The Dell Inspiron Duo’s Pricing and Availability details has been announced. Dell has released pricing and availability information for it’s Dell Duo tablet.  The Dell Duo is a tablet-netbook hybrid wherein it can be a regular netbook with the usual keyboard and screen configuration.  Flip the screen and the Duo becomes a touchscreen tablet.

The Duo is considered a netbook because of it’s specs, Intel dual core Atom N550 Processor, 1366-by-768 display, 2GB of RAM, and a 320GB hard disk drive.  The Dell Duo hybrid is expected to start at $549 and will be available for pre-order from the Microsoft Store today and from Dell starting next week.  According to Microsoft blog Windows Steam, the pre-order starts together with the grand opening of the Microsoft Store in the Bellevue Square Mall in Washington.

Overall, the design and concept of the Dell Duo is very impressive, but since the specs are comparable to a netbook, performance is not too impressive.  The main difference of the Dell Duo from previous hybrid tablets is the way the screen is rotated.  Instead of the usual 180 degree horizontal rotation, the Duo’s screen is rotated 180 degrees vertically via hinges of the screen holder itself.

Once the screen is rotated and the lid closed, the Duo automatically detects this and displays a touch-friendly interface for browsing through photos, videos and music.  When the screen is put back to the normal laptop/netbook configuration, the Duo goes back to the regular Windows 7 mode.

A New York based company Adafruit announced a price of USD 2000 for anyone who comes up with an open source driver for Microsoft Kinect that could enable it for the PC use along with its exclusive Xbox 360 support. It was also anticipated a while ago that this technology might soon be developed further to be used in PCs.

The reward has been scored and now we can control our Windows 7 PC with the help of Kinect. We can integrate the Kinect with PC and control it through our gestures. Not very efficient because its a hack but nonetheless, its something really fun to try.

Here’s what Microsoft had to say about this incident:

“Microsoft does not condone the modification of its products,” a company spokesperson told CNET. “With Kinect, Microsoft built in numerous hardware and software safeguards designed to reduce the chances of product tampering. Microsoft will continue to make advances in these types of safeguards and work closely with law enforcement and product safety groups to keep Kinect tamper-resistant.”

Here’s the demo of Kinect running with a Windows 7 PC:

In a much belated attempt to downplay the Justin Long and John Hodgeman series of Apple ads that compared the Mac and the PC (and the purported differences between the two platforms), Microsoft has now replied to the many comparisons in its own, rather subdued manner, by launching a site titled PC-v-Mac.

The site in a very simple and Aero GUI look tries to convey the facts about Mac adoption, about how converting to a Mac OS isn’t the smooth ride that Apple would have you believe, and that many of the things that you are used to doing on a Windows 7 based PC are not available with a Mac out-of-the-box.

The said functionality include TV tuner attachment, and other media centric uses that a Windows PC can support, not to mention DVR and XBOX 360 support.let’s hope the messages get through, if though a little late, that Mac OS isn’t the promised land that god intended for all computer users, as preached The Steve.

Microsoft has shipped some developers running prototypes of Windows Phone 7. This distribution to Developers’ is in a bid to get some developer feedback on the device, as well as get the developers’ behind the platform, a la Android.Here are some of our previous leaks on the Windows Phone 7 OS.

The prototype shipped is a Samsung Taylor SGH-i707, and it comes with all the hardware one would expect given the Windows Phone 7 required specifications.

The main showpiece remains the near production ready software that the phone touts, and here are a couple of scren shots of said OS. The developer in question claims the software is smooth and intuitive, and that the screen transitions and UI fluency is comparable to the Zune HD.

Windows Phone Music Hub

windows phone 7 photos hub

Microsoft has announced at their Worldwide Partner Conference 2010 the release of Windows 7 Service Patch 1 Beta, and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 for those who are running the RTM versions of these firmwares.

The beta versions were announced yesterday by Tami Reller, Microsoft‘s vice president of Windows and Windows Live.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta helps keep your PCs and servers on the latest support level, provides ongoing improvements to the Windows Operating System (OS), by including previous updates delivered over Windows Update as well as continuing incremental updates to the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 platforms based on customer and partner feedback, and is easy for organizations to deploy a single set of updates.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta will help you:

* Keep your PCs supported and up-to-date
* Get ongoing updates to the Windows 7 platform
* Easily deploy cumulative updates at a single time
* Meet your users’ demands for greater business mobility
* Provide a comprehensive set of virtualization innovations
* Provide an easier Service Pack deployment model for better IT efficiency

In order to download and install the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta you must currently have a Release to Manufacturing (RTM) version of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 already installed.

The update includes tons of bug fixes and upgrades, which is the standard procedure and is available for 32, as well as 64 bit processors.

You can download Windows 7 SP1 Beta from TechNet Evaluation Center from here and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta from here.

Microsoft has unleashed public betas of the first service packs for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Both betas are now available for download via TechNet.

Of course, there’s really no need for Windows 7 users to jump eagerly on the download. Windows 7 Service Pack 1 is little more than a collection of patches already released via Windows Update, so there are no new features or functionality to be found. Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, on the other hand, brings Virtual Desktop Infrastructure enhancements that enable hardware-accelerated 3D graphics and video playback over a Remote Desktop Connection.

The Xbox 360′s new Kinect motion controller has all sorts of potential. Unfortunately, it also has some limitations, at least for now. Microsoft is still calibrating the system for seated play, and it hasn’t confirmed whether gamers will be forced to stand when the controller launches later this year.

At least Redmond has confirmed that Kinect’s “entertainment” controls, which are presumably based on simpler gestures confined to a user’s upper body, will work while lounging on the couch. Those entertainment controls are also coming to PCs and consumer electronics gear. PrimeSense, the company behind Kinect’s motion tracking, has revealed that the technology will make its way into home-theater PCs and set-top boxes next year. TVs are being targeted, as well, but no deals have been signed on that front yet.

PrimeSense is responsible for Kinect’s cameras and motion tracking, but the system’s voice recognition and tilt functionality belong to Microsoft, so they’ll remain exclusive to the Xbox controller. There are other ways to get voice recognition running on the PC, so that’s not much of a loss. Besides, simple gestures should be enough to control the majority of commonly used home-theater PC functions. A standard remote will likely be more efficient, but I quite like the idea of browsing program guides, photos, and other media with the flick of a wrist. Besides, it would be novel to bring new technology into my living room that could actually remove a remote rather than adding another one.

To spice up more the greatest on-going sport event of the year – FIFA World Cup 2010, Microsoft has released a new theme for Windows 7 users which is packed with 12 high quality wallpapers (1920 × 1200 resolution) along with a light-orange color scheme for the OS.

Download FIFA World Cup 2010 Theme

You can download FIFA World Cup 2010 theme for Windows 7 from here. Simply open it with its default program and you are good to go.

Also read another article by us about how to watch live matches of FIFA World Cup 2010 for free online without paying a nickel!

After the recent announcement by Intel of its 32-nm Consumer-Ultra-Low-Voltage processors, the notebooks featuring the latest processor from Intel have shown up at COMPUTEX, this time at the MSI booth. The 13-inch X-Slim X360 had one of the CULV Core i5 processors, a sub-1″ profile, and purported battery life of up to 10 hours (all vintage Intel CULV features, only better now because of the new 32-nm process).

Keeping to the CULV formbook, the system looks sleek and feels both light and cool to the touch (though no specifics are available yet from MSI). Core i5 goodness in that kind of form factor does come at a price, though: we were told around $899 to $999. For those of us looking for this much portability and productivity without breaking the bank, MSI plans to offer different configurations of the X360 with CULV Core i3 chips and perhaps lighter specs, which should help keep the starting prices somewhat reasonable.

In addition to the 13.3″ X-Slim X360, MSI also showed 14″ and 16″ systems based on the same 32-nm CULV processors. The 16″ variant will have an optical drive, too—a rare feature among consumer ultraportables, even larger ones these days.

Microsoft has launched Microsoft Office Mobile Suite 2010 for its Windows 6.5 Platform. It has been launched on the same day as of Microsoft Office 2010 suite. This version of Microsoft Office Mobile 2010 would be totally different from the one that would be released for Windows 7.

Office Mobile 2010 includes

1. Word Mobile 2010

2. Excel Mobile 2010

3. PowerPoint Mobile 2010

4. OneNote Mobile 2010

5. SharePoint Workspace Mobile 2010.

Outlook Mobile 2010 comes preinstalled on Windows phones 6.5 or later and is the default e-mail client.

Features of Office Mobile 2010 for Windows Mobile Phone

1. Experience an intuitive, touch-friendly user interface.

2. Stay connected from anywhere with SharePoint Workspace Mobile.

3. Use PowerPoint Mobile as a presentation aid.

4. View and edit your documents with confidence.

5. Distribute your files right from your Windows phone.

6. You won’t need a learning curve. Essential authoring capabilities. Built-in support for images.

7. Update your Excel data on the fly.

8. Stay organized and in sync with OneNote.

9. Outlook Mobile makes managing your e-mail a snap.

10. Seamlessly copy and paste across applications.

To get it on your phone, search for “Microsoft Office Mobile 2010″ on the Windows Marketplace and simply download it. You can view its demo here.

Office Mobile 2010 for Windows Mobile Screenshots

[Via Neowin]