I have been using Microsoft Office 10 Beta for a few months now. I can tell you it is the best version of Office. It should be available in stores by June 2010. Microsoft is offering a Technology Guarantee:

Purchase and activate a qualifying Office 2007 product between March 5, 2010, and September 30, 2010, and you can download Office 2010 at no additional cost.

I've never upgraded to Office 2007. I still have the Office 2003. The good part is that when I installed the Office 2010 Beta, I did not have to uninstall Office 2003. These two versions co-exist.

Buy Office 2007 qualifying products today and download Office 2010 for free

Yesterday I received my Windows 7 Launch Home Party package. I posted the photos of the package on our House Party home page.

Yes, the Windows 7 Ultimate Signature Edition was in the party package.

I have a Sony Vaio VGN-FZ180E Laptop. Sony's eSupport site indicates:

Information about upgrade and support for Windows® 7 for the VGNFZ180E VAIO® model will be available when Windows® 7 is officially released by Microsoft. Please check back then for further information.

Hey, I will be hosting a Windows 7 Launch Party on the day Windows 7 is officially released. I need to be able install it way before then.

I am posting this using my Sony Vaio Laptop that is running the Windows 7 Ultimate I received in my House Party package. Here is how I upgraded my Sony laptop to Windows 7:

I really did not want to take the chance of losing my Vista setup and decided to first clone my hard drive and install the Windows 7 upgrade on the new hard drive. I have been thinking about upgrading my laptop's hard drive anyway. Sony laptop owners take note though: You may void your warranty if you replace your laptop's hard drive. Read your warranty first. If you follow the steps I followed, you will preserve your current hard drive in its current condition and you can swap it back in if something goes wrong.

I had already purchased a Fujitsu MHZ2320BJ-G2 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive and a APRICORN EZ-UP-UNIVERSAL 2.5" USB 2.0 Hard Drive Upgrade Kit from my favorite online shopping site:

Everything you want for your computer and more at Newegg.com.

Here are the simple steps I followed:

1. Deactivate any DRM software like iTunes.
2. Turn off the computer.
3. Take the old hard drive out.
4. Put the new hard drive in the laptop.
5. Put the old hard drive in the Apricorn's external enclosure and connect enclosure to the computer's USB port.
6. Turn the computer on, put Apricorn EZ Gig II CD in the DVD Drive and boot from CD.
7. Select the Clone Hard Drive option and follow the prompts. Make sure to check Typical Upgrade and clone your hard drive as is even if your new hard drive is larger than the old one. You can resize the partitions later. Be carefull in checking source and destination drives. Remember: Your source drive is your old drive that is connected to the USB.
8. The process, in my case, took about three hours. At the end I disconnected the Apricorn external drive and took the EZ Gig CD out and rebooted to my new hard drive.
9. Final step is to put the Windows 7 DVD and start the upgrade process.

I am happy to report that the Windows 7 upgrade process is painless. My computer did not freeze in the process and it did not take long.

All my programs, including Lotus SmartSuite which supposedly had compatibility issues in Vista, are working without any problems so far. All my settings, documents, pictures and favorites are intact. Wireless connection did not require any adjustments.

I have a better laptop with a larger and faster hard drive and a much better operating system.

Apricorn EZ Notebook Hard Drive Universal Upgrade Kit US $24.99

500GB Sony Vaio VGN Laptop Notebook Hard Drive NEW US $68.50

NEW 500GB NOTEBOOK LAPTOP SATA 25 HARD DRIVE SAMSUNG US $64.95

NEW Seagate 25 500GB Notebook Laptop Hard Drive w Gift US $69.99

500GB LAPTOP NOTEBOOK HARD DRIVE SATA SAMSUNG PS3 NEW US $64.95

NEW 500GB SATA LAPTOP NOTEBOOK Hard Disk Drive Hitachi US $63.95

NEW 500GB SATA NOTEBOOK LAPTOP HARD DRIVE Save$ Hitachi US $63.95

500GB NOTEBOOK LAPTOP HARD DRIVE SATA Brand NEW 3yr Wrt US $63.95

New 500GB LAPTOP NOTEBOOK HARD DRIVE SATA WD 3yrs Wrty US $63.99

500GB SATA NOTEBOOK LAPTOP HARD DRIVE DISK 25 NEW HDD US $63.95

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Resource management is better than before, with hogging all but eliminated. It provides a smorgasbord of information and options for advanced users, but it's simple enough for beginners, and runs smoothly and silently in the background. The version 3 interface utilizes a plain white color scheme and replaces old terminology with more intuitive terms such as Summary, Firewall, Defense, and Miscellaneous. In each, there are links to relevant security issues so users can drill down to learn more about how the firewall is performing. The firewall rears its head most often when Security Alerts ask about new Internet connections as the program "learns" your computer's behavior.

CNET editors' review by: Seth Rosenblatt on June 22, 2009

Try Comodo Internet Security Pro for 30 Days, FREE

"Listed below are 46 different freeware categories with my selection of the best products in each category. The list is ordered by program function rather than merit so you'll get the most out of it by browsing down this page at leisure. The pathologically impatient can consult the index below."

The 46 Best-ever Freeware Utilities

Before spending money on any commercial software check this list to see if there is a free alternative. You may find out that the free software is as good or even better than the commercial software.

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Basically, every day we nominate one software title that will be a Giveaway title of that day. The software will be available for download for 24 hours (or more, if agreed by software publisher) and that software will be absolutely free. That means - not a trial, not a limited version - but a registered and legal version of the software will be free for our visitors*.

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Both reviews and the information on the product line will remain active even when the Giveaway period is over."

Giveaway of the Day

Here is a site worth checking everyday. Be sure to read comments and ratings from the users who already downloaded the software.
Giveaway of the Day