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What's gone
A couple of things have also been removed. In the beta, you could drag a folder to Libraries in Explorer and it would automatically be added as a new library. What you then have is a link to that folder in a central location, which is why libraries are useful. Microsoft then figured that some users would not appreciate the difference between links and copies and would delete the original folder, thus losing their stuff, so drag-and-drop no longer works. Kudos to Microsoft for thinking about the issue, though I suspect the link concept will still trip-up some users.
If you try to add certain kinds of network drive to your library, such as a Linux appliance stuffed with MP3 files, you get a bewildering message stating that the drive cannot be included because it is not indexed. Online help suggests that you could fix this by making it available offline, which copies all the contents locally. Not usually what you want.
There are some changes in security. One is that AutoRun is now disabled on non-optical drives. Mini USB drives with AutoRun worms were one factor in why Conficker spread so quickly, so this feature is long overdue. Another change is that the User Account Control (UAC) settings dialog now runs as a high-integrity process, countering criticism that malicious scripts could otherwise lower your protection automatically.
Jump Lists now properly supported
Touch support is enhanced in this release candidate. The touch keyboard supports multi-touch, so that the shift key now works as you would expect. Thumbnail Peek triggers previews when you drag a finger across a Taskbar preview. Press and tap simulates a right-click, when you touch an icon with one finger and tap with another. Still, whether touch Windows takes off remains an open question, depending on support from hardware vendors bitten by lacklustre Tablet PC sales, willingness of customers to pay the premium, and work from application developers who still think in terms of keyboard and mouse.
One thing that has captured a lot of attention has been news of Windows XP Mode. This was not in this particular release and will only be deployed as an add-on or by OEM vendors.
Windows XP Mode is essentially an updated Virtual PC running Windows XP SP3 and will be free for Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate users. There is desktop integration, so you can launch Windows XP applications directly from the Windows 7 start menu or Taskbar and install applications directly from a setup CD or download.
Windows XP Mode is aimed at small businesses with applications that do not work properly on Windows 7 or are incompatible with UAC. USB devices are supported, but it is not suitable for applications that require accelerated graphics. Enterprises are expected to use Microsoft's Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V), which is being updated for Windows 7.
Why the excitement? Virtualization offers compatibility and potentially removes a key reason for sticking with Windows XP - subject to the limitations of a virtual environment. But there are downsides, such as increased resource requirements and the need to patch your virtual XP as well as Windows 7 with security updates, though Windows update will automate this.
This was the RC - the last, logical step before the finished code is released as product. Microsoft is not saying when Windows 7 will be released. Officially, it'll arrive in 2010, although one executive has now publicly conceded this could happen in 2009. What would that mean? The Windows Vista RC1 appeared on September 1, 2006 and was released to manufacturing on November 8, 2006. A summer release to manufacturing (RTM) and full availability in time for the autumn looks a reasonable bet.
Microsoft's rhetoric on Windows 7 is a welcome contrast to that for Windows Vista and "the wow starts now." Nobody believed that. Now we have talk of making Windows quieter, improving performance, and improving usability. Underneath, Windows 7 is mostly the same as Windows Vista, but it is an unequivocal improvement.
Microsoft has a lot on its mind right now, with mobile and the internet, and most of the changes in the RC are minor. Give this is likely to be the last outing before the operating system is released, Windows 7 right now at least looks like a sound return to the company's core competency. ®
COMMENTS
Good but just not good enough
OK everyone but the most looney M$ fan hated Vista but my experience of Windows 7 is that it is a huge improvement over Vista and still quite a bit better than XP so congratulations for that.
However, it still doesn't compare to Mac OS X.
My wife used to run Vista on a decent spec laptop but it drove both of us crazy. She had used various flavours of Windows for years but I still must have spent at least two hours a week fixing things and helping her just to get her work done. Wireless networks were particularly problematical but the whole thing ran like an absolute dog. I bought her a MacBook and about three days after she switched, she just stopped asking for help and I probably haven't spent two hours helping since then (last July).
Five of my friends have made the same switch and all are delighted by Mac OS X. I have never met anyone who switched the other way. Perhaps they exist, but their rarity is telling.
It seems this is a Quantum Leap from XP!
..quantum leap being a very small jump indeed...
Why the hell would anyone shell out for this??? WTF does it enable me to do that XP can't? How can this "Enrich my working experience" unless I'm fuc*king the boss' daughter with it? Actually, I'd rather have a couple of days playing with swine flu. The pig'd be a better shag.
Or, Why the fuc*k would anyone want this over Ubuntu - which does _absolutely_ everything I would use XP for (except to wank over WoW games)?
Paid-for, proprietary operating systems are sooo last-century. Like VMS, RT/11, DOS, OS/2. Why can't the corporate retards see it???
OK, Ballmer, lob a chair at me. It's my missus' 50th soon, and we're one seat short for the party.
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