Windows 7 Themes

Just a couple days left before Windows 7 beta builds will expire.

Many people still use a beta build and need more time to update to RC.

Windows 7 PlusPatch (1.0.2 currently) is a little tool that you can use to disable the expiration completely. It works on all Windows 7 builds.

This is only a temporary solution and you should upgrade to RC as soon as possible!

Windows 7 Pluspatch 1.0.2

Download PlusPatch

Windows 7 Beta Clients will expire on August 1st, 2009. In the latest subscriber mail Microsoft stated that they will begin bi-hourly beta shutdowns in June.
According to Microsoft spokesman Brandon LeBlanc this is incorrect. The beta shutdown will not start until July.

Therefore, I highly recommend everyone to upgrade as soon as possible. I, myself still have to do it on 1 PC. Here are some instructions: Beta to RC Build Update

Update:
For clarification, once they start the beta-shutdowns your PC will begin shutting down every two hours.

Well, as you might have heard RC will be build 7100.

Many of you will struggle updating your current beta build. Some of you might have installed many applications and don’t want to reinstall all of them.

So here’s what we can do.
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Yes you heard right, Microsoft extended the deadline for the Windows 7 beta.
You will now be able to download it until February 10th, 2009.

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I would like to hear your opinion. Have you tried the beta yet?
Overall, what is your first impression?

How many points would you give Microsoft for:

• - Accessibility
• - Usability
• - Performance

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I highly recommend to install Windows 7 on a virtual machine.
The easiest way is to get this tool from Microsoft, called Virtual PC. Short guide inside!
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I just tried to download the beta again and somehow it wouldn’t let me do that. Remember you should download the beta during the next two weeks if you want to try it!

1. Make sure that you use the Internet Explorer.

2. Should the download not start once you pressed on the “Download Now” button open another browser (e.g. Google Chrome) and log into your Windows Live Account.

3. Click on the download button and you will be redirected to a page “http://wb.dlservice.microsoft.com/” .

4. Copy the full URL and paste it into the URL field of the Internet Explorer.

5. Voilà the download should start now.

Do you need a beta key?

If you want another (don’t know why you would need another thou) then simply link back to http://windows7themes.net and post the URL to the site (use the comment form for that). I am giving away 5 beta keys overall.

Because there was such a high demand Microsoft removed the download limit for the Windows 7 beta. You will be able to download the beta for another two weeks (until January 24th by now).

The current requirements to install the beta are:

• 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor
• 1GB of system memory
• 16 GB of available disk space
• Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB memory (to enable the Aero theme)

The requirements will probably change sooner or later but right now feel free to install the beta on an old PC. Although Microsoft offers localized editions (Arabic, German; Hindi, Japanese aside from English) there are many untranslated parts.

I have been able to try Windows 7 already. For me, as a Vista user, the GUI is very familiar, but it’s great to see the new features in action. You can now preview tabs on the taskbar, resize windows by dragging it to the top or left/right of the desktop or take screenshots ten times faster than before. The new paint is a really cool tool now, but I don’t want to spoil the fun for you, just try it!

The official Windows 7 site states that the beta is available for download again!

Go to the download page directly.

From now on you will need a Windows Live account in order to download the beta. If you have a Hotmail account you should already have a Windows Live ID.

Update:
At the moment I am not able to download it, the page you are getting redirected to after you signed-in is just loading for ages.

Windows 7 is still in beta, hence you should think twice before installing it. 

• Do not install it on a partition with another OS on it
• Do not install it on a partition that is currently actively used
• Be prepared to loose data on your Windows 7 partition
• Windows 7 beta will expire in August, 2009

Especially XP users should not install Windows 7 beta on their main partition since they do not have the latest drivers, which Vista users already have. Therefore you will have a hard time to update all your drivers. 

VirtualBox allows you to run different OS’s through a software application. This is the easiest way to test Windows 7, by far! It is also the most secure way.