The 7 Beta is more stable than other versions we have been using for a few months. It is said that the new Bets is a kind of code that users could roll out and live with. All the previous Betas were solid, but this one is complete. It is also written that Beta will expire on July 1, 2009. You can get a copy of the new version by searching on internet, although you are technically not supposed to grab a copy till now.

Windows server 2008 will solely be an x64 platform, which is going to be the most prominent feature of R2 release. As the current server class hardware is capable of 64-bit computing, the release of R2 will make the upgrade to x64 platforms a real surprise. There is still time to get a 2008 release of Windows on 32-bit platform, before the R2 is finally released. So, it is better to go for it now in order to play the applications, which might not go well on x64 platforms.

Apart from processor changes, some other features of R2 release of Windows server 2008 are:

Hyper- V improvements – As an improvement to initial release of Quick Migration, Hyper-V is planned to offer Live migration, which will measure the migration time in milliseconds. It will also include a support for additional processors and a second level translation (SLAT).

PowerShell 2.0 – It is available in a beta release and customer technology preview capacity, but will be fully loaded with features along with the Windows Server 2008 R2 release. There are over 240 new commands and graphic user interface included in PowerShell 2.0. Users will be able to install it on windows server core.

Core Parking – It will assess the amount of processing across the systems with multiple core and certain configuration, which will suspend the new work to be sent to the cores. It can also be sent to a sleep mode with the core idle feature that will also reduce the overall power consumption of the system.

It is sure that all the new features will add great functionality to the Windows serve admin. Although, the removal of x86 support is not a surprise, but the whole process needs to be set in a motion in order to address any legacy applications.

As per Microsoft, the new operating system is designed to function as an enhanced version of Vista. Microsoft hopes to undo the damage it suffered because of Vista, which was heavily criticized for being a system hogging operating system that slowed down computers tremendously with unnecessary features.

Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president of Windows, announced at the Microsoft developers’ conference in Los Angeles that Microsoft had learnt a heavy lesson from the failures of Vista and therefore, Windows 7 is being made fully compatible with all the relevant devices and applications.

A major innovation unveiled by Microsoft was the touchscreen functionality, that will enable users to operate the cursor without using a mouse.

The new OS is also going to feature the following:

• Faster boot-up times
• Updated task bar that includes previews of Open Windows,
• A new desktop look
• A set of features optimized for laptops.
• Option to automatically configure settings for different networks.

Windows 7 will ditch some prominent features that were included in Vista, such as Calendar, Windows Mail, Movie Maker, Contacts and Photo Gallery. However, for people who need them, it will be available for free download from the Microsoft website.

Vista’s dismal performance is proved by the fact that although Microsoft operating systems still run on around 90 percent of the world’s personal computers, Vista has only been able to obtain an 18 percent share since its launch.

The growing success of Apple’s Mac computers has hit Microsoft where it hurts. Moreover, things are not being helped by the switch of many computing functions to mobile phones and the Internet.

Even Google is trying to gnaw out a share from Microsoft’s Office Suite clientèle and has been launching online word processors, spreadsheets and presentation programs.

In reply, Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it would release free online versions of Office and that they would be advertising to promote the same. However, fears run ripe that offering an online version would have inverse effect and cannibalize Microsoft’s most profitable line of products.

However, as per Rob Helm, senior analyst at research firm Directions, both Windows 7 and Office Online would have positive impact for Microsoft. He was quoted as saying, “Both are good improvements, Windows 7 will help Microsoft overcome the weakness of Vista, while Web-based Office is a direct response to Google. Many businesses will like it because they have lots of users who don’t use many of the Office features.”

Windows 7 sounds simple, effective and conveys the message. The best point is that it seems much different from the rest of the long names that have come from the Microsoft stable. Windows 7 seems fresh and unique, a point that is conveyed by the fact that it is the shortest name of any Windows consumer release.

How did they come up with the name Windows 7? Well, Windows 7 is going to be the seventh major consumer release of Windows so logically, the first thought in mostly everyone’s mind was that the name was on the basis of this factor. Windows 7 would be Microsoft’s 7th consumer release after the following six:

1. Windows 3.1
2. Windows 95
3. Windows 98
4. Windows ME
5. Windows XP
6. Windows Vista

However, as per Microsoft Windows Vice President Mike Nash, the name is arrived at by building numbers of the versions, excluding their compatibility:

1. Windows 1.0
2. Windows 2.0
3. Windows 3.0
4. Windows 3.1
5. Windows 3.11
6. Windows NT 3.1
7. Windows NT 3.5
8. Windows 95 (4.0)
9. Windows 98 (4.0.1998)
10. Windows 98SE (4.10.2222)
11. Windows ME (4.90.3000)
12. Windows 2000 (5.0)
13. Windows XP (5.1)
14. Windows Vista (6.0)
15. Windows 7 (6.1)

As Mike Nash explained, Window 7 was not built as 7.0 in order to maximize its application compatibility with the Windows Vista applications.

He reportedly stated that, “We learned a lot about using 5.1 for XP and how that helped developers with version checking for API compatibility. We also had the lesson reinforced when we applied the version number in the Windows Vista code as Windows 6.0– that changing basic version numbers can cause application compatibility issues.
”
With Windows 7 build number as 6.1, many doubts arise about the validity of this decision and fears of a mass confusion are omnipresent. However, most of these doubts are seemingly baseless, since it really would not be the first time that an operating system will have a different product version from the actual inner workings of the Operating System, which is called the kernel.

Let us take the case of the latest version of Ubuntu 8.10, which uses the Linux kernel version 2.6.27. Another example would be Apple OS X 10.5.5, which is based on the modified version of Mach 3.0 kernel.

The Windows 7 is shaping up to be a promising OS and Microsoft have seemingly for the first time got its naming procedure right. The damages that Microsoft Vista suffered at the hands of Apple through those ‘Mac vs. PC’ commercial have apparently had the right effect on Microsoft. Windows 7 seems disconnected with the damaged Vista brand and it’s not likely to be haunted by the negative preconceived notions that surrounded Vista. Unless Apple is able to trash Windows 7 in the same way as it did with Windows Vista, this version is likely repair Microsoft’s reputation in the OS field to a huge extent.

So, lets go ahead and see what these editions have to offer. We will first talk about the four versions that are available through retail and OEM channels:

Windows Vista Home Basic Edition: This edition has been particularly designed for budget users who do not require support of advanced media and has many similarities with Windows XP Home. Vista Ultimate states, “The Windows Aero UI with translucent effects is not included with this edition. The 64-bit Home Basic will support up to 8GB of physical memory”.

Windows Vista Home Premium Edition: Along with the features of Home Basic, this edition has such additional features as, HDTV support and DVD authoring. Also included are extra games, mobile and tablet PC, network projector, touchscreen and auxiliary display (via Windows SideShow) support, and a utility to schedule backups. These features will specially cater to the multimedia requirements of the home market segment. Vista Ultimate states, “Home Premium supports 10 simultaneous peer network connections (compared to 5 in Home Basic). The included Meeting Space will also allow for interaction (in Home Basic, you may only view meetings), but Remote Desktop sessions may only be received, not controlled. ”

Windows Vista Business Edition: This edition has been primarily designed for the business market segment and can be compared with the Windows XP Professional and XP Tablet PC Edition. This edition is loaded with all Home Premium features, the exceptions being Windows Media Center, Parental Controls and Windows DVD and Movie Maker HD. The additional features as stated by Vista Ultimate are, “The additional features in Windows Vista Business is an IIS web server, fax support, Rights Management Services (RMS) Client, file encryption, dual processor (two sockets) support, system backup and recovery, offline file support, a full version of Remote Desktop, ad-hoc P2P collaboration capabilities, Previous Versions (Windows ShadowCopy), and several other business features not in Home Premium”.

Windows Vista Ultimate Edition: This edition is a dream come true for all PC enthusiasts, gamers and power users. Windows Vista Ultimate, as the name suggests, is at its powerful best. Talking about this edition’s powerful features, Vista ultimate says, “This edition combines all the features of Home Premium and Enterprise, and includes a game performance tweaker (WinSAT), special customer support services and exclusive downloads dubbed Ultimate Extras. The 64-bit version will support up to 128GB of physical memory.”

Let’s now turn our focus towards the two remaining editions, which most of us in the ‘First World’ would not essentially resort to. These include:

Windows Vista Starter Edition: This edition, like the Windows XP Starter, will cater to markets only in India, Colombia, Thailand, and Indonesia. This edition has been brought out by Windows Vista as an attempt to cure the epidemic of widespread software piracy in these nations. Highlighting the limitations of this edition, Vista Ultimate states, “This edition has significant limitations, e.g. 32-bit only, allows the user to work on only 3 applications at a time, does not accept incoming network connections and a physical memory limit of 256MB. In addition, only AMD’s Duron, Sempron and Geode processors, and Intel’s Celeron and Pentium III CPUs are supported”.

Windows Vista Enterprise Edition: A superset of Windows Vista Business, this edition targets the enterprise segment. Vista Ultimate talks about this editions added attractions, saying, “Additional features include a multi-lingual UI, BitLocker Drive Encryption, and UNIX application support. Windows Vista Enterprise will not be available through retail or OEM channels, but only through Microsoft Software Assurance. Since this edition is a benefit of Software Assurance (SA), it will include several SA-only benefits, e.g. license allowing multiple virtual machines to run, access to Virtual PC Express, and activation via VLK. The 64-bit version will support up to 128GB of physical memory”.

Trying to assist confused Windows Vista users upon their choice of the edition that will be best suited to their needs, Vista Ultimate remarks, “Now lets answer the million dollar question of which edition you should buy. For starters, we think Home Basic should be totally ignored and business users should get the Business edition (duh!). The choice between Home Premium and Ultimate is trickier, i.e. you are paying between $100 to $150 more for yet-to-be-known Ultimate Extras - the main benefit of Windows Vista Ultimate. So unless you have a fetish for videos on your desktop or the option to get the OEM version of Ultimate, Home Premium seems to give the best bang for the buck for home users”.

Go ahead. Take your pick!

“Apple’s free Bootcamp ver 1.1.2 (beta) lets you install Windows on your Mac and select the OS of choice by holding down the Option key at startup.

Commercial alternatives are available in the form of virtualization software like VMware’s Fusion (Free - currently in beta) and Parallels’ Desktop for Mac ($79.99). They offer more features like the capability to run in 64-bit, switching from Mac to Windows Vista without a reboot and running Windows Vista in a window within Mac’s OS X”.

Microsoft, prioritizing security, has constructed a wall around virtualization, which many have conceived purely as a business move. This is so because the virtualization software’s 14-page agreement prohibits the use of the least expensive versions of Vista, allowing the purchase of the $299 Business or the $399 Ultimate editions only. Vista Ultimate points out other such bans, stating,

“The license agreement also prohibits virtualization programs from using Windows Vista’s BitLocker data-encryption service or from playing music, video or other content wrapped in Microsoft’s copyright-protection technology”.

So, which software do you think will suit you the best?

Well, the answer to this straightforward question is pretty simple. Microsoft has released a new Security Center assessment feature that has been incorporated in the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.1, that was released in June 2008. This new feature creates a auto-generated security assessment report for your desktops as part of the “Windows Vista Hardware Assessment” migration report.

There is also a video available that would guide you, as to how to use the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit (MAP Toolkit). Do check it out:

Acknowledging the utility and vitality of the Previous Versions feature, the Windows Vista Place blogpost quoted, “This is a really helpful feature that has saved me numerous times! It essentially makes incremental back-ups of your work - so if you accidentally delete content, you can find it again and recover it with a single click. Anyone who has modified a document and clicked “save” instead of “save as” will appreciate Previous Versions! ”

Do check out this great Windows Vista feature to know how easily you can retrieve the parts / versions of a document that you may have unintentionally deleted!

With this software, you would now be able to burn .iso images to CD or DVD on Windows Vista. This software works fairly well with both Windows Vista x64 and Windows Vista x86 editions.

You can download this new software from ISO Recorder v3 (Vista edition).

On the above-mentioned blog post, Ben Reed stated, “In this video I talk about Certified for Windows Vista software from a security, reliability, performance and compatibility perspective. The video shows how easy and seamless it is to install a Certified for Windows Vista software application. To demonstrate that, I have chosen CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 to be installed on an HP Pavilion dv9000z”.