Microsoft has just released Windows build 6801, a so-called pre-Beta build, to the attendees of the Professional Developer Conference (PDC) in Los Angeles. Because of this, it will generally be referred to as the PDC build, but it is also known as the M3 build. The earlier M1 and M2 builds were released to a smaller audience.
There will probably be public betas in 2009, followed by release late in 2009 or 2010. Microsoft is hoping for late 2009, but its Windows releases have a history of slipping.
Microsoft puts on a brave face about Vista, but people are not eager to "upgrade" to an OS that makes their system run slower. Many businesses and consumers running Windows XP have not upgraded to Vista, but are waiting for Windows 7 to upgrade their systems. Selling more Windows 7 units than Vista units will be embarrassingly easy, but I expect Microsoft to issue a celebratory press release about that event nonetheless.
Do not forget that Windows 7 is the successor to Vista. Microsoft
can change the user interface, but it cannot just rip out the programming interfaces
introduced with Windows Vista, especially not when Vista is version 6 and
Windows 7 is version 6.1.
The next version of Windows must offer the same
features and more. Offering the same and more typically means that it will need even more
computing power and memory. That’s the bad news. The good news is that Microsoft
is aware of this and is aiming to create a Windows version with lower requirements and
better performance than Windows Vista.
I personally don’t think that besting Vista is good enough. I think Microsoft should aim for a new version with lower requirements and better performance than Windows XP Service Pack 3. If they manage that, people will be eager to upgrade.
The one thing the obtuse Microsoft management still doesn’t seem to grasp is that for most people, Windows XP is good enough and that Vista lacks any truly compelling features. Windows 7 will offer yet more features, but it remains to be seen how compelling these are. It’s okay for some features to demand new hardware, especially when it ships pre-installed on new machines with that hardware, but to make Windows 7 a true success, it should be a compelling upgrade for system currently running Windows XP.
There are three things that make people buy an upgrade for older version of Windows; better performance, better security and new features - well, attractive new features.
Here is quick rundown of how some features are shaping up. Keep in mind that this is preliminary information and subject to change. Remember that Microsoft said Vista would include WinFS, but cut that feature after appearance in a beta.
There will be fewer bundled applications. Windows Mail, Windows Photo Gallery, or Windows Movie Maker will no longer be included - but there will be links to download them from Windows Live.
Remarkably, the one application that has caused most complains about anti-competitive bundling practices, Microsoft Internet Explorer, will be apparently be included anyway. It will probably be Internet Explorer version 8, and as things look now, it will still offer poor support for web standards, thus necessitating that you replace it with a real web browser.
Applications that are still bundled will have a user-interface make-over. Think Windows Paint, WordPad and Calculator, but with a ribbon interface. Functionality will be improved as well. Paint will support more graphics formats, and WordPad will be able to read and write ODF and Open XML files.
There will as always be some new themes and backgrounds. More interesting is that support for multiple virtual desktops, called workspaces.
The Sidebar, introduced in Windows Vista, and optional in Windows 2008, will apparently be gone from Windows 7. The Sidebar is a place to collect mini-application called gadgets. Windows 7 will continue to support gadgets. There will be no need for a sidebar, because support gadgets will be integrated into the desktop. To emphasize this dependence on the desktop, the Gadget Gallery will be renamed Desktop Gadget Gallery.
Windows Vista offers better security than Windows XP, but its continual pop-up drama bludgeons any enthusiasm for that feature into disappointment, annoyance and rage over the frustrating user experience.
User Account Control (UAC) and its frustrations will not completely go away, but Windows 7 will offer four settings ranging from never notify to always notify and wait for user response. Changes users make themselves should no longer result in pop-ups.
Meanwhile, the biggest improvement in user experience will be that many programs have been improved to take Vista’s UAC into account and not trigger so many security dialogs. Windows 7 users will benefit not only from improved control over the UAC experience, but from the many programs that were improved to be more Vista compatible.
Windows Credentials is a program that keeps usernames and passwords for you. It is like the save password feature of many browsers and the various password vaults available for Palm devices, but provided as a standard part of Windows.
If Microsoft stopped providing several programs because including them might be anti-competitive, then surely it would not still includes Internet Explorer and this new program? I wonder how easy it will be to replace this program with any third-party password program you are using already.
The Windows Security Centre of Windows XP and Vista will be replaced with a
more encompassing Windows Solution Centre. It will not just monitor the
firewall, antivirus, and automatic updates, but also backups, PC maintenance,
troubleshooting and more.
I especially like that Microsoft is finally about to give backup status the
attention it deserves.
An intriguing feature is Windows’s ability to detect and download updates for games. Most vendors have their own solution already. I’d be happy to see an open standard, and a bit surprised that this seems for games only.
Windows 7 will make it even easier to set up a home network with its so-called HomeGroup support.
PowerShell is already available for Windows XP and Vista. Windows 7 will be the first desktop version of Windows to include it. It is already included with Windows 2008.
The most exciting new technology is probably the extensive support for touch displays. Depending on how usable the final version will be, this could be a feature that makes people by new a display and a new version of Windows to take full advantage of it.
Windows will also support biometric devices such a fingerprint readers. Microsoft even sells a fingerprint reader. I consider that a bad move. Using these devices not only provides criminals with a clear reason to chop your finger off, but the security they provide is mostly security theatre. Anyone who obtains your fingerprint can probably fool the device into thinking they are you.
It is not just me saying that you should not use these devices. Microsoft’s own Fingerprint Reader page (now gone?) states that "The Fingerprint Reader should not be used for protecting sensitive data such as financial information, or for accessing corporate networks. We continue to recommend that you use a strong password for these types of activities.". It was hacked two years ago already and security researcher Mikko Kiviharju showed that the fingerprint data is not encrypted.
Windows 7 is not even in public beta yet, but some things changed already. One thing that changed to accommodate the version of Windows is Microsoft’s Windows User Experience Interaction Guidelines, affectingly known as the UX Guide. The UX Guide was updated on 2008 Oct 10, and now includes new guidelines for ribbons, touch, pen and printing.
Right now, those updates are only in the online guide. The downloadable PDF only includes the 2007 July update.
The PDC build does not feature the new interface demonstrated at the PDC yet, such as the new taskbar. Turns out, those bits are included, but only available if the system recognises you as a Microsoftie based on your user name and domain. A workaround to get at this bits has been posted by Rafael Rivera.
Microsoft has made the Windows 7 Release Candidate available.
Microsoft broke the Microsoft Fingerprint Reader links years ago. The broken link has been removed.
The Blackhat.com domain is no longer responding. The broken link to the Black Hat Europe 2006 paper Hacking Fingerprint scanners has been removed.
Copyright © Tamura Jones. All Rights reserved.