We did this before with Windows 7 at PDC and the Windows 7 Beta – I figured it’s time to do it for the Windows 7 RC. Here are a handful of quotes of what people are saying about the Windows 7 RC:

Ed Bott from ZDNet wrote:

Overall, I’m impressed with how reliable this Windows release has been. It also seems more than adequate in terms of performance.

Dwight Silverman from the Houston Chronicle wrote:

This latest test release is good. Really good. In fact, it’s good enough that, were Microsoft to call this the finished version and release it formally, it would be a much better product than Windows Vista was when it launched in early 2007.

Preston Gralla of Computerworld wrote:

Windows 7 RC1 includes a substantial number of productivity and performance tweaks that make an already solid, fast, entertaining and useful operating system even better.

Simon Bisson of ZDNet talks about his long history testing beta and RC bits of Windows and how the Windows 7 RC compares:

We've been using Beta and RC code since Windows 3, and this is by far the most solid and feature-complete RC we've seen.

Jeremy Kaplan of PC Magazine wrote:

Bottom line is that Windows 7 Release Candidate is more polished than the beta; seems to be better optimized for operating speed, responsiveness and improves user experience.

Matt Buchanan from Gizmodo digs the new backgrounds we added to the Windows 7 RC (I do too!):

Yes, these are just a handful of the ridiculously awesome backgrounds packed inside Windows 7.

Samara Lyn from CRN was impressed with the work we have done with Windows 7 and with our partners on driver compatibility:

Another blessing with Window 7 RC is that there were no issues with drivers. It looks as if Microsoft and vendors really got on board with ensuring driver compatibility.

This is what Mary Branscombe from the Financial Times had to say about the Windows 7 RC:

For end users, Windows 7 is a clear leap forward, and if the final version has the same high quality and attention to detail as this release it should appeal to customers and PC manufacturers alike.

And here is what Joshua Topolsky from Engadget said:

One thing we can say for sure is that it felt snappier and less buggy than the earlier versions (duh), and it's clear that Microsoft has taken a lot of the feedback it's gotten to heart. RC1 shows off definite attention to detail.

Are you using your blog to talk about using Windows and Windows Live? Do you want to get your post showcased on Microsoft websites? You should join The Clubhouse. The Clubhouse is a place that brings together people using their blogs to help others how to use the best parts of Windows and Windows Live.

How does The Clubhouse work?

You first need to apply to join The Clubhouse. There is a small review process in order to insure that there is a good fit for people applying and the rest of The Clubhouse.

Once you’re approved, you continue to write fantastic Windows and Windows Live content on your blog and use special tags that help identify what you’re writing about as it relates to either Windows or Windows Live. Your posts are brought into the Clubhouse via your RSS feed (having an RSS is a requirement to take part in The Clubhouse). Once you tag your post for The Clubhouse using the special tags, it gets pulled through your RSS feed into The Clubhouse.

In order to use the special tags needed to identify your contributions for The Clubhouse, you will need to add a new Tag Provider in Windows Live Writer. Right now, The Clubhouse has special tags for Windows Live and Windows Vista, with a set of special tags launching for Windows 7 later this month.

Once your post is published with the special tags – it appears within The Clubhouse where members of The Clubhouse rate one another’s contributions, so the top rated content can be showcased on Microsoft websites, newsletters, and even tweeted from @MSWindows and @windowslive. So it’s up to your peers to choose which content is good enough to get showcased.

So where is your content showcased?

After you get enough good votes inside The Clubhouse – depending on the type of post (Windows Vista or Windows Live) your stuff will show up on 1 of 2 Microsoft websites:

Explore Windows Live:

Discover Windows Vista:

Outside of the really cool opportunity to get your content from your blog showcased on Microsoft websites, The Clubhouse offers several other “perks”.

As you continue to write your own content – you will earn Club Points and Badges. When you earn a certain amount of Club Points, you get Badges. Each Badge you earn will appear next to any of your content showcased on Microsoft websites. You also can earn special-recognition Badges as well. These Badges are a great way for people reading your content to see how much you rock.

Because I am a Microsoft employee, for any of my content you will see this Badge:

If you blog quite a bit about using Windows and Windows Live – I suggest giving The Clubhouse a look and applying! It can be a great way to gain more exposure of your content!

3 new Plug-ins for Windows Live Writer were recently release that I think bloggers who live and breath in Windows Live Writer (such as myself) will appreciate. These plug-ins were created by the awesome Windows Live Writer Team here at Microsoft.

DiggThis – Add a “DiggThis” badge to your blog posts so your readers can quickly “digg” your blog posts. The plug-in offers several different “styles” of badges to choose from, as well as alignment options for where its placed on your blog. Download the plug-in here.

Twitter Notify: This plug-in will automatically “tweet” the title and link to your blog to your Twitter account when you publish a blog post. Download the plug-in here.

Flickr Upload: When you insert an inline image in a blog post in Windows Live Writer it also uploads that image to Flickr you when publish your post. Download the plug-in here.

You can download the latest version of Windows Live Writer in the new Windows Live Essentials suite today at download.live.com. Some of the new features include:

• Insert and upload Windows Live photo albums
• Insert and publish video to YouTube
• Server-side tagging (support coming soon to WordPress.com and BlogEngine.NET)
• Improved blog account setup

And there is more! You can read about what’s new in the latest Windows Live Writer release via the Windows Live Writer Team Blog.

Windows Live Writer is a must-have tool for bloggers.

I thought it might be nice to do a little round-up of what folks are saying about Windows 7 after today’s keynote here at the PDC in Los Angeles. I’d like to share some of the best ones we’ve found so far. We’re not trying to “toot” our own horn here – many of these folks are extremely critical of what we do with Windows so what they say is very important to us.

This is what Ed Bott from ZDNet had to say:

“This loaner machine certainly doesn’t feel like it’s running pre-beta code. It’s wicked fast and eerily quiet thanks to a solid state drive. In a very long day’s worth of use it has yet to crash or display any of the flaky behavior you might expect from a beta.”

Ed, it was a pleasure seeing you again at PDC!

Peter Bright at ArsTechnica says:

“Windows 7 may not change much under the hood, but the extent of these interface changes makes it clear that this is very much a major release.”

That was from Peter’s post that has enjoyed the top spot on Techmeme today for most of the day.

Lance Ulanoff from PC Magazine says:

“It (MSFT) ignored the advice of dozens of pundits and is now playing out a script that, in the end, could make the company look like a band of geniuses.”

Paul Thurrott says:

“Well, let me ruin the surprise up front. Windows 7 is Windows Vista done right. If you're already a fan of Windows Vista, you'll love Windows 7 because it's a better rendition of that earlier OS. If you're a Vista hater, take heart: The makers of Windows 7 have reevaluated virtually everything about Vista and made changes small and large across the board. The result is a better Windows, no matter how you slice it.”

Today was Paul’s birthday - at least according to his Windows Live profile. Happy birthday Paul! Paul has been doing “exhaustive” reviews of Windows for a while now.

Jason Brooks from eWeek says:

“In the day and a half I’ve spent using Windows 7 on a Microsoft-provided Dell XPS M1330 machine preinstalled with Build 6801 of the OS, I’ve found its polish and performance a world away from the first Longhorn build I tried out at PDC 2003. At this point, Windows 7 feels more like a second beta or an early release candidate than a developer conference sneak peek.”

Andre Da Costa from ActiveWin says:

“It’s safe to say I am overwhelmed, overjoyed and most of all excited about Windows 7. This is the release of Windows everybody has been waiting for, it’s what Vista was meant to be and beyond that. Windows 7 puts the user first… This is an upgrade I am looking forward to and you should too.”

Robert McLaws from Windows-Now says:

“The Sunday before PDC, I was given the opportunity to join about 200 other journalists for a workshop on Windows 7. Lead by the dynamic (as well as unusually candid and often very self-effacing) duo of Mike Nash and Steven Sinofsky (surprisingly enough, he didn’t try to have me killed… sweet!), we were given a six hour tour of the much anticipated follow-up to Windows Vista. I didn’t know what to expect, and I walked away with the feeling I got after seeing Longhorn for the first time. yes, I believe it was just that good.”

Both Windows-Now and ActiveWin are Windows Featured Community members.

Wilson Rothman from Gizmodo says:

“…even the early build of Windows 7 feels like a fast, stable environment. There's a lot going on behind the scenes to make the OS more usable, one monumental improvement being how video memory is allocated for unseen windows. (Hint: It's not.) The result is a highly responsive machine that gets decent battery life.”

Now that folks have the Pre-Beta build of Windows 7 and with WinHEC coming up – we expect to see ever more discussion from folks on putting Windows 7 to the test.