As fans of Apple and its products, we love things like this. Sure, these kinds of results should be taken with a grain (or three) of salt, but still, it’s kinda cool to see and makes us love Apple stuff even more.

What are we talking about? Well, this week ZDNet reports that based on a new study from Soluto, which uses “data from its massive online database of PC crashes, hangs, and performance metrics to identify the 10 most reliable Windows PCs you can buy today”, the most reliable Windows PC in the world is a 13″ Retina MacBook Pro running Windows via Boot Camp.

How abou that? According to the study, the MacBook Pro is “at the top of the list” with other hardware like the Acer Aspire E1-571, the Dell XPS 13, the Dell Vostro 3560, the Acer Aspire V3-771 and Apple’s 15-inch Retina-equipped MacBook Pro taking the next spots.

What about other vendors like Toshiba, Lenovo or market leader HP? Yeah, they don’t even crack the top ten. Sad, but true.

So, if you need to run Windows and are looking for the best, most reliable hardware out there to run it on, guess you should get a Mac. We’re not really surprised. We could have told you that.

If you’re tired of using that old version of Windows like XP or Windows 7, you’re in luck because Microsoft announced on Monday that its next-generation Windows 8 operating system will launch this October. The company confirmed during an event on Monday that the new OS is on track to be released to developers in August with a final release to eager consumers in October.

In addition, Microsoft will also release new devices, including the Surface, to coincide with the OS’ release. The company also promised that users who purchase Windows 7 PCs before the release of the new OS will be able to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro following its release for just $14.99.

Darn nice of them, don’t you think?

As we first told you a few weeks ago, Microsoft has today released the first “Consumer Preview” of the latest version of its Windows software. The new software has been dubbed Windows 8 and is, according to Micsosoft, is “Windows reimagined and reinvented from a solid core of Windows 7 speed and reliability.”

According to the company, here’s what you can expect from the Windows 8 Consumer Preview:

Windows 8 Consumer Preview is a prerelease version of Windows 8 that focuses on people and apps and gives you powerful new ways to use social technologies to connect with the people who are important to you. Windows 8 Consumer Preview is built on the rock-solid foundation of Windows 7 and has the security and reliability features you expect from Windows, but we’ve made it even better. It’s fast, and it’s made to work on a variety of form factors—especially the new generation of touch devices.

Well, there you go. You can go to Microsoft’s website and download Windows 8 to try for yourself. Although, unless you have a touch monitor you won’t be able to experience it exactly as it was intended.

Even though we are mostly Mac and Apple users here at The Flickcast, that doesn’t mean we don’t know or care that another, more popular, company exists that provides software to run computers and the like. That company is, of course, Microsoft.

With Windows 7 being our favorite version of the OS so far, Microsoft is going to have to go a long way to convince us that they have something better up their collective virtual sleeve. That something is, at least according to them, Windows 8.

We will all get a chance to see if they are right come February 29 when the company releases what they are calling a ‘Consumer Preview’ of the new version of Windows. The company will reportedly announce such a preview at a special, invitation-only event in Barcelona.

It’s interesting that they aren’t referring to this release as a “Bata.” I guess that has too much of a stigma of unfinished software or something that still needs a lot of work. The truth is Windows 8 probably still does need a lot of work and a big service pack will follow its final release as it does for most Windows versions. Not that Apple and most other software companies are immune to updates, they aren’t of course.

Still, we do like the looks of Windows on the smartphone so if Windows 8 is anything like that, it might be worth checking out later this month. What do you guys think? Are you going to take the plunge and try out the Windows 8 preview?

One of the most useful applications I use every day on the Mac has now arrived for Windows. That’s right Windows-using writers Scrivener is now available to you.

No matter if you’re writing the next great American novel (something for National Novel Writing Month perhaps?), research paper, script or any long-form text document that involves more than hammering away at the keys until you’re done, Scrivener, made by the fine folks at Literature & Latte, can help you get your work done. The multi-featured program excels at helping you collect research, bring order to fragmented ideas and avoid shuffling index cards in search of that elusive structure.

Scrivener can help you from the moment an idea comes into your imagination until the final finished pages are output. In short, it pretty much does everything for you except the actual writing.

Unfortunately, that will still be up to you. The rest you can leave to Scrivener.

As someone who uses this app daily (the Mac version) I can safely say it really helps me get my work done. Without it, I would be back to posting index cards to cork boards and trying to make things work that way. I like the 21st Century’s technological advancements and I like Scrivener.

Scrivener requires Windows XP, Vista, or 7 (32 or 64 bit). 1GB RAM; 1ghz Processor; 100mb disk space; 1064 x 786 screen.

I don’t think we’ll see the kind of lines normally associated with the launch of an iPhone, but if you’re a Microsoft and Windows 7 fan, today’s your day. Why? Well, in case you didn’t know, today is launch day for Microsoft’s new smartphone powered by Windows 7.

That’s right, Windows Phone 7 devices are now available for purchase in the U.S. The Redmond Giant (As we like to call them) already launched its new mobile OS last month in Europe and fans here in the US of A have had to wait patiently for the launch here. Now, the wait is over.

At the moment, you can get one of three smartphones powered by Windows 7 from two different carriers. The HTC Surround, Samsung Focus and HTC HD7 are good to go with the Dell Venue Pro is rumored to drop later today. The LG Quantum is also available for pre-order from AT&T starting today.

CDMA Windows Phone 7 devices on Sprint and Verizon are not expected until the first quarter of 2011. AT&T is investing heavily in the Windows Phone 7 launch, with touch screen displays providing information about the system and “experience tables” to showcase the Windows Phone 7 handsets. Also displayed are Xbox game console and a laptop with Windows 7 operating system.

Expect to pay $199.99 for any of these Windows Phones. Of course, you can probably find better deals elsewhere by doing a little searching.

So, anyone planning on lining up for a Windows Phone 7 today? If so, let us know how it goes.

MSI's Dual Touchscreen Tablet

Don’t think that the PC-oriented manufacturers are just sitting idly by while Apple takes the tablet world by storm. Oh no, not at all. While some of these tablet-based competitors to the iPad will be running a touch-enabled version of Windows 7, some are gravitating to Google’s Android OS.

Even though Microsoft’s Windows Touch Software for Windows 7 provides the ability to manipulate items on a screen using gestures and up to 100 touch points including single and double taps, dragging, rotating, flicking, zooming in and out, as well as a special tap that equates to a right-click on a mouse, Google’s Android OS has a competitive advantage with its extensive library of mobile apps.

With that in mind, let’s take a quick look at the forthcoming Android and Windows 7 powered tablet line-up for 2010, shall we?

Dell’s Mini 5: With a 5-inch wide screen, slim form-factor and WiFi connectivity, the Dell Mini 5 seems a bit smaller than the iPad, but more easily held in one hand. Sporting a 5-megapixel camera along with a LED flash on the back, the Dell Mini 5 will release with a big competitive advantage over the camera-less iPad.

It even works as a phone with its built-in microphone, but expect to pair it with a Bluetooth headset or risk looking completely ridiculous holding the huge slab up to your ear as you talk.

This week, those of you who love the Mac but need to use Windows 7 for some reason, just got a little more help from Apple as the company has updated Bootcamp to support Windows 7. The Boot Camp 3.1 update consists of a single .exe file download that you need to run in Windows 7 once it’s installed. Or you can just run Apple Software Update if you’re already using Windows 7 on your Mac.

The update provides the necessary Windows 7 drivers for various pieces of Mac hardware including the Mighty Mouse. Boot Camp version 3.1 supports the 32-bit and 64-bit version of Windows 7 and Home Premium, Professional and Ultimate are supported as part of the update as well.

With the upgrade in software and support for new drivers and utilities, if you need Windows 7 to run certain software, processes, or perhaps you prefer to use Windows for things like coding and development, now you can. Although, not sure why you would want to if you have a Mac. But hey, we don’t judge here.

Apple has also published a support document that details a number of installation problems for Windows 7, plus a tool to assist with upgrades from Windows Vista to Windows 7.

In the interest of being fair, we bring you news of an update to the other really good Windows virtualization software for the Mac: Parallels Desktop. Much like VMware, this software allows you to, gasp, run Windows in a , well, a window on your Intel Mac running OS X. Here’s all you need to know about this update.

This latest version of Parallels features Snow Leopard compatibility, Windows 7 support, full support for Aero, including Flip 3D in Windows Vista and 7, OpenGL 2.1 and a bunch of other new or improved features. You aren’t limited to Windows, actually, as Parallels also adds support for other operating systems like Linux.

Parallels 5.0 is a free upgrade for those who purchased version 4 on October 1st, 2009 or later. Others will have to pay U.S. $49.99 to upgrade, or U.S. $79.99 for a new license. Parallels is also offering a crossgrade licensing option to VMware Fusion 2 users. If you have a license key for Fusion 2, you can get Parallels 5.0 for the same U.S. $49.99 upgrade fee as existing Parallels customers.

Even if you’re a Mac loving die-hard like many of us here at The Flickcast, you still might have occasion to use Microsoft’s Windows software. Maybe you work at an office that is all Windows or perhaps your parents haven’t made the switch and still make you use that old PC of your Uncle’s?

Or, maybe you use a Mac most of the time but need to use one program like Outlook to get to your company’s Exchange email? Whatever your reasons for needing access to Windows as a Mac user, one of the best tools to help you accomplish this task has just gotten better.

This week VMware Fusion, one of the two main (and our current favorite) Windows virtualization applications for the Mac was updated to version 3.0. This upgrade offers significant improvements over the previous versions including the following:

• Support for both 32-bit and 64-bit Snow Leopard kernels.

• Integrated Migration Assistant guides you through migrating from a PC to a virtual machine.

• First virtualization product to support Windows Aero, including Flip 3D and Aero Peek.

• Support for DirectX 9.0EX with OpenGL 1.4 and new WDDM graphics driver.

• Reduced memory usage with Windows Vista, Windows 7 and newly created Windows XP virtual machines.

• Faster disk and graphics performance in Snow Leopard.

• Banish the Start Menu with Always-on Applications Menu on the Mac menu bar.

• Access to Windows taskbar tray items in Unity view in the Mac menu bar.

• Run 3D games and play 1080p video in Unity view.

The upgrade will run you U.S. $39.99 if you already have a previous version of the software. Or, its U.S. $79.99 if you don’t. Plus, you will still need a copy of Windows if you don’t already have one installed. For that, look for an OEM version of the software, like you can find right here.