Microsoft Offers Windows 7 Home Premium for $50 if You Pre-Order

For the next two weeks Microsoft will offer customers who pre-order the Home Premium edition of the latest version of the Windows operating system at a discounted price of $50.

On Friday, June 26th Microsoft kicked of a Windows 7 promotion that will end July 11th. In that time customers will be able to pre-order Windows 7 Home Premium Edition for $50 ($49.99). Stores participating in the promotion include Amazon.com, Best Buy, and you can order direct from Microsoft through their website. Also available at a temporary promotional price is the Professional version. That edition is available for pre-order at the discount price of $100 ($99.99).

Special pricing for Windows 7 applies only to the upgrade packages and not the full versions. The full versions of both Home Premium and Professional are available to pre-order, but must be purchased at full price.

Microsoft has also announced the full retail prices for Windows 7 when it becomes available in retail locations later this year. The Home Premium Edition will be $119.99 for the upgrade, with the full version costing $199.99. The Professional Edition upgrade will be sold full price for $199.99, with the full version running $299.99.

Microsoft's decision to offer Windows 7 at a significantly discounted price if you pre-order is proving to be hugely popular, if Amazon.com is any way to judge. Since the announcement the Home Premium Edition has jumped to the number 1 selling item out of all products available in Amazon's entire electronics catalog, not just software. The Professional edition also jumped substantially, landing in the number 2 spot among software products.

Here are some links to online retailers offering Windows 7 at the discounted prices for pre-order:

• Amazon.com
• BestBuy.com
• NewEgg.com
• The Microsoft Store

For further reading about Microsoft's offer and Windows 7 click one of the links below:

• Microsoft discounts Windows 7 article in Computer world
• Windows 7 pre-order a hit article on CNET News
  

The End of Analog Television Begins Today

Today is the final day for television stations to broadcast programming using analog radio signals.

If the next time you switch on the television you see nothing but static, you won't be alone. The FCC estimates that some 1 million television viewers are as yet unprepared for the digital television transition. To accommodate a likely flood of calls and requests from confused television viewers the FCC has put 4,000 operators on standby. Demonstration centers have also been set up in several cities to help people understand the digital transition, and how they can continue to get their programming.

The DTV transition marks the largest change to television viewing in sixty years. The last big change in the television industry was the switchover from black and white to color broadcast. The change was initiated as part of the Digital Television and Public Safety Act of 2005. The bill returns the analog bandwidth currently used by television broadcasters to use by emergency agencies. The date for the transition to digital television was originally set for February 17th of 2009. The Obama administration, fearing catastrophic backlash from television consumers unprepared for the transition, pushed the date back an additional four months. The FCC feels confident this move has greatly reduced the level of disruption that may be caused by the transition.

Here are some things to know about the digital television transition.

• Any television manufactured after March of 2007 is required by law to include a digital tuner.
• If you purchased a new television after that date, you don't need digital converter box.
• If you already subscribe to satellite or cable television services, you already get digital programming and don't need a digital tuner.
• Most televisions manufactured after 2004 will include a digital tuner. Check with your manufacturer to be sure. Many sets were sold as "HD-Ready" or "HDTV monitor," meaning they have the hardware required to display a high-definition image, but require a converter or cable TV connection to receive a digital signal.
• Television sets made before 2000 will most likely require a digital converter box.
• If your television was manufactured after 2007 and includes a digital tuner, but your image is either garbled, or the station displays either static or a "please upgrade your hardware" message, you may only need a digital antenna.

Some additional resources to help understand the digital television transition:

• Associated press report on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ovqj3RJEuE
• The official digital television transition website: http://www.dtv.gov/
  
  

Google Apps Get Docx and Xlsx support

Users of Google Apps can now upload documents created using the native Office 2007 format.

Early this week Google answered one of the most common questions about uploading documents to Google Apps. Previously, Google Docs allowed the upload of documents and spreadsheets created in versions of Word or Excel up to Office 2003, or those created using open formats such as those supported by Open Office. Office 2007, however, was not supported. On Monday Google announced on the official Google Docs blog that users may now upload their Office 2007 documents and spreadsheets to Google Docs.

Editions included:
Standard, Premier, Education, Team and Partner Editions

Languages included:
All languages supported by Google Docs

How to access what's new:
To import a .docx or .xlsx file into Google Docs, click the 'Upload' button from the Google Docs List menu, select your file, and click the 'Upload File' button.

For more information:
http://googledocs.blogspot.com/2009/06/file-formats-keep-on-coming-announcing.html