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- ZDNet Author Biography
Ed Bott is an award-winning technology writer with more than two decades' experience writing for mainstream media outlets and online publications. He's served as editor of the U.S. edition of PC Computing and managing editor of PC World; both publications had monthly paid circulation in excess of 1 million during...- more about Ed Bott »
ZDNet Resources
- Microsoft to offer Family Pack for Windows 7 Home Premium
- Every time the subject of OS licensing comes up, Apple's defenders point to the OS X Family Pack as one of the biggest differentiators between their favorite OS and Windows. But it looks like that difference is likely to go away when Windows 7 is released. I've got the text...
- Tags: Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Ed Bott
- Blog posts 2009-07-01
- Do you need more than Windows 7 Home Premium?
- One of the most frequent questions I get these days comes from people who've been running the Windows 7 beta and Release Candidate and are planning to upgrade to the final version when it's available on October 22. "Which edition of Windows 7 do I need?" Most of the feature...
- Tags: Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Ed Bott
- Blog posts 2009-06-29
- Windows 7 versus Snow Leopard: How much do upgrades really cost?
- In one of its brilliant "I'm a Mac" ads recently, Apple lampooned the complexity of Windows with a dizzying display of fine print that eventually filled up the screen and covered up both characters. Maybe Microsoft needs to take the same treatment with Apple's much-publicized $29 upgrade offer for Snow...
- Tags: Apple Macintosh, Apple Inc., Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows, Desktops, Operating Systems, Software, Hardware, Ed Bott
- Blog posts 2009-06-26
- Microsoft to Europe: No Windows 7 upgrades for you!
- If you live in Europe and you're contemplating an upgrade to Windows 7 later this year, I've got good news and bad news for you. The good news is you're going to get a better price than your counterparts in the rest of the world. The bad news is that...
- Tags: Europe, Microsoft Corp., News, Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Ed Bott
- Blog posts 2009-06-25
- Microsoft unveils 'screaming deals' for Windows 7
- Earlier this year, Microsoft promised aggressive offers to win over would-be Windows 7 buyers. Today, the company made it official, touting a "screaming deal" for anyone willing to order a Windows 7 upgrade more than three months before the software officially goes on sale. Is a 50% discount enough to...
- Tags: Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Ed Bott
- Blog posts 2009-06-25
- How good is Microsoft's free antivirus software?
- Microsoft has officially unveiled its long-awaited free antivirus program. Formerly code-named “Morro,†it’s now been christened Microsoft Security Essentials MSE, and it will enter public beta testing next week. I've been taking MSE for a test drive for the past few days. Here's my detailed report, with plenty of closwe-up...
- Tags: Software, Antivirus Software, Microsoft Corp., Viruses And Worms, Security, Ed Bott
- Blog posts 2009-06-18
- Hands on with the Windows 7 Touch Pack
- Last month I had a chance to see a quick demo of Microsoft’s new Touch Pack for Windows 7. This collection of a half-dozen multi-touch-enabled programs won’t be available for download by Windows buyers. Instead, Microsoft plans to allow PC makers to load it on touch-enabled PCs that pass Microsoft’s...
- Tags: Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Ed Bott
- Blog posts 2009-06-17
- Microsoft fumbles the digital TV transition
- With all its Media Center experience, you’d think that Microsoft would have sailed through the long-awaited transition to all-digital over-the-air TV broadcasts in the United States this past weekend. Instead, the company failed, in dramatic fashion. I've got details on what went wrong. by Ed Bott
- Tags: Transition, Microsoft Corp., Digital Television, Media Center PCs, TVs, Tv & Home Theater, Personal Technology, Home Entertainment, Ed Bott
- Blog posts 2009-06-15
- Will the Windows 7 price be right?
- A confidential memo from giant retailer Best Buy reportedly contains details of an upcoming price promotion for Windows 7. A few months ago, Microsoft promised "aggressive pricing and great deals" on its new OS. So how good a deal can you expect? by Ed Bott
- Tags: Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows, Retail, Pricing, Operating Systems, Marketing Research, Software, Marketing, Ed Bott
- Blog posts 2009-06-05
- From Starter to Ultimate: What's really in each Windows 7 Edition?
- Over the course of its Windows 7 development effort, Microsoft has been incredibly controlled about releasing details, pursuing an agonizingly deliberate disclosure plan. The release schedule is now public, but Microsoft has politely but persistently refused every one of my requests for a breakdown of the features in each edition....
- Tags: Microsoft Windows 7, Edition, Release Schedule, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Ed Bott
- Blog posts 2009-06-03
- Who will win the Windows 7 release date prediction pool?
- With this week’s confirmation by Microsoft that it plans to release Windows 7 to manufacturing “in the second half of July,†it’s time to take another look at the entries in my Windows 7 release date prediction pool, which ran from April to September 2008. Out of all entries, only...
- Tags: Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Manufacturing, Software, Ed Bott
- Blog posts 2009-06-03
- Windows 7 to launch October 22; RTM next month
- A Microsoft spokesperson just confirmed for me the news I first read a few minutes ago in a story by Ina Fried of CNET News. The official date on which Windows 7 will be available for general purchase is October 22, 2009. The RTM code will be delivered...
- Tags: Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Ed Bott
- Blog posts 2009-06-02
- CES attendance falls off a cliff in 2009
- In today’s press release announcing he audited attendance figures from the January 2009 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Consumer Electronics Association tried to put a brave face on the numbers. But the reality is that they were truly terrible. Will 2010 be any better? by Ed Bott
- Tags: Consumer Electronics Show, Attendance, Ed Bott
- Blog posts 2009-05-28
- Microsoft adds some multi-touch glitz to Windows 7
- Last week, on a whirlwind tour of the Microsoft campus, I had a chance to sit down with the team responsible for implementing the multi-touch feature set in Windows 7 and to see a previously unannounced product called the Microsoft Touch Pack for Windows 7, which will be available with...
- Tags: Microsoft Windows 7, Multi-touch, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Ed Bott
- Blog posts 2009-05-27
- Windows 7 to be ready for holiday shopping season
- Microsoft has finally acknowledged what outside observers have realized for some time: Windows 7 is going to be ready this year, in time for the holiday shopping season. That's the official message from the opening of Tech-Ed 2009 in Los Angeles today: Microsoft Tech*Ed North America 2009 kicked off...
- Tags: Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Ed Bott
- Blog posts 2009-05-11
- Windows 7 RC gets its first bug, and it's a doozy
- Yesterday, Microsoft published Knowledge Base article 970789, which provides details of a problem that affects the 32-bit (x86) English-language version of Windows 7 build 7100. If you haven't installed the Widows 7 RC yet, stop and read this first! by Ed Bott
- Tags: Microsoft Windows 7, Windows 7 RC, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Processors, Software, Semiconductors, Hardware, Components, Ed Bott
- Blog posts 2009-05-08
- What to expect from Windows 7
- Windows 7 is essentially done. It’s all over but the process of hunting down bugs, many of them associated with OEM hardware and drivers. In a bygone era, code this stable and well tested might have been released as a 1.0 product, followed six months later by a service pack....
- Tags: Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Ed Bott
- Blog posts 2009-05-05
- What to look for in Windows 7
- In this gallery and the accompanying blog post, Ed Bott walks you through the main features in Windows 7 and explains the best ways for you to evaluate the changes. by Ed Bott
- Tags: Microsoft Windows 7, Ed Bott, Microsoft Windows, Blogging, Operating Systems, Software, Internet, Windows 7, Win7, Release Candidate, RC
- Image galleries 2009-05-04
- How many Intel CPUs will fail the XP Mode test in Windows 7?
- How much positive Windows 7 buzz is in danger of being wiped out in the next few weeks and months when consumers and business buyers discover that a heavily hyped new Windows 7 feature, Windows XP Mode, won’t work on some current dual- and quad-core CPUs from Intel? Also, check...
- Tags: Microsoft Windows 7, CPU, Intel Corp., Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Windows XP, Processors, Operating Systems, Software, Semiconductors, Hardware, Components, Ed Bott
- Blog posts 2009-05-03
- Windows 7 setup secrets
- For the past week or so I’ve been installing and upgrading the Windows 7 RC code on a wide variety of systems, documenting the process as I go. In this post, I share seven of the lessons I’ve learned along the way, including a few setup secrets that even some...
- Tags: Microsoft Windows 7, Microsoft Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Ed Bott
- Blog posts 2009-05-01
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