feature used by browsers and operating systems to show users small snapshots of the files before they are opened. Cygnus’s owner and president, Gregory Swartz, developed the technology laid out in the patent while working on IT consulting projects. The company is looking for "a reasonable royalty" as well as a court injunction preventing further infringement. Cygnus applied for its patent (# 7346850) in 2001. It covers a ‘System and Method for Iconic Software Environment Management’ and was granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office in March of this year.

Scott Wylie, a NZ Director of Developer & Platform Strategy, is one of the many testing the pre-beta releases of Windows 7. In his blog, Scott Wylie gives his opinion of the pre-beta release, which post was subsequently removed for obvious reasons. But a Google Cache of the post can be accessed and here’s what he had to say. read more »

Microsoft has decided to extend XP’s availability until the end of May 2009, according to CRN, in a move designed to support system builders. At this point in time, system builders can still get Windows XP licenses for new machines and will continue to be able to do so until January 31, 2009. read more »

There are rumors that the much taunted Windows Vista is gonna get second
service pack on April 2009 for the manufacturing guys… yeah that's not
us. At least not now. Should be with us in a month or so once it reaches
the manufacturers. This information comes from TechARP, the guys who
released the Vista SP1 and XP SP3 release scheds to the rest of the
world - Look they made the work easy for the Windows guys.

Via Engadget
http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/01/windows-vista-sp2-set-for-april-launch-to-manufacturers/