Not surprisingly, the launch of Windows 7 has triggered at least a temporary spike in PC sales according to Morgan Stanley analyst Katheryn Huberty. Computer sales jumped about 40 percent during the week of Microsoft’s OS launch compared to the same period a year earlier.

That number is in part offset by buyers holding off on their purchases during the previous two weeks, when sales dropped 29 percent and then 2 percent versus 2008, but is well above earlier weeks, when sales were up by at most 19 percent.

Virtual Wi-Fi was going to be a Windows 7 feature that would turn your PC into a Wi-Fi access-point so devices could share a connection without needing special software. It didn’t make it into the final cut on the OS, but this free app finishes the work that Microsoft abandoned.

Some of the code that Microsoft Research used to virtualize one Wi-Fi card as several adapters still made its way into Windows 7, allowing Connectify to complete the job.

Yesterday we told you about the Japanese arm of Burger King offering a seven-pattie Whopper which costs 777 yen. It was all to celebrate the release of Windows 7. Some of you thought it was just for promotion and that the burgers would not be made or eaten. Others just drooled like Homer Simpson.

But we now have 46 seconds of video footage that shows how you would eat such a monster burger. This brave man takes his meat competitor like a true champ. If only his jaws could dis-locate.

Here’s yet another Windows 7 machine debuting today, this one from LG. The X-Note T380 is a 13.3-inch ultraportable powered by a Core 2 Duo SU3700 with 4GB of DDR2 RAM, a GMA 4500MHD graphics set, 500GB of hard drive space, 802.11a/g/n WiFi and Windows 7 Home Premium.

LG has also updated its X-Note P510 to include Microsoft’s newest OS, but is otherwise exactly the same. Nothing yet on price or release yet, but we should know soon.

Microsoft is promoting Windows 7 in Japan with the help of Burger King, who is offering a Windows 7 Whopper. And they really mean Whopper this time as it has seven patties in an otherwise normal Whopper. It measures 5.1 inches tall and costs 777 yen ($8.53).

Microsoft has repeated the “seven” theme in multiple publicity events, but none so tasty as this one. I wonder how many of these Whoppers they will sell.

Gateway’s new EC18T tablet laptop is one sexy beast. It’s like the Ferrari of laptops. It boasts an 11.6-inch touchscreen that rotates and folds back onto the keyboard, keeping the whole thing slim and sleek.

Inside it’s packing an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, up to 4GB of RAM, and a Mobile Intel GS45 Express graphics chipset, with Windows 7 Home Premium or Basic running the show. That’s about all we know at the moment. Nothing yet on pricing or availability, but we’ll keep you posted.

Onkyo Japan has announced the TX-NA5007 and TX-NA1007, the company’s first Windows 7 ready amplifiers. The TX-NA5007 (200×9ch) and the TX-NA1007 (180Wx9ch) are both sexy in black and also DLNA compliant. Both support Dolby NR Professional Logic IIz, , Dolby NR TrueHD, DTS-HD Mater and playback of WAV (linear PCM)/WMA (DRM)/WMA Lossless/MP3/AAC/FLAC/Ogg Vorbis formats.

Both the models have plenty of HDMI ports. You’ll find 8 on one and 6 on the other, along with 2 outputs. They should hit Japanese stores by September 11.

Small form factor computers are great for users who don’t have lots of room around their desk or in their entertainment center. The only real drawback to the systems is that they tend to be pricey and not have as much power as larger machines.

Shuttle has announced that it has certified several of its barebones computers to work with Windows 7. The company’s product team certified the barebones systems with Windows 7 Ultimate RTM. Shuttle says that all of the tested machines are ready to use and have appropriate drivers from various manufacturers.

The only Microsoft operating system I can recall being anywhere near as disliked as Vista has been in the tech world was Windows ME. That said I have used Vista since it has launched and other than early driver issues with NVIDIA graphics cards it has given me no problems.

Microsoft is set to launch Windows 7 in the next few months and has detailed the upgrade program that will allow consumers who buy a PC running Windows Vista June 26 or after to get a free upgrade to the equivalent Windows 7 version. Microsoft says to support the upgrade program it will defer 50% of the revenue from sales under the program to upgrade licenses.

Archos has announced the Archos9, a UMPC that runs Windows 7. Its predecessors may be basic touchscreen internet media tablets, but the Archos9 can run a full OS. Some other features include a built-in webcam, 120GB of memory, full touch support, an external mic, streo speakers, and an optical trackpad as well as an on-screen keyboard.

The tablet will be available in Europe this October, just in time for Windows 7’s release. It will cost you €450 ($635).

It was pretty clear that the latest incarnation of Windows would be available this fall. Now Microsoft has announced the date. The latest version of the Windows operating system, Windows 7, will hit general commercial availability on Oct. 22.

That should give you plenty of time to choose which of the million versions is good for you. Will you be buying a copy?

On May 5th, general users will have access to Windows 7 for one full year. It is already available for download for MSDN and TechNet subscribers. This is only the Release Candidate version and will expire on June 1, 2010. The Release Candidate is basically the near finished product and the final stage in testing.

Supposedly it will have all the features of the final version. We still don’t know when the final version will be released but according to rumors it’ll be late 2009 or early 2010. Windows 7 features a bunch of new features including a new taskbar, libraries, jump lists, and more. Windows 7 will also come packaged with the newest Internet Explorer (IE8).

The upcoming Windows 7 Starter Edition seems kinda lame when you consider that it can only run three applications at a time, but if you are using it with a netbook, it makes a little more sense. Most people use netbooks to browse the Internet and maybe check their email, with some MP3s playing in the background.

And since more applications are becoming Web-based, those applications can be stored online instead. We will be keeping an eye on Windows 7 Starter Edition to see just how well it fares. Of all the Windows 7 editions, this one is the oddest.

Sotec’s latest netbook is Hello Kitty-branded, but don’t let that fool you. It packs some heat when it comes to performance. Powered by an Intel Atom N270 1.60-GHZ processor and 1GB of RAM, it runs Windows 7 with ease, as you’ll see in the video below.

The netbook performed decently with normal web surfing with data being transferred in the background and also when opening 400 pictures in Bridge. Need more? Even while editing in Photoshop CS3 with that 1.6 Ghz Atom CPU and 1 GB of RAM.

Albatron doesn’t waste any time. After Microsoft announced Windows 7 would natively support multi-touch displays, Albatron was one of the first to quickly create a prototype panel to take advantage of that functionality. Here we are, seven months later and the company is ready to let you buy one.

Of course, they are also using this opportunity to talk up their optical touch tech. It features sensors embedded in the bezel instead of the surface. Apparently this results in a brighter image with greater durability. Albatron is planning to release its 21.5-inch LCD in March. Details are scarce but we can tell you that the display will support 120Hz, with DVI and VGA inputs, and that it relays touch information to the PC via USB.