The first in-depth technical information of Microsoft's forthcoming Windows 7 operating system is to be revealed at the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) on October 27th, but Windows-enthusiast Paul Thurrot has provided a pre-PDC teaser.
Armed with information from officially published reports and screenshots of recent Windows 7 builds, Thurrot created a list of information to share at a Windows 7 presentation in Massachusetts last night.
So, what has Microsoft let slip thus far? Here's a brief rundown of Thurrot's analysis:
- Windows 7 is a codename and the final product should ship with a different name.
- Windows 7 expands on the existing codebase of Windows Vista - Thurrot claims it to be a minor technical update, but a major update in terms of both features and functionality.
- The operating system will be available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
- Milestone 3 build 68xx is being tested for a possible release at PDC on October 27th.
- Thurrot predicts that Windows 7 will feature parallel processing implemented via .NET Framework 4.0 managed code libraries. He adds, however, that this should be discussed in detail at PDC.
- He expects some form of Hyper-V-type Virtualisation to feature in some Windows 7 versions - which incidentally hints at multiple versions of the OS itself.
- A new "Sensors" feature. Systems installed with a location sensor can tell where a PC is situated, and applications can respond accordingly.
- UAC will remain, and Vista-technologies such as Sync and Gadgets will be better featured.
- "Day One Experience" is to be greatly improved - an area of specific focus for Microsoft.
- The entire Vista UI is being tweaked an improved.
- Windows 7 will provide support for multi-touch.
- Certain bundled applications will be stripped from the OS.
- The recent Windows Live Wave 3 beta features some of Windows 7's shell user experience.
- The new Windows Explorer shell is designed by the same team that created the Office 2007 ribbon. Expect a ribbon-like UI in various other applications, including Paint.
- Windows Taskbar will support accelerators and behaviours - as in Internet Explorer 8.
- Windows Sidebar has been removed, but gadgets will remain. We're assuming, therefore, that gadgets can be used anywhere on the desktop.
- Windows 7's shell will be simpler in appearance and focus on content.
- Solution Center will replace Security Center.
- Last but not least, he adds that "virtually everything is getting tweaked".
Taking into account the fact that Thurrot already has his hands on a milestone 3 release of Windows 7, all of the above should be as close to accurate as possible.
Though we may have known most of it already, there are quite a few interesting tidbits that we hadn't come across. Certainly enough to wet our appetite for more at PDC later this month.
In the meantime, head over to winsupersite.com for more of Thurrot's analysis and some screenshot comparisons of Windows 7 and Windows Vista.
