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Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines....

• The Apple Tablet iSlate iPad finally made its official debut yesterday, but the company seems to be offering only a limited release of some of the gadget's services. The iBooks Store and the iBooks app will apparently first launch only in the States. [From: Engadget]
• Windows 7 recently became the "fastest selling operating system in history," but Microsoft isn't exactly growing complacent in its success. According to an ex-employee's blog, Windows 8 is already in the works, and could hit the manufacturing stage as early as next year. [From: Electronista]
• While the nation's congressional representatives were sitting down, standing up, and applauding (and sleeping) through the President's State of the Union address, hackers were surreptitiously targeting numerous Democrats. The lamely named Red Eye Crew apparently hacked into over two-dozen Congressional Web sites, defacing pages, removing content, and promulgating anti-Obama propaganda. [From: PC World]
• The burgeoning phenomenon of 3-D TV has received a significant amount of media exposure recently. Soccer fans in England will actually get a preview of the 3-D action this Sunday when Sky TV will broadcast the Manchester United and Arsenal match. With high speed collisions, balls flying around at 100 mph, streakers, and brawling hooligans, 3-D sounds like it was made for the "beautiful game." [From: Engadget]

Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines....

• The recent Chinese Google hacks and various global Internet censorship campaigns have forced Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to adopt a hard-line stance on Web freedom. Clinton vowed that the "United States will protect our networks" and will fight for a "single Internet." [From: Ars Technica]
• The rumors that Hulu may start charging for content have been circulating for months. According to the latest round of conjecture, the site will implement a $5 monthly fee that would allow subscribers to watch older material. [From: Engadget and Mashable]
• The overall OS market share of Microsoft Windows has incrementally decreased over the past year, and has experienced another drop since December. That negative trend has occurred despite the early success of Windows 7, which has grown significantly faster than Vista and has even surpassed Mac OS in terms of usage. [From: Ars Technica]
• NBC will be providing unprecedented, comprehensive Winter Olympics programming this year, as the network will reportedly offer over 800 hours of HD TV coverage. It will also provide an impressive 400 hours of streaming live material and 1,000 hours of on-demand footage, both of which will be available through the network's Web site. [From: Engadget]
• According to Google engineer Matthew Papakipos, Google's eagerly awaited Chrome OS will incorporate a "lean and mean" media player. Google is apparently trying to make the wait unbearable, as the OS isn't expected to be commercially available for at least a year. [From: Engadget]

We're sure someone out there has already dubbed this the year of the tablet, and it's hard to blame them. Gadget makers all over CES were showing off slate and tablet devices of every stripe, some running NVIDIA's Tegra platform and Android, and some using Intel hardware to push Windows and Linux. But through the chaos, clear trends were forming, dividing lines being drawn. There were also a couple of truly unique devices and teases from a pair of major players. Click on through for more of what we learned about slates and tablets at CES.

Highlights from this morning's other big tech headlines...

• Windows 7 was initially met with skepticism and negative feedback, even prompting some to trumpet the imminent prominence of Apple. But, according to Microsoft director of marketing Craig Beilinson, Windows 7 has become "the fastest selling operating system in history." [From: Lifehacker]
• The green energy movement continues to gather steam, and many big corporations are making a concerted effort to aid, and contribute to, the crusade. According to Greenpeace, though, some major names are failing miserably, including Lenovo, Samsung, Dell, and LG, which have all failed to make good on a pledge to eliminate harmful PVCs and BFRs from their products. [From: Yahoo! Tech]
• The ambiguous January 26th Apple event is rapidly approaching, so the constant iSlate rumors are starting to reach a fevered pitch. According to the latest round of conjecture, the "pretty" device, which will not be "just a big iPhone," will go on sale in March and will not be limited to a single carrier. Woohoo! [From: Engadget]
• Wires and cables have always been the thorn in the paws of electronics fans, particularly those trying to install a neat and tidy home entertainment system. At CES this week, Haier is offering a solution to that annoying clutter with a wireless HDTV that supposedly has a range of 100 feet. [From: Engadget]
• It seems that every electronics manufacturer is trying to jump aboard the e-reader bandwagon, and Spring Entertainment and Borders bookstore are partnering to provide an attractive new model. The Alex e-reader will be available at Borders locations, and will retail for $359. [From: Engadget]
• Netflix just signed on with Warner Bros. to provide more titles to its live-streaming library, and now the video pioneer is embarking on a new deal that will provide its services pretty much everywhere. Netflix has reportedly partnered with Panasonic, Sanyo, Sharp, Toshiba, and Funai to add the live-streaming 'Watch Instantly' feature to the companies' HDTVs and Blu-ray players. [From: New TeeVee]

Apparently, some media outlets are so eager to see Microsoft fall flat on its face that they're already calling Windows 7 a failure -- less than two weeks after its debut. Electronista and CNN Money have already declared that, with Windows 7, Microsoft has blown its chance to stop the rise of Mac.

According to Internet tracking firm Net Applications, Windows has seen its ninth drop in market share in the last twelve months, falling an astounding (cue eye-rolling) two-tenths of a percent in October. During the same time, OS X saw its market share climb a little over one-tenth of a percent. This is, apparently, indicative of a march towards computing dominance for Apple -- at least if you ignore the fact that, despite losing market share for nine of the last twelve months, and despite the disaster that was Vista, Microsoft operating systems still account for more than 92-percent of Internet traffic.

Look, Apple has been "on the rise" for about ten years now and only accounts for about five-percent of the PCs currently in use. We're not saying that Apple will never topple, or severely cut, into Microsoft's market share. We're just saying that claims of the surging Mac don't quite jibe with the reality of the market.

HP Touchsmart 300z (Novice, Under $2,500)

HP's all-in-one desktop ($799 – $1,099, depending on the configuration) includes the specs you'd want for day-to-day computing: a 20-inch widescreen LCD, an AMD Athlon multi-core processor, 2-4-gigabytes (GB) of RAM and up to a 750 GB hard drive. But what separates the Touchsmart 300z from the pack is the user-friendly, iPhone-like touchscreen interface, which has been much improved with the addition of Windows 7. No need for a stylus. Just select an item by tapping a finger on it. To rotate a photo, move your fingers in a circular motion. And if you prefer a touch keyboard, tap the edge of the screen twice. It's so intuitive, you'll wonder why all computers don't have one.

Sony Vaio X (Gadget Head, Under $2500
While seemingly every other company out there is scrambling to put out their latest low-power, low-feature, low-cost netbook, Sony opted instead to pull out all the stops for its newest Vaio X, a full-featured sub-notebook that also happens to be insanely, runway model tiny, thin and light. Like not much thicker than an iPhone (.55 inches to be exact) and just 1.6 pounds (we eat heavier sandwiches than that). And yet, somehow Sony still crammed it full of the essentials: an 11.1-inch LCD, with two USB ports, Ethernet, VGA, SD slot and built-in Verizon mobile wireless, as well as 2-gigabytes (GB) of RAM, and up to 128 GB SSD hard drive and running Windows 7 to boot. These are all premium specs, and not bad for a $1,300 price tag, especially considering it comes with an external long-life battery that lasts about 14 hours, and has a durable carbon-fiber case and scratch-resistant screen. So it's tough but tiny, built for the road but also pretty sexy -- consider it the biker chick of sub-notebooks.

Microsoft has tried various slightly odd marketing schemes to grab some attention for Windows 7 here in the U.S. ranging from distrubingly cute commercials and a partnership with 'Family Guy' creator Seth MacFarlane to house parties that have received much deserved mocking. Overseas, the promotions have taken on an strange numerological slant, working "7" into everything. In the Netherlands it was 777 copies of the new OS for a town whose name translates to "Seven Houses." In Japan, it's mildly disgusting, and artery-clogging Windows 7 Whopper.

Burger King is offering, in Japan only, a special Windows 7 edition of the Whopper, that has seven beef patties. The heart-attack-on-a-bun will be available for one week (or seven days), to the first 30 customers each day, for ¥777. If you're not horrified yet, just check out the full-sized image below and watch the video of the Windows 7 Whopper's first victim after the break.

Do you want to enjoy all the goodies that Windows 7 offers without the work of installing a totally fresh operating system? While your more tech-savvy friends might look down their noses, a more simple "in-place upgrade" could be the better option for you. You just need to prepare yourself before tackling this task. Luckily, DownloadSquad has offered a few tips and tricks to make the upgrade process as smooth as possible.

You should download this Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, which checks to see if your hardware is capable of running Windows 7. Typically, you'll need at least 16 gigabytes of free disk space, 1 gigabyte of memory, and a processor that runs at 2GHz or higher. You can free up space on your hard drive with free programs like CCleaner or DriveSpacio. Most importantly, before performing the upgrade, check the Advisor's list of programs that won't work with the new OS. If your favorite program is on there, you might want to reconsider the upgrade. Because we all know you can't really live without iTunes or 'Civilization 4.'

To mixed reviews, Microsoft tried being all fluffy and sweet while advertising its new operating system. Now, it's time for Plan B -- comedy. Enter 'Family Guy' creator Seth MacFarlane and Alex Borstein (a.k.a. Lois Griffin), who agreed to produce a Microsoft-sponsored variety show. The comedy extravaganza/marketing ploy will air November 8th on FOX, a couple weeks after Microsoft releases Windows 7 on October 22nd.

Fortunately, you won't have to sit through annoying commercials, since, as Advertising Age reports, there'll be Windows-branded content throughout the program, which is tentatively titled 'Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show.' Microsoft is being coy as to just what this integrated material will be, but Gayle Troberman, general manager of consumer engagement and advertising, says, "We'll be evoking the cast of 'Family Guy' in some interesting ways that integrate the product messages."

Nothing makes us want to purchase a new version of Windows like a cute little girl and plenty of fluffy animals, or at least that's what Microsoft hopes. According to Ars Technica, the first commercial for Windows 7 (above) was uploaded Thursday onto YouTube's WindowsVideos channel.

In the clip, Kylie (you might recognize her from the 'Rookies' marketing campaign) stumbles upon her dad's open laptop. After reading some 'happy words' (i.e., positive reviews) about Windows 7, she decides to make a slideshow about the new operating system. What kind of slideshow would a small child create, you might ask? Well, Europe's cheese rock anthem 'The Final Countdown' plays in the background (for dramatic effect, we assume), and each slide features an animal that's so cute you just might explode. We're talking a pig wearing bunny ears, a big-eyed unicorn, a rabbit wearing a hat, and of course, a kitty.

By now, you've likely seen the headlines: "Six in 10 Companies Skipping Windows 7." It may look like doom and gloom again for Microsoft, but the real situation may not be so dour. Before writing off Windows 7 as another Redmond swing-and-miss, consider the tremendous cost of upgrading a company's worth of computers.

A recent survey from ScriptLogic (a company that makes Windows management software) does show that businesses are concerned with hardware compatibility and have skipped Windows software updates in the name of trimming costs.

We've covered some of the more important features of Windows 7 before -- including the improvements in security and speed -- but there are a host of other, lesser-mentioned features that make using Windows 7 much more pleasurable than Vista. Lifehacker, a must read here at the Switched offices, has compiled a list of its favorite less-hyped features in Microsoft's upcoming operating system.

One of these features is 'libraries,' which lets you break out of the standard file/folder paradigm with pictures by putting all your photos into a photo library -- even if they're in different folders. Also under-hyped are 'jump lists,' which gives quick access to commonly used files and features and limit how much menu digging we have to do.

You can check out the rest of Lifehacker's list of underhyped Windows 7 features at the read link. [From: Lifehacker]

If you're a Windows user, it pretty much goes without saying that you've encountered a frozen program before. Often these jammed apps get labeled with the dreaded "Not Responding" message and simply refuse to do anything, even close. Usually, the only solution is to open the task manager, find the appropriate process, and choose to close it. Fortunately, a quicker and easier way exists.

If you count yourself among the throngs of Windows Vista users who have been perpetually perturbed by Vista's constant prompt windows (known as User Account Controls, or UAC), you may soon be breathing easy. According to IT World, Microsoft developers are claiming that Windows 7 will feature 29-percent fewer UAC prompts than its oft-hated-on predecessor.

"We've reduced 16 different points of prompting," Paul Cook, director of Windows 7 client enterprise security, told IT World. According to Cook, users will not be bothered with UACs while updating their systems, viewing their firewall settings, or using Windows applications.

This should strike most Windows users as good, if not unsurprising, news. After all, way back in January, we gathered that Microsoft had finally heard the anguished cries of its denizens. [From: IT World]

Related Links:

• Computer Pros to Wait for Windows 7, Survey Says
• Windows 7 Security Called Into Question
• Windows 7 to Come in Six Flavors