Windows 7

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Template:Future software

Windows 7
File:7desktop.png
Screenshot of Windows 7 Milestone 1 Build 6519
DeveloperMicrosoft
OS familyMicrosoft Windows
Source modelClosed source
Released to
manufacturing		Expected June 3, 2009 [1]
Latest previewMilestone 3, 6.1.6780 / September 2008[2]
Kernel typeHybrid Kernel
LicenseMicrosoft EULA

Windows 7, (formerly codenamed Blackcomb and later Vienna) is the working name for the next major version of Microsoft Windows as the successor to Windows Vista.[3] Microsoft has announced that it is "scoping Windows 7 development to a three-year timeframe", and that "the specific release date will ultimately be determined by meeting the quality bar."[4] Windows 7 is expected to be released on June 3, 2009.[5]

Windows 7 will ship in both client and server versions with the client versions available in both 32-bit and 64-bit editions.[4] The server version of Windows 7 will be called Windows Server 2008 R2[6] and will be 64-bit only.[7]

Little is known about the Windows 7 feature set, though public presentations from company officials have disseminated information about some features. Leaked information from people to whom Milestone 1 (M1) of Windows 7 was provided also provides some insight into the feature set.

Development

History

In 2000 Microsoft started the planning to follow up Windows XP and its server counterpart Windows Server 2003 (both codenamed Whistler) with a major ncbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbcbxvhcvew release of Windows that was codenamed Blackcomb (both codenames refer to the Whistler-Blackcomb resort). This new version was at that time scheduled for a 2005 release. [8] [9]

Major features were planned for Blackcomb, including an emphasis on searching and querying data and an advanced storage system named WinFS to enable sucxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxah scenarios. In this context, a feature mentioned by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates for Blackcomb was "a pervasive typing line that will recognize the sentence that [the user is] typing in."[10]

Later, Blackcomb was delayed and an interim, minor release, codenamed "Longhorn", was announced for a 2003 release.[11] By the middle of 2003, however, Longhorn had acquired some of the features originally intended for Blackcomb, including WinFS, the Desktop Window Manager, and new versions of system components built on the .NET Framework. After the 2003 "Summer of Worms", where three major viruses − Blaster, Sobig, and Welchia − exploited flaws in Windows operating systems within a short time period, Microsoft changed its development priorities, putting some of Longhorn's major development work on hold in order to develop new service packs for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 that included a number of new security and safety features[citation needed]. Development of Longhorn was also "reset" in September 2004 (see Mid-2004 to Mid-2005: Development "reset") as a result of concerns about the quality of code that was being introduced to the operating system[citation needed]. The eventual result of this was that WinFS, the Next Generation Secure Computing Base, and other features seen in some of the Longhorn builds were deemed "not ready" for wide release and as such did not appear in Longhorn when it was released as Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008[citation needed].

As major feature work on Windows Vista wound down in early 2006, Blackcomb was renamed Vienna.[12] However, following the release of Windows Vista, it was confirmed by Microsoft on July 20, 2007 that "the internal name for the next version of the Windows Client OS"[4] is Windows 7, a name that had been reported by some sources months before.[12]

Focus

Microsoft's Ben Fathi stated on February 9, 2007 that the focus of the operating system was still being worked out, and he could only hint at some possibilities:[13]

We're going to look at a fundatttttttttttttttttttmental piece of enabling technology. Maybe it's hypervisors. I don't know what it is" [...] "Maybe it's a new user interface paradigm for consumers.

Bill Gates, in an interview with Newsweek, suggested that the next version of Windows would "be more user-centric."[14] When asked to clarify what he meant, Gates said:

That means that right now when you move from one PC to another, you've got to install apps on each one, do upgrades on each one. Moving information between them is very painful. We can use Live Services to know what you're interested in. So even if you drop by a [public] kiosk or somebody else's PC, we can bring down your home page, your files, your fonts, your favorites and those things. So that's kind of the user-centric thing that Live Services can enable. [Also,] in Vista, things got a lot better with [digital] ink and speech, but by the next release there will be a much bigger bet. Students won't need textbooks; they can just use these tablet devices. Parallel computing is pretty important for the next release. We'll make it so that a lot of the high-level graphics will be just built into the operating system. So we've got a pretty good outline.

Later, Gates also said that Windows 7 will also focus on performance improvements:[15]

We're hard at work, I would say, on the next version, which we call Windows 7. I'm very excited about the work being done there. The ability to be lower power, take less memory, be more efficient, and have lots more connections up to the mobile phone, so those scenarios connect up well to make it a great platform for the best gaming that can be done, to connect up to the thing being done out on the Internet, so that, for example, if you have two personal computers, that your files automatically are synchronized between them, and so you don't have a lot of work to move that data back and forth.

Senior Vice President Bill Veghte stated that Windows 7 will not have the kind of compatibility issues with Vista that Vista has with previous versions:[16]

You've let us know you don't want to face the kinds of incompatibility challenges with the next version of Windows you might have experienced early with Windows Vista. As a result, our approach with Windows 7 is to build off the same core architecture as Windows Vista so the investments you and our partners have made in Windows Vista will continue to pay off with Windows 7. Our goal is to ensure the migration process from Windows Vista to Windows 7 is straightforward.

Builds

Milestone 1

The first known build of Windows 7 was identified as a "Milestone 1 (M1) code drop" according to TG Daily with a version number of 6.1.6519.1. It was sent to key Microsoft partners by January 2008 in both x86 and x86-64 versions.[17][18] Though not yet commented on by Microsoft, reviews and screenshots have been published by various sources.[19][20] The M1 code drop installation comes as either a standalone install or one which requires Windows Vista with Service Pack 1, and creates a dual-boot system.[21]

On April 20, 2008, screenshots and videos of a second build of M1 were leaked with a version number of 6.1.6574.1. This build included changes to Windows Explorer as well as a new Windows Health Center.[22]

A standalone copy of build 6519 was leaked initially to private FTPs by BETAArchive on June 10, 2008, which quickly spread to many torrent trackers.[23]

Milestone 2

According to the TG Daily article of January 16, 2008, the Milestone 2 (M2) code drop was at that time scheduled for April or May 2008.[17] A Milestone 2 build was demonstrated at the D6 conference[24] with a build number of 6.1.6589.1.winmain_win7m2.0804?3-1???. The build had a different taskbar than found in Windows Vista, with, among other features, sections divided into different colors. The host declined to comment on it, stating "I'm not supposed to talk about it now today".[25][26]

Milestone 3

File:Win7paint.png
Paint from Windows 7 build 6780 showing the ribbon interface
File:Win7wordpad.png
WordPad from Windows 7 build 6780 showing the ribbon interface

According to Paul Thurrott, Milestone 3 (build 6780) was shipped to Microsoft employees and close partners in the week of September 7, 2008. Rumors indicate that Microsoft may hope to distribute this build at PDC 2008. Described as visually and functionally similar to Windows Vista by Mary Jo Foley of ZDNet[27] and Stephen Chapman of UX Evangelist,[28] some bundled applications in Milestone 3 now use a ribbon interface similar to that of Office 2007.[29] Thinknext.net, the same site that was behind the original leaks of Milestone 1 pictures and video, has since leaked 39 images, and 4 videos of Windows 7 build 6780.[30] Many applications that had been integrated into previous versions of Windows have been removed, including Calendar, Contacts, Mail, Meeting Space, Movie Maker, and Photo Gallery and are available as downloads in the Windows Live Wave 3 beta release.[31]

Later builds

According to Softpedia[32], the first beta of Windows 7 will arrive in December 2008. While the release date of a release candidate is listed as "to be determined", the release to manufacturing of Windows 7 has been alternately confirmed for the second half of 2009[33] or the first half of 2010[5] depending on who was speaking at the time.

Features

File:Win7M3menu.png
Desktop context menu showing the return of the Display Properties icon (previously removed in Vista) and new options for Gadgets. Screenshot based on Milestone 3.

According to reports sent to TG Daily [17], the Milestone 1 build of Windows 7 adds support for systems using multiple heterogeneous graphics cards and a new version of Windows Media Center.[17] New features in Milestone 1 also reportedly include Gadgets being integrated into Windows Explorer, a Gadget for Windows Media Center, the ability to visually pin and unpin items from the Start Menu and Recycle Bin, improved media features, the XPS Essentials Pack being integrated, and a multiline Calculator featuring Programmer and Statistics modes along with unit conversion.

Reports indicate that a feedback tool included in Milestone 1 lists some coming features: the ability to store Internet Explorer settings on a Windows Live account, updated versions of Paint and WordPad, and a 10 minute install process.[34] In addition, improved network connection tools might be included.

Many new items have been added to control panel including: Location and Other Sensors, Credential Manager ,Biometric Devices,System Icons, Windows Solution Center, and Display.[35]

In build 6780, the Windows Security Center has been renamed the Windows Solution Center which encompass both Security and Maintenance of the computer.

In the demonstration of Windows 7 at D6, the operating system featured multi-touch, including a virtual piano program, a mapping and directions program and a touch-aware version of Paint.

Methods of input

Hilton Locke, who worked on the Tablet PC team at Microsoft, reported on December 11, 2007 that Windows 7 will have new touch features. An overview of the touch capabilities was demonstrated at the All Things Digital Conference on May 27, 2008. A video demonstrating the multi-touch capabilities was later made available on the web on the same day.[36]

Also, Bill Gates has said that Windows 7 is also "a big step forward" for speech technology and handwriting recognition.[37]

Virtual hard disk

On May 21, 2008, Microsoft posted a job opening for Windows 7 regarding work to implement VHD support, i.e. support for single-file containers that represent an entire hard drive including partitions, and transparently performing I/O operations on this as a typical hard drive, including boot support. [38]

In Windows 7, our team will be responsible for creating, mounting, performing I/O on, and dismounting VHDs (virtual hard disks) natively. Imagine being able to mount a VHD on any Windows machine, do some offline servicing and then boot from that same VHD. Or perhaps, taking an existing VHD you currently use within Virtual Server and boost performance by booting natively from it.

Boot performance

According to data gathered from the Microsoft Customer Experience Improvement Program, 35% of Vista SP1 installations boot up in 30 seconds or less. [39] The more lengthy boot times on the remainder of the machines are mainly due to some services or programs are loaded which are not required when the system is first started. Microsoft's Michael Fortin, a Distinguished Engineer on the Windows team, noted in August 2008 that Microsoft has set aside a team to work solely on the issue, and that team aims to "significantly increase the number of systems that experience very good boot times." They "focused very hard on increasing parallelism of driver initialization." Also, it aims to "dramatically reduce" the number of system services, along with their processor, storage, and memory demands.

Antitrust regulatory attention

The development of Windows 7 has already attracted the attention of the antitrust regulators who oversee Microsoft's operations following the 2001 United States Microsoft antitrust case settlement. According to status reports filed, the three-member panel began assessing the prototypes of the new operating system in February 2008.[40]

Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Jupiter Research said that, "[Microsoft's] challenge for Windows 7 will be how can they continue to add features that consumers will want that also don't run afoul of regulators."[40]

References

  1. ^ "Microsoft gives up on Vista, Windows 7 to launch June 2009". 2008-09-15. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
  2. ^ http://windowsitpro.com/windowspaulthurrott/article/articleid/100295/ahead-of-pdc-microsoft-begins-internal-test-of-windows-7.html
  3. ^ Cnet: Next version of Windows: Call it 7
  4. ^ a b c Foley, Mary J (2007-07-20). "Windows Seven: Think 2010". ZDNet. Retrieved 2007-09-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help) Cite error: The named reference "zdnet592" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Fontana, John (2008-06-24). "Microsoft VP confirms Windows 7 ship date: January 2010". NetworkWorld. Retrieved 2008-06-25.
  6. ^ Fried, Ina (\aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa nyrexdfhcn2008-08-18). "Windows 7 Server to be 'minor release'". CNET. Retrieved 2008-09-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ Brant, Martijn (2008-08-13). "Microsoft NL confirms Windows Server 2008 R2 is in fact Windows 7?". Retrieved 2008-09-18. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ Microsoft pushes back Blackcomb to 2005
  9. ^ .Net Server: Three delays a charm?
  10. ^ Gates, Bill (2000-07-12). "Professional Developers Conference Remarks". microsoft.com. Retrieved 2008-03-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ Lettice, John (2001-10-24). "Gates confirms Windows Longhorn for 2003". The Register. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
  12. ^ a b Thurrott, Paul (February 14 2007). "Windows "7" FAQ". Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows. Retrieved 2008-01-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Robert McMillan, IDG News Service (February 9 2007). "Microsoft: Vista follow-up likely in 2009". {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ Steven Levy (February 3 2007). "Bill Gates on Vista and Apple's 'Lying' Ads". {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ Bill Gates (May 12 2007). "Bill Gates: Japan—Windows Digital Lifestyle Consortium". {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ Marius Oiaga (June 24, 2008). "Windows 7 Will Not Inherit the Incompatibility Issues of Vista".
  17. ^ a b c d Gruener, Wolfgang (2008-01-16). "TG Daily - Windows Vista successor scheduled for a H2 2009 release?". TG Daily. Retrieved 2008-01-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ Dan Graham (2008-01-18). "Windows 7 set for late 2009 release". Retrieved 2008-01-18.
  19. ^ "More Windows 7 screenshots surfacing". Retrieved 2008-01-28.
  20. ^ ThinkNext.net: Screenshots from a blogger with Windows 7 M1
  21. ^ TG Daily: Windows 7 M1: Nothing to get excited about
  22. ^ "Leaked Details of Windows 7 M1 March 2008 Edition Version 6.1 Build 6574.1". Retrieved 2008-04-24.
  23. ^ BETAArchive Leak Announcement
  24. ^ "Gates and Ballmer debut Windows 7". engadget. 2008-05-27. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
  25. ^ "Evolution of the taskbar in Windows 7 - "Superbar"". Retrieved 2008-06-27.
  26. ^ Windows 7 Multi-Touch: Hi-Res Shots
  27. ^ "Windows 7 hits Milestone 3". ZDNet.com.
  28. ^ "Windows 7 Paint and WordPad: New UI, New Functionality".
  29. ^ "Ahead of PDC, Microsoft Begins Internal Test of Windows 7". Paul Thurrott. 2008-09-14. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
  30. ^ "Windows 7 M3 Build 6780 Pictures and Video". Thinknext.net.
  31. ^ "Windows 7 M3 Build 6780 Pictures and Video". Thinknext.net.
  32. ^ "Windows 7 Beta 1 Available December 2008". softpedia. 2008-09-11. Retrieved 2008-09-13.
  33. ^ "Windows 7: Now a late 2009 deliverable (again)". ZDNet. 2008-05-28. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
  34. ^ Long Zheng (2008-01-22). "Neowin.net forum member posts first review Windows 7 Milestone 1 Build 6.1.6519.1". Retrieved 2008-01-26.
  35. ^ "Windows 7 M3 Build 6780 Pictures and Video". Thinknext.net.
  36. ^ Windows Vista Team Blog. "Microsoft demonstrates Multi-touch". MSDN Blogs. Retrieved 2008-05-28.
  37. ^ Fried, Ina (2008-02-20). "Windows 7 goes beyond keyboard and mouse". ZDNet Australia. Retrieved 2008-02-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  38. ^ "Job Details - Software Development Engineer in Test". Microsoft. 2008-05-21. Retrieved 2008-05-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  39. ^ "Engineering Windows 7 - Boot Performance".
  40. ^ a b Keizer, Gregg F. (2008). "Windows 7 eyed by antitrust regulators". Retrieved 2008-03-19. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

External links

Windows 7: Seven developments you should know about

Latest news on Windows 7

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