Windows 7 RC Will Be Different Than The Current Beta Version
As compared with the beta version of Windows 7, the release candidate will show a few changes, even the feature set is frozen, according to the announcement made into a post published on the Engineering Windows 7 blog. The full functionality of the Windows 7 beta version determined a high quality feedback from users, which will be reflected into the operating system release candidate. The changes will improve the performance, compatibility and fix various existing bugs. (related article: Dual Boot Windows 7 And XP Easily: Windows 7 Installation Directly From XP Without A LiveDVD)
The desktop experience will be different because the release candidate will have new functionality based on Windows flip (ALT + TAB) with Aero Peek, simplified keyboard shortcuts (Windows Logo + <#> for quick launch of applications), taskbar scaling, desktop icon and gadget view options and more.
Mouse and keyboard usage enhancements are represented by Aero Peek for touch, multi-touch touch keyboard, multi-touch right-click and selection through drag and drop. The networking support in the taskbar notification area is improved with the Internet access feedback to give a better user experience, by the introduction of an overlay icon which shows the local connections without Internet access.
The Control Panel area will be also modified in the Windows 7 Release Candidate. The changes will be performed over the User Account Control functionality (described in a previous article: Security Issues Related To User Account Control (UAC) In Windows 7 Will Be Fixed), machine security – now the machine locking is possible without a screensaver, power management (faster access to High Performance power plan) and Windows themes.
Regarding the multimedia experience, Windows Media Player will deliver a better playback for Internet Radio and video content from digital camcorders and cameras, a cleaner Now Playing view, filtering options for the content that cannot be played, resume for sleep and other. The sound quality will have a higher quality: the headphone experience is improved, as well as the overall audio reliability.
Windows Explorer and Libraries will ensure the support for FAT32 and NTFS formatted hard drives, while the ability to drag and drop folders into Libraries nodes will be removed in order to eliminate user confusion.
Windows 7 Release Candidate performance is optimized based on users feedback data. The entire optimization mechanism, as well as the list of changes in the Windows 7 Release Candidate can be seen on the Engineering Windows 7 blog. Also, test updates are available since January, 24 2009 for Windows 7 Beta (build 7000) powered computers.
Related Articles
