March 1: Microsoft downloads and shutdowns

A couple of quick reminders as to Microsoft-related happenings that kick off on March 1:

Windows 7 Release Candidate: If you're still running the Release Candidate (RC) test version of Windows 7, you'll begin experiencing (intentionally) annoying shutdowns, starting today.  RC users will start experiencing bi-hourly shutdowns as a reminder that they need to take some action before June 1, when the RC will be phased out completely. It's time to either move to the final release or move back to the operating system you've been using....

Browser ballot choice screen: If you're in the European Union, today's the day that Microsoft will start pushing to you and yours (if you're running Internet Explorer as your default browser, that is) the browser-ballot choice screen mandated by the European Union antitrust authorities. (Microsoft has been conducting final tests of the ballot in a few countries for the past couple weeks.) The ballot will be pushed to users as an automatic download via Windows Update for Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. The ballot lists 10 different browsers and information about each, listed in randomly generated order.

One more "down"er: Microsoft partner Xing announced it's readying a plug-in for Microsoft's Outlook Social Connector, the forthcoming social-networking add-on for Outlook. But as is the case with Facebook and MySpace plug-ins, plans for which Microsoft announced in February, the new Xing plug-in won't be available for months. The Outlook Social Connector is at Beta 2. Microsoft and its partners are saying the various plug-in connectors (other than one from LinkedIn, which is out in beta form now) will be available by the time Office 2010 ships, which means by June 2010.