Windows 7 has managed to make it on a Microsoft.com home page for the first time. It’s an unlikely position for the next iteration of the Windows operating system, which the Redmond company is keeping tight under wraps for now. And even more so as, following the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2008, the past week in Houston, Texas, where the software giant indicated that it was focusing entirely on Windows Vista Service Pack 1. But still, Steven Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, can rest assured that nothing has leaked on the successor of Windows Vista.
The official website of Microsoft Canada is the Microsoft.com localized home page that features the Windows 7 reference, under the highlights section. However, the fragment of text reading “Bill Veghte, Senior Vice President, Online Services and Windows Business Group, outlines Microsoft’s commitment to Windows Vista now and in the future,Microsoft’s support for Windows XP as we approach the retail end-of-sales date of June 30 and the future of Windows including Windows 7″ is nothing more than an excerpt from the official document signed by Veghte designed to trash Windows XP and Windows 7 as potential Vista SP1 alternatives.
source: news.softpedia.com
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IT decision-makers give the server operating system a qualified thumbs up and plan to move to it as part of the normal server refresh cycle, which typically ranges from three to five years.
It may look like Windows Vista. It shares the same code base as Vista. It even rolls in Vista’s first Service Pack. But in terms of customer adoption plans, Windows Server 2008 is no Vista.
A new Computerworld survey shows that 63 per cent of the 403 respondents plan to adopt Microsoft’s new server operating system.
This contrasts with the intention of some IT organizations to skip Vista entirely and move directly to Windows 7 on the desktop.
Source: www.itbusiness.ca
In a letter sent to enterprise and business customers, Microsoft says it is responding to users’ request for a more regular, predictable Windows release schedule.
Microsoft will ship Windows 7 sometime in or near Jan. 2010, according to a letter company senior vice president Bill Veghte sent to Microsoft customers Tuesday.
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The letter, sent to enterprise and business customers, will eventually be publicly posted on Microsoft’s Web site.
In the letter sent to "Windows Customers" and titled "An Update on the Windows Roadmap," Veghte said "our plan is to deliver Windows 7 approximately three years after the January 2007 general availability launch date of Windows Vista."
Veghte wrote, "You have told us you want a more regular, predictable Windows release schedule" and he said that was the impetus for setting the 2010 ship date.
Vista has been slowly gaining steam, but is still drawing fire from critics who say it has not lived up to promises.
Veghte went further in addressing customer concerns over application compatibility, which had been a problem shortly after Vista’s release.
"You’ve also let us know you don’t want to face the kinds of incompatibility challenges with the next version of Windows you might have experienced early with Windows Vista. As a result, our approach with Windows 7 is to build off the same core architecture as Windows Vista so the investments you and our partners have made in Windows Vista will continue to pay off with Windows 7. Our goal is to ensure the migration process from Windows Vista to Windows 7 is straightforward."
Veghte’s discussion of Windows 7 was part of an effort to clarify the June 30 XP deadline that will see the operating system removed from retail shelves and OEM hardware, and to tout the virtues of Windows Vista. Veghte also thanked customers for their loyalty and support.
Source: Infoworld.com
Microsoft is hard at work aiming to prevent the Windows 7 apple proverbially falling close to the Windows Vista tree. In fact, Bill Veghte, Senior Vice President, Online Services & Windows Business Group, promised that that incompatibility issues would not be among the legacy that Vista leaves for Windows 7. Otherwise, the next version of the Windows client will inherent the vast majority of the architecture of its predecessor, most importantly the core of Vista. But, in addition to the kernel, Windows 7 will also feature the same graphics and audio subsystems
as Windows Vista, context in which existing hardware and software products will continue to be compatible.
"You’ve let us know you don’t want to face the kinds of incompatibility challenges with the next version of Windows you might have experienced early with Windows Vista. As a result, our approach with Windows 7 is to build off the same core architecture as Windows Vista so the investments you and our partners have made in Windows Vista will continue to pay off with Windows 7. Our goal is to ensure the migration process from Windows Vista to Windows 7 is straightforward," Veghte stated.
This is, in fact, Microsoft’s vision: Windows Vista will be a transition operating system, streamlining the migration to Windows 7. Officially planned for availability within three years since Vista hit the shelves on January 30, 2007, Windows 7 is heading for a more realistic launch date at the end of 2009, but ahead of the holiday season.
Source: Softpedia
How does does Microsoft counter the widespread perception that Vista is a failure, despite its strong sales numbers? First you release a white paper explaining why Vista is better than XP, and then you release a white paper explaining why there is no reason to wait for Windows 7. With companies still considering "bypassing Vista," Microsoft has done just that.
The most recent Windows white paper to make it out of Redmond is 20 pages long and is entitled "The Business Value of Windows Vista: Five reasons to deploy now."
Full Story: Ars Technica
There appears to be a lot going on behind-the-scenes for Windows 7 than meets the eye. Effective next week, June 1 2008, original equipment manufacturers who wish to get their new PCs certified by the Windows Logo Program for the “Certified for Windows Vista” label will have to get their hands dirty with Windows 7 when it’s available.
The policy document (PDF) writes,
Customers have a need to ensure compatibility with the new releases of the OS and that hardware (systems and devices) are fully functional after an upgrade. This will enable Microsoft and partners to evaluate the results and correct issues in the new OS and the associated hardware as part of the release plan.
Beginning with the release of the first beta of the next operating system, all Windows Vista client and Windows Server 2008 submissions must include a complete CPK with test logs for the new beta OS. The test logs generated from the beta OS are not required to pass. Issues with hardware, system BIOS or drivers must be investigated and resolved by partners prior to the launch of the logo program for the new OS.
The tests should be run after performing an upgrade from Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 to the beta OS. Testing on the new beta OS must be done with drivers that are intended to install on the beta OS.
Design and Implementation Notes
Beginning with the first beta of Windows 7 all Windows Vista submissions must include a complete CPK with test logs from Windows 7. The test logs generated are not required to pass.
Source- istartedsomething
Glyn Moody hits the nail on the head with his critique of Microsoft’s proposed approach to Windows 7: Say little so that the market expects little. It’s not an unreasonable approach, and Microsoft did get burned for actually warning the market about what it would be providing, only to have to endure the consequences of not living up to the expectations it set, but I’m not sure it can afford to go back. Stating that it will be "more careful" with Windows 7, Microsoft’s representative noted:
"We know that when we talk about our plans for the next release of Windows, people take action," [Microsoft] said. "As a result, we can significantly impact our partners and our customers if we broadly share information that later changes."
Well, yes. But that’s the whole point behind transparency. As Glyn notes, it’s not that easy to do in practice, but it’s increasingly critical in the opening 21st Century.
News source: C|Net News
Microsoft is finally opening up about when Windows 7 will ship, but the company continues to share just a few, yet tantalizing details of what the eagerly anticipated OS update will be all about.
The latest tidbit to drop is multitouch interface support. At the Wall St. Journal’s D Conference Tuesday evening in Carlsbad, Calif., company founder and chief software architect Bill Gates and chief executive Steve Ballmer are scheduled to unveil a laptop with a touchscreen that accepts multiple, simultaneous touches. The effect is quite reminiscent of what’s possible with the world’s most popular, commercially available gesture-based interface device: the iPhone .
Officially, Windows 7 is scheduled to ship three years after the general availability of Windows Vista , according to Microsoft. Vista’s business editions launched on Nov. 30, 2006, which would mean the software could ship as early as that date in 2009, with a beta release in advance. Vista’s editions for the home market launched Jan. 29, 2007.
Source- PC Magazine
Ankur Mittal | July 18, 2008
