Windows Archive

Microsoft Details 36 Changes between Windows 7 Beta and RC

Submitted by poundsmack 2009-02-26 Windows 15 Comments

Based on all the user feedback ignited by the Windows 7 beta, Microsoft has made a set of tweaks to the release candidate of Windows 7. The Engineering 7 weblog details 36 of those tweaks, in quite some detail actually. Let's take a look at some interesting ones.

Microsoft Readying Low-Cost Windows Server OS

Thom Holwerda 2009-02-26 Windows 29 Comments

Microsoft plans to release "something akin to" a netbook version of Windows, but for servers, not PCs, over the next month or two, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said on a call with members of the financial community on Tuesday. He said that although there is not high demand at the moment for netbook-like server hardware, declining prices in the server market make a low-cost OS an attractive option for customers. "We don't exactly have a netbook phenomenon, but if somebody can buy a $500 server, they're a little loathe to spend $500 for the server operating system that goes with it," Ballmer said. He described the software as a "low-cost, low-price, low-functionality Windows Server SKU" called "Foundation Edition," but did not offer more details.

SP2 RC for Vista, Server 2008 Coming Next Week

Thom Holwerda 2009-02-25 Windows 2 Comments

A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed to Betanews this afternoon that the first release candidates (without numerals) for Service Pack 2 for both Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 will be released to the general public for testing next week. This after private testers with the MSDN and TechNet services receive their copies first.

Lack of Test Releases Disgruntles Windows Testers

Thom Holwerda 2009-02-20 Windows 20 Comments

With the recent news that Microsoft will not release a second beta but will instead move Windows 7 directly into release candidate stage, several Windows testers have become a tad bit disgruntled. They claim that due to a lack of test builds, they cannot properly test Windows 7 to see if the bugs they submitted have been fixed. As a result, Steven Sinofsky simply replied: email me your concerns.

Microsoft Shows Off Windows Mobile 6.5

Thom Holwerda 2009-02-16 Windows 23 Comments

Windows Mobile is a relic of the past. Especially compared to Apple's iPhone operating system, it becomes painfully obvious just how outdated, clunky, and unfriendly Windows Mobile has become. Today, Mictosoft has taken its first step in modernising the platform by releasing a sort of alpha release of Windows Mobile 6.5, with a completely revamped interface.

Guide to Upgrading to Windows 7

Thom Holwerda 2009-02-12 Windows 16 Comments

With more and more information regarding the various upgrade paths to Windows 7 becoming available, Ars Technica compiled a handy guide detailing the upgrade paths Microsoft offers to its customers. Are you wondering if you can buy a cheaper upgrade version of Windows 7 once it's released? Read on.

Guest post by weildish 2009-02-07 Windows 32 Comments

One of the big hypes of Windows 7 was the new integrated touch and multitouch features unheard of in previous systems. On paper, it all looks nice, but the folks over at Engadget recently tested out these said features of the beta on an HP TouchSmart PC, and were underwhelmed by the efficiency of the features.

Submitted by PlatformAgnostic 2009-02-07 Windows 15 Comments

M:N threading, in which a single kernel thread is multiplexed to run multiple logical user mode threads, has long been a feature of some Unix systems (Solaris and FreeBSD have had it for years). Even Windows NT has had "Fibers" for several releases, though they suffered from the same problems as other M:N schemes and were incompatible with many Win32 APIs. Join Windows Kernel Architect Dave Probert for a discussion on the new User Mode Scheduling Feature which solves these problems while allowing applications fine grained control over their threads.

Microsoft Buckles Under Pressure, Changes UAC in Windows 7

Thom Holwerda 2009-02-06 Windows 30 Comments

You have to hand it to them: Microsoft has made an excellent marketing move the last couple of days. Remember the UAC issue we reported on earlier? It turned out that changing UAC settings did not actually trigger a UAC dialog, allowing scripts and malware to disable UAC altogether without the user ever noticing anything - obviously leaving the system wide open. After stating numerous times the company wouldn't do anything about this issue, they have now done a complete 180, and will fix UAC to work as many had already advised. A brilliant marketing ploy right there.

Microsoft Confirms Windows XP to Windows 7 Upgrade License

Thom Holwerda 2009-02-05 Windows 10 Comments

Microsoft has confirmed that an upgrade license for Windows 7 from Windows XP will be available, but there is a catch: users will have to wipe their hard drive and perform a clean install - so technically, it's not an upgrade. Still, the upgrade license will probably be cheaper than the full license, so it might just be worth it.

Guest post by weildish 2009-02-04 Windows 23 Comments

Windows 7 was causing quite a bit of hype months before its release, and now that it's finally out into the void, you'd think people would be contentedly beta-ing the system and be happy to wait until the wrinkles are smoothed, right? Apparently not, at least for a certain Kelly Poe and now over 2,500 Windows 7 enthusiasts.

Microsoft To Eliminate Home Basic, Starter from Western Market

Thom Holwerda 2009-02-03 Windows 35 Comments

One of the biggest problems with Windows Vista was its rather convoluted and complicated SKU scheme, where there were far too many different versions of Vista to figure out. To make matters worse, the Home Basic version left out several defining parts of the operating system leaving customers with a sense of being lured in by certain features that in the end turned out not to be there. With Windows 7, the company will still offer a myriad of different versions, but according to Microsoft Senior Vice President Bill Veghte, it will be a lot less problematic than with Vista.

Microsoft Releases Windows 7 Ecosystem Program

Thom Holwerda 2009-02-03 Windows 3 Comments

Microsoft on Feb. 2 released the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Ecosystem Readiness Program as part of its effort to prepare its partners for the availability of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. The new program provides tools and resources partners need to begin testing their existing applications, devices and systems to ensure compatibility with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

Vista Adoption in Enterprises Less than 10%

Thom Holwerda 2009-02-02 Windows 68 Comments

Windows Vista has never exactly been a favourite subject among company IT people. Migrating from Windows XP to Windows Vista isn't exactly a worry-free process, and machines that run Windows XP comfortably may have trouble powering Windows vista. As such, adoption of Vista has been slow. Two years after Vista's release, the OS is still struggling in the enterprise sector, according to a Forrester report.

Submitted by poundsmack 2009-01-30 Windows 14 Comments

Microsoft has given a bit more insight into where to go from the Windows 7 beta to general availability. There will only be a release candidate (no second beta), and even though an exact release date is unknown, it is most likely released before the timebomb date of the beta (July 2). The RC will take much longer to expire, too.

Submitted by shaneco 2009-01-29 Windows 12 Comments

"As someone who wants Microsoft to be cooler, I'm all for them making an aggressive pitch to consumers. I say make Windows 7 a simplified, colorful, fun experience for everyday users. Emphasize how it can store and share music and photos. Keep those potential Mac users from switching. Heck, open up retail stores while you're at it. But of course Microsoft has to walk the line here. By kowtowing to consumers, it runs the risk of neglecting its core customer, the business user. In a recent interview on CIO.com sister site Network World, Windows blogger and editor of Supersite for Windows Paul Thurrott contends that Microsoft is biting the hand that feeds it by leaning heavily on consumer features with Windows 7. Enterprise needs have been reduced to an afterthought, he says."

Windows 7 Build 7025 Leaked

Thom Holwerda 2009-01-28 Windows 18 Comments

Despite the success of the Windows 7 beta, which got leaked before it was officially released and had several deadline extensions, Microsoft isn't exactly sitting still. The beta build, with build number 7000, was built on December 12th, 2008, so that leaves enough room between then and now for several newer builds. One such build got leaked this weekend, and it contains some minor changes compared to the beta build.

Submitted by CosmoTriton 2009-01-26 Windows 30 Comments

One of the reasons Windows 7 runs faster (faster start up, resume, shut down, less churn during user sessions) is due to the re-engineering of how Windows maintains and activates services running in the background. Microsoft's Channel 9 has an interesting video with a Windows kernel developer whose team designed a new trigger-based service controller that enables service developers to mark services as needing to run only when certain conditions are met. This means Windows 7 can more intelligently manage when to make resources avaiable for services that employ this trigger pattern for starting and stopping. Less code that runs at any given time means Windows 7 has more resources available for foreground processes that impact users interacting with the OS. The net effect of this for users is a snappier OS.

What Will the Netbook Version of Windows 7 Look Like?

Submitted by Richard 2009-01-26 Windows 40 Comments

Let's combine the two most popular topics on the internet today into one: Windows 7 on netbooks. Microsoft has already confirmed that it will ship a version of Windows 7 designed for netbooks, the popular small laptops that appear to be the only bright spot in an otherwise abysmal PC industry climate. However, with various reports indicating that Windows 7 already runs fine on netbooks, this raises the question: what exactly is Microsoft planning?

Windows 7 Beta General Availability Extended

Thom Holwerda 2009-01-24 Windows 6 Comments

In a blog post, Microsoft has announced it is extending the general availability of the Windows 7 beta from January 24th, to February 10th. People who have already started the download can finish the download as late as February 12th. Product keys will remain available even after the cut-off dates. OBviously, this only goes for the public beta; MSDN and TechNet subscribers will have access to the beta download all throughout the beta phase.