Windows 7

Microsoft’s virtualization solution for Windows 7, Windows Virtual PC (VPC) and Windows XP Mode (XPM) final RTM builds have been compiled and signed off as build 7600.16393 on September 22nd, 2009.

Street dates are invariably broken somehow, somewhere even when it comes to the biggest products and companies, and Microsoft is certainly no exception, with it now able to chalk up at least one sold copy on the Windows 7 charts thanks to an exceptionally eager college bookstore.

In some scenarios users will find that Windows 7 will not accept correct passwords on Homegroup connect attempts even if the credentials entered are indeed correct. Microsoft has confirmed that there is an issue with Windows 7 Homegroup joining of a new machine that causes the latest iteration of the Windows client to invalidate correct passwords and to effectively forbid end users to perform the action.

Users that upgrade Windows Vista OEM computers to Windows 7 might find that the recovery applications set in place by the original equipment manufacturer are no longer accessible.

Windows Vista never was particularly speedy in most people's eyes. Whether it deserved the reputation or not, the word on the street was that Vista was both slow and bloated.

Microsoft has informed users of an issue that prevents Windows 7 from starting after the computer the OS is installed on has been forced shut down.

Although Microsoft itself demonstrated an 11-second Windows 7 boot, with some configurations being able to go as low as a 10-second startup, one company developing PC tune-up utilities claims that Windows 7 in fact is slower than Windows Vista.

The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg gives Windows 7 a big thumbs up in his latest column, a significant endorsement from the country's leading tech reviewer.

Windows 7 has received lots of attention from the tech press, but much of the focus has been on interface changes, such as the redesigned taskbar.

First, let me introduce myself.  My name is Mark Relph and I am a Senior Director with the Windows Product Strategy Group and I lead a group known as the Windows Ecosystem Team.