Posted 11/18/08 at 04:28:17 PM by Mark Edward Soper

As a counterpoint to InfoWorld blogger Randall Kennedy's controversial review of the Windows 7 pre-beta , we bring you a contrasting view from The Register's Tim Anderson:

During the press briefing for Windows 7 at Microsoft's Professional Developers Conference (PDC), corporate vice president for Windows product management Mike Nash insisted Microsoft had learned from the Vista experience.

Judging by early Windows 7 code released at PDC, the signs are that it really has....Windows 7 feels more polished than Vista, even in the preview, and performance is good.

Anderson noted the new Device Stage, BitLocker to Go, and improvements in Windows Media Player. To find out what other features Anderson likes in the next Windows, join us after the jump.

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microsoft, operating system, Software, Review, OS, windows 7, pre-beta, The Register

Posted 11/12/08 at 03:56:08 PM by Mark Edward Soper

InfoWorld's Randall C. Kennedy has put Windows 7's Milestone 3 pre-beta build 6801, a freebie from last month's Microsoft Professional Developer's Conference, through a variety of benchmark tests, and isn't all that impressed:

As I reported on my Enterprise Desktop blog, the more I dug into Windows 7, the more I saw an OS that looked and felt like a slightly tweaked version of Windows Vista.

At his blog, Kennedy complains that Windows 7 is:

Just as slow as Vista...Just as consumer-focused as Vista...Just as confusing as Vista...

Kennedy cites these similarities:

• The number of execution threads in key subsystems is almost the same in Windows 7 as in Vista
• Benchmarks of Windows 7 and Vista Ultimate SP1 using the DMS Clarity Studio tools suite show almost identical results
• Similar amounts of RAM are used by Windows 7 and Windows Vista

From these facts and visual similarities between Windows 7 and Vista, Kennedy concludes:

Bottom line: So far, Windows 7 looks and behaves almost exactly like Windows Vista. It performs almost exactly like Vista. And it breaks all sorts of things that used to work just fine under Vista. In other words, Microsoft's follow-up to its most unpopular OS release since Windows Me threatens to deliver zero measurable performance benefits while introducing new and potentially crippling compatibility issues.

Is Kennedy right, or is he missing a big difference between Windows 7 and its predecessor? For my take, join me after the break.

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microsoft, operating system, Software, Windows Vista, benchmark, windows 7, pre-beta

Posted 11/06/08 at 09:17:16 PM by Mark Edward Soper

This year's edition of WinHEC, which has already demonstrated Windows 7's digital goodness with Device Stage, has more good news about Microsoft's next desktop operating system:

• Longer battery life
• Faster boot times

As Maximum PC.com readers know, better hardware support has been a major goal of Windows 7 right from the start, and it looks as if Windows 7, even in its pre-beta stage, is making impressive strides.

Engadget has posted a video from WinHEC that shows a Windows 7 machine providing energy savings equivalent to an extra hour of DVD playback: you won't have to worry about running out of power before the movie ends, and you'll even have enough juice for a special feature or two.

WinHEC also featured Microsoft exec Jon DeVaan, the Senior Vice President in charge of Core Operating System Division, performing a "boot drag race" pitting identical machines running Windows 7 and Windows Vista: Windows 7 won by several seconds. It's part of DeVaan and Steven Sinofsky's keynote address, which you can see at the WinHEC virtual pressroom.

To find out who else is seeing the improvements in Windows 7, join us after the jump.

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Posted 10/28/08 at 06:32:18 PM by Mark Edward Soper

ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley once again lives up to her blog's "All About Microsoft" title, delivering the news that attendees at this week's Professional Developers' Conference (PDC) will also take home a pre-beta of Windows 7's server counterpart, Windows Server 2008 R2. Here's what's new in what's being characterized as a "minor" update:

• Windows Server 2008 R2 represents the end of 32-bit support in the Windows Server family; it's 64-bit only
• Windows Server 2008 R2 features version 2 of Hyper-V "bare metal" virtualization, which will include a new Live Migration feature for fault-tolerant failover
• PowerShell Version 2.0, which includes a more graphical interface than its predecessor
• .NET incorporated in Server Core
• Remote Desktop Services replaces Terminal Services

Is Windows Server 2008 R2 in your company's future? Microsoft hopes so. According to Foley, Microsoft is calling the pairing of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 "Better Together," with features such as BitLocker support for removable drives, BranchCache (hosted server caching) and others working better when both operating systems are in use.

Join us after the jump for your thoughts on "Windows 7 Server."

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Posted 10/27/08 at 03:21:19 PM by Mark Edward Soper

Officially, Microsoft pulls the drapes off the Windows 7 pre-beta tomorrow (October 28) at the Professional Developer's Conference. So, what's new and different? ZDNet blogger Mary Jo Foley's received the inside scoop on what's coming tomorrow. Look for:

• A new peripheral management interface called Device Stage (more info about this is coming in the Windows 7 Partner Showcase at November's WinHEC 2008 conference)
• A new self-diagnosis feature called Action Center
• A new A/V control method called StreamOn
• A new animation framework
• New task bar and shell integration features
• Multi-touch and gesture recognition
• Improved Bluetooth support
• Ribbon UI akin to Office 2007 for Windows 7's applets

The version PDC attendees will be seeing appears to be build 6801 M3 (Milestone 3), which was finalized on October 20. You can find screen shots of an earlier version of this build at the WinFuture.de website (the site's in German, but the screen shots are in English).

Stay tuned to Maximum PC for more Windows 7 coverage.

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windows, microsoft, operating system, windows 7, pdc, pre-beta, WinHEC