The Microsoft campaign for “Windows 7 was my idea” has spawned a new parody of YouTube videos. Starring such greats as Darth Vader, a Storm Trooper and Chewbacca, these are actually pretty well done!

Remember to go check out Sneaky Zebra’s channel for more parody videos!

The mighty Windows XP has finally given up the crown for the top OS in market share. This is great news for the adoption of Windows 7, and shows that the consumers are really liking the new operating system. Following behind XP is the so called “failure” of Vista which beats Mac OSX. Coming in last is Linux, with .7%. Then there is the “other”, which may be BSD, Windows 98, 2000, or maybe Windows 3.11 (which worked great with Trumpet and Netscape).

Microsoft is set to release 64 updates this upcoming patch Tuesday over 17 security bulletins. Quite a bit of patching, but it’s good to stay up to date and keep your PC nice and tight. of the 17 updates, 9 of them are rated Critical, which is the highest rating. Make sure you patch your box this coming Tuesday or set up your Automatic Updates.

Microsoft has developed a simulation to check what a Windows Phone 7 would look like with you in mind. From your contacts to your Windows Live gaming profile to your pictures from Facebook. This is only a simulation in a small video demonstration, no information is stored or shared, and it isn’t interactive. But, it is still a nice little way to check out how it would look with your information. Still deciding on a WP7 or a new Android powered phone. Since Google is starting to lock down their Android OS, leaving us rooted users with nothing anymore, I’m leaning towards the Windows Phone 7 now. Just waiting on Verizon to start supporting the phones, and I’m due for an upgrade… Come on Verizon! I want my WP7!

Microsoft has been getting the hint that users like to customize their desktops to make them there own, and have given them tools to make their own themes. But, with Windows 8, you can have Windows automatically adjust the colors of the Aero interface depending on your desktop wallpaper. That sounds like a nice addition to the new Windows.

In Windows 7, Microsoft added a new Personalization interface, allowing users to customize their desktops as they wished. But a few obvious features were missing, and in Windows 8, the company is finally filling in the gaps. Today’s revelation is one such feature: The ability to automatically configure the color of Aero elements, like the Start Menu, Windows Explorer windows, and the taskbar based on the desktop wallpaper.

Windows Home Server 2011 and Windows Server 2011: Essentials has been released on TechNet and MSDN. I’m still undecided on which one to go with. I’d really like to run a domain in my home/home office and am a bit upset with the lack of Drive Extender. So, I’m thinking of skipping the WHS this round (I love the older version of WHS, which I am running now) and going with a full server product.

Look for the WHS available on OEM machines in Early May, and the Server 2011: Essentials to be available on store shelves around the same time!

In a survey by Glassdoor.com, Steve Ballmer is not doing that great. Microsoft employees gave the CEO an approval rating of 40% on the question “Do you approve of the way your CEO is leading the company?”. Come on Steve, you can do better!

Ballmer’s approval as a boss ranks last among the top dozen tech companies, according to the survey.

Glassdoor.com said Ballmer saw the second biggest drop among CEOs evaluated. Between March 2009 and March 2010, Ballmer’s average approval rating was 46 percent, but has dropped to 40 percent in the past year.

Happy Birthday to the great company of Microsoft! Founded on this day in 1975 (which is also my birth year), it has grown to amazing levels. It has had it’s share of up’s and down’s and trials and tribulations… But, I’m glad to see they have made it this far and I look forward to another 36 years from them!

Microsoft is a multinational computer technology corporation. The history of Microsoft began on April 4, 1975, when it was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque.^[1] Its current best-selling products are the Microsoft Windows operating system and the Microsoft Office suite of productivity software.

I’m always the one to root for the underdog. I can’t stand Steve Jobs (except during the old Atari days – I didn’t mind him there), but I absolutely love and admire Steve Wozniak. Never cared much for Bill Gates, but loved the programmers at Microsoft. But, Paul Allen, Microsoft’s co-founder sounds like his memoirs are bordering on fiction and it’s hard to cheer for the guy. Sure, without Allen, Microsoft may never had been born and we would never have Windows. Even with friends, there is the friendship then there is the business. You never confuse the two. There are some things in Microsoft history that he claims happened, but the other people involved disagree.

Whether or not he got “cheated” out of billions of dollars (I don’t think so) is just part of the story. Paul Allen’s memoir book goes on sale April 17th, and I’m sure to give it a read.

Mr. Allen’s unflattering account of Mr. Gates in the book is already making waves within the tight circle of early Microsoft alumni, with several people who know both men privately expressing confusion about Mr. Allen’s motivations for criticizing his old business partner and questioning the accuracy of Mr. Allen’s interpretation of certain events. Mr. Allen, for instance, puts himself in meetings that people familiar with the meetings say he never attended. In one case, Mr. Allen visits Palo Alto, Calif. to help woo a computer scientist who would later become one of the Microsoft’s most important programmers. People familiar with the meeting said it was Mr. Gates who made the visit. Mr. Postman said that he isn’t aware of any errors in the book.

Another feature is lined up for Windows 8, and is sure to get some flak from the Mac pundits. Called “History Vault”, it allows you to keep copies of your critical files in case of accidental deletion or overwrites. You can also store them on a network share (and online storage, such as DropBox) and retrieve them in case of a total system failure.

The feature will allow Windows 8 users to backup files and data automatically using the Shadow Copies function of Windows. According to one person familiar with the company’s plans, the backup feature will include the ability to restore to a specific time or date on the system. Users will also be able to select files and restore them to different timestamps