Microsoft to drop features in Windows 7
It seems as though Microsoft is taking complaints about bloating in Windows Vista seriously and has decided to leave a few features off the plate for Windows 7.
Features such as Windows Mail, Windows Photo Gallery and Windows Movie Maker will be left out of Windows 7. Instead, Microsoft plans to offer Windows Live equivalents of these products for free as optional downloads.
These applications, including earlier versions of them under different names (Outlook Express) have been included since Windows XP. The problem is that consumers largely complained that Microsoft confuses the consumer by offering two different applications with similar functionality. According to Brian Hall – Windows Live General Manager – the move stems from “a desire to issue operating system release more quickly than it has in the past.”
These changes could also explain why recent screenshots of Windows 7 in action portray some of the basic applications such as WordPad, Paint and Calculator having a more polished look to them. According to blogs, forums and other tech sites, some people feel that the move to remove these applications is smart one.
For the record – a lot of Internet Service Provider packages bundled with service offerings typically include things such as antivirus, firewall software and means to easily setup and access your newly created email accounts using either their customized software or other third-party vendor software. Also to mention the inclusion of Windows Mail could possibly be taking away from purchases of Outlook along with other office suite software.
Maybe it is that Microsoft feels including mail client software with its operating system is a waste of time since the introduction of Windows Live Mail – which is more portable for the consumer anyways. Portability for mail is becoming more and more common. People access their mail from home, school, work or while on vacation.
There has not been any indications of other features being dropped at this time.
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neodude007 Meh, those things are hardly bloatware. Garbage that runs all the time IMO is more of a problem. It is a nice step though to have downloadable features so they don't already come on the OS. Bloatware that doesn't run in the "background", if we can even call it that, is not an issue.Reply -
ravenware lamorpa'anyways'? Dat ain't good inglish.Reply
Alls I know is I'm get'n straight A's and that aint not bad. -
dcoaster The title of the article is misleading. Someone automatically thinks, "Oh. Typical MS cutting features because they can't make a good OS anymore..." Not the case. The removal (a better word) of the programs was intentional.Reply -
adamk890 I think its good that there leaving a few of these things out as optional downloads. For the average user its going to increase hard drive space.Reply -
jhansonxi They need to leave features for Windows 8 and this also helps by making more room for third-party OEM crapware.Reply -
chaohsiangchen Actually, Microsoft doesn't take Apple Corp as threat. They take Google as their primary competitor. We are just about to experience another bout of IT revolution that will take us from OS-centric thinking to net-centric paradigm. Microsoft is just using its advantage on OS market to lure many people to live.com instead of google.com.Reply -
godmode it would be nice if the OS came completely bare. then we can download/ add what ever feasures.Reply
the problem with vista is that there's so much unneeded background processes that eat away at system reasoures. i couldn't car less about them removing outlook or what ever. its the high amount of "always running" background processes that make vista so bloated. thats my opinion of what "bloated" means when it comes to vista anyway. -
nirvana21 It's a start. Operating Systems were never meant to be multimedia or productivity packages. The OS should come with the basics and be as stable as possible. If Microsoft wants to sell other software so be it, just don't include it as part of an OS.Reply