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Microsoft Employees Celebrate Windows 7 With 7,000 Dominoes

Rather than pouring a glass of champagne and toasting to the incredible work done by the brainiacs over at Microsoft, the big boys opted for one of the slowest ways to use dominoes I’ve ever seen. The video, which lasts about four minutes, is really just a sad way to express their love for the new Windows 7. I mean, it’s frickin’ Microsoft. They have billions of dollars. Why not go for some real fireworks or write Windows 7 in the sky over their office? Come on Microsoft! Anyway, if you’re down for four minutes of complete boredom, by all means, watch the video after the break. Or, not. Read more

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BumpTop 1.2 Gets Demoed On Video. But, Is It Game-Changing?

While I love BumpTop‘s rendition of a 3D desktop, I’m not sure exactly how much use I’d get out of it. Sure, being able to crop photos quickly and dragging them to the Facebook icon is uber simple, but it’s definitely not enough to get me to switch over from my 2D screen. Another example the narrator gives is he plugs in a USB disk drive to which the the little icon pops on the screen. I noticed he has only, say, 15 items in the USB. Well, many of my drives have over 500 things on them. It’s easiest for me to jump to the alphabetical character my file starts with and go from there. Additionally, the ability to add photos to your “work environment” is cute but it sure as hell makes the interface look cluttered.

Is the $29 price tag worth it? Not to me, but your not me. Right? You can pick up a free copy of BumpTop here but I believe it’s missing some features and/or has watermarked previews.

[Engadget]

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DealBot: Buy Windows 7 For $29 (As Long As Your A Student)

Microsoft is giving the green light to students looking to upgrade their [horrible] Vista or older XP machines. Yes, you can get a copy of Windows 7 Home Premium or Pro for only $29! You have two ways of going about the purchase:

1. If you have a college email address (e.g. yourname@collegename.edu), hit feel free to visit the main Windows 7 student purchase page. Simply enter your email address and wait for the instructions to be delivered to your inbox.
2. If you’re college doesn’t offer student email, visit this page where you can upload a copy of either your student ID, class list or proof of class payment.

Microsoft is offering this promotion up to January 1st, 2010 (I believe), so no rush just yet. Either way, the original MSRP for Windows 7 is in the $100+ range so this is a way for you students to get it on the cheap. Oh, and before you purchase make sure your system can handle it.

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Java Tutorial: Simple Calculations

In Chapter 2 of the Introduction to Java Programming book(7th Edition), we get to see how Java does simple calculations. The author, Y. Daniel Liang, gives us a simple problem for calculating the area of a circle. As to not impose on his copyright, I’ll be teaching you how to get the area a rectangle which is 5.5 by 7 . It is, for the most part, the same thing. So, let’s get started. Read more

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Java Tutorial: The Most Simple Application

I’m very proud of myself. I’m actually back in school. I know, we hate school, but programming is something I’ve been wanting to learn for quite some time. Think of it as an introduction to mobile gaming development. Since Java is the building blocks to many mobile operating systems (e.g. Android and WebOS), I’ve taken it upon myself to take the Introduction to Java Programming course at my local college. The book I’m using is Introduction to Java Programming (7th Edition), by Y. Daniel Liang.

Over the next couple of months I’ll be writing up quick tutorials on things I’ve learned. I’m hoping that this is a way to not only help me remember how to program, but possibly help someone else while I’m at it. So let us begin programming by coding the simplest of applications with Java; the “Welcome to Java!” application. Read more

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Windows 7 Lightning Review, Ups Number of Apps For Starter

After using Windows 7 for almost four months now, I’ve been able to use the operating system thoroughly enough that I can actually give my opinion.

Windows 7 is Microsoft’s new beginning. A beginning trailing one of the worst operating systems Microsoft’s ever come up with. Vista failed due to a bugs, annoying notifications and security alerts, and an overall sluggish platform. Have they improved with this iteration of the Windows franchise? I can clearly say yes. Read more

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Where To Download Windows 7 Beta

If you’ve been watching CES 2009 coverage you’ve probably heard that Microsoft released a Windows 7 beta to the public. The first 2.5 million people will be allowed to download Windows 7 and receive beta keys. Unfortunately, Microsoft didn’t expect the beta to be so popular and as a result the beta was put on hold until Microsoft could fix some download problems.

As of today, the problems have been resolved and consumers are encouraged to start downloading Windows 7 beta again.

The minimum requirements to run Windows 7 is:

• 1 GHz 32-bit or 64-bit processor
• 1 GB of system memory
• 16 GB of available disk space
• Support for DirectX 9 graphics with 128 MB memory (to enable the Aero theme)
• DVD-R/W Drive
• Internet access (to download the Beta and get updates)