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A release candidate of Windows 7, the next major release of the world's most popular operating system, goes public in trial form in the next week.
Microsoft is hoping it can avoid the negative press that surrounded the launch of Vista, the last major Windows release, almost three years ago.
Windows 7 has been designed to be compatible with Vista so users do not have to invest in new hardware.
A commercial release of Windows 7 is expected in the next nine months.
Microsoft's Charlotte Jones demonstrates Windows 7's new features
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Windows 7 features
Windows XP mode - a virtual PC that can run older applications that might not run on Windows 7
Remote Media Streaming - access your home digital media over the net
Aero Peek - full screen previews of applications |
Windows Touch: Support for multi-touch devices
Gadgets: Widgets now appear on the desktop and not in a sidebar
And a Vista compatibility programme for hardware proved to be confusing and, in some cases, somewhat misleading.
Microsoft says it has "learned lessons" and had been working with partner developers to ensure the same mistakes would not be repeated.
Windows 7 will also have "comparable system requirements" to Vista, which should mean that if your PC is capable of running Vista it will also run the new version.
Microsoft embarked on a major advertising and marketing mission to improve the image of Vista after the muted reaction around its "The Wow starts now" campaign.
While Vista was released five months after the release candidate was made available, Microsoft said Windows 7 would only be released when it is ready.
Windows 7 promises a major usability improvement on Vista, and a simplification of security measures which caused frustration for many users.
Windows 7 promises to build on the security improvements in Vista, which have seen a fall in the number of malware attacks and critical vulnerabilities identified.
Many beta testers of Windows 7 have reported that it is faster than Vista, especially in terms of start-up and shutdown sequence of the computer. The Microsoft Windows team had been poring over every aspect of the operating system to make improvements.
A version of Windows 7 will also be available for netbooks, but with some caveats.
The Windows 7 Starter Edition will have limitations on how many applications can be used concurrently on a machine in order to preserve performance. |