[Zeus]

We have just posted up Episode #1 of Weekly Tech Update.  Below are the show notes and some details on how you can score yourself some free schwag.

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Amazon Apologizes for remotely deleting books off the Kindle.
Due to some licensing issues, Amazon was told to remove books that people had purchased.  Amazon did so without notifying the users and there was a bit of an uproar.  DRM = leasing content, not owning.

The Bad Apple - Apple forces Microsoft to change Laptop Hunter Ad.
The Laptop Hunter ads have been change to reflect Apple's price drop.
Apple story where they asked Microsoft to take down their Laptop Hunter Ads.
Crazy Microsoft IE8 Ad - Let's make it viral with some projectile vomiting.

Windows 7 Release Candidate coming Aug. 6 to Technet and MSDN
The final Windows 7 code has been wrapped up, neatly packaged and shipped off to PC manufacturers.  Windows 7 is coming sooner than expected and looks pretty promising.
Why did Vista suck?  It didn't suck as bad as the Apple ads claimed.  Microsoft has to program an OS that works on all PC hardware, Apple programs for 12 machines.  Hopefully Windows 7 sheds the crappy image of Windows.

Western Digital ships first 1TB 2.5" HDD.
The downside to this drive is that it is 12.5mm high, not the 9.5mm height that most laptops require.  This drive is best served in an external enclosure at this point.
This could be the death of the 3.5" HDD or it could be the last major size increase of the 2.5" mechanical hard drive.

Foxconn worker commits suicide - Apple gives family money and a laptop
Did the interrogation push him to suicide as first claimed?
The pressure of working with NDA Apple products would be incredible.  China makes tons of knock-offs and if this phone was cloned and released before the actual iPhone 4G, it would be a big blow to Apple...worth killing for?

Upcoming BCCHardware features:
Cooler reviews coming from Jason (Thermaltake & Zalman)
NZXT stuff coming from Ben (PanzerBox & Sentry 2)

Recent BCCHardware features:
Arctic Cooling MX-3 thermal paste
Gelid GC-2 & GC-Extreme thermal paste
BlueAnt Q1 voice control headset
BlueAnt S1 car kit

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How can you win some free stuff?
There are a couple of ways: 1) Listen to our podcast and post your feedback here, and 2) send some interesting news links to podcast(at)bcchardware.com with "WTU" somewhere in the subject line.

What can you win?
NZXT Avatar Mouse
Sentry LX Fan Controller
NZXT Cryo S Laptop Cooler

The contest will run until August 4, 2009 when we release Episode #2.  Good luck and Enjoy!

[Krab]

Hey guys, Krab here trying yet again to win the NZXT avatar gaming mouse. Anyways, after listening to the pod cast, here are some comments and feedback:

-It might have been just me, but the audio was quiet, and I had to turn my speakers up a large amount. Something to note for future pod casts.

-I was glad to hear that the voices were crisp, smooth, and most importantly, understandable .

-Stuttering (repeating words, going uh, and saying things like “you know,” several times) and forgetting some facts and interruptions didn’t hinder the pod cast too badly, although it may have taken a minute or two in total of the timeline. Seemed to be more frequent later on in the pod cast.

-In regards to the Kindle scandal: Overcompensation would have been fair, but I believe people may still have raised a stink over the surprising disappearance of the books. Also, I agree with the old-fashioned book on paper; an e-book reader doesn’t do the real thing justice. But, then again, the paper wasted doesn’t really compare to the amount of energy used by those e-book readers. The kindle isn’t for everyone.

-In regards to the Apple asking Microsoft to change their ads, well, the vomiting girl is truly a sight to behold in a commercial. 

-In regards to the Windows 7 release, closed beta testers are also receiving a full copy as well, news link over here.

-The Foxconn suicide can be attributed to so many things without concrete details, a large amount of rumours have indeed sprouted, so I’ll wait till some more information is released before believing any of these stories.

Overall, it was well done, glad to have taken the time to listen. I look forward to the future pod casts, thanks!

Also sent up an e-mail with some interesting news links, hopefully that was received.

[werty316]

At first I was skeptical about using W7, since its similar to Vista, but after using for a while now, I gotta say I am liking it. In fact I'll probably use it over XP. MS has done a great job with it.

[slugbug]

My only complaint with Win7 RC is the inability to show Classic View in Explorer.

[Zeus]

I guess if you really want a "classic" look and feel, you can always run Windows XP mode

[werty316]

I liked the classic look and functionality of the old explorer but once you use the new one, you kinda get used to it. If I was ever to use XP again I would probably ask myself why I am using it.

[crowTrobot]

I completely agree with the views on Vista.  I'm still very comfortable with using it now that I don't even find the need to upgrade to W7 yet.

I think another factor to people's dissappointment with Vista when it came out was that plenty of OEM computers were issued the "Vista compatible" sticker when they weren't. and it was word of mouth from there.

My parents bought an Acer system that only had 1GB of RAM (and part of that was shared with VRAM) and it obviously could barely run Aero. 

Either MS wasn't completely honest with the HW compatibility or it was a huge oversight on their part.