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.

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.

“We are pleased to announce that Windows 7 Release Candidate (RC) is available. Windows 7 RC is the prerelease version of Windows 7. Since this is not the final release, your PC will gather and send information to Microsoft engineers to help them check the fixes and changes made based on testing of Windows 7 Beta,” reads the message from Microsoft to partners, via Bink. “Test-drive Windows 7 RC today to see for yourself—and to show your colleagues and customers—how Windows 7 delivers improved management, security, reliability, and performance. Download Windows 7 RC. Partners: If you have a subscription to MSDN or TechNet, you can download Windows 7 RC now. Otherwise, you can download Windows 7 RC starting May 5, 2009.” (emphasis added)

There is no telling whether the details provided by the software giant via the Microsoft Partner Program website are in concordance with partners actually receiving the Windows 7 RC bits. As I have already said, this scenario is not valid for MSDN and TechNet, where Microsoft continues to serve Build 7000 and the associated activation product keys and downloads. Speculation indicates that some of the Redmond company’s closes partners, OEMs in particular, have indeed been granted early access to Windows 7 RC. In this context, MSDN and TechNet subscribers will have to wait a tad longer, no telling just how long. As far as the public is concerned, May 5 is the day they need to look forward to.

There is no telling whether the details provided by the software giant via the Microsoft Partner Program website are in concordance with partners actually receiving the Windows 7 RC bits. As I have already said, this scenario is not valid for MSDN and TechNet, where Microsoft continues to serve Build 7000 and the associated activation product keys and downloads. Speculation indicates that some of the Redmond company’s closes partners, OEMs in particular, have indeed been granted early access to Windows 7 RC. In this context, MSDN and TechNet subscribers will have to wait a tad longer, no telling just how long. As far as the public is concerned, May 5 is the day they need to look forward to.

Meanwhile, Windows 7 Build 7082 from the RC-branch was handed to testers. PCBeta is offering a few screenshots of the Chinese version of Windows 7 Build 7082. The past week, Windows 7 Build 7106, from the RTM-branch, also in Chinese, was leaked into the wild and is now available for download via torrent websites.

“Windows 7 is an operating system that from the get go will be as secure as possible, and even from Beta stage is extremely stable. It’s not recommended for customers to deploy it in production environments just yet, however, they should not hesitate to test the platform in technology adoption programs. And we actually are recommending that customers test Windows 7,” revealed Tudor Galos, Windows Business Group Lead at Microsoft Romania, exclusively to Softpedia. “And yes, it wont be necessary for users to wait for SP1. Practically, not even Windows Vista required users to hold out for Service Pack 1.”

Galos referred not only to businesses but also to end users when indicating that “conventional wisdom” to postpone the adoption of a new Windows operating system until Service Pack 1 was an unnecessary strategy. But while for Vista RTM SP1 represented indeed a landmark in evolution, Windows 7 RTM will already have had its predecessor take in the heavy barrage of fire related to software incompatibilities, lack of hardware support and poor performance.
Being built as an evolution of Vista, Windows 7 comes with the guarantee of compatible software products and extended hardware support, and Microsoft has made sure of this aspect by only bumping the version number from 6.0 (Vista) to 6.1 (Windows 7). Testers that have been already running Windows 7 pre-release builds have been able to evaluate the stability of the platform on their own, even if the operating system has yet to hit Release Candidate. At the same time, Microsoft indicated as early as the Beta Build 7000 that the Windows 7 performance cat was already in the bag, revealing that the client left Vista in the dust, and exemplifying with the start-up time measuring contest.

Still, Galos also indicated that customers should look to Vista for the time being. “We recommend that they start with Windows Vista, with SP1 or SP2. And the reason is that Vista is a fully supported OS. Microsoft will not offer support for Windows 7 until launch. And we’re advising users to run Windows Vista SP1. The difference is consistent between Vista RTM and Service Pack 1. The operating system now offers great performance and a high level of security, that security that end users need.”

Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) Release Candidate (RC) is available for download here.

Download here

“It includes everything that you need to get up and running to build your web solutions – from servers, tools, and technologies, including the most recently updated products. This means you don’t have to go to a different website and download to set up your dev machines or servers! With the WebPI, you can install the entire stack all from one website – www.microsoft.com/web and one installer. Additionally, the WebPI installs the community version of PHP 5.2.9-1 so you have easy integration with popular web applications. All you need is a Windows machine or hosted version of Windows,” revealed Mark Brown, Microsoft senior product manager.

Essentially, the Web Platform installer 2.0 makes sure that a variety of Microsoft, as well as third-party software, can be deployed from a single install designed to centralize otherwise disparate components. The WebPI brings to the table such solutions as .NET Framework, IIS and Extensions, SQL Server 2008 Express, Visual Web Developer Express, and even DotNetNuke and WordPress.

“What’s in the Web Platform Installer 2.0 Beta? IIS 5.1, 6.0 or 7.0 depending on your version of Windows; .NET Framework 3.5 SP1; Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition; IIS Extensions including: Media Services 3.0, Admin Pack, DB Manager, WebDav 7.5, FTP 7.5, FastCGI for PHP support, URL Rewriter, Application Routing, Web Deployment Tool; ASP.NET and features such as ASP.NET MVC; Silverlight Tools for Visual Studio and the Community Version of PHP v5.2.9-1,” Brown added.

Web Platform Installer 2.0 Beta is available for download here.

You can just type “feedback” into the search box, and launch the tool from there…

Or you can find it in the control panel.

Take a look at this screenshot if you dont sure what we are talking about :

Open up regedit.exe through the start menu search box, and then browse down to the following key :

[sourcecode language="html"]HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop[/sourcecode]

Once there, find the FeedbackToolEnabled key on the right-hand side, and change the value to 0.

To revert it back, change the value to 3 again.