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Windows 7 Leaked

So the Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) build (7100) has leaked to the torrents. People scramble. Downloading ensues.

Sadly, there's nothing new to see in this build. If you've been following along with my coverage of all the post-Beta builds over the past few months, you've already seen everything there is to see in the RC. That said, many haven't looked at Windows 7 since the Beta, and certainly the improvements since that milestone are tremendous. But this leaves me in a bit of a quandary: How do I cover something that hasn't changed?

Well.

Once I get the OK from Microsoft, I'll post the expected screenshots and review. My review will focus on what's changed since the beta, not what's changed since, say, build 7077, because, well, nothing's changed. Windows 7 RC is a very-close-to-final look at what Microsoft plans for the final release (barring any UI coming change, of course), so it's important and interesting regardless. But those, like myself, that have been plying over interim builds ... geesh. This thing is just done from what I can see.

Rafael and I do have some secrets to share, but again, we need to wait. There is more coming.

Regarding availability, I don't have any info that I can relay on when the RC build will be made available through official channels, but everyone who wants it should be able to get it in the coming weeks.

Guest Mode In Windows 7

I've documented a new Windows 7 feature called (Guest Mode) (originally it was called PC Safeguard) but my most trusted source close to Microsoft tells me now that this feature, sadly, has been permanently removed from Windows 7 and will not appear in the RC or RTM versions of the OS. (It had been missing in action from the previous several interim builds we've seen.)

Facebook, MySpace and others 'Go Live' on Windows Live this week

From Microsoft:

Today, Microsoft announced that 20 new third-party feed partners, and 3 new contacts partners will be rolling out globally on Windows Live this week, giving 500 million+ Windows Live customers more ways to share their lives online lives and communicate with the people they care about.

What's New:

• Feeds partners available to consumers this week at home.live.com include Facebook, Digg and SmugMug.
• New contacts partners, MySpace, hi5, and Tagged, join Facebook and LinkedIn this week in allowing Windows Live customers to reciprocally invite contacts between Windows Live and these social networks.
• In the coming months, MySpace customers will be able to share activities and updates from MySpace with their Windows Live network as MySpace joins Windows Live as a feeds partner.

With a total of over 30 leading global and regional web companies now available on Windows Live, customers can easily share their activities from across the Web.

Windows 8

With Windows 7 barreling towards its last major pre-release milestone, Release Candidate (RC), and ready for a Q3 2009 RTM (release to manufacturing), it's obviously time to turn our attention to Windows 8. Yes, Virginia, there will be a Windows 8, despite the weird, droning opinions out there that's there's nothing left to do on the PC client. (You must be spending too much time wondering why Apple can't release its not-upgrade, Snow Leopard, in a reasonable amount of time, or for free.)

We've known that there'd be a Windows 8 for some time, of course. .

Mary Jo Foley offers up the following, and it's been parroted on virtually every Windows blog on earth, so I better hurry up and post this:

Microsoft is starting to hire developers specifically for Windows 8 ... A Microsoft job posting from April 14 seeks someone to help with the next generation of the Distributed File System Replication (DFSR) storage technology inside the next version of Windows.

That's server technology, so we can assume this is for Windows 8 Server, the major release follow-up to Windows Server 2008 R2, due late this year.

There’s another Windows 8 job posting from April 16 that [also] focuses on Windows 8 Server (a k a Windows Server 2011 or whatever it ends up being called). It’s for another job focused on the Windows file system.

Put simply, we don't really know anything about Windows 8 yet (i.e. the client version of Windows 8). But it's always fun to speculate. :)

Who Killed Encarta?

Encarta (Microsoft) released last month that they will be stopping the Encarta encyclopedia.

Here is what Micorsoft had to say

This is microsofts explanation of Encarta:

"Encarta has been a popular product around the world for many years. However, the category of traditional encyclopedias and reference material has changed. People today seek and consume information in considerably different ways than in years past. As part of Microsoft's goal to deliver the most effective and engaging resources for today’s consumer, it has made the decision to exit the Encarta business"

So who killed it?

Needless to say i think it was WIKIPEDIA

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