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HP has released a teaser video of the new Windows 7 slate PC, first demonstrated during the Microsoft CES 2010 keynote.

The video, spotted by Gear Diary, is an interview between Greta Schlender, a HP Spokesperson, and Phil McKinney, CTO of HP’s Personal Systems Group. McKinney explains the development and excitement around the Slate PC ahead of Apple’s rumoured iPad device. McKinney claims 2010 is the year of the Slate form factor due to “convergence of low cost, low powered processors” and Windows 7 which is a touch aware operating system allowing for third party applications to thrive.

Neowin got a hands on with the Pegatron Slate PC at CES earlier this month. Although the Slate devices are an exciting and new form factor we firmly believe that Windows itself has a long way to go until it can be used as touch only. HP and other device manufacturers will likely build touch interfaces on top of Windows 7 to provide an even better touch friendly experience. Unfortunately, as is the case with Windows Mobile, building applications on top of an operating system to gloss over the misdoings of the system is a recipe for disaster. HTC has tried this approach with its Windows Mobile devices over the years but as soon as you need to step out of the vendors touch interface then the annoyances and issues of an operating system not designed for touch ensue. It remains to be seen whether HP can build their Slate to withstand these issues.

Unfortunately there’s still no pricing information available or a firm release date. Ballmer demonstrated the device in Las Vegas last month at the Consumer Electronics Show but HP had no devices available for attendees to observe. A HP spokeperson would only confirm the device is “coming later this year”. Thanks Neowin.net

Windows 7 is the next upcoming OS by microsoft

NOTE: This Beta expires on August 1, 2009. Then, you’ll need to reinstall a released version of Windows to keep using your computer.

Requirements:
· Processor: 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor
· Memory: 1 GB of system memory
· Hard drive: 16 GB of available disk space
· Video card: Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128MB memory (in order to enable Aero theme)
· Drive: DVD-R/W drive
· Internet connection (to download the Beta and get updates)

English 32 bit

English 64 bit

German 32 bit

German 64 bit

Japanese 32 bit

Japanese 64 bit

Spanish 32 bit

Spanish 64 bit

French 32 bit

French 64 bit

If you are excited about the launch of Windows 7 as much as Microsoft is, you are in for a treat. Microsoft has launched a new HouseParty initiative that gives you the chance to win a free licensed copy of Windows 7, all you have to do is call up some friends and celebrate the launch of Microsoft’s new operating system.

win7launchparty

This is probably the first of its kind type of initiative by Microsoft that demands user interaction and makes them more enthusiastic and excited about whats to come.

All you have to do is Apply Online to host a Launch Party, choose a day from October 22nd to October 29th and if you are selected, you’ll not only receive a special Signature Edition of Windows 7 Ultimate but your very own Windows 7 Party Pack.

This initiative is only applicable to users living in the following countries. Australia, Italy, Canada, Japan, Mexico, France, Spain, Germany, USA, Hong Kong, UK, India.

Microsoft announced today that they are making it easier to develop applications and games for the Xbox platform, with new tools in their XNA Game Studio kit. The updated kit includes better video and audio APIs, which will allow more games using the Avatars and LIVE Party content to be developed. Microsoft also stated that their improved Xbox 360 Development and Test Kit hardware will have improved debugging memory, which will allow developers to produce games faster and more effectively.

This was announced at the same time that they are again holding their Dream-Build-Play competition. This is the 3rd year that they are holding the contest, which allows winners to get a cash prize and possibly even a publishing contract for Xbox Live. The contest starts this April, and winners will be announced this fall.

We’ve heard Microsoft make vague references for some time about a Zune-like experience involving non-Zune devices (Windows Mobile phones, Xboxen), and it looks like they may be making real moves in that direction. A recent job posting from Redmond for a “Software Development Engineer in Test” calls on someone who “dream[s] about having a mobile phone based entertainment experience powered by a unified entertainment service across devices such as Zune, Xbox and PC.” Someone, the ad reads, who will, “create a ‘Connected Entertainment’ experience, realized through the Zune service, that spans multiple devices such as Zune, Xbox, PC and Mobile phones.” Sure, it’s not exactly a bold-faced advertisement for a cross-platform Zune environment — but it’s pretty damn close.

[Thanks, Ryan]

The Consumer Electronics Association today announced the lineup of keynote address speakers for the 2009 CES tradeshow to be held in Las Vegas from January 8-11; Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer, Sony’s Sir Howard Stringer, and Ford’s Alan Mulally.The change of Microsoft’s representative speaker is symbolic of Gate’s retirement, announced at his 11th and final keynote address at the 2008 CES. The torch has been officially handed to Ballmer as Gates continues his two year transition from full time participation.

“Steve Ballmer and Sir Howard Stringer are driving forces behind the continued growth of the consumer technology industry,”said CEA President/CEO Gary Shapiro. “Alan Mulally is a true visionary spurring technology innovation in the automotive market.”

More information regarding the CES event is available at the CES Web Site.

Executor is a simple and very powerful program launching utility for Windows.

Much like other program launchers, it was designed to provide a more powerful alternative to native Windows Run but what makes Executor more unique is the extent to which it can be customized using various skins and settings.

All you have to do is use a hotkey to launch Executor and then fire-away a keyword. Any programs matching the keyword would show up in the list and you can launch the program instantly.

Executor event lets you open a link in your default browser by just typing it into the Executor command window. Much more that comes with Executor is the optional choice of hard-drive indexing which makes it easy for user to index specific files or folders or leave them undiscovered.

The keywords and hotkeys can be manually configured through the settings dialog.

Download Executor

Microsoft has finally released IE8 Beta 2 for public download.

Unlike Internet Explorer Beta 1, the new IE8 Beta 2 is focused more towards users than developers and brings a whole new set of extremely unique features for consumers and enterprises.

Microsoft has been trying hard to regain its lost dignity after other browsers like Firefox and Opera smashed Internet Explorer in terms of usability and features. As it seems, Internet Explorer 8 might be powerful enough to hold back and stay stable in the ever growing browser wars.

IE8 focuses on everyday browsing, safety and platform and introduces some amazing features such as Tab shortcuts, Accelerators and InPrivate Browsing. I will be covering the features in detail in an upcoming post.

IE8 Beta 2 can be downloaded using the link below. Currently it supports 32bit and 64bit editions of Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2008.

http://www.microsoft.com/ie8

If you have been using Ubuntu for long, then Synaptic Package Manager might be one your favorite applications as it allows you to manage, download, add/remove various packages and applications in bulk.

Unfortunately, Windows does not come pre-installed with any such application which allows user to download and manage various other softwares. However, QWinApt can do the same job for you on Windows that Synaptic does for Ubuntu users.

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Hey, if Bill can give away tens of billions of dollars, the least we can do to celebrate his last day is to give away some Microsoft-powered stuff, right? Next up: a full, non-upgrade copy of Windows Vista Ultimate.

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