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PCMag: Windows 7: A Turning Point for Microsoft?
From PC World Magazine
Quote: In a stunning reversal, Microsoft announced that future versions of Windows would no longer feature e-mail, contact management, calendar, photo management, and movie making in the initial install. Instead, Microsoft customers will be encouraged to download these app's from Windows Live online services. And although these services are, for now, somewhat underpowered compared with their current in-OS counterparts, there's every expectation that Microsoft will enrich the entire lineup in time for the Windows 7's 2009 or 2010 launch. This is precisely the opposite of what Microsoft did 15 years ago when it launched what would be the last great version of DOS. Back in 1993, Microsoft stuffed the popular desktop PC platform (which still led Windows by a good margin) with its own versions of virtually every popular utility on the market. DOS 6 shipped with memory management, disk compression, backup, antivirus, and hard drive optimization. Two areas—memory management and compression—had before then spawned a cottage industry of solutions that were designed to access memory between 640K and 1MB (hard to believe, isn't it?) and help users extend their already-overstuffed 20MB (yes, I said "MB") hard drives. Read the entire story here Its a turning point to the extent where Microsoft sees more value offering the now debundled productivity and multimedia applications as free downloads to drive innovation. Microsoft has said that bundling Windows Mail, Photo Gallery and Movie Maker held back a great deal of innovation
. This was a similar case for Windows Internet Explorer which was originally going to have new releases only with new versions of Windows, but this decision was changed after the Longhorn reset. The benefits consumers will get from their Windows experience with Windows 7 is continued updates and new features beyond what comes in the box and we can even see this happening already with app's like Windows Live Photo Gallery which succeeded the initial release that came with Vista, featuring better integration with Live Services like Windows Live Spaces and social networks like Flickr and FaceBook. Microsoft bundled those features in DOS at the time out of necessity, its what users wanted, not what the Company thought they might need. I personally wouldn't mind if Windows Live Wave 3 came with Windows 7 to save me the time of downloading and installing it. But, there is a balance being created here. Its satisfying end users and third party developers to really compete on their merits. Up Link Partner adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!19832.entry
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The Early Previews of Windows 7 Continues
This looks like the weekend for Windows 7 and the screenshots are out there to prove it. The first blog to present us with screenshots of Windows 7 M1 build earlier this year, THINKNEXT updates us with new AERO enabled previews showing the improved bundled applications in Windows 7 WordPad and Paint. I personally want to share my thoughts based on the screenshots I have seen so far. Windows 7 looks a whole lot  like Windows Vista, I can understand this looking at the fact that its probably not going to be a major upgrade as Vista or 2000 was. Building on the foundation of Vista it will provide a smooth transition for application/hardware developers and end users who have invested in Vista since its release in January 2007. Windows 7 M3 looks promising, why? Because of a cleaner approach I believe to the present experiences in Vista, AERO looks slicker, the Start menu is cleaner almost with a glossy look and feel that I am sure will please those who want a lighter Windows since most of today's built in Windows apps will become a part of the Windows Live Wave 3 of services. The interface, is identical in many ways, Explorers feature a lighter more silver/bluish look that is similar to Windows Live Wave 3 set of apps. So, consistency seems to be an ongoing theme that will resonate throughout this release. If you look at the All Programs listing in Windows 7, you will now see a limited or cut down set of programs, some programs still exist like Windows DVD Maker. 7 does incorporate a few new  applications that are more like essential utilities, for instance, you will now see a XPS Viewer, which once was only available through the Internet Explorer web browser. Notable is the inclusion of Accelerators for Windows, which first debuted in the soon to be released IE 8 later this year. The significance of this is not known, but I suspect an ala-Automator type experience in automating common task throughout the Windows interface without the need for any background in scripting. Apart from that is the inclusion of the Windows PowerShell version 2 which is a next generation command line interface, I personally don't know if the intention is to replace CMD but its now a part of Windows 7. Visual Changes Of course, Microsoft is updating the interface, and this early glimpse gives us an idea of what Microsoft is thinking. Its about cleaing up and streamlining what we have now in Vista. The first notable change I see is the glossiness of menus like Start Menu, and the Explorer windows, which evoke a more polished look and feel. Its not significantly different, but is attractive, but I hope it will be able to tone down, since its a bit too shine in my opinion and might turn out distracting for many users. Bundled applications like Calculator, WordPad and Paint have been extremely updated. UAC now with Aero – ding! Calculator  This small, but commonly used app features some polish and style, featuring a more calculatoresque look, Calculator seems more serious and powerful than it has been in recent years. Vista's update was just UI based. There are quick productivity features like the ability to calculate date and time durations (conversions), create templates and do Unit conversions. Its nice, but not really impressive, I think tools like this could be delivered today, especially for customers who invested in Vista Ultimate (Ultimate Extras anyone?). User Account Control has been aerozied and seems to not black out the screen to get the users attention, as can be seen on the THINKNEXT websites, since you cannot take a ALT-PRT SC of it today in Vista. Nice, but something like that should be provided as improved functionality through a service pack. It seems Microsoft is continuing the trend of multiple SKU's for 7, since the version tested was Windows 7 Ultimate, I have my personal disagreements with this, some say they want a Windows with all the features, some just want two SKU's. I have posted my thoughts on this over at Channel9, you can read it here. New Office Fluent Inspired bundled Windows 7 applications Continuing on the bundled app changes, WordPad is now Word 2007 Lite, since it now features the Office Fluent interface which first debuted in Office 2007. Its nice, a more efficient and just a darn needed update since they have remained the same since Windows 95, of course there isn't any new functionality since everything that is in Paint on Vista has just been rearranged into two tabs, the same can be said for WordPad. As Long Zheng over at istartedsomething.com said, Office Fluent for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Access 2007 was needed, since the commands in the interface had become too much and too unwieldy with the traditional Standard and Formatting toolbar approach. To some its gonna look like overkill. But I still admire the change. Windows 7 Explorer window - Computer Windows Explorer has gotten its share of small improvements which are not that significant, User folders such as Documents, Pictures, Music and Videos are now listed under what is known as Libraries, I don't know why, but some in the Windows Enthusiast Community have suggested that this might be a return of Virtual Folders which first appeared in the Windows Vista BETA 1 release and disappeared later during the betas because it was considered too much to learn for end users. I personally don't see it, but if Microsoft can find a way to improve the search experience in Windows 7, this might be their approach, since Saved Search folders today is a bit too limiting with what you can do. Parsing information and making sense of it, creating relationships between data and events would definitely give users reasons to take advantage of this once heralded feature. Windows Solutions Center Problem Reports and Solutions is now Windows Solutions Center, I guess the problem was the name, lol! It seems both Windows Update and Security center have both been consolidated into this one location, which probably is a good move and reduces the confusion in Windows of having too many locations for very similar task. I hope some of this spirit is applied to Networking Explorers in 7, we all know how there is just too much related to networking in Vista already and there needs to to be logical updates to certain areas like the TCP/IP Properties dialog becoming an Explorer similar to Display Settings is now in 7 M3. Once again, please check the channel9 post I made about improving this critical area in Windows. Microsoft is indeed listening though, because one of the screenshots on THINKNEXT proves that dialogs are really circa Windows 95 type experiences, like the Display Settings for instance is now a Explorer if I am mistaken. See screenshots below: Display Settings ‘Explorer’ not a dialog anymore, finally  Contextual menus to me seem more bloated, for instance, the right click menu when you invoke it on the Desktop, features three additional menu items, Gadgets, Display Settings and Personalize. It seems like a good idea and most times, when I setup a new machine, the first thing I do is adjust the display settings. Its a give or take here that I am fine working with. In addition to the above mentioned, a 'Share with' menu item allows you to share data with your 'Home Group' which I believe is the once touted featured before the Longhorn Reset called 'Castles' or Domain for Homes'. Accessibility seems to be a key theme here and Windows 7 is on its way to making itself very easy for you to do common things. Going a little further and taking a look at Personalization, its definitely still a work in progress as can be seen in the screenshot on THINKNEXT, it seems that the different customization areas, wallpapers, screensavers, themes are now contextual menus that change when selected. I definitely was looking for a quicker way to customize Windows and Microsoft seems to be listening, I wanted to see collapsible panels, but looks like it do just fine, but is still kinda rough around the edges with unidentifiable blank profile icon displays over theme thumbnails. Personalization Explorer – a work in progress Windows SideBar, now free to roam The Windows Sidebar it seems is still trying to find its place in Windows, I personally like it, but rarely use it except for the RSS Gadget, but the Windows Team is following a rule from OS X by making Gadgets more like Dashboard which will roam free on the Desktop. To me, this is clutter, I personally don't always want access to my Gadgets, I would prefer to have them hidden from view and use a keyboard command to invoke them to appear or hide when I do need them. Microsoft, I need a clean Windows Desktop, I want to have control of the features to make them work the way I want to a certain degree. Windows 7 includes the latest version of Internet Explorer which is version 8, I did not bother to preview this, since its still in testing and pretty much the same as what is as what is available to the public. Windows Media Player v.Next Windows Media Player I am not sure if its version 12 at this stage, but there is definitely a difference between Media Player in Vista and 7. I am going to call it Media Player v.NEXT. This new version features radical changes to its menu structure, with some menus positioned on the left and right sides of the interface. I don’t see the significance of this, but it does look stylish, and features two thick toolbars of controls, the second one focusing on traditional features such as Organization, Sharing, Playlist and Search. The interface is much warmer and attractive I must say, player controls are not translucent anymore which give it a more conservative appearance. My friend looking at it right now says it a bit too bright and actually prefers WMP now, but its a work in progress I am trying to explain. The more I notice this update it seems to share a more iTunes like similarity. I am wondering if Microsoft is planning on integrating support for the Zune in this release instead of having a separate solution especially for persons who prefer using Media Player. Conclusion Windows 7 for now looks like a release that will give consumers confidence in the Windows platform, while also delivering on the promise of having a less bloated or more controlled experience that makes the user feel in charge. Its still early days yet and a lot of what I have said is just my opinion and does not reflect the final product or even BETA 1. I hope Microsoft will listen to users on this release though, don't go it alone without consulting us first. It doesn't look like a drastic departure feature wise from Vista, but improves upon the usability, a lot of the features I believe are more Windows Live related. Will consumers who have invested in Windows Vista today invest in this update? I don't think so in its current state, maybe if it was a free update or $29 download. Otherwise, Windows 7 is looking more like the must have upgrade for Windows XP users out there. Its still very early days and I am looking forward to hearing Microsoft's side of the story at the Professional Developers Conference 2008 and Windows Hardware Engineering Conference 2008 in October and November. If you want to know more, check out the screenshots over at THINKNEXT , you can also find a couple videos here which features a glowing start menu when hovered over. Resources Technorati Tags: Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows 7 M3, Milestone 3, Features, Preview, Media Player 11, Vienna, Blackcomb, Microsoft, BETA, Alpha, PDC, WinHEC, Mary Jo Foley, ThinkNext, ActiveWin, Operating Systems, Windows, Office Fluent, Ribbon, WordPad, Paint, Steven Sinofsky, Jon Devaan Up Link Partner adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!19317.entry
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Windows 7 Engineering with Steven Sinofsky and Jon DeVaan
From Windows 7 Engineering MSDN Blog The Windows Team is building momentum towards the next major release of Windows, "7" which is expected sometime in early 2010. The blog will focus on engaging with Microsoft Partners and Customers in addition to enthusiast and bloggers. Teching It Easy will be there all the way, recreating the experience first started with 'Windows Longhorn'. Here is a quick quote: "Welcome to our first post on a new blog from Microsoft—the Engineering Windows 7 blog, or E7 for short. E7 is hosted by the two senior engineering managers for the Windows 7 product,
Jon DeVaan and Steven Sinofsky
. Jon and Steven, along with members of the engineering team will post, comment, and participate in this blog. Beginning with this post together we are going to start looking forward towards the “Windows 7” project. We know there are tons of questions about the specifics of the project and strong desire to know what’s in store for the next major release of Windows. Believe us, we are just as excited to start talking about the release. Over the past 18 months since Windows Vista’s broad availability, the team has been hard at work creating the next Windows product. The audience of enthusiasts, bloggers, and those that are the most passionate about Windows represent the folks we are dedicating this blog to. With this blog we’re opening up a two-way discussion about how we are making Windows 7. Windows has all the challenges of every large scale software project—picking features, designing them, developing them, and delivering them with high quality. Windows has an added challenge of doing so for an extraordinarily diverse set of customers. As a team and as individuals on the team we continue to be humbled by this responsibility." Read more here I couldn't think of a better way to start this conversation. The team is focused on delivering accurate information and really present what's real and what's possible with this release of Windows. I personally believe in the focus on under promising and over delivering and that's definitely what I believe we can expect this next major release. Yes, during Vista's development there were promises and some disappointments along the way and the Windows Team is trying avoid that as much possible and I applaud them for the effort. This early part of the conversation is targeted at developers and hardware engineers of course, and most persons interested will be able to get there first experiences with the OS this fall at the Public Developers Conference 2008 (PDC) and the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference 2008 (WinHEC). Technorati Tags: Windows 7, Steve Sinofsky, Jon DeVaan,  Windows Vista, WinHEC, PDC, Operating Systems, 2010, Office 14, Microsoft, Software Up Link Partner adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!18613.entry
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Is Windows 7 really just version 6.1?
Mary Jo's recent realization of the miscommunication
about the future of Windows Server releases unearth some new information about the versioning. An anonymous tipster informed MJ that Windows 7 (server and client) are actually version 6.1 and both products will RTM at the same time (ETA January 2010). What could this mean for Windows 7 both client and server? Don't be confused though, Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 will share the same code base, meaning an NT 7 the kernel is still somewhere out in the future.
Here is what that person had to say:
“Furthermore, Windows 7, despite it’s rather pretentious sounding code name (a result of Sinofsky’s like of big round numbers)
is NOT Windows NT 7, but rather 6.1(current builds are numbered 67xx as
a direct continuation of the longhorn codebase). Put simply, it is not
a big jump as a codebase revision and the new changes, on both the
client and server, will be focused on user features, not core OS
components. The big core OS changes are WDDM 2 and a kernel scheduler
update to remove the simple bitmask enumeration of processors so that
the OS can schedule more than 64 concurrent threads."
Thoughts? I don't believe it for one sec! Remember the Eric Traut video
, the guy working on MinWin? Well he asked
why Windows 7 is called Windows '7'. Then he began to list all the
versions of Windows "NT" based operating systems. This would conclude
that Windows 7 is indeed NT version 7, regardless it is considered
evolutionary.
If
you look back at even the release of Windows NT 4.0, it was a minor
update that just added the Windows 95 shell, yet it was still given a
whole version number, both kernel version and release wise. We won't know whats going on, and all of this from my perspective is really just discussion for now. Lets stay tuned to the Engineering 7 blog and hope we get more concrete info as the months lead up to PDC 2008 and WinHEC 2008. Up Link Partner adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!18647.entry
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PC World: Microsoft Sends Up Trial Balloons for Windows 7
From PC World
Quote:
"Windows Vista hasn't fared so well since its debut. Its generally low reputation among customers has led one Forrester analyst to dub Microsoft's latest OS "the New Coke of tech," while some studies have suggested
that nearly a third of customers who buy a PC with Vista pre-installed may actually be downgrading those machines to XP.
Still
other customers seem to wish the whole thing will just go away. They
don't want to hear about Vista at all -- they'd rather hear about
Windows 7, the upcoming OS from Microsoft that will be Vista's
successor. And given the dismal consumer reaction to its latest attempts to market Vista, Microsoft seems willing to oblige."
Read the entire article here
This conclusion that Vista is not
great or better comes from a lack in understanding and not using the OS
enough to really see the obvious benefits out of the box. My brother
upgraded to Windows XP in summer of 2002, loved it, you could say he is
an earlier adopter and continued using the OS on various machines,
including a Dell Inspiron he purchased in June of 2006 (XP Home).
My brother jumped on the early Windows Vista adopter bandwagon in
January of 2007. He loved it! Yes, the things that 'wowed' him was
Vista's visual appeal, it looks darn great. And PC World would be surprised, a lot of people love the richness, the transparency and realness
of the OS. AERO is a bold, serious yet inviting look and many people I
ask, new to Vista, previous XP or 2000 users, novices, lab techs, love
Vista.
A lot of negativity about Vista has been intensified by a number of
things. Things that we have been acquainted with from previous versions
of Windows or any other platform...device drivers and application
compatibility. It just was not there for many in early 2007, but it has improved tremendously and has reached the same level as XP or better.
You would be hard pressed to find most modern hardware released in the
last 2 to 3 years incompatible with the OS, not to mention applications
that are probably in their second to third generation of full
compatibility with Vista.
XP's reception faced many compatibility and hardware issues, I
remember some clearly, like Roxio and printer and scanner hardware not
being supported. But they eventually were, Roxio did update version 5
to support XP and the problems died. But because XP was released in a
time where the Internet, blogging and the spotlight was not on
Microsoft and Windows in a scrutinizing way like it is today. In
addition to Microsoft's transparency and openness during the Longhorn
project, it set a tone and perception in addition to things that
happened during the project like reset and drop of features. Those are
the irrelevant things that are still etched in the minds of many who
covered the OS during its development.
Vista in its current form is well accepted, but some lingerings
still remained and being revived and utilized by people who have never
used Vista, don't use Windows and is being articulated in a way to make
Windows out into a platform that is not desirable, these include the
voice of Open Source, small resurgence of Apple, Justin Long vs PC and
many other insignificant events in the past few years.
But it still does not hide the fact that people are accepting of
Vista's improvements, whether its developer wise, business or consumer
wise. Search, collaboration, ease of setup, security, Backup,
organization, true hardware and application support, clean interface
and just the plain likability of the OS, people see it and are proving
it everyday with the millions of licenses that come pre-installed on
new PC's or deployed. Up Link Partner adacosta.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E8E5CC039D51E3DB!18672.entry
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