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Mak213 · 04-05-2008, 08:51 PM

Alright to stave off more and more threads being started about the next Operating System by Microsoft I have created this in effort to give you the best information possible.

Now this information is the most current info given by Microsoft. Not by any 3rd party sources or any news articles. This is the info that has been given out and can be found on the web. So here you go:

Basic information:

Windows 7, also known as "Codename Vienna" before that known as "Codename Blackcomb" is the next major version of Microsoft WindowsTM tentatively due for release in 2010.

New Features in Windows 7:

DirectX 11 - Page for info on that located here. Will update when i find a better source.

New Feature in the Kernel OS base:

Homegroup - Codename Longhorn "Castles" feature revived.
MiniWin Kernel

More on Homegroups:

In the original Longhorn implementation, Castles were intended to be a more-simplified, wizard-driven implementation of the age-old TCP/IP "workgroups" feature. HomeGroups' purpose is to make it easy for users to create secure networks groups for sharing media, files, and settings across multiple computers in a LAN.
Windows HomeGroup is officially described in this Microsoft document pertaining to the Codename Longhorn PDC implementation of "Castles"

Info on MinWin as seen on Wikipedia:

A minimalistic variation of the Windows kernel, known as MinWin, is being developed for use in Windows 7. The MinWin development efforts are aimed towards componentizing the Windows kernel and reducing the dependencies with a view to carving out the minimal set of components required to build a self-contained kernel as well as reducing the disk footprint and memory usage. MinWin takes up about 25 MB on disk and has a working set (memory usage) of 40 MB. It lacks a graphical user interface and is interfaced using a full-screen command line interface. It includes the I/O and networking subsystems. MinWin was first publicly demonstrated on October 13, 2007 by Eric Traut. The demo system included an OS image, made up of about 100 files, on which a basic HTTP server was running.

Incidentally, the name MinWin was also used earlier to refer to what is currently known as Server Core in Windows Server 2008. However, the two are quite different. While both efforts are to consolidate and componentize the core of Windows, with server core, the functionality of the OS is constrained according to server roles, and unneeded components (which will never be used as the role isn't supported) are removed from the binary image. However, the dependencies still exist in code, and the code cannot compile without the components. In contrast, with MinWin, the dependencies are consolidated into MinWin and what is not needed is removed at the code level itself. As a result, the code compiles even without any extraneous components and builds a stripped-down self-contained OS kernel image.

New Apps and stuff:

Accessories - Calculator, Paint, and more finally updated.

User Inferface Changes:

GUI changes not yet known.

Release Date:

As of this time the only information given by Microsoft is that Windows 7 will be released in 2010. There is speculation that it will hit in late 2009. But the only thing confirmed by Microsoft is that it is due out in 2010. 3 Years after Vista.

This info is about all that is known at this point. Anything else is speculation. This will be put in the Index for further reference. Okay i used the reference from Wikipedia for the MiniWin Kernel cause they have the best explination of it. It was better than jsut saying that it is a condensed form of the Windows Kernel and have people ask what it is.

Update as of July 13, 2008.

There are many news sites around the web posting about how Windows 7 will not use MinWin as the Kernel. While it has not officially been announced i would take this under serious consideration. The Kernel to be used will be a updated version of the current Windows Vista/Server 2008 Kernel. It will be revamped and reduced in size to function much more efficently. When the time comes I will make sure that i update the article to show the changes.

04-05-2008, 08:51 PM	#1 (permalink)
Mak213 Commander Super Mod Joker Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: In Trotter's crawl space Posts: 14,080	Windows 7 Fact Thread Alright to stave off more and more threads being started about the next Operating System by Microsoft I have created this in effort to give you the best information possible. Now this information is the most current info given by Microsoft. Not by any 3rd party sources or any news articles. This is the info that has been given out and can be found on the web. So here you go: Basic information: Windows 7, also known as "Codename Vienna" before that known as "Codename Blackcomb" is the next major version of Microsoft WindowsTM tentatively due for release in 2010. New Features in Windows 7: DirectX 11 - Page for info on that located here. Will update when i find a better source. New Feature in the Kernel OS base: Homegroup - Codename Longhorn "Castles" feature revived. MiniWin Kernel More on Homegroups: In the original Longhorn implementation, Castles were intended to be a more-simplified, wizard-driven implementation of the age-old TCP/IP "workgroups" feature. HomeGroups' purpose is to make it easy for users to create secure networks groups for sharing media, files, and settings across multiple computers in a LAN. Windows HomeGroup is officially described in this Microsoft document pertaining to the Codename Longhorn PDC implementation of "Castles" Info on MinWin as seen on Wikipedia: A minimalistic variation of the Windows kernel, known as MinWin, is being developed for use in Windows 7. The MinWin development efforts are aimed towards componentizing the Windows kernel and reducing the dependencies with a view to carving out the minimal set of components required to build a self-contained kernel as well as reducing the disk footprint and memory usage. MinWin takes up about 25 MB on disk and has a working set (memory usage) of 40 MB. It lacks a graphical user interface and is interfaced using a full-screen command line interface. It includes the I/O and networking subsystems. MinWin was first publicly demonstrated on October 13, 2007 by Eric Traut. The demo system included an OS image, made up of about 100 files, on which a basic HTTP server was running. Incidentally, the name MinWin was also used earlier to refer to what is currently known as Server Core in Windows Server 2008. However, the two are quite different. While both efforts are to consolidate and componentize the core of Windows, with server core, the functionality of the OS is constrained according to server roles, and unneeded components (which will never be used as the role isn't supported) are removed from the binary image. However, the dependencies still exist in code, and the code cannot compile without the components. In contrast, with MinWin, the dependencies are consolidated into MinWin and what is not needed is removed at the code level itself. As a result, the code compiles even without any extraneous components and builds a stripped-down self-contained OS kernel image. New Apps and stuff: Accessories - Calculator, Paint, and more finally updated. User Inferface Changes: GUI changes not yet known. Release Date: As of this time the only information given by Microsoft is that Windows 7 will be released in 2010. There is speculation that it will hit in late 2009. But the only thing confirmed by Microsoft is that it is due out in 2010. 3 Years after Vista. This info is about all that is known at this point. Anything else is speculation. This will be put in the Index for further reference. Okay i used the reference from Wikipedia for the MiniWin Kernel cause they have the best explination of it. It was better than jsut saying that it is a condensed form of the Windows Kernel and have people ask what it is. Update as of July 13, 2008. There are many news sites around the web posting about how Windows 7 will not use MinWin as the Kernel. While it has not officially been announced i would take this under serious consideration. The Kernel to be used will be a updated version of the current Windows Vista/Server 2008 Kernel. It will be revamped and reduced in size to function much more efficently. When the time comes I will make sure that i update the article to show the changes. __________________ Last edited by Mak213; 08-17-2008 at 08:01 PM.