Windows 7

Microsoft has been haunted for years by the ghost of Windows XP -- the 8-year-old operating system that many big businesses still view as good enough for their purposes and far less painful than upgrading to its successor, Windows Vista. More than 200,000 people supported InfoWorld's "Save Windows XP" campaign, and corporate tech buyers have mastered complex "downgrade rights" to stick with it.

If you're a brit and in need of a cheap copy of Windows 7 then its bargain day for the UK today.

A Windows 7 commercial was uploaded to the WindowsVideos channel on YouTube yesterday, but we haven't seen anyone post about it just yet. A tipster sent the URL over to us over IM, and we couldn't keep from posting it. The 30-second ad is titled "Good News - Windows 7 Commercial" and features select quotes about the operating system from Gizmodo, Maximum PC, ZDNet, and CNet, among images of a pig, a unicorn, a kitten, and a bunny, respectively.

There's been enough written about upgrading to Windows 7 to fill a library, so you'd think PC users would understand the pros, cons and pitfalls by now.

As October 22nd, 2009 draws nearer, Microsoft ups the ante when it comes down to fueling excitement over the general availability of the next iteration of Windows.

Microsoft recognizes that sales of netbooks may cut into its sales and profits of Windows for laptops and desktops but it still embraces the revenue opportunity, the company's chief financial officer told financial analysts Wednesday.

After our coverage from yesterday regarding Microsoft training material for Best Buy employees that not only makes Linux look bad, but is also full of inaccuracies, one of our faithful readers wrote in and said he could show us that Redmond was doing the same thing for Apple.

It’s a question that continues to preoccupy many a Wall Street analyst, especially as Microsoft marches toward the October 22 launch of Windows 7. No matter how many times Microsoft officials claim that they believe the company will be able to charge premium prices for Windows 7, even on netbooks, Microsoft watchers ask again about just how elastic Windows’ pricing really can be, given that netbooks go for a few hundred dollars.

Windows 7 RTM is sufficiently tested and mature that end users need not wait for the first major upgrade of the platform to make the jump. Back in early 2007, and in late 2006 with the business launch of Windows XP’s successor, the Redmond-based company said the same thing about Windows Vista.

Microsoft has made available for download the gold version of its solution accelerator designed to automate the deployment of its latest Windows client and server operating system released.