tudy .ro – Tudor Damian
I plan to live forever. So far, so good.
Windows 7 – academic launch
Nov 5th
After last week’s Microsoft Academic Program opening in UBB Cluj, this week is time for the official academic launch of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. I’ll be the one talking a bit about the latter (Win 2008). 
More details on the launch announcement page.
Free eBook: Deploying Windows 7
Oct 29th
A very useful free eBook is available on Microsoft Downloads: Deploying Windows® 7 Essential Guidance
Overview:
Microsoft’s eBook Deploying Windows® 7 Essential Guidance from the Windows 7 Resource Kit and TechNet Magazine combine selected chapters written by industry experts Mitch Tulloch, Tony Northrup, Jerry Honeycutt, Ed Wilson, and the Windows 7 Team with select Windows 7 articles from TechNet Magazine. Sample topics include: Deployment Platform, Planning Deployment, Testing Application Compatability, and 8 Common Issues in Windows 7 Migrations.
Microsoft Security Essentials is available!
Sep 30th
Microsoft Security Essentials, the free antivirus from Microsoft is finally out of beta.
It’s available for XP, Vista and Windows 7 users (both x86 and x64), with the sole mention that your PC must run genuine Windows in order to install it.
Last chance to get Windows 7 RC
Aug 19th
Just a quick reminder: you’ve got just a couple more days to download Windows 7 RC if you want to get a free legit copy of Windows 7 before October, because the Windows 7 Release Candidate Downloads End August 20th.
The official Windows 7 release date may be set for October 22nd, but if you’re not eager to buy the new OS yet, you can still go download the very usable Release Candidate for free through August 20th, which is tomorrow.
XP mode RC for Windows 7
Aug 5th
Microsoft has released updated bits of Windows XP Mode for Windows 7.
XP Mode is a method to provide better compatibility in Windows 7, and to pull it off with as little trouble as possible. It’s also dubbed XPM, or formerly Virtual XP. XPM is built on the next generation Microsoft Virtual PC 7 product line, which requires processor-based virtualization support (Intel and AMD) to be present and enabled on the underlying PC.
Microsoft has made the following changes from beta to RC:
- You can now attach USB devices to Windows XP Mode applications directly from the Windows 7 task-bar. This means your USB devices, such as printers and flash drives, are available to applications running in Windows XP Mode, without the need to go into full screen mode.
- You can now access Windows XP Mode applications with a “jump-list”. Right click on the Windows XP Mode applications from the Windows 7 task bar to select and open most recently used files.
- You now have the flexibility of customizing where Windows XP Mode differencing disk files are stored.
- You can now disable drive sharing between Windows XP Mode and Windows 7 if you do not need that feature.
- The initial setup now includes a new user tutorial about how to use Windows XP Mode.
Windows XP Mode RC requires RC or RTM version of Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate or Enterprise. It also requires an additional 1 GB of RAM, 15 GB of available disk space, and processor capable of hardware virtualization with AMD-V or Intel VT turned on in the BIOS. XP Mode RC is available from the Microsoft Virtual PC site.
Free Windows 7 Ultimate for beta testers
Jul 31st
To show our appreciation, members of the invitation-only Windows 7 Technical Beta Program will be eligible for a free, final copy of Windows 7 Ultimate.
Paul’s post in the microsoft.beta.win7.beta_program newsgroup is the following:
Thank you for doing your part in making Windows 7 great! As a member of the technical beta program you took the time to download, install and give us your feedback on Windows 7 during development. Over the last 7 months you have participated in chats, live meetings and newsgroups as well as reported bugs to help us find and fix many issues. To recognize your outstanding contribution to the product we are pleased to offer you a complimentary copy of Windows 7 for your personal use.
Details:
· All current members of our English technical and international mini-beta programs are eligible.
· We are offering you a full (non-upgrade) copy of Windows 7 Ultimate Edition for your own personal use, not to be resold.
· You will be able to get access to your copy one of two ways:
A) To get up and running quickly you will be able to download your copy and get your product key via Microsoft Connect. English downloads will be available August 6th and other languages will follow as they become available.
B) Members of our English beta program have an alternative. We have reserved a limited amount of boxed retail copies that you can choose to receive instead. These are ‘first come, first served’. If you opt to have us ship you the boxed copy you should be aware that it will take much longer until you will be up and running on the final version. We will need time to manufacture and ship the copies to you. This means that you may not receive them until they are available on shelves October 22nd or later. Also, for people outside the United States you may be required to pay duties or other local taxes upon receipt.
Instructions and forms for choosing one of the above options will be available on Microsoft Connect on Monday August 3rd.
On behalf of the entire Windows product team, THANK YOU!
Paul
More details on August 3rd, I guess… 
Windows 7 RTM
Jul 23rd
I was in the Beta testing program for Windows 7, which is how I got this message, confirming that Windows 7 has reached the RTM milestone:
Dear Tudor,
As you know, Microsoft® Windows 7 was Released to Manufacturing (RTM) this afternoon, July 22, 2009. We are excited to be releasing what we consider our best OS to date and we couldn’t have done it without you, our Technical Beta Testers!
And here are the details on Windows 7 availability, right from the Windows 7 Team Blog.
UPDATE: Daniel Melanchthon, technical evangelist for Security and Messaging in the Developer & Platform Strategy Group at Microsoft Germany, made public the official SHA-1 and MD5 Checksum Hash information for what appear to be the original MSDN/TechNet DVD ISO Images of Windows 7 RTM Build 7600.16385:
Windows 7 Retail Ultimate E English (x86)
Name: 7600.16385.090713-1255_x86fre_cliente_en-us_Retail_UltimateE-GRMCEULFRER_EN_DVD.iso
CRC: 0×953EFBCC
SHA-1: 0xBC10F09B86DCBAF35B31B0E6FBA7D006ACAAD28DWindows 7 Retail Ultimate E English (x64)
Name: 7600.16385.090713-1255_x64fre_cliente_en-us_Retail_UltimateE-GRMCEULXFRER_EN_DVD.iso
CRC: 0×77BE890E
SHA-1: 0×029DCCEDD7691206010F84CE58343405A4DA92C9Windows 7 Retail Ultimate English (x86)
Name: 7600.16385.090713-1255_x86fre_client_en-us_Retail_Ultimate-GRMCULFRER_EN_DVD.iso
CRC: 0xC1C20F76
MD5: D0B8B407E8A3D4B75EE9C10147266B89
SHA-1: 0×5395DC4B38F7BDB1E005FF414DEEDFDB16DBF610Windows 7 Retail Ultimate English (x64)
Name: 7600.16385.090713-1255_x64fre_client_en-us_Retail_Ultimate-GRMCULXFRER_EN_DVD.iso
CRC: 0×1F1257CA
MD5: F43D22E4FB07BF617D573ACD8785C028
SHA-1: 0×326327CC2FF9F05379F5058C41BE6BC5E004BAA7
The information published by Melanchthon will allow users to compare the MD5 and SHA-1 hash checksum values of any Windows 7 ISO images with the official SHA1, MD5 and CRC hash checksum values. If the values coincide then users have a guarantee that the downloads they checked are in fact the original ISO images of Windows 7 provided by Microsoft and that the files have not been tampered with in any way.
In this regard, Microsoft is offering the File Checksum Integrity Verifier utility. “The File Checksum Integrity Verifier (FCIV) is a command-prompt utility that computes and verifies cryptographic hash values of files. FCIV can compute MD5 or SHA-1 cryptographic hash values. These values can be displayed on the screen or saved in an XML file database for later use and verification,” the company informed. (Source: news.softpedia.com)
