Microsoft plans major Windows 7 announcement

or Virtualisation!

I'm guessing the ability to fry iPods over USB.

rkpatrick Just as an FYI, I've actually run VisiCalc in Windows 7. And, yes, it works fine.

serious response, the visualization of XP inside windows 7 for backward compatibility? ala Rosetta?

@meason. That would be an announcement, that is.

mikegalos: I suspected as much given that it's MS' favorite compatibility demo, but do find it amusing that it's always made to be such a big deal. Now the big question is what are YOU doing running VisiCalc?

SoftGird client must be #1 - which opens the door for some easy client install scenarios over the internet. I would also bet MS still has some touch based announcements up its sleave. There's a great ch9 video about softgrid.

rkpatrick, Actually, I was curious to see if I still remembered enough of the commands to actually work with VisiCalc since It's been 28 years since I worked with it.

App V in Windows 7 would only be a Major Announcement for corporate users and only some at that. Free Upgrade for Vista users = Major Announcement but only for non-software insurance users of Vista, home users etc. Our Enterprise agreement gives us Vista and will give us 7 since it runs out in the fall of 2010. Perhaps we will use more 7 than we did Vista, which would be 2 or more copies of 7:)

Lindy: "App V in Windows 7 would only be a Major Announcement for corporate users and only some at that." I think universal application backwards compatibility would be a very big deal for all users, not just "some corporate users". For example, I had to setup Virtual PC on my wife's Vista box just so she can run one critical application in Windows XP that refuses to run in Vista. I know of several other home users that have stuck with XP for similar reasons - application and/or hardware driver incompatibilities with Vista. If Windows 7 was able to remove these issues as a roadblock to the migration away from Windows XP then I would call that a very major announcement.

So (one of) the "big announcements" is virtualization? I mean, that's what I got from the PC Pro article (after reading some of the comments here on the SS blog). Well, I don't know how that'll benefit me, at least not know, so I hope there are other "big announcements" that I can be excited about :-) C'mon Thurrott, spill it! I don't think it's a final release date, as guessed by the Information Week article, since most people think 7 will come out later this year. I have to say, I don't know what Paul has been hinting about. I did no get virtualization from any of his articles.

An upgrade path from Windows XP to 7 ??

I'm betting it'll be a free "upgrade". Sweet.

Lindy: "How many Joe computer users are going to know what that is?" It depends completely on how Microsoft markets the SoftGrid feature. If they say "Windows 7 - now with application virtualization compatibility" then I agree that Joe Computer User will not care one iota. However, if Microsoft says "Windows 7 - all of your old applications will work, 100% guaranteed" then Joe Computer User will see that as a major benefit. They won't need to worry about whether the new computer they want to purchase with Windows 7 will run their 8 year old Broderbund PrintCrap 2000 or Where in the Hell is Carmen Boca del Vista. You'd be amazed how many people - especially the Joe Computer Users - are still running the same versions of the software they bought back in the Win98/XP days. I'd say that the majority of ordinary, non-technical computer users have at least one piece of old software they would like to use but can't because it won't run correctly or at all on Vista. There's simply a huge amount of abandonware out there that hasn't seen a new version since 2005 and probably never will.

I am hoping for a new UI.

There will be a version of Windows 7 depending on your age. So in the store you'll see boxes of Windows 7 with the box clearly market "For age 27". "For age 28". They will then check your ID to confirm your age and that you have purchased the correct version. Microsoft - making things easier. (not) (tm)

Shark And you're being much too kind...

I doubt it is Softgrid that some have mentioned here...thats too much of an enterprise solution. We haven't heard much about "morro" security so maybe thats one announcement. maybe..virtualization maybe..partners implementing touch maybe..upgrade path for vista users really..it could be anything.

I've been hearing in rumors that Microsoft was prepping something specifically as a direct answer to SnowLeopard. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

@lotsamystuff: I'm not sure if it's that I haven't been paying attention but more like I don't see virtualization being something that I would use (at least not now), so it probably just blew over my head. Or maybe I didn't read the article where Paul hinted virtualization. The Supersite for Windows is my favorite Windows news site but I don't read all the articles, say, for example, when Paul talks about Windows Home Server. I don't have one, nor I see myself buying one, so I skip those reviews/articles.

"Texas bans Microsoft Vista from Government Use" http://www.tuaw.com/2009/04/02/texas-bans-microsoft-vista-from-governmen... What a wonderful endorsement of Windows.

Microsoft still creating dodgy ads. http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/09/04/03/microsofts_lauren_ad_faked... Microsoft, fake, contrived marketing has been going on for years.

Hopefully this is something useful feature-wise rather than something 'special' about release dates etc. If it gives Win7 its killer feature etc. then it may be worth buying

"And that was the best you could come up with? I guess that over the years, your best was never good enough." OK? Are you not even 13 then? Whoa! Concentrate on school, dude. This tech stuff isn't going anywhere. Trolling Windows sites isn't going to get you a job with Apple when you grow up. Someone seems to have misled you. Oh, these kids. They believe everything they hear.

Snake There's never been any question of where I'm "allowed" to post. It's just a personal choice to avoid intentional "confusion" by the less intellectually gifted members here. Do you really think that Microsoft Corporation has an official stance on how old robertsjoe is? And, for the record, I have no idea what announcements Laurence Painell had in mind.