Students Reporting Problems With $29 Windows 7

The upgrade installer isn't playing nice for students.

Are you a student in need of Windows 7? Then you might want to look at DigitalRiver's offer for Windows 7 Home Premium for students.
Valid students can still grab a download upgrade copy of Windows 7 for just $29.99 – a pretty stellar deal if you ask us. All you need is to be part of an eligible college or university. Find out more here.

Unfortunately, some users who have purchased that upgrade are reporting problems when unpacking the files and trying to install on a 32-bit machine. So far there seems to be a mix of both successes and failures, depending on how many hoops the user is willing to jump through to jimmy that upgrade into his or her Vista install.

Engadget received a tip that Microsoft is now offering refunds to those who are having trouble in getting this product to work, but of course those who managed to snag Windows 7 for less than $30 likely won't be giving up so easily.
In any case, Microsoft has a support thread going where the company is trying to sort everyone out.

Did you grab the $29.99 deal? If so, have you been having any problems?

Source : Tom's Hardware US

Five Things You Should Know About Upgrading From XP to Windows 7

Now that Windows 7 is here, the three out of four users who have rejected   Windows Vista and clung to the tried and true Windows XP can breathe a sigh of relief and consider moving to the new flagship operating system.
Upgrading or switching operating systems often comes with some trials and tribulations and the Windows 7 upgrade is no exception. Microsoft has tried to provide the tools users need to make the transition as easy as possible, but you may hit some snags. Here are five things you should be aware of as you upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7.

Access and Customize Windows 7's Extended Context Menu

With Windows 7 pushed out to the masses, it's only a matter of time before the Web is flooded with all sorts of nifty tips and tricks as the inquisitive and tech savvy have their way with Microsoft's latest operating system. To get the ball rolling, we're going to show you how to access Windows 7's extended context menu, as well as how to edit, add, and remove items from it.



The context menu is nothing else but the options you get when right clicking on a file or folder. In Windows 7, some less popular options are left out and placed on the extended context menu, which is accessible by holding down shift when you right click on an item (shift + right-click).
This applies to just about everything, from files and folders to the desktop, and allows for quick access to specialized operations, such as opening a file as read-only, executing something as another user, or opening a command prompt at a specific location.

It also allows you to quickly accomplish things like an undo move, which is useful if you're unfamiliar with thecountless Windows shortcuts (Ctrl+Z is undo, by the way), or directly copy a drive path. The extended "Send to" menu (see screenshot below) comes in handy if you find yourself moving things using this shortcut often.
And while the pre-defined extended menu items may be helpful, they are still limited to what comes by default. ShellMenuView is a very lightweight utility (~80KB and doesn't require installation) that is compatible with everything from Windows 98 to Windows 7 x64. You can download the utility here (32-bit | 64-bit).
Once you open the program, you'll immediately be faced with dozens of entries that you can enable or disable -- both in the standard and extended context menu.

Through ShellMenuView you can get rid of all of the annoying program-specific clutter that has accumulated in your context menu (think: anti-malware software, all-in-one utilities, text editors and office applications, image mounting tools etcetera). Don't get me wrong, some of these entries are time-saving, but others are flat out annoying, and are usually are placed without your consent.


ShellMenuView's interface and feature-set is pretty straightforward. Scroll through the list of entries to find the offender, right click on it and choose "Disable Selected Items". Likewise, you can enable or even set other items to appear (or not) in the extended context menu with the same motion. ShellMenuView also gives you quick access to the registry entries of context menu listings.
In our tests using ShellMenuView we were able to manipulate context menu entries for most of our programs: VLC, Windows Media Player, Imgburn, OneNote, TVersity, and some of Windows own shortcuts. We had a few problems removing a stubborn entry for MagicISO, but using another program called ShellExView (from the same developer), we were able to get rid of the annoying extra shortcuts.
But obviously that's just the tip of the iceberg. Feel free to share your custom context menu or any other Windows 7 tips in the comments.

Did you know?

You can also easily edit Firefox's right-click menu with Menu Editor and spare yourself of unwanted items like "Send Link" or "Copy Email Address" every time you right click within your browser screen. Isn't that great?

Source: http://www.techspot.com

Windows 7 born from Vista's frustrations

If consumers like the new Windows 7 operating system, they'll have the much-maligned Windows Vista to thank.

In part, that's because Windows 7 actually builds on the under-the-hood changes that came with Vista. But, it also turns out that the vast headaches created by Vista were just what the PC industry needed to improve their cooperation.

With consumers lukewarm to Vista and many businesses shunning it entirely, both Microsoft and the computer makers realized that the standard way of business just wasn't cutting it, particularly with Apple coming on strong.

Windows 7's 'XP Mode' is among the features that evolved from close communications between Redmond and the PC makers.

(Credit: Microsoft)

Redmond, in particular, was humbled by the response to Vista. When it came time to planning the next version, newly installed Windows development chief Steven Sinofsky took the company's earliest ideas and met with PC makers.

That marked a huge change from past releases, where, as some PC makers described it, Microsoft would just develop windows in secret and then "throw it over the wall."

"Until Vista, Microsoft was fully thinking on their own and implementing their own ideas and then releasing it," said Gianpiero Morbello, a vice president for Taiwanese PC maker Acer.