The RTM version of Windows 7 is ready, but are you ready for it?

Shortly after last week’s Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report blog was published, Microsoft did it — they announced the Release To Manufacturing (RTM) version of Windows 7.

Wow, this is great news, and I would suggest that we all put aside our gripes about Microsoft for a moment and offer them our warm congratulations on reaching this milestone in a timely manner. After a moment or two, feel free to resume complaining.

Improve multiple-monitor support with DisplayFusion

One of the nice features in Microsoft Windows Vista is its built-in support for multiple monitors. I’ve been taking advantage of a multiple-monitor configuration ever since the feature first became available in Windows 98, and now I feel cramped if I have to work on a system with only one monitor.

Fortunately, DisplayFusion allows you to really take advantage of multiple monitors by providing you with a host of features that will help you get the most out of a multiple-monitor configuration

In this edition of the Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report, I’ll introduce you to DisplayFusion and show you some of my favorite features.

A retrospective of Windows packaging: Paper or plastic

If you purchased Windows Vista, you know that the packaging represented a completely new design. The traditional cardboard box was gone and in its place was a small, hard, plastic container with sleek curves that gave a futuristic look. Unfortunately, the boxes were very difficult to open.

Recently, Microsoft revealed the packaging for Windows 7 and announced that the new design will look like the Vista packaging, but the new boxes will be much easier to open.

In this, picture gallery we’ll take a look at Windows packaging over the years.

10 cool ways to get more mileage out of Adobe Reader 8 and 9

PDF documents have become ubiquitous on the Web, and chances are good that you encounter them almost every day. When you do, you can either open a PDF from within your Web browser via the Adobe Reader plug-in or from within the stand-alone Adobe Reader program. Either way, once you open a PDF file, you probably jump right in and begin reading the content. While that is all well and good, many features are built into Adobe Reader that you can use to make the experience easier and more satisfying. Here are 10 things you might not know about viewing documents in Adobe Reader 8 and 9

Microsoft Windows 7 pricing deals spark interest and controversy

In a recent post on his ZDNet blog, Ed Bott reported that he had uncovered details confirming both the availability and the price of the Windows 7 Family Pack and three Anytime Upgrade products for Windows 7 in a couple of inadvertently posted Web pages. That blog sparked quite a bit of interest in the following days as the story spread across the Internet via quotes and links. It seems that a lot of people are interested in finding out whether Microsoft is going to continue offering pricing deals, like the special, time-limited offer, Windows 7 preorder campaign, in order to help users feel compensated for all the pain caused by Vista.

In this edition of the Windows Vista and Windows 7 Report, I'll take a look at the Windows pricing already revealed by Microsoft recently on The Windows Blog.

Legacy compatibility is a reality with Virtual Windows XP in Windows 7

In my recent blog, “Determine if Your Hardware Can Support Windows XP Mode in Windows 7,” I described the procedures that I went through to determine if the hardware on my Windows 7 test system would support Windows XP Mode. (While this new feature is being referred to as Windows XP Mode, the actual installation is called Virtual Windows XP.) Learn more.