Microsoft has revealed details of a new version of its Messenger chat application, along with the launch of Messenger Connect, which is aimed at web developers looking to create applications for partner sites.

The company said in a blog post that the releases include tighter integration with social networking sites and better quality video.

Last week, Microsoft said it was investigating issues in Windows 7 that affect batteries on certain notebooks after hundreds of users reported they thought the OS was to blame. Steven Sinofsky, president of the Windows and Windows Live Division, has posted a lengthy response on the Engineering Windows 7 blog.

"At this time we have no reason to believe there is any issue related to Windows 7 in this context," Sinofsky writes. Here's his explanation:

 

The firms unveiled the Windows 7 powered touchscreen machine, also known as a tablet, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

The aim of the device is to bridge the gap between laptops and smartphones. Apple are also reported to be gearing up to launch a slate device in late January to go on sale in March, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Windows 7 is doing much better out of the gate than Windows Vista did. As good as the OS roll out is going, there are still legacy devices out there that don't have drivers and software updates to work with Windows 7. The vast masses of users who have held on to Windows XP are particularly vulnerable to this issue which is why Microsoft created XP Mode virtualization to ease the pain of transition.

XP Mode is a complete, licensed copy of Windows XP with Service Pack 3 contained in a virtual hard disk (VHD) that runs under Windows Virtual PC. XP-mode enables you to run Windows XP from within Windows 7. You can add USB devices and seamlessly access the drives on the host Windows 7 system. Most importantly, Windows XP-mode lets you use Windows 7, while still providing a platform for you to use legacy hardware that is not compatible with Windows 7.

There is a catch though. Windows XP Mode is only available for the Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions of Windows 7. The millions of consumers who are still using Windows XP and are considering whether or not to switch to Windows 7 Home Premium do not have the benefit of leveraging XP Mode to connect older hardware or incompatible software.

Microsoft's new flagship desktop operating system is here. The failure of Windows Vista, combined with the lengthy exposure the public has had to Windows 7 during the development process have resulted in a fairly successful launch of for Windows 7 (perpetual rebooting issues notwithstanding).

Because of the issues, both real and perceived, with Windows Vista, the vast majority of PC users have clung to Vista's predecessor, Windows XP. According to Net Applications, Windows XP holds a dominant share of the operating system market with 71 percent. That means that nearly 3 out of 4 PCs are still running the legacy operating system.

Time to Make the Change

There are a lot of good reasons to go ahead and make the switch from Windows XP (or Windows Vista for that matter) to Windows 7. Businesses have even more reason than consumers. The differences in the security and functionality of the operating system between XP and Windows 7 are significant, and businesses have legal and regulatory requirements to be concerned with.

Microsoft is out with its latest earnings report, and while Wall Street seems to be responding favorably to the news, the company continues to struggle financially in the area we focus most on – the Web.

Specifically, the company’s online division reported a loss of $480 million in the quarter on revenue of $490 million. That’s less revenue than last year, when it pulled in $520 million, and a bigger loss as well versus the $321 shortfall in the first quarter of 2008.

Microsoft’s primary plan to reverse this trend is Bing (Bing), which it’s in the midst of spending $100 million to promote. There are a few reasons to be optimistic:

Microsoft is offering Windows 7 upgrades to students for only £30. The special offer runs until 3 January 2010, and entitles any student with a higher-education email address to purchase an upgrade copy of either Windows 7 Home Premium, or Windows 7 Professional.

Bizarrely, the software giant is offering both versions for exactly the same price, despite the fact that Professional offers additional features including remote desktop working.

One potential sticking point is that Microsoft is only offering download copies, which could cause problems for students trying to download the 3GB file on throttled broadband connections, or those with severe download caps.

A few weeks ago for our Microsoft Monday feature, we posted an article titled "Little Known Facts about Bill Gates." While we all know Bill Gates as the King of Microsoft, there were still some things many people didn’t know – like his SAT score was 1590 and the top score for the test is 1600. Continuing on the same theme of Bill Gates, today we’re going to take a look inside his house with some photos and facts.

First, for starters, Bill Gates’ house is in Medina, Washington on a 5.12 acre lot and overlooks Lake Washington. According to Wikipedia, Bill originally bought the land back in 1988 for a measly $2 million, and the mansion was built over seven years. By 1995 it was complete.  As you can imagine, this is one wired house filled with new technology.

One of the most interesting things you’d experience if you lived in this house is that you wear a pin containing a microchip which acts as your ID.  When you walk into a room, lighting, sound, and temp controls are customized for you. Any high resolution display that you walk by will know that you’re there, and your favorite art is displayed. And if you’re getting a phone call, only the phone nearest to you will ring. This is all thanks to the pin with the microchip.

 

Now we’ll take a look at some of the rooms in this house:

Library
If you were to peek inside the domed library, you’d find two "secret" bookcases with one of them containing a bar. Here you could sit in front of the fireplace and admire the Codex Leicester belonging to Leonardo da Vinci. Gates paid $30.8 million for it back in 1994.

Pool House
The pool building is 3,900 square feet and has a 17 foot by 60 foot swimming pool. While you’re swimming, you can listen to your favorite music underwater with the underwater music system.

Reception Hall
This is where Gates plays hosts to VIP’s and other social events.  The room features a large video wall made up of 24 individual screens measuring 40 inches each. At 2,300 feet, this room is capable of holding up to 200 people for a cocktail party, or 150 people for a sit-down dinner.
 
–Random Facts–
    * The house is 50,000 square feet
    * In 2005, the house and land were assessed at $200 million
    * Annually, Gates pays nearly $1 million dollars in taxes for the property
    * Over 64 km of optical fiber was used in the house
    * 300 workers at one time were working on the house – 104 of them were electricians
    * Every door handle in the house was custom made and cost $2,000 each
    * There are no visible electric outlets in the house

Additional rooms in the house:

Trampoline Room
I’m not quite sure why you’d need a trampoline room, but I suppose when you’re Bill Gates and you’re the richest man in the world, you can have nearly anything you want.  Part of his exercise facilities includes a trampoline room with a 20 foot ceiling.

Formal Dining Room
Should Bill have 24 of his closest friends coming over for dinner, they can dine in his formal dining room in front of the fireplace. It’s on the third floor and has plenty of windows so that guests can enjoy the view. It’s 1,000 square feet.

Underground Garage
Apparently Gates likes to park his cars underground.  Part of this mansion is a 6,300 square foot underground garage. This is only one of three garages that are on the property, and it’s got room for 10+ cars.


–Random Facts–
    * Hidden cameras are all over the property
    * Floor sensors can track you – up to 6 inches
    * As Gates is on his way home from work, he can fill his tub with water to his desired temp so it’s ready when he gets home
    * Woodwork in this house (which is abundant) is flawless
    * There are glass windows galore, and 7 varieties of stone were used to build the house
    * The actual "living" space is modest
    * All flooring is heated including the driveway and sidewalks
    * Much of the house is built underground into a hill so it looks smaller than it is

The world's largest software company, whose recent ads champion low-priced PCs against more expensive Apple computers, said the new system will be available at even lower prices for a short time, as it looks to tempt buyers ahead of the holiday shopping season.

The new operating system, which Microsoft hopes will be a bigger hit than the poorly received Vista, will be generally released on October 22. It will be available on pre-order from US stores such as Best Buy, online retailer Amazon.com and the company's own website from Friday.

 Microsoft said it would sell the Home Premium upgrade version of Windows 7 -- which most non-business customers already using Windows will want -- for US$49.99 from Friday until July 11 in the United States. The discs would be shipped after general release.