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Windows 7 - Microsoft is about ready, is the public?
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(AP File Photo/Paul Sakuma)
Redmond-based Microsoft Corporation is currently in the process of developing their next operating system release candidate, Windows 7. Windows 7, (formerly being fine-tuned under codenames Vienna, and Blackcomb) has officially been designated now as the replacement for Windows Vista (which has received a rather lukewarm reception by consumers).
Originally, a replacement for XP was in development in 2003 named Blackcomb. Blackcomb was to contain features for advanced searching and querying of data as well as improved storage. However, another minor release, codenamed Longhorn was also being developed in 2003. After three major viruses exploited flaws in Microsoft operating systems in 2003, emphasis switched to a release of Longhorn, which only incorporated some of the features of Blackcomb. This would become known as Vista.
Users of Vista who upgrade to Windows 7 will not experience the compatibility issues familiar to users of XP who migrated to Vista. In addition, Windows 7 will come with several new advanced features: touch and handwriting recognition, support for virtual hard disks, improved performance on multi-core processors, a new version of Windows Media Center.
The rest of this article will explore some other important Windows 7 information you may be interested in:
1. Minimum Hardware Requirements of Windows 7:
• 1 GHz processor (32- or 64-bit)
• 1 GB of RAM (32-bit); 2 GB of RAM (64-bit)
• 16 GB of available disk space (32-bit); 20 GB of available disk space (64-bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
2. Tentative Release Date: August 2009
3. For the first time ever, Internet Explorer will actually be able to be uninstalled from a Microsoft operating system. In order to comply with European Union competition laws, Microsoft has made Internet Explorer 8 for Windows 7 actually easy to uninstall.
There are several factors that make releasing Windows 7 in August of this year a risky proposition for Microsoft. With the lack of enthusiasm over Vista, Microsoft lost a lot of trust with many consumers. In addition, most IT companies at the moment are laying off workers, being asked to cut back expenses and taking on fewer projects. Finally, the new look and feel of Windows 7, though an improved technology, may actually work against it, as it will probably present a steeper learning curve for new users.
I applaud Microsoft’s efforts to improve the usability of their software and Windows 7 will definitely be a step in that direction. Hopefully, the public is ready to trust and spend again in August.
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