When paying around $2,000 for a technical conference you expect some good swag to take away. Microsoft's annual Tech-Ed event ups the ante this year with attendees receiving a free HP netbook with Windows 7. There is a small catch however with an ethical choice being attached.

Why do Microsoft and vendors like ASUS continue to push the line that Microsoft Windows is the ultimate operating system for the diminutive ultraportable netbook market? The Windows 7 plan for netbooks is fraught with limitation and burdens. It's time to bring back the penguin.

Microsoft seems bent on making netbook users know they’re running the cheapest version of Windows 7. After relenting on the previous restriction only three apps could run at one time the company now will lock the operating system desktop so the default wallpaper can not be changed.

Microsoft Windows 7 brings new levels of virtualisation to the desktop. This includes natively booting from virtual hard disks and XP Mode. Both open exciting new possibilities for enterprise deployments and software distribution.

I've just finished reading an article about how Windows 7 will be panned by enterprises which are now supposedly skeptical about Windows because of their bad experience with Vista. What's more, many of these enterprises will supposedly be moving to desktop Linux. Hogwash.

If one was to believe IBM, the days of the Microsoft desktop are numbered, soon to be cut short by a combination of Canonical's Ubuntu Linux, IBM's Lotus range of office applications and a virtual desktop from Virtual Bridges. The trouble is IBM's solution is nothing new and addresses none of the issues associated with moving away from Microsoft.

Neither Ubuntu nor any other brand of Linux is ever going to make it as a mainstream desktop operating system. Listen to a roar of protests from some of the millions of Linux desktop users around the world. Very loud they are but in the scheme of things their numbers are tiny - they are a tinority.

Want to see what the new Windows 7 taskbar and Aero peek features look like, along with the Windows 7 boot screen and some touch screen goodness?

Here's how to skin Linux to give a Windows Vista appearance. You can help provide a familiar look and feel to your Windows-trained friends and family as you coax them towards Linux. Or you can enjoy the satisfaction of having something looking like Vista actually run with stability.

For an awful lot of people their first encounter with a computer will invariably be Microsoft Windows. This straight away creates a barrier against considering alternate operating systems because they look different to what the user has been accustomed to. Here's how to paint a Windows facade over Linux and remove that obstacle.