Showing posts with label windows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label windows. Show all posts
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Learn more about your computer's specifications

Posted by MN Farani at 8:41:00 am
Knowing how fast your PC is or how much RAM it has shouldn't be information that's limited to übergeeks. Having a clear idea about your system hardware specifications is important, and may come in quite handy in different situations: when trying to sell your computer to someone else, buying a new videogame or checking the system requirements of that huge program you're about to download, to name but a few.


While Windows does offer this data, it's not always easy to find. It's scattered all over different system areas, and you usually have to browse quite deep in system menus and submenus in order to find it. Luckily there are some applications that do the hard work for you, digging out the information you need and displaying it in a nice, user-friendly way. Here are some of these system analysis tools you can use to learn more about your computer's capabilities:



•PC Wizard - Though it's perhaps the most complex tool in this list, PC Wizard makes up for it with an outstanding analysis of your system, focusing mainly on hardware. It also shows information about the process0r's activity and offers many benchmarking possibilities to put your computer to test.

•Belarc Advisor - This analysis tool scans your system upon start and displays the results in your default web browser. The list is so detailed that newcomers may find it a bit off-putting. With a little time however, you'll find tons of interesting and useful information in it, covering hardware, network settings, software versions and more.

•Speccy - Developed by the creators of CCleaner, Speccy features a nicely designed interface and it's probably the simplest of the three. On the downside, it doesn't include as many options as the two previous ones. It does have a useful snapshot function that lets you save system snapshots for future reference.
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Spring clean your files and folders

Posted by MN Farani at 5:17:00 pm
File have a nasty habit of getting very messy, very quickly, especially if you are a keen downloader, photographer or music buff. If your folders look like the computer equivalent of a teenage girl’s bedroom, take a look at my guide to keeping your files in top condition.
Get rid of the duplicates - this should definitely be step 1 in any re-organization. Duplicate Cleaner is top of my list - it’s fast, free and has all, if not more, of the features of its pay-for cousins.
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Protect sensitive data - if you want to prevent your info from falling into the wrong hands, erase any secret files that you no longer need with Freeraser. Now create safe folders for the files you do want to keep with My LockBox.
Get rid of unnecessary folders - use Suction. This pint-sized app will suck the files out of your folders, so it’s prefect if your folder structure has become messed up over time and you want to start over.
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Take care of major renaming - Batch File Rename Utility will help you get your file management back on track. It’s perfect for large collections of photos or music and is really flexible, so you’ll have no problem finding a quick and easily-accessible naming convention for your files.
Move blocked and locked files - they’ll only hinder your spring cleaning, so try using Unlocker Portable to shift them out of the way. If you get too enthusiastic while organizing, Recuva is your best option to recover deleted files.
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By now, your files and folders should be model examples. Keep them that way by installing a few apps that will allow you to handle your file management like a pro. Q-Dir is a file explorer that’s a step up from Windows Explorer - it gives you considerably more control over your files, and will even let you color-code them, which I find really helpful.
Last but not least, help yourself find all these beautifully managed folders  Google Desktop is a powerful search utility. It’s as user-friendly as Google’s other products and if you’re still struggling with pre-Vista search, it’s a revelation.
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5 tools to improve your typing speed

Posted by MN Farani at 12:41:00 pm

5 tools to improve your typing speedIf you’ve been using computers for as long as me, you can probably type quite well without looking at the keyboard. Improving your typing speed and accuracy has become increasingly important in today’s world, where computers, smartphones and other keyboard-equipped devices are almost omnipresent.

Typing faster means you can get your work done more quickly, answer your emails in a few minutes and update your blog by the end of the day, all in a much more efficient way. However, there are still people who use just two fingers to type. If you’re among them, don’t worry: you can count on software utilities, web apps and other tools to help you improve your speed and accuracy when typing. These are some of them:

  • RapidTyping - Improve your typing by learning the right hand position and training specific groups of letters. The program then lets you use custom texts for advanced typing training, and keeps detailed statistics about your performance and improvement. There’s also a portable version of RapidTyping.
  • GS Typing Tutor - Great typing tutor for beginners and advanced users. Learn to type from scratch with basic two-finger lessons, or acquire professional touch typing speed and skills with the program’s lessons and games. GS Typong Tutor keeps stats of your progress and focuses on practicing your most problematic letters.
  • Bruce’s Unusual Typing Wizard - Learn to type and improve your speed and accuracy with this simple, efficient tool. It support multiple users and customizable practicing tests, includes a bunch of lessons with different difficulty levels and keeps statistics of your improvement.
  • MaxType Typing Tutor - An advanced tutor to improve your typing speed. You can use any TXT file as training test, compete against a computer-controlled opponent in a speed test and record your own typing in order to keep track of your performance. The program measures up to 20 parameters of your typing.
  • Klavaro Touch Typing Tutor - This tool helps you improve your speed and accuracy when typing. It includes lessons that become increasingly difficult as you make progress through them, from practicing two letters to writing full texts. Klavaro Touch Typing Tutor has support for many different keyboard layouts and languages.
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How to: Stop a Windows shutdown

Posted by MN Farani at 9:47:00 am

We’ve all been there. In fact, I was there just yesterday, happily pressing “next, next” in a long installation process. Just a microsecond too late, however, I realized I had accidentally told the program to restart my system. Unsaved documents, half-finished reviews and long strings of tabs disappeared before my eyes. I looked frantically around for some way of stopping it, a big red button perhaps, or a giant STOP lever. Of course, there wasn’t one. To make sure you don’t fall victim to the same problem, I’m going to show you how to stop an unwanted system shutdown or restart.

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The easiest way is to create an abort shutdown/restart shortcut. To do this, right click on the desktop and select New > Shortcut. In the box that appears, type shutdown.exe -a. Then call the shortcut whatever you like, and place it somewhere easy to access- in the taskbar if you like. The next time you accidentally tell your computer to shut down or restart, double click the shortcut and you’ll prevent the restart. Just don’t be too trigger-happy with the “Nexts” next time!

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A look at Paltalk for Windows and Mac

Posted by MN Farani at 9:42:00 am

paltalk-logo.pngIf you like chat rooms where you can chat anonymously with different people from around the world on a huge variety of topics, then Paltalk may interest you. Note that Paltalk is also confusingly known as PaltalkScene and on Mac and Linux, where it only works in a web browser, it’s also known as PaltalkExpress.

Paltalk is a US based service that claims to have over 4 million users. One of the biggest attractions of Paltalk to those users is that you can log on at any time, activate your webcam, and chat away in high quality audio and video. A few years ago however, Paltalk hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons after a British user committed suicide online after receiving a barrage of insults in an “Insult” chat room. Since then, Paltalk have placed greater restrictions on adult content and added an adult content blocker switch to the top of the interface which you can activate at any time.

Let’s take a look at the Windows version first then. When you first install Paltalk, note that it will try and install the Paltalk toolbar but you can easily de-select this. You also need to sign-up for a Paltalk account which simply involves entering a username and password:

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Once you are logged-in, Paltalk open as an Instant Message style client sidebar. There are three options - Click with your clique, Chat face-to-face and More fun stuff:

It’s best to start with Click with your clique and then select Browse chat rooms when the option appears. There are a huge number of chat rooms to choose from with topics ranging from sport to politics. Note that one of them takes you to an adult chat room although this is clearly la labeled and as mentioned earlier, you can deactivate all adult content on Paltalk by using the Adult Content switch in the top right corner.

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Once in a chat room, you can choose to activate your webcam or even transmit audio to other users. Although the users can be from anywhere, the topics of chat rooms suggest that most users are in the USA.

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Paltalk is quite an overwhelming application because there are ads all over the place and more often than not, you enter a room only to hear music or ranting from a user. Note that you can see who is speaking by where the microphone symbol is next to the names of people in the chat room down the right hand side. More often than not however, the messages that are exchanged are just a jumbled mass of random soundbites and its hard to tell how anyone can be genuinely communicating within such an environment. You can though open a private dialog with someone by right clicking on their name. You can also have multiple chat rooms open in different tabs.

The interface on the PC version is a little cheap for my liking and the web version (PaltalkExpress for Mac and Linux) looks much better:

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The chat dialogs are also far more polished and easier to use than in the Windows version too:

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Paltalk is a hugely popular application and if you like talking and webcam chatting with random people on different topics then you’re sure to enjoy it. Be aware however that it is all a bit much to take-in at once and it will take some time before you feel competent with it.

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Top 10 tools to restrict access to your PC

Posted by MN Farani at 11:03:00 am

Folder lock logoIf you share your PC then sometimes it’s nice to know that you’ve got some control over what happens on it when you’re not there. Maybe you want to stop your kids accessing certain sites, or maybe you’ve got some confidential information on there that you don’t want prying eyes looking at. Whatever the reason, there are tons of mini-applications out there to give you a bit more peace of mind.

  • Folder Lock - Protect folders and files from unauthorised access
  • Anti-Porn - Prevent your kids and minors from viewing explicit pornography
  • Clean Slate - A network administrators dream - roll-back any activity performed on a PC
  • PC Locker Pro - Block access to your PC whilst you’re away from your machine
  • iNet Protector - Restrict both internet and program access for children or employees
  • BananaScreen - The ultimate security procedure? Unlock your PC with your face!
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How to change your voice in Skype

Posted by MN Farani at 10:54:00 am
f you fancy having a bit of fun next time you use Skype then why not try out a voice-changing app? You’ll be able to do all sorts of cool things, from prank-calling your pals as Darth Vader to faking a sore throat in order to get a day off work. There are a number of software tools around that can change your voice in Skype, and none of them are particularly difficult to use.

Skype Voice Changer is a free app that does exactly what its name suggests. Install the application on your PC, open up Skype and agree to the permission request. You’ll then be presented with an effects panel that lets you alter your voice. There are a range of presets and you can tweak each of them using the sliders to change various aspects of the sound.

A more comprehensive and easier to use solution is MorphVOX Pro. The program has some really cool preset voices, including a demon, robot, woman, kid and even a dog! You can also apply background noises to your voice as you’re talking, such as a shopping mall or a traffic jam (perfect for a call to your boss saying you’ll be late for work). Another great thing about MorphVOX Pro is the ‘Voice effects’ section, where you can apply various filters to your dulcet tones, including nasal, growl, underwater and monotone. All of the presets can be customized using the ‘Tweak Voice’ control panel. The downside of MorphVOX Pro is that it costs $39.95, although you can try the program free for 30 days.

Funny voices are easy with MorphVOX Pro

If you really want state-of-the-art then check out AV Voice Changer. This app is loaded with a multitude of options that let you really fine-tune your fake voice. There are lots of preset voices to make you sound young, old, sexy, patronizing, joyful or sarcastic. The program includes a ‘Parady Mixer’, which lets you sample celebrities voices before calling people up and pranking them. The tinkering you can do with AV Voice Changer is more akin to a professional audio production app, including a formant morpher (to alter acoustic resonance), voice equalizer and noise reduction settings. The only trouble with AV Voice Changer is the trial is pretty limited, and the program is more expensive than MorphVOX Pro.

If you really want an idea of the fun you can have with voice changers, then you must watch this video of a guy using MorphVOX Pro with some hilarious consequences.


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How to: Open ISO files without burning

Posted by MN Farani at 9:05:00 am

Virtual CloneDrive logoHave you ever wanted to open an ISO, IMG or CCD file but either didn’t want to burn it, didn’t have a blank DVD spare or didn’t even have a DVD burner? Well you can by mounting the file for free using a virtual drive cloning tool.

Virtual drive cloning means that you effectively create a new DVD drive for your computer - but it exists only virtually on your desktop. It’s pretty much like getting a new DVD drive for free with the added bonus that you don’t have to mess around with DVDs or burners.

I used the excellent Virtual CloneDrive although you can use any drive cloning app such as DAEMON Tools. When you install it, you’ll be asked whether you want to associate appropriate file types to it such as ISO, IMG, CCD, DVD and UDF files.

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If you don’t intend on using an application to burn discs regularly using your physical DVD drive, it will make your life a lot easier if you select them all so that whenever you encounter one of these file types, Virtual CloneDrive will mount them automatically. Alternatively, you should see an option to mount the files in Explorer or failing that, right click on the target file and select Virtual CloneDrive from the context menu and then Mount. Read on…



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Chopping big emails down to size

Posted by MN Farani at 5:58:00 pm

During the summer, Gmail increased its maximum attachment size to 25MB, up 5MB on its previous limit. Great news, I hear you cry - now you can squeeze a few more photos into that email or send an album in 2 parts rather than 3!

Well yes, you can, but does that mean you should?letter2.png

One thing you have to remember about email is that it’s old. Really old. Although it mightn’t feel it, email has been around for more than 30 years and, unlike other technologies, it hasn’t been updated much. This doesn’t have much of an impact on our day-to-day use, but like they say over at the Google Operating System blog, “…sending a large attachment via email is relocating using the U.S. Postal Service as your moving company. It is painful, limited, and expensive.” It will get the job done, but it’s not the most efficient way.

So what’s the alternative? Well, if you are in physical contact with your recipient, you could just put the file on a memory stick. Once you follow the basic security principles, it’s a very simple way of transferring data. Obviously, this only works if you are geographically close to the recipient. In fact, email’s ability to overcome this problem is one of the reasons it became so popular. Just because it’s popular, though, doesn’t make it the best, so have a think about using free web hosting services instead. Don’t worry if it sounds complicated - you’ll get the hang of it quickly.

Go to a free hosting site - Mediafire and Hotshare are two well-known ones - and upload the file in question, just like you would attach it to an email. With 200MB of space usually available, it has a significant advantage over the now elderly email. Once it is uploaded, the service will give you a link, which you email to your friend. Your friend clicks on the link, and downloads the file that you uploaded. If it sounds complicated, it’s only because I have detailed every step - do it once or twice and it will become second nature.

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Even though it’s not the most efficient way, you might still have your reasons for wanting to send larger files by email. If you do, you’ll need to make them smaller, and there’s two ways of doing this. You can compress (or ‘zip’) them, or divide them into smaller files. Either way, you’ll need a tool to do this, and the recipient will need a similar tool to decompress or re-join. IZArc and 7-Zip are two reliable - and free - file compression and decompression utilities. Likewise, in the area of file splitting, you’ve got plenty of choice. Even though they’re not pretty (and show little imagination in the name stakes), HJSplit and Gsplit are both fuss-free methods of chopping those unwieldy files down to size.

Special Thanks to: Niamh Lynch

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8 free tools to find and remove duplicate files

Posted by MN Farani at 12:37:00 pm

You may not notice it at first sight, but a deeper look will surely reveal a few dozen duplicate files on your hard drive, eating up precious disk space. Are you going to stay there, without lifting a finger? Of course not. Plus, you can count on several software apps which will lend you hand in the tedious yet rewarding task of removing duplicate files from your computer.

There are different kinds of duplicate removers, depending on the type of file you want to delete. You can find general purpose tools, and also other tools that have been specifically designed to find duplicate MP3 files or duplicate images. Whatever your personal situation is, take a look at the following list and you’ll find the right app for you.

1. Remove duplicate files
This is where you’ll find the largest number of available apps. They all serve the same purpose: find and remove duplicate files, no matter what type or extension they are. Most of them support the usage of filters to refine search, and use different methods to find duplicates: size, name, byte-by-byte comparisons and CRC checksums are some of them. The only problem is that they usually have very similar names, so if you find one you really like, be sure to learn its name! Here are some of the tools you can use, all of them for free:

2. Remove duplicate MP3
MP3s are the kind of file you’re most likely to have scattered across different platforms, devices or folders, which usually means you have a dozen copies of the same song. In order to avoid this mess, the best you can do is make use of a duplicate remover that’s been specially developed to locate and delete duplicate MP3 files. Here’s a couple of them, both for free:

3. Remove duplicate photos
Photos are not as common as MP3 duplicates, but if you have a digital camera and transfer pics to many other locations you can also end up with a few copies of the same picture. Again, there are specialized duplicate detectors for photos, which scan your photo library and can detect similarities not only between their names and sizes, but also their actual content. Here are two of them, both for free:

  • SimilarImages - Uses a fast method to scan your system and detect duplicate photos
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Microsoft blames Windows 7

Posted by MN Farani at 10:57:00 am
Microsoft yesterday blamed user confusion for the problems many have encountered trying to move from Vista to Windows 7 after buying a discounted upgrade offered to college students.

"Digital River and Microsoft are aware that some customers from the Windows 7 Academic Store had difficulties completing the download or installation of the product," said a Microsoft support engineer identified as "Michael" in a message posted Sunday to the company's support forum.

Minneapolis, Minn.-based Digital River fulfills download orders for Microsoft's $29.99 Windows 7 upgrade offer to students. Several hundred users have said that they were unable to upgrade from Windows Vista to the new operating system after purchasing, then downloading, a Windows 7 upgrade, from Digital River.

"We are aware that consumers are encountering difficulties installing Windows 7 where the customer is currently running a 32-bit version of Windows such as Windows Vista, but purchased the 64-bit version of Windows 7," Michael said.

Last week, users reported that an error message prevented them from unpacking files downloaded from Digital River. The message read: "We are unable to create or save new files in the folder in which this application was downloaded."

"This error occurs when you are in the unloading phase of the 64-bit Windows 7 download process and are running a 32-bit version of Windows such as Windows XP or Windows Vista 32-bit," Michael added. "This is by design, as you cannot launch setup for the 64-bit version of Widows 7 while running a 32-bit operating system."

According to Microsoft, users can conduct "in-place" upgrades -- those that retain all data, settings and applications -- only from Vista 32-bit to Windows 7 32-bit, or from Vista 64-bit to Windows 7 64-bit. The company had spelled out the in-place upgrade paths last summer, before it released Windows 7.

"If you want to move from Windows Vista 32-bit to Windows 7 64-bit, or if you are running Windows XP, you have to do a "Custom" or clean installation that must be started by booting off the Windows 7 64-bit DVD," Michael stressed.

A Windows 7 custom upgrade, called a "clean" install by some, requires users to back up data and settings from Windows XP or Vista, install Windows 7, then restore the data and settings before finally reinstalling all applications.

Students who mistakenly downloaded the 64-bit edition of Windows 7 from Digital River should request a refund, Microsoft's Michael continued, then pay for and download the 32-bit version instead. He pointed customers to a page on Digital River's site where they could request a refund. "In the Web form, select the Order question option in the drop-down menu and include 'Refund and Request 32-bit' in the first line of the problem description," Michael recommended.

His advice runs counter to the policy listed on the Digital River support site, which says that there are no refunds for the student discount Windows 7 upgrade.

Michael claimed that Digital River has identified and contacted customers who have been affected by the download error. "Digital River has been making every effort to make it right for these customers," he said. The Microsoft engineer also said Microsoft would not handle support questions about Windows 7 unless customers were able to reach the initial installation screen; all issues prior to that step were to be directed to Digital River.

On Saturday, users blamed both companies for their problems, and were irked that neither had stepped up to accept responsibility or provide answers. "This problem is not being resolved by anyone," complained a user tagged as "tatguy6" on the same support thread Saturday. "Someone is to blame. I guess we are just gonna have to wait for someone to pull their heads out of their butts and do something for us to resolve this."

"I [have] had enough," added "arkavat."

Tatguy6, arkavat and several others said that they were, or had, filed complaints against Digital River with the Better Business Bureau.

Digital River has yet not responded to a request for comment made last Friday.
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Windows 7 installation how-to, step by step

Posted by MN Farani at 10:38:00 am
Performing a New Installation of Windows 7
The three basic types of clean installation procedures are as follows:

Install on a brand new disk or computer system
Erase the disk, format it, and install
Install into a new directory for dual-booting (see the multiboot discussion later)
If you intend to use either of the first two methods, be sure your computer can boot from a DVD (most newer computers support booting from a DVD drive). Doing so might require changing the drive boot order in the BIOS or CMOS, but try it first as-is. With no floppy disk inserted and a clean hard disk, try the DVD drive next. The Windows 7 DVD is bootable and should run the Setup program automatically.

Installation takes 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the speed of your machine. Refer to the following sections if you have questions about any steps in this process.

Note: Windows 7 automatically applies the NTFS format to any disk partition upon which it is installed during a clean installation.

Typical Clean Setup Procedure
If you're installing into an empty partition and you can boot an operating system that is supported for the purpose of Setup (Windows Vista or XP), just boot up, insert the DVD and choose Install Now from the resulting dialog box. Then you can follow the installation step-by-step procedure.

If Windows doesn't detect the DVD automatically upon insertion, you must run the Setup program, setup.exe, from the Start, Run dialog box (after opening the Run dialog box, type D:/setup.exe; on Vista use the Start menu Search box instead [using the corect letter for your DVD drive if it isn't D]). The setup.exe application is located in the Sources directory on the DVD. After the Setup routine starts, you can follow the installation procedure step by step.

If your computer has a blank hard disk or your current OS isn't supported, this process changes. You must launch the installation process from the Windows 7 DVD (this works only if you can boot from the DVD drive). Setup automatically runs if you boot from the DVD.

Yet another setup method involves the network. To initiate a network installation, you must create a network share of the distribution DVD or a copy of the DVD on a hard drive. The destination system must have network access, and the user account must have at least read access to the installation files. Initiate Setup by executing setup.exe from the network share. For example, from the Start, Run command, or the Vista Start menu Search box, type this path: \\\ \sources\Setup. Setup recognizes an over-the-network installation and automatically copies all files from the network share to the local system before the first reboot.

Tip: All versions of Windows 7, 32- or 64-bit, are included on the same DVD. The product key that you enter during setup determines which actual version of Windows 7 you end up with after the installation completes. Keep your Windows 7 DVD and product key in a safe location after you've performed your installation. It's useful for repairs of all kinds.
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App compatibility, upgrade concerns top Windows 7 worries

Posted by MN Farani at 12:20:00 pm
Users are most concerned about Windows 7's migration and application compatibility issues, according to a sweeping survey of online forums, Web sites and social networking services, a support firm said today.

iYogi, a New York-based tech support company pushing Windows 7 upgrade services, said that it tracked tens of thousands of online conversations during the past week about Windows 7 to come up with the top 10 user worries about Microsoft's new operating system.

The company monitored 10 major forums, including MSDN, TechNet, Yahoo Answers and Google Groups; 25 sites posting user reviews, such as Amazon.com, CNET and Epinions.com; and social sources including Facebook and the micro-blogging service Twitter.

At the top of the iYogi list was concern about Windows 7's application compatibility and migration from earlier editions to the new OS. One sample question iYogi logged: "Do I need to re-install Microsoft Office when I upgrade to Windows 7?" (Answer: Yes, if upgrading from Windows XP.)

Microsoft has directly addressed compatibility concerns with the Windows 7 Compatibility Center, a site that launched yesterday, which lets users root through a massive database of hardware and software to find which peripherals and programs are up to snuff.

On the upgrade front, Microsoft has posted a several-step tutorial to guide Windows XP users through the process. (For more on upgrading from XP, see Computerworld's "FAQ: How to prep for an XP-to-Windows 7 upgrade.")

Second on iYogi's list were worries about Windows 7's new features -- how different the new OS is from the familiar XP -- while in third place were questions about its performance. "Is Windows 7 faster than XP or Vista?" asked one user, said iYogi. (Computerworld's Windows 7 expect, Preston Gralla, says yes.)

Other concerns ranged from getting ready for Windows 7 (No. 4) and the operating system's user interface (No. 5) to how much time it will take to install Windows 7 (No. 8) and whether its price will ever drop (No. 9).

Not surprisingly, iYogi also touted polls it conducted that claim nearly 70% of Windows users aren't "entirely comfortable" that they would be able to move their favorite applications to Windows 7.

Microsoft has built a Windows 7 help and support site that includes how-to videos, links to company-sponsored user-to-user forums, and answers to what it considers the top user-submitted questions.

Microsoft will host a New York City launch event tomorrow at 11 a.m. ET, when CEO Steve Ballmer will kick off a coming-out party.
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Windows 7seven lunched

Posted by MN Farani at 12:11:00 pm
Microsoft will put Windows 7 on store shelves and computer makers will have systems ready to sell with Vista's successor on Oct. 22, the company confirmed today.

Microsoft will also offer discounted or free upgrades to Windows 7 to users who buy PCs in the months leading up to the operating system's launch in a program dubbed "Windows Upgrade Option," a company spokeswoman said Tuesday. Although the name is new, the program had been reported as early as January, when a usually-reliable Web site leaked information about the deal, including its July 1 kick-off.

Until today, Microsoft had been coy about naming a release date for Windows 7, although it edged toward a timetable last month. Both Bill Veghte, the senior vice president who runs the Windows Business unit, and Steven Sinofsky, the senior vice president of the Windows engineering group, said then that Windows 7 was on track for the holiday selling season, and would make the final milestone -- called "release to manufacturing," or RTM -- in mid-August. Today, however, other company spokespersons said Microsoft is shooting for RTM by the end of July.

Details on the Windows Upgrade Option were not immediately available, but analysts have assumed that it would resemble Vista Express Upgrade, a program that gave people who purchased Windows XP PCs between Oct. 26, 2006, and March 15, 2007, free or inexpensive upgrades to Vista.

Vendors were allowed to set the price, if any, of the XP-to-Vista upgrades, and it's believed that they will have the same flexibility for Windows 7.

This isn't the first time that October has been named as the likely ship date for Microsoft's new OS. In an interview last month, an Acer executive based in the U.K. said "October 23 is the date that Windows 7 will be available." The executive, Bobby Watkins, the managing director of Acer's U.K. operations, also confirmed that customers who bought a Vista-powered computer from the company in the 30 days leading up to Oct. 23 would receive a free upgrade to Windows 7.

Also last month, Computerworld used Sinofsky's mid-August RTM date to predict that Windows 7 would go on sale sometime between Oct. 11 and Nov. 4, based on the actual timetables of Windows XP and Vista, respectively.
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