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Windows 7 Sheds Vista BloatBy Pedro HernandezOctober 28, 2008
Others will soon get the chance as Microsoft also announced plans to release a Windows 7 beta in early 2009. At first glance there doesn't seem to be much that distinguishes Windows 7 from Vista. Most of the updates to the OS are under the hood, although users will notice a fair share of cosmetic changes and upgraded functionality. Stability and improved driver support are among the two key areas the Windows 7 team tackled. The hope is that these improvements, combined with a de-bloated operating system -- many of the traditional pre-installed extras are now Live downloads -- result in snappy performance, a seamless hardware and software transition from Vista and improved resistance to crashes and other show stopping bugs. Indeed, early online reports indicate a quick-booting, responsive experience. However, it is important to note that the pre-beta software is as bare bones as it gets. Head in the CloudInterestingly, the company's decision to strip out the extras for Live-enabled versions demonstrates the degree to which Microsoft is embracing the cloud computing model, apart from Azure, of course. The same goes for the new Office Web applications, which makes "lightweight versions" of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote accessible by popular browsers with an Internet connection. Similarly, Microsoft is showing off Live Mesh, a framework to sync applications, data and contacts across multiple devices. The company also announced that Live ID has become an OpenID provider. Back to Windows 7, the browser of choice is the sandboxed, privacy-enhancing browser Internet Explorer 8, which is currently in beta. Desktop search gets an upgrade for improved results and lower resource utilization (this blog posts exposes some of the technical considerations the Windows 7 team faced). Federated search support opens more information retrieval options, particularly in the business realm. An interesting networking perk is BranchCache. Aimed primarily at businesses, the BranchCache API (already built in to Windows APIs if using HTTP and SMB protocols) improves WAN throughput and application performance by avoiding the transfer duplicate data between main and branch locations and fetching previously downloaded data from local clients instead. Office's Ribbon menu makes the leap from the productivity suite and has now become part of the UI and is open for developers to use in their applications. Multi-touch is supported, as is new handwriting recognition with math input, which allows users to enter formulas just as they would format them on paper or a chalkboard. Yet, while clearly engineered to provide a leaner computing base for PCs, Windows 7 appears primed to blur the distinction between the cloud and the desktop when viewed against the backdrop of Azure and Live. The suspicion is reinforced by Ray Ozzie's keynote quip, "We are bringing the best of the Web to Windows, and the best of Windows to the Web." In related news, PDC attendees are also getting their hands on a pre-beta version of Windows Server 2008 R2. Among the upgrades are new power management features and live migration of virtual machines.
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Microsoft's other big PDC announcement this year is Windows 7 (formerly Vienna). Hardly a secret to technology watchers, Microsoft today used the opportunity to let developers kick the tires on a pre-beta version of the new operating system.
