Windows Weekly [#88] NetCast
Zune Takes A Holiday
Hosts: Paul Thurrott and Leo Laporte
I see dead Zunes, Windows 7 Beta, HP MediaSmart Servers, Windows Live Essentials, and more.
The day (some of) the Zunes died
- Zune 30 had a date-related software glitch
- Devices shut down for one day (Dec 31, 2008), are back up now
- Related: Xbox 360 flaw that causes discs to get deep scratches.
Windows 7 Beta arrives … for some
- Tech beta testers should get it soon … public sometime in January
- Not much has changed post-M3 but its feature complete
Next-gen HP MediaSmart Servers announced early
- Paul really likes them
- Windows Home Server
- Mac compatibility (Time Machine)
Holiday season – sales supposedly horrible
- But were really down just 2 percent year over year
- Amazon had ‘best ever’ season (again) but its unclear what that means
- Laptops are now (barely) outselling desktops – MS tells me that “businesses are still buying desktops, but individuals are overwhelmingly choosing portable computers
Tip of the week: Windows 7 users: Make the new taskbar work properly
Software of the week:
- Windows Live Essentials
- Near-final version is now available
- Only Movie Maker is still in beta
Audible pick of the week: The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, Abridged, By Barack Obama, Narrated by Barack Obama.
Check out Paul’s blog at the SuperSite for Windows for more information.
