Windows 7

[Capper]

Vista successor, Windows 7 to be released next year?
A recently-release roadmap for the next major Window release – Windows 7 – indicates that Microsoft is planning to release the new operating system in the second half of 2009, rather than the anticipated release date of some time in 2010.
There are apparently three “milestone” builds planned for 2008, and the first one – M1 – has already shipped to key partners for code validation. M1 is for the English language build only, but is available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Microsoft has announced that Windows 7 will most likely be the last Windows operating system available in 32-bit, and given the rapid advances Windows Vista is making in the 64-bit computing market, this seems a sensible decision.

Vista successor, Windows 7 to be released next year?

Could Windows 7 be the best Windows yet?
Given all the feedback that Microsoft has had from Vista users (both negative and positive), could Windows 7 be the best version of Windows yet?
Vista is turning out to be a bit of an enigma. While sales seem strong, users seem far from satisfied with the latest offering from Redmond. Also, while consumers and businesses alike have been eagerly waiting for SP1, it now seems that this won’t be enough to quell the constant flow of negativity. If it is true that Microsoft is pulling out the stops to get Windows 7 out of the door and onto PCs are fast as possible, this does seem to suggest that Microsoft is taking this negative feedback seriously and wants to put the Vista mistakes behind it.
If Microsoft has been listening to the feedback, the company will have a pretty good idea of what people thought was wrong with Vista, and this could give the project managers and developers a pretty blueprint for what the next version should be like.

Could Windows 7 be the best Windows yet?

Microsoft is planning to ship its next major version of Windows--known internally as version "7"--within roughly three years, CNET News.com has learned.
The company discussed Windows 7 on Thursday at a conference for its field sales force in Orlando, Fla., according to sources close to the company.
While the company provided few details, Windows 7, the next client version of the operating system, will be among the steps taken by Microsoft to establish a more predictable release schedule, according to sources. The company plans a more "iterative" process of information disclosure to business customers and partners, sources said.
Windows Vista, the oft-delayed most recent release of Windows, shipped to businesses in November and to consumers in January after more than five years of development. Vista's gestation period was marked by shifting product details as internal priorities changed and problems arose with development.
Like Vista, Windows 7 will ship in consumer and business versions, and in 32-bit and 64-bit versions. The company also confirmed that it is considering a subscription model to complement Windows, but did not provide specifics or a time frame.

Next version of Windows: Call it 7

Windows "7" FAQ
With Windows Vista finally behind us, it's time to turn our attention to the next Windows client release, which is currently codenamed Windows "7", though Microsoft has used other code-names, like "Vienna" and "Windows Seven" in the past. Despite an almost complete lack of verifiable information about this next major Windows release, there are at least two excellent reasons to begin discussing this project now:
1. This Web site, the SuperSite for Windows, is dedicated to discussing upcoming Microsoft products, so it's only natural that I'd post a FAQ like this as soon as possible.
2. Microsoft isn't particularly interested in discussing Vienna. "The launch of Windows Vista was an incredibly exciting moment for our customers and partners around the world, and the company is focused on the value Windows Vista will bring to people today," Kevin Kutz, a Director in the Windows Client group at Microsoft said on February 13, 2007. "We are not giving official guidance to the public yet about the next version of Windows, other than that we're working on it. When we are ready, we will provide updates." This quote was provided after I wrote a WinInfo article denouncing recent news reports about Vienna, all of which provided absolutely no new information at all.
Clearly, what's needed is a central location for accurate information about Vienna. This is it.
Q: Is Microsoft working on an operating system after Windows Vista?

A: Yes. The next client version of Windows was originally codenamed "Blackcomb," though the company renamed it to "Windows Vienna" in early 2006 and to "Windows Seven" or "Windows 7" more recently.
Q: Why Windows 7?

Since Windows Vista is really Windows 6.0, Windows 7 will presumably be version 7.0.
Q: Is Windows 7 the final name?

No. Like Vienna, Windows 7 is just a codename and will likely change prior to the OS' official release.
Q: I heard that Windows Vista will be the last major OS release from Microsoft. Is that true?

A: No. Windows-based PCs will continue to form the center of our digital lifestyles, and as Microsoft executives have noted in recent days, there are still plenty of areas in which Microsoft can improve Windows. Some obvious examples include voice recognition and storage.
Q: So is Windows 7 going to be a major Windows version?

A: Yes. Windows Vista was a major release, and Windows 7 will be also be a major update. Microsoft is currently on a development path where every other Windows version is a major release, so it's possible we'll see a minor OS update between Vista and Windows 7.
Q: When will Windows 7 ship?

A: Microsoft currently plans to ship Windows 7 in 2010, about four years after Vista. (Windows Server updates are on a similar cycle.)
Q: What features will be included in Windows 7?

A: Microsoft hasn't publicly committed to any features for Windows 7 and the company is currently still deciding what this next Windows release will look like. We do know a few things about Windows 7, however: It will include a new version of Windows Explorer that is being built by the same team that designed the Ribbon user interface in Office 2007. It will likely include some form of the "Hypervisor" (Windows Virtualization) technologies that will ship shortly after Windows Server 2008. It will also likely include the WinFS (Windows Future Storage) technologies, though they won't be packaged or branded as WinFS. Microsoft says it might also make a subscription-based version of the OS available to consumers, but that's still in flux. In December 2007, a Microsoft product manager said that Windows 7 would include new touch features that expand on what's available in Vista.
Q: That's it?

A: Yes, but remember it's early yet and Microsoft is being very secretive about future Windows versions. However, the company has publicly issued a bit of information about the broad capabilities it intends to include in Windows 7. This information comes from a publicly-available Microsoft slide deck:
Easier. Windows 7 will make it easier for users to find and use information. Local, network and Internet search functionality will converge. Intuitive user experiences will be further advanced. Automated application provisioning and cross-application data transparency will be integrated.
More secure. Windows 7 will include improved security and legislative compliance functionality. Data protection and management will be extended to peripheral devices. Windows 7 will advance role-based computing scenarios and user-account management, and bridge the inherent conflicts between data protection and robust collaboration. It will also enable enterprise-wide data protection and permissions.
Better connected. Windows 7 will further enable the mobile workforce. It will deliver anywhere, anytime, any device access to data and applications. It will enable a robust ad-hoc collaboration experience. Wireless connectivity, management and security functionality will be expanded. The performance and functionality of current and emerging mobile hardware will be optimized. The multiple device sync, management and data protection capabilities in Windows will be extended. Finally, Windows 7 will enable flexible computing infrastructures including rich, thin and network-centric models.
Lower cost. Windows 7 will help businesses optimize their desktop infrastructure. It will enable seamless OS, application and data migration, and simplified PC provisioning and upgrading. It will further efforts towards non-disruptive application updating and patching. Windows 7 will include improved hardware- and software-based virtualization experiences. And it will expand the PC self-help and IT Pro problem resolution diagnostics in Windows.

Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows: Windows "7" FAQ

[Zambini]

Hmmm... so does that mean Windows XP will become <50$, Vista Premium will go to 100$, and the new one will be 300$?

I hope they don't do the retarded 4-flavor approach again. That pissed me off.

Although from the looks of what my floormates have had to put up with with Vista, I'm glad I never touched the stuff.

[gvblake22]

Of all the people around me that have tried Vista (not counting the people I read about on the internet), I'd have to say most of their experiences have been negative. But I feel like if I took all the feedback I've seen around the internet regarding Vista, it has been split down the middle of people who like it and people who don't.

I've put off Vista for a year, maybe I can do it for another three and just wait for Vienna/Windows 7? But then again, we'll probably have the same maturity problems and it will be another year after that until Windows 7 is mature!

[screwballl]

It all depends on where you go for opinions about Vista. Those that adopted early by buying OEMs that had been tested have had very few problems and then theres is MS fanboys that have to have the latest and greatest and MS can do no wrong.
for the other 90% of users, Vista has been nothing but problems. The articles all over say Vista is a major build but from what I see, it is just XP with a new driver structure and look to it, everything else at the core is just jerry-rigged XP.
I myself with my recent problems am going to just leave Vista for a testing only installation since it has no network/internet connection.
I will likely beta test Viena/7 just as I did Vista, WHS and XP.

[Capper]

I hear all these problems with Vista, but in all honesty have seen very few actual "Vista problems". A lot of this is the open source fan bois and Mac fan bois , as always, bashing everything MS does.

In my experience, its almost the opposite of your description......mostly it was the early adopters and OEM buyers who had the issues with drivers for peripherals and such, as time has passed, many issues have been worked out. It also seems that a lot of the issues are pure operator headspace and timing, too lazy to take their time, or learn the new OS.

Just as when XP was released, a lot of complaining, but little substance........As time passes, a Service Pack is released, and once there is better driver support, I think everything will mellow.

[screwballl]

The early adopters that I had heard with major problems were the ones using older hardware with an older custom built system or using older devices that were not Vista certified like webcams, scanners, printers and so on.
Most of the driver related issues have been resolved but the problem is still there with the core windows components, in my case the networking.

[wtcnbrwndo4u]

I was a relatively early adopter (2 week after release?)... haven't had a single hardware issue to date. Everything I tried with it worked like a charm. I loved the fact that my printer installed automatically, just like it did in OS X.

EDIT: I think all the hardware issues procured from early adopters of Vista 64-bit, which has nowhere near the driver library of the 32-bit version of Vista (where in some cases, XP drivers would work).

[Quakindude]

Like Rich, it seems to me that the early adopters had the vast majority of the problems. I know I sure did when I first started using Vista Home Premium. And I wasn't running older equipment either. At the time, an E6600 on a 680I SLI and a 8800GTS was damned close to cutting edge.

When Windows 2000 first came out, it was a very difficult OS to go over to. We had the AGP and AMD CPU memory allocation error issues that required a registry hack to get around, but still caused frequent hard lockups. ACPI was borked. Scheduled tasks stopped being scheduled after 72 hours....not fixed till SP3 I think. Baud rates that dropped back to 9600 after intial connection due to how W2K handled the settings, In dual Proc mobo setups, W2K always showed one CPU as busy/allocated(on an ASUS P2B-D mobo...there was a step-by-step install process you had to run that MS eventually published). And guess what else? Drivers friggin SUCKED! Took forever to get drivers published.

Then, there were some deep, kernel level issues when trying to run /fixmbr during the virulent virus intro's in the mid-life cycle of W2K. /fixmbr would sometimes render all of your partition tables useless. If you didn't do a back up, you were absolutely hosed.

Thing is, Win2KPro turned out to be one of the best damned OS'es I've ever used. Xp was hardly different. It took the first SP to come out before I would even switch to XP and then, it was a difficult process.

Vista did experience a lot of growing pains, and still is although on a much lower scale as compared to right after its release, but has matured a bit since then. Today, it's a very decent OS. Is it as fast as XP Pro? Not yet, but I think it will be. I use Vista full time now and to be very blunt about it, I'm more than a bit miffed at the continued crap talking about this OS. Vista is now more stable than my other computer running XP Pro. Especially if you try different drivers, install and uninstall a lot of demo's so on and so forth. Vista also multi-tasks better than XP IMHO. I'm not sure if Vista just handles hardware resources better or what, but I can run more CPU intensive programs simultaneously, stably, on Vista than I can on XP.

I'll call bullshit when it needs to be called, and I certainly did when Vista first came out. But you really need to try living with Vista again if you haven't in the last 4 months. To continue to spout off about how terrible Vista is is indicative of one of two things.

1. You have old hardware and every knows one of the downsides to Vista is needing newer hardware....go figure! It's a new OS and a HELL of a lot has changed on the hardware side of computing in the five years between XP and Vista. And Vista 64-bit has a wider support base than XP 64-bit ever thought about having. And Vista 64-bit actually works better for the gamer IMHO.

2. You've no idea what you're talking about.

Anyway, that's my thoughts on the Anti-Vista talk.

I look forward to Windows 7. Any new OS release gets my attention and stirs my interest.

[oldman_gamer]

Well so far...knock on the proverbial piece of wood, I like Vista better than XP and it's new to me.I had XP for 3 years and knew my way around it well.The Vista takes some getting used to,but does seem like it takes less clicking to get done ,or go from point A to B. I like how the pages fade out ,smooth opening and closing. Only complaint I have is sometimes you click on something, and while it's searching or what ever,you think it is doing nothing at times.Hard to explain. There isnt always in every application,a circle by your cursor.All in all,I give it a thumbs up

[screwballl]

Vista is crap, I have had nothing but problems with it since beta testing on multiple systems. My current Vista x64 looks and runs great, except even with all drivers installed and working properly, it refuses to get an IP half the time and the other half the time it does get an IP but refuses to go to the internet. I have gone through all the vista troubleshooting, resetting the TCP/IP stack, resetting the router and cable modem and so on. None of my other systems have this problem and not even XP or linux on this exact same machine.
Also since installing Vista, my XP network setup is hosed, I cannot access my shared printer, folders, or files like I could before I installed Vista on a completely separate partition. I have done everything I could to try to bring them back and it only sees itself in the workgroup when all of the computers here are set to the same workgroup. I have a fairly new router, less than a year old (SMC4000VBR) and a standard dynamic cable internet connection.

I call bullshit when it is based on actual experience and in this case it is called on Vista.
Vista is forcing me to reinstall XP... which will mess with the boot record so that means I will also have to reinstall Vista (may as well since I am having problems)...

Thank God I got this 500GB eSATA working