Microsoft Speaks on Windows 7 Technical Bits
As much as the new features of Windows 7 appear to be tailored to improve the end-user experience, Microsoft still needs to consider the corporate environment.
It might be even more important for Microsoft to make Windows 7 an attractive alternative for desktop IT professionals, as many businesses are still choosing to run Windows XP instead of Windows Vista.
To help educate on the lower-level features of the upcoming operating system, Microsoft technical fellow Mark Russinovich fielded questions over an hour-long roundtable video. The discussion covered Group Policy, BitLocker To Go, DirectAccess, BranchCache, and AppLocker then get tips on troubleshooting, deployment and application compatibility.
The Springboard Series TechNet blog features a summary in Q&A format. System admins and those interested in the more advanced features will want to check out the full post, but we’ve clipped below the most interesting bits.
Q: Is the kernel the same for Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) and Windows 7?
- A: The kernel consists of many different files; it is updated with Windows 7, but is based on the same underlying architecture.
Q: Has ReadyBoost changed from Windows Vista?
- A: ReadyBoost in Windows 7 adds support for concurrently using multiple flash devices (such as USB keys, Secure Digital cards, and internal flash devices) and for caches larger than 4 GB. ReadyBoost supports exFAT, FAT32, and NTFS file systems.
Q: You say any app that runs on Windows Vista should run on Windows 7, does that hold true for any app that runs on Windows XP? Should it run on Windows 7 as well?
- A: Since Windows Vista and Windows 7 share similar design frameworks, there is a foundation for application compatibly. Since Windows XP has a different framework, the levels of application compatibility are not the same.
Q: Will there now be a possibility to burn an .iso image file without burning software?
- A: Yes. Double-click an ISO, and Windows 7 opens a minimalistic dialog. Choose a burner, select whether or not to verify your burn, and burn/cancel.
Q: Will Microsoft support the RC [of Windows 7]?
- A: The Beta and RC are, and will be, supported via the Windows 7 Forums at http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/category/w7itpro.
Q: Will there be an Application Compatibility Toolkit available for Windows 7 like there was for Windows Vista? When might that be available?
- A: Yes. We plan on releasing an update to the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) in April to support Windows 7 pre-releases. There will also be a version corresponding with Windows 7 release to manufacturing (RTM).
Q: What kinds of improvements are being made in the area of application compatibility testing and migration?
- A: There will be a version of the Application Compatibility Toolkit to support Windows 7 available in the April 2009 timeframe. Additionally, the Windows system application compatibility fix (shim) database is constantly extended with each Windows release milestone.
Q: Why is Windows 7 more quick to start up compared to Windows Vista?
- A: In working to improve performance for startup we have focused on making improvements in the following areas:
- The efficiency of core Windows code
- Only starting certain services when they are needed (demand-start services)
- The way device drivers are initialized
- Allowing multiple device drivers to start at the same time (parallelization)
- An overall reduction in the memory and CPU required to start and run the graphics system
Q: Windows 7 performance out of the box experience does seem much better than Windows Vista, but is there anything that addresses the overall issue of performance degradation over time that plagues devices over time without having to configure or buy and configure additional third party software?
- A: Microsoft has invested in PerfTrack, an automated reporting feature in Windows that tracks the performance of over 400 experiences on the PC. Windows 7 also includes troubleshooters such as IE Performance as well as a Check for Performance Issues to help users check for performance issues over time.
Q: Will any other version of Windows be able to read BitLocker To Go "with an add-on or additional software"?
- A: Yes, you will be able to unlock and read from BitLocker files on Windows XP and Windows Vista.
the day in young! ;-)
i'm still not convinced, let's wait til tom's hardware or someother object website does some extensive benchmarks, for now looks like mucker$oft hype/spin machine in full gear, they even got the dweebs out and about proclaiming how great it is. reminds me of the blind fervour around vista.
here is the 2-cents from Linux guy
who are you referring to, Ballmer, aka Grandpa Munster? Although to be honest he looks more like Frankenstein's monster from Young Frankenstein.
ballmer:
http://www.mccullagh.org/db9/10d-7/steve-ballmer-microsoft-3.jpg
http://www.biocrawler.com/w/images/3/34/Steve_ballmer.jpg
monster:
http://giantmonster.tv/giant/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/young_frankenstein_1974.jpg
http://www.broadway.com/site_images/avelone_frankenstein.jpg
http://students.ou.edu/H/Emily.E.Holt-1/z_young.jpg
(middle one)
http://l.yimg.com/img.omg.yahoo.com/omg/us/img/de/f1/1328_932172434.jpg
then look in a mirror and stop talkin about how other ppl look, this must be by far the most stupid argument against windows ever.
ok that funny, but i run windows and develop in .net :-)
sure i'm running windows 7. been running microsoft beta's since Windows For Workgroups 3.11!
Then if you've tested Win 7 in any recent enviroment, how can you have any negitives against it? It improves on everything vista was.
They are different tools, with different purposes, and should be used as such. I have Linux Mint on my left and Windows 7 on my right and use Synergy to soft-share my mouse and keyboard between them. I can honestly say I am excited about Windows 7, as it seems much more solid and better designed than Vista ever did, and I have contributed several items to the feedback link. I am also awaiting the next Ubuntu release, Jaunty Jackalope.
For my computing requirements, having both allows me to get a ton done, no matter what my task. I don't spent time chasing my tail trying to get things to work on a platform it does not support, and I also don't try to do scripted or programmatic tasks on a platform optimized for single app GUI programs.
Blonds, Brunettes, and Redheads. Different, useful, and special in their own little way.
i agree with you that it's an improvement over vista, can you imagine if it was worse! but it's still vista. did you checkout just how much memory it was using, it's bloatware. lipstick on the vista pig. ;-) they should have given people the option not to load all that junk, should not have moved so much of it to kernel and shell. check out the size of the kernel and shell, it keeps growing as they move more drm and security stuff into kernel and into shell and have it loaded all the time whether you are using it or not. why not dynamically load it as needed, first it would speed up start up time, reduce cpu and memory utilization when not used. later i'm post some interesting facts...
First, they did.
Second, the DRM is no worse than XP. Sure, it blows compared to open source obviosly, but Microsofts DRM is one of the most succesful if not the most succesful DRM to combat piracy.
Third, Even with most of the features enabled, and an antivirus program, I've cut the start up memory usage to 418mb. Comparing this to XP, with service pack 3 and the same antivirus program, I'm looking at 397mb. So a 21 mb difference is absolutely nothing to complain about. Vista on the otherhand with SP1 reaches 900 and some, and that's without the Antivirus.
Sure, it's lipstick on a pig, if you consider the fact that the vista pig has cut off about 300 pounds, extended it's range of motion and toned up it's ass.
xp sp3 vista sp1 windows 7
commit charge 220mb 434mb 367mb
handles 5,377 7,854 9,016
threads 301 428 426
processes 20 29 32
kernel 105mb 75mb 80mb
paged 73mb 57mb 66mb
nonpaged 32mb 18mb 14mb
memory 1,023mb 1,023mb 1,023mb
available 909mb 730mb 703mb
cached 77mb 38mb 703mb
free 30mb
on windows xp home ive cut it down to like 70mb and on pro to 140mb
on vista 434mb and on windows 7 367mb. if i spend a little bit more time i can cut vista and windows 7 some more, by eliminating optional, unnecessary services, but i dont think i will come close to 140mb.