Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Limitations for some Windows 7 editions
One of the limitations is that some Windows 7 editions will not support all audio and video encoding. Windows 7 Starter and Home Edition will not come with AAC, MPEG-2, or H.24 support. Although, given these limitations on support, Microsoft plans to provide upgrades for those editions to add support.
Another limitation is that all Windows 7 editions run in 32-bit mode will only support up to 4 gigabytes of ram. In 64- bit Windows 7 Basic and Starter will only support up to 8 gigabytes of ram, Home Premium will support up to 16 gigabytes, and Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise will support substantially more with up 192 gigabytes of ram.
Another downfall with Windows 7 Basic and Starter is that Windows Media Player Remote Experience will not be available for either. They also will not come with Virtual XP Mode and the feature of full Aero support, but Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise will.
Finally, on servers, all Windows 7 stock-keeping units(SKU's) will support only 20 simultaneous SMB connections. This mean that it will probably only allow 10 users to share access to files, printers, serial ports, and miscellaneous communications on nodes of a network.
In conclusion it looks like Windows 7 Basic and Starter are the big losers in the limitations category. So, if someone is looking for less restrictions their best bet is to buy Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, or Enterprise
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Edition Releases and Removed Features
Microsoft's O/S, Windows 7 will be released in six different editions. Although, only two of these editions will be highly stressed. Those two will be Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional. Professional is taking the place of Windows Vista's version of the Business edition. Also, of these six editions only Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate editions will be available through retail stores.
In creating these editions Windows 7, Microsoft has either removed or changed a number of capabilities or certain programs. This is due to the fact that the features were poorly set up or they will now be available in different Windows packages that available for separate purchases.
Here is a list of several of the many features removed or changed from Windows 7.
-The Classic Start Menu interface
-Advanced Search
-Windows Media Player MiniPlayer
-Windows Ultimate Extras
-Ink Ball
-Windows Sidebar
-Removable Storage Manager
-Numeric key-pad from On Screen Keypad
Along with this, Microsoft has made Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Movie Maker, Windows Mail, and Windows Calendar a part of a separate package that you can purchase called Windows Live Essentials.
Friday, April 17, 2009
New task bar features provided by Windows 7
Windows 7 has revamped its visible interface with many new and interesting features. The feature that users are most likely to notice first and that has shown the biggest visual changes is the taskbar. Starting off, unlike previous versions, the task bar can either be placed at the bottom or top of the screen. Also, programs currently being run by the user are shown as an icon instead of a just a bar with the name of the program running (ie. If iTunes is running, the iTunes icon will be in the taskbar instead of just saying iTunes). Another feature that Microsoft has added is the ability to pin icons onto the task bar. This allows users to put frequently used programs on the task bar for quick and easy accessability. This feature reminds me a lot and is quite similar to the task bar that is used by Macintosh's operating systems. Along with this users can change the size and resolution of the icons so that more items can be pinned.
Although they added icons to the bar, Microsoft has kept the same accesibility icons on the right side. They retained the regular icons(wi-fi, sound control, date, time), but they slimmed it down by not having inactive icons pop up when the computer starts up, which aids in the computers performance.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Introduction to Operating Systems and Windows 7
Windows 7 was developed by Microsoft and is the successor to Windows Vista which was released in 2007. Currently Windows 7 has been debuted as a beta to test its functionality and gain feedback from users, and is expected to be released in full sometime in 2010. Originally Windows 7 was codenamed Blackcomb, but in 2006 developers changed the name to Vienna. Finally, in 2007, Microsoft decided on a name of Windows 7 because Microsoft claims it is their seventh OS system.
Windows 7, was intended to improve on the often crtitized Windows Vista. Although 7 is actually like Windows Vista on the back end, but it boasts a more user friendly operating system as well as improved overall performance.