Summary: Spontaneous reboots a feature or an Easter egg?

● Windows 7 Beta Shuts Down July 1

Users who run the trial version of Microsoft's new OS beyond its expiration date will suffer endless reboots.

● Windows 7 users panic when Microsoft gives wrong auto-reboot date

A mistake by Microsoft sent some users into a panic when they received an e-mail that told them their copies of Windows 7 beta would automatically begin rebooting every two hours starting June 1.

Windows 7 beta, which was released to the public in January, will expire on Aug. 1. A month before that, the operating system will prod users to move on to the next milestone, dubbed "RC" for Release Candidate, or revert to an older OS such as Vista or XP. Microsoft doesn't go for subtlety: It warns users of an approaching expiration date by automatically shutting down, then restarting, the PC every two hours.