Windows 7 Release Candidate Update

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There certainly has been a lot of discussion about Windows 7 in the last few weeks. A lot of folks want to know when they can get their hands on the official RC, when we are going to RTM, and what I had for breakfast.

I’m pleased to share that the RC is on track for April 30th for  download by MSDN and TechNet subscribers. Broader, public availability will begin on May 5th.

On behalf of everyone here, I would to thank all of our beta testers for helping us get to this point. You guys have been busy. At the peak of the feedback cycle, we were receiving a “Send Feedback” report every 15 seconds for an entire week. Since then, the engineering team has been busy analyzing the feedback, fixing bugs, and working hard to improve the overall experience. Many of your suggestions helped us refine the new and improved taskbar, the behavior of Aero Peek, Touch, Windows Media Player, and much more. In case you have missed the previous E7 blog entry outlining some of these changes in detail, you can read about them here and here.

Be sure to check back with us next week… And by the way, I had eggs for breakfast 🙂

Source: WindowsTeamBlog.com

2Mbps broadband plans backed by UK government

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According to an article by the BBC, the UK Government has announced that it will be supporting plans meaning everyone in the UK will have access to at least 2Mbps broadband, by 2012. The plans, proposed by Lord Carter earlier in the year, have been backed by the government. The chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, said "I am allocating extra funding for digital investment, to help to extend the broadband network to almost every community."

The extra funding was announced as part of the new budget for the UK today. Money not spent from the BBC Digital Switch-over scheme may be used to partially pay for the service. Part of the cost of making the service more widely available may be pushed over to Internet Service Providers.

There has been much debate about broadband availability in the UK recently, with various different plans announced. Some argue that money should be spent on making broadband widely available, whilst others argue the money should be spent on making the already existing broadband faster, in order to keep up with other countries.

The final report, named the "Digital Britain" report, is due this Summer, which will reveal more details about how the UK will keep up with technology

News source: Neowin.net

Oracle to buy Sun for $7.4 billion

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Sun Microsystems and Oracle Corporation announced today they have entered into an agreement under which Oracle will acquire Sun. The transaction is valued at approximately $7.4 billion, with Oracle purchasing Sun stock with cash for $9.50 per share, a premium of nearly $3 per share over previous market value.

Sun’s stock (JAVA) jumped nearly 33% after news of the purchase was released.

Larry Ellison, Oracle’s chief executive, described Java as "the single most important software asset we have ever acquired."

By purchasing Sun, Oracle is elevated into the ranks of Dell, HP and IBM, giving them the ability to sell hardware as well as more fully exploit some important Sun software. It also puts them in a better position to compete with Microsoft by giving them control of both a major server operating system and some major business software begin run on it.

In their joint press release, Sun and Oracle cite "substantial long-term strategic customer advantages to Oracle owning two key Sun software assets: Java and Solaris." Sun’s Solaris operating system is the most widely utilized platform for Oracle databases, which is Oracle’s largest business sector. With the acquisition of Sun, Oracle can optimize the Oracle database for some of the unique, high-end features of Solaris.

There is some worry for proponents of the major open source projects that Sun heads up, like OpenSolaris, MySQL, VirtualBox, OpenOffice and Java itself. It will remain to be seen what Oracle intends to do with these projects and how, if at all, they’ll integrated them into their product offerings.

IBM previously expressed interest in purchasing Sun, for $7b, but withdrew the offer after reviewing Sun’s books and finding out how much they’d been paying their senior employees.

Sun’s Board of Directors has already unanimously approved the transaction and it is anticipated to close this summer, subject to stockholder and regulatory approval.

News source: Neowin.net

Windows 7 build 7105 RC Milestone reached

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Builds for Windows 7 keep powering forward; it seems there are new ones being reported weekly, but here’s one that might be worth sitting up and paying attention for: it appears Windows 7 has reached build 7105, an RC build. But in addition to this, it’s worth remembering that a Windows 7 RC could possibly be available April 10th. This timing makes it seem as though Neowin’s exclusive source was dead on, and that in a few days time Microsoft will announce availability of an RC build for its latest operating system.

The string for this build is 6.1.7105.0.090404-1235_x86fre_client_en-us_Retail_Ultimate-GB1CULFRER_EN_DVD, and it was compiled on April 4th. Many contested that this means it’s a fake; April 4th is a Saturday, but those thoughts have been dismissed with the fact that Microsoft still compiles builds on Saturdays.

Russian site DJForum.ru is reporting this, but remember you’ll need a good proficiency in Russian to read this. The last reported build leak was last month, and it’s expected for 7105 to be leaked shortly also, although it’s hoped a public announcement will be made soon, as mentioned. So, what are they changes that are being reported so far?

1. Improved networking support, the work in the local network
2. Added support for some previously incompatible programs
3. Extras in the LP (?) and small cosmetic interface improvements
4. Added support for new drivers for various devices
5. Extended support sensory displays
6. A small optimization and changes in the kernel

It seems that Windows 7 development is definitely drawing to a close, as now the only changes are bug fixes and optimizations; no new major features are being added, although keep in mind that there could still be some surprises left.

Source: Neowin.net

Residents challenge Google camera

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Angry residents in Milton Keynes blocked the driver of a Google Street View car when he started taking photographs of their homes.

Police were called to Broughton after residents staged the protest, accusing Google of invading their privacy and "facilitating crime".

Councillor John Bint told the BBC the camera mounted on a car was intrusive and people should have been consulted.

Google said it observed UK law and only filmed from public areas.

The company also said it had consulted various police forces and provided the means for residents to have their home removed from the service.

Continues at source source: BBC News

Facebook caves to user demands over layout

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If you were one of the many who signed an online petition or joined a group over the distaste of the new Facebook layout; good news has arrived. The Facebook team has announced that they will alter the new layout based on feedback that they have received over the last two weeks.

The original goal of the new layout was to offer a similar format to rival twitter. But when a group on Facebook reached 45,000 people who said that they hated the new layout and an online petition reached 1.7 million signatures, the Facebook team got the memo.

“Facebook said that it will make changes to the site based on the thousands of pieces of feedback it has received since its latest revamp. In the Facebook Blog, Chris Cox, Facebook’s director of product, wrote that a number of specific areas of concern will be addressed: The site will add more control and relevance in the stream; highlights will update more frequently and will show more content; and design changes will help users locate features and apps more easily.”

No specific timeline was given about when the updates will occur but at least it is known that the Facebook team does listen to its users and recognizes the feedback they received.

News source: Neowin.net