Microsoft has released a free tool that lets Netbook users install Windows 7 using a USB flash drive, removing the requirement of a DVD drive.

The Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool, creates a bootable flash drive from a downloaded ISO file, or disk image of Windows 7 which has been purchased

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The official launch event of Windows 7 takes place later today in New York, however, as initially scheduled, today 22 October; retail outlets are already selling copies.

To address compatibility concerns of users with existing hardware and software considering an upgrade to their latest operating system, Microsoft yesterday made available the Windows 7 Compatibility Center, this can be used to let users search through a massive database of hardware and software to find which peripherals and programs can run with Windows 7

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Following my earlier post today, Mozilla has now unblocked a Microsoft add-on thought to pose a danger due to a software vulnerability, but a second add-on still remains blocked.

Microsoft has confirmed that the .NET Framework Assistant add-on can’t be used as a “mechanism” for exploiting vulnerability in Internet Explorer (IE), the add-on enables what’s called “ClickOnce” support, a Microsoft technology for application deployment.

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Microsoft’s security engineers recently acknowledged an add-on that Microsoft silently slipped into Mozilla’s Firefox last February had left that browser open to attack. In response Mozilla late last week blocked the Microsoft-made software that had put Firefox users at risk from attack.

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Microsoft’s browser ‘ballot screen” developed to comply with European antitrust regulators has come under fire again, this time from Mozilla

In a recent blog post, Jenny Boriss, a Firefox user experience designer, argued that Microsoft’s ballot screen, which has been given preliminary approval by the European Commission, is unfair as it will list browsers in alphabetical order, meaning that Apple’s Safari browser will be the first choice on the list of five shown on the first screen followed by Google’s Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE), Mozilla’s Firefox and Opera Software’s Opera

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Microsoft have been pushing their Windows 7 launch parties for some time now, for those hosting these parties Microsoft has offered them a party pack which has included a free copy of  a Steve Ballmer “signature edition” of Windows 7 Ultimate

A number of unused house party kits have now been offered for sale on eBay as partygoers try to cash in on them

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Are you considering upgrading your Windows Vista OEM computer to Windows 7? Then a word of caution:

Microsoft has advised users in a recent knowledge base article (975321) that in some not all cases the recovery applications set in place by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) normally through a system recovery console with a graphical user interface, may no longer be accessible cutting off access to the OEM recovery applications

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Microsoft has announced that it will deliver its largest-ever number of security updates next Tuesday (13 October) to fix flaws in every version of Windows, as well as Internet Explorer (IE), Office and SQL Server. Among the updates will be the first patches for Windows 7 Release to Manufacturing (RTM), which is set for retail release on 22 October.

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