“Registration for the Windows Upgrade Offer is only for those who buy an eligible Windows 7 PC between June 2nd and January 31st, 2013.

“Did you already buy an awesome Windows 7 PC prior to June 2nd (or have a Windows 7 PC not eligible for the offer)?…Starting on October 26th, you will be able to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $39.99!”

http://windowsteamblog.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2012/08/20/windows-upgrade-offer-registration-now-available.aspx

https://windowsupgradeoffer.com/

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…Virtualization software — programs that allow you to run multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single computer…Using virtualization software, you can run multiple operating systems on one physical machine. The technology is now mainstream enough that it is a built-in feature in Windows 7 Professional (and above) and in Windows Server 2008 R2…

Virtualization software runs like any other application. To get started, you power up your computer, load the virtualization program, and install an operating system from its install CD, DVD, or .iso file. In virtualization parlance, the main operating system is called the “host” operating system, and the secondary operating systems the “guest” operating system. Once the virtualization software is running, each subsequent operating system you install on your PC will act like a new computer…

…virtualization software is not for everyone. There is a learning curve in both conceptualizing how virtual machines will function in your network and organization, as well as managing them reliably and cost-effectively…

http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/software/page4826.cfm

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Not all VM software is created equal
An array of virtualization programs are available, and the one(s) you need depends on exactly what you need to do…

…For relatively simple server virtualization scenarios, you can use the free VMWare Server.

…the more virtual machines you want to run simultaneously, the more hardware resources you’ll need on that machine. Each running VM and its guest OS and applications will use RAM and processor cycles, so you’ll need large amounts of memory and one or more fast processors to be able to allocate the proper resources to each VM.

To run multiple resource-hungry servers on one machine, you’ll need a machine with hardware that’s capable of supporting multiple processors and large amounts of RAM and you must be running a host OS that can handle these.

64 bits are better than 32
For server virtualization, consider deploying a 64-bit host operating system. 64-bit processors support a larger memory address space, and Windows 64-bit operating systems support much larger amounts of RAM (and in some cases, more processors) than their 32-bit counterparts…

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-things-you-should-know-about-virtualization/309

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And there is a listing in Wikipedia…

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I felt I needed to give some basic information first, before I inform you that…

Paragon Virtualization Manager 12 Professional is now available!

“…Connect a virtual disk as if it were an ordinary physical disk and open up all physical-disk functionality in a virtual environment. Use a read-only mode or a special read/write mode that creates a snapshot and applies all changes after the snapshot was made to test all configurations without destroying your virtual source drive.

“Virtualization Manager 12 Professional is compatible with products of all popular modern virtualization software providers, such as Microsoft, VMware and Oracle, and supports major virtual machines, including Oracle Virtual Box 4, Microsoft Virtual PC, VMware Workstation and VMware Fusion.”

Take a deep breath…there are a lot of features in it:
• Migrate a Windows-based computer to a virtual environment…Physical-to-Virtual (P2V), and/or Virtual-to-Physical-to-Virtual (V2P)
• Migrate from a 2TB+ physical drive to a smaller virtual drive
• Migrate from one virtual environment to another (V2V)
• Migrate a Windows-based computer to a different hardware platform (P2P)
• Restore a physical system from Paragon’s backup to a virtual environment (P2V Restore)
• Create a virtual disk with a simple wizard (Create VD)
• Recover OS startup ability after system migration to different hardware or unsuccessful virtualization by a third-party tool (P2P and P2V Adjust)
• Exchange data between a physical environment and a virtual one, or between a virtual disk and its snapshots
• Accomplish virtual drive partitioning (create, format, delete, move, resize, etc.)
• Resume any operation with a virtual volume in case of disconnection or any other unexpected situation.
• Merge volumes on a virtual drive to consolidate disk space, from two volumes on the virtual drive into one single, larger volume
• Supports major virtual machines, including Oracle Virtual Box 4, Microsoft Virtual PC, VMware Workstation and VMware Fusion

“…Use a read-only mode or a special read/write mode that creates a snapshot and applies all changes after the snapshot was made to test all configurations without destroying your virtual source drive.”

The website for the product is http://www.paragon-software.com/home/vm-professional/

Note that the 64-bit version of Windows 7 is the most secure of the Windows operating systems, for the reasons that I have been stating in defense of Microsoft:  third-party developers and manufacturers who do not build to the design specifications requested by Microsoft…risk causing the operating system to be unstable.

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The Microsoft Security Intelligence Report (SIR) focuses on software vulnerabilities, software vulnerability exploits, malicious and potentially unwanted software, and security breaches. Past reports and related resources are available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/sir

Infection rates for the 64-bit versions of Windows Vista and Windows 7 are lower than for the corresponding 32-bit versions of those operating systems….Kernel Patch Protection (KPP), a feature of 64-bit versions of Windows that protects the kernel from unauthorized modification, may also contribute…

Windows Defender is a program that is available at no cost to licensed users of Windows that provides real-time protection against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other potentially unwanted software. Windows Defender runs on more than 100 million computers worldwide.

The Malicious Software Removal Tool (MSRT) is a free tool that Microsoft designed to help identify and remove prevalent malware families from customer computers. MSRT is primarily released as an important update through Windows Update, Microsoft Update, and Automatic Updates. A version of the tool is also available from the Microsoft Download Center…MSRT is not a replacement for an up-to-date antivirus solution…

The Windows Live OneCare safety scanner (http://safety.live.com) is a free online tool that uses the same definition database as the Microsoft desktop anti-malware products to detect and remove malware and potentially unwanted software. The Windows Live OneCare safety scanner is not a replacement for an up-to-date antivirus solution…

Microsoft Security Essentials is a basic, consumer-oriented anti-malware product, offered at no charge to licensed users of Windows, which provides real-time protection against viruses, spyware, and other harmful software.

The SmartScreen filter in Internet Explorer 8 and 9 offers Internet Explorer users protection against phishing sites and sites that host malware…When a user attempts to visit a site in the database with the filter enabled, Internet Explorer displays a warning and blocks navigation to the page.

But, Splashtop has “splashed-down”:

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…Splashtop OS, a lightweight, web-centric operating system optimized for notebooks and netbooks…Splashtop OS is a browser-based “companion OS” that co-exists with the Windows operating system…

…It is available as a free download from Splashtop: http://www.splashtop.com/os.

Key benefits include:
* Fast – starts in just seconds, way before Windows;
* Safe – combines a lightweight Linux platform with the Chromium browser;
* Convenient – includes all core plug-ins, such as Adobe Flash, pre-installed;
* Smart – automatically imports critical settings from Windows for streamlined set-up;
* Personal – allows you to easily customize the environment with thousands of web apps, extensions, games and themes from the Chrome Web Store.

http://www.splashtop.com/press/splashtop-os-featuring-chromium-browser-and-bing-search-now-available-for-download-on-major-notebooks-and-netbooks

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After I downloaded the initial setup file from their website, executed it…and the download of 315.2 MB began. Not a pleasant surprise:  we should be informed that a much large file needs to be downloaded BEFORE executing the initial setup file.

After Splashtop installed, I restarted the computer into it…it takes about one minute for it to fully load the desktop.

I wish Splashtop would allow for the downloading, and saving, of the 312 MB file to a specific location: I am interested in installing it on other computers, but don’t want to again need to download the 312 MB file…I want to put it on a portable drive.

And, I wish there were a version of Splashtop that could be run from an USB drive…

After installing the drive, I decided to install a 64-bit version of Vista onto the second hard drive.  After doing so, at the boot menu, to my surprise I found identical entries!  I am not happy…

After doing some research, I found:

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Set up a dual-boot system

…Surprisingly, the only official tool is a command-line utility called Bcdedit…

Bcdedit isn’t an interactive program; instead, you perform tasks by appending switches and parameters to the Bcdedit command line. To display the complete syntax for this tool, open an elevated Command Prompt window (using the Run as Administrator option) and enter the command Bcdedit –?
Rename entries in the boot menu

…By default, Setup adds the generic entry ‘Microsoft Windows Vista’ for each installation. If you set up a dual-boot system using Windows Vista Home Premium and Windows Vista Business, you’ll be unable to tell which is which, because the menu text will be the same for each. To make the menu more informative, follow these steps:

Start your computer and choose either entry from the boot menu. After startup completes, make a note of which installation is running.

Click the Start button Picture of the Start button, type cmd in the Search box, and press CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER. Click Continue in the User Account Control box to open an elevated Command Prompt window.

Type the following command: bcdedit /set description “Menu description goes here” (substitute your own description for the placeholder text, and be sure to include the quotation marks). Press ENTER.

Restart your computer and note that the menu description you just entered now appears on the menu. Select the other menu option.

Repeat steps 2 and 3, again adding a menu description to replace the generic text and distinguish this installation from the other one.

Choose the default operating system

You can choose which installation is the default operating system by opening the Startup and Recovery dialog box. To open this dialog box:

Open System by clicking the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking System.

Click Advanced System Settings. Picture of security shield icon If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

Click the Advanced tab, and then, under Startup and Recovery, click Settings.

To change the default operating system, select an option from the Default operating system list (this is where descriptive menu choices come in handy). You can also choose how long you want to display the list of operating systems. The default is 30 seconds; we typically set this value to no more than 10 seconds (you can choose any number between 1 and 99). To set the boot menu so that the default operating system starts automatically, clear the Time to display list of operating systems check box, or enter 0…

Control which drive letter your boot volume uses

…If you currently have a working copy of any Windows version on drive C and you install a clean copy of Windows, drive letters are assigned using the following logic:

If you begin the installation process by booting from the Windows Vista media and choose a partition other than the one containing your current copy of Windows, the new installation uses the drive letter C when you start up. The volume that contains the other Windows installation uses the next available drive letter. When you choose the previous Windows installation from the startup menu, it uses the drive letter C, and your new Windows Vista installation is assigned the next available drive letter. In this configuration, you can be certain that your current operating system is always on the C drive, but drive letters assigned to volumes you use for data may shift in unexpected ways.

If you begin the installation process by running Setup from within your current version of Windows and use the Custom (Advanced) option to perform a clean install on a partition other than the one currently in use, the new installation uses the next available drive letter. The volumes containing each installation have the same drive letters regardless of which Windows version you select at startup.

…If you prefer the consistency of knowing that all system files and program files are on the C drive, you’ll probably want to choose the first option. If you would rather use drive letters to keep track of which Windows version is running at any given time, you’ll prefer the second option…

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I had the 32-bit version of Vista Unltimate installed, and installed a 64-bit verison of Vista Ultimate.  I don’t remember, but assume I booted from the 64-bit DVD and installed the operating system.

After clicking on the Start button, typing “cmd” (no quotation marks) in the Search box, pressing CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER, and clicking “Continue” (in the User Account Control box)…I was given a command prompt at c:\windows\system32\

I typed:
bcdedit /set description “64-bit Windows Vista Ultimate”

…and restarted the computer.  My change in the boot menu was successful.