windows 7
Latest
Clouds on Vista's horizon to be dubbed Strata?
When Ballmer dropped a few sprinkles of information about Vista's successor, he dubbed it "Windows Cloud," but said the real moniker would be unveiled at the Professional Developers Conference later this month in LA. That show's agenda was recently posted, and interestingly contained a number of sessions under the header "Windows Strata," leading many to believe that it's the true name of Redmond's next offering. That the section was quickly changed to "Windows 7" makes things all the more suspicious, but don't go cyber-squatting WindowsStrata.com just yet (oops, too late). Strata -- a term that can apply to the layers of the atmosphere -- might be more of a general classification for numerous cloud computing-related offerings destined for all manner of devices. But if so, why rename the sessions, and why the secrecy? And, most importantly, why are we so intrigued?[Via CNET]
Microsoft to hand out Windows 7 "pre-betas" at PDC, WinHEC
We've already seen a few apparent Windows 7 screenshots and videos turn up, and it looks like there could soon be plenty more where those came from, as Microsoft has now officially announced that it'll be handing out "pre-beta" builds of the OS at both the Professional Developer Conference (PDC) in late October and the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in early November. As we had heard previously, you can also expect to hear plenty of technical details about the OS straight from Microsoft at PDC and, who knows, we may even get word of an actual release date.
New screenshots of Windows 7 emerge
Right, so we have to pepper in some skepticism here just in case someone with way too much time on their hands has simply coated Vista in what they believe is Windows 7 garb, but ThinkNext purportedly has a whole host of screenshots from the forthcoming OS. The shots in the read link are supposedly from Windows 7 M3 Build 6780, and to be honest, it doesn't look a tremendous amount different than Vista. Oh, and keep the source linked bookmarked -- the author has promised videos shortly. Mmm, videos.[Via GottaBeMobile]Update: Videos now posted after the jump.
Windows 7 coming June 3rd, 2009?
As you may recall, Bill Gates himself mentioned a little ways back that Windows 7 could possibly be arriving as soon as next year, which prompted some quick backtracking on Microsoft's part, but that earlier-than-expected date has now cropped up yet again, this time supposedly in Microsoft's internal calendar. According to InternetNews.com, that calendar pegs the planned release date as June 3rd, 2009, which is a good deal sooner than the "early 2010" date we've been hearing all along, and quite a significant cut into Vista's planned three-year lifespan. What's more, the site also says that Microsoft will take advantage of its Professional Developer's Conference on October 27th to launch the first public beta of Windows 7, although that doesn't quite match up with earlier word that it'd only be revealing some "in-depth technical information" about the OS.[Via The Earth Times]
If it takes 1000 Microsoft engineers to code Windows 7, how many are required to change a lightbulb?
??p??pu???s ?????snpu? u? s? ss?u????p ?u????p ??sn? ?????? ???uou All smartass-ery aside, we're pleased to see Microsoft's attempt to more fully engage the development community as it marches towards a 2010 release of Windows 7. The 1,000-strong engineering team is comprised of 25 different feature teams each made up of about 40 persons on average. The whole dry but peculiarly intriguing setup is fully detailed on Microsoft's new E7, corporate transparency blog sitting just beyond the read link. By the way, how many Apple employees does it take to change a lightbulb? 13, 1 to do the screwing and a dozen lawyer-types to prepare for the recall. [Via Pocket-lint]
Windows 7 in-depth technical info to be divulged in October
Windows 7, in large part, has remained fairly elusive thus far. Granted, we wouldn't expect anything different given that it's still years out from being formally titled and pushed to market, but it's still great to hear that we'll be hearing more shortly. The new Engineering Windows 7 (E7 for short) blog, which is penned by engineering managers Jon DeVaan and Steven Sinofsky, points to two upcoming conferences in which "in-depth technical information about Windows 7" will be revealed. The Professional Developers Conference (PDC) on October 27 will the first of the two, and the aforementioned duo has promised to keep a steady stream of details flowing on their blog during the run-up. Are you on the edge of that seat yet?[Via CNET]
Next Vista Media Center leaked -- no DirecTV HD till 2010?
Engadget HD has gotten the latest on the highly anticipated update for Vista Media Center and it doesn't look good. The first release candidate made it into testers hands recently and they weren't happy to see that the most anticipated features -- support for a DirecTV HD tuner and native H.264 support -- got pushed to Windows 7. So head over to Engadget HD for more details (screen shots included).
Albatron demos 22-inch multi-touch screen for Windows 7
We didn't think it'd take too terribly long to make it happen, but Albatron is taking Microsoft's heed and is already demonstrating a prototype 22-inch monitor with multi-touch, intended for use with whatever Windows 7 will eventually come to be called. The early verdict on the 1680 x 1050 display? TG Daily says it "works much better than we expected," but we said the same thing about Surface when it debuted last year -- so maybe it simply works as well as it should.
Microsoft warns hardware makers to begin Windows 7 testing ASAP
It may not even have a firm release date just yet, but it looks like Microsoft is already taking a pretty hard line on Windows 7, with it reportedly now warning hardware makers to begin testing their devices on the OS as soon as the first beta becomes available or risk not qualifying for its certified compatibility program. As Information Week points out, that move is likely being done in order to avoid the mess stirred up when so-called Vista-capable systems went on sale in advance of Vista's release, many of which, as we all know, turned out to be anything but.
Microsoft on track to release Windows 7 multi-touch SDK in October
Microsoft may have only offered a glimpse of its promised multi-touch support in Windows 7 at D6 earlier this week, but the company apparently already has some of its longer term plans lined up, with it reportedly on track to release its multi-touch SDK at its Professional Developers' Conference in October of this year. Details on the SDK are otherwise expectedly light at the moment, however, with Microsoft only going so far as to say that its session at PDC will "highlight the new multi-touch gesture APIs and explain how you can leverage them in your applications."[Via Tablet PC Talk]
Microsoft shows off "snippet" of Windows 7 at D6, reveals multi-touch support
Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer got on stage at D6 with Walt and Kara to talk... Microsoft, of course. While the company is still being rather coy about Windows 7 -- some have blamed loose lips early on in Vista development for saddling the OS with too high of expectations and making things difficult for developers -- they were nice enough to show off what Ballmer called "the smallest snippet" of Windows 7. The big reveal was multi-touch support, which utilizes technology developed by the Surface team. The taskbar seems to have been reworked a bit, and the demo was running live on a Dell Latitude XT tablet. Apparently Microsoft is reworking the whole user interface with a multitouch experience in mind. Steve reiterated the "three years after Vista" mantra for availability. Not exactly earth-shattering, but we'll take what we can get at this point.Update: Video added after the break. Enjoy! [Thanks, Dan Z.]
Windows 7 to be revealed tonight by Gates and Ballmer, we'll be there
Gates and Ballmer are down at the WSJ's All Things Digital conference to talk tech with Mossberg and Swisher, and it looks like tonight they'll be unveiling the first (official) glimpses of Vista's successor, currently known as Windows 7. We'll be posting live from the event, so be sure to check back at 6:15pm PT (9:15 Eastern) as things kick off.
Windows 7 still slated for 2010 says Microsoft, Bill Gates just crazy-talking
If your pants / panties were in a "bunch" upon hearing news that Windows 7 would be headed into your ever-loving arms "next year," you might just want to hold off on those party invites for a little bit. Sure, Bill Gates just happened to mention that we'd see a new version of the OS "Sometime in the next year or so," but it's looking like that "or so" makes a world of difference. Microsoft wants to chill everyone out with the somber news that its got no plans to introduce Windows 7 any earlier than January 2010 (three years from the launch of Vista), and reassure us that crazy old Gates may have just been talkin' developer speak. "As is standard with the release of a new product, we will be releasing early builds of Windows 7 prior to its general availability as a means to gain tester feedback," a spokesman for Microsoft said, downplaying Gates' statement. Of course, this means that XP's cutoff will suddenly move even further down the line, which makes us wonder what the point of setting that June 2010 date was in the first place. Why are you toying with us like this, Microsoft?[Thanks, Tony]
Windows 7 to arrive next year, says Bill Gates
You know, we should have paid a little closer attention to Microsoft's decision yesterday to extend Windows XP sales to "June 2010 or one year after the general availability of Windows 7" -- if the company was really planning on shipping Windows 7 in 2010, that first date doesn't make a lot of sense unless the plan is to ship Windows 7 much, much earlier. And hey -- what's Bill Gates doing telling investors this afternoon that Windows 7 will come "in the next year" and that he's "super-enthused" about it? As far as we know, the official Windows 7 timeline hasn't changed, so Bill might just talking about beta versions, but something's clearly up Windows-wise in Redmond -- perhaps Vista's wow is not long for this now.[Thanks, Jon]
Microsoft finally confirms Windows 7 for 2010 launch
It's all a silly misunderstanding, we tell you. Microsoft has been holding fast to its "three years" development time frame for Windows 7 since forever, the problem is that it's never been clear when that three year period started. Well wonder no longer, Microsoft has finally officially confirmed that the three years started at Windows Vista's general availability release, which was January 30th, 2007. Obviously that doesn't mean will have Windows 7 on midnight of January 30th, 2010, but it does mean we can look forward to sometime within that year for a release. Microsoft plans to give an exact release date only once Windows 7 "meets its quality bar for release." Sounds like a good metric to go by, if you ask us.[Thanks, Isaac]
Asus and Microsoft working an Eee-targeted version of Windows 7?
So now that the nine-inch Eee is officially available with Windows XP pre-installed, people are wondering the obvious -- why XP and not Vista, since XP is being discontinued in June and Vista can kinda-sorta be made to run on an Eee? The answer, direct from Microsoft, is both obvious and a little surprising: Given the Eee's "other requirements," Asus and Microsoft "couldn't go the Vista route," presumably because the Eee doesn't really have the horsepower for it. Sure, but what caught our interest was that Microsoft is "in close discussions with Asus [regarding] how to take that forward... in regards to the Windows 7 Europe timeframe." Windows 7, you'll recall, has that lean new kernel, which would presumably make building a stripped-down version specifically for Eee-class machines easier -- but the last we heard, Windows 7 wasn't due until at least mid-2009 (and possibly not until 2011), so either Microsoft is planning to continue shipping XP after June or Windows 7 is coming much earlier than we thought. Our money is on XP continuing to soldier on, but here's hoping.[Thanks, Omar]
Microsoft already trimming Windows 7 features, DirectX 11 on the outs?
It might be a bit early for us to be talking Windows 7 feature cuts, but that said, isn't it a bit early for Microsoft to be talking Windows 7 feature cuts? If The Inquirer's "reliable sources" are to be believed, Microsoft is giving DirectX 11 the boot from its next version of Windows to keep hardware requirements down -- apparently the DirectX 10 requirements of Vista were enough of that sort of trouble for one decade. Obviously there's no official word on Microsoft at the moment, so we'll reserve judgment for the time being -- and hey, maybe no DirectX 11 wouldn't ruin our year -- but with the endless quantity of features cut from Vista still fresh in our memory, this is certainly not an encouraging sign if true.[Thanks, Isaac]
Mystery of the Vista-alike Windows 7 build finally solved
It was inevitable we suppose, but somebody's finally spilled on the shenanigans behind that "Windows 7 Ultimate" leak from a couple weeks back. According to JayDog over at TG Daily, who apparently received a version of the infant OS, the Windows 7 "Milestone 1" build is all Vista on top, but with the beginnings of a theoretically lean and mean Windows 7 kernel underneath, manifested in some slight speed improvements. It's not much, but it's a start, now let's just hope the optimists are right about that 2009 release date.
Windows 7 isn't headed for 2009, says Microsoft. More like 2011.
Hey, it's not Microsoft's fault that 2011 sounds like the realm of jet pack VR massage cars, but it's certainly a long ways away any way you slice it. Contrary to previous rumors of Microsoft planning a Windows 7 release sometime in 2009, Microsoft has apparently gotten in touch with WinVistaClub and set the record straight: Windows 7 is in "planning stages," and development will take approximately three years. Microsoft wouldn't comment on that supposed leak we spotted last week, and of course denied any implications that development was being accelerated to make up for Vista shortcomings. We can't help but wonder how different the OS landscape will look three years from now, with Linux rapidly reaching feature and usability parity, while Apple plugs away at OS X and cloud computing lands everywhere, but we're sure Vista SP1 won't be the last bid Microsoft makes at this generation.[Via The Inquirer]Update: Other quotes from Microsoft has the date set at 3 years from the launch of Vista, which would indeed land it around 2009, so perhaps all hope is not lost. No date is set yet, and our money is on 2010 at the earliest.
This could be the first video footage of Windows 7
Obviously a lot of people cried fake when those screenshots purporting to show Windows 7 Ultimate popped up -- possibly because they looked a lot like rebadged Vista screens -- so the blogger who originally posted the images has followed up with a video for proof. And we do have to say, if this is fake, someone put a hell of a lot of work into pulling it off, from creating a new bootup screen to hacking the source code to adding fresh Media Center options. ThinkNext tells us that this release -- known as Milestone 1 -- expires in May of this year, although if Redmond and its team of crack Enemy of the State-types have anything to say about it, this particular blog will not be getting another preview copy next time around. Video after the break.[Via Softpedia, image courtesy of ThinkNext, thanks Joshua]
