On the back of Acer president, Gianfranco Lanci's open attack on
Microsoft Windows Vista comes a serious round of speculation regarding
what might constitute Microsoft's upcoming sequel to Vista, currently
called Windows 7.0.
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More so because Microsoft remains
tight-lipped about it's next major release -- except for a few details
like Windows 7.0 will release sometime in 2010, will be a full OS
release, and will come in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
So for now, we will have to settle with what analysts say Windows 7.0 will probably look like...
For starters, they say Windows 7.0 will have less 'new' features
than it will -- improvements on some of the new ones incorporated in
Windows Vista.
For instance, Vista's Bitlocker encryption is one feature that Microsoft might want to improve upon in Windows 7.0.
Also, thanks to Vista's 'very large footprint', hardware utilization and performance is another area which needs working upon.
In this context, it would do well to recall an earlier speech by
Ben Fathi, corporate vice president of development with Microsoft's
Windows Core Operating System Division, wherein he said a 'fundamental
piece of enabling technology such as a hypervisor or a drastic change
in the UI would likely turn up in Windows 7.0'.
Analysts believe that while both a hypervisor and a new user
interface (UI) are distinct possibilities for Windows 7.0, the former
is almost a given. The reason being Microsoft would get more control
over the hardware it's OS runs on by integrating a hypervisor in
Windows 7.0.
Meanwhile, chances are Windows 7.0 might also get a touch-screen UI -- something on the lines of the Apple iPhone's UI.
And, desktop search too, a new feature built into Vista, has space
for improvement. Reportedly, Microsoft has said it will link desktop
search to Windows Server 2008 so that desktop users can search for
files on the server in addition to just local files.
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