All-Encompassing Trip

It’s not even a beta; it doesn’t include a back button or an address bar, but it lets you preview some of the new CSS3 and HTML5 support in IE9. Sadly, it requires Windows Vista or Windows 7, so I can’t install it right now, but at least you can install it alongside earlier versions of Internet Explorer.

Why yes, that’s exactly why I don’t use Internet Explorer: not enough fucking Nickelback. Good work as always, Microsoft.

Due to an enormous surge in demand, the download experience was not ideal so we listened and took the necessary steps to ensure a good experience. We have clearly heard that many of you want to check out the Windows 7 Beta and, as a result, we have decided remove the initial 2.5 million limit on the public beta for the next two weeks (thru January 24th). During that time you will have access to the beta even if the download number exceeds the 2.5 million unit limit.

These are the best instructions I’ve found so far for getting a Windows 7 beta product key, courtesy of Windows 7 News:

1. Install the Check4Change Firefox extension.
2. Sign in to Microsoft Technet with your Windows Live account.
3. Go to the Windows 7 beta 32-bit key or Windows 7 beta 64-bit key sites.
4. You’ll see an error page: The site is currently experiencing technical difficulties, please check back in the next business day. Select the error text, right-click on it, select Check4Change, Custom…, Refresh and check every 5 seconds.
5. The page will start refreshing every 5 seconds until the content changes.
6. Go watch a movie or something. Come back in a couple of hours. With luck, the page will have stopped reloading and will be displaying your product key and download link. If not, keep trying.

It took me about an hour of reloading to get the key, but it definitely worked for me. However, yesterday I was able to get as far as registering and confirming my email before Microsoft took down the beta download page, so it’s possible that this won’t work if you didn’t get that far, but it’s worth giving it a shot if you want to try the beta.

Microsoft’s Windows 7 website is still getting royally pwned by traffic, but you can at least get a head-start downloading the ISOs from one of these links:

• Windows 7 beta (x86)
• Windows 7 beta (x64)

You’ll still need a key from Microsoft, though, but you can try the beta without a key for 30 days. (Via Download Squad.)

This new Microsoft ad is so much better than the previous Seinfeld nonsense.

First commercial in Microsoft’s $300 million Vista campaign, featuring Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld. It’s somewhat funny — mostly because it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever — but I honestly don’t see how this helps sell or advertise Vista. Or anything else, besides churros and/or cheap pleather shoes. Hopefully the next ones will be better. Mmmm… churros.

Update: According to Techcrunch, Microsoft describes the ads as an icebreaker, and part of a first phase designed to engage consumers and spark a new conversation about Windows. Judging by what I’m seeing on Twitter, if they wanted the conversation to be about how lame the ad is, I guess they succeeded.