The Windows Messenger Plus! team have been busy and have created a Windows 7 Theme For Windows Live Messenger.  The skin is available in Italian and English versions:

haven’t come across Messenger Plus! Live before, it’s a great free addon that enables lots of additional functionality in Windows Live Messenger, including tabbed chats, chat logging and personalised status.

Download Windows 7 Theme.

Microsoft have embraced video like never before with the launch of Windows 7.  One of the most useful of these videos is a quick tutorial on how to upgrade your PC from Windows XP.

The upgrade from XP is especially important to Microsoft.  This is because of the sheer volume of people who skipped Vista due to its bad press and sluggish performance.

You can’t do an in-place upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7.  This is because the two operating systems are so completely different in structure.  The only way to install Windows 7 if you are still using XP is to format your hard disk and start again with a clean install.

You can watch the video on how to make the upgrade process from XP as painless as possible here.

Microsoft have launched the compatibility centre for Windows 7.  A website simply containing a database of software and hardware that is known to work fine with their new operating system.

The database is by no means exhaustive.  The first software package I searched for, Microsoft’s own Photodraw v2.0 failed to appear in the database even though I know it works fine in Windows 7.  The website does give you the opportunity though to add additional hardware and software yourself if you know it to work, which is a nice touch.

With hardware you’re always better first visiting the manufacturer’s website and downloading any Windows 7 drivers, at the same time checking whether those drivers will support both 64 bit and 32 bit versions of Windows 7.

For seeing if some of your older software will work though, this is a useful tool when you’re considering upgrading.

ref[windows7news]

The Microsoft website has had a complete makeover to mark the launch of Windows 7.  The main focus on the site is quotes from Twitter users, all very complimentary about the new operating system.

The new website design, which is presumably only temporary while Microsoft shout loudly form the rafters about their new product, has been replicated on Microsoft websites around the world.  Different countries have taken different approaches to the items displayed on the front page.

a recent survey by Retrevo ( a consumer electronics marketplace ) showed that 67% of Mac users would be willing to try out Windows 7 ………. if it was free. But look at it this way, how many users are willing to try out Linux Distros, which are also free?

These answers were based on users who primarily used Macs as there main PC. They were asked if Microsoft (hypothetically) provided a free copy to Mac OS users would they install it and try Windows 7 as their main OS?A surprising 67% of Mac users said they would.  However the Mac loyalists still proved themselves. A convincing 97% gave a resounding “No!” when they were asked if Windows 7 would make them switch to using it as their primary OS. However the fact that 67% said they would be willing to give it a try shows that they Mac users do have some interest in Windows 7, but seem to be rather shy about sharing it.

Microsoft’s thinking about going 128 bit as soon as Windows 8, and most definitely by Windows 9.

That’s the scoop gleaned off the LinkIn Profile for Robert Morgan, Senior Research & Development at Microsoft, anyway:

Working in high security department for research and development involving strategic planning for medium and longterm projects. Research & Development projects including 128bit architecture compatibility with the Windows 8 kernel and Windows 9 project plan. Forming relationships with major partners: Intel, AMD, HP, and IBM.

Robert Morgan is working to get IA-128 working backwards with full binary compatibility on the existing IA-64 instructions in the hardware simulation to work for Windows 8 and definitely Windows 9.

Ars has a ton more super-nerdy tidbits about what’s possible in Windows 8 that’s worth checking out, if you’re a supernerd, anyway. [Ars]

The giant chip manufacturer Intel today announced that 97% of its test community would recommend Windows 7 to their colleagues. These claims were made after a 3 month evaluation with Intel’s employees. Intel have also said they plan to begin Enterprise Deployment of Windows 7 at the beginning of 2010. This would replace Windows XP ( Intel like many others didn’t adopt Windows Vista ) which is currently on their companies laptops and computers.

Intel collaborated with Microsoft to perform a serious of tests on the Windows 7 Beta release. Intel gave positive results saying that the Windows 7 Beta would over windows xp

Intel say that the technology in Windows 7 is superior compared to Windows XP in  performance, power consumption and stability, even though Intel was using the beta version of Windows 7 when these test were performed.

These results don’t come as much of a surprise as Intel worked closely with Microsoft in developing Windows 7. They already said earlier this year it improves Multi-threading Performance and reports suggest that Windows 7 and Intel processors are much more energy efficient.

So Windows 7 has impressed Intel enough for them to upgrade all their XP machines to Windows 7, skipping Windows Vista in the process, as i’m sure many other companies and consumers are planning on doing.

Remembering XP

Windows has come a long way since the early days of 3.1 and 3.11. Windows 95 marked the first time that the user interface had been drastically transformed into what we now know as Windows. The advent of the Start button and the accordion-like programs menu was a new way to view software and applications. Windows 98, ME and 2000 were very much similar to the previous flavors of the Microsoft OS, XP would be the next time we’d see an obvious change in the way windows looked.

The first time I can remember seeing Windows XP, I was blown away at the bright colors, 3D-like buttons and re-configured start menu. It was on an 800 MHz Hewlett Packard and at that time most users were still using CRT monitors and a ball mouse. That was more than a decade ago and programs have changed, hardware has increased in power and capacity and yet there are some who will hold on to XP until they are literally pulled, kicking and screaming from their 10 year old operating system. I am still a big fan of the aging OS, but I no longer feel the need to use it as my primary operating system. Sure, I might keep it in the closet and pull it out every few years for nostalgia sake, but to continue using it as my main OS doesn’t make much sense. Does XP still handle pretty much everything you can throw at it, yes, but there will be a point and it will come soon when it will no longer satisfy all our needs (e.g. RAM limitations).

To switch or not to switch?

Sure, you could make a great point for not switching from XP to Vista because of the software compatibility issues, driver support, performance drop and bad press, but with Windows 7, most, if not all of those things are no longer an issue. There will be some software that will not work, that’s a casualty of war. I have yet to find a device that I could not find a working driver, even though I know the problem of incompatible hardware does exist. I’m one of those who can’t wait for the next installment of something and Windows is no different. Usually, I have to sacrifice compatibility for a new UI and a few new features, that has not been the case thus far. In writing this article, I have honestly searched for a compelling reason to continue using XP, and other than a few programs that will not work on 7, I have found none. Windows 7 will even include a virtual XP mode to help businesses make the switch. Money might be a reason for not making the switch, but you get what you pay for and Windows 7 certainly delivers.

Tip: Click here to run a free scan for Windows related errors

Yes, that is a word.  If you’re about to order a lovely new PC with Windows 7 on it beware that you might not get the lovely speedy new system that Windows 7 promises to deliver.  This is because of crapware.  The sheer volume of useless software that can come pre-loaded with new PCs can have a serious effect on performance.

In a recent study by PC Pro Magazine they found that Acer, HP and Sony, three of the biggest PC vendors loaded crapware that slowed down the boot time of Windows by up to 2½ minutes and slowed performance so much it was like the PC had come with the processor model below it.

But fear not because help is at hand.  There are three useful utilities to rid your new PC of crapware and get it running the way it really should.

PC Decrapifier

This is an excellent piece of software that recognises all the useless junk on your new PC and will help you remove it with a friendly wizard-based interface.  It’ll walk you through cleaning up your PC and you can download it form here.

CCleaner

Sometimes though the uninstaller for a program won’t clean everything up and that’s where CCleaner comes in.  This is an excellent utility that I’ve been using for years.  It’s, simply put, the best way to find all the flotsam that’s been left sitting on your hard drive or in the registry.  It’ll get your PC cleaned up in next to no time.

Autoruns

You can disable start-up items using msconfig on your PC but the Microsoft written autoruns goes into huge amounts of detail for anything that’s been left behind on your new PC.  Available here, it will give you huge amounts of control over what starts when you switch on your PC.

There’s no doubt that crapware is annoying and, in some cases, extremely difficult to remove.  It’s also not necessary leaving many people believing, for instance, that they still have anti-virus protection when their trial version of the pre-loaded anti-virus software has long-since expired.

Cleaning the crapware off your new PC will ensure you have a happy time with your brand new Windows 7 PC.

You may already be impressed with the boot up times achieved with Windows 7, especially when you compare it to Windows Vista. But I doubt many of you have seen it boot in Under 10 Seconds?

Just thought i’d share this video I found from Phoenix technologies. They are demonstrating a new technology that allows super fast booting of an OS. In their video they boot Windows 7 in less than 10 seconds and its loaded and ready to go. It’s achieved using a new UEFI BIOS that Phoenix have been showing off at the IDF conference.

While there have been some Linux mini-Operating Systems that launch quickly for basic features like web and email. This is the first fully loaded OS to boot this quickly.

We have reported before on a boot time of 11 seconds that was achieved using a super powerful machine that Microsoft and Intel were showing off. But this technology from Phoenix is more to do with the BIOS and not the specs of the machine as much. Which means these quicker boot times should be achievable by people who aren’t running “super computers”.

This new technology is likely to start appearing in high-end notebooks at first and probably will be quite costly initially.

[windows7news]