Windows 7 is Vista but Vista isn’t Windows 7

It’s just around the corner, Microsoft’s next latest and greatest operating system will be coming to a new PC near you. Windows 7 is claimed to be everything that Vista wasn’t. A fast booting, sleek operating system which is as reliable as XP came to be.Yeah. So far all that is to be seen are a few minor interface changes but no real under the hood modifications have been spotted, yet. Thinkknext has some spy screenshots of the new interface and here’s a short rundown of what appears to be in store.

Windows 7 will take us back to the simplified Start Menu of yesteryear but items can be added to it if you so desire.

The calculator that has been around basically since Windows 95, if not the early 3.1 days has finally gotten a facelift. It’s about time. Having to use the ugly calculator in Vista can be such a drag sometimes. Some of us don’t keep a desktop calculator around, I’m just saying.

User account control has gotten a leash. It is now the unobtrusive system that we were promised in Windows Vista. Hey, Microsoft how about releasing some of these updates for Vista instead of forcing the masses to pay for yet another upgrade.

The “Ribbon” menu system that is part of Office 2007 is now part of Windows Paint and Wordpad. With a bit of luck, it will become part of Expolerer as well which needs a change.

“Libraries” has replaced documents, there are some new Control Panel settings and the themes and resolution properties have been changed for the better. That’s pretty much it. While it is largely Vista, some minor changes make it Windows 7. Mind you, I’m not saying this is worth a $400 price tag but when Windows 7 starts shipping with new computers get it instead of Vista.

Windows 7 could be hitting retail shelves at any point from the beginning of 2009 to late 2010 or early 2011.

Source : Vista knowledge

Secret Windows 7 screens leaked

Despite Microsoft’s efforts to keep Windows 7 information secret and safe within a close circle of partners and testers until its good and ready, another round of screenshots has found its way to the web.Over the weekend, the ThinkNext.net blog posted a variety of screenshots purportedly from the latest batch of beta code, Windows 7 M3 Build 6780. Unfortunately, the page is now deader than disco. Someone claiming to be a Microsoft suit emailed the author and dropped enough litigious worIt ds of advice to encourage a hasty retreat.

But all is not lost, curious readers. Windows7news.com is presently hosting the images. You may catch them there before they’re gone.

The images include a Windows 7 welcome screen, start menu, administration windows, and updated applications like Windows Media Player, and – YES! – MS Paint and Calculator!

All signs point to things looking pretty Aero-y. That is to say, Microsoft appears to be sticking with the same semi-transparent glass-effect graphic interface used in Windows Vista. You may also know this as the option in Appearance Settings you had to disable because it makes your laptop run like crap. The build does appear to be using the Office 2007 Ribbon interface in Wordpad and Paint. That’s a change at least.

Keep in mind the code is still deep in beta country so nobody is promising you Aero. In fact, Microsoft is doing its best to promise you next to nothing this early into the process, having learned a harsh lesson with Vista.

Back before the ponderously maligned OS made it’s debut, Microsoft made a fine mess out of previewing thrills, chills, and a laundry list of features – along with a thousand elephants that didn’t make the cut when Vista hit retail shelves. Customers couldn’t help but compare the OS against their artificially enhanced expectations – adding to the grief that made Vista the Tito Jackson of Windows releases (Windows ME is Marlon Jackson, by the way).

We haven’t yet received official word whether it was Microsoft that sent the take-down request. We’ll update when the datum rolls around.

Developers to get Windows 7 pre beta next month

Microsoft will be showboating Windows Vista, mark two 7 at its forthcoming Professional Developer Conference (PDC) event next month, where developers will be able to get their mitts on a pre-beta build of the operating system.

Meanwhile, the yawnfest surrounding speculation about what the OS will (or won’t) come loaded with continues to mount in the blogosphere. Yep, MS is stripping Windows 7 down to its pants, vest and a Ribbon. So, the upcoming operating system, some early code of which has already been probed by a US anti-trust committee sniffing around Redmond to see if its latest interoperability claims come up smelling of roses or onions, will not include email, photo-editing and movie-making apps that were part of Vista.

Instead those features will be packed into Windows Live as downloadable applications. The only problem for Microsoft is in convincing world+dog to find the enthusiasm to flick Google the finger and use its products online.

Windows senior veep Steven Sinofsky will be bigging up Windows 7 at PDC2008 in Los Angeles on 28 October. Microsoft wants everyone to get incredibly excited about “the next major version of the Windows client operating system.”

Indeed over the past few months the company has mounted a strategic marketing campaign to gently steer customers away from the unloved Vista OS. It’s also started a corporate blog about Windows 7, which is perhaps the best indication that Microsoft wants to draw a line under the Vista mess.

But, as we have noted several times since rumours began swimming around the interweb that hinted at the possibility that Windows 7 could in fact be parachuted in early by Redmond, the next OS is based on the same kernel as Vista.

What does this mean in Microsoft speak?

“With Windows 7 at PDC2008 you will see advances across the full range of Windows – including the kernel, networking, hardware and devices, and user-interface,” said MS wonk Denise Begley yesterday.

“Learn more about opportunities to build on the platform’s commitment to OS fundamentals, while also enabling you to enhance your existing applications and create new applications that use the new technologies and APIs in Windows 7.”

So there you have it: expect “advances”, “enhancement” and even some new tech built into the next platform, and, given that many features in Vista will be absent, it might even come with less bloat.