Topic: Windows 7 in 2009? Apparently NOT!

[Nemesis]

Link to full article

MIAMI--Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates on Friday indicated that Windows 7, the next major version of Windows, could come within the next year, far ahead of the development schedule previously indicated by the software maker.

In response to a question about Windows Vista, Gates, speaking before the Inter-American Development Bank here, said: "Sometime in the next year or so we will have a new version." Referring to Windows 7, the code name for the next full release of Windows client software, Gates said: "I'm super-enthused about what it will do in lots of ways."

Unclear is whether Gates was referring to early testing of Windows 7 coming within the year, as opposed to a widespread release or debut. An early test geared toward developers would be conceivable. The company has repeatedly said that it will accelerate the development of new Windows versions, largely as a response to Vista's roughly five year gestation period.

Now if they would only get smart and continue to sell earlier versions of Windows for those adicted to it and unable or unwilling to "upgrade" to Vista.

[Dracho]

Another release that quickly will assure Vista its rightful place along side windows millenium.

[knightstorm]

Another release that quickly will assure Vista its rightful place along side windows millenium.

I wish people would stop comparing vista to windows ME.  I have worked with both, and believe me Vista is much more annoying than ME.

[Centurus]

Another release that quickly will assure Vista its rightful place along side windows millenium.

I wish people would stop comparing vista to windows ME.  I have worked with both, and believe me Vista is much more annoying than ME.

I second that motion.  Also, I used ME for a while, and it wasn't so bad.  I had no more problems with ME than I had with 95, 98, and 98SE.

I prefer XP over those older versions of Windows.  If a new service pack was made for Windows 2000 that gave it enough hardware support to contend with XP, I'd probably use 2000 more often.  As it is now I've only ever managed to do a fresh install of Windows 2000 on a 160 gig hard drive using a slipstreamed install disc with SP4.

[Bonk]

Another release that quickly will assure Vista its rightful place along side windows millenium.

I wish people would stop comparing vista to windows ME.  I have worked with both, and believe me Vista is much more annoying than ME.

I think you are missing the comparison. Obviously the two operating systems are completely different (one DOS, the other NT).

Anyway, the comparison that people are making is that Vista is to XP as ME was to 98. Get it? No real changes, some eye candy and inappropriate kludges thrown on top of another operating system as afterthoughts.

We can only hope that MS gets it right this time, or it very well could be the end for them.

[Pestalence_XC]

Well.. Windows 7 is basically a Vista service package of it's own..

I have Milestone 1 (alpha 1) install now.. it states that it must install on top of Vista Service Pack 1..

in other words.. Windows 7 is Vista with some reworked components and menu's.. it isn't that much different from Vista.. I think Networking got a little reworking, but I am going to put in another HDD and install Vista Dual boot with Windows 7 and see how Windows 7 will run OP on the D2.

[Pestalence_XC]

Here are some videos of Windows 7

http://www.windows7.cc/windows-7-videos/recent-windows-7-videos

[Nemesis]

There have been articles suggesting that Windows 7 will be modular without the integrating of earlier versions of Windows.  There have also been suggestions that some of these modules will be subscription based.  If so its good news and bad news.

[Pestalence_XC]

Here is a lot more info on Vienna (Windows 7)

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-7-Milestone-1-M1-Ultimate-Build-6-1-6519-1-78871.shtml

Window 7 M 1 Build 6.1.6519.1 comes as an ISO image weighing in at 2.7 GB and is designed to install on top of Windows Vista Service Pack 1. At this point in time Windows 7 M1 is not a standalone installer. The fact that it needs Windows Vista at its infrastructure explains many of the striking similarities between the two operating systems. Skeptics of the validity of the leaked Windows 7 details in fact used the similitudes between Windows Vista and Windows 7 as a way to dismiss the fact that Microsoft had indeed delivered the first testing build of the next version of Windows 7.

"As people who were 'in' early with Vista, the visual changes happen much later in the product lifecycle and under the hood changes can make a huge difference in things like performance, security and reliability while not being 'seen' by anyone," explained David Overton, ISV Partner Account Manager at Microsoft.

And because of being deployed on the Vista architecture, Windows 7 M1 Build 6.1.6519.1 inherently got the Ultimate label. But in the end, the truth of the matter is that nothing much has changed in Windows 7 M1 in comparison to Windows Vista. There are details that have been evolved here and there, but nothing significant, nothing that screams Windows 7 beyond any doubt. In addition, the modifications that were indeed introduced are superficial to say the least, so in the eventuality that you are expecting pure Windows 7 you will be disappointed.

Well, when talking Windows 7 M1 changes it's best to start on the surface. Namely Windows Aero. Scratch any trace of doubt from your minds if you think that Windows Aero will not make it into the final version of Windows 7. Microsoft has tweaked the transparent graphical user interface from the appearance of the translucent taskbar to the fact that window borders now retain Aero even in full screen mode. (Images courtesy of What's Next)

The Start menu has also been revamped with the introduction of pins. Items in the Start menu can be pined directly from the user interface, no need to go digging into the right-click contextual options. The second major modification of the Start menu is that, while performing searches, all the default items, including the components on the right hand side, are removed and query results are displayed on the entire area available.

Windows 7 M1 sports new versions of Internet Explorer 7, Windows Mail and Windows Media Center. No word yet from Microsoft on the integration of Windows Live Mail into the fabric of Windows 7. At the same time, although Internet Explorer 7.1.6519.1 is an evolved build compared to what Vista brings to the table, there has been no indication whether or not Internet Explorer 8, or above, will ship as a component of Windows 7. Similarly, although a new version of Windows Media Center is being developed under the codename Windows Fiji, the version of WMC in Windows 7 M1 is essentially the same as in Vista but with just a few extra tweaks.

There is now a new application available, built into Windows 7, namely the XPS viewer. The program will allow Windows 7 users to manage XPS documents, XPS being of course the Redmond company's answer to Adobe's PDF. Additionally, the Calculator features new modes (Programmer and Statistics), the Control Panel comes with a small UI redesign making it easier to explore. The Search box in Windows Explorer is now flexible, offering the users the possibility to stretch it to adapt and improve visualization of larger queries. And there is even a new Backup and Restore center coming with the Wipe and Reload feature that "allows you to undo all changes made to your PC."

And believe it or not, Windows 7 contains a bit of the old Longhorn project. Windows 7 M1 now allows users to create their own HomeGroup. This feature is reminiscent of Longhorn Castle. The HomeGroup is designed to permit advanced sharing capabilities between computers in the same household, when it comes to digital content from photos to videos and music, but also to printers.

Here is a fragment of the official Microsoft documentation on Longhorn Castle: "the 'castle' feature allows users to have the networking functionality of the domain, including roaming the user's profile, machine trust and having a consistent user identity throughout the network. The main difference with Castle is that users do not have to setup a dedicated machine, such as a domain controller, to maintain the trust and identity relationship. It also makes it easy to share and access files on those computers. Each computer on the same subnet can discover and join an existing castle. Or, the user can create a Castle. To join an existing castle, you must know the login credentials of an administrator account already part of the castle. Only non-blank passwords can grant access. This helps ensure only authorized computers join the castle (use of strong passwords for administrator accounts is highly recommended). When a computer joins a castle, the accounts on that computer will be added to the list of accounts accessible from any computer in the castle. User specific data (e.g. their password, access rights, and preferences) will be replicated on each computer in the castle and kept in sync. In addition, the newly joined computer will inherit and respect all policies from the Castle."

Officially, Windows 7 is expected to be made available three years after the delivery of Windows Vista. Speculations currently point to the end of 2009 for the availability of the next iteration of Windows, with Microsoft itself having indicated the same in the documentation accompanying Windows 7 M1. And, as M1 is scheduled for expiration in March/April, the second milestone of Windows 7 is expected to drop in the coming couple of month. Milestone 3 is planned for the third quarter of 2008, and the first beta is expected to hit in early 2009.

[Bonk]

...in other words.. Windows 7 is Vista with some reworked components and menu's.. it isn't that much different from Vista.. I think Networking got a little reworking...

Poop. That's not what I wanted to hear at all. I was hoping to see a whole new operating system, much like NT in its day.

[knightstorm]

Another release that quickly will assure Vista its rightful place along side windows millenium.

I wish people would stop comparing vista to windows ME.  I have worked with both, and believe me Vista is much more annoying than ME.

I think you are missing the comparison. Obviously the two operating systems are completely different (one DOS, the other NT).

Anyway, the comparison that people are making is that Vista is to XP as ME was to 98. Get it? No real changes, some eye candy and inappropriate kludges thrown on top of another operating system as afterthoughts.

We can only hope that MS gets it right this time, or it very well could be the end for them.

I thought ME was never intended to be a longterm offering, but was supposed to be a stopgap to plug a hole in the MS product line until XP was released.  While vista was intended to last a few years.

[Pestalence_XC]

Windows ME was pure GUI.. Dos was removed from ME which is what broke it.. there were downloads and registry tweaks to get the OS fully functional.. once that was done, ME was pretty decent.. but you really had to dig for the ME fixes.. 90% were on Axel's AOL Windows Tweak and Fixes page..

but OOB ME was broke from the get go.. you had to tweak it and re-enable Dos in it for it to work correctly.. but after that was done, it was much better than 98SE.

Anyhow, I am more intrested in Window 7 for the networking than anything else.. it is suppose to be much more P2P compliant than Vista.. which if it is, then TCP/IP will be more compliant and hopefully fix D2 with OP on Windows 7

Like I stated, I am going to do a dual boot this week with Vienna and Vista and see now Vienna holds up or if it is any better.

[jualdeaux]

For those interested, I have read that MS is planning on selling XP Home until 2010. I don't remember where I read that at exactly though.

[Nemesis]

For those interested, I have read that MS is planning on selling XP Home until 2010. I don't remember where I read that at exactly though.

Maybe here?  Onlly preinstalled on ultralight laptops though.

[Lepton]

Here are some videos of Windows 7

http://www.windows7.cc/windows-7-videos/recent-windows-7-videos

If I try to watch those videos, they start to play for a moment and then say page not found.  Is that indicative on Windows 7 performance??  Page not found??

[Pestalence_XC]

Here are some videos of Windows 7

http://www.windows7.cc/windows-7-videos/recent-windows-7-videos

If I try to watch those videos, they start to play for a moment and then say page not found. Is that indicative on Windows 7 performance?? Page not found??

If they are not playing correctly for you, you may want to update your Adobe Flashplayer to latest version.. all videos on the site play just fine for me.

[Pestalence_XC]

well Windows 7 Milestone 1 is cancelled.. My copy won't activate on the Microsoft site.. I'm not suprised.. they did have a hard coded end date sometime in March or April... I guess I signed up a little late.. maybe they will let me into the Vienna Beta in the 3rd quarter.. maybe they will let me try out Milestone 2.

What sucked was all the time I took installing a 12 Gb drive, loading Vista, spent 4 hours (5400 rpm e-ide drive, non sata) installing the updates and SP 1, then went to install Windows 7.. which took off good, installed, restarted and stated test period expired... Unable to activate. and I just sat there with a blank screen with the Aero background staring at me... CNTRL+ALT+DEL only gave me a shutdown option...

so now I yanked the drive and sent an email to MS.. Wonder what their response will be.

[Lloyd007]

The deal breaker for me will be if M$ decides to put more of their 'protecting huge companies from the consumer!' crap in Windows 7 like they did with Vista. Honestly I think that more than anything will kill 7.

[Nemesis]

The deal breaker for me will be if M$ decides to put more of their 'protecting huge companies from the consumer!' crap in Windows 7 like they did with Vista. Honestly I think that more than anything will kill 7.

For me it was XP activation.  I might have eventually caved and bought XP except for running into some DRM in Win2000Pro.  I really got annoyed when Windows told me that it was illegal for me to copy a DVD (in the U.S. it was illegal but not here in Canada).  Having the Canadian version crippled to match U.S. laws put me over the edge and I never did "upgrade" to XP and instead run primarily Linux now. 

All the DRM in Vista only makes it worse.  Not even (as far as I've read) being able to set the DVD/CD burning application that comes with it to (by default) use industry standard formats  that can be reliably shared with non Vista users seems to me to be a "lockin" ploy for the non power user.  I fully expect these things to get worse in Vista II or whatever they call the next version just to compell upgrades.  I also expect more people to say NO to "upgrading" as long as possible or roll back to older versions, both of which is happening with Vista.

If they actually do make the next Windows modular and allow you to leave out modules and allow competitors to make compatible replacement modules then they may have something.   With the music industry moving away from DRM one can hope that the movie industry will do  the same and that the next Windows will reflect that with less DRM.    I have my doubts that they will actually deliver on it but one can hope.

[Bonk]

Interestingly, none of that is an issue for me. You'd be surprised how much DRM does not matter when you are on dial-up, don't watch many movies and spend all your time coding.

You see, computers were not developed to show movies or play music. They were developed to solve differential equations.

It is just a matter of time until the "media center" PC is reduced to the functionality of a VCR/Stereo, and well it should be.  And I'd go with QNX developing such a box of course...

It just so happens that using the immense computing power of modern processors to show movies and play music suits hardware manufactureres just fine, because home consumers have no other real use for it. (and top-of-the-line analog equipment is still superior anyway)