Upgrade Windows Vista to Windows 7

If you're upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7 it should be a fairly easy install. You can do what's called an in-place upgrade as long you install the same version of Windows 7 as you have of Vista.

For instance, if you have Windows Vista Home premium you can upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium. You can also go from Vista Business to Windows 7 Professional, and from Vista Ultimate to 7 Ultimate. Any other upgrade, like Vista Home Premium to Windows 7 Professional, will require a clean install. That means you can't just turn Vista into 7. You have to export all your data, erase the hard drive, and then reinstall all your applications and data. A lot of computer experts think you should do a clean install anyway, just to make sure your machine runs better.

See our video for upgrading XP to Windows 7 for that process.

But if you're lucky enough to be able to do an in-place upgrade and want to, here's what you do.

First back up your data. Just to be safe, I recommend Macrium Reflect as a great way to image your drive.

Next, put in the install DVD and select Run setup.exe.

Press continue.

If you're unsure whether Windows 7 will run, press Check compatibility online. Though really you should check that before you buy Windows 7. It will take you to a Web page where you can download and run the Windows 7 upgrade adviser. But if you're sure you're compatible, go ahead and click Install now.

Windows 7 will begin copying temporary files and start the install. It will first ask you if you want to go online to get the latest updates. I recommend you do it; it could save you some time later. Then agree to the terms that you have fully read and understand.

Select Upgrade. Windows will check compatibility and then begin copying files. After awhile, probably hours not minutes, you're machine will start back up into Windows 7!

Now you may have some settings that didn't transfer and are overwritten by Windows 7 defaults. Most notorious are the programs in your taskbar. So, be ready to do some tweaking to get things just exactly the way you like them. Also since you didn't start fresh some quirks in Vista may carry over to 7. But most won't.

Overall, it's a much simpler and faster process than the clean install.

Originally posted at CNET TV

Autodesk launches Project Cooper for Windows 7

Coming from Autodesk, makers for the thousand-dollar-plus AutoCAD drafting software, there's a new and currently free drafting tool for simple architectural drawings. Project Cooper is a simple app for creating 2D floor plans. It's like AutoCAD, stripped down to the bone and then some, and that makes it a lot easier to use. It's also built for Windows 7 touch screen computers, so you can drag and rotate and objects without a mouse or keyboard.

The idea is that ordinary humans and some pros will use this app for simple layouts--basic floor plans for homes or events, gardens, and the like. Since the app saves data in Autocad DWG format, the files can then be shipped over to a professional architect for clean up. It could theoretically save a step in a home improvement project, but I expect in most cases a professional will have to re-draw a consumer's layout from scratch.

Scale and dimension are a big part of Cooper. When you start the program it asks you how big your drawing is going to be, and it scales everything to the right size automatically and picks appropriate units.

Project Cooper is a very focused tool for creating simple architectural plans.

(Credit: Screenshot by Rafe Needleman/CNET)

I used the app to do a little editing on a floor plan. I found it easy to add items from a palette of components, drag them into place, rotate them, and so on. The product is easy to get into if you're used to Windows apps, but if you're not used to the way Windows 7 touchscreen computers work, prepare for a frustrating learning experience while you learn a new way of interacting with data. i found my screen jumping around and objects ending up in places I didn't want them while I was trying to figure out the interface.

But once you've got that sorted out, if you want to do something like add a door, you just drag it to a wall. It won't cut the wall for you, but a simple tap of the erase button on the wall cuts out just the part you want. Cooper also has some fairly advanced functionality buried just below the surface, such as full support for layers of data, and dimension lines that are always accurate. There's also a semi-freehand drawing mode, which is good for landscapes.

Compared with another popular drawing app, Microsoft's Visio, Cooper is narrow in its focus. I wouldn't use it for a flowchart or organization diagram, but for doing basic architectural drawings its focus keeps it easy to use.

Also, it's not 3D, like Google's Sketchup. So you can do floor plans but not complex 3D work like designing kitchen cabinets. And since it's not 3D, it won't show you a rendering of what you're building in a real world view. (See also Autodesk's own online 3D planning app, Dragonfly.)

But you can't beat the price, for now, and it is pretty simple to use. If you've got a touch-enabled Windows 7 computer, it's a good way to get accustomed to the direct editing features of the new OS.

Cooper should be available with the launch on Windows 7 on Thursday, and while Autodesk is testing the app, for the next several months, it's free. If you're working on a home improvement project, I recommend you check it out.

Nvidia’s New Server Thinks in 3-D So Your Phone Doesn’t Have to

Example of the types of images the server produces.

Nvidia is moving further into the business of selling hardware, rather than just chips, with its new reality server that uses its graphics processors to offer photo-realistic 3-D images. The server uses an array of GPUs and Nvidia’s iray software to serve up the realistic imagery associated with special effects in movies through the browser on your PC or phone.

The product is built on Nvidia’s 2007 acquisition of Mental Images, which made software that ran on x86 processors, and created stunningly realistic pictures for advertisers and films. By replacing the x86 chips with GPUs, Nvidia says it has sped up the process of creating a moving photo-realistic image from what used to take hours into seconds. And because it’s delivered through a browser, everyone from e-commerce sites to social networks can offer this level of imaging to its constituents simply by hosting a Reality Server in its data center.

The technology can add far more depth to avatars on social networks as well as create accurate representations of products, such as clothing, that can be viewed from all angles. Because the imagery is delivered via the web as a series of jpegs, it isn’t dependent on Flash or on the viewing device having a powerful graphics processor. So a site can deliver 3-D imagery easily on mobile phones over a 3G or even a 2.5G connection. This is yet another way we can extend the functionality of a mobile phone to make it more PC-like.

Nvidia has benefited as computing gets more visual, despite manufacturing issues that have fried some of its chips, and as we try to move beyond a text-based web into one where images, graphics and touch help us navigate information, products such as the reality server, and GPUs themselves, are going to be more important.

As Windows 7 Rolls Out, 4 Things to Expect

Microsoft is set to roll out its much talked-about — and generally well-reviewed — Windows 7 operating system tomorrow, a day some are referring to as Redmond’s Day of Redemption. Because of the ubiquity of Windows, such a major upgrade will affect many technology sectors — from mobile to utility software to wireless and connectivity solutions and beyond. With that in mind, here are four things to expect as Microsoft’s new operating system arrives.

Not Too Many Fireworks — After All, For Some, It’s Already Arrived: In light of the debacle that Windows Vista has been for Microsoft, many people have been lulled into forgetting what happens when the company delivers a well-received version of Windows. But as IBM executive Savio Rodrigues has noted, Microsoft has since learned to practice “adoption-led marketing.” The company shrewdly opened up the beta and release candidate testing for Windows 7 to anyone — a far more open approach than it’s ever taken — and has both delivered the OS to its volume licensees and already released it in the UK. It appears to be working: Pre-orders for Windows 7 have set records, even outselling Amazon’s record for “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

A Slew of Hardware Announcements: There will, of course, be countless new PCs, netbooks, notebooks and peripheral devices arriving in conjunction with Windows 7. (Acer today unveiled a version of its popular Aspire One netbook with Windows 7 and a 3-D display.) Touchscreen devices based on the OS will also arrive.

As eWeek notes: “Companies such as Dell and Intel could see their own revenues boosted substantially if Windows 7 proves a hit.” In fact, there are numerous hardware companies that stand to benefit. In some categories, such as netbooks, Windows 7 can’t escape the harsh new reality of razor-thin profit margins, but in others, both manufacturers and Microsoft stand to benefit from a rising Windows 7 tide.

Far Fewer Hardware Incompatibilities Than Vista Had: Partly through developing Windows 7 based on lots of user feedback, and partly due to the guts of the OS, it’s very unlikely that we’ll see a repeat of the many hardware incompatibilities that Vista had when it was first released. (Windows 7 uses the oft-patched and upgraded core code from Vista.) That said, some hardware incompatibilities are inevitable; there are already rumblings about problems syncing mobile phones with the OS.

Shifts In Connectivity, and Utilities: In the wake of previous Windows rollouts, connectivity and networking technologies have been heavily affected by what Microsoft builds into a new version; in some cases the company’s bundling of utilities and security enhancements has forced software players selling standalone utilities out of business. One very notable software layer in Windows 7 enables “virtual Wi-Fi,” which essentially allows a user to group multiple Wi-Fi connections together to boost coverage and speeds. It’s a convenience that will become even more useful when wireless broadband access technologies beyond Wi-Fi are included.

While previous Windows rollouts provide some guidance as to what to expect from Windows 7, it’s been many years since Vista first arrived, and both the hardware landscape and the connectivity landscape are vastly different now. To some extent, we are heading into uncharted territory.

Facebook Users Will Soon Be Able to Give the Gift of Music

Updated with confirmation from Facebook: There’s more than one way to post a song on someone’s Facebook profile — an Imeem link or a YouTube video, to name two. But Lala.com is set to become the first streaming music provider to offer songs as virtual gifts in Facebook’s store, according to a report today on the New York Times’ Bits blog. Several Facebook third-party apps already provide song streams, and the company has toyed with the idea of introducing a music service for some time. (Its most popular music app, iLike, became a MySpace property at a fire-sale price this summer.) Today’s news, however, represents Facebook’s first true foray into music, as well as a vote of confidence in Lala’s paid-streaming model.

Lala typically offers free one-time streams, 10-cent “web songs” that can be streamed an infinite number of times, and paid MP3 downloads at various price points. The virtual gifts can apparently be Web songs that will cost one Facebook credit, an equivalent of 10 cents, or full-song downloads that cost about 10 credits. Neither Lala nor Facebook is providing details on how their model will work yet, including whether the recipient’s friends get to stream the song as well.

Lala already allows a user to push a single-play song stream out to Facebook and Twitter, or to embed a widget elsewhere using a bit of code, for free. Other services that offer embeddable streams can be less reliable, with some songs reduced to 30-second clips and other embeds disabled upon request of the labels. A virtual gift of a song stream is still mostly about making a gesture, especially with free alternatives floating around, but for music fans, a timely stream is at least as good as a picture of a birthday cake. Update: Facebook confirms in a blog post that it will sell the song streams, part of a fully revamped virtual gifts shop featuring non-profit donation gifts and sports-related goods. Recipients of a gift web song will be able to listen as many times as they like, while their friends will get to stream it once, after which they will be replaced with 30-second clips. Downloadable MP3 gift songs will cost 9 credits.

Google Strikes Deal With Twitter to Include Tweets in Search

Google will include Twitter’s real-time status updates into its search results, Google VP Marissa Mayer said in a blog post released this afternoon. This comes hot off the heels of Microsoft’s announcement this morning that it will include status update feeds from Facebook and Twitter into its search engine Bing.

Mayer wrote in the post:

We believe that our search results and user experience will greatly benefit from the inclusion of this up-to-the-minute data, and we look forward to having a product that showcases how tweets can make search better in the coming months. That way, the next time you search for something that can be aided by a real-time observation, say, snow conditions at your favorite ski resort, you’ll find tweets from other users who are there and sharing the latest and greatest information.

When asked at the Web 2.0 Summit if Facebook would reach a similar deal with Google, COO Sheryl Sandberg, a former Google executive, said this afternoon that the company had “nothing to announce.”

Facebook Users Spend 8 Billion Minutes/Day on the Site

Facebook’s 300 million users collectively spend more than 8 billion minutes on the site each day, according to the social network’s VP of engineering, Mike Schroepfer. He offered up the number onstage at the Web 2.0 Summit Wednesday as proof of the infrastructure challenges the social network faces relative to other web sites. On a busy day, an eye-popping 1.2 million photos are served on Facebook each second, he added.

And the more than 15,000 sites that have integrated Facebook Connect mean the site has API demands it has to address, too. Facebook was accessed via its API 5 billion times yesterday alone, according to Schroepfer.

To accommodate all that data without damaging the user experience and stifling innovation, Schroepfer said Facebook has rewritten its memcache multiple times so that now deploys five times faster than before. But even though Facebook continues to augment its engineering team to keep up with its growing audience, he said there’s 1.2 million users per Facebook engineer. No wonder the company is looking to expand its staff by 40-50 percent this year.