Windows 7 new features

Multi-touch capabilities are expected to be part of the next Windows operating system when it is released in late 2009 or early 2010.

Microsoft plans to push multi-touch interfaces in a big way with Windows 7. At the Wall Street Journal’s All Things Digital conference yesterday evening, Microsoft discussed some of the progress it has made on its next operating system, and it showed the multi-touch functionality in action. Behold:

Windows 7 won’t be the first Microsoft product to implement multi-touch features. Nearly a year ago today, Microsoft unveiled its Surface table, a PC with a huge touch screen designed to serve in retail stores, hotels, restaurants, and similar venues. Surface debuted in AT&T wireless stores last month.

According to Chris Flores from the Windows Vista Team Blog, Microsoft wants to see multi-touch functionality on “a wide variety of Windows notebooks, in all-in-one PC’s, as well as in external monitors.” That vision may come true in 2010, when Microsoft plans to complete work on Windows 7.

Windows XP SP3 Hits Manufacturing Today, Your Computer Next Week

As expected, Microsoft announced today that Windows XP Service Pack 3 was released to manufacturing (RTM). The RTM release means that hardware OEMs and Enterprise customers can get their hands on SP3 right away, and SP3 will be available to the general public next week, as expected next week. Sounds like a win-win deal, right? Not so fast.

MSDN and TechEd subscribers were originally supposed to receive SP3 today as well, but it appears that they might not get SP3 until after it becomes available to the general public. Given the cost of TechNet and MSDN subscriptions, I can’t blame them for being concerned that they might not get their software until after any ordinary Windows XP user can download SP3.

Apple Reduces the Safari Sneak Factor

Apple got serious last month about getting market share for Safari, and took a lot of flak for pushing Safari via its Software Update service from rival browser vendor Mozilla. Apple has now changed how its Software Update works, showing separate Update and New Software sections. However, if you don’t want Safari (now in version 3.3.1), it’s still an opt-out selection. Don’t clear the checkbox, and Safari winds up on your system along with the latest update to iTunes and/or QuickTime.

WordPerfect Lives!

I remember when WordPerfect ruled the word-processing roost, and it still runs rings around Word for complex documents, find and replace of text formatting, and page layout features. Version X4 (‘14′ for those of you in Rio Linda) will be shipping in box form in early May, but can be purchased and downloaded immediately. X4 offers a lot of improvements over the current X3 version, including support for converting both text and image-based PDFs into editable text, support for the new PDF/A archive format, support for the newest MS Office 2007 and OpenOffice XML file formats, and redaction of sensitive information in files.

WP Office X4 also includes the WordPerfect Lightning idea organizer, web-based contact and calendar management, Corel Visual Intelligence data analysis tool, metadata removal, and support for dozens of word processing, spreadsheet, presentations, and graphics file formats, including many that Microsoft Office no longer supports. Vista users should note that the Professional version’s Paradox database is not yet Vista-compliant, making the Standard and Home & Student editions better choices for now.