would come in six editions. While it sounds like Microsoft will have an edition for everyone and anyone, we feel there are a good number of other Windows 7 editions Microsoft should consider. Here are some of them, listed in no particular order.

Windows 7 XP Edition: For people who want their OS to look like XP in perpetuity. For those who want the ultimate in streamlined operating systems, Windows 7 DOS Edition would be a perfect choice.

Windows 7 Clippy Edition: Gives you lots of "helpful" advice and will offer to guide you through even the most mundane tasks with the help of friendly cartoon characters. "It appears you are trying to open a folder! Do you need help?"

Windows 7 Economic Stimulus Edition: It's very big, massively expensive, may or may not work, and includes a "bug" that adds three zeroes to all numbers. Ideally, the government will pay for a copy for every citizen.

Windows 7 I CAN HAZ OPERATING SYSTEM? Edition: Everything in the operating system would be written in lolcat form. It would allow Microsoft to cash in on the lolcat Internet meme: "SRY, U HAD ERROR. KTHXBYE." This edition would integrate The Lolcat Translator just in case you get confused.

Windows 7 Klingon Edition: Perfect for Star Trek fans everywhere, this edition would be written entirely in Klingon. It would serve as a companion product to the Lolcat edition. No Klingon-to-English translator would be included, since any self-respecting Trekkie should already be fluent in Klingon.

Windows 7 Zombie Edition: Optimizes your PC for takeover by a botnet commandante, who can then streamline instructions for efficiency and fast performance. (This may already exist in earlier Windows OSs.)

Windows 7 LGE (Lead Generation Edition): Requires a full set of personal information from the user before it will operate, and then shares that information with interested third parties for a small fee; also removes any option to mask your identity or disable/erase cookies.

What other Windows 7 editions would you like to see from Microsoft? Post a comment below and let us know!

While Microsoft officials won’t say it (at least not publicly), one of Windos 7’s main selling points is likely to be that it’s the “anti-Vista.” It will be faster, smaller, more reliable and… less secure?

If Microsoft continues on its current path regarding one of Windows 7’s components — the User Account Control (UAC) feature — the company might find itself in the regrettable place where Windows 7 could be less secure than Vista, according to some testers.

Two Windows enthusiast bloggers, Long Zheng and Rafael Rivera, have now discovered not one, but two, seemingly severe exploit channels in the UAC setting that is currently set as the default for Windows 7. The first exploit they publicized (after talking to Microsoft privately about it) allows malware to turn off UAC; the other allows malware to auto-elevate without notifying the user. To date, Microsoft’s response is that the new UAC default is set the way it is “by design” and isn’t problematic.

I asked Microsoft again on February 3 if it was still standing by its statement that the UAC default setting for Windows 7 is fine as is. Microsoft declined to let me speak to anyone directly and instead provided this statement (in the form of these bullet points):
“This is not a vulnerability. The intent of the default configuration of UAC is that users don’t get prompted when making changes to Windows settings. This includes changing the UAC prompting level.
Microsoft has received a great deal of usability feedback on UAC prompting behavior in UAC, and has made changes in accordance with user feedback.
UAC is a feature designed to enable users to run software at user (non-admin) rights, something we refer to as Standard User. Running software as standard user improves security reduces TCO.
The only way this could be changed without the user’s knowledge is by malicious code already running on the box.
In order for malicious code to have gotten on to the box, something else has already been breached (or the user has explicitly consented)”

I am not a security or a Windows internal expert. But I asked someone who knows a thing or two about how Windows works. He asked to remain anonymous. He said the current Windows 7 UAC setting is flawed in its design. It should not prompt only for non-Windows binaries (which is the default Windows 7 setting).

“The issue is that things, like the WSH (Windows Script Host), are part of windows and if a scripting host or other ‘Windows’ component, like WSH or Power Shell, can be used by malicious software to drive the UI, it is trivial to pull off an exploit like this. This is a major problem though as in its current form, Win 7 is potentially far less capable in its default configuration, at stopping drive-by malware when compared with Vista.”

In other words, if the UAC setting is allowed to stay as is, Windows 7 could be deemed less secure than Vista. Ouch.

If Microsoft’s current, wide-scale Windows 7 beta is a real beta (and not just one in name only, as I’ve argued in the past), it would follow that Microsoft is still planning to use tester feedback to alter Windows 7 in ways that will make it a better product. Yes, there is a risk that by having to go in and fix or change a feature could derail the well-finessed Windows 7 ship schedule. But isn’t the point of having outside testers look at your code to find potential problems? And isn’t improving the security of Windows still an overriding goal for the Windows team?

What’s your take? Does Microsoft need to rethink what it has done to UAC to make it less hated than it was in Vista?

Two Windows 7 testers claim they've found a second glitch in the Windows 7 beta's default security configuration that could let malware automatically elevate itself to full administrative privileges without triggering User Account Control prompts or even shutting down UAC at all.

Last week, Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT) bloggers Long Zheng and Rafael Rivera published simple proof-of-concept code that automatically disables UAC in Windows 7 without any user interaction. On Wednesday, Zheng and Rivera published details on a second UAC flaw in the Windows 7 beta that stems from the OS being set up to automatically elevate Microsoft-signed applications and code in order to minimize UAC alerts.

The problem, according to Zheng, is that some of these trusted, Microsoft-signed applications are designed to execute third-party code for legitimate reasons, which allows attackers to create malware that exploits their trusted status.

"Unfortunately, this flaw is not just a single point of failure. The breadth of Windows executables is just too many and too diverse, and many are exploitable," Zheng wrote.

Microsoft denied that the first UAC flaw was actually a flaw, claiming that the only way UAC could be changed without the user's knowledge was if malicious code was already running on the box.

Microsoft is still investigating the second UAC flaw, said a spokesperson who declined to comment further. However, both Zheng and Rivera reported hearing rumors that the second UAC issue has been fixed in internal Windows 7 builds.

To illustrate the potential impact of the second UAC flaw, Rivera published a proof-of-concept that could let attackers use rundll32.exe -- one of the Microsoft-signed applications -- to execute malicious code on a PC with full administrative privileges.

Zheng recommended that Windows 7 beta users set their UAC settings to 'high' in order to minimize the danger for both flaws. However, that makes UAC in the Windows 7 beta behave in the same overly chatty fashion it did in Vista, which once again highlights the difficulty of balancing security and usability concerns.

While Windows 7 is expected to hew to the same high security standards as Vista, security experts are watching Microsoft's response to the UAC issues closely, and some are beginning to take issue with how the software giant is responding to the UAC reports.

Microsoft Tuesday unveiled a plan to release six editions of Windows 7 and said all of them will run on a range of hardware, including netbooks.

However, the company is emphasizing two main SKUs (stock-keeping units) of the forthcoming OS -- Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional -- saying these are the ones most customers will buy, according to information posted on Microsoft's Web site.

With Windows 7, Microsoft hopes it will be easier for customers to decide which edition of the OS is right for them. By doing so, the company once again seems to be trying to learn from mistakes it made with the release of Windows Vista, premium versions of which had special hardware requirements that hindered customers' transition from XP and confused users as to which edition they should purchase.

When Microsoft released Vista, premium versions such as Windows Vista Ultimate and Windows Vista Home Premium did not run on many PCs that already were running Windows XP. Microsoft tried to give hardware partners and customers fair warning of this and through a controversial program had OEMs put stickers on new PCs to let customers know which version of Vista those machines could run.

Still, many customers did not feel Vista hardware requirements were communicated effectively and Microsoft is still embroiled in a class-action suit over that sticker program, called "Windows Vista Capable."

In addition to Home Premium and Professional, Windows 7 will come in the following editions that mirror Vista's SKUs: Windows 7 Starter; Windows 7 Home Basic; Windows 7 Enterprise; and Windows 7 Ultimate.

Microsoft is recommending either Windows 7 Home Premium or Professional for most of its customers, it said.

Windows 7 Home Premium is for the average user and Windows 7 Professional -- replacing Windows Vista Business -- is for small businesses and people who work at home but have to operate in an IT-managed or business environment with security and productivity concerns, the company said.

Windows 7 Starter is a limited-functionality version of the OS that will be available worldwide but only as a pre-install by OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). This expansion of its availability -- Vista Starter was only available in emerging markets -- led one blogger to surmise that Windows 7 Starter is the version Microsoft will push for the netbook market.

"This version will only be sold through PC makers to users," wrote Paul Thurrott on the popular SuperSite for Windows blog, which has a list of SKUs and the differences in functionality. "This suggests that netbook makers will choose this version, even in the US."

Windows 7 Enterprise is Microsoft's SKU for its enterprise customers, while PC enthusiasts that "want it all," according to Microsoft, should purchase Windows 7 Ultimate.

Like Vista, Windows 7 also will have Home Basic edition that will only be sold in emerging PC markets "for customers looking for an entry-point Windows experience on a full-size value PC," according to Microsoft.

Making all editions of Windows 7 available on small form-factor PCs, widely known as netbooks, is an especially strategic move for Microsoft, as the same was not true for Vista.

Netbooks, also called mini-notebooks because they are smaller than typical PCs, have become an important segment of the PC market, the overall growth of which has been stunted by the current global economic crisis. In fact, Microsoft blamed sales of netbooks partially for missing its financial guidance for its fiscal second-quarter earnings last month, saying the sale of these devices cut into the PC market.

Because of its hardware footprint, it is difficult to run Vista on netbooks, which mainly run XP or Linux. Having Windows 7 running on these devices will give users an upgrade path from XP and should put Microsoft on surer footing in that market.

Vista also had six SKUs, and features, functionality and hardware requirements differed among them.

This is also true of Windows 7 editions, with the premium versions having more features and functionality than the basic versions. However, Microsoft said it plans to remove some disparities between the different SKUs of Windows 7 by making them all a "superset of one another," so if people decide they want to upgrade from, for example, Home Premium to Professional, they won't lose any functionality from their previous version in that transition, it said.

"With Windows 7 there is a more natural progression from one edition to the next," Microsoft said.

Microsoft has targeted late this year or early next year for the release of Windows 7. The OS is currently in its first public beta, but Microsoft said last week there would be no beta 2, as there typically is with its software products. Instead, the next release of Windows 7 will be a nearly completed release candidate.

Microsoft will help users upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 by selling upgrade media, but warned XP users they must do a "clean" installation of Windows 7. That means all data on the XP machine will be lost.

"Regarding XP, customers can purchase upgrade media and an upgrade licence to move from Windows XP to Windows 7," a Microsoft spokeswoman told Computerworld US. "However, they will need to do a clean installation of Windows 7."

In a follow-up reply to questions, the spokeswoman fleshed out what Microsoft means by upgrade. "The 'upgrade' part is referring to the licence," she said. "You will be able to get the discounted 'upgrade' licence, but it will include full bits."

That's how David Smith, an analyst with Gartner, interpreted 'upgrade' in Microsoft's description of what it would offer XP owners. "They're talking about the upgrade price," he said, pointing out that most software vendors use the term to designate a lower-priced version aimed at existing customers.

Although Microsoft Tuesday spelled the six planned versions of Windows 7, it declined to provide pricing for them, or for the XP upgrade licences.

Typically, an operating system upgrade offers users the choice between an in-place migration of the machine - including installed applications and all data - and a fresh installation, which overwrites the hard drive's contents. When Microsoft launched Windows Vista in January 2007, for example, it offered people then running XP those upgrade paths.

Smith and other analysts applauded Microsoft's decision to not provide in-place upgrades from XP to Windows 7. "I'm not a big fan of them," said Smith. "They're tough enough from one version to the next, and from two versions [behind], it would be pretty challenging, technically."

Michael Gartenberg, formerly an analyst at JupiterResearch, and now a vice president of mobile strategy with JupiterMedia, agreed. "For most end users, it will probably mean that they end up with a more reliable installation," he said.

Microsoft benefits, too. "It makes life a lot easier for Microsoft by not having to support an XP to Windows 7 transition," said Gartenberg. "It means that it's something they can get out the door earlier."

Microsoft has been aggressively pushing Windows 7's timetable. Just two weeks after it launched the first - and in the end, the only - public beta of the new operating system, the head of Windows development said the company is moving directly to 'release candidate' directly to 'release candidate'.

But the process of upgrading a PC from Windows XP to Windows 7 won't be easy, Gartenberg predicted. "It's a double-edged sword. For many consumers who may be looking to go directly from XP to Windows 7, the idea of doing a clean install, backing up their applications, backing up their data, can lead to a lot of hassles," he said.

"Considering that there's a lot of XP out there, one has to wonder why Microsoft is taking this approach," Gartenberg added. "It's not going to be the simplicity of sticking a disc in the drive and upgrading. We'll have to see if that affects the upgrade market."

Microsoft said it was working on ways to help Windows XP users make the move, but would not get specific. "Microsoft plans to have other tools and ways to help people get through that process, but we don't have full details on that at this time," the company's spokesman said today.

I was hoping to have this up on ActiveWin, but I don’t know what has delayed it, so I decided to post it here on my blog. The Windows 7 FAQ which details information about getting up and running with the beta. Its not final, but should help persons who are interested the in new version of Windows. Here is a snippet:

Q: What is Windows 7?

A: Windows 7 is the official name for the release of Windows that follows Windows Vista and latest version of Microsoft’s Windows client operating system. Windows 7 which is currently in development, started immediately after Windows Vista’s release. Windows 7 features a drastically improved desktop experience that focuses on new core experiences such as Windows Touch introducing support for multi-touch technology inherited from the Microsoft Surface. Windows 7 also supports improved Accessibility and Global Support, handwriting and Ink recognition. Windows 7 provides an enhanced Taskbar, rich application experiences with superior improvements to managing files and personal data.

Q: What is the thinking behind the name Windows 7?

A: With Windows 7, Microsoft is delivering a foundation for unmatched customer experiences across applications, services, and devices. Windows 7 builds on the substantial investments Microsoft made in Windows Vista to improve security, reliability and performance. At the same time, Windows 7’s enhanced PC manageability introduces compelling new experiences, delivering an operating system that is nimble, highly reliable, and more secure, optimized for today’s powerful hardware, and easily connects with the devices people use today.

Q: How can I obtain Windows 7?

A: Microsoft has scoped this release to three years after Windows Vista’s general availability, which would put it somewhere around late 2009 or early 2010. However, you can download the public beta now at the following website:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/beta-download.aspx

You can find the rest HERE

Previously:

Windows Vista RTM FAQ and Quick Start Guide.