Is Windows 7 ready to be launched? Microsoft’s Partner Program website says that Windows 7 Release Candidate will arrive on May 5th. If that’s not a human error then you might indeed be able to get the RC release earlier than you were expecting. The final version is still scheduled for late 2009 or even early 2010 but by then you might be able to run the RC and test it out. Here’s what the Microsoft’s Partner Program says:

As the next-generation operating system from Microsoft, Windows 7 opens new development, sales, and services opportunities for your business. With Windows 7, you can offer your customers a robust foundation for high-quality experiences across applications, services, PCs, and devices. 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. 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.

Tags: May, microsoft, microsoft partner program, Mobile News, Release Candidate, Windows 7

When it comes to buying a laptop, check out the add-ons and the freebies. In this case, the Lenovo Thinkpad seems to have a great bonus added to it as it has announced that it is the first PC maker to offer laptops that are Optimized for Microsoft Office Communicator 2007.

As a certified partner in the Microsoft Partner Program, this qualification means that the Lenovo ThinkPad X301, T400 and T500 laptop PCs meet Microsoft’s stringent requirements for high quality audio and video, giving users an excellent unified communications experience, while also lowering the total cost of ownership for a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) environment.

Unified communications refers to the convergence of multimedia including voice, video and data over a common Internet Protocol (IP) infrastructure. Customers can communicate through voice and video conference calls, email/calendaring and instant messaging in real-time, irrespective of the communication device.

The network requirements for VoIP, call set up and call quality management are important functions to build upon for customers who want to expand the capabilities of their network.

To help customers maximize their networks, Lenovo has extended unified communications capabilities to several ThinkPad laptops.

With the market for unified communications continuing to grow, many companies are seeing the benefits including increased productivity, greater efficiency and reduced travel and communication costs.

(Source) Press

Tags: microsoft office communicator, microsoft office communicator 2007, microsoft partner program, Mobile Software, Portable Devices, t400, t500, thinkpad laptops, voice over internet protocol, voice over internet protocol voip