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'Stable' Windows 7 beta goes public
Microsoft has gone public with the beta version of Vista successor Windows 7, which will be freely for available for download here from tomorrow.
The move was announced by Microsoft chairman Steve Ballmer in a keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas
He also announced the available of a new version of Windows Live, Microsoft's suite of online services. The two announcements are linked, as Vista's Calendar, Mail, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, and Contacts have been moved to Live though they can be used standalone if you download the clients.
There are the usual caveats about using beta code: don't install over a mission-critical system and back everything up. But Laurence Painell, Windows OEM and WGA marketing manager, said the public beta release is very stable. "I've been using it for a while and it has not crashed on me yet. But of course that it just with the applications I am using."
The new version has been well received by testers and certainly it looks good in demos. Gadgets can now be anywhere in the desktop rather stuck in a bar at the side but the biggest difference is in the revamped task bar.
Icons are much larger, to make them more amenable to finger control on touch screens. Multi-touch gestures are supported.
The icons are much better used, too, popping up usable views and useful menus without forcing you to maximise views.
Painell says it will run in any box that can run Vista and the Microsoft has had it running in Atom-powered netbooks.
But first impressions are that Windows 7 stands up well to the Mac OS X interface and, with its emphasis on touch control of proper mobile working platforms, should have Apple watching its back before claiming all the design crowns.We've put a lot more about Windows 7 in the next print edition of PCW.
The move was announced by Microsoft chairman Steve Ballmer in a keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas
He also announced the available of a new version of Windows Live, Microsoft's suite of online services. The two announcements are linked, as Vista's Calendar, Mail, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, and Contacts have been moved to Live though they can be used standalone if you download the clients.
There are the usual caveats about using beta code: don't install over a mission-critical system and back everything up. But Laurence Painell, Windows OEM and WGA marketing manager, said the public beta release is very stable. "I've been using it for a while and it has not crashed on me yet. But of course that it just with the applications I am using."
The new version has been well received by testers and certainly it looks good in demos. Gadgets can now be anywhere in the desktop rather stuck in a bar at the side but the biggest difference is in the revamped task bar.
Icons are much larger, to make them more amenable to finger control on touch screens. Multi-touch gestures are supported.
The icons are much better used, too, popping up usable views and useful menus without forcing you to maximise views.
Painell says it will run in any box that can run Vista and the Microsoft has had it running in Atom-powered netbooks.
But first impressions are that Windows 7 stands up well to the Mac OS X interface and, with its emphasis on touch control of proper mobile working platforms, should have Apple watching its back before claiming all the design crowns.We've put a lot more about Windows 7 in the next print edition of PCW.
Im interest to try out Windows7
Posted by Tamil Selvan | January 11, 2009 3:34 PM
I just downloaded it, I've heard its more stable then Vista! Haven't installed it yet, though. You can download it from the Microsoft download page! You have to use Internet explorer 7 or up to download it.
Posted by The Dragon Mask | January 13, 2009 5:33 PM