Category — Operating Systems

It is official now! Windows 7 Beta download will be closing shortly in 3 phases.

January 27th - Users will get a warning that Windows 7 Beta download will start closing down shortly. Those who have not initiated the download and need Windows 7 Beta, must start on this date

February 10th - New downloads will be closed. Users who have already initiated the download can continue

February 12th - Download will be closed for all users. Any partial downloads cannot be continued after this date

But the Windows 7 Beta key will be available even after February 12th.

MSDN and TechNet subscribers will have access to Windows 7 Beta download, through the entire Beta period (till August 2009).

For all those waiting to obtain the official copy of Windows 7 Beta - download will be available through Windows 7 Beta site on 9 January 2009.

Few points about this Beta copy:

• Windows 7 beta will be available for download only (no links).  Also, it will be available only for the first 2.5 million users who download it
• Windows 7 beta will be available in English, German, Japanese, Arabic and Hindi. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions will be made available
• Installer will be available as an ISO Image, that has to be burned on a DVD for Install.  So make sure you have a DVD burner before starting the download
• Windows 7 Beta supports only an upgrade from Windows Vista SP1.  So if you are planning for an upgrade, make sure you have Vista SP1 installed
• Windows 7 Beta will expire on 1 August 2009
• Since Windows 7 Beta is an unreleased OS, there can be potential bugs in the product.  So make sure you backup all critical data and preferably install it as an additional OS (How to install Dual Boot Setup?)

Via Windows Team Blog

Android OS may move well beyond the mobile phones.  Couple of freelancers from Mobile-facts have succeeded in setting up Android OS on Asus EEEPC 1000H.

This proves the product policies that Google has for Android; an OS for phones and mobile internet devices (MID).  Netbooks have a huge market open for themselves, due to their high affordability and ease of use.  Right now, Netbooks are primarily powered by Linux OS, due to its smaller footprint and efficiency.  With Windows 7 eyeing the Netbook market, Android’s entry should provide a big break for Google.

Powered by a light mobile operating system and Google Chrome for bringing the desktop-like features, Android can hope for a good share in the Netbooks market.  Sometime in 2010, we can expect an official Android-powered Netbook out for the public.

Via VentureBeat

Such a crash alert cannot be a surprise for a long time Windows user. This is how Windows has been traditionally handling unexpected application crashes.

Thankfully, Windows 7 may put an end to this unhelpful way of reporting errors. Following is an example Windows 7 Crash alert:

In Windows 7, one can expect an option to cancel the non-responsive part of the application and continue working. This was conspicuously missing in all the earlier versions of Windows. This is much better than killing the entire application and offering to restart, with an option to Debug which doesn’t make sense to most of the users.

Via Windows 7 News

Windows 7 can be expected to have huge improvements, on the accessibility front.  You can read the official post here, on the accessibility features with Windows 7.

In summary:

• UI Automation framework introduced with Windows Vista, has been greatly improved.  Now, the UI Automation and the legacy Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA) system combine together with a nomenclature of Windows Automation API
• Windows Automation API enables easy development of applications, that focus on accessibility
• Windows 7 will also have more accessibility utilities, out-of-the-box.  Also the existing On-Screen Keyboard and Magnifier utilities will be enhanced
• UI Accessibility Checker (AccChecker for short) and UI Automation Verify (UIA Verify) utilities, that are developed by the Windows 7 team, will be handy for developers to validate their applications and identify Accessibility problems, to eliminate them.  This will help to greatly improve the quality of accessibility utilities and make them compatible with the current and future tools based on Windows API

So, both the developers and end users can expect improved Accessibility features with Windows 7.

Microsoft, earlier in 2008 has announced that Windows 7, a much needed successor for the troubled Windows Vista, will be released in early 2010.

But, Don Reisinger of CNET News thinks otherwise. In his recent post, he discusses why Windows 7 might hit the shelves in 2009. In a similar note, Microsoft is working hard on making Windows 7 much lighter than Vista, particularly targeting the growing Netbook market and as an alternative to Linux.