Computer users who buy a new Windows 7 PC will have an easier time transferring files from their old machines thanks to improved file transfer tools included in Microsoft’s next operating system. An enhanced version of Windows Easy Transfer, native to Windows 7, lets users port files, user accounts, and application settings from a Windows XP or Windows Vista system to a Windows 7-based PC in just a few steps, according to Microsoft officials.
Consumers who want to be the first on their block to try Microsoft’s new Windows 7 operating system can get their hands on a free copy of a nearly final version of the OS as soon as Tuesday. That’s when Microsoft plans to make Windows 7 “Release Candidate” available to the general public. Last week, the company began offering Windows 7 RC to professional users who belong to its TechNet and MSDN communities.
Microsoft Corp. will not dump Vista when Windows 7 launches and plans to keep selling it to computer makers, system builders, volume licensees and consumers at retail until at least January 2011, a Microsoft spokesman said, citing long-running policy. The company, however, will drop support for the three consumer editions of Windows Vista in less than three years.
An Acer executive may have breached Microsoft’s cone of secrecy surrounding the launch of Windows 7 if a Thursday report in the U.K.-based gadget blog Pocket-Lint.com is to be believed. Bobby Watkins, country general manager for Acer U.K., told Pocket-Lint that Acer’s recently unveiled Aspire Z5600 all-in-one PC will be available with Windows 7 pre-loaded starting on Oct. 23. Watkins also said that customers that buy Windows Vista-based models after Sept. 24 will receive a free upgrade to Windows 7.

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