Just an FYI that the Configuration Manager Team blog posted an announcement concerning the Configuration Manager 2007 Service Pack 2 beta that’s scheduled for May 2009. Included are some of the new features so if you haven’t seen it you’ll want to check it out here.

Will there be a specific windows 7 SKU tailor-made for netbooks, or not? Until recently, that seemed very likely, but as time went on, the answer to that question got muddy again. During the past few weeks, Microsoft has been very adamant to reiterate that all Windows 7 SKUs can run on netbooks, and that it will enable customers to upgrade to higher SKUs easily. Recent comment by Steve Ballmer, however, indicate that Microsoft is still thinking about a specific netbook edition.   more >>

Details are scarce at the moment, but testers familiar with the recently leaked Windows 7 build 7048 confirm that Internet Explorer 8 is now an optional component in Windows 7. This is most likely a direct consequence of the EU investigation into the bundling of IE. Still, a few questions remain.   more >> http://osnews.com/story/21079/Microsoft_Ma...al_in_Windows_7

Based on all the user feedback ignited by the Windows 7 beta, Microsoft has made a set of tweaks to the release candidate of Windows 7. The Engineering 7 weblog details 36 of those tweaks, in quite some detail actually. Let's take a look at some interesting ones.   The Aero Peek feature has been received quite positively, as it really can be quite useful when working with lots and lots of windows. It reminds me a lot of Expose - not in how it works, but in how useful it is. When I first heard

It's been nearly two months since the beta of Windows 7 was officially released to the general public, and some of us have been getting fidgety to know just what bugs have been reported and what will be fixed. Microsoft was biding its time, letting the information collect and nearly stagnate, when we finally got official word on some of the results of the testing process.   The reason it took so long, so says Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president for Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group

A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to Betanews this afternoon that the first release candidates (without numerals) for Service Pack 2 for both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 will be released to the general public for testing next week. This after private testers with the MSDN and TechNet services receive their copies first.   more > http://osnews.com/story/21040/SP2_RC_for_V...oming_Next_Week

There have been so many dates flying around concerning the upcoming Release Candidate for Windows 7, and it's beginning to become a daily subject in the blogosphere. Just when you thought that we were going to see a Windows 7 RC by the end of February, a trusted source within Microsoft has informed Neowin that the RC will not be ready by the end of February.   At this time, Windows 7 RC is internally being tested and the official release date is set for April 10, 2009. The Windows team is righ

Microsoft is moving forward with plans to launch Windows 7 this year, although the company still refuses to publicly commit to that goal.   PC industry sources in Asia and the U.S. tell CNET News that they have heard things are on track to launch by this year's holiday shopping season, which has been Microsoft's internal target for some time.   Microsoft is also putting the finishing touches on a program to offer Vista buyers a free or low-cost update to Windows 7. That program could kick of