Consumer software and hardware

LOS ANGELES--The differences between Vista and Windows 7 are subtle--sometimes so subtle that they can go unnoticed.

This point was exacerbated by the fact that the build that developers were given a chance to take home last week doesn't have the new taskbar that represents the most visual difference between Windows 7 and today's Vista desktop.

Microsoft went to the trouble of shifting all the computer kiosks at the Professional Developers Conference over to Windows 7 on Tuesday. But because the version lacked some of the key visual features, some attendees didn't even notice they were running … Read more

The pre-beta version of Microsoft's Windows 7 operating system released to developers at the Professional Developers Conference has already made it onto prominent BitTorrent sites, where thousands of enthusiasts around the world are currently downloading it.

Well-known BitTorrent sites such as The Pirate Bay and Mininova were at the time of publication Friday hosting multiple downloads of the newly aired operating system--both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

On The Pirate Bay, one copy of the 32-bit build had more than one thousand people uploading it, and almost 7,000 people on the way to downloading it. The 64-bit … Read more

Microsoft said Friday that it is changing the leadership of its Macintosh Business Unit, the group responsible for Office for Mac.

Eric Wilfrid, a product unit manager in the division, will succeed Craig Eisler, who is moving to a role elsewhere in Robbie Bach's entertainment and devices unit. In an interview, Wilfrid declined to say what exactly his former boss will be up to or even to whom Eisler will report.

Eisler took over in June 2007 when then MacBU head Roz Ho moved to a secretive mobile job within the entertainment unit.

Wilfrid said that Office for Mac … Read more

LOS ANGELES--As he began his speech on Wednesday, Microsoft Research chief Rick Rashid talked up his ties, not just to Microsoft's products, but also to those from Apple.

"If you use a Macintosh or an iPhone, which honestly I would not recommend, you would be using code that I wrote more than 25 years ago," Rashid quipped to a crowd of developers at the company's Professional Developer Conference here. In his Carnegie Mellon days, Rashid helped create the Mach kernel that is at the heart of Mac OS X (Note: I originally stated that it was … Read more

LOS ANGELES--As developers began to get their hands on Windows 7 Tuesday, they offered varied reactions to the Microsoft operating system update.

Windows 7 arrived in various forms here at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference. Windows VP Steven Sinofsky showed its key features on stage, the OS appeared on PCs throughout the convention center, and developers also got their own copies to take home with them.

Attendees to PDC 2008 received pre-beta copies of Windows 7 on DVD, as well as a 160GB Western Digital portable hard drive packed with code.

In addition to the Ultimate Edition of Windows 7 (… Read more

On Monday, I had a chance to talk with Windows VP Mike Nash about Microsoft's approach with Windows 7. In addition to his comments for this article, I also did a brief video interview with him that is posted below.

Nash's overall summary of Windows 7 was this:

"The focus is on making sure the things you do (today) are easier and that the things you always wanted to do are possible," he said. "There's a lot of work we've done to just make things easier and faster."

Of course, users will … Read more

LOS ANGELES--Microsoft on Tuesday offered up far more details on Windows 7, successor to the company's oft-maligned Windows Vista.

In particular, Microsoft is focused on improving the time it takes for Windows to start up and shut down. In addition to its own work, Microsoft has been working directly with computer makers to address all of the factors that affect system performance.

As far as other features, Windows 7 features support for multitouch input and a new taskbar that makes it easier to manage multiple open Windows.

"The focus is on making sure the things you do (today) … Read more

11:01 a.m. PDT: Keynote is a wrap. We'll have other coverage soon, including a video interview I did with Mike Nash.

10:59 a.m. PDT: Ozzie's back onstage. Talking about why Microsoft has moved more deliberately in taking Office online. We wanted to do more than put "docs and spreadsheets" on the Web, he said, offering a clear dig at Google's free competitor to Office.

10:55 a.m. PDT: Takeshi Numoto, from the Office unit is moving through the other Office apps that will have browser-based. Right now he's showing … Read more

At PDC 2008, Ray Ozzie and company on Monday morning talked up Windows Azure, Redmond's new cloud computing effort. Here's how the details unfolded in this live blog of his keynote address. Click here for a recap of the news from the event or here to see all our Professional Developers Conference coverage.

10:12 a.m. PDT: Microsoft didn't go into too many details on how it will charge for Azure, saying it will be free during the preview period. Final pricing, "will be competitive with the marketplace" Ozzie said. Keynote ending now.

9:… Read more