Are you “considering replacing your battery” since you’ve upgraded to Windows 7? Then decided to wait it out to see what Microsoft’s testing would uncover? Well, a blog article from Microsoft revealed that they “see nothing more than the normal course of battery degradation over time.”

The blog reminds us that “batteries usually have a warranty of 12 months, which is about the length of time when statistically we expect to see noticeable degradation.” And goes on to explain how Windows 7 calculates the battery life… Basically, the threshold is set at a 40% performing capacity or 60% degradation. If a battery originally had 5 hours of charge, it would now deliver an average 2 hours of charge. If a battery fails to perform at 40% capacity, the warning message appears. When testing systems that displayed the warning message, Microsoft concluded, “we’re simply seeing batteries that are not performing above the designated threshold.”

The test report discovered “only a very small percentage of users are receiving the ‘Consider replacing your battery’ notification, and as expected, we are seeing systems older than ~1.5 years.” However, if you’re still having issues contrary to these findings, Microsoft encourages you to send it in. TechNet, Microsoft Answers forum or the Microsoft Support page are their suggested means for reporting problems.

Do you want to upgrade your Vista or Windows XP computer to a Windows 7 system? But you don’t want to spend the money for a new computer? Past versions of the Windows operating system have all grown “more resource-hungry than the last,” reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Each time a PC user wanted the latest Windows system, that user usually had to buy a new, better computer — more RAM, better processor, etc., whatever the need may be for running the new Windows system. Then came the acclaimed Windows 7 OS.

Zazz, an online retailer, refurbishes a number of computers running Windows XP. And since “Customers started asking how these computers would run Windows 8,” Zazz media manager Scott Lewis had his team run a few tests. The results of his tests? Upgrade to Windows 7 already! Upgrading is especially recommended for computers running a dual-core processor and at least 2GB of RAM. However, those with less are also encouraged to upgrade. Surprisingly “Photoshop ran faster on Windows 7 even with 1GB or RAM,” says Lewis.

If you’re ready to upgrade, be sure to read Jeremy’s post on Windows 7 Upgrade Eligibility and Paths. Also, check out the Sydney Morning Herald article for more information on Lewis’ findings and a few useful links.

Have you been having issues with your battery and Windows 7 loaded laptop? Is your new, fully charged battery telling you to “Consider replacing your battery”? Well, you aren’t the only one. Engadget already has proof that something is wrong. And The Register posted an article just last week about the frustrations of Windows 7 users. After several months of this issue floating about, Microsoft is finally playing the same tune of their Windows 7 ads: listening to customer feedback.

“We are investigating this issue in conjunction with our hardware partners, which appears to be related to system firmware,” said a Microsoft rep. Fairly useless at this point for solving the issue, but Microsoft reassures its users that information will be provided as it becomes available.

Earlier this week, blog posts about Windows 7 “GodMode” fluttered the tech web. Jeremy was kind enough to capture a quick video for us. If you have Windows 7, just hit play to see how easy it is to enable “GodMode.”  Oh, this is the code you will need (for the convenience of simple copy and paste):

GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

Ina Fried, from CNET.com, says “GodMode” also works with Vista, but with possible problems. Find out more by reading her Beyond Binary blog.

Continue reading to find out what features GodMode reveals >>

How are you saying good-bye to 2009 tonight? Sleeping like any other day? Dinner with friends? Clubbing with strangers? Counting down with Dick Clark (or is it Ryan Seacrest now)? Here at SoftwareNewsDaily, we wanted to say farewell by reminiscing our top 10 technology news stories of 2009. When I say “our” top 10 stories, I suppose it’s really more “my” top 10 stories. That’s okay, I don’t mind dominating the office opinion; they’ll agree with me. Counting down to the number one story, here are “our” picks.

Continue reading SoftwareNewsDaily’s Top 10 Tech news Stories of 2009 >>

Have you jumped to Windows 7 yet? And have you loaded an anti-virus yet? It might be a good idea to do so according to a recent study, even with the security features that Windows offers.

Sophos, an acclaimed world leader in IT security and data protection, recently tested the effectiveness of the Windows 7 Users Account Control, a security feature Microsoft debuted in Vista. A feature that prompts users for consent before allowing various tasks to be executed, the UAC helps keep an eye on programs that may be running potentially infected files. The Windows 7 UAC was modified to create less interruptions in efforts to smother user complaints. Can Microsoft listen to its customers and still help them? “We wanted to know if UAC was going to be effective in Windows 7,” said Chester Wisniewski, a senior security advisory with Sophos. “So we grabbed the next 10 [malware] samples that came in and tried them out.”

The 10 samples were loaded onto a clean computer running Windows 7 without anti-virus software.  Wisniewski then launched the samples to resemble a user accidentally stumbling upon these files (as if a user launched a file attachment or surfed to a malicious site). You know, the typical situation where when it occurs too often, drives you into a state of paranoia in regards to anything you do on your computer? Is that just me?

Only two of the samples would not operate correctly in Windows 7. But Wisniewski continues, “User Account Control did block one sample; however, its failure to block anything else just reinforces my warning prior to the Windows 7 launch that UAC’s default configuration is not effective at protecting a PC from modern malware.” For those who have recently jumped to Windows 7, be forewarned that “you still need to run anti-virus on Windows 7.” Might I suggest a Sophos product? I mean, they are ahead of the curve by the looks of the security information they seem to always be releasing. And SophosLabs also responds “quicker to virus outbreaks than any of our major competitors.”

SoftwareMedia now carries Open Government and Open Value skus. There is also a Price Match Guarantee on all software licensing. Start enforcing Windows 7 here.

With the release of Windows 7, there are many different options to upgrade. In typical Microsoft fashion, there is some complexity to upgrading to Windows 7. This blog will explain the difference between “upgrade eligibility” and “upgrade paths”, and let you know your options based on which version you are currently running.

Upgrade Eligibility:

You are eligible to purchase an upgrade to any version of Windows 7 if you own any previous version of Windows starting with XP or later. Windows 98, 2000, and ME don’t qualify you to purchase an upgrade. If the PC you want to install Windows 7 on has a version of Windows older than XP, you will need to purchase a full retail or OEM version of Windows 7.

Upgrade Paths:

An Upgrade Path is a scenario where you can install Windows 7 without needing to back up your files. For example, if you are currently running Windows Vista Home Premium, and you want to go to Windows 7 Ultimate, you would be able to insert the Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade disk while running Vista, it would then “convert” your Vista operating system to Windows 7 Ultimate; However, if you are currently running Vista Home Premium and you want to upgrade to Windows 7 Professional, you would have to back up your files and perform what’s called a “clean install” by rebooting your system from the disk and re-installing the operating system from scratch. You can only perform an upgrade path from the following versions of Vista to the corresponding versions of Windows 7:

Supported Upgrade Paths

Note: If you are upgrading from any version of Windows XP you will have to perform a clean install. There are no supported Upgrade Paths from Windows XP.

Brad Pitt is doing it with houses and architectural design. Rachel McAdams is doing it by bike. Australian singer-songwriter Missy Higgins did it while touring the US. Now, Microsoft is doing it with it’s latest Windows release. More companies are also getting their IT departments to jump on the bandwagon, and there’s proof!

A recent study conducted by CompTIA found that green IT is a mid to high level priority for 67 percent of organizations surveyed. In spite of the study also finding that a majority (80%) of organizations find quantifying the return on investment (ROI) of green initiatives to be a difficult task, Tim Herbert, vice president of research at CompTIA, says, “survey data suggests many organizations are willing to invest greener IT products even when the return isn’t realized immediately.” According to the study, over 75 percent of organizations expect to have a comprehensive green IT strategy within the next five years. Here are a couple of ideas to get that ball rolling…

Start with a more energy efficient server manager:
1e’s award nominated NightWatchman now comes in Server Edition, a product that puts “drowsy” computing to work. By analyzing active computing (the typical work done by computer users) and background computing (highly inefficient activity that server software performs such as antivirus updates or indexing checks), NightWatchman gauges servers to run at the lowest energy setting possible.  CEO of 1e, Sumir Karayi, mentions that “one of the largest causes of energy and IT operational waste in data centers are servers that are simply not being used.” “It’s still working,” he says, “it’s just working slower, like it’s drowsy.” Dell, for instance, saves over $1.8 billion annually by using NightWatchman across a board of 50,000 computers. Perhaps a solution where the ROI on this product could equal less than one year?

Then, update to a greener Windows:
From the greenest neck of the Windows woods comes Microsoft’s newest release, Windows 7. Rob Bernard, Microsoft’s chief environmental strategist, highlights a server and client interaction that “allows IT [departments] to run a power-efficiency diagnostics chart.” The chart is then used to adjust computers for the most efficient operation. By removing certain drivers that would prevent the processor from running optimally, Windows 7 “has become much more aware of the power management capabilities within the processor and chip set.”

Well, there’s a start. Just a few thoughts to flow the green thinking again.

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October 22nd has come and gone, and Microsoft has delivered Windows 7 to the public. We have to admit that all the hoopla, whether good or bad, is actually kind of exciting.

On the good side of the coin, Microsoft’s stocks are soaring, and there was some interesting hype over the release. Like the Windows 7 Whopper in Japan – a Burger King creation of seven beef patties sandwiched between two buns. (uh, gross.)

On the other end of that coin, there is some criticism over the program, which comes as no surprise. The new ‘Get a Mac‘ ads take yet another shot at Windows, with a hilarious look back at Mac and PC’s former selves. It seems that everyone has chosen their side of the Microsoft coin.

No matter which side you’re on, there are people out there who are excited and ready for this release. SoftwareMedia.com did a pre-order program and saw a large influx of orders, with the most popular sales for Home Premium Upgrade and Ultimate Upgrade. We also saw a lot of mistaken orders for Windows 7 Upgrade from Starter. Please note that Starter is the lightweight version of the new OS that only comes with Netbooks. It is the cheapest upgrade, but don’t order the Upgrade from Starter unless you actually have Starter edition. It won’t work.

We’ll leave you with a few early reviews of Windows 7. But stay tuned for more as the OS circulates to the masses.

“It works much better than Vista, and most of Vista’s annoyances have either been removed, or (mostly) can be changed so the system works the way you like. It takes personalisation to extremes.” – The Guardian, UK

“Windows 7 feels faster than Windows XP and Vista, but it turns out that’s not always the case–sometimes, it’s the slowest out of the three operating systems.” CNET

“Anything we found to work in Vista seemed to work just fine (in some cases better!) in Windows 7. That goes for hardware and software, but of course the real test will be when this OS is unleashed upon the masses.” Engadget

“With Windows 7, the OS is great again.” Gizmodo

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The Window 7 release date is almost here. Reviews say it’s pretty to look at and runs great. If you would like to see for yourself, watch our video. Leave a comment, and let us know what you think of Windows 7. You can also pre-order it from SoftwareMedia.com.