In this issue:

• Windows 7 Public Beta Available
• Windows Home Server Evaluation
• Recent Support BBS Postings
• Administrivia

Windows 7 Public Beta Available

by Arie Slob

Hello Windows users,

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last Wednesday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced the beta release of Windows 7 (and Windows Server 2008 R2) to the public this week.

As of his keynote, the beta has been available for MSDN and TechNet subscribers. On Friday January 9th both will be available for download by the general public.

According to the announcement, Microsoft will be capping the public download to the first 2.5 million^*, so if you want to try it, you better get it early!

The minimum recommended hardware for the beta call for a 1GHz processor, 1GB of system memory, 16GB of hard disk space and support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128MB of memory (to be able to run the Aero theme) and a DVD-R/W Drive.

You can select the download from Microsoft's Windows 7 site. While downloading, take a moment to read through the Release Notes. In particular, review the MP3 files and Windows Media Center notes and install the related updates before using the Beta. Other useful reads are the Installation instructions and the Windows 7 Beta FAQ.

The download is available in five languages: English, Arabic, German, Hindi and Japanese.

*) Note: On Sunday morning Microsoft posted the following message "Due to an enormous surge in demand, the download experience was not ideal so we listened and took the necessary steps to ensure a good experience. We have clearly heard that many of you want to check out the Windows 7 Beta and, as a result, we have decided remove the initial 2.5 million limit on the public beta for the next two weeks (thru January 24th). During that time you will have access to the beta even if the download number exceeds the 2.5 million unit limit."

For questions & problems, post a message in our Windows 7 forum on our WindowsBBS.com support forum.

Your Comments.

Windows Home Server Evaluation

With the first day of Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2009 getting under way, Microsoft's Windows Home Server team has decided to make the DVD of the Windows Home Server 120-Day Evaluation Edition available for download from the Microsoft Download Center.

I have been using Windows Home Server since the early days this product has been available, and I just love it. I never miss any backup schedules anymore, and sharing files in my home was never easier. You can read my review of Windows Home Server on the HelpWithWindows site.

I suggest you also download & read both the Windows Home Server Getting Started Guide and the Windows Home Server Release Documentation. The Windows Home Server Getting Started Guide is a PDF document, to read it I recommend the free Foxit Reader 3.0 for Windows.