Upcoming Windows 7 To Be Named "Windows 7" After All

[Yoon]

It appears that Microsoft will name it's next generation Windows 7 OS "Windows 7":

Hi there, Mike Nash here.

For me, one of the most exciting times in the release of a new product is right before we show it to the world for the first time. And that time is right now.

In a few weeks we are going to be talking about the details of this release at the PDC and at WinHEC. We will be sharing a pre-beta "developer only release" with attendees of both shows and giving them the first broad in-depth look at what we've been up to. I can't wait for them to see it.

And, as you probably know, since we began development of the next version of the Windows client operating system we have been referring to it by a codename, "Windows 7." But now is a good time to announce that we've decided to officially call the next version of Windows, "Windows 7."

While I know there have been a few cases at Microsoft when the codename of a product was used for the final release, I am pretty sure that this is a first for Windows. You might wonder about the decision.

The decision to use the name Windows 7 is about simplicity. Over the years, we have taken different approaches to naming Windows. We've used version numbers like Windows 3.11, or dates like Windows 98, or "aspirational" monikers like Windows XP or Windows Vista. And since we do not ship new versions of Windows every year, using a date did not make sense. Likewise, coming up with an all-new "aspirational" name does not do justice to what we are trying to achieve, which is to stay firmly rooted in our aspirations for Windows Vista, while evolving and refining the substantial investments in platform technology in Windows Vista into the next generation of Windows.

Simply put, this is the seventh release of Windows, so therefore "Windows 7" just makes sense.

We are very excited about the opportunity to tell you more about Windows 7 in the coming weeks, and show you how we have continued to build on investments begun in Windows Vista to deliver on the next release of the Windows operating system.

I look forward to sharing more with you in the coming weeks and months.

--Mike

Source: http://windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windo ... ows-7.aspx

That settles the naming issue. :p I guess "Windows 7" is okay; it's better than using a year, abbreviation, or a word that sounds like it belongs on a vacation ad.

[Tarquin]

Ah, so you did guess right !

[Hadvi]

well windows vista didnt last long O_o.

[Yoon]

well windows vista didnt last long O_o.

Actually, MS is back to their typical 2-3 year OS release cycle, like back in the 90s:

Windows 9X Desktop Line:
1995: Windows 95
1998: Windows 98
2000: Windows ME

Windows NT Desktop Line:
1993: Windows NT 3.1 Workstation
1994: Windows NT 3.5 Workstation
1995: Windows NT 3.51 Workstation
1996: Windows NT 4.0 Workstation
2000: Windows 2000
2001: Windows XP
2006: Windows Vista
2009-2010?: Windows 7

Windows NT Server Line:
1993: Windows NT 3.1 Server
1994: Windows NT 3.5 Server
1995: Windows NT 3.51 Server
1996: Windows NT 4.0 Server
2000: Windows 2000 Server
2003: Windows 2003 Server
2008: Windows 2008 Server

Taking their previous Windows OS release schedule into account, it would be about time for another Windows release. Longhorn (AKA Vista) was the oddball, since it was supposed to come out around 2003, but it was massively delayed till late 2006, because Microsoft decided to shift focus to XP Service Pack 2. The Vista -> 7 jump will not have vast changes as the XP to Vista jump did, and will be more like the 95 -> 98 jump in terms of changes/additions.

[Hadvi]

Oh, I c. thanks for clearing that up. ^^

so that means you can change the os on you pc from vista to 7 easily. unlike going from XP to vista .

[Yoon]

Yeah, 7 is basically a refined Vista, with most of Vista's main issues addressed and fixed.

[Tarquin]

That would be awesome. I will take too long to list down the issues I have with Vista...

[Hadvi]

Surprisingly, I dont have that many problems with vista. the only thing is, that some old programs dont work anymore. But I solved most of them . and it can react very slow at times. but thats only when I have lots of things running XD.

[Yoon]

Surprisingly, I dont have that many problems with vista. the only thing is, that some old programs dont work anymore. But I solved most of them . and it can react very slow at times. but thats only when I have lots of things running XD.

Yeah, I think the whole "Vista-bashing" is far-fetched, considering a lot of the problems (mostly unstable drivers) that plagued Vista at launch have now been fixed. Also, some people were trying to run Vista on 6 year old (or older computers) and expecting it to run faster than XP.

It's so easy for people to bash a new Windows; the same thing happened back in 2001, when Windows XP launched. I remember hearing things like:
"OMG XP SUX, 98 BETTER!"
"98 IS BETTER FOR GAMING!"
"XP IS SLOW, WHY WOULD ANYONE UPGRADE FROM 98?"
"XP ISN'T COMPATIBLE WITH MY DOS PROGRAMS!"

Sound familiar? Most of the complaints for XP went away when XP Service Pack 1 & 2 came out. Same thing seems to be happening after Vista SP1 came out.

[Jaegar]

I think it's funny that (effectively) all new PCs are coming with Vista. Even the budget PCs that have problems running it... 3 of my friends have computers that came with 1 GB or 512 MB of RAM and Vista installed. O.o

[Yoon]

3 of my friends have computers that came with 1 GB or 512 MB of RAM and Vista installed. O.o

Yep, computer manufacturers are at fault as well, putting Vista on computers with insufficient amount of RAM and labelling them as Vista-capable.

Anyhow, it appears that Windows 7 is looking real nice, considering the preview screenshots of Windows 7 Milestone 3 that were leaked on the web yesterday, courtesy of DailyTech and Paul Thurott's SuperSite:



The TaskBar in W7 seems to have been changed quite a bit. Excerpt for DailyTech's article on the W7 M3 preview:

The biggest new feature is the taskbar overhaul. The new taskbar looks foreign indeed with no text. It is filled with icons for easy program selection. Also new to the taskbar is the option to access "jump lists" with a quick right click. For example, right-clicking the Windows Media Player icon allows you to access playlists without having to open the application or waste time fiddling with menus. Finally, hovering over items on the taskbar generates helpful previews.

As to those hoping for a lighter build, it looks like your dreams may come true. Windows 7 Chief Steve Sinofsky held up his "personal" laptop during the demo. It was running Windows 7 flawlessly on a 1 GHz processor netbook (probably using a VIA processor) with only 1 GB of RAM. It was running very smoothly, with over half the RAM free to use.

However, Microsoft is equally emphasizing power, with support for up to 256 CPUs.

Source: http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=13309

Besides the taskbar changes, W7 will be lightweight in terms of resource-usage as well! This is great news for those that were turned off by Vista's high RAM usage and even better news for those that were already satisfied with Vista.