It’s a bit like tennis: Google serves the ball, Microsoft returns; Microsoft serves, Google returns. The latest serve is Microsoft’s entry into the free online application zone. Office 2010 Web Applications will include Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote. Anyone with a free Windows Live account will be able to create, edit, and share existing documents with other people online without having to pay Microsoft a dime - that's something I never thought I would see...

PCWorld did a nice job detailing this online offering in its blog “ Office 2010: Most Innovations Are Online”.

Google, you're up. What’s next in the battle to shake the Microsoft tree?

As I mused in a previous blog a few months ago, Google has a great browser. What's next an operating system? Yesterday, we learned the answer: Heck, yes. So what's in store for our PCs? We will see. Short term we may not see many changes; long time, it could change Computer Operating Systems as we know them: they could be free, have more security, more internet-based functionality, more advertising (maybe desktop banner ads...), etc.

I like the idea of Google going head to head with Microsoft (beyond their competing browser, email, desktop suite, search bar - to say nothing of their other monumental applications like Earth, Picasa, et cetera).

Competition will only make Microsoft products better - perhaps they might even stop testing products on us by releasing them as products, charging us to buy them and patching the products endlessly for years. Unlikely, I know - but it could happen.

There is always a price to be paid. Nothing is free: if the OS is free, you'll have to pay something else. Perhaps you'll pay with your time by looking at 2 minutes of Ads banners while your computer boots. In that case, turn the darn thing on and leave your desk for a few minutes - you may get off cheap after all.

Also on the Windows radar, Microsoft has launched a free service (that you can access with your Live ID) called Microsoft-Hohm", that can help home owners save energy and money. What a cool way to stay cool, be green and pocket some cash...

For more information, read "Using Aero Peek".

Today, July 6th means that you have 6 more whole days to buy Windows 7 during the "Pre-Order" promotion (Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade for $49 or a Windows 7 Professional Upgrade for $99). This sale, as indicated by previous reader comments, is limited to the United States, Canada, Japan, UK, France and Germany. I have no idea if Microsoft will do similar promotions anywhere else in the world.

Microsoft has again done a masterful job of hiding what's different with Windows 7 and Vista. Not everything in Windows 7 is new - many features come from Vista, ergo my latest article about the differences between Vista and Windows 7.

One interesting note: As reported by ChannelWeb, Microsoft may do "family pack licensing" for Windows 7 Home Premium allowing up to 3 computers in the same home to upgrade to Windows 7 for the price of 1 upgrade - wow, that would be cool and cost effective.

What are your thoughts, my readers, about this licensing schema? Would it make you likely to buy the upgrade?

Do you have an older Windows program (perhaps from Windows 98 or XP) that does not work properly in Windows Vista? No problem. Try using a Windows utility called Compatibility Mode. Most programs will relent and decide to work, once you set it up to run this way.

The Windows 7 "Pre-Sale" or "Pre-Order" is on now until July 11th. The prices for these products are heavily discounted and a tremendous value. I encourage anyone who wants Windows 7 to buy it now. The price will probably never be lower and you will be among the first users to get it, delivered directly to your front door.

Both the Home and Business versions are included in this promotion. Windows 7 Home Premium is $49.99; Business is $99.99. The difference between these two versions is that the Business version also contains software for Windows XP Mode (which may or may not work on your PC anyway), Domain Join and Automatic Backup. Whether or not these features are important, depends on you.

There are many retailers involved in this sale. I ordered my copy from my Internet Retailer fav Amazon.com because I love the store, its free shipping and no sales tax advantage.

The last time I wrote about Vista printing problems I related three cases of inferior customer service and the realization that we are alone when it comes to fixing our computer problems (except for the expertise in the Computing and Technology Group at About.com and perhaps a tech-savvy friend or two).

To recap: My Vista laptop did not print correctly over my wireless network to the shared Brother Laser Printer attached to a Windows XP computer. I tried everything several times (new drivers, different installation options) with no luck, nor consistency in printing results. Now the rest of the story.

What fixed the problem was disabling the print spool function for that printer, by changing the printer properties on the XP computer. I noticed that these settings were visible on the Vista machine, but because the Vista machine does not have Administrator rights, those settings could only be changed on the XP computer. For step by step instructions and an explanation as to why this fixed the problem, read "Fix Vista Printing to Shared Printers Attached to Windows XP Computers."

Will this solution solve all Vista printing problems? Probably not. I will tell you that during my testing I set up a separate occurrence of Windows 7 on the same laptop as the Vista OS and that I had no problem installing and using that same printer (regardless of the print spooler status). Yet one more reason to look forward to Windows 7's release in October...