Windows 8 will be with us in 2012, according to Microsoft roadmaps apparently revealed at last week’s Professional Developers’ Conference (PDC).

Although Microsoft has yet to officially discuss plans for Windows 8, a 2012 release would be consistent with previous Microsoft pledges to release a new desktop operating system every three years. Windows 7 was released a month ago.

The latest speculation suggesting a 2012 release has been credited to Microsoft Kitchen, a blog with the tagline “Serving up some seriously tasty Microsoft.”

Despite showing roadmaps apparently picked up at PDC, the blog has little else to reveal about Windows 8.

However, a Microsoft employee may have inadvertently spilled the beans on one key Windows 8 feature last month.

Microsoft employee Robert Morgan appeared to detail the software giant’s plans to make a 128-bit version of Windows 8, and even Windows 9, on LinkedIn, where he listed his job as ‘senior research and development’. His profile, which has now been removed from the business networking site, said Morgan was “working in high security department for research and development involving strategic planning for medium and longterm projects”.

It went on to reveal that his R&D projects included: “128-bit architecture compatibility with the Windows 8 kernel and Windows 9 project plan”. He’s also responsible for “forming relationships with major partners: Intel, AMD, HP and IBM”.

Microsoft is also looking for employees to help shape Windows 8, according to reports online. Neowin.net spotted the vacancy for a Windows 7 software engineer on Microsoft’s site.

“We just finished up work on Windows 7, and are pushing forth on Windows 8 planning and preparation,” said the blurb in the job ad, which was replicated on the CodenameWindows website.

“As part of this team, you will help shape Windows 8. Components of our code include a core agent that runs as an NT service, an API layer and a UI application,” added the advert. (Via PC Advisor)

Microsoft released windows 7 for testing purpose only on last January 9th, 2009. I am one of them who downloaded it. I tried to install on both of my PC and laptop but with no luck. I had problems on both that Windows 7 did not start properly (blank black screen) after successfully installation. Successfully installation? huh. Those problems solved when I install Windows 7 on VmWare. Surprised? It comes with few applications since it released as testing purpose. I don’t have plan to use Windows 7 right now. Thinking of why they released Vista? Now I’m happy with oldie XP and Vista. This is the snapshot from Windows 7 in VMWare.

You can download Windows 7 from Windows 7 official site. Remember that Microsoft limits download to 2.5 millions downloads.

Just as Microsoft did last month with Vista SP1 release candidate, the latest build (dubbed SP1 RC Refresh) has been loosed from its privately held shackles and is now available for the public to descend upon. According to ZDNet, Redmond decided to make this iteration publicly available “in the interest of gaining additional tester feedback.” Of note, you will likely be forced to install “two or three updates” before SP1 RC Refresh can be installed, but we know you’re quite unconcerned with all the fine print. Nevertheless, that verbiage (and the download link) is waiting below.

[Via ZDNet]

By Alex Zaharov-Reutt

In a bid for dominance in the mobile search space, Yahoo! Go 2.0 is now available for million of Windows Mobile devices including a deal to pre-load it onto HTC smartphones.

With Microsoft’s ‘Windows Mobile’ Smartphones an undoubted success in a world of Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and Samsung cell phones, Yahoo! has decided that it’s a market they can’t afford to ignore, and as a result have made their Yahoo! Go 2.0 available for the Windows Mobile platform.

While the original version of Yahoo! Go was derided by some as hard to use, Yahoo! Go 2.0 is a much better version that delivers a truly useful mobile search – and more – experience.

Although already available for other brands of cell phone, there are over 175 Windows Mobile smartphones capable of running the new Yahoo! Go 2.0 software, with over 100 models on sale in stores today.

Marco Boerries, the senior vice president of ‘connected life, Yahoo!’, said that “Consumers have been clamoring for us to bring Yahoo! Go 2.0 to Windows Mobile devices since we launched the service less than two months ago. There are millions of mobile phones on the Windows Mobile platform in the market today and consumers with these devices want to use the most advanced, exciting services available. Our innovative Yahoo! Go 2.0 service finally brings the open Internet to the mobile phone and gives consumers the compelling experience they have been looking for.”

Microsoft are also naturally excited, with John O’Rourke, a general manager at Microsoft Corp. saying that “Yahoo! Go 2.0 includes an exciting set of features that helps people access their favorite Internet content while mobile. The combination of this application with a Windows Mobile powered device will allow our joint customers to get quick access to the Yahoo! experiences they want — from news to e-mail to photo sharing — all from a single, powerful device.”

Of course this begs the question to Microsoft – where is your similar service? After all, Microsoft offer the Windows Live search engine, and should be somewhat ashamed that Yahoo is setting the pace in the mobile search space. Still, Microsoft wouldn’t be where it is today without plenty of hardware and software partners, and with the whole ‘embrace and extend’ policy, we can be sure that a ‘Microsoft Mobile Search + More 1.0’ is on the way.

Yahoo! have also done a deal with major Taiwanese Windows Mobile device manufacturer HTC, who supply smartphones to major cell phone companies worldwide, and who also partly own the Dopod brand which sell HTC devices exclusively. HTC make millions of Windows Mobile devices and this will be very helpful to Yahoo! in getting their search software used by millions of people worldwide. HTC are also racing to be the first company to release a smartphone powered by Windows Mobile 6.0, as most devices are still loaded with the now-older Windows Mobile 5.0 OS.

Peter Chou, CEO of HTC said that “HTC is always seeking new ways to keep people connected to their community of friends and personalized content while mobile. With high resolution displays and breakthrough designs, HTC’s products are the ideal platform for Yahoo! Go 2.0. We are pleased to offer users the ultimate Yahoo! Go 2.0 experience on our innovative devices.”

So, what are the key features of Yahoo! Go 2.0 for Windows Mobile? Please read onto page 2 to find out!

– Search reinvented for mobile consumers — oneSearch(TM) is designed to recognize the intent of a search term and presents relevant content — not just a list of web links to PC sites — on the results page. Results are grouped by subject making it easy to read through and drill down to get more details.

– Be local, no matter where you are — The Local & Maps widget gives quick access to comprehensive local directory information for businesses across the US, enhanced with ratings and reviews from the millions-strong Yahoo! community. Interactive maps feature the ability to search directly for businesses, get driving directions and real time traffic updates.

– Rich, highly personalizable content from millions of sources — Current headlines and a breaking news ticker in the News, Sports, Entertainment, Weather and Finance widgets keep consumers connected to the information that matters to them. Consumers can customize to receive content from the millions of sources on the Web that publish in RSS.

– Photo sharing keeps consumers connected to their community — The Flickr(TM) widget integrates one of the Web’s most innovative and prolific photo-sharing communities, making it easy to upload(1) and manage images from their camera phone. Consumers can also easily share photos, view their friends’ pictures and browse or search the millions of images.

– Streamlined e-mail keeps consumers in sync — The E-mail widget allows consumers to quickly respond to, delete or compose new messages or view attachments with a single click — all automatically synchronized with their Yahoo! Mail account in real time.