Beyond Gaming: Watching TV on Your Xbox

Ben Schefers bought his first Microsoft Corp. Xbox 360 console four months ago to play games remotely with his friends. But the 33-year-old database manager now spends more time using it to play movies, television shows and documentaries.

"It's something that my wife and I can both agree on," he says, adding that he plays Xbox 360 games only a few times a week—and often only after his wife is asleep. Each night, he and his wife, who live in Berkeley, Calif., spend an hour or two catching up on TV shows with the console. "It's kind of taken over from our DVD player," says Mr. Schefers.

Videogame consoles like the Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 were designed primarily to play games, but the gadgets are increasingly evolving into multimedia home-entertainment devices as manufacturers add nongame features.

Last year, Microsoft and Sony began offering console owners video-watching services—Microsoft through a partnership with Netflix Inc. and Sony through its own service. Later this month, Microsoft plans to launch new features on its Xbox Live online service for premium members to stream music from Last.fm Ltd., download high-definition movies from its Zune Marketplace store, and easily access Facebook and Twitter's social-networking sites. Sony, which tried and failed to market the PS3 as an all-in-one entertainment device when it was introduced three years ago, is giving it another go. The company has also begun offering access to Netflix through the PS3.

Microsoft has said that one million of its premium Xbox Live Gold members activated the Netflix application within the first three months of its launch a year ago and watched 1.5 billion minutes of movies and TV episodes. Sony, which lets all users surf the Web and manage digital media such as music and photos through the PS3, says those features have become important factors in purchasing decisions by consumers.

Nintendo Co. has been slower to integrate Internet technology and video-downloading services into its Wii console, though it allows all users to surf the Web, share photos and check out news and weather information. In Japan, the company is experimenting with limited video downloading through the Wii. Many analysts expect Nintendo to also offer streaming video through Netflix in the future. The company declined to comment.

Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey says his company's goal is "to be ubiquitous on any device that you watch movies on."

Waiting It Out

While many game players seem open to the idea of doing more with their consoles, they also say they are still figuring it out. Ruven Chu, a 22-year-old Stanford University graduate student and Xbox 360 owner in Palo Alto, Calif., says he is interested in trying the console's Facebook and Twitter features. But he expects them to be integrated into the videogame experience in a way that's not possible through his PC—allowing users to find friends on Facebook that they can play games with, for example. "I think it all depends on how it's been implemented," he says.

Console prices have fallen dramatically, providing an added incentive for consumers. An entry-level Xbox 360, for example, now starts at $199.99, down from $299.99 four years ago. Sony's PS3 starts at $299 for a model with a 120-gigabyte hard drive and a Blu-ray player and Wi-Fi wireless connectivity. In 2006, a model with a 20-gigabyte hard drive debuted for $499.

To stream movies and access other media content, console makers have created miniature keyboards that can be attached to the game controllers. Consumers can also type Web addresses and text messages by hooking up a computer keyboard to the console or punching in letters on a virtual keyboard on the screen.

Companies such as Intel Corp. and Apple Inc. have spent years trying to come up with a product that brings the Internet into the living room. Many of the devices have been slow to take hold because they were awkward to use and had little attractive content available. They also required the purchase of additional devices.

Now, as technology has advanced and more content has come online, more device makers are vying to be the top living-room gadget. Research firm iSuppli Corp. estimates there are over 50 Internet-enabled TV models from the top five manufacturers on sale now, more than double the number last year. Blu-ray players from companies like LG Electronics Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. let people stream video from Netflix. And Apple, TiVo Inc., Digeo Inc. and Roku Inc. make specialized set-top boxes that people can use to download or stream TV shows and movies over the Internet, as well as manage other content such as music or photos.

Go-To Devices

For many consumers, though, videogame consoles appear to be the go-to living-room device—particularly for those who already own one of them. Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo have already sold over 45 million units collectively, according to the companies. That compares with the 5.3 million networked TVs, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes estimated to be sold by the end of this year, according to consulting firm Envisioneering Group.

"Active game consoles have a lot of momentum because they're already attached to televisions," says Envisioneering analyst Richard Doherty. "They are a part of the family."

Analysts also say that part of the reason why consoles have become such a popular way of viewing streaming video from the Internet is that cable and satellite companies have been slow to embrace such services.

Fred Potter, a 27-year-old software developer in Los Altos, Calif., splits most of his TV viewing between Netflix on his Xbox 360 and the Hulu streaming video service on his laptop computer. "The only thing we use basic cable for is for watching shows the day they air," he says.

Story: Wall Street Journal

Price Is Heavier, but These Laptops Are Very Sleek

PC makers this fall are trying to get consumers who want small laptops to move up from low-profit netbooks to larger, costlier models called "ultrathin" or "thin and light." These models are lighter and thinner than many regular laptops, but they have bigger screens and keyboards than most netbooks do.

The slim portables tend to start at around $500 and many fall into the $600 to $900 range. You can easily find bigger, heavier laptops for less. But the manufacturers are hoping mobile consumers will be willing to pay a premium for sleekness and long battery life.



WSJ's Personal Technology columnist Walt Mossberg reviews a new class of thin, lightweight, laptops that boast long battery life. He says this new class, which falls between the netbook and a typical laptop, is a promising one.

I've been testing three examples of the new class: the Toshiba Satellite T135, the Hewlett-Packard Pavilion dm3t and the Lenovo IdeaPad U350. All came equipped with bright 13-inch screens, power-sipping Intel processors and Windows 7 Home Premium. The particular configurations lent me by the manufacturers for testing were priced at $600 for the Toshiba, $840 for the HP and $700 for the Lenovo.

I found the trio a mixed bag, with notable pros and cons for each. These trade-offs left me unable to declare a clear winner. The one you'd like best would depend on your own weighting of various qualities, like the feel of a keyboard or touchpad.

Nevertheless, I found that all three were capable, easy-to-carry laptops. In my tests, each easily handled common consumer tasks at acceptable speeds. The three weighed between 3.5 and 4.2 pounds. All were about an inch thick, or a bit less, at their thinnest points.

I ran all three through my tough battery test, where I turn off all power-saving features, set the screen to maximum brightness, leave Wi-Fi on and play a continuous loop of music.

The Toshiba and the HP turned in excellent results in this battery test, while the Lenovo was disappointing, mainly because it comes with a smaller standard battery. In a re-test, with a $50 optional larger battery, the Lenovo also did very well, but at the cost of added weight and thickness.

In normal use, with power-saving turned on, the Toshiba and HP could easily last for a full work day of typical activities, and the Lenovo could, too, with the optional battery.

• Toshiba Satellite T135

This is a sleek, glossy machine that starts at around 3.9 pounds for the 13-inch models. It got the best battery life of the three with a standard battery: five hours and 38 minutes, which I estimate would easily translate into more than seven hours in normal use. It also cost the least, at $600, of the three I tried. My test model came with three gigabytes of memory and a 250-gigabyte hard disk. It was very fast at resuming from sleep, but took more than two minutes to perform a restart with just three common programs running, and nearly two minutes to start up cold.

My main beef with the Toshiba is its keyboard and touchpad buttons. The keyboard felt too rubbery and flexible, and the buttons under the touchpad were in the form of a single, slippery, hard-to-use bar.

• HP Pavilion dm3t

This laptop, the most expensive of my test models by far, at $840, was also the heaviest, at 4.2 pounds. The chassis is metal, instead of plastic. Its battery life clocked in at five hours and two minutes in my test, which means you could easily exceed six hours in normal use. My test model came with 3 GB of memory and a huge 500 GB hard disk.

The keyboard felt solid, but the fatal flaw of the dm3 for me was its metallic touchpad, which made the cursor move slowly and even stop at times. Like the Toshiba, the HP took a long time to get going: almost 2.5 minutes for a restart and about two minutes for a cold start.

The HP dm3 also is available for about $100 less when equipped with AMD processors, though HP says those have weaker battery life.

• Lenovo IdeaPad U350

In many ways, I liked the U350 best. It was sturdy, but thinner overall than the others because it lacked a bulging battery. The keyboard is firm and well designed, and the touchpad and buttons are comfortable and easy to use. It came with 4 GB of memory and a 320 GB hard disk for its $700 price. It was the only one of the three to restart in under two minutes. It also weighed the least, about 3.5 pounds.

But the IdeaPad's downfall is its small, flat battery, which offered only two hours and 38 minutes of life, or maybe 3.5 to four hours in normal use. With the optional $50 battery, the battery life in my test zoomed up to nearly six hours, which means maybe 7.5 or eight hours in normal use. But that extra battery brought the computer's weight to four pounds and made it thicker.

These thin, light, machines perform adequately and can last a long time unplugged. But I urge you to test them personally before choosing one, to make sure you're comfortable with their designs.

Story: Walter Mossberg - Wall Street Journal

The Microsoft Store Sells All Three Laptops Featured in this Article

Windows 7 - Reviews

Windows 7 Keeps the Good, Tries to Fix Flaws

                                                                                                                                                                          

Windows 7 comes out Thursday. And if the programmers at Microsoft have any strength left at all, they are high-fiving.

Their three-year Windows Vista nightmare is over. That operating system’s wretched reputation may have been overblown; at the outset, it was slow, intrusive and incompatible with a lot of gadgets, but it’s been quietly improved over the years. Nonetheless, the corporate software buyers who order copies of Windows by the gross weren’t impressed. As recently as this summer, at least two-thirds of corporate computers were still running the positively ancient Windows XP.

Windows 7 is a different story. It keeps what’s good about Windows Vista, like security, stability and generous eye candy, and addresses much of what people disliked.

Item 1: Sluggishness. As Microsoft’s triple redundancy puts it, Windows 7 offers “faster, more responsive performance.”

Item 2: Hardware requirements. They’re no steeper than Vista’s three years ago (the standard edition requires 1 gigabyte of memory and 1 gigahertz processor; more is better).

Item 3: Nagging Windows 7 is far less alarmist than Vista, which freaked out about every potential security threat. In fact, 10 categories of warnings now pile up quietly in a single, unified Action Center and don’t interrupt you at all.

Best of all, Windows 7 represents a departure from Microsoft’s usual “success is measured by the length of the feature list” philosophy. This time around, it was, “Polish, optimize and streamline what we’ve already got.” That seems to be the industry mantra for 2009 — see also Apple’s Snow Leopard release in August — and it’s fantastic news. There are three ugly aspects of Windows 7, so let’s get them out of the way up front. Upgrading from Vista is easy, but upgrading from Windows XP involves a “clean install”— moving all your programs and files off the hard drive, installing Windows 7, then copying everything back on again. It’s an all-day hassle that’s nobody’s idea of fun.

Microsoft doesn’t think XP holdouts will bother; it hopes that they’ll just get Windows 7 preinstalled on a new PC. (It’s no accident that new operating systems come out right before holiday shopping.) The second bit of nastiness is the insane matrix of versions. Again, there are five versions of Windows 7 — Starter, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate — each with its own set of features, each in 32-bit or 64-bit flavors (except Starter), at prices from $120 to $320. Good luck figuring out why some cool Windows 7 feature, like the much-improved, TiVo-like Windows Media Center, isn’t on your PC.

(No wonder a raft of books about Windows 7 is on the way. A disclosure: I’m writing one of them.)

Finally, out of fear of antitrust headaches, Microsoft has stripped Windows 7 of some important accessory programs. Believe it or not, software for managing photos, editing videos, reading PDF documents, maintaining a calendar, managing addresses, chatting online or writing e-mail doesn’t come with Windows 7.

What kind of operating system doesn’t come with an e-mail program?

Instead, you’re supposed to download these free apps yourself from a Microsoft Web site. It’s not a huge deal; some companies, including Dell, plan to preinstall them on new computers. But a lot of people will be in for some serious confusion — especially when they discover that the Windows 7 installer has deleted their existing Vista copies of Windows Mail, Movie Maker, Calendar, Contacts and Photo Gallery. (Mercifully, it preserves your data.)

Otherwise, though, Windows 7 is mostly great news. The happiest developments help Windows live up to its name: there are some slick, efficient new features for managing windows.

You can drag a window’s edge against the top or side of your screen to make it fill the whole screen or half of it. You can give a window a little shake with the mouse — kind of fun, actually — to minimize all other windows (or to bring them back again) when you need a quick look at your desktop.

The taskbar now resembles the Dock in Apple’s Mac OS X. That is, it displays the icons for both open programs and those you’ve dragged there for quick access. (Weirdly, though, you can’t turn individual folders and documents into buttons on the taskbar, as in Mac OS X, only programs.)

Better yet, if you point to a program’s icon without clicking, you see Triscuit-size miniatures of all the windows open in that program. And if you point to one of these thumbnails, its corresponding full-size window flashes to the fore. All of this means easier navigation in a screen awash with window clutter.

Windows 7 also introduces libraries: virtual folders that display the contents of up to 50 other folders, which may be scattered all over your system. Libraries make it easy to keep project files together, back them up en masse or share them with other PC’s on the network.

Speaking of which, networking is also more refined in Windows 7. Handling of Internet hot spots is much better than before, and the new HomeGroups feature lets you unify all Windows 7 computers and printers on your home network without having to mess with accounts or permissions. You just enter the same long, one-time password on each machine. (Only at Microsoft do “user-friendly” and “write down this password: E6fQ9UX3uR” appear in the same sentence.) Once that’s done, each computer can see the photos, music and documents on all the other ones. It’s a little buggy, but it’ll get there.

Compatibility is excellent. I connected a couple dozen cameras, phones, iPods, printers and scanners, and Windows 7 recognized them all. Recent, brand-name apps fare well, too, but there are no guarantees. I found a couple of smaller, older programs that wouldn’t work in Windows 7.

Some Windows 7 developments fall under the heading, “If you build it, they might come... eventually.” For example, the updated Windows Media Player program can now send music playback to another gadget on your network: an Xbox, digital picture frame, another Windows 7 machine and so on. The catch: the other gadget has to be D.L.N.A.-certified, which you’re supposed to know refers to an industry compatibility standard.

Or take the new Device Stage screen. When you connect a gadget to your PC, you’re supposed to see its actual photograph, model name and list of relevant features. But until all the gadget makers get on board, you sometimes see only generic icons here.

Even the multitouch feature of Windows 7 falls into that hit-or-miss category. On new laptops and even desktop PCs with multitouch screens, you can drag two fingers on the screen to rotate photos, scroll and zoom, exactly the way you do on an iPhone.

Alas, software programs have to be rewritten to understand these gestures; for example, they all work in Microsoft’s Photo Gallery, but only the zoom gesture works in Google’s Picasa. You’re in for many “Doh!” moments as you realize you’ve reached out awkwardly with your arm, dragged around on the touch screen, and produced nothing but gross grease streaks.

Now, Windows 7 is still Windows. It’s still copy-protected, it still requires antivirus software and its visuals still aren’t consistent from one corner to another.

On the other hand, it’s still Windows in a good way, too, meaning that it’s your ticket to a world of choice — a huge catalog of software and computer options. This Win is a win if you’re in the market for a new machine, or if you’re running Vista now and you’re not thrilled by it.

Above all, Windows 7 means that Microsoft employees can show up in public without avoiding eye contact. Looks like 7 is a lucky number after all.

Story: New York Times

Blog Catalog

Window 7 - Reviews

Microsoft doesn't have to apologize for Windows 7. Vista's replacement represents a monster leap forward. It's Vista done right – at last. Microsoft claims hundreds of small improvements, and a few big ones.

"We'll see what happens when Windows 7 is with (customers) all day every day, but I'm cautiously optimistic that we really have hit the right note there," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told me in a phone interview.

What you'll notice is that Windows 7 is snappier than its predecessor, more polished, and simpler to navigate. Screens are less cluttered. It has better search. Windows 7 rarely nags. I've been testing various versions for months on numerous computers. It sure seems more reliable so far. With a few exceptions, compatibility hasn't been a major issue.

It's worth pointing out that Vista received decent notices when it first came out, and Microsoft repaired some problems with the much maligned operating system over time. Despite the fact that it periodically drove me bonkers, I'll probably invite scorn by suggesting Vista sometimes got a bad rap.

But make no mistake. Windows 7 is better. I've run a bevy of third-party programs on Windows 7 machines, including Apple's iTunes, Google's Picasa, Mozilla's Firefox and Intuit's Quicken, without incident. Same goes for connected HP printers, a Canon digital camera, and smartphones such as the iPhone and Palm Pre.

Windows 7 boasts some nifty touch-computing enhancements that I'll elaborate on in a future column. But you'll have to fetch free e-mail, calendar, photo, instant messaging and video-editing programs online from Windows Live Essentials; such programs used to be included in the operating system. Manufacturers may preload some of these.

Windows 7 shows up as Apple continues to run scathingly funny Macintosh ads lampooning PCs. The ads work in part because they indeed strike a raw nerve among the Windows crowd. Apple recently launched a new operating system of its own, Mac OS X Snow Leopard. I have long preferred the Mac operating system to Windows – and still do. Macs are more attractive, and it's hard to beat the bundle of programs Apple includes. Macs haven't been hit with the malware that has plagued Windows. But the improvements in Windows 7 narrow Apple's advantage, and in a couple of instances Microsoft moves past its rival.

It remains to be seen, of course, whether consumers who put off buying a computer because of Vista are ready to take the plunge now. "With Vista it was almost like they had a justifiable reason not to upgrade," says Michael Cherry, an analyst at independent research firm Directions on Microsoft. But he wonders if Windows 7 will be enough to get people to spring for a new machine in this economy.

Microsoft also has to be mindful of an upcoming challenge from Google, which has already brought out a mobile operating system called Android and is readying its "in-the-cloud" Chrome operating system. "I don't even know who the competitor is over at Google," Ballmer says. "Is it Android, is it Chrome, is it something else? Maybe they'll have another operating system to announce."

Based on my tests, you can buy a new PC confident that this latest Windows operating system ought not bog you down. Upgrading an existing computer is less clear-cut. Go for it if you're dissatisfied and running Vista. But if you're running XP, the upgrade decision is more arduous because you have to remove and reinstall your programs. And you'll need a machine that can handle the load: at minimum a 1-gigahertz processor, 1 or 2 gigabytes of RAM and 16 or 20 GB of free disk space, plus high-end graphics.

Here's my takeaway for consumers from Windows 7

Choosing the right edition

As with prior iterations of Windows, there's no single version of Windows 7, which gets confusing. Windows 7 Starter is a bare-bones edition that's pre-loaded on some budget netbooks. It lacks the fancy graphics of its more accomplished siblings. For a few extra bucks, however, even a netbook can run a more complete version of Windows 7.

At the other extreme are the powerhouse Windows 7 Ultimate and Windows 7 Enterprise editions, for individuals and businesses who crave each and every last feature. Other versions are called Home Basic and Professional. But most consumers will choose what is likely to remain the most popular edition, Home Premium. It costs $120 to upgrade (or $200 for a full retail package).

Look and feel

The most dramatic difference is in the newly customizable taskbar, the collection of icons at the bottom of the screen that resembles the Dock in Mac OS X. You get to decide where to park and rearrange various program icons.

When you hover over an icon with the mouse, a thumbnail preview of the underlying program or file appears, a feature you don't get on a Mac. (Such previews don't appear in the Windows 7 Starter edition.) And each instance of an open file appears as a preview, such as multiple documents in Word. If you hover over an icon for Windows Media Player or iTunes, you can click on the play/pause controls right from the preview window. Mouse over any of the preview windows, and the file in question takes over the entire screen.

You can also conveniently "pin" programs and files so they remain on the taskbar for easy access, perhaps for some project you're working on.

Windows 7 also makes use of handy "jump lists" shortcuts for accessing frequently used files or tasks. They appear when you right-click on an icon. A jump list for iTunes, for example, includes "Go to iTunes Store" and "Search iTunes Store" items. One for Microsoft Word lists recent documents.

      

The bottom-right edge of the taskbar is less cluttered. Icons for various programs that typically run in the background are consolidated in one hidden view. You have to click on a tiny arrow to see them.

Less intrusive

You'll also find the Action Center on the bottom right corner of the screen, a repository for security alerts and troubleshooting messages that don't necessarily require your immediate attention.

Under Vista, alerts would all-too-frequently appear in distracting pop-up windows, as part of what Microsoft calls "User Account Controls." This has been an area of considerable controversy. You want to be warned of course when a change to your PC can harm your system or threaten your security. But many people thought Microsoft was overly intrusive. The current default setting (which you can change) is to be notified only when programs make changes to your PC, not when you make changes to Windows settings. Folks put off by the pop-ups will appreciate being able to more easily control how often you'll see such messages.

Desktop tricks

Some dandy enhancements are something you expect out of Apple not Microsoft, but give the Windows team its props. You can maximize a window by merely dragging it to the top of the screen. Through a feature dubbed Aero Shake, you can click the top of an open window with the mouse and start shaking the window; any other open windows are minimized onto the taskbar. Bring them back to life by shaking the top of the window again.

If you drag one window to the left side of the screen and another to the right, the windows are resized so you can compare them side to side. Nice.

Files are organized into libraries by common type (music, documents, pictures and videos) making it easier to find them even if they reside in different places.

And if you have a bunch of open windows and just want to peek at your desktop, you can mouse over a narrow bar on the bottom right edge to make all the windows completely see-through.

Networking

Networking is refreshingly simplified. A password-protected HomeGroup feature makes it easier for multiple computers to share printers and files across a home network. I did have to tinker a bit before one PC was able to join the HomeGroup.

Windows 7 may not transport you to seventh heaven. But it's a sturdy operating system in which Microsoft got way more right than it got wrong. It just took awhile to get here.

Story: USA Today

10% off everything in the Microsoft Store! Use promo code MSSTORE10%OFF.

 Offer valid 11.16.09-11.25.09.        

Microsoft - Windows 7 Review

Lucky No. 7 Is Microsoft's Best Windows Yet

Microsoft's loyal customers are finally getting the operating system they deserve with Windows 7, and it was well worth the wait.

First, to provide full disclosure (as critics have requested in our previous Windows 7 write-ups) yes, I am indeed a Mac user. But until heading to college, I grew up on a steady diet of Windows. (I made the switch after a system crash that resulted in the loss of an enormous school project.) With that said, Windows 7 thoroughly wowed me, dissolving the grudge I've held against Microsoft for many years.

The latest OS from Microsoft delivers a truly next-generation interface that will transform the way we use our computers, while addressing a number of nagging issues that have turned off Windows users in the past. The Windows team deserves a round of applause.

The best decision Microsoft made this time around was listening to its customers. The company crowdsourced feedback and distributed a free Windows 7 beta to Microsoft enthusiasts back in January. The result is an OS designed to beautify PCs both old and new, while retaining many of the features Microsoft fans have adored about Windows and removing many major annoyances.

Cleaner Design, Smoother Operation

Microsoft's trademark "Start" taskbar gains a cleaner, more modern aesthetic along with a convenient systemwide search tool at the very bottom. Gone are the nagging screens that popped up in Vista, giving warning that the most basic programs could pose potential security risks. (Alerts are instead displayed in an Action Center so you won't be bothered.) And once you get the hang of Windows 7, say goodbye to endless Alt-Tab keystrokes to navigate your windows with a new feature set called Aero.

Brand new to Win 7, Aero introduces a major change to the user interface, which should accommodate an ever-growing generation of digital multitaskers. Aero Peek, Aero Snap and Aero Shake are three window-management tools, similar to Apple's Exposé in Mac OS X.

Aero Peek will be most frequently used. When activated, the feature displays outlines of all your open windows behind your active window; each outlined box contains a thumbnail previewing its corresponding window to help you choose. Aero Peek can be executed with a hotkey or hovering the mouse cursor over a button in the bottom right of the screen.

Aero Snap automatically re-sizes and positions a window into a rectangle that takes up the entire right side of the screen. (The same happens if you drag to the left.) And then there's Aero Shake, a feature where you click and hold onto a window and give it a shake, and any visible windows behind it disappears (minimizes, not closes).

Another great change in design is the way the taskbar is arranged, somewhat borrowing from the functionality of Apple's Mac OS X Dock. Each open application is represented by a small square to save space, as opposed to the rectangular slabs that cluttered the screen in XP. With AeroPeek activated, you can also preview thumbnails of the activity of apps by hovering over their corresponding taskbar icons.

Also improved is the overall media experience, including a revamped Windows Media Center, streamlined networking to share files and gadgets between computers in your home, and a slew of extremely creative, gorgeous wallpapers to choose from for your desktop (see our first look).

A Snappier Experience

Whenever enhancements and more detailed graphics are integrated into an operating system, one must wonder whether performance will be affected. Microsoft promises "faster, more responsive performance" in Windows 7. That's true in some ways.

Running light benchmarks, there are very insignificant performance benefits when it comes to processor-heavy tasks, such as copying files or converting video files. The factor making a dramatic difference is how Windows manages memory. In older versions of Windows, every application you have open sucks up video memory, even if the windows are minimized. This isn't the case in Windows 7: The only windows and apps using video memory are those visible on your screen. Indeed, that big tweak amounts to a faster, snappier computing experience. It's one of those improvements that can't be articulated by numbers; you have to put Windows 7 on your machine to believe it.

Another subtle-yet-significant change you'll notice when upgrading to Windows 7 is it's far less of a headache to get it up and running with your third-party hardware. Being a brand-new operating system, Windows 7 includes up-to-date drivers, which should automatically recognize your third-party hard drive, accessory or printer, and in most cases it'll "just work." In the cases where the OS doesn't recognize hardware, Windows 7 will search a database to find the proper driver. You can even check if you'll have any compatibility problems before upgrading to Windows 7 by running the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, which will point out any compatibility issues and how to resolve them.)

It's Still Windows

Yes, you'll need to buy third-party antivirus software again, because your new OS is a big, juicy target for new and exciting pieces of malware and trojans, Also, Windows 7's software-compatibility checker is lame. Don't have the right piece of software, such as Adobe Air, to run a certain type of file? You might have to find it yourself on the web and install it. That was our experience with several different formats, at least. Hardware compatibility is nice with Windows 7, but for software, it needs some work. Of course, once you have all your software up and running, you'll rarely ever run into this problem again, so consider this a minor issue.

Let us simplify the decision for you: If you're a consumer reading this review today, 99 percent of you are likely to want Home Premium. If you're an entrepreneur, you'll want Professional. (Starter will only run three programs at a time; Enterprise has been available for big businesses for months and CTOs are unlikely to be reading consumer-oriented reviews at Wired; and Ultimate is aimed at a very niche audience of geeks who want to do anything they could possibly imagine with their machine.) Home Premium or Professional are going to be your two choices.

WIRED Aero whips up a more efficient and (dare we say it) fun UI experience. Smart memory management equates to snappier performance. Excellent hardware compatibility. Multimedia-savvy with good looks.

Story: Wired       

Microsoft Launches Windows 7

Microsoft hopes that its first operating system in three years, Windows 7, makes a big splash, starting with its official launch Thursday.


The software company is counting on Windows 7 to help it stave off competition from Apple, and PC makers like Hewlett-Packard and Dell are releasing a slew of new computers, anticipating that the new system will revive their sales as well.

We’ll be following the event in New York, and you can watch CEO Steve Ballmer’s keynote at the streaming video below.

11:00 a.m. EST: At the Windows 7 launch event in New York. It’s a zoo. Standing room only, but that’s mainly because Microsoft seems only to have budgeted for about 50 chairs. Lights are dimming. Micrsoft is playing Windows television commercials.

11:01: Microsoft Windows and Windows Live CFO Tami Reller takes the stage.

11:02: Microsoft opened Nasdaq directly from its campus in Redmond today, Reller says. “This is a big day for Microsoft.”

11:03: Windows customers number 1 billion.

11:04: Kylie, the young star of the “I’m a PC” commercials, is here. Reller is kneeling to see eye-to-eye with her. “I’m a PC, and here’s Steve Ballmer, Kylie says.

11:05: She chastises Ballmer for being late to meet with her this morning.

11:06: Ballmer as Santa: Kylie gets a pink notebook PC.

11:07: In the first big understatement of the day, Ballmer says, “I’m an enthusiastic personality.”

11:08: Windows 7 is in 45,000 stores, he says. “Not only am I Steve Ballmer, and I’m a PC — I’m Steve Ballmer, and I’m a Windows 7 PC.” He then asks, “What’s special about Windows 7?”

11:09: The answer: 3,000 engineers, 50,000 partners and eight million beta testers. The development team created something called the Wishing Wall at Microsoft headquarters, filled with customer comments on Win 7.

11:11: (I have seen the Wishing Wall. A number of the comments are critical of Windows 7, which may be the reason one Microsoft executive told me he calls it the Wailing Wall.)

11:12: Things you do on PCs need to be simpler, Ballmer says.

11:13: Ballmer’s sons love the HomeGroup feature in Windows 7. What are the chances of that?

11:14: You will see how Windows phones connect to Windows 7, Ballmer says. Today is a very good day, he adds, but the center of the day is product itself. (I feel a demo coming…)

11:15: Microsoft corporate vice president Brad Brooks has a demo. He’s going to show the “seven wonders” of Windows 7. Get it?

11:16: He plugs a Nikon camera into a Win 7 PC to show new the “device stage” feature. An icon showing a picture of the camera appears on the taskbar.

11:17: Brooks makes an “auto movie” using Windows Live Moviemaker — one-button movie-making, or thereabouts. Win 7 is going to blur the lines between the PC and the TV, he says.

11:18: He shows a touch-capable HP desktop PC, then sweeps his finger across the screen. The image ripples. It’s a pond filled with fish.

11:19: Brooks is now showing live TV on the PC. You can get a plug-in TV tuner for less than $100.

11:20: Announcing today a deal with CBS — you can get primetime content from CBS, like “NCIS,” without a TV tuner by accessing it over the Internet.

11:21: The content appears to be the same CBS shows freely available online, but with slick integration with Windows 7 Media Center. Brooks shows Netflix’s streaming Internet service and confesses that “Caddyshack” is one of his favorite movies.

11:22: Here we go. Bill Murray is after the gopher.

11:23: Amazon has created Kindle reader for Windows 7. So if you want to read a book on your PC, you can now do it, turning pages by swiping your finger on a touch-screen.

11:24: More on sharing information on a home network — Brooks is about to set up a “home group.”

11:25: He’s joining a second PC to the home network. It requires entering a password — that’s it. Two PCs are now sharing music, video and pictures. Tentative applause. Everyone knows Windows 7 can do this already.

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11:27: Remote media stream, with Windows Live ID, can connect a PC on the go with the PC at home, on the same home group. Brooks shows this by connecting to a PC back in Redmond, then tries to play a “Family Guy” video. It’s loading slowly.

11:29: We’re at the “seventh wonder” of Windows 7, “Play To.”

11:30: Brooks has a bunch of gadgets, a picture frame, a set top box, etc., that he’s going to send media to through the Play To feature.

11:31: He says he has a “man cave” with an Xbox. He sends a picture from the PC to a picture frame, a music stream from PC to stereo and a video to a TV through a set-top box. In all, the PC is serving up four separate streams with pics, video and music to various devices.

11:33: Now for his next trick, Brooks sent media streams to 16 different devices from one PC. (Yikes. This is apparently a good feature if there are two Octomoms living together.)

11:34: Ballmer is back.

11:36: The diversity of Win 7 devices — netbooks, ultrathins, notebooks, desktops, all-in-one, gaming PCs — are core to its appeal, Ballmer says. Ninety-five out of 100 times, people choose Windows PC, he adds.

11:39: Subtext: Steve Jobs gives you a few things. Microsoft gives you a lot of things.

11:40: Weird — a screen in the middle of the room is pulled back to show a pretend series of living rooms in the back of the hall.

11:41: Ballmer makes his way to the pretend living room, which seems to have been decorated with Ikea furniture.

11:42: He’s showing the HP Envy, a 4-pound notebook with 7 hours of battery life. It wakes up from “sleep mode” in two seconds. Then he shows a Sony Vaio touch-screen desktop PC, a touch-screen notebook from Toshiba, a notebook from Acer. (He’s flying through demos.)

11:44: A Microsoft staffer shows a notebook that connects to a docking station through “conductive” technology. No wires. It sits on top of a docking pad.

11:46: An Acer entertainment PC in a tiny box is playing video.

11:47: Showing graphics capability — a demo shows a ladybug in extremely high fidelity, being rendered in real time. Can zoom in and out.

11:48: ATI graphics card costs $400, uses Windows 7 and Direct X 11, Microsoft’s graphics technology.

11:49: Ballmer shows a notebook made out of carbon fiber. Holds it with a pinch grip using a couple of fingers. Don’t drop it Ballmer!

11:50: Ballmer has the stage again, except he’s not on stage. He’s on the floor with a camera filming him.

11:51: We’re winding down. “Today is an important day for the computer industry. Certainly for Microsoft,” Ballmer says.

11:52: Kylie is gripping her pink notebook. Big smile. She is psyched.

11:53: The event ends.

Story: Wall Street Journal

Operating Systems Offer New Choices in PC Shopping

Now that both Microsoft and Apple have finally shipped the new versions of their operating systems, Windows 7 and Snow Leopard, respectively, it's time for my annual fall computer-buying guide.

This guide stresses laptops, which have become the prevalent choice, but most of its specs also apply to desktops. As always, it is aimed at average consumers doing typical tasks, such as Web surfing, email, social networking, word processing, photos, video and music. It doesn't apply to businesses, hard-core gamers or serious media producers—groups that need specialized or heftier hardware.

WSJ's Personal Technology columnist gives an overview of his annual fall buyer's guide to computers, providing tips on what specs and features to look for when choosing between a PC and a Mac.

Consumers shopping for new computers this fall have a wide variety of choices with the new operating systems pre-installed, making the machines faster and better. Windows PCs are no longer burdened with the disliked Vista OS.

That's the good news. The bad news is that the Windows hardware makers and retailers generally are trying to nudge you to spend more. They are anxious to guide consumers away from the popular, but low-profit, stripped-down netbooks to somewhat larger Windows 7 laptops from which they can make more money. This larger-size category goes by a variety of names, which can be confusing.

Windows vs. Mac: The arrival of Windows 7 makes PCs from Hewlett-Packard, Dell and others much better choices than their Vista-equipped predecessors were. Microsoft has closed most of the gap with Apple's Mac OS X operating system. Also, Windows PCs are often priced hundreds of dollars lower than Macs, and offer many more choices.

Microsoft's Windows 7, left, and Apple's Snow Leopard

But Apple's hardware is stylish and sturdy, and, in my tests, Macs usually boot faster than Windows machines. Plus, Apple's chain of retail stores offers a better buying experience and strong post-purchase support. Also, in my view, Apple's built-in software still has the edge. Snow Leopard is fast and reliable. And it comes with a full suite of excellent built-in programs, including email, photo and video software. Microsoft has stripped Windows 7 of such programs. Some PC makers have restored some or all of these in certain models, although I consider Apple's counterparts better. Another huge plus: The Mac isn't susceptible to the vast majority of viruses and spyware.

Cost: Prices on Windows PCs are creeping upward. You can buy a Windows PC for under $500, but many stores are pushing costlier models. And those $250 netbooks are much scarcer. Now, they typically run between $300 and $450. Apple has mostly stuck with its same, higher, prices, though it has boosted the specs on many models. The cheapest Mac desktop, the minimalist Mac mini, is $599. The cheapest Mac laptop, the new MacBook, is $999. The heart of Apple's line starts at $1,199.

New category: Windows PC makers this season are pushing a category of laptop that is meant to fit between a netbook and a full-size laptop. It goes by a variety of confusing names, such as "ultrathin" or "thin and light," though these models are often no thinner or lighter than some laptops of the past. They typically cost between $500 and $800, and often have 13-inch screens.

Memory: All Macs come with at least two gigabytes of memory, which is plenty for running Snow Leopard well. Mainstream Windows PCs have at least three gigabytes. But the cheapest Windows machines sometimes come with less. I recommend at least two gigabytes.

64-bit: PCs have long been based on something called a 32-bit architecture, but many models now use a 64-bit architecture, allowing properly written software to use more memory and run faster. If possible, buy a 64-bit computer, which is likely to dominate eventually, even though some software and add-on hardware may be incompatible at first.

Graphics: The new operating systems allow software makers to speed up some tasks by offloading them from the main processor onto the graphics chip. So, if possible, get a "discrete" graphics processor, which has its own memory. Otherwise, find a potent "integrated" graphics chip, which shares your main memory.

Processor: Mainstream Windows PCs sport fast, dual-core processors from Intel or its rival, AMD. These pack the equivalent of two brains onto one chip. But many lower-price Windows PCs have slower processors, such as the Intel Atom, which are best suited for light duty. Apple models all use Intel's dual-core processors, except for the highest-priced desktops, which come with quad-core chips.

Hard disks: A 250-gigabyte hard disk should be the minimum on most PCs. On a netbook, look for at least a 160-gigabyte disk. Solid-state disks are faster and use less battery power, but often add hundreds of dollars to the price tag.

Touch: Windows 7 lets you control the computer by touching the screen with your fingers, and some PC makers add their own touch-screen features. But this only works fully with newer types of touch screens, adding cost. Make sure any touch-screen model you buy has a full multitouch screen that supports all Windows 7 gestures. Apple uses the laptop touch pad, or its new mouse, as the multitouch, finger-gesture mechanism, instead of the screen.

As always, don't buy more machine than you need.

Story: Walter Mossberg - Wall Street Journal

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