Microsoft has repeatedly cited a “major announcement” that would coincide with the introduction of the Windows 7 release candidate, and it appears that we now know what that big announcement is. Microsoft plans to kill any and all concerns over Windows XP application compatability by offering a free Windows XP VM for owners of Windows 7 Professional, Business and Enterprise editions.

Unlike normal VMs which present a second desktop, the new VM known as “XPM” can offer virtualized applications without the appearance of a host environment. The icons for any software installed to XPM are simultaneously published inside Windows 7 as though it were a native application. As a wild example of the possibilities, you can see this screenshot below which demonstrates Office 2003 running on XP and Office 2007 running on Windows 7:

Image courtesy of Withinwindows.com

XP Mode consists of the Virtual PC-based virtual environment and a fully licensed copy of Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3). It will be made available, for free, to users of Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions via a download from the Microsoft web site. (That is, it will not be included in the box with Windows 7, but is considered an out-of-band update, like Windows Live Essentials.) XPM works much like today’s Virtual PC products, but with one important exception: As with the enterprise-based MED-V (Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization) product, XPM does not require you to run the virtual environment as a separate Windows desktop.

By introducing Windows XP application support to the new generation of Windows 7-only applications, Windows 7’s application compatability profile now exceeds that of any prior Microsoft OS.

Microsoft put on a fresh face to the world when it released Windows XP in 2001, but the candy-coated Luna UI certainly isn’t for everyone. While Microsoft never made it terribly obvious, the introduction of Luna also allowed the UI to be reskinned. Soon enough, fresh interpretations of the Windows XP UI were popping up all over the map, and it has grown into a large community catering to every preference. If you’re tired of Luna or an ugly selection of greys, take a peek at these six hand-picked styles which will give XP’s appearance some punch.

Before taking a crack at the visual styles below, make sure you patch your installation of Windows XP with the UXTheme Multi-Patcher utility. This will unlock the ability to install third-party themes that don’t carry the Microsoft stamp of approval.

Lastly, make sure you carefully follow the installation instructions provided by each author. Some shell styles may require you to take extra steps to ensure your installation matches the picture.

Royale Vista VS by dobee

Easily my personal favorite, dobee’s Royale Vista VS theme is clean, easy on the eyes, and delightfully compact. While some themes cling to visual gimmicks and bright colors, Royale Vista VS treats XP’s UI to gentle gradients and a touch of plastic. This shell style exudes class.

Image courtesy of DeviantArt user dobee

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The deadline has come and gone, and Microsoft has let Windows XP and all versions of Office 2003 slip from their mainstream support.

Phone assistance for these product families will now be offered on a per-hour or per-incident basis, while non-security critical fixes are no longer in the pipeline for users who did not register for Microsoft’s Extended Hotfix Support program in February.

Microsoft will continue to offer critical security fixes for these products August 4, 2014, but you’ll be upgrading to Windows 7 anyhow, right? RIGHT?

Development is well under way for Firefox 3.5, the next major version of the popular browser being prepared for 2010. At a recent developer forum, Mozilla software engineer Michael Conner questioned the need to support Windows 2000 and Windows XP’s early service packs.

Debate also swirled around dropping support for Windows XP entirely after citing the rich media capabilities of Windows 7 and Windows Vista. On the other hand, Mozilla’s Firefox Director Mike Beltzner seemed less than keen to either idea:

“Right now, the majority of our Windows users are still on XP, but I’m not sure it’s clear how many of those users have upgraded, or intend to upgrade, or in some cases are able to upgrade,” he said.

“And while I understand that the platform itself isn’t supported by Microsoft, I do think that keeping those XP users from being able to use Firefox will end up doing more harm (to them) than good, no matter what the intent.”

What are your thoughts? Should Mozilla kill support for Windows XP RTM, SP1, SP2 and Windows 2000?

Research firm NPD is reporting that Microsoft’s stake in the netbook market has exploded from less than 10% in 1H08 to a commanding 96% in 1H09. Microsoft took the opportunity to kick Linux in the pisser with a mention that customers are returning Linux-based netbooks at a rate of up to 20% as is the case with the UK’s Car phone Warehouse.

Brandon LeBlanc, Microsoft’s in-house spinner blogger, ran the glory of Windows XP up the flagpole. “It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since we first started to see netbook PCs running Windows come to market,” he said. “The growth of Windows on netbook PCs over the last year has been phenomenal.” So as not to be remiss in his duties as a blogger, LeBlanc also touted Windows 7’s robustness on the netbook.

“Looking forward, we can confidently say that no matter how netbook PC hardware evolves, we’re gearing up to ensure that Windows 7 will run great on them.”

Speaking of Windows XP, Microsoft is axing free support for Windows this Tuesday. Break your stuff now, else Redmond will demand your checkbook for their time. Not that you would ever call Microsoft for XP support when you can use Icrontic for free, right? Yeah, we said it.

There has been a tizzy brewing this week over the fact that Microsoft will allow users to downgrade Windows 7 to Windows XP well into 2010. The Mac zealots are abusing the discovery to extol the superiority of OS X and the Linux users are seeing it as an indictment of Windows 7 and a herald for the rise of Linux.

Newsflash: It’s nothing new.

In fact, the OS downgrade right is a continuation of a long-standing Microsoft policy written into the agreement for volume license customers like OEMs and the enterprise. Anyone with the green to purchase a massive block of keys is given some latitude to match the installed OS to the standard design of their network.

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UPDATE (10/22/2009 12:01AM EDT): This guide details how to prepare a Windows 7 ISO to install from a flash drive. If you have a Windows 7 DVD, please go here.

Windows 7 is officially on the prowl, and that means a whole new crop of users are receiving the new operating system in the form of an ISO file. Sure, you could burn it to DVD and be on your way, but that’s so ordinary, and Netbook users are still up the creek. Why not build a little geek cred and install Windows 7 from USB? We’ll show you how to do it in just four simple steps.

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Hey pirates? Microsoft is in ur base, updatin’ ur WGA.

Incoming senior White House officials are reportedly dismayed by the state of technology in the West Wing which features aging Windows XP desktops. The particularly tech-savvy staff is accustomed to using new Macs and laptops, both of which are in short supply.

MSNBC is also reporting a rocky start with keeping the new WhiteHouse.gov up to date and trouble with the White House’s phone systems. The administration has vowed to overcome such hurdles and get the updates moving again. In the mean time, staffers were able to set up Gmail accounts to ease communication woes.

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Icrontic is proud to offer the Office Hours series of articles. Each week we’ll take a look at a common problem in Windows or often-used software and nail down a quick fix for it. This week, the good doctor explores how to fix a Windows Installer Service that has gone on the blink.
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A Microsoft spokesperson has confirmed that delivery of OEM orders for Windows XP will now be filled through May 30.

In an e-mail to ChannelWeb, a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the existence of a flexible inventory program that will allow distributors to place their final orders for Windows XP OEM licenses by Jan. 31, 2009, and take delivery against those orders through May 30.

Previously, distributors had planned to purchase as many XP licenses as they could afford before Jan. 31, 2009, and sell them after the deadline. But once that inventory was gone, they’d have no choice but to turn away XP-seeking customers.

Copies of Windows XP continue to play a pivotal role in the sensational Netbook market. It can be believe that these diminutive doodads are to thank for XP’s prolonged life support.

Set to shove off the mortal coil in July of 2009, the price of a Windows XP upgrade from Windows Vista Ultimate or Business editions has tripled from $50 to $150.

Dell has announced that the increase pricetag has taken effect immediately and will remain such until XP is no longer available in the summer of ‘09. This increased upgrade price comes just five month after the end of Windows XP as a standard option on their popular Inspiron line.