Lunarsoft

Yes, both Paint and WordPad have finally received the royal treatment. Via permission given to me to remotely access build 6780 to play around a bit, Paint and WordPad both look great and have much-needed updates. I've got to work within the permissions granted to me by my source and unfortunately, screenshots don't fall within those permissions (yet), so you all will still have to wait to actually see this stuff. (Don't worry, there is a LOT of chatter about this build going around by people who have it.

I can't help but think the next week or two will be quite fruitful for the community in terms of information, screenshots, and perhaps the build even leaking if someone is brazen enough. Just beware the wrath of Sinofsky if any of you dare the latter of the aforementioned choices...) Something I have been given the liberty to do is give a very broad teaser explanation of Paint and WordPad in their current 6780 state, so here goes.

Screenshot: Windows 7 MS Paint
Source: UX Evangelist

From a trusted Crispin Porter source, we've learned that the internet has jumped the gun and that the Microsoft Gates/Seinfeld ads have not been axed. It's true, Microsoft apparently asked the agency to focus on the new "I'm a PC" spots. And it's true, the agency has gotten plenty of "I don't know what this means" response in their measured statistics of the Gates/Seinfeld ads. But no one has pulled the plug on the dynamic duo just yet.

In fact, Crispin Porter has another completed spot featuring the lovable, affluent couple in the can, ready to air (even though it won't quite yet). And while the agency has prioritized development to the anti-Mac ads, there are still full plans to go ahead and produce more Seinfeld/Gates spots unless Microsoft were to pull the plug first (which, once again, they have not at this time).

It's good to know that in a time of economic uncertainty, Gates and Seinfeld haven't been laid off just yet.

Source: Gizmodo

Microsoft is giving Jerry Seinfeld the boot for its latest Vista advertisement (set to launch today) and instead will directly attack Apple's marketing strategy of mocking PCs.

Microsoft decided not to focus on odd antics of Seinfeld and Gates this time around and instead will feature a company engineer who resembles the PC guy (aka John Hodgman) in Apple's ads. According to those familiar with the new ad the "PC" guy says, "Hello, I'm a PC and I've been made into a stereotype."

This latest ad, part of Microsoft's $300 million "Windows. Life without walls" campaign to un-tarnish Vista's reputation, will reportedly feature a mix of average PC users and celebrity PC users. Some of those Vista-using celebrities include: Eva Longoria, Deepak Chopra, and Pharrell Williams. Bill Gates will also make cameo appearances.

Source: PC World

Asus is accidentally shipping software crackers and confidential documents on the recovery DVDs that come with its laptops.

The startling discovery was made by a PC Pro reader whose antivirus software was triggered by a key cracker for the WinRAR compression software, which was located on the recovery DVD for his Asus laptop.

He discovered a number of other suspicious files, including

• A directory called "Crack" that appears to contain serial numbers for other software packages
• A directory containing a large number of confidential Microsoft documents for PC manufacturers, including associated keys and program files
• Various internal Asus documents and source code for Asus software

The reader sent the disc to PC Pro, and we can confirm the existence of such files.

Screenshot: Click Here
Source: PC Pro