diff --git a/NEWS.txt b/NEWS.txt
index b4e74e9c66..3c8bf2cf6d 100644
--- a/NEWS.txt
+++ b/NEWS.txt
@@ -1,6 +1,15 @@
 0.7.0
 =====
 
+Features
+--------
+    - Row keys are now bytes: keys stored by versions prior to 0.7.0 will be
+      returned as UTF-8 encoded bytes. OrderPreservingPartitioner and
+      CollatingOrderPreservingPartitioner continue to expect that keys contain
+      UTF-8 encoded strings, but RandomPartitioner no longer expects strings.
+    - A new ByteOrderedPartitioner supports bytes keys with arbitrary content,
+      and orders keys by their byte value. 
+
 Configuraton
 ------------
     - Configuration file renamed to cassandra.xml and log4j.properties to
@@ -18,6 +27,7 @@ Configuraton
 
 Thrift API
 ----------
+    - Row keys are now 'bytes': see the Features list.
     - The return type for login() is now AccessLevel.
     - The get_string_property() method has been removed.
     - The get_string_list_property() method has been removed.
diff --git a/conf/cassandra.xml b/conf/cassandra.xml
index 7f5d16a207..9b397de4eb 100644
--- a/conf/cassandra.xml
+++ b/conf/cassandra.xml
@@ -167,11 +167,11 @@
   <!--
    ~ Partitioner: any IPartitioner may be used, including your own as long
    ~ as it is on the classpath.  Out of the box, Cassandra provides
-   ~ org.apache.cassandra.dht.RandomPartitioner,
-   ~ org.apache.cassandra.dht.OrderPreservingPartitioner, and
-   ~ org.apache.cassandra.dht.CollatingOrderPreservingPartitioner.
-   ~ (CollatingOPP colates according to EN,US rules, not naive byte
-   ~ ordering.  Use this as an example if you need locale-aware collation.)
+   ~ * org.apache.cassandra.dht.RandomPartitioner (un-ordered)
+   ~ * org.apache.cassandra.dht.ByteOrderedPartitioner (raw byte ordered)
+   ~ * org.apache.cassandra.dht.OrderPreservingPartitioner (utf8 ordered)
+   ~ * org.apache.cassandra.dht.CollatingOrderPreservingPartitioner 
+   ~   utf8 collation ordered using EN,US rules)
    ~ Range queries require using an order-preserving partitioner.
    ~
    ~ Achtung!  Changing this parameter requires wiping your data