Gearfuse

Like a bat out of hell, Microsoft this morning released Internet Explorer 8. As the follow up to the ultra-successful IE7, version 8 has a lot to live up to considering how commonplace Mozilla’s Firefox is becoming. New features include searching with images, web slices, new accelerated rendering engines and…well, yeah. That’s the gist of it. Walt Mossberg from the Wall Street Journal says it’s much better than previous versions and is a worthy competitor to Firefox. Sounds good. If I was using a Windows-based computer, I’d totally download it.

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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer used his keynote at CES to deliver some exciting news about Windows 7. As of today, the beta will be available for download and installation from MSDN and other sources. The files will be available for download starting tomorrow, January 9th. Says Ballmer of the occasion:

“I’m thrilled to announce the availability of the Windows 7 beta, which is on track to deliver simplicity and reliability,” Ballmer said. “Windows 7 and Windows Live are part of an incredible pipeline of consumer technology that is making it easier than ever for people to communicate, share and get more done.”

Ballmer also introduced Windows Live, a suite of productivity applications and synergistic bullshit.

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Don’t act surprised. It was only a matter of time before Microsoft’s next OS hit the torrent sites, considering Microsoft was handing out copies of Windows 7 to PDC (Professional Developers Conference) attendees. Both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions have leaked, weighing in at 2.72GB and 3.36GB, respectively.

It looks like a lot of people are hopping on these torrents on The Pirate Bay, so if you can’t use a private tracker, might as well raise a glass of rum to toast.

But how’s Windows 7 working out? Here’s what one downloader said:
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Waiting for an end to Vista? Don’t hold your breath. Microsoft will release Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista before it releases Windows 7 it’s been announced. Ugh. It feels like Bush being elected for a third term.

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Up until now, Microsoft was peddling Windows Vista as it’s latest and greatest operating system. Sure, the company had briefly mentioned Windows 7 but it was just a codename and not much came out of it. Today, Microsoft is giving Windows 7 it’s official name and will be releasing developer betas soon. The official name of the next OS? Windows 7. Yup. Seems Microsoft was peachy with not changing the name since it’s the seventh Windows release.

What do you think? Dumb name? Glad Vista is finally coming to an end?

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