Windows 7 beta ready to go

Windows 7 is going into public beta, Microsoft head Steve Ballmer announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas late on Wednesday.

The first beta version of the successor to Windows Vista is immediately available as a downloadable disk image to MSDN, TechBeta, and TechNet subscribers, while the general public will get to test-drive the new operating system starting Friday.

Windows 7 is expected to hit shelves toward the end of this year or the start of 2010, according to Microsoft's broad roadmap for operating system releases, which specifies a three-year gap between releases. The new OS first made an appearance in October, when a "pre-beta" version was given to attendees of Microsoft's Professional Developer Conference (PDC) 2008.

Windows 7 looks like Vista but is more suited to multitouch interaction with the PC.

(Credit: ZDNet UK)

Prior to Ballmer's Wednesday announcement, ZDNet UK talked to Microsoft's UK Windows chief, John Curran, in London. Curran, who called the beta release "feature-complete," said Windows 7 would appeal to business users and IT professionals because of its enhanced security and because the new OS does not require new hardware investments above those required by Vista.

"(The encryption feature) BitLocker was a key enhancement in Vista, but Windows 7 takes that a step further," Curran said. "BitLocker To Go is the new feature. If you take a traditional USB drive and then turn on BitLocker, you can either put in a password or lock (the USB drive) using a smart card."

A USB drive encrypted using BitLocker To Go will be usable on a PC running Windows 7, Vista, or XP--although an XP machine will only be able to read the drive after downloading software to allow this.

"Any hardware that runs Vista, you can have confidence it will run Windows 7 the same or better without a hardware upgrade," Curran said. He also claimed that, as the new OS is "fundamentally built on Vista," most Vista-compatible applications will also be compatible with Windows 7. The exceptions would be applications that are highly operating-system-specific, such as antivirus or file-management software.

Curran described Windows 7 as "designed and optimized for the mobile PC, whether it is a Netbook or a laptop", and claimed the new OS would work even on current Netbooks such as those using a 1.6GHz Intel Atom CPU.

A key feature for business users, Curran said, would be DirectAccess. This feature, also included in Windows Server 2008 R2, lets mobile workers access their corporate networks without the need for a VPN. It also lets IT professionals remotely manage laptops, even if the machines are too small to allow for the incorporation of a smart card reader.

Curran also said power-management enhancements in Windows 7 made the operating system suited to mobile computing. "Windows 7 does some clever things in terms of power management," he said. "The screen automatically dims after 30 seconds (of disuse) but, if you flick the touch pad with your finger to keep (the PC) awake, it will wait longer until the next time it auto-dims. It will adjust its behavior according to your needs."

It is not yet clear how many sleep modes will be included in Windows 7--many saw the number in Vista as too great and too confusing--but one certain addition is that of "wake to wireless," adding to the current "wake to LAN" mode.

Another enhancement for business users, Curran said, would be found in Windows 7's search functionality. Whereas Vista's integrated search covers the client PC in question, the new "syndicated search" allows search across a corporate network or even across Sharepoint.

Curran also said that Windows 7 was smaller than Vista, in terms of the amount of space it takes up on the hard drive, and that performance had been "tweaked across the board."

In its appearance, Windows 7 closely resembles Vista. Two significant exceptions are the size of the buttons in the taskbar at the bottom of the screen--these are now larger so as to be more usable in the OS's built-in multitouch mode--and the lack of the sidebar. The sidebar in Vista contained the widgets, but in Windows 7 these mini applications can be spread across the desktop in a similar way to widgets in the Android mobile operating system. As Android seems set to make its way into Netbooks, it is likely that Google's operating system will become a direct competitor to Windows 7 in that market segment.

The taskbar in Windows 7 also includes another visual enhancement over Vista, in that it will automatically display multiple tabs for a browser or multiple documents for applications such as Word.

Asked whether businesses should ignore Vista in favor of the upcoming Windows 7, Curran claimed that "the road to Windows 7 is through Vista."

"If you are running XP today, my best advice is to move to Vista today," Curran said. "Most businesses will wait for the first service pack for Windows 7 (before deploying it), but some will test Vista and (realize) they can get benefits (over XP) here today." Curran's words echoed those of Ballmer in October, when the Microsoft chief said he accepted that some companies would skip Vista, but recommended that they try Vista anyway due to the compatibility between Vista and Windows 7.

Curran refused to say whether Windows 7 would launch with the same level of marketing campaign that went into the release of Vista. He also said Microsoft had not yet decided on the minimum hardware specification for Windows 7, nor the number of versions in which it would be made available. He did, however, insist that Microsoft was "committed to an enterprise edition" of the operating system.

David Meyer of ZDNet UK reported from London.

[BK216]

They're doing everything right so far, one HUGE improvement over Vista they could do is make only ONE version. Instead of offering versions that do more than the other, when first running the OS, you should have the option of if this PC is being used as a Home PC or a Business PC. Depending on the option chose, it will configure your settings for a more Home like Settings (more media friendly, less paranoid on security) or for a Business (media removed, Security on High).
Of course after you log into the system you can then alter either system to how you see fit.

Or they can take the XP route and Make a Home, and a Pro edition and sell them separately (which is what they'll prolly do seeing as how it worked great with XP)

[Vegaman_Dan]

Your wish is granted.

The same install media for Win7 covers all the versions available and installs the version you want by whatever CD key you give it.

I would not be surprised that at some point in the future that you will get the option of buying whatever license key you need online right there at the OS installation screen. Give it enough of a network connection going to get out to the licensing site or something. That's not there now, but it seems like a logical step.

[frankwick]

agree/disagree. They don't need so many versions, but as a corp user I'm not convinced I want Media Center. however, at home, Media Center is my favorite app!!!

[autuumn]

I would also love to see one version of Windows and based on the registration key, only certain fetures are installed. My first concern is on the hackers who will try to break the licensing scheme to get everything; is this still an issue that MS is concerned about?

Second, if I pick Home, Business, etc, will there be a wizard that asks me questions to determine what should be installed? How detailed are those questions cause I'd hate to say "Ya, I love playing music" and have not only Media Player installed but Media Center (there's a difference right?) and anything else realted to media.

[zenrook]

Microsoft Website is down for the count day of Public Beta release. Hopefully it will be up and running for the 2.5 million downloads this afternoon!

[Football-Maniac]

Are all the editions going to be 64 bit?

[BK216]

I think they already confirmed that they will still offer both 32 and 64 bit OS options (I hope both on one DVD)

[delf76]

Right now, Both 32 and 64 bits are available. In the very end, they may decide to release it in only 64-bit, but it's hard to say. I know 2008 Server R2 is only going to be released in 64 bit, which Vista is supposed to align with this release of it's server counterpart. We will see!

[another_cissp]

They will have to release a 32 bit version. There are still a lot of device drivers that do not have a 64 bit brother yet and Microsoft can afford to listen to people cry about their 10 year old printer not working on windows 7.

[man_w_balls]

looks like they decided to rip off more from the Mac OS...

"Windows 7, now with Mac OS X Dock included"

[Super2online]

Give me a break. The task bar has always been there from the very first version of Windows. It looks so similiar to the Vista version that some people are mistaking it for vista. Look at a Mac OS X Doc, I defy you to find any visual or functional similarity whatsoever!

[frankwick]

I think Apple store the task bar from Windows. It has been in Windows since Win95 (and in OS/2 since 1992). It has evolved some, but basically is the same task bar. Personally, I don't like the new Win7 task bar. I like the idea of keeping quick launch icons separate from running programs. Whoever had this idea, it is not a good one.

[Penguinisto]

OSX dock? No... KDE? Now you're getting warmer...

[weeman17]

It has some similarities. I would say that the set up has some major differences. it looks similar to vista. i would still op for Vista. i can't see what each window has on it.

[blakghostSP]

lol the 0ne that had the dock first is amiga i think

[skimike4]

If they think businesses will not skip Vista altogether, they are living in a fools paradise.

[Super2online]

Skipping Vista wouldn't hurt em as much. But skipping Windows 7 would leave any business in an XP world of reduced functionality and complexity and provide their competitors with a huge technological advantage. When the chips down economically, you don't want to be giving your competitors a huge advantage. Unless of course folding your cards and taking your toys and going home is something you find appealing.

[akayanni]

"looks like they decided to rip off more from the Mac OS..."

"Windows 7, now with Mac OS X Dock included"

OH GAWD I hope not... not the bouncing bar of mouse hell where the icons have tourettes syndrome. Please don't take me there.

[iertry]

I'm running it on my Macbook in VMWare and it is really stable. Vista was the reason I got a mac. It was that bad I switched but Windows 7 is pretty good so far.

If they keep this up it could be a great release, on the scale of Windows 95 or XP.

[davidebratton]

Go Linux!

[Seaspray0]

LOL. You remind me of that one visitor sitting down front rooting for the visiting team during the game... the one who usually left at the end with lots of food pieces embedded in the back of their hair.

[geneven]

Right, I'm going to install the Win7 beta on my alternate partition and keep Sidux as my mainstay. Hope Win7 doesn't trash my Linux.

[subslug]

With the current state of economic affairs, Microsoft thinking anyone is going to want to upgrade their already functional operating system with what basically appears to be nothing more than a service pack for Vista, the OS people didn't really want in the first place, is a stretch at best.

Why not just roll all of this latest greatest into what they just tried to sell us last year when it was supposedly the latest greatest?
Instead of a bunch of useless eye candy why not address the real issues with the Windows OS, fix security. All these years and they still just don't get it, I guess though, why would you fix security? It would be like killing your cash cow.

[goodspeed8701]

fool

[Seaspray0]

and the apple fanbois repeat their scream of "windows 7 sux!" on the day the beta gets released. And that's based on what since you haven't had time to download and evaluate it... like you even would? That's right, it's based on your ignorance!

[ssicomputers]

You do realize that Vista's major advantage is that it's built to be an out-of-the-box secure OS. The only thing that compromises it at this point is people not wanting to deal with User Account Control.

But it looks like with Win7 they're fixing UAC's shortcomings, which will only be a good thing, making Win7 extremely secure.

But don't let reality interfere with your ranting.

[plugnpl4y]

Has anyone successfully grabbed it from the TechNet site yet? I am a member but I'm unable to locate the download link.

[plugnpl4y]

I found the answer to my own question, apparently I'm not a TechNet Plus subscriber.

[techman21]

Welcome to Vista R2.

[ppgreat]

"If you are running XP today, my best advice is to move to Vista today," Curran said.

Translation: "Please, please, please, please move to Vista. There's rumors of layoffs!"

[RickR [WINDOWS-TEAM]]

Hi, my name's Rick, and I'm working with the Windows Outreach Team to help answer questions users might have about the soon to be publicly released Windows 7 Beta.If you want to know more about Windows 7 or are looking to download a copy of the official Windows 7 Beta the second it becomes available to the general public should go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/ . Make sure you subscribe to the Windows Team's RSS feed. This is the quickest and easiest way for you to get automatically notified and updated the moment when the Windows 7 beta becomes available for download.

Rick, Windows Outreach Team

[another_cissp]

I am going to hold off on the beta while it has that new task bar. But i have a question concerning the UAC. I know in Vista if the UAC is enabled and a program writes to a so called protected directory it is instead stores it in a virtual directory instead. It is my understanding that windows 7 will not support those directories anymore.

[Seaspray0]

Questions? Lets see... 1. compatibility with forefront security client? 2. compatibility with system center? 3. How many versions 4. can I configure a wireless connection to connect during the machine logon process so i can grab domain machine and user policy (feature I want the most). 5. can I finally load 3rd party drivers during install on something besides a floppy drive 6. will it run on a Virtual Machine...

[ExWinUser]

My last experience with Vista, which has been so long I can't remember, was having to uninstall the Microsoft Office trial version. Before I could use any of the software I had to register every damn thing every step of the way it seemed. Then to uninstall the software I still had to register ever damn thing every step of the way. It took me forever to configure my uncles Vista machine. After that, I never gave Vista a second chance. Removing the registering features would be nice. Easily installing software and removing software would be nice too, but I know Microsoft will hear of no such thing! If Windows 7 gives me the same problems, then I won't give Windows 7 a second chance either and I will continue to use Windows XP even though Microsoft will stop supporting it. I will also advise my Supervisors to start purchasing Macs for our non-computer literate employees, which is basically most of them.

[goodspeed8701]

So you are calling your self a computer literate? How come vista is giving you problems? i think someone has hired the wrong person.

[eadeguzman]

Maybe they can provide support for 32-bit drivers on Windows7-64? That seems more logical to me... But on the other had, they promised that Windows 7 will run on older machines... so not only 32-bit devices but 32-bit computers which there are still a lot of them.

[gdmaclew]

Will I be able to dual-boot XP and Win7?

[weeman17]

From all the crap throwing, i think that mac is starting to turn the tables. Don't get me wrong, i have windows on my mac as well (Through boot camp), but i still think microsoft has dug itself into a huge hole.

[emilyxgrace]

So, is this going to be the end of XP? :/