My pal Brian Seitz over on the Zune Insider revealed a brand new (and very awesome looking) Zune yesterday – the Zune HD.

This awesome looking new device comes with an OLED screen with multi touch, an HD Radio receiver, HD video out capabilities, AND a web browser! Find out more about the Zune HD here. The Zune HD will be hitting the market later this year. I’m definitely getting one of these!

Oh and Zune will also be coming to the Xbox 360, taking over the existing video marketplace. Expect to hear more about this at E3 taking place in Los Angeles next week.

You can read the full press release for these 2 announcements here on PressPass.

Brian says there is more news to come. I suggest keeping your eyes on the Zune Insider.

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.

Starting tomorrow, Windows Media Center users who are also Netflix members will gain access to more than 12,000 movies and TV episodes from Netflix directly within Windows Media Center on their PCs.

Using the two together is easy and convenient. In Windows Media Center, a new Netflix tile will appear under “TV + Movies”. To stream movies and TV shows from Netflix, just click on the new Netflix tile and login with your Netflix account.

You will be able to search the entire Netflix library right from Windows Media Center, and manage both your Instant and DVD Queues. Windows Media Center will also take advantage of Netflix’s “recommended” categories.

Here is a short video of Netflix in action in Windows Media Center:

Netflix in Windows Media Center

And here is another really neat video walk-through of Netflix in Windows Media Center:

Getting Netflix in Windows Media Center

You can also use your Windows Media Center remote to navigate the player controls and queues for Netflix in Windows Media Center too!

Netflix in Windows Media Center is powered by Silverlight.

If you also have an Xbox LIVE Gold membership and have been streaming Netflix movies and TV episodes to your Xbox 360, this offering will work for you as well.

Netflix in Windows Media Center currently will work only for Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate users today.

This is very cool stuff. You may remember back in March, we launched the Windows Media Center Sports Channel, which offers a variety of interactive sports content including from CBSSports.com, FOX Sports and MSNBC.com. Now more than ever, Windows Media Center offers a great entertainment experience.

UPDATE 5/20: Netflix in Windows Media Center works for Windows Vista Home Premium and Ultimate users in the U.S. only and does not support Extenders for Windows Media Center.

I thought this might be of interest to some folks. Microsoft Learning is providing 3 free online E-Learning Clinics on Windows 7 geared toward 3 distinct audiences.

• What’s New in Windows 7 for Consumers
• What’s New in Windows 7 for IT Professionals
• What’s New in Windows 7 for Information Workers

These “clinics” focus on many of the new features and functionality seen in Windows 7.

Microsoft Learning also has a Windows 7 Learning Portal that just went live too.

If you haven’t already, you can register to download the Windows 7 RC to play with and try out Windows 7 today.

When a new version of Windows is released, people either upgrade their existing PC or purchase a new PC with the latest version of Windows already pre-installed. For the people who want to upgrade their existing PC, they are often faced with the question of whether their PC can run the new Windows version or not. As we announced last week, Microsoft plans to offer a tool that can be used to determine if a PC is able to run Windows 7– Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor.

A beta of Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor is now available to help people analyze their PC in preparation for a Windows 7 upgrade. Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor is a free tool that people can download as of today to help them determine if their PC is able to upgrade to and run Windows 7. The beta can be downloaded here (English only at this time).

Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor examines a PC’s processor, memory, storage, and graphics capabilities, identifies known compatibility issues with installed software and devices and finally provides guidance on how to resolve those issues if possible. Please also note: as previously stated on the E7 blog, Windows XP users are required to do a clean install of the Windows 7 RC as well as the final product. Only PCs with Windows Vista can be upgraded to Windows 7.

After running Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor myself, the initial results of my scan can be seen in the below screenshot.

The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor measures a PC’s ability to upgrade to Windows 7 based on the following final system requirements for Windows 7:

• 1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
• 1GB RAM (32-bit) / 2GB RAM (64-bit)
• 16GB available disk space (32-bit) / 20GB (64-bit)
• DirectX® 9 graphics processor with WDDM (Windows Display Driver Model) 1.0 or higher driver

In this screenshot, you can see how my PC has passed all the Windows 7 system requirements.

Before you run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Beta , be sure that you plug in any USB devices or other devices such as printers, external hard drives, or scanners that are regularly used with the PC you are evaluating. The screenshot below shows all the devices attached to my PC when I did the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor scan.

The Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor is easy enough for any PC user to use in evaluating the ability of a PC to install and run Windows 7.

Windows Easy Transfer is an application designed to help people move their important files, user accounts, and application settings from their old PC to a new PC. The new version of Windows Easy Transfer for Windows 7 comes with improvements based on feedback received from Windows Vista customers. I wanted to take a closer look at these improvements.

For the new version of Windows Easy Transfer, people can move their files from PCs running Windows XP and Windows Vista.

NOTE: For the Windows 7 RC, Windows Easy Transfer can also be used to move files from a Windows 7 Beta PC to a PC running the Windows 7 RC.

The first thing people will likely notice about the new version of Windows Easy Transfer is that is has an updated, cleaner and much simpler UI.

People can transfer files 1 of 3 ways:

• Using a Windows Easy Transfer Cable (direct PC-to-PC)
• Over a network
• External hard drive

Many folks have PCs in their homes that are used by multiple family members and thus may also have multiple user profiles. The new version of Windows Easy Transfer detects all user profiles on a single PC and allows customers to pick and choose which of the user profiles they want to transfer files from. The idea behind enabling this scenario is that it permits users to “split” a PC. For example, let’s say a family PC becomes a kids-only PC after the purchase of a new laptop for the parents. With the selectivity Windows Easy Transfer now offers, selected user profiles can be migrated to one PC and other user profiles can be transferred to another. The UI also displays the size for each user profile.

Windows Easy Transfer also allows for enhanced selectivity of what is to be transferred. It is now possible to see every file that is selected for the migration and make changes on a per file basis. Do you have a big file (like a video) you don’t want to transfer to your new PC? You can now prevent that file from being transferred.

The same “enhanced selectivity” I spoke about above for gathering files also applies when restoring files. It is now possible to see every file that is pending restoration and make changes on a per file basis. Did you include a file in the transfer that you don’t want to migrate to your new PC? No problem – just deselect that file.

We are also introducing a new feature with this version: Windows Easy Transfer Reports. Any time after a migration has been completed it is now possible to view a report that details everything that was moved during the migration, where it was moved to, and a list of programs that were installed on the old PC complete with links for more information including where to re-download if possible.

If you are an IT professional and have multiple PCs you would like to migrate, check out the User State Migration Tool for Windows 7 and new features like hard-link migration and migration from windows.old. 

Give Windows Easy Transfer a try if you haven’t already!

Microsoft’s own Peter Neupert has some good thoughts on technology and the H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) today:

With the media hype machine driving minute by minute coverage, it’s hard not to think about devastating epidemics and pandemics of the past—typhoid fever, smallpox, etc…—illnesses that spread uncontrollably and killed millions.

While we should be concerned, we should also remember just how far we’ve come in facing these challenges. Today, the Internet, blogs, instant messaging, and other technologies can disseminate information about new threats and new medical knowledge faster than ever before.  Technology gives us the opportunity to face these crises better than we have in the past.

Check out some of what the Center for Disease Control and Prevention is doing in social media for an example of this good work: www.cdc.gov/socialmedia.

We on the Windows Team are excited about a small role we’re playing here putting Center for Disease Control and Prevention health tips and World Health Organization news updates at the top of people’s browsers through a new Swine Flu Web Slice for Internet Explorer 8, now available at www.ieaddons.com. Education and awareness is key to helping prevent the spread of this threat and in furthering medical knowledge around the globe and we’re hopeful this solution on Internet Explorer 8 can play a role in helping people stay up-to-speed.

UPDATE: Check out this blog post from Microsoft Evangelist Giorgio Sardo on how he made the Swine Flu Web Slice for Internet Explorer 8.