With Vista’s failure to capture the market’s attention, Microsoft didn’t want to reiterate that mistake and did its best to make out of Windows 7 what Vista should have been: a success. Even if 7 has raked a plethora of accolades from well known, trustworthy testers, there is still a percentage of skeptics that, although long for the sleek looks of the newer OSes released by Microsoft, cling with the utmost stubbornness to old, reliable XP, which for many has become obsolete or is rapidly heading towards this state.

The Windows 7 beauty session for your plain-looking but great-running XP takes 10 steps in which you have to opt for different enhancements, addressing aspects such as screen resolution, DPI setting, installation type, general system user interface for the Windows 7 look, system applications’ UI, Windows interface, installation of third-party apps necessary to bring XP’s looks closer to the latest OS fashion trend. Desktop enhancements and user account personalization are also present in the transformation procedure.
Installation does not generally take too long, but it all depends on the system specs. A great thing regarding third-party apps you need to install for the best resemblance to Windows 7 is that their requirements are stipulated during the setup so that you know if your system supports them or not.

Getting to the results of the XP “fancification,” we have to say that for a first release of the Transformation Pack it looks good. It can’t fool the eyes of a fan, but it definitely catches your attention. The use of third-party tools to simulate WinFlip, Windows 7 Superbar, Start Menu provides an awesome touch to the system.

Plus, if you want to customize the default settings to your own liking, all you have to do is play with the options in Vista Rainbar and WinFlip. The third-party applications included in Seven Transformation Pack can be downloaded separately and some of them work on Vista as well.

Seven Transformation Pack is definitely worth the attention of XP users who want a knavish Windows 7. The level of visual alteration goes as deep as changing the boot screen and adding Superbar skills to the common taskbar.

Given the already good improvement of the application in this early stage of its development and judging by the popularity of the earlier version (Vista Transformation Pack), we expect the Seven visual transmutation for XP to grow in stability as well as level of metamorphosis. It already does a great job, but it is still pretty shallow and more consistency is needed.

You can download it from this page for free and install it with the minimum effort. For best results I suggest you take a good look at the setup steps and enable only what suits your system best.

“I’m happy to announce the landing of Undo Close Window. This adds a menu & keyboard shortcut for reopening your previously closed windows. By default we store 3 windows (though sometimes more due to special cases involving pop-up windows),” revealed Mozilla’s Paul A. O’Shannessy. Handling recently closed windows was a project that debuted initially in Firefox 2.0 via a few APIs, but which failed to materialize. Only in Firefox 3.5 will the feature be fully implemented.

Mozilla is of course permitting end users some flexibility and control when it comes down to the new feature. In this regard, users will be able to modify the value of browser.sessionstore.max_windows_undo in about:config, in order to increase the number of windows and tabs that are stored and available to be restored. One important aspect that the end users have to notice is the fact that Firefox will monitor the tabs and windows closed and will keep track of each separately. In this regard, closed tabs will restore as tabs, and closed windows can only be re-opened as windows.

“My primary reason is that windows and tabs serve a different purpose. Opening a new window vs a new tab are not the same menu item (or keyboard shortcuts), so why should reopening them be the same keystroke,” O’Shannessy added. “By putting them in the same menu and giving them the same keyboard shortcut, I would argue you’re actually increasing memory load and forcing the use of the menu. If I were to close a window, then close a tab in a different window, I can’t get the window I closed back with a single key command. I have to click the menu, and look. By keeping the two separate, there might be one extra place to look, but they are clearly labeled. There’s an extra keystroke to learn, but it correlates to open window in the same way that undo close tab correlates with new tab.”

Firefox 3.0.9 and Firefox 3.1 Beta 3 for Windows is available here.

Firefox 3.0.9 and Firefox 3.1 Beta 3 for Linux is available here.

Firefox 3.0.9 and Firefox 3.1 Beta 3 for Mac OS X is available here.

“When Opera crashes, it will open a dialog box which asks whether you want to report the crash to us. Clicking on “Options” lets you fill in some details, such as what you were doing when the crash occurred. There is also an option to restart Opera (enabled by default), so that you can get it up and running again right away,” revealed a member of the Opera team.

The automated crash reporting capabilities of Opera 10.0 Alpha will enable the Norway-based browser maker to boost the stability of its product throughout the development process. Opera has already put a system in place to handle the reports delivered by the crash reporting mechanism. In addition, Opera is promising that Alpha 10.0 Build 1456 is far from being feature-complete and that users are bound to see additional changes as the browser continues to evolve.

“This time around we have processed all the changes since the previous snapshot in order to be able to provide you with more details. The complete changelog has a lot of information that isn’t applicable to the current public build, or that are of a sensitive nature, so there is quite a bit of manual work involved. We need to make sure that we get as many relevant changes as possible while at the same time avoid revealing something we shouldn’t. Feature development for Opera 10 isn’t finished yet, after all,” the Opera team representative added.

The latest build of Opera 10.0 for Windows is available for download here.
The latest build of Opera 10.0 for Linux is available for download here.
The latest build of Opera 10.0 for Mac OS X is available for download here.

However, even if only sketches, the prototypes do not suffer from the perspective of functionality, and all ideas can be seamlessly “upgraded” to high-fidelity controls when devs choose to do so.
“SketchFlow prototypes are quick and informal, enabling designers to easily explore a variety of ideas. You can run and explore prototypes from the first rough sketch on. When you are ready to develop further, you can convert a prototype into a real application in Expression Blend or Visual Studio,” Somasegar added. “When you start working on a new prototype project for either WPF or Silverlight, you’ll see the panels, control toolbox, and artboard that you are likely accustomed to in Expression Blend. You can use the existing set of controls found in Expression Blend 3 or your own custom controls.”

The tool comes to the table with the SketchFlow Player, permitting developers to easily share and showcase their concepts. Via the player, prototypes can not only be viewed as animations, but can also be navigated and even allow for UI states to be interchanged with ease, and with minimal cost and effort when it comes to the actual development of the user interface.

“SketchFlow leverages features of Expression Blend 3 to let you make your prototypes come alive. Add interactivity without code using Behaviors, prototype your data-driven UI with sample data, and import content from Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator,” Somasegar added.

Expression Blend 3 Preview is available for download here.

Silverlight 3 Beta 3 is available for download here.

“An error in handling URLs with a chromehtml: protocol could allow an attacker to run scripts of his choosing on any page or enumerate files on the local disk under certain conditions,” Mark Larson, Google Chrome program manager, stated.
“If a user has Google Chrome installed, visiting an attacker-controlled web page in Internet Explorer could have caused Google Chrome to launch, open multiple tabs, and load scripts that run after navigating to a URL of the attacker’s choice. Such an attack only works if Chrome is not already running.”

Earlier this week, Google also ensured the evolution of the successor of Chrome 1.0, offering testers Google Chrome 2.0.172.8 through the Beta channel. Larson indicated that build 2.0.172.8 of the browser was designed to resolve a couple of problems, which he described as having a major impact.

“On some sites, text disappears or is never drawn. For example, on Google Calendar, the titles for all day events do not display,” Larson stated. “Google Chrome Beta does not launch after the update to 172.6. This affects users who installed Google Chrome through Google Pack, joined the Beta channel, and do not run as an administrator.”

The latest Google Chrome releases are available for download here.

Right on schedule, the folks at Canonical released the latest version of Ubuntu Linux this morning. Ubuntu 9.04 adds a number of new features including a revamped notification system, support for the Ext4 file system, and updated applications like Firefox 3 and OpenOffice.org 3.0.

Canonical also worked hard on system performance, and Ubuntu 9.04 should boot up faster and feature more efficient suspend and reume features. The operating system can also intelligentally switchbetween WiFi and 3G environments using a number of 3G cards.

Ubuntu 9.04 comes in several different flavors. There’s a server edition, a desktop edition, and a Netbook Remix edition that’s optimized for mini-laptops with Intel Atom processors and low resolution displays.

Kubuntu 9.04 is also available for users who prefer the KDE desktop environment to Gnome. Many of the basic packages in Ubuntu and Kubuntu are the same. Mythbuntu, which comes preloaded with the popular MythTV media center application, has also been updated to version 9.04.

Other versions including Xubuntu (based on the Xfce desktop environment) and Edubuntu (with a focus on educational software) should be updated to 9.04 soon.

Windows Movie Maker is a free Microsoft utility for Windows that lets you create and edit video files. But for some reason, the most recent versions of Movie Maker for Windows Vista and 7 don’t have all the features and transitions you can find on earlier builds.

So one developer decided to take matters into his own hands and create a portable version of Windows Movie Maker based on Movie Maker 2.1. You can run Portable Windows Movie Maker on any computer with Windows XP, Vista, or 7. And since it’s portable, you can run it from a USB flash drive or a folder on your hard drive without installing it.

As an added bonus, the developer added some extra transitions and effects.

So far only the 32-bit version of Windows 7 RC Build 6.1.7100.0.winmain_win7rc .090421-1700 was leaked to torrent websites. The download weighs in at 2.35 GB and is available as an ISO image that has to be burnt on a DVD. As was the case with the vast majority of previous pre-release development milestones of Windows 7, the leaked RC Build 71000 offers the Ultimate SKU of the operating system. Testers can continue using the Windows 7 Beta Build 7000 product keys in order to activate the RC Build 7100 bits.
Microsoft has already managed to confirm, at least unofficially, that the RC for Windows 7 is just around the corner. The Redmond company’s partners have already been served the bits, which explains the leak. Next in line to get their hands on Windows 7 Release Candidate Build 7100 are MSDN and TechNet subscribers, but not just yet. Downloads of Windows 7 RC Build 7100 are planned to go live on May 5, 2009. Hopefully, Microsoft has learned its lesson with Windows 7 Beta back in January 2009, and already has the necessary infrastructure in place for the public testing phase to kick off in full throttle.

The last pre-RC build of Windows 7 to make it into the wild was tagged 7077. The Release was indicated as the RC-Escrow build, again with Microsoft mum on the matter. Subsequently information and screenshots on Windows 7 Build 7082 were leaked. Wzor indicated that Microsoft had been hard at work, making its way toward Windows 7 RC Build 7100, having compiled the following development milestones: 6.1.7078.0.winmain_win7rc.090406-1758, 6.1.7079.0.winmain_ win7rc.090407- 1902, 6.1.7080.0.winmain_ win7rc.090408- 1900, 6.1.7081.0.winmain_ win7rc.090409- 1900, 6.1.7082.0.winmain_ win7rc.090410- 1901, 6.1.7083.0.winmain_ win7rc.090413- 1900, 6.1.7084.0.winmain_ win7rc.090414- 1900, 6.1.7085.0.winmain_ win7rc.090415- 1900, 6.1.7086.0.winmain_ win7rc.090416- 1900, and 6.1.7087.0.winmain_ win7rc.090417- 1900.

Windows 7 RC Build 7100.0.winmain_win7rc .090421-1700 was signed off on April 21, 2009, according to the version number. The software giant is looking to offer the bits via MSDN and TechNet by the end of this month. At the same time, Microsoft pointed to May 5, 2009 as the deadline for the availability of Windows 7 RC. Along with the Windows 7 client, the software giant will also serve Windows Server 2008 R2 RC. Of course, with Microsoft offering nothing on Windows 7 RC through the company’s official channels, all leaked information should be taken with a grain of salt.