http://www.win7news.net Win7news is the world's first and largest weekly B2C-zine uniquely focused on the many millions of new Microsoft Windows 7 users. en-us Copyright 1996-2010 Sunbelt Software All Rights Reserved. feedback@win7news.net (Deb Shinder) Thu, 29 Jul 2010 02:47:35 1440 The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) has been a thorn in the side of consumers since 1996. New exemptions are weakening its grip. What does that mean for computer users and will it affect the next version of Windows? Read this week's editorial, Death of the DMCA by a Thousand Cuts? And in the follow-up, readers "just say no" to a more social operating system. http://www.win7news.net/rss/?id=46 Thu, 29 Jul 2010 00:00:00 Social networking is worming its way into all our computing lives, and now it’s built into some phone operating systems. Should the next version of your desktop OS be more "social," too? That’s the question Deb asks in this week’s editorial, and in the follow-up, she answers some of the questions brought up in reader discussion of Windows Live Essentials Wave 4. http://www.win7news.net/rss/?id=45 Thu, 22 Jul 2010 00:00:00 Last week, Deb started her review of the new wave of Windows Live Essentials. This week, she continues with a look at Windows Live Movie Maker and the new Windows Live Sync. Find out what's new and whether it's going to be worth the upgrade. http://www.win7news.net/rss/?id=44 Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:00:00 Catch the wave! Wave 4 of Windows Live Essentials, that is. Microsoft has released the public beta of the latest version of its Windows Live programs (Mail, Messenger, Movie Maker, Photo Gallery and more) and Deb takes a look at them in this week's editorial. In the follow-up, readers weigh in on whether we should be encrypting our mail - and everything else. http://www.win7news.net/rss/?id=43 Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:00:00 A few weeks ago, we discussed Windows 7's EFS and BitLocker encryption technologies. But what about your email? Should you, in fact, be encrypting everything? That's the subject of this week's editorial. http://www.win7news.net/rss/?id=42 Thu, 01 Jul 2010 00:00:00 The Courier project at Microsoft might be dead, but hardware vendors are picking up the ball and running with it. Dual screen laptops have moved from concept to reality and Toshiba looks to be first out of the gate. We take a look at the upcoming libretto W100 in this week's editorial. In the follow-up, readers comment on Lucky 7. http://www.win7news.net/rss/?id=41 Thu, 24 Jun 2010 00:00:00 7 seems to be Microsoft's lucky number - at least when it comes to desktop operating systems. But will it work again? This week, we take a look at two more 7s: Windows Phone 7 and Windows Compact Embedded (CE) 7, and ask whether they'll be big hits, too. And in the follow-up, reader comments on making TV better with Windows Media Center. http://www.win7news.net/rss/?id=40 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:00:00 Deb is busy talking up Microsoft products at TechEd this week, but through rain or snow or the heat and humidity of New Orleans, the newsletter must go through. If you're in the mood to kick back and watch some TV, read this week's editorial about how Windows Media Center keeps making the experience better. http://www.win7news.net/rss/?id=39 Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:00:00 Following up on last week's discussion of the perfect "do it all device," this week we look at a more specific niche - the slate tablet - and what Microsoft would need to do to make an iPad killer. http://www.win7news.net/rss/?id=38 Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:00:00 I love all my electronic toys - but I'd love it even more if I had just one (or maybe two) devices that could do it all, to lighten my load when I travel. I talk about that dream device in this week's editorial. And in the follow-up, reader responses on XP Mode and Windows 7 Home. http://www.win7news.net/rss/?id=37 Thu, 27 May 2010 00:00:00 XP Mode is a feature of Windows 7 Pro, Enterprise and Ultimate, but can you do the same thing on your Windows Home computer? Well, sort of ... but it may not be worth it. Read this week's editorial and decide for yourself. And in the follow-up, find out whether our readers think Windows 7 is going to be the next XP. http://www.win7news.net/rss/?id=36 Thu, 20 May 2010 00:00:00 Windows 7 has been a big hit for Microsoft, but if everyone loves it so much, does that mean they have another XP on their hands - an operating system that will refuse to die? And how will that affect the acceptance of Windows 8 (or whatever they call the next version) when it comes along? Is it destined to be another Vista? That's the topic we tackle in this week's editorial. And in the follow-up, some important caveats about using Windows 7's built-in encryption. http://www.win7news.net/rss/?id=35 Thu, 13 May 2010 00:00:00 These days, we're all concerned about protecting the privacy of our data. One way to do that is to use encryption, and there are a number of encryption technologies built into Windows 7. In this week's editorial, we look at a couple of them: EFS and BitLocker, explain the difference, and discuss how you can use them to add an extra layer of protection for your sensitive information. In the follow-up, more on Windows 7 email options. http://www.win7news.net/rss/?id=34 Thu, 06 May 2010 00:00:00 One of the most frequent questions Deb gets from people who've upgraded from XP to Windows 7 is "What do I use for email?" Outlook Express is long gone and Windows 7 doesn't have an email client built in, but that doesn't mean you're out of luck. In this week's editorial, we look at your many (free) email options. And in the follow-up, we'll go back to the Library. http://www.win7news.net/rss/?id=33 Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:00:00 One of my favorite new Windows 7 features is Libraries - but some folks don't like this addition to Windows Explorer. I think they just don't understand it. This week, we'll discuss how the libraries work and how to get the most out of this feature. And in the follow-up, readers offer their opinions about software Help files. http://www.win7news.net/rss/?id=32 Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:00