The official launching of Windows 7 is on November 7-8, 2009 at the Cyberzone SM City North EDSA.  Though the new operating system is already available in the market since the global launching on October 22, 2009, this article may help you which version of Windows 7 is the right one for you.

For Windows 7 Home Basic features (which is not included in the comparison table because it is intended for for notebook users), it is also the same like the Windows 7 Home Premium with the following limits:

• No Windows Media Center
• Partial Windows Aero functionality
• And you can only join Home Group (not create)

According to Microsoft Philippines local prices for 32-bit and 64-bit versions are the same.  Prices are as follows:

• Windows 7 Home Basic – P8,000
• Windows 7 Home Premium – P9,500
• Windows 7 Professional – P15,500
• Windows 7 Ultimate – P16,500

There is also a limited offer (if you have read my previous post) of P7,777.00 for Windows 7 Basic if you pre-order your copy from Microsoft participating resellers until November 6, 2009.  Then you can claim your pre-ordered copy on November 7, 2009.
Prices for every computers stores may differ so it’s better if you hop in different computer stores in malls or better yet at the popular Gilomore IT Center. You can check the prices online for your comparison.  If I may suggest you can visit the websites of the following stores located in Gilmore (PC Gilmore, Gaisano-Interpace, PC Express, and PC Corner).

I recently acquired a copy of of the new Microsoft Office 2010 Beta (Technical Preview) also codenamed Office 14.  This new productivity suite  for Microsoft Windows is the successor of the MS Office 2007 (codenamed Office 12) that is currently being used by most computer users this days.  The version number 13 has been skipped due to the aversion of the number 13 (Triskaidekaphobia).  Development of this new office was started after the release of Office 2007 in 2006.  This new Office suite has a lot of enhancements.  It might look like its predecessor (Office 2007) but it’s far more advanced.

This new office suite will be available on both 32-bit and 64-bit versions and will be compatible for PCs running Windows XP  SP3, Windows Vista and Windows 7.  Also Office 2010 will have a free online versions of Word, Excel, Poweroint and OneNote which can be accessed with web browsers such as IE, Firefox, Chrome and Safari.  But to access these online applications you need to have a live.com account which is very easy to create. 

Microsoft confirmed that the productivity suite will be released to manufacturing and be available to the public by the first half of 2010 and a public Beta version will available early November this year.  You may visit the Office 2010 site here and some screenshots here.

Apple introduced their newest  mouse called the Magic Mouse!  this is the world’s first Multi-Touch mouse.  Imagine a cordless mouse without any button or scroll, just a simple gesture from your finger and you can navigate to your Mac Desktop. The multi touch technology embedded from the iPhone and the iTouch is now in this Magic Mouse! Scrolling will depend on how fast or how slow the gesture was made.   This new mouse comes in packaged with every new iMac!
This mouse also uses 2 AA batteries and Apple claims that the battery will last for up to four months.   It also uses Bluetooth to connect to your Mac from up to 10 meters.  Price for this new mouse is 69$ or PhP 3,490.00.

Technorati Tags: Apple Magic Mouse,Magic Mouse


Pictures from http://www.apple.com/magicmouse/

Now that Windows 7 is out in the market. let’s talk about it’s new and exciting features and how these new features can help you work efficiently and it can really make your PC simplified!


Libraries
This is one of my favorite feature! This feature will give you easy access to all your files! If you are using several hard drives with a different partitions,  lots of your files may be scattered with this several partitions! With this feature plus the Windows Search enhancements you can access all your favorite files in just one click!  The main purpose of this feature is to make your files easier to manage without placing them into one particular.  Documents, music, pictures, and videos are the default folders in the libraries but you can add any folder if you want to.   What I want with this feature is that  my file location is irrelevant. 





AeroSnap and AeroPeek
Another new feature is the AeroSnap and AeroPeek.  Aero features was already seen in Windows Vista but then enhanced more in Windows 7.  AeroSanap will allow you to dock a window  to side of the screen giving you a precise window size that is half of the screen.  When you are editing or comparing documents side by side, using your mouse, drag first window to the left side of your screen and the other to the right.  Snap will allow you to easily resize your windows.


AeroSnap Shortcuts:

Windows key + left arrow key = Window will snap to the left
Windows key + right arrow key = Window will snap to the right
Windows key + up arrow key = Maximizes the active window
Windows key + down arrow key = Minimizes the active window

AeroPeek on the other hand will help you to take a peek on your current desktop just by moving you mouse cursor on the right bottom corner of your desktop (see picture below).  I have no idea how this feature will help me but if you working for hours and you  want to rest your eyes for a while this feature might help you.  It will give a a clean desktop without minimizing every window!





Windows Taskbar
The new and improved taskbar is a lot better than the older versions of Windows!  I find this useful for I can pin my frequently used programs or applications to the taskbar for fast launching without accessing it in the start menu.  There are two ways to pin your favorite application in the taskbar, first, by right-clicking the icon of the active  application the select Pin this program to the taskbar, and second, by dragging  the icon of the application directly to the taskbar as shown below.




The Jump Lists


Ever tired of looking for those files or documents you recently opened? the Jump Lists will help you. Just right click on the application icon in the taskbar and you will see the recently opened files.  For example, in the picture below, in this case the Paint program, by right-clicking the icon, I will be able to see my recently opened picture files!


These are just some of the new features and enhancements of this new and exciting Windows7.  There are a lot more and it’s for you to explore and discover it! Till my next post!

It was two days ago, October 22, 2009 Windows 7 has touched down the market after its official global launching! While this new operating system from Microsoft has been available for commercial costumers and developers since July, the final version is now available to the general public via new PCs preloaded with the OS and or retail purchase. 

The Journey
As far as I can remember, the journey of Windows 7 begun as early as 2008 during its first external release of the Milestone 1 (build 6519) in January 2008, then came the build 6801 distributed at the Professional Developers Conference 2008 (PDC).  On December 27, 2008 Windows 7 Beta was leaked via numerous torrent sites before the release of the official Beta release, people tested the leaked beta acknowledge the superiority of Windows 7 from its predecessors (XP and Vista).  On January 9, 2009 the Beta release has been made available to 2.5 million people who wants to see the new operating system.  As I remember, it took me two days to download the Beta due to the overwhelming traffic.  I was amazed with the new look and new interface of the Beta but a bit disappointed because my video card is not supported which is the cause of hanging and crashing of my PC. 

While MSDN and Technet subscribers are already enjoying Windows 7 RC (Release Candidate) build 7100 as early as April 30, 2009, the official release of the of the RC to the general public was on May 5, 2009 dawning another period of evaluation.  The release candidate is available in five languages.  For those who are still enjoying the  release candidate like me, you must know that it will expire on June 1, 2010 , with shutdowns every two hours starting March 1, 2010,  please do a back-up of your files before the said dates and downgrade you operating system to much lower version of Windows unless you already acquired a copy of the final version of Windows 7.

On July 22, 2009 Windows 7 along with Windows Server 2008 R2 were released to manufacturing (RTM).  The said version is build 7600.16385 and was compiled on July 13, 2009 and was declared as the final RTM build after passing all internal tests done by Microsoft.
During the launch of Windows 7 on October 22, Amazon UK’s managing director Brian McBride claimed that Windows 7 is the biggest-grossing pre-order of all-time storming ahead of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows!

That’s it folks, Windows 7 is here! It’s time for us to move-on with the newest Operating System in the planet!

If you are a frequent visitor of the torrent site The Pirate Bay you might notice some changes and ask is something wrong? 


According to the report from TorrentFreak, the Amsterdam court ruled against The Pirated Bay and ordered the site administrators to remove all copyrighted torrents from the said site within three months.  During the initial ruling of the Dutch court, The Pirate Bay was ordered to block access to Dutch citizens; a decision that has been nullified after the appeal of the site founders.  After the said appeal, The Parate Bay (which is not guilty of copyright infringement), the court ruled that it is guilty of assisting copyright infringement. 


BREIN, the Dutch anti-piracy body will supply Pirate Bay the list of copyrighted works that must be remove or deleted from the site within three months, with a fine of $7,500 per person, per day.


http://mashable.com/2009/10/23/the-end-pirate-bay/