Windows 7 Sales Eclipse Vista By 234%

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If you ever needed more proof of how awful an operating system Vista was, this is it. The NPD group has just sent out a press release stating that the first few days of Windows 7 sales have been 234% higher than the first few days of Vista sales were. Revenue was also much improved. Total dollar sales are up 82% from Vista to Win 7. The reason for the disparity between sales growth and actual revenue growth is being attributed to the early discounts on pre-sales and Microsoft's failure to heavily promote the Ultimate edition of 7.

I've been using Windows 7 for the last two weeks and, I have to say, it's a solid OS. That said, I think these numbers owe more to the piss-poor nature of Windows Vista than they do to the strengths of Windows 7. I'm beginning to wonder if Microsoft's grand strategy might be to release awful operating systems in order to make their decent releases seem exceptional. But that's probably crazy-talk. Probably.

Posted on Fri, 6 Nov 2009 06:46:04 CST | by Robert Evans

Toshiba Satellite T135 Windows 7 CULV Notebook Review

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The Toshiba T135 CULV Windows 7 Notebook starts at $599 on Amazon.com.
Hothardware has tested the Toshiba T135 and published this review.

Quote from the review: "We're seeing more and more CULV notebooks hit the market these days. The growing sector of Consumer Ultra Low Voltage machines attempts to bridge the gap between lower cost netbooks and full-size notebooks, offering a more powerful chip than the ubiquitous Atom options we see in netbooks, but one that consumes less power than the mainstream Core 2 Duo processors we see in many full-size notebooks. Read more

Posted on Thu, 5 Nov 2009 10:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Toshiba Mini NB205-N330 Windows 7 Netbook Review

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All the major netbook makers unveiled Windows 7 netbooks back in October. One of the more popular is the Toshiba Mini NB205.
Liliputing has tested the Toshiba Mini NB205-N330 and published this review.

Quote from the review: "The Toshiba Mini NB205-N330 is an interesting machine. It has an excellent, if somewhat quirky keyboard and the best touchpad I’ve used that doesn’t support multitouch gestures. Read more

Posted on Wed, 4 Nov 2009 10:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Walmart $298 HP G60-519WM Windows 7 Notebook Details Unveiled

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Today Walmart announced several hot electronics deals that are available in-store only on Saturday Nov. 7th. These offers are Black Friday worthy and besides the Xbox 360 Arcade with $100 Gift card the $298 Windows 7 Notebook from HP raises interest.
Walmart has now posted the full details of the HP 15.6" Pavilion G60-519WM Windows 7 notebook on their online store.
The HP 15.6" Pavilion G60-519WM is especially configured for Walmart and therefore it will not be available anywhere else.
Read more

Posted on Wed, 4 Nov 2009 09:06:08 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Windows 7 Leads To PC Sales Surge

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The Windows 7 launch was bound to do good things for PC sales. Vista was awful and Win 7 has been lauded by reviewers as the best new Microsoft OS since XP. No one will be surprised to hear that last month's launch lead to a bump in PC sales. What is surprising, is just how much they bumped up by.

Electronista reports that a Morgan Stanley analyst has come out with the first sales data on the Windows 7 launch. NPD sales data points to a 40% boost in PC sales during launch week, compared to sales at the same time last year. The exact nature of the sales hints at a huge amount of Windows 7 sales, rather than a rapid liquidation of existing Vista hardware.

Posted on Tue, 3 Nov 2009 11:12:27 CST | by Robert Evans

Acer Aspire AS8940G-6865 Core i7 Windows 7 Notebook On Sale

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Acer America introduced the Acer Aspire AS8940G-6865 notebook featuring the Intel Core i7 Quad-Core 720QM CPU and Windows 7 Home Premium.
Designed for entertainment and multimedia enthusiasts, the Aspire AS8940G-6865 Core i7 features performance on a large 18.4-inch widescreen HD display.
Other features of the Acer Aspire AS8940G-6865 include NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250M dedicated graphics, Blu-ray player, 4GB DDR3 RAM, Wifi 802.11n, Webcam, 500GB SATA HDD, 8-cell battery, Dolby Audio, Acer CineSound System with 5 speakers and Touch-Capacitive Media Control Interface. Read more

Posted on Tue, 3 Nov 2009 03:00:00 CST | by Luigi Lugmayr

Incomplete Windows 7 Feature Turns Laptops into Hotspots

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A developer from Philly has found an unfinished feature of Windows 7 that allows the computer to be turned into a WiFi hotspot for sharing an Internet connection with other users. The feature is called Virtual WiFi and the developer used the feature to create a free app called Connectify that was released as beta last week.

The app allows several Windows computers to share a single internet connection and it shows up as a real wireless access point. The app also allows the user to join a WiFi hotspot and still run the app to share the connection on the same networking card. Read more

Posted on Mon, 2 Nov 2009 10:00:00 CST | by Shane McGlaun

Weird: Windows XP Netbooks Still Outsell Windows 7 Netbooks

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For short time the HP Mini 110 Windows 7 netbook lead the Amazon Netbook sales charts last week. Now the first three places are taken up by Windows XP netbooks again. Why is that? Customers still prefer XP over Windows 7 Starter? Is it the price? Do customers do not know that there is a Windows 7 version available? Let’s have a closer look at this situation.

The bestselling netbook is again the Asus Eee PC 1005HA-PU1X like in the weeks before the Windows 7 launch.
Read more

Posted on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

HP Pavilion DV6 Windows 7 Notebook Is Bestseller On Amazon

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The HP Pavilion DV6 15.6 inch notebook with Windows 7 Home Premium is leading the Notebook Sales Charts on Amazon.
The HP DV6-1350US is on sale on Amazon for only $599.99 with $50 post-purchase rebate.
This low price of course helps sell the HP DV6 as its MSRP is $899.99.
Read more

Posted on Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:00:00 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

$298 Windows 7 Acer Aspire One Netbook On Sale On Walmart

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It is not Black Friday yet, but new Windows 7 netbooks are already on sale for under $300. Walmart offers the Acer Aspire One 10.1 inch netbook in various colors for $298.

The Aspire One AOD250 Netbook on Walmart comes with Windows 7 Starter and features 10.1" LED-backlit display, 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, Webcam, Wifi, and 3-cell battery. Read more

Posted on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 08:38:47 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Family Guy Is Not Promoting Windows 7

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In the middle of October reports appeared that Microsoft signed on to sponsor a Family Guy episode on Fox in November to promote Windows 7. Variety reports now that Microsoft canceled the Windows 7 sponsorship because of the show's content.
The Family Guy episode in question is actually a special one dubbed Family Guy Presents: Seth and Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show. Read more

Posted on Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:02:19 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Lenovo Launches Windows 7 IdeaPad/Centre Computers

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It's a little jarring to see another major PC release so soon after the slew of new Windows 7 machines launched last Thursday. Apparently Lenovo thought waiting a few days would be a better strategy than possibly getting lost in the crowd. As HotHardware points out, they've got the spotlight to themselves today.

Lenovo's new machines include three notebooks, the U150, 550, and Y550P. The Y550P is Lenovo's first Core i7 notebook. It packs Intel's turbo boost technology, Nvidia graphics, a 15.6" HD screen, and Dolby Home Theater sound. The Ideapad U150 is a more portable machine; just 13.5mm thick with an 11.6" display. It packs a low-energy Core 2 Duo processor and 8 GB of RAM. Lastly, the IdeaPad U550 has a 15.6" display, Intel Core 2 Duo processor, integrated DVD drive, and a switchable graphics card for increased energy efficiency.

Posted on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:56:54 CDT | by Robert Evans

iBuypower Updates Full Gaming PC Line to Windows 7

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Gaming computer maker iBuypower announced last week that its entire line of gaming computers including desktops and notebooks have been transitioned to Windows 7. That means that you can get its Chimera, LAN Warrior, and Paladin XLC machines with the new Microsoft OS.

The best feature of the OS for gamers is support for DirectX 11 for improved graphics. The company also offers different levels of overclocking on the new gaming computers as well with 10%, 20%, and 30% overclocking levels for $49 for level 1 and $99 for level 2 or 3 overclocking. Read more

Posted on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:00:00 CDT | by Shane McGlaun

Microsoft Acknowledges Windows 7 Student Edition Issues

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One of the coolest things about the Windows 7 launch was the $29.99 student edition that Redmond was kind enough to offer to us legions of dirt poor college students. Unfortunately, the deal turns out to have been a little too good to be true. As soon as the deal went live, customers started to report issues. Digital River, the company Microsoft contracted to handle the sales and distribution of Windows 7, screwed up the download. Many customers report being entirely unable to get their new OS to install.

While no easily workable fixes have been provided to the students who purchased their discounted operating systems, Microsoft has now acknowledged the problem. PC World reports that a Microsoft support engineer has addressed the issue directly. Here is his posted statement;

Posted on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 05:00:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

HP Mini 110 Windows 7 Netbook Leads Bestseller Charts

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Windows 7 netbooks have been on sale since Thursday when Microsoft officially launched Windows 7. Amazon has one of the broadest selections of netbooks on sale. My initial tip that the Asus Eee PC 1005HA with Windows 7 Starter would be the bestselling Windows 7 netbook was wrong. The new HP Mini 110 is currently #1 followed by three Asus Eee PC 1005HA netbooks (two XP and one running Win7).

Features of the HP Mini 110 include 1.6Ghz N270 Atom CPU, 1GB RAM, 10.1" LED Anti-glare display, 160GB HDD, 802.11g Wifi, 92% of full-size keyboard, 6-cell battery and Windows 7 Starter. Read more

Posted on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 11:08:19 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Finding My Windows 7 Notebook: A Retail Odyssey

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My journey began Wednesday night, at the Fry's Windows 7 Midnight Release Party. I spent hours there, talking to other customers and browsing a wide selection of laptops and netbooks, looking for the one that would be mine. Unfortunately, none of the machines I saw at Fry's that night met my needs. I have very specific requirements for my notebook.

In a few days, I'll be off to the U.K. After that I have a long jaunt in southeast Asia planned, followed by a leisurely ramble around central Europe. Because I'm fortunate enough to write for the Internet for a living, I'll continue to work my full-time job during my travels. In order to do that though I'm going to need a notebook to work (and live) out of.

Posted on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 12:42:29 CDT | by Robert Evans

Students Having Issues Installing Windows 7?

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It was only a matter of time. While most of the Windows 7 launch went very smoothly, reports of its first major troubles are filtering in. Thankfully, these issues don't seem to have anything to do with the software itself. Rather, the problem looks to be due to the way Microsoft is distributing their student upgrade editions online. As Engadget notes, students trying to upgrade from 32-bit Vista to Win 7 via the $29 online student update are having trouble.

The issue stems from the fact that the file doesn't unpack into an ISO. It just comes out as an executable file that does not work as it should. The whole install process glitches up and crashes when it tries to launch a 64-bit app on a 32-bit computer system. It's strange to me that Microsoft should be having this issue. Before the launch, they seeded hundreds of ISO files of the Win 7 beta. Why not just use the same dispensation method now? It's already been tested!

Posted on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:07:04 CDT | by Robert Evans

New Apple TV Ads Put Finger In Windows 7 Upgrade Wound

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Apple published three new Get a Mac commercials in time for the Windows 7 launch. All three new ads target the potential upgrade pain Windows user could have going to Windows 7.
The new Get A Mac ads are actually not funny, but highlight the situation Windows XP users are in. Upgrading to Windows 7 means complete new installation, there is no in place upgrade path like in Vista.
Additionally Windows 7 is a big leap for XP users in terms of User interface. If you have tasted the Mac experience like I have, XP users get tempted to switch entirely to Apple instead of upgrading to Windows 7. Read more

Posted on Fri, 23 Oct 2009 00:50:42 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

No Lines For Windows 7?

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If you've already read my thrilling tale of the Windows 7 midnight launch, you won't be surprised to hear that excitement over Windows 7 doesn't exactly have throngs of customers lining the streets. In fact, Electronista reports that Japan is the only country that saw queues of significant size. They had several (still limited) lines outside of Yodobashi Camera and other major retailers.

There were a few Western stores, like the Fry's I went to, that did midnight openings. Most of them saw very small, to modest lines. These were likely due to the give-aways those stores were holding as a way to celebrate the release. My store had a big software raffle, and pretty much every major retailer is giving out free Windows 7 shirts.

Posted on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 12:24:54 CDT | by Robert Evans

Burger King Windows 7 Whopper: Kill It With Fire

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Alright, it's official. Advertising has gone too far. I don't mind Google combing my emails in order to target me with better ads, I don't mind laughable attempts by corporations to create Internet memes, and I don't even mind embedded ads in the text of web articles. That stuff is just the price we pay for a ridiculous amount of free Internet content.

But I do have an issue with one of Microsoft's new Windows 7 advertising attempts. As AppleInsider notes, they have quite a few. There's a Windows 7 Family Guy episode on the way, and I'm fine with that. Microsoft is decorating a Spanish village named Sietes ("Seven") and giving free copies of their OS to a Dutch town called Zevenhuizen ("Seven Houses"). Both of those things are fine as well, even kind of cute.

Posted on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:33:12 CDT | by Robert Evans

Kindle For PC: A Free Windows 7 App

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Just when I'd started to lose faith in Amazon's ability to innovate, they send out a press release like this (via Giz). Today, as part of the Windows 7 roll-out, Amazon announced the launch of "Kindle for PC", a free application for reading Kindle books. On a normal PC, it'll allow you to save and bookmark your place across devices. If you read ten pages on your desktop and switch over to your Kindle, you'll find your book has advanced to the spot you left off at just a few moments ago. Also; color photos.

Posted on Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:09:14 CDT | by Robert Evans