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Microsoft is doing a great job at supplying resources designed to permit insights into the next iteration of Windows. The latest content offered by the Redmond company involves a couple of eLearning Clinics on Windows 7, offered for free, just as the Win7 Snacks. Both Clinic 10077: What's New in Windows 7 for IT Professionals and Clinic 10088: What's New in Windows 7 for Information Workers are focused on providing an introduction to the successor of Windows Vista for the respective user segments. Information workers and IT professionals have a chance to see how Windows 7 tailors to their respective needs.
The “two-hour [Clinic 10088] provides you with an overview of key enhancements in Windows 7, which help information workers to improve their productivity as well as work in a more secure environment. This clinic covers the following topics: be More Productive with Windows 7; be More Secure with Windows 7; and get Connected Faster and Easier with Windows 7. Information workers completing this clinic should have experience working with previous versions of Windows,” Microsoft advised.
Microsoft started offering the Release Candidate of Windows 7 on May 5th 2009. The bits are available for public download, and access to the development milestone is of course free. Both information workers and IT professionals can download, install and test drive the next version of Windows. The two clinics will, in this respect, manage to catalyze a stronger focus on a variety of Windows 7 aspects designed to address IW and IE pros specific scenarios.
AVG Internet Security 8.5 Build 336a1515 is the latest security solution from AVG tailored to Windows 7. The software is among the products recommended by Microsoft on the Windows 7 security solutions webpage, even as the operating system is in Release Candidate stage with Build 7100 available for public download since May 5th, 2009. According to AVG, AVG Internet Security 8.5 is designed to play nice not only with Windows 7, but also with previous releases of Windows, namely Windows XP and
Windows Vista. The latest version of AVG Internet Security is part of an update the security outfit introduced to its lineup of products, including AVG Free Edition and AVG Anti-Virus, which have also been bumped up to version 8.5.
“AVG Internet Security provides multiple layers of protection to ensure nothing slips through,” reads and excerpt from the product's description. “Identity Theft Protection prevents new and unknown threats from stealing your personal information like bank and credit card details. LinkScanner checks every link, making sure you're safe searching the internet and surfing the web, minimizing the risk of you accidentally visiting a poisoned web page. Web Shield detects and blocks malware threats in file downloads and instant-messaging conversations.”
Microsoft is pointing to Windows 7 as a panacea for scenarios in which end users go hunting for codecs on the Internet struggling with file formats that are not natively supported by the Windows operating system. The promise from the Redmond company is that, with the next iteration of the Windows client, the necessary decoders will already be in place and ready to handle the formats that users will throw at them, of course with some exceptions. MPEG-4, 3GPP/3GPP2, AAC, ASP in AVI, AVCHD, HDV are the generic names for the formats supported in Windows 7.
The video decoders associated with them are H.264, MPEG-4, ASP and SP. The specific file extensions that will not present a problem when it comes down to Windows 7 are .mp4 (A, V, A + V), .m4a (A), .mov, .3gp, .3g2 (A, V, A + V), .aac (A), .avi, (V, A + V), .m2t, .m2ts, .mts (A, V, A + V). Still, Microsoft indicated that Windows 7 would not be limited to playing back local files.
“In addition to supporting local playback of new formats, we can also ensure that the content will play on devices that may not support the codec, bit rate, container, or format of that content. We accomplish this by using the new transcoding support in Windows 7,” revealed Scott Manchester, Devices & Media program management.
Microsoft has taken extensive steps in order to ensure that Windows 7 computers will be able to play the role of media hubs for home users. In addition to the native support for the new file formats, the next iteration of the Windows client is also designed to play nice with a wide range of DLNA certified devices. In this regard, Microsoft informs that it has implemented DLNA device roles and the DLNA protocols designed to permit communications and media exchange. This move has made Windows 7 capable of interoperability with TVs, stereo systems, cell phones, DVRs, game consoles, and additional devices, provided that they sport the Digital Living Network Alliance logo.
“The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) is a consortium of more than 200 companies interested in specifying technologies for exchanging media in home networks. The DLNA architecture is based on the UPnP specification, but in addition, DLNA specifies transport protocols (based on HTTP and RTP) and sets of media formats,” revealed Scott Manchester, from the Devices & Media program management team. “DLNA defines device roles (e.g. servers, players, renderers, etc.) and the protocols that these devices use to discover each other and communicate with each other (e.g. UPnP, HTTP, RTP, etc.).”
Windows 7 is a lot like Windows Vista under the covers. So, in general, programs that run fine in Windows Vista will run fine in Windows 7. That also means that, in most cases, those programs that did not run in Vista also won't run in Windows 7. There are a couple of exceptions. In particular, Microsoft has done some work to "rescue" certain applications that did not run in Vista so that they can indeed run in Windows 7.
Microsoft has also added an "XP Mode" to some versions of Windows 7 that allows programs that won't run natively in Windows 7 to run via an XP virtual machine. XP Mode does require more memory as well as a machine whose processor has hardware support for virtualization, something many older machines and some current machines don't have.
For those used to Windows XP, Windows 7 will be a significant change.
It brings with it both a lot of the good and the bad from Vista--albeit with some improvements--as well as new features of its own. It shares the more modern graphics engine, desktop search, and security architecture that are part of Windows Vista. As part of an anti-malware feature known as User Account Control, XP users will also be asked to verify certain changes to their system. Microsoft has worked to lessen the number of such prompts in Windows 7, but since XP has no similar feature, it may still seem like a lot of intrusion to some.
Windows 7 also brings features of its own, most notably the taskbar at the bottom of the screen that allows quick access not only to frequently used programs, but also one-click and two-click access to commonly used actions within those programs. Windows 7 also adds Internet Explorer 8 and built-in support for multitouch gestures, provided you have a machine with a compatible touch-screen display.
For a nice side-by-side chart comparing Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7, check out this piece from my colleague Seth Rosenblatt.
What else do you want from the error message?
It’s not just telling you it can’t connect or giving some random error number advising it cannot continue, it states that “you are not connected to the internet” which is more than adequate as far as I’m concerned.
And add in the fact you’re using a beta version of Win7 or an unofficial copy of the RC, surely you can;t read too much into it until the RTM version is released.
Windows 7 pricing is potentially an obstacle to Windows 7 adoption for some users, though in just about every other aspect the operating system is beating Vista, according to a Dell marketing executive.
"If there's one thing that may influence adoption, make things slower or cause customers to pause, it's that generally the ASPs (average selling price) of the operating systems are higher than they were for Vista and XP," Darrel Ward, director of product management for Dell's business client product group, said in a phone interview, referring to the various versions of the Windows 7 operating system that are expected to appear.
Ward continued. "In tough economic times, I think it's naive to believe that you can increase your prices on average and then still see a stronger swell than if you held prices flat or even lowered them. I can tell you that the licensing tiers at retail are more expensive than they were for Vista."
In the business market, Windows 7 Professional is expected to be more expensive than Windows Vista Business, the version that Professional is replacing, he said.
Some schools and smaller businesses may not be early adopters due to price. "Schools and government agencies may not be able to afford (the additional cost). Some of the smaller businesses may not be able to enjoy the software as soon as they'd like," Ward said.
Pricing aside, Ward said momentum behind Windows 7 is big compared with Vista. "When Vista came out we didn't have the motivation to do the types of services that we're doing now. We didn't have the clear customer demand for such services," he said. "We do have a visible number of customers, large and small, who are actually waiting for Windows 7 and who have already put plans in place to target the transition to Windows 7, they're asking Dell for help. That demand and this opportunity is stronger than it has been in the past," Ward said.
Microsoft is taking the hatchet to aspects of AutoRun in Windows 7, as it reacts to new attacks by hackers.
Autoplay is the dialog box that pops up when you connect removable media, such as flash drives to your computer. Autorun options are those which appear in the dialog box allowing you to install a program or browse files.
Autorun is typically used to start an installation program running when you first insert a CD or DVD.
However, in recent times it has become the plaything of hackers, most prominently in the spread of the Conficker worm.
Security researchers are warning that Internet users who install pirated versions of Microsoft's latest Windows 7 operating system may also be installing malicious software, too.
Experts at Atlanta-based security firm Damballa say they first noticed
hacked versions of the Windows 7 release candidate available on peer-to-peer file-sharing networks and newsgroups last week, shortly after the OS was released to developers.
Damballa found that computers with the tainted versions of Windows 7 were programmed to silently reach out to an Internet server to check for further updates, which in this case is a piece of malware that Kaspersky Antivirus calls Win32.Banload.cdk.
"The first thing this does is phone home and get a list of additional malware to install," said Tripp Cox, vice president of engineering at Damballa.
Damballa managed to grab control over the server that's contacted by the pirated Windows 7 versions -- codecs.sytes.net. -- which is how it knows how many new, compromised installations are requesting the malware. As of Monday afternoon, the company had tracked 3,452 compromised systems hitting the site, with a peak of more than 550 new infections per hour on Sunday.
It's a good idea to avoid installing software of any kind -- operating systems in particular -- downloaded from P2P networks. Bundling malware with executable and installer files is an old trick that is still quite useful and effective today. In fact, there are no shortage of shadowy pay-per-install programs that revolve around this concept, granting tiny commissions to affiliates who spread the poisoned files on P2P networks like BitTorrent. The screen shot below shows a popular pay-per-install forum where affiliates of different programs compare methods for making their poisoned installer files more attractive on P2P networks.
Microsoft is effectively giving away Windows 7 free for a year with the launch of the Release Candidate.
The Release Candidate is now available to MSDN and TechNet subscribers, and will go on unlimited, general release on 5 May.
The software will not expire until 1 June 2010, giving testers more than a year's free access to Windows 7.
"It's available to as many people who see fit to use it, although we wouldn't recommend it to just your average user," John Curran, director of the Windows Client Group told PC Pro. "We'd very strongly encourage anyone on the beta to move to the Release Candidate."
The Release Candidate includes all the features that will be available in the final version. "The Release Candidate is the near-finished product," Curran said. "It's now just final regression testing and performance enhancements."
Microsoft refused to be drawn on the final release date of Windows 7, sticking to the company line that it will be ready by January 2010, although most observers are predicting a late summer/autumn 2009 launch.
Even as Windows 7 was making its way through the Milestone releases, the operating system was praised for its consistent level of stability. At the same time, users running the Beta release of Win 7 were able to test drive hands-on a platform that didn't feel like a Beta at all. The quality of Windows 7 Build 7000 even managed to convince Doug Holland, developer at Intel Corporation since March 2007, working in the Mobility group. Holland indicated that Windows 7 Beta was very stable, compared with previous pre-release versions of Windows.
“While I do believe that Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 are very stable operating systems (...) in evaluating the stability of the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems, I compared them to previous beta operating systems and not to systems that had achieved the RTM (release to manufacturing) milestone,” Holland brought clarification to reports having him declaring the Beta of Win 7 as “incredibly stable.”
In an effort to avoid compatibility problems that plagued the launch of Windows Vista, Intel (NSDQ: INTC) is giving developers a jump on its Windows 7-based product line.
The company has released a pre-production version of Windows 7 drivers for graphics chipsets. The WDDM1.1 graphics driver is designed for "enabling the full Windows 7 experience," Intel said, noting that the driver is the result of ongoing collaboration with Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT).
"As a result of the collaboration, OEMs and beta users can stay in step with Windows 7 prereleases for smooth product development," Intel said.
Drivers allow hardware components to communicate with a computer operating system. Windows 7, the successor to Windows Vista, is expected by industry observers to be released in late 2009 or early 2010.
When Vista launched in January of last year, many hardware makers -- including Intel -- didn't have fully compatible drivers ready. The problems marked the beginning of a slew of bad press for Vista that ultimately led many businesses and consumers to reject the OS.
To avoid a repeat of those problems, Microsoft earlier this year ordered computer and other hardware makers to begin testing their devices on Windows 7 as soon as the first beta version becomes available.
Hardware makers that don't comply with the edict won't qualify for Microsoft's Windows Logo certified compatibility program for Windows 7 or Windows Vista. "Beginning with the first beta of Windows 7 all Windows Vista submissions must include a complete CPK with test logs from Windows 7," Microsoft said in a 61-page bulletin to its hardware partners.
CPK refers to a process control method used in software development.
Here's yet one more piece of evidence you're likely to see Windows 7 launch in 2009, before the announced 2010 launch date: An Intel techie calls Windows 7 "incredibly stable" and is already using a version of it as his primary operating system on his own PCs.
Doug Holland, an Intel developer, writes on his blog that
I have now been using the Windows Server 2008 R2 beta and Windows 7 beta builds for some time and have found them to be incredibly stable. I am now using the Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta "Aero Enabled" Workstation as the primary OS on both my personal notebook and desktop and would do so also on my corporate notebook if our IT department allowed.
This is very good news for Microsoft, because Intel made big news in 2008 when it announced that it wasn't going upgrade to Vista, and would instead stay with Windows XP.
At the time Microsoft, to say the least, was not pleased. The news had to especially gall Microsoft because Microsoft had launched its ill-fated Vista "Junk PC" suit on behalf of Intel. Documents in the case show that Intel pressured Microsoft into putting "Vista Capable" stickers on PCs with Intel 915 chipsets, even though PCs with those chipsets couldn't run Aero or other parts of Vista.
You can try this compatibilty fix find it on amd forums You can use AMD Overdrive successfully in Windows 7! The link below is a copy of AMD Overdrive (2.15) that has been extracted from the installer package. Just copy the files over to the relevant folders and the program will run perfectly. It seems to run without copying over any of the windows folders so that step may not be necessary.There doesn't seem to be any compatibility issues beyond the superficial ones imposed by the installer.
Use this at your own risk... AMD has NOT officially released AOD for Windows 7 so this may have unexpected consequences. I take no responsibility for issues that may occur as a result of using AOD in Windows 7.
It's lovely to see how ATi/AMD ***s over customers with Windows 7 support. In Beta Catalyst driver pack is support for Mobility Radeon HD2000 and higher. Why not X1xxx series? Im forced to use old "aero-choppy" WDDM 1.0 driver model in Seven. I hoped there will be support for this OS at least, because ATi ***s over Vista support and "WE" laptop users with ATi graphics ca just suck nuts because we are forced to use crappy mobility modder to get our GPUs to work with "is it even compatible" latest drivers.
ATi/AMD came with crappy slow Phenoms and they even dont want to stick with their customers in driver support.
Motto: Buy our cheap and fast graphics and you will get no support (I think that this is the same situation like with S3 Graphics).
My next GPU will be from nVidia (i hate those guys) because I have guarantee to get support for my card.
AMD hat auf seiner hauseigenen Homepage heute einen ersten, öffentlichen Grafiktreiber für Windows 7 online gestellt, was den Verdacht ein weiteres Mal erhärtet, dass Windows 7 schon im Sommer nächsten Jahres kommt. Trotz des frühen Stadiums werden bereits eine Reihe von Grafikkarten unterstützt, namentlich die HD 2000-, 3000- und 4000-Serie - sowohl Desktop- als auch Mobilelineup - sowie die AMD-IGP-Chipsätze 780G, 780V und 790GX.
Der Treiber wiegt in der 32 Bit-Version rund 48 MB, in der 64 Bit-Version knapp 53 MB.
Den Release Notes lässt sich entnehmen, dass der Treiber unter anderem noch kein OpenGL unterstützt sowie sämtliche Funktionen entweder gar nicht funktionieren oder nur sehr instabil, weswegen dem Download auch folgender Hinweis beigefügt ist:
"Note: This driver is provided as is and is not supported by AMD. It has not completed full AMD testing."
Microsoft wird voraussichtlich noch in diesem Jahr die erste, öffentliche Beta von Windows 7 herausgeben. Spätestens dann sollte auch ein entsprechender Nvidia-Treiber parat stehen.
Would Microsoft release Windows 7 next year? The rumor mill has been grinding away about the possibility these past few weeks, and AMD has just added fuel to the fire. As PC Watch reports, AMD showed an interesting slide during its presentation at the Cutting Edge IT & Electronics Comprehensive Exhibition (CEATEC) event near Tokyo.
Under the title, "What to Expect in 2009," the AMD slide lists a number of items: the move to 40nm process technology, the arrival of the OpenCL general-purpose GPU API, widespread use of GDDR5 memory, consumer GPGPU applications, "HD+" televisions, and... Windows 7. To be more specific, the slide says "Windows 7 and DirectX 11" on one line.
PC Watch doesn't say much on the subject, so it's not fully clear what AMD was referring to there. Perhaps the firm let slip Microsoft's release schedule, or perhaps it's just talking about getting drivers working with pre-release versions of the OS. Judging by the context, though, it certainly looks like AMD expects Windows 7 to come out next year.
A 2009 launch sounds plausible, too. Microsoft has apparently been cutting fat from the OS by removing apps like Windows Mail, Windows Photo Gallery, and Windows Movie Maker. Also, recent reports have claimed Microsoft's internal calendar sets the Windows 7 "gold" date in early June. According to ZDNet's Ed Bott, Microsoft would have to trim the OS's beta cycle to get it out before next summer, but that schedule "would be downright leisurely compared to the one Microsoft followed for Windows XP, which was launched in October 2001, only 20 months after its predecessor, Windows 2000."
You might have read our article about the Windows 7 Tech Guarantee Program back in November which basically stated that Windows Vista users might receive a free Windows 7 upgrade depending on the time of their purchase. Some new information came to light that have not been confirmed yet by Microsoft.
Techarp, a technology website, has listed the requirements for receiving a free Windows 7 upgrade. They do mention that the program is optional meaning that not all OEMs might participate.
A new PC has to be purchased between July 1, 2009 and a date that has not been announced yet. A pre-installed version of either Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate has to be supplied with the PC that must have a valid Certificate of Authenticity (COA) attached.
The upgrade paths are straightforward:
1. Windows Vista® Home Premium -> Windows® 7 Home Premium
2. Windows Vista® Business -> Windows® 7 Professional
3. Windows Vista® Ultimate -> Windows® 7 Ultimate
The first 64-bit version of Windows 7 has been apparently leaked as signs of it begin to appear on various torrent websites. The full file name is said to be 7000.0.081212-1400_client_en-us_Ultimate-GB1CULXFRE_EN_DVD.ISO with a file size of 3.15 Gigabytes.
The CES 2009 keynote by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is just around the corner and it does not really make much sense to download the leaked release as the official public beta version will also be released in the coming days.
Reports early this week suggested a bug in the Windows 7 Beta that cut of parts of the beginning of mp3 files under certain circumstances. The bug was later confirmed by Microsoft officials who reassured the public that the issue would not be a problem in the public beta release of Windows 7. Microsoft has released a patch for the mp3 bug that only Technet or MSDN subscribers can download currently from official sources. Many websites (Redmondpie) have posted the patch on their website from where it can be downloaded and applied on 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows 7.
Microsoft confirmed that the patch will be supplied via automatic updates and that a public Knowledgebase article is in the making. It is probably safe to say that automatic updates will list the page before January 9 to ensure that all beta downloaders get the patch before they start working with mp3 files on Windows 7.a beta product key though.
We have already mentioned about two months ago that DirectX 11 will ship with the final release of Windows 7. Several users in the Windows 7 Forum have now reported that DirectX 11 is already included in the Windows 7 Beta build that is being released publicly today.
While the official English Windows 7 site is still not showing signs of the Windows 7 Beta the Chinese (English translation)Microsoft Technet website is already offering Windows 7 Beta as a 32-bit and 64-bit download for all beta languages. Users need a Windows Live login before they can download the beta version and the site seems to have some troubles at the moment spilling out errors when trying to download it. Some users are already downloading the official beta release from the Technet site.
Update:
The download link on the English page is up.
Update 2:
Due to very heavy traffic we’re seeing as a result of interest in the Windows 7 Beta, we are adding some additional infrastructure support to the Microsoft.com properties before we post the public beta. We want to ensure customers have the best possible experience when downloading the beta, and I’ll be posting here again soon once the beta goes live. Stay tuned! We are excited that you are excited!
Update 3:
Direct Download link has been posted. Click on the following download links to download the 32-bit or 64-bit English ISO directly. You still need to get a beta product key though.
Yesterday was a very busy day for Microsoft. The first official download links for Windows 7 Beta releases started to appear on the Chinese Technet website. Some users, like Riso from the Windows 7 forum, managed to get their holds on the beta. They did receive the beta key and the ISO download. Others who got there minutes afterwards noticed that the site was serving pages slowly and that errors started to occur regularly. Many were able to fill out the form on the first page but got an error message when the download link and product key of Windows 7 were supposed to appear.
Other Microsoft websites began to include the link to the beta download of Windows 7 on their websites but it soon became obvious that all Microsoft servers were crumbling under the heavy load. Later that day the direct download links became known and users started to download the official releases but they still did not receive the keys.
The official sites are not displaying links to download the Windows 7 Beta anymore. They tell the users that the beta release has been postponed because of the high demand. The interesting thing though is that the servers that are distributing the keys are still online and that keys are still handed out. The problem is that those servers are not used to the amount of traffic that they are currently receiving and that an error message will be shown most of the time before a valid Windows 7 Beta product key will be displayed. Here is what you need to do:
Download and Install the Firefox add-on Check For Change. The add-on can be used to refresh a website in a specified interval. It will stop that if the selected display on the website changes.
Sign In on the Microsoft Technet Website. If you do not sign in you will be redirected if you try to open one of the following two urls: (copy and paste the links, do not click on them)
32-bit: https://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/scripts/gcs.aspx?Product=tn-win7-32-ww&LCID=1033
64-bit: https://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/scripts/gcs.aspx?Product=tn-win7-64-ww&LCID=1033
You will most likely see Error: The site is currently experiencing technical difficulties, please check back in the next business day.
Select the text, right-click and chose Check4Change, Check every 15 seconds.
The Firefox add-on willl automatically refresh the website every 15 seconds. It will stop doing so once the display on the website changes. You could do this manually but some users mentioned that they refreshed the website for hours before receiving a product key.
Microsoft has decided to lift the 2.5 million user limit they initially planned as a response to the release chaos on January 9. The announcement was posted yesterday on the The Windows Blog:
I know many of you have had issues with the Windows 7 Beta site over the last 24 hours. As you may have noticed the download site has been up and running smoothly since this morning. That said, we apologize for the inconvenience that it caused some of you.
Due to an enormous surge in demand, the download experience was not ideal so we listened and took the necessary steps to ensure a good experience. We have clearly heard that many of you want to check out the Windows 7 Beta and, as a result, we have decided remove the initial 2.5 million limit on the public beta for the next two weeks (thru January 24th). During that time you will have access to the beta even if the download number exceeds the 2.5 million unit limit.
Thank you for your enthusiasm, interest and willingness to beta test. It has been great to see the positive early reviews and feedback. As you know, this is a beta product. We are working hard to get Windows 7 ready and right. Your input is a critical part of that process. Thank you!
The Technet China website was update today. It is the first site that is showing information about the Windows 7 Beta in the Technet Evaluation Center. Windows 7 is mentioned twice on the page. The first is a short paragraph about the Windows 7 Beta. A link will be added at a later time that will lead to download links.
Windows 7 Beta
Windows 7 to explore ways to help IT organizations to better manage and protect client infrastructure, and learn more about IT professionals can increase productivity of important new features. Exploration in the organization to test, as well as the deployment of Windows 7 necessary tools and resources.
developer Kaspersky has released a first technical preview version of the upcoming Kaspersky Anti-virus solution for Windows 7. The release can be downloaded directly from the Kaspersky ftp site. Its current version is 8.0.0.1015. Below is the full Kaspersky press release:
Kaspersky Lab, a leading developer of secure content management systems, announces the release of a technical prototype of Kaspersky Anti-Virus for Windows 7.
Windows 7 is the next release of the Microsoft Windows operating system which will replace Windows Vista and is a step forward in the development of Microsoft operating systems. The new OS will incorporate enhanced reliability, greater efficiency, an improved interface and extended working features both in global and local information networks.
The technical preview is a complex solution for securing computers running under Windows 7. The prototype includes not only an antivirus component but an effective and fully functional firewall and anti-spam filter.
At the heart of the new technical prototype is Kaspersky Lab’s new antivirus engine which is even more effective at detecting malicious programs than its predecessor. The new engine dramatically increases system scanning speed thanks to improved processing of objects and optimized use of system resources, particularly on dual- and quad-core processor platforms. The unique product architecture ensures high productivity and one of the lowest uses of system resources in the industry.
The technical preview includes a highly effective heuristic analyzer. The heuristic analyzer detects and blocks as yet unknown malicious programs. If a program signature is not included in the antivirus databases, i.e., the malicious program is unknown, the heuristic analyzer will safely launch the program in an isolated virtual environment, analyze the program’s actions and conclude with a high degree of probability whether it is potentially harmful before it is launched in a live environment.
In addition, the technical prototype includes a new user interface developed to meet the needs of both inexperienced and advanced users.
It is probably fair to say that the Windows 7 builds that have been floating around on the Internet are very stable and that only a handful of minor errors have been reported yet. According to Neowin the latest two builds of Windows 7 that leaked to the Internet may damage mp3 files under certain circumstances.
The problem was first recognized by users who noticed that the first few seconds of their mp3 files had been cut off. Some thought it was related to bad crossfading first but it soon turned out that the data was not there anymore. Many users thought it was caused by Windows Media Player 12 but it turned out to be a global problem.
It does however only happen under the following circumstances: The first few seconds of a mp3 file will be cut in Windows 7 if the header of the mp3 file is larger than 16 Kilobytes and if meta data is written to the file. Some media players are able to automatically add missing meta data which is the most likely cause.
The changes are irreversible and it is advised to backup the mp3 collection before using them in the current builds of Windows 7. A Microsoft employee has confirmed the bug in the forum. According to his statement Microsoft is working on a hotfix for the problem.
According to him the public beta which will be released in early January will not be affected by the problem.
Windows 7 offers an interesting new option when a software program becomes unresponsive. Windows 7 offers to try to cancel the non-responsive command of a process instead of just killing the process or offering to restart the application.
The user can continue working with the application if the cancellation of the non-responsive command is successful. This essentially means that the chance of loosing data is slim to none one a successful cancellation.
The success rate of this new method is not known currently but it did work quite well during tests. This is definitely the better - and safer - option than to simply kill the application or restart it. Both methods that have been used in previous Windows versions usually meant that some data would be lost in the process.
Microsoft is doing a great job at supplying resources designed to permit insights into the next iteration of Windows. The latest content offered by the Redmond company involves a couple of eLearning Clinics on Windows 7, offered for free, just as the Win7 Snacks. Both Clinic 10077: What's New in Windows 7 for IT Professionals and Clinic 10088: What's New in Windows 7 for Information Workers are focused on providing an introduction to the successor of Windows Vista for the respective user segments. Information workers and IT professionals have a chance to see how Windows 7 tailors to their respective needs.
