Via informationweek
Microsoft on Thursday formally released Windows 7, its latest in a long line of computer operating systems that are meant to bridge the gap between man and personal computing machine.

Windows 7 promises a streamlined interface, support for touch screens, and security features that, while robust, don’t interfere with users’ day-to-day interactions with their computers, the software maker claims.

The full version of Windows 7 Professional is $299, with upgrades going for $199. Windows 7 Ultimate is priced at $319, with the upgrade version at $219. The full version of Windows 7 Home Premium is priced at $199, with an upgrade from Vista or XP costing $119.

Snow Leopard lacks security features, yet is still safer compared to Windows, because so few malware programs target the Mac.

Apple users have less protection from viruses and malicious software than Windows users do. But they’re still safer, security experts agree, because so few malware programs target the Mac.

Apple’s new Snow Leopard operating system, which landed in stores Friday, adds a few security enhancements to protect Mac users from malware. But like previous versions of the Mac OS, Snow Leopard lacks security features that are built in to Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7, such as full Address Space Layout Randomization to thwart attacks from malicious code.

That makes Macs more vulnerable to attack, explained Charlie Miller, a security researcher and author of the book The Mac Hacker’s Handbook. But despite its weaknesses, Mac users have no reason to panic — yet. Apple’s PC market share is still roughly only about 10 percent, giving hackers and malicious software coders very little economic incentive to target the Mac.

Where’s your comfort zone? Windows, Mac, Linux? An unintellectual, emotional attachment to an operating environment often determines what consumers buy and may determine whether Google Chrome can ultimately compete with Windows.

Windows 7 beta available for public download
Microsoft made the Windows 7 beta available for public download Saturday after its servers were overwhelmed by users trying to download the operating system.

On its Windows 7 site, Microsoft posted a note saying “The Windows 7 Beta is now available for download.” The Windows 7 site lists a page where the beta can be downloaded.
Download Windows 7 beta here.

Microsoft has made the public beta of Windows 7 again available to download, after overwhelming traffic to Microsoft’s servers caused nearly a day’s delay.

Microsoft Answers beta website launched
Microsoft has launched a new web site just for Windows Vista users: answers.microsoft.com. Microsoft Answers, currently in beta (the site is often down and under maintenance), is a support forum in the Q&A format. There are three ways of using the service:

• Use the search bar at the top of the page to find existing answers to your question.
• Browse specific category pages under Find Answers.
• Ask the community how they fixed a problem or how they did something.

Preston Gralla of Computerworld has a good analysis on Windows 7 vis a vis Linux:
Microsoft has long been worried about Linux competition in the server market. When it came to ordinary PCs and laptops, however, it knew it had little to fear.

But that was then. Now Microsoft may fear Linux on the desktop as much as it does the Mac. It’s finally taking Linux seriously as a desktop operating system, and it has designed Windows 7 to kill it.

The threat to Windows comes entirely from “netbooks” — lightweight, inexpensive laptops that typically use Intel’s low-powered Atom processor and don’t come with substantial amounts of RAM or powerful graphics processors. They’re designed mainly for browsing the Web, handling e-mail, writing memos, and taking care of simple word-processing or spreadsheet chores.