Windows 7 FAQ and Rumours
Windows 7 FAQ and Rumors
This page is constantly updated with new information. Last updated December 8, 2008
What is Windows 7?
Windows 7 is the codename of the upcoming operating system in development by Microsoft. It’s called 7 for now probably because it’s the 7th version of Windows (Vista was Windows 6.)
Windows 7 Build 69xx Leaked?
Although these were the builds shown at PDC and WinHEC, they have not been leaked.
When will Windows 7 Beta 1 come out?
We’re looking at a January 13 release.
How can I get Windows 7 Beta 1?
Attending MSDN Developer’s Conference will guarantee you a copy.
(although TPB will probably have it released before they have been mailed out to the attendees.)
Is Windows 7 really Vista’s twin?
It’s hard to say now because Windows 7 is not even considered a beta yet. Any claims made now are probably inaccurate. Your best bet would be to wait until Beta 1 is released to find out.
So Windows 7 Build 6801leaked then?
It’s already been leaked on dozens of torrent sites.
Should I use Windows 7 as my main OS if I get my hands on it?*
It is still in pre-beta stage so you are sure to face some hiccups on it. I’ve already had trouble with a few games and applications. It has also randomly shut down on me without asking me if I want to restart after updates, which is very annoying. Also, a public beta is coming out in December so you may want to wait before “fully” switching, which I don’t recommend anyway.
Is Windows 7 the same as Windows Blackcomb or Vienna?
Yes. Vienna and Blackcomb were old codenames.
When will Windows 7 be released?
Microsoft plans to release Windows 7 three years after Vista’s release date. Windows 7 should be released sometime between late 2009 - early 2010. Microsoft also recently confirmed their focus is for a Q4 2009 release.
Will Windows 7 be available in 64-bit only?
No. It will be available as a 32-bit and 64-bit version.
Will Windows 7 utilize a new kernel?
Nope. Previous rumors about Microsoft creating a new kernel that is one-sixth of the size of Windows Vista’s kernel were not true.
Is Windows 7 a major or minor release?
Windows 7 will be a major release. (For example: Windows XP SP2 was a minor release)
Will Windows 7 use the same driver device model as Vista?
Yes it will, meaning that existing drivers will work with Windows 7. No need for headaches over updates. Kudos to Microsoft for this one.
Why does Windows 7 look awfully like Windows Vista?
No one is sure yet, but Microsoft is known to get the technical aspects and features done correctly first, before reworking the GUI.
What’s the whole deal with the Ribbon?
The Ribbon is what Microsoft believes as the future of navigation for programs. If you take a look at the Notepad Look-alike screenshots here that’s what Microsoft wants to implement for programs to come. There’s not a whole lot of detail about this yet.
Virtual Hard Disks?
There were rumors of Microsoft posting a job listing for someone that can work on their virtualization features. However, an updated WinHEC 2008 agenda shows that the seminar on VHD will only be for Windows Server 2008.
What about the sidebar and its gadgets??
Windows 7 will not have the sidebar like in Vista. However, gadgets are to play an integral part of the overall GUI, and will be “integrated” into the whole Windows system.
How do I get Windows 7 Beta?
The Public beta is due to come out sometime in mid-December. To get ready for it, make sure you have a Windows Live account and sign in Microsoft Connect and fill out your details. You can try looking for Windows 7 in the list but the last time I checked it wasn’t there (please let me know if you do see it there.) I’ll update you on when the public beta starts getting distributed.
Just how fast does Windows 7 boot up?
Just to give you an idea, let me give you my specs:
CPU: Intel Core2Duo e6750 - 2.66GhZ
Motherboard: Gigabyte P35 DS3R
RAM: 2GB Crucial at 733MhZ
HD: 640GB Samsung 16MB Cache
On Vista I boot up in about 35 seconds, and Windows 7 ranges from 20-25. It actually gets faster the more I use my computer.
On Asus EEE netbook tests, it takes 58 seconds to boot up. Lifehacker claims it is 20% faster than Vista in terms of boot time.
New Windows 7 Bitlocker additions:
Bitlocker will now support portable USB Flash drives as well
Windows 7 Features:
Screen Docking in Windows 7:
Screen docking is the ability for Windows to change shape or form through the way you move them. If you move a window up to the top edge of your screen, it will maximize automatically. Dragging it away will unmaximize it. Dragging it off to the left and right edges will automatically resize them to take up 50% of the screen.
The new taskbar “superbar” in Windows 7:
The new and improved taskbar looks a bit like the dock in Mac OS X. Microsoft wants you to recognize applications only by their icons, although you can still have it show text. It’s size has increased by 1.5 times, and you can now shift application boxes around. The new graphics engine also allows the application background box to change colour according to the hues in the application’s icon. There’s an entire article on how to unlock this hidden taskbar in Windows 7, and a preview of its features here.
Native HD codec support for Windows 7:
Windows 7 is to natively support DivX, Xvid, MKV, and H.264, as well as transcoding. This means you can watch any videos in these codecs right out of the box. Windows Media Center can also convert on-the-fly to a format your extender uses, meaning you can now stream these videos to your Xbox 360, or any other external device.
Device Stage:
Device stage is a new feature that allows device vendors to have a customizable interface that allows you to utilize your device from a control panel. Basically, when you plug in your device, a window will pop up listing its specs (battery life, firmware version, hard disk space, etc) and then give you many options as to what you can do with the device. This may eliminate the need to download or install 3rd party applications to use specific devices in the future.
Windows 7 Libraries:
Libraries are folders that allow you to access data of a specific category regardless of where they are located on your computer. For example, you can create a library for rock music and have access to all your rock music in that folder, even if you have rock music on 3 different partitions.
Customizable UAC in Windows 7:
You can’t completely customize UAC but there are now four different UAC behaviors you can select. You can choose for UAC to go into paranoia mode, or to not alert you at all.
Windows Sensors in Windows 7:
Windows 7 will have support for software and hardware sensors. This is very neat and there’s an entire article about it here. If you just want to know the basics, let’s just say that the sensors will have some of the following abilities: GPS, the ability to change monitor brightness and contrast depending on the amount of sunlight around you, the ability to change the GUI of an application depending on the time of day.
Desktop Slideshows in Windows 7:
Desktop slideshows allow your desktop wallpaper to automatically change in specified time intervals. You can also draw images from an RSS feed such as NASA image of the day, so your wallpaper change when that image changes, without actually having to store the files on your hard-drive. I have written an article on it here.
Windows Peeking:
Windows peeking allows you to look at a window without actually going to it. The purpose of this is to be able to view your gadgets lying on your desktop, without actually having to access your desktop. You can probably imagine how easy it is to get away with surfing on the net while at work.
Driver protection in Windows 7:
Whenever drivers are started, they are checked against a “Protection List” so bad drivers can be prevented from starting to avoid stability problems. The list is regularly updated by Microsoft.
IME Learning:
IME Learning or (Input Method Editor) Learning is a feature that will memorize the combination of words or characters you use with East Asian languages. This is different from what was seen in Vista or XP because these memorizations are permanently stored on your computer, whereas in past operating systems, memory was lost after shut down.Popularity: 1%
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