Hasta La Gadget!

Quicker to install, more polished and customizable, and easier to use than earlier builds, the Windows 7 Release Candidate (build 7100) is a nice step towards finalization of the operating system. And you thought the Windows 7 Beta was good! The Release Candidate feels just a touch faster, both in app launches and boot and shutdown times. Enthusiasts eager to get their hands on the latest build–which Microsoft will deposit on TechNet on the 30th, and make publicly available on May 5th–will be happy to hear that it installed in no time, too–as little as 20 minutes in my experience. Compared to the hour it often took to install Windows Vista, this thing flies.

Microsoft supplied us with an advance copy of the operating system, direct from the Windows Burnlab in Redmond, Washington. For our walkthrough of the various changes I’ve noticed in Build 7100, from install to optimization, based on days of experimentation and installation on several computers, including desktops, laptops, and netbooks, see the full story on PCMag.com.

A hot official copy of Windows 7 RC1 is on our desktop and we’re poking around. But here are the three best new new things in Windows 7 Build 7100. This crazy background? Baked in.

Stream Your Library Over the Internet With Windows Media Player
This is hot—it’d be hotter if it was easier to set up. Windows Media Player’s Remote Media Sharing will let you access your media library from anywhere over the internet. You need a Windows Live ID that you associate with your Windows 7 user account using a tool you have to download. (This could grow to include other “online identities,” like Facebook I’m guessing, but I wouldn’t hold your breath for your Gmail account.) You also need the same version of Windows Media Player running on both computers. After everything’s all associamated, then your home library you wanna stream from should show up just like a local library under the “Other Libraries” section in the side navigation pane. Can’t do this in iTunes, buddy.

Windows XP Mode
To encourage enterprise people to let loose and rock Windows 7, it runs a full-fledged Windows XP virtual environment using Microsoft’s Virtual PC. It requires an additional download (booo), but you won’t have to worry about your applications breaking like with Vista. Update: Paul Thurrott has more info and a huge walkthrough on XP Mode, including the crushing revelation it’s gonna be free for Windows 7 Pro, Enterprise and Ultimate, not Home Premium, which is the version regular people are going to be running.

The Most Insane Default Backgrounds Ever
Look at these. Yes, these are just a handful of the ridiculously awesome backgrounds packed inside Windows 7. Some are the products of acid trips through a nightmare land of anime hell that I would never wish on anybody, and some are simply stunning. Just wow. Click to make bigger, obvs. Update: Okay, the backgrounds were in some of the builds between the Public Beta and the upcoming RC, but they weren’t, you know, public. UPDATE: You can download all of them here. Or you can find them in the Gizmodo Flickr pool.

These are simply in addition to all of the new things we already knew about, like tweaks to Aero Peek, better shortcuts, UI improvements and of course, lots of bug squishing. We’ll be testing everything in depth soon! [Windows 7 Coverage at Giz]

A hack that’s “unfixable” is a pretty bold claim, but that’s just what researchers Vipin Kumar and Nitin Kumar have announced at the now-happening Hack in the Box security conference, and they seem ready to back it up. Apparently, they’ve devised a means to gain control of a Windows 7 computer during the boot up process though the use of a tiny 3KB program dubbed VBootkit 2.0 (a follow-up to a similar Vista hack), which loads itself into the system memory and bypasses the hard drive altogether, making it extremely difficult to detect. Once loaded, an ill-intentioned individual could potentially change passwords, access protected files, or do just about anything else and then leave without a trace. The one fairly big drawback to the hack, however, and upside for most users, is that it can’t be performed remotely, so it’ll likely only be a significant concern for businesses or other folks using computers in public places — unless, of course, Microsoft finds a way to fix the “unfixable.”

[Via Electronista]

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

New Windows 7 hack purports to be “unfixable” originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Some more tidbits from the Acer event: new all-in-ones. The eMachines EZ1600 (pictured) boasts a 18.5-inch 16:9 screen and up to 720p resolution, an Intel Atom N270 processor with 945GSE chipset, 2 slots of SO DIMM memory, up to 160GB HDD, DVD-RW, Wi-Fi and a card reader. No price or availability, but you’ll be able to pick one up in either silver or black. On the classier side of things, we’ve got Acer Aspire Z5600 AIO with a 24-inch multitouch display that outputs a 1080p picture. It’s got the “latest generation of Intel,” up to 2TB hard disk space, a TV tuner, webcam and DVD/Blu-ray writer combo drive. Color us intrigued, but we’ll await judgment until we see some price points — if the Timeline‘s any indication, we might be in a for a pleasant surprise.

Continue reading Acer’s 18-inch eMachines EZ1600, 24-inch multitouch Aspire Z5600 all-in-ones unveiled

Filed under: Desktops

Acer’s 18-inch eMachines EZ1600, 24-inch multitouch Aspire Z5600 all-in-ones unveiled originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Apr 2009 19:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember the old days when Microsoft was dragged kicking and screaming into offering Windows XP on netbooks? Neither does Microsoft, apparently, as the company is now all too happy to boast that a full 96% of the netbooks on the market run on its venerable OS. It’s also, unsurprisingly, quick to point out that virtually all of that growth comes at the expense of Linux, which Microsoft once again notes sees much higher rates of return once folks “realize their Linux-based netbook PC doesn’t deliver that same quality of experience.” Of course, all of this talk also has a little something to do with the even more netbook-minded Windows 7 which, ironically, could well be trying to peel off some market share from XP by this time next year.

Filed under: Laptops

Microsoft boasts that 96% of netbooks now run Windows originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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