Garmin-Asus announces Windows Mobile-based nuvifone M20

We'd been secretly holding out hope that Garmin-Asus would pull an Android piece out of its pocket in time for MWC next week, but it's looking pretty unlikely with the announcement of the M20. The second model in the nuvifone series following the G60, the new piece runs Windows Mobile 6.1 and features a 2.8-inch VGA touchscreen, quadband EDGE / triband HSDPA up to 7.2Mbps, WiFi, Bluetooth, and -- naturally -- Garmin-provided satellite navigation. You'll also find support for real-time traffic, weather, movie times, and other tidbits of information you're probably interested in when you're navigating, either 4 or 8GB of onboard storage, and a service Garmin is calling Ciao! -- basically a friend-finder along the lines of Google's Latitude. Look for pricing and availability to be announced in the first half of the year.

NVIDIA shows off Ion Windows 7 multitasking, confirms launch details

We've already gotten a pretty good idea of Ion's capabilities, but NVIDIA doesn't seem to be one to turn down an opportunity to show it off, and it did just that recently at a joint press conference with Microsoft. As you might have guessed, the pair was especially keen to show off Windows 7 multitasking on the platform and, judging from the video available at the read link below, it seems to be more than up to the task, with it able to convert a 1080p video file to a more portable size while the video was playing, and play Left 4 Dead at 720p resolution without any noticeable hiccups. In other news, NVIDIA also confirmed that the first Ion-based system would, in fact, be a desktop, and that it'll begin shipping sometime this spring. Unfortunately, there's no word as to who may be manufacturing said desktop, with NVIDIA's Drew Henry only going so far as to say that it'll be "very small" and "affordable."

HP netbooks likely to run "at least" three versions of Windows 7

How many versions of Windows 7 can a netbook run? Three, and possibly more, according to HP's Kyle Thornton, who recently attempted to "clarify" the situation in an interview with Computerworld. Those include in the main Professional and Home Premium editions, as well as the low-end Starter edition which, among other things, is limited to running no more than three applications at a time. According to Thornton, HP has also been testing Windows 7 Ultimate on its Mini netbook line, although it apparently isn't saying if it actually intends to offer it on future netbooks or not. But that's not all. Thornton also says that HP "hopes" that it'll be able to continue to offer both Windows XP and Vista Business on its business-oriented netbooks even after Windows 7 ships... and ships, and ships.

Vista Update Goes to Testers

Microsoft Corp. has delivered a preliminary release candidate for Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) to testers and is again on track to offer another public preview next month, according to several reports on the Web.

Just last week, a Malaysian Web site, TechARP, claimed that Vista SP2 had been pushed back a month. Wednesday, however, TechARP, which has accurately predicted Windows delivery dates in the past, revised its estimate, saying that Microsoft had "brought forward their release schedule" and would be issuing an "escrow" build no later than Friday.

Wednesday, reports surfaced that testers had been told by Microsoft that the escrow build of Vista SP2's release candidate was available for downloading. ZDNet blogger Mary-Jo Foley, for example, cited a section of the e-mail notification, which told testers that the company was not interested in feature feedback, but only reports on "SP2 regressions and confirmation of fixes we've made."

An "escrow" build is a version on which development has stopped but that is handed to developers and testers, who are asked to shake out the code one final time to make sure there are no show-stopping bugs.

TechARP's revised timetable claims that Microsoft will deliver a full-fledged release candidate to the public during the week of Feb. 16-20, not in March as the site said last week. That will be followed by a release-to-manufacturing (RTM) build sometime in the first half of the second calendar quarter -- in other words, before mid-May.

Previously, TechARP had said Vista SP2 would reach RTM -- a milestone at which the service pack is officially finished, and sent to computer makers and duplicators for retail copies -- as late as June.

Vista SP2 will be released for download from the Web at an undetermined date after Microsoft slaps the RTM label on the service pack. In the past, Microsoft has waited to post service packs anywhere from just two weeks after RTM to more than six weeks after.

But with the recent appearance of the first public beta of Windows 7, the follow-up to Vista, already in users' hands, some have dismissed Vista SP2 as irrelevant.

"Who cares now with Windows 7?" asked a user identified as Luis Mazza on a message thread discussing Vista SP2 at the Windows enthusiast Web site, Neowin.net.

"I could care less as I just got rid of Vista and I'm now only running 7 beta," added "smooth3006" on the same thread.

One analyst, however, disagreed.

"Service packs always matter," said Michael Cherry, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft, a research firm. "Because service packs make it more efficient to update PCs, they increase the chances that people do deploy fixes and patches."

Microsoft has previously declined to comment on TechARPs Vista SP2 schedule, and has instead reiterated its general timetable for delivering Windows Vista SP2 sometime in the second quarter of 2009.

Windows 7 Gets Antitrust Scrutinyw

Technical advisers to the antitrust regulators who monitor Microsoft Corp. 's compliance with a 2002 antitrust settlement will test Windows 7 "more thoroughly" than earlier versions of the operating system, according to a recently-released status report filed with the federal judge watching over the company.

The three-member panel of computer experts that works for state antitrust officials has had a copy of Windows 7 since at least last March , but in December 2008, Microsoft delivered additional documentation to the Technical Committee.

In the report , submitted last Wednesday to U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly , antitrust officials with the Department of Justice, 17 states and the District of Columbia said that Microsoft had given notice that "changes to the protocols in Windows 7" required 30 new and 87 revised technical documents.

Microsoft has been under a microscope since it struck a deal in 2002 that required the company to document communication protocols so that other developers, competitors included, can craft software that works smoothly with Windows clients and servers. The decree also set up the technical committee and forced Microsoft and state and federal antitrust officials to deliver regular reports to Kollar-Kotelly.

The newest report spelled out changes the committee, dubbed "TC" by the court, will make to test Windows 7, the successor to Vista.

"In light of the number of new documents that need to be reviewed, the TC is going to shift its focus to direct review of the documents by the TC's engineers as the most efficient method of identifying issues with the documentation," read the status report. "The revised strategy will enable the TC to review the new Windows 7 and system documents more thoroughly than it would otherwise, which is particularly desirable given the significance of these new documents to the project as a whole."

Originally, the consent decree Microsoft signed was to expire in November 2007. Several states objected, however, and after months of legal back-and-forth, Kollar-Kotelly in January 2008 extended her oversight by another two years, to Nov. 12, 2009.

Microsoft is also facing renewed scrutiny from the European Union , which two weeks ago filed preliminary charges against the company, accusing it of violating antitrust laws since 1996 by bundling the Internet Explorer (IE) browser with Windows.

Windows 7 gets installed on Amtek U560 UMPC, what's next?

It may not be quite the all purpose OS that Windows XP has become, but Windows 7 is certainly proving to at least be a good deal more versatile than its immediate predecessor, and folks just can't seem to stop testing its limits. One of the latest to be put through the wringer is the Amtek U560 UMPC, which is based on a pre-Atom A100 processor that clocks in at a mere 600MHz. Despite that, however, and the system's paltry 512MB RAM, the UMPC seems to have been more than up to the task, with it snagging a passable Windows 7 Experience Index rating of 1.2. Head on past the break to check it out in action.

[Via SlashGear]

Windows Vista SP2 RC may be in the hands of testers as we speak

Sure, the big hubbub's been Windows 7 (give us some time and we'll figure out how to install it on a toaster!) but Microsoft is betting that quite a few folks will be stranded in Vistaland (Vista Town? Vista Village? The dreaded Vista Flats?) for some time to come, and they'll need provisions -- like blankets, candles, water, and service packs. According to Tech Arp, Windows Vista SP2 RC is meeting testers sometime this week as an escrow build, which means that the public could see this thing as soon as early Q2 this year. You've been warned...

Windows fanperson revs up "Release Windows 7 Now" campaign

It's no secret that the Windows 7 beta that's creeping about the world is generating a lot of excitement -- people want this OS, like, now. To that end, Kelly Poe of Nashville, Tennessee has started up a "Release Windows 7 Now" campaign to get Microsoft to move its behind a little faster. It hasn't gained that much steam yet -- as of this writing, he's only collected 153 votes -- but hey, you just never know, right? Right.

Seemingly real Windows Mobile 6.5 screenshots trickle out of leaky internet faucet

A fine fellow over at the xda dev forum has posted some screenshots of what is purportedly Windows Mobile 6.5 -- and well... they look plausibly real. They're pretty Zune-ish (though maybe slightly less so than the last ones we saw), and also pretty good looking. There's still no info on when we can expect 6.5, though rumors have it that it'll be at MWC. Check some more photos (including the honeycomb app launcher and IE mobile) after the break. Hey Grey Crowned Crane, how're you doing?

[Via Gadgetmix]

Windows 7 Tip: The Windows Key Is Actually Useful Now!

Windows 7 has so many useful new features, it's kinda crazy. Besides the wacky new taskbar, they've taken the ridiculous step of making the Windows key actually useful, commanding a smorgasbord of new keyboard shortcuts:

Brandon Paddock, a Microsoft employee working on Windows 7, conveniently lists all of Windows 7 new hotkeys for us, including ones that'll make the new taskbar even easier to use. I'd memorize the taskbar shortcuts, like middle clicking for launching a new window of an open application, along with Win+number—which opens the program pinned to the taskbar that corresponds to it, like if your first pinned program is Firefox, Win+1 will launch it—and Win+G, which brings gadgets to the front, kind of like the Dashboard button on the Mac.

General
Win+Up Maximize
Win+Down Restore / Minimize
Win+Left Snap to left
Win+Right Snap to right
Win+Shift+Left Jump to left monitor
Win+Shift+Right Jump to right monitor
Win+Home Minimize / Restore all other windows
Win+T Focus the first taskbar entry
Pressing again will cycle through them, you can can arrow around.
Win+Shift+T cycles backwards.
Win+Space Peek at the desktop
Win+G Bring gadgets to the top of the Z-order
Win+P External display options (mirror, extend desktop, etc)
Win+X Mobility Center (same as Vista, but still handy!)
Win+#
(# = a number key) Launches a new instance of the application in the Nth slot on the taskbar.
Example: Win+1 launches first pinned app, Win+2 launches second, etc.
Win + +
Win + - (plus or minus key) Zoom in or out.

Explorer
Alt+P Show/hide Preview Pane

Taskbar modifiers
Shift + Click on icon Open a new instance
Middle click on icon Open a new instance
Ctrl + Shift + Click on icon Open a new instance with Admin privileges
Shift + Right-click on icon Show window menu (Restore / Minimize / Move / etc)
Note: Normally you can just right-click on the window thumbnail to get this menu
Shift + Right-click on grouped icon Menu with Restore All / Minimize All / Close All, etc.
Ctrl + Click on grouped icon Cycle between the windows (or tabs) in the group

Windows 7 Beta Availability Extended

Microsoft has extended the general availability of the Windows 7 beta until February 10 due to the software's popularity, the company said.

Microsoft was scheduled to remove the beta from the Windows 7 download site this past Saturday, but is allowing people to download it for another few weeks, the company said in a blog post.

People have until February 10 to start the download of the software, but downloads have until February 12 to be completed, according to the post, attributed to Brandon LeBlanc, a Microsoft Windows communication manager. No one will be able to begin downloading the Windows 7 beta after February 10, Microsoft said.

Microsoft made the first beta of Windows 7 available to the general public on January 10, a day later than planned because interest in the beta crashed its Web site when the company first posted it the day before. So far, Windows 7, the follow-up to the disappointing Windows Vista OS that fixes many of problems users reported with Vista, has gotten positive reviews from early users.

Microsoft wants to give people plenty of time to prepare for the end of the beta's public evaluation period, according to LeBlanc's post. On Tuesday, the Windows 7 page will warn users that time is running out to download the software so they can prepare for the Feb. 10 deadline.

However, the new deadline does not apply to MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) and TechNet subscribers, who will have access to the Windows 7 beta through its entire testing phase, according to LeBlanc.

Additionally, if a user has downloaded Windows 7 but does not have a product key for the software, Microsoft will continue to provide those to beta users indefinitely. A product key validates that a user's copy of the software is legitimate.