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Windows Archive

Microsoft To Remove Windows 7 Starter Three App Limit

Windows 52 Comments
Windows 7 Starter Edition, a sort of My First Operating System, always carried with it a massive braindead bug feature that limited the amount of applications you could simultaniously have open at just three. Yes, past tense, because someone over in Redmond apparently looked up and smelled the roses, and suggested removing this silly limitation. And so they did, according to Paul Thurrot.
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Why Windows 7’s Default UAC Is Insecure

  Submitted by Georgi Petrov Windows 56 Comments
Whenever we talk about Windows 7 on OSNews, you'll always hear me advise you to change the UAC settings by setting it to its highest level, since Windows 7's default simply isn't secure. You might wonder why you should deal with additional prompts - what is the security risk actually like? Well, it's pretty big.
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Windows 7 To RTM August 2009

Windows 14 Comments
Steven Sinofsky has said that Windows 7 will enter the "release to manufacturing" stage in about three months from now, meaning August '09. This means that the actual Windows 7 release would be well in time for the holiday season. " If the feedback and telemetry on Windows 7 match our expectations then we will enter the final phases of the RTM process in about 3 months. If we are successful in that, then we tracking to our shared goal of having PCs with Windows 7 available this Holiday season."
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Microsoft: Windows 7, Server 2008 R2 To Arrive Before Holidays

Windows 12 Comments
The official stance from Microsoft has always been that Windows 7 would be released three years after Vista, which would put its release date somewhere in January 2010. However, various rumours already indicated a release ahead of that schedule, and if the beta and RC are anything to go by, they could release it today and get away with it. Microsoft seems to have realised this, as it has now said it will release Windows 7 in time for the 2009 holiday season.
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Teacup, Meet Storm, pt. II: XPM and Intel Support

Windows 16 Comments
Windows XP Mode, the virtualisation tool currently in beta for Windows 7, only works on processors with virtualisation extensions, known as AMD-V and Intel VT-x. Microsoft made this clear from the get-go, but still various news websites regurgitated it as "news" yesterday that some Intel processors do not support XPM. Twenty-four hours down the road, and Intel had a few things to say about this.
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Windows 7 Release Candidate Released to Public

  Submitted by Moulinneuf Windows 112 Comments
A little earlier than expected, Microsoft has already released the Windows 7 release candidate to the general public. The Redmond company had already put the RC up for download on TechNet and MSDN, but from now on, everyone can download it. I've already updated all my Windows machines to the RC, so let's take a quick look at what I found. Note: The Windows XP Mode beta is also set to arrive today, but has not yet been made available. We'll update this item accordingly once it's released. Update: The Windows XP Mode beta is also available. Get it now!
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Windows on ARM? Not Likely

  Submitted by hyper Windows 62 Comments
With a flood of ARM-based netbooks coming to the market starting somewhere end of this year, many hope it will be another opportunity for Linux to get some mainstream exposure. Since "normal" Windows doesn't run on ARM, Linux is the only obvious choice. Right? Well, Warren East, president and CEO of ARM Holdings plc, has been dropping hints that Windows might make its way to ARM after all. At least, that's what EETimes is concluding.
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Windows 7 RC Released to TechNet, MSDN Subscribers

  Submitted by REM2000 Windows 29 Comments
As announced, the Windows 7 release candidate is now available for TechNet and MSDN subscribers. "The RC milestone is a result of feedback from millions of customers and partners around the world. It indicates the operating system is entering the final phases of development and is ready for partners to develop new applications, device drivers and services, and ready for IT pros to evaluate Windows 7 and examine how it will operate in their environment." The public release will be May 5.
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XPM Designed for Small-Businesses, Not Us Geeks

Windows 24 Comments
When the news got out that Windows 7 would get a "Classic"-like virtual environment for running Windows XP applications that would otherwise not run on Windows 7, we hoped it would mark the beginning of Microsoft moving backwards compatibility into a VM. This would then allow them to cut major cruft out of the operating system. However, with more and more information trickling out about Windows XP Mode, it becomes more and more clear this new feature has little to do with cutting backwards compatibility (as I already said when we covered this subject during our latest podcast). Update: Paul Thurrot states you can install other operating systems into Windows XP Mode's virtual machine as well. This is a great selling point for us enthusiasts.
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Engineering Windows 7 Graphics Performance

  Submitted by poundsmack Windows 6 Comments
"One of the areas of any release of Windows that receives a significant amount of testing and scrutiny is the performance of graphics - desktop graphics all the way to the most extreme CAD and game graphics. The amazing breadth of hardware supported for Windows and the broad spectrum of usage scenarios contributes to a vibrant ecosystem with many different goals - from just the basics to the highest frame rates on multiple monitors possible. In engineering Windows 7 we set out to improve the 'real world' performance of graphics as well as continue to improve the most extreme elements of graphics. This post looks at this spectrum of engineering as well as the different ways performance is measured. Ultimately we want to inform you about what we have done in engineering Windows 7, while we leave room for the many forums that will compare and contrast Windows 7 on different hardware and in different scenarios."
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Windows 7 Gets Windows XP “Classic” Environment

  Submitted by google_ninja Windows 75 Comments
It's something lots of people here on OSNews have been waiting for. It's something we've talked about, something we've theorised about, and something we've declared as the future for Windows' backwards compatibility - and now it's here, and official. Over a month ago, Microsoft bloggers Rafael Rivera and Paul Thurrott have been briefed by Microsoft on a technology for Windows 7 called Windows XP Mode. Available as a free download for Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate users, it's a fully integrated and licensed copy of Windows XP SP3 in a VirtualPC-based environment, with full "coherence" support. In other words, it's Microsoft's variant of Apple's Classic environment, and it's coming to Windows 7, for free. Near-instant update: The Windows 7 RC will indeed be available publicly on May 5. TechNet/MSDN will get it April 30.
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Windows 7 Release Candidate Leaked

Windows 16 Comments
As if per clockwork, the release candidate builds for Windows 7 (both 32bit and 64bit) have been leaked onto the web. "The highly anticipated release candidate build of Windows 7 has been leaked and its authenticity is entirely undisputed. First looks reveal nothing significantly new or different, but if you've been wanting to get a vibe of how far Windows 7 has come since the public beta, especially performance, this is the build to get."
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Larson-Green: “UI Is Customer Service for the Computer”

  Submitted by davidiwharper Windows 40 Comments
Windows Vista wasn't exactly a success, and as such, Microsoft needed different people to manage the development of Windows 7. One of those new people is Julie Larson-Green, who made a very good showing with Microsoft Office 2007, which took the bold move of replacing the menu-driven interface with the newly designed Ribbon interface. The Sydney Morning Herald (awesome name) decided to take a look at who, exactly, Larson-Green is.
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Your Windows 7 Predictions: True or False?

Windows 58 Comments
Now that Windows 7 is more or less finalised on the feature side of things, with the release candidate around the corner, I thought it would be interesting to look back upon what we thought Windows 7 would be - and what we actually hoped Windows 7 would be. So, I dove into our article and comment archive to see how many of our hopes, dreams, and predictions came true.
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