What's New in Windows 7 Build 7048

With the hype around Windows 7, PC enthusiasts are paying close attention to each new build of the operating system in-the-making.

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Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
  • eddieroolz
    I hope this is the last. Can't wait for the RC!
    Reply
  • cheepstuff
    in no tine flat there is going to be some stupid jive at microsoft...
    ...or should i say M$...
    Reply
  • jsloan
    windows 7 7048 screenshots
    http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-7-Build-7048-100-Screenshots-Gallery-106289.shtml

    http://windows7center.com/windows-7-news/windows-7-build-7048-screenshots/

    windows 7 7048 benchmarks!
    http://keznews.com/5416_Windows_7_Build_7048_Benchmark

    Reply
  • rooket
    I like how you can disable MSIE in Windows 7, but I just figured out how to get msn messenger to stop launching MSIE and use Firefox instead for everything. That was my big problem. It is still nice to be able to access a browser from any explorer window you have open (control panel, file explorer, etc) but all the malware and popup problems make it entirely not worth it. Although I never had any malware/virii on vista. Nothing's perfect though, they even have malware on mac osx now.
    Reply
  • ossie
    the benchies that jsloan linked are indicating vi$hta-sp2/$even gets slower/ly to alpha state - aka rc in m$ slang - just applying the last strokes of make-up...
    Reply
  • mdillenbeck
    The best feature will be the ability to strip down the OS to just the components you want. I also think this might make it more appealing for businesses.
    Reply
  • batkerson
    And what about speed, efficiency, compatibility? Will we be able to run all those Windows XP apps that didn't run in Vista?
    Reply
  • turbolover22
    Whats with ending every article lately with a question?
    Reply
  • IamMark
    I'd really like to know what strides they made in improving performance. Windows XP is still considerably faster just doing basic OS type activities, such as viewing Windows logs, using Add/Remove Programs, etc. And my system isn't the culprit: Intel i7 920 with 6 gigs of RAM.
    Reply
  • As mentioned previously, Aero Peek is now integrated into the Alt-Tab method of switching windows -- so now keyboarders can take advantage of the new “glass” effect as well.

    This was already possible by pressing the windows logo key with TAB.

    and yes, Internet Explorer 8.
    Take note,that without at least internet explorer 5 installed you can not visit update.windows manually, and will need to rely on the systray icon to do automatic updates, or do downloads of...

    Internet Explorer 6 SP1 can be downloaded via the download center with firefox here.

    Reply