Just an update to Windows 7:
1. "On Tuesday, May 5, the Release Candidate (build 7100) will be available to everyone via our Customer Preview Program. As with the Beta, the Windows 7 RC Customer Preview Program is a broad public program that offers the RC
free to anyone who wants to download it. It will be available at least through June 30, 2009, with
no limits on the number of downloads or product keys available"
This means that anyone can download Windows 7 for free from Microsoft. This is expected to be the only release candidate so you can feel good knowing that any changes made to the OS between now and its actual release date will be fixed via Windows Update. The RC keys last for one year so you'd have a year to decide if you want to purchase 7. Pretty damn good deal if you ask me.
2. XP Mode -
http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=2598Basically this allows you to run XP specific programs and hardware within a virtual XP in Windows 7. There are hardware requirements of course but as i've said in previous posts/threads now is a good time to start making the move or at least thinking of making the move to a 64 bit machine.
While you could run your own virtual machine software (VMWare, Virtual PC) the new feature in 7 actually allows any program installed within the XP mode to show up in your regular start menu. I have been running WaveLab 5.01 (the common H20 version most folks have) from an icon in my quick launch bar. Working with 2 and 4 channel audio has worked flawlessly. I do not use any plugins with WaveLab other than Izotope Ozone 4 which has been working great as well. The XP Mode VM is integrated very well with 7 and functions surprisingly alot better integrated than it did as a standalone VM program.
If anyone has any interest in some screen grabs let me know and i'll post some.