If there’s one company that knows how to build great multi-touch experiences, it has to be Razorfish . Over the course of a year now, these guys have been showing off a bunch of groundbreaking interactive retail experiences built on top of multi-touch technologies, prominently but not limited to the Microsoft Surface . Their latest work, dubbed Razorfone , is a conceptual retail experience for consumers looking to purchase mobile phones, but what makes this stand out from the rest is that it’s actually built on top of Windows 7’s multi-touch support and Windows Presentation Foundation. Although not the first time this combination has been used before but it’s certainly one of the best implementations I’ve seen so far. Those familiar with multi-touch retail experiences might recall some similarities between this and the AT&T Surface application – especially in the side-by-side comparison demo, but before you call their lawyers, that’s because Razorfish was responsible for that too. They ought to get these in the Microsoft Stores , minus the iPhone of course.
If you have a reasonably new laptop with an Intel WiFi chipset then I have some good news. A set of new Intel WiFi drivers made available just a couple weeks ago, version 13.0.0.107 if you’re playing along, finally adds the necessary driver-level support for the new native Virtual WiFi technology in Windows 7 . After downloading and installing the drivers ( 32-bit here , 64-bit here ), assuming your WiFi chipset supports the functionality (which I can verify the 5300 can but 3945 cannot), a new “Wireless Network Connection” with the adapter name “Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport” will automatically appear in your network connections. Recently, the internet has been abuzz with a new software called Connectify which interacts with this Windows 7 Virtual WiFi technology, but it appears their intention is to sell this application once its finalized . Personally I find it ludicrous that someone would charge for what is essential a wrapper to some functionality already baked into Windows
Furthering the barrage of Windows 7 promotions on Australia’s television network Nine, the operating system made a special appearance on the Australian wanna-be-version of “The Apprentice” TV show this evening as part of a competition for the contestants to design a television advertisements. If you’ve missed the thrilling hour of egos and tension, then be glad Microsoft didn’t go with either of the campaigns pitched which to be fair was conceptualized, directed and edited in just a single day. On a related note, Nine in collaboration with Microsoft is hosting a competition on the show’s website to give away a Windows 7 Sony Vaio X-series laptop and Sony 10mp digital camera. Unfortunately to enter you will have to put on a thinking cap and come up with your own idea for a Windows 7 ad. It’s stated in the terms and conditions entries will be judged on creativity, humor and originality, so don’t bother with “Windows 7 was my idea”. Entries close Sunday, 29 November.
As the official Windows 7 launch is set in motion, a bunch of new content is being released online to support the wider public availability. To kick things off, a handful of new first-party theme pack have been released on Windows.com , but with a twist. In addition to a number of new international themes released featuring photographs from different regions of the world, 14 sponsored themes are also available for download with wallpapers sourced from various notable brands. They range from movies to sports cars, video games and even refreshment beverages (from both Coke and Pepsi!). As time goes on, I’d expect more companies to jump on this opportunity as an easy and fun way to promote their products and brand. Music label EMI has already planned a whole site dedicated to branded Windows 7 theme packs
If you don’t already spend countless hours of the day browsing Reddit , it’s never too late to start. What I think sets Reddit apart from other similar communities is the discussion-only sections. More recently, a new section dubbed “IAmA” – short for “I am a…ask me anything” – has taken off by storm by allowing interesting and sometimes notable people (under the cover of anonymity if they wish) to answer random questions from complete strangers. As dubious as this may sound, it actually works quite well and have since brought under the spotlight award-winning musicians , hackers , descendants of Nazis , 9/11 firefighters , lottery millionaires and of course, the most interesting of them all, Microsoft developers. So far, three anonymous Microsofties have already stepped forward to answer several hundred questions in total
