Windows 7

Few events in the IT world generate as much anticipation as a new version of Windows. Despite the frenetic rate of advancement in the IT industry, new versions of the infamous Microsoft OS make hen’s teeth look like an everyday commodity. There have been only two new desktop versions of Windows since the start of the decade (XP and Vista) compared with eight versions of Mac OS, and heaven knows how many variants of Linux (Ubuntu alone spits out a new version every six months).

So when Microsoft first started talking publicly about Windows 7 a couple of months ago, the tech rumour mill went into hyperdrive. Why? Because Microsoft is, officially at least, giving very little away about the contents of its forthcoming OS.

So what can we expect to find in Windows 7? Stewart Mitchell collates the official and unofficial announcements, and talks to industry insiders to reveal what features we’re likely to see when Windows 7 launches at the turn of the decade.

Microsoft’s secrecy over Windows 7 has left many consumers and businesses with a dilemma: whether to update to Vista now or stick it out with XP until the new OS arrives in 18 months’ time. We examine the case for and against waiting for Windows 7, while MacUser editor Nik Rawlinson reveals what we can expect from the next version of Mac OS X, for those who are considering abandoning Windows altogether.

Microsoft might not be prepared to tell us exactly what’s inside Windows 7, but the PC Pro readership is more than willing to reveal exactly what it wants to see in Vista’s successor. We reveal your Windows 7 wishlist. And finally, for those who are too impatient to wait for the real thing, we show how you can get many of those predicted new Windows 7 features today. For PC Pro readers at least, Windows 7 has definitely come early.

What’s new in Windows 7
The Mac OS X alternative
Why bother at all with Vista?
What you want from Windows 7
What you can get right now