Official Way to Install and Use Windows Vista without Activation for Free for 120 Days

By default, Windows Vista can be installed, used and run without any license, product key or the need of activation for 30 days grace period, for purpose of trial or evaluation. Although Microsoft initially stressed that users should purchase a license with valid product key before the trial period expires, or else Windows Vista will lock into Reduced Functionality Mode. However, a “rearm” method has long since been discovered to be able to extend, or reset the remaining time for activation to another fresh 30 days, for up to 3 times.

Now Microsoft has confirmed that Windows Vista can be used and run for 120 days or 4 months (3 rearms), and extending the activation grace period is not a violation of the Vista End User License Agreement (EULA). All versions of Vista include Windows Vista Ultimate allow a 30-day free period without activation, except the corporate-oriented Vista Enterprise, which supports only a three-day trial.

Chaitanya Sareen, Windows Team at Microsoft, has produced a blog post detailing the new Windows 7 Taskbar.

In the post Sareen highlights the following areas of evolution:

• Refreshed Look
• Pinning
• Unification
• Interactive, Grouped Thumbnails
• Aero Peek
• Jump Lists
• Custom Window Switchers
• Thumbnail Toolbars
• Notification Area
• Overlay Icons and Progress Bars
• Color Hot-track
• Start Menu

In the post, Sareen also posts screen shots of one of the latest builds of Windows 7 at Microsoft, Build 6948.fbl_shell_dex.081112-1755. Most of the features we already know about from PDC but one interesting addition, that Microsoft didn’t demonstrate at PDC, is overlay icons and progress bars in the taskbar. Microsoft now allows application developers to give feedback about progress by having their taskbar button turn into a progress bar. This is particularly useful for file copy progress, as shown below. An icon can now also be shown over a program’s taskbar button.

If you are interested in the Windows 7 development or the new taskbar then it’s a worth while read and explains some of the design decisions that Microsoft have made.

If you’re interested in all the features being demonstrated on video then we recorded several videos

Today, a major feature was added to the pre-release versions of Firefox 3.1, called Private Browsing. I’ve been working for quite some time on this, so I thought it may be a good time to write about what this feature is and how to use it.

As you may know, while you browse the web, your browser usually records a lot of data which will later be used to improve your browsing experience. For example, it records a history of all the web pages you have visited, so that later if you need help remembering a site you visited a while back, it can assist you in finding that site. Now, that is great, but there is a downside: those data can be used to trace your online activities. For example, if your coworker sits at your computer, she can view all of your browsing history, which may not be what you want.

Suppose you’re doing something online, and you don’t want your coworkers know about it. An example scenario would be looking for a new employer while at work! One option would be to do your work, and then clear the data that Firefox has