Last year I wrote an article about how to install Windows 7 from a USB flash drive. This can come in handy when you want to reload a netbook that has no built in CD / DVD Drive

My friend Matt showed me an easier way to do this. If you have your install disk in ISO format, you can use a free tool from Microsoft. It formats, prepares, and copies the install files to your USB drive – It works for Windows 7 and 2008 install disks.

You can download it from here:

Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool

It will run on XP, 2003, Vista, Windows 7 and 2008. Simply download and install.

Pick your install ISO file:

Set the destination to USB Device

Find the USB drive you want to write it to:

And bam…it builds a bootable Windows 7 install disk (Works for 2008 too)

Much easier than a bunch of commands at the prompt. Four simple steps and you have a bootable install disk.

As developers evolve, so do their applications. And, we are evolving with them. To-date, Windows 7 has sold a record-breaking 90 million licenses making it the fastest selling operating system in history. This creates an awesome opportunity for developers to create some stunning software applications for a vast audience. We’re recognizing that there is an ongoing trend today with developers creating applications that bring together the best of the Web with the best of the Windows. A great example of this is Seesmic for Windows. Seesmic has adopted the Windows Platform as its delivery mechanism today for bringing Twitter to your Windows PC. For geeks like me, Seesmic provides Seesmic for Windows. And for the more casual user, they have Seesmic Look.

We are excited about what we’re seeing from developers like Seesmic and others and are encouraged by the future development of applications on the Windows Platform. There are 3 million developers and the majority target Windows. To help them stay connected with us and the community; we are introducing a new website today called Develop for Windows. We heard feedback from developers that they would like to be able to easily discover important resources for developing for Windows. We are looking to provide just that on the new Develop for Windows website. The new site will allow us to hear from developers and to provide them a single place to find all the resources and tools they can use to build great applications for Windows.

The Develop for Windows website is our direct connection to the developer community, and vice versa. Developers who visit the site will be able to learn about developing for Windows by seeing what’s new with Windows 7, get sample code and special “kits” to jump-start developing a Windows application, and of course pointers to lots and lots of Windows developer content at the Windows Developer Center on MSDN. The Develop for Windows website will also provide special “learning tracks” for developers to experience the technology they are developing for.

We also encourage developers to remain active in the Windows developer community by visiting the Windows forums, learning about local events they should attend and looking at what other developers are building. Microsoft puts on several events each year specifically targeting the developer. This last fall we had PDC09, which allowed developers to attend the Windows Bootcamp and learn about building applications that take advantage of Windows Touch, Sensor and Location Platform and a few other Windows 7 Technologies. Next week, we have MIX10 which is a fantastic event for developers looking to create the types of applications for Windows, mentioned above that bring in the best of the Web with the best of the client experience on Windows.

If you’re developing applications for Windows or looking to begin developing applications for Windows, the new Develop for Windows website is perfect for you. This is just the beginning. We’ll be adding a dedicated social media hub for developers, a developer hero showcase, event content on demand, and fresh videos of developers building innovative applications. Add the site to your Favorites and keep checking back as we’re going to continue to provide updated content on the site based on the feedback we receive from developers. We’ll also have some tips and highlights after MIX10 on Silverlight and Visual Studio 2010 as well!

Yesterday, Denon announced that much of their current line of audio and video (A/V) receivers have earned Compatible with Windows 7 logo.

The following models have received the logo:

• AVR-4310CI
• AVR-3310CI
• AVR-990
• AVR-4810CI (recently released and shown above)
• ASD-51W
• ASD-51N

Denon has also said that their new A/V receivers, scheduled to be announced in 2010, will also carry the Compatible with Windows 7 logo.

As you’re building your stereo system at home or looking to update an existing stereo system, you should definitely consider A/V receivers such as Denon’s models that carry the Compatible with Windows 7 logo. That means these receivers work great and can take advantage of Windows 7. For example if one of the Denon receiver models above powers your stereo system at home, you can use Windows 7’s Play To feature to streaming your music to your stereo system over your home network.

Denon’s A/V receivers with the Compatible with Windows 7 logo come with built-in Ethernet and wireless allowing the unit to connect right up to your wireless network.

Because Denon’s units are not just audio receivers but video receivers too, one of their devices connected through HDMI to a HDTV can receive HD video streamed from any one of your Windows 7 PCs in your home using Play To.

Dell today, is introducing the Vostro 3000 series of Windows PCs targeting specifically at the Small Business customer.

The new thin, lightweight and durable laptop computers feature powerful processors, high-end graphics and built-in security, and are designed for small businesses; helping them stretch their budget and protect their data, and come with dedicated small business services and support to keep a small businesses moving.

Vostro 3000 series consists of a 17” model (Vostro 3700), a 15” model (Vostro 3500), a 14” model (Vostro 3400), and a 13” model (Vostro 3300). And they come packing quite a “punch”.

The Vostro 3000 series will come with the latest Intel Core processors, including, the optional the quad-core Intel Core i7 processor available on the Vostro 3700. The Vostro 3300 is one of the thinnest commercial 13” laptops with an integrated optical drive. And the Vostro 3400 can offer up to a full day of productivity while “out-and-about” with up to 8 hours (based on lab testing and could vary by configuration) of battery life with an optional 9-cell battery. The Vostro 3700, 3500, and 3400 can come with an optional high-definition WLED screen and the 3700 offers up to 1GB NVIDIA GeForce discrete graphics.

All of the Vostro 3000 series PCs ship with built-in microphones and webcams as well, a full range of wireless options including 802.11g/n, Bluetooth, and mobile broadband. Oh and Dell is also offering an optional fingerprint reader too!

For more information on the new Vostro 3000 Series Windows PCs, see this blog post on Direct2Dell by Alex Gruzen, Senior Vice President for Dell Consumer and SMB. More photos of the Vostro 3000 Series can be seen here on Dell’s Flickr page.

The Vostro 3000 Series of Windows PCs look to be a powerful family of business-class PCs perfect for the small business user.

Last Friday I posted about the first of a series of hot deals that will happen at the end of every week this month. Last week it was a hot deal for Batman: Arkham Asylum. This week it’s Street Fighter IV. Starting today and running through to Monday March 8th 5:00pm Redmond time, Street Fighter IV will be available through Games on Demand at 50% off. That’s $19.99 (or 1600 Microsoft Points). Keep checking this page for hot deals for game titles available through Games on Demand. Remember, to take advantage of Games on Demand, you will need the Games for Windows – LIVE client installed. You can download it here.

Lately, folks have been talking a bit about HDMI. HDMI is a special type of connection designed to deliver digital content from one device to another audio or video device through a single connection. That content can be standard definition (SD) or high definition (HD) movies or something as simple as MP3 music. HDMI is a completely digital connection, as it transmits uncompressed digital data. It is a standard that is replacing the old-style analog connections such as S-Video and VGA. A common use for HDMI today is connecting devices like a PC or an Xbox 360 to a HDTV.

As I had been seeing a lot of talk about HDMI, I realized that HDMI is very common today in Windows PCs. In looking at the PCs I currently have in my office and at home, the majority of them have HDMI. Those PCs include my Dell Studio 1555, Dell Inspiron Zino HD, Acer Aspire Revo, Toshiba Satellite E205, Acer Aspire 1420P (the “PDC laptop”), ASUS G71Gx, HP TouchSmart 600, and HP Envy 13. These PCs span a variety of form factors from small “nettops” to full-blown all-in-one PCs. Even netbooks are now shipping with HDMI (it’s smaller than the VGA connection).

All the above mentioned PCs are running Windows 7 of course. What’s great about Windows 7 and HDMI is that when I plug any of these laptops into a HDTV via HDMI, it recognizes the display and sets the screen resolution correctly. And because HDMI does not just do video but audio too, it also brings in the audio. During the holidays while visiting my parents, I connected the HP Envy 13 I was using at the time to my dad’s 52” HDTV. We rented several movies from the Zune Marketplace and watched this in full HD on his HDTV.

Of the PCs I mentioned above – the Acer Aspire Revo and Dell Inspiron Zino HD are prefect little Home Theater PCs (HTPCs) with Windows 7 and Windows Media Center. And with HDMI – a single cable connected to an HDTV is all one needs to watch movies, play music, go through family photos, watch DVDs, or even watch live TV*.

*You’ll need a TV tuner to watch live TV in Windows Media Center. Some PCs are so small they don’t support any additional hardware inside the actual system. Not to worry! You can pick up a USB TV tuner which works just fine! I’ll talk about this in a later blog post.

You can also add HDMI to existing desktop PCs (for the folks out there that like building their own desktop PCs) fairly inexpensively. Many graphics cards today are shipping with HDMI built in. Earlier this month, I blogged about 2 new affordable DirectX 11 graphics cards from AMD: the Radeon HD 5570 and Radeon HD 5450.Both these graphics cards come with HDMI.

Many Windows PCs ship with Blu-ray playback capabilities. You can use your PC to play Blu-ray movies. With HDMI, you can connect a Windows PC to an HDTV and watch Blu-ray movies on your HDTV without having to go out and buy a standalone Blu-ray player. Most of Windows PCs that ship with Blu-ray also ship with software for Blu-ray playback. I also did a blog post about Corel WinDVD Pro 2010 last December which is Compatible with Windows 7. Corel WinDVD Pro 2010 is an excellent application for Blu-ray playback in Windows 7 as well.