A US man has sold the domain name pizza.com for $2.6m (£1.3m) - after maintaining the site for just $20 a year since 1994.
Chris Clark, 43, accepted the offer from an anonymous bidder after a week-long online auction. Mr Clark registered the domain name in 1994, when the world wide web was just starting. He had hoped that pizza.com would help to get a contract with a pizza firm for his consulting company.
He sold his business in 2000, but kept paying the $20 annual fees for maintaining the domain, which he also used to sell advertisements.
Mr Clark has admitted regretting that he did not purchase more domain names in the 1990s, when many (now) popular domain names were still available.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates on Friday indicated that Windows 7, the next major version of Windows, could come within the next year or so. In response to a question about Windows Vista, Gates, speaking before the Inter-American Development Bank here, said: “Sometime in the next year or so we will have a new version.” Referring to Windows 7, the code name for the next full release of Windows client software, Gates said: “I’m super-enthused about what it will do in lots of ways.”
Unclear is whether Gates was referring to early testing of Windows 7 coming within the year, as opposed to a widespread release or debut. An early test geared toward developers would be conceivable.

Link: news.com

Paul Thurrott has posted a screenshot gallery of Windows 7, you know -the one that was handed to developers back in December 2007; well for those who have been living under a rock and haven’t seen them yet, follow the link below.

“… A few weeks back, the first external build of Windows 7, the next version of Windows, fell into my hands. I installed it initially in just a virtual machine and took hundreds of shots, and that’s what you’re looking at here. Essentially, Windows 7 build 6519–dating back to December 2007–is just a slightly enhanced version of Windows Vista.

My guess–and at this point, it’s just a guess–is that things will change more significantly over time. But even in this early build, a number of interesting developments emerge. I’ll have more to say about that in the days ahead. For now, enjoy this first screenshot gallery. It won’t be the last.”

Link: Windows 7 Build 6519 Screenshot Gallery @ The SuperSite for Windows

PressPass: Will Microsoft extend sales of other editions of Windows XP?
Dix: No, there is no plan to extend sales of other editions of Windows XP beyond June 30, 2008. We are very proud of the progress that we have made with Windows Vista over the last sixteen months. Since its launch, Windows Vista has become the fastest-selling operating system in Microsoft history, and more than 100 million Windows Vista licenses have been sold worldwide.

Last fall, our OEM partners asked us to extend sales of Windows XP to give their customers more time to transition to Windows Vista while we worked with other software vendors to expand application compatibility. Today, more than 2,500 applications have received the Windows Vista logo (a ten-fold increase since launch) and more than 78,000 devices and components are supported by drivers either in-box or on Windows Update. On NPD’s list of the top 100 consumer applications selling at retail, 98 are now compatible—and the latest versions of the top free downloads (Adobe Reader, Shockwave and iTunes) are all compatible.
Given this landscape and after consulting with our partners, apart from today’s announced extension of Windows XP Home for ULCPCs, we are maintaining the timelines we announced in September.

I should also note that there will also be no impact on our technical support plans—mainstream technical support will continue to be available until April 2009 and extended support will continue until April 2014.

Source: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/feature…04-03xpeos.mspx