Windows 7 sp1 дата выхода

13.11.09, Пт, 18:00, Мск,

Российский сайт wsor.net раскрыл информацию о разработке первого пакета обновлений для новой ОС Windows 7. Ранее этот российский ресурс уже предоставлял точные сведения по данной теме. По информации wzor.net, окончательный вариант первого «сервис-пака» будет готов осенью 2010 года.
 

Несмотря на то, что Windows 7 вышла совсем недавно, корпорация Microsoft (досье) уже занимается разработкой первого пакета обновлений для своей новой операционной системы. Wsor.net сообщает, что работы над Windows 7 Service Pack 1 и Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 ведутся с конца сентября 2009 года. Windows 7 Service Pack1 будет состоять из двух бета-версий и двух релиз-кандидатов (Release Candidate). Релиз-кандидатом называют последнюю тестовую версию программного продукта перед выходом официального релиза.

Первая бета-версия Windows 7 SP1 будет доступна для тестеров уже в декабре 2009 года, а в свободном доступе она окажется в январе 2010 года. Производители компьютеров получат Windows 7 SP1 летом 2010 года. Окончательная версия первого пакета обновлений, так называемая RTM версия, будет готова осенью 2010 года.

Точная дата выхода первого «сервис-пака» для Windows 7 пока остается неизвестной. Однако, очевидно, что на этот раз Microsoft торопится с выпуском обновлений. Между релизом Windows Vista и выходом первого Service Pack к ней прошло около полутора лет. В нем содержалось примерно 300 исправлений к первоначальной версии Vista.

Компания Gartner (досье) не советует ждать выхода Windows 7 SP 1 для начала развертывания новой операционной системы. Аналитики предлагают начать работу по переходу сейчас, не ожидая выхода SP1, особенно если компания пропустила Windows Vista.

Microsoft Windows was announced by Bill Gates on November 10, 1983, 2 years before it was first released.^[1] Microsoft introduced Windows as a graphical user interface for MS-DOS, which had been introduced two years earlier, on August 12, 1981. The product line evolved in the 1990s from an operating environment into a fully complete, modern operating system over two lines of development, each with their own separate codebase.

The first versions of Windows (1.0 through to 3.11) were graphical shells that ran from MS-DOS. Windows 95, though still being based on MS-DOS, was its own operating system. Windows 95 also had a significant amount of 16-bit code ported from Windows 3.1.^[2][3][4] Windows 95 introduced multiple features that have been part of the product ever since, including the Start menu, the taskbar, and Windows Explorer (renamed File Explorer in Windows 8). In 1997, Microsoft released Internet Explorer 4 which included the (at the time controversial) Windows Desktop Update. It aimed to integrate Internet Explorer and the web into the user interface and also brought new features into Windows, such as the ability to display JPEG images as the desktop wallpaper and single window navigation in Windows Explorer. In 1998, Microsoft released Windows 98, which also included the Windows Desktop Update and Internet Explorer 4 by default. The inclusion of Internet Explorer 4 and the Desktop Update led to an antitrust case in the United States. Windows 98 included USB support out of the box, and also plug and play, which allows devices to work when plugged in without requiring a system reboot or manual configuration. Windows Me, the last DOS-based version of Windows, was aimed at consumers and released in 2000. It introduced System Restore, Help and Support Center, updated versions of the Disk Defragmenter and other system tools.

In 1993, Microsoft released Windows NT 3.1, the first version of the newly developed Windows NT operating system, followed by Windows NT 3.5 in 1994, and Windows NT 3.51 in 1995. «NT» is an initialism for «New Technology».^[3] Unlike the Windows 9x series of operating systems, it was a fully 32-bit operating system. NT 3.1 introduced NTFS, a file system designed to replace the older File Allocation Table (FAT) which was used by DOS and the DOS-based Windows operating systems. In 1996, Windows NT 4.0 was released, which included a fully 32-bit version of Windows Explorer written specifically for it, making the operating system work like Windows 95. Windows NT was originally designed to be used on high-end systems and servers, but with the release of Windows 2000, many consumer-oriented features from Windows 95 and Windows 98 were included, such as the Windows Desktop Update, Internet Explorer 5, USB support and Windows Media Player. These consumer-oriented features were further extended in Windows XP in 2001, which included a new visual style called Luna, a more user-friendly interface, updated versions of Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer 6 by default, and extended features from Windows Me, such as the Help and Support Center and System Restore. Windows Vista, which was released in 2007, focused on securing the Windows operating system against computer viruses and other malicious software by introducing features such as User Account Control. New features include Windows Aero, updated versions of the standard games (e.g. Solitaire), Windows Movie Maker, and Windows Mail to replace Outlook Express. Despite this, Windows Vista was critically panned for its poor performance on older hardware and its at-the-time high system requirements. Windows 7 followed in 2009 nearly three years after its launch, and despite it technically having higher system requirements,^[5][6] reviewers noted that it ran better than Windows Vista.^[7] Windows 7 removed many applications, such as Windows Movie Maker, Windows Photo Gallery and Windows Mail, instead requiring users to download separate Windows Live Essentials to gain some of those features and other online services. Windows 8, which was released in 2012, introduced many controversial changes, such as the replacement of the Start menu with the Start Screen, the removal of the Aero interface in favor of a flat, colored interface as well as the introduction of «Metro» apps (later renamed to Universal Windows Platform apps), and the Charms Bar user interface element, all of which received considerable criticism from reviewers.^[8][9][10] Windows 8.1, a free upgrade to Windows 8, was released in 2013.^[11]

The following version of Windows, Windows 10, which was released in 2015, reintroduced the Start menu and added the ability to run Universal Windows Platform apps in a window instead of always in full screen. Windows 10 was generally well-received, with many reviewers stating that Windows 10 is what Windows 8 should have been.^[12][13][14]

The latest version of Windows, Windows 11, was released to the general public on October 5, 2021. Windows 11 incorporates a redesigned user interface, including a new Start menu, a visual style featuring rounded corners, and a new layout for the Microsoft Store,^[15] and also included Microsoft Edge by default.

Windows 1.0, the first independent version of Microsoft Windows, released on November 20, 1985, achieved little popularity. The project was briefly codenamed «Interface Manager» before the windowing system was implemented—contrary to popular belief that it was the original name for Windows and Rowland Hanson, the head of marketing at Microsoft, convinced the company that the name Windows would be more appealing to customers.^[16]

Windows 1.0 was not a complete operating system, but rather an «operating environment» that extended MS-DOS, and shared the latter’s inherent flaws.

The first version of Microsoft Windows included a simple graphics painting program called Windows Paint; Windows Write, a simple word processor; an appointment calendar; a card-filer; a notepad; a clock; a control panel; a computer terminal; Clipboard; and RAM driver. It also included the MS-DOS Executive and a game called Reversi.

Microsoft had worked with Apple Computer to develop applications for Apple’s new Macintosh computer, which featured a graphical user interface. As part of the related business negotiations, Microsoft had licensed certain aspects of the Macintosh user interface from Apple; in later litigation, a district court summarized these aspects as «screen displays».
In the development of Windows 1.0, Microsoft intentionally limited its borrowing of certain GUI elements from the Macintosh user interface, to comply with its license. For example, windows were only displayed «tiled» on the screen; that is, they could not overlap or overlie one another.

On December 31, 2001, Microsoft declared Windows 1.0 obsolete and stopped providing support and updates for the system.

During the mid to late 1980s, Microsoft and IBM had cooperatively been developing OS/2 as a successor to DOS. OS/2 would take full advantage of the aforementioned protected mode of the Intel 80286 processor and up to 16 MB of memory. OS/2 1.0, released in 1987, supported swapping and multitasking and allowed running of DOS executables.

IBM licensed Windows’ GUI for OS/2 as Presentation Manager, and the two companies stated that it and Windows 2.0 would be almost identical.^[17] Presentation Manager was not available with OS/2 until version 1.1, released in 1988. Its API was incompatible with Windows. Version 1.2, released in 1989, introduced a new file system, HPFS, to replace the FAT file system.

By the early 1990s, conflicts developed in the Microsoft/IBM relationship. They cooperated with each other in developing their PC operating systems and had access to each other’s code. Microsoft wanted to further develop Windows, while IBM desired for future work to be based on OS/2. In an attempt to resolve this tension, IBM and Microsoft agreed that IBM would develop OS/2 2.0, to replace OS/2 1.3 and Windows 3.0, while Microsoft would develop the next version, OS/2 3.0.

This agreement soon fell apart however, and the Microsoft/IBM relationship was terminated. IBM continued to develop OS/2, while Microsoft changed the name of its (as yet unreleased) OS/2 3.0 to Windows NT. Both retained the rights to use OS/2 and Windows technology developed up to the termination of the agreement; Windows NT, however, was to be written anew, mostly independently (see below).

After an interim 1.3 version to fix up many remaining problems with the 1.x series, IBM released OS/2 version 2.0 in 1992. This was a major improvement: it featured a new, object-oriented GUI, the Workplace Shell (WPS), that included a desktop and was considered by many to be OS/2’s best feature. Microsoft would later imitate much of it in Windows 95. Version 2.0 also provided a full 32-bit API, offered smooth multitasking and could take advantage of the 4 gigabytes of address space provided by the Intel 80386. Still, much of the system had 16-bit code internally which required, among other things, device drivers to be 16-bit code as well. This was one of the reasons for the chronic shortage of OS/2 drivers for the latest devices. Version 2.0 could also run DOS and Windows 3.0 programs, since IBM had retained the right to use the DOS and Windows code as a result of the breakup.

Microsoft Windows version 2.0 (2.01 and 2.03 internally) came out on December 9, 1987, and proved slightly more popular than its predecessor. Much of the popularity for Windows 2.0 came by way of its inclusion as a «run-time version» with Microsoft’s new graphical applications, Excel and Word for Windows. They could be run from MS-DOS, executing Windows for the duration of their activity, and closing down Windows upon exit.

Microsoft Windows received a major boost around this time when Aldus PageMaker appeared in a Windows version, having previously run only on Macintosh. Some computer historians^[who?] date this, the first appearance of a significant and non-Microsoft application for Windows, as the start of the success of Windows.

Like prior versions of Windows, version 2.0 could use the real-mode memory model, which confined it to a maximum of 1 megabyte of memory. In such a configuration, it could run under another multitasker like DESQview, which used the 286 protected mode. It was also the first version to support the High Memory Area when running on an Intel 80286 compatible processor. This edition was renamed Windows/286 with the release of Windows 2.1.

A separate Windows/386 edition had a protected mode kernel, which required an 80386 compatible processor, with LIM-standard EMS emulation and VxD drivers in the kernel. All Windows and DOS-based applications at the time were real mode, and Windows/386 could run them over the protected mode kernel by using the virtual 8086 mode, which was new with the 80386 processor.

Version 2.1 came out on May 27, 1988, followed by version 2.11 on March 13, 1989; they included a few minor changes.

In Apple Computer, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., version 2.03, and later 3.0, faced challenges from Apple over its overlapping windows and other features Apple charged mimicked the ostensibly copyrighted «look and feel» of its operating system and «embodie[d] and generated a copy of the Macintosh» in its OS. Judge William Schwarzer dropped all but 10 of Apple’s 189 claims of copyright infringement, and ruled that most of the remaining 10 were over uncopyrightable ideas.^[18]

On December 31, 2001, Microsoft declared Windows 2.x obsolete and stopped providing support and updates for the system.

Windows 3.0, released in May 1990, improved capabilities given to native applications. It also allowed users to better multitask older MS-DOS based software compared to Windows/386, thanks to the introduction of virtual memory.

Windows 3.0’s user interface finally resembled a serious competitor to the user interface of the Macintosh computer. PCs had improved graphics by this time, due to VGA video cards, and the protected/enhanced mode allowed Windows applications to use more memory in a more painless manner than their DOS counterparts could. Windows 3.0 could run in real, standard, or 386 enhanced modes, and was compatible with any Intel processor from the 8086/8088 up to the 80286 and 80386. This was the first version to run Windows programs in protected mode, although the 386 enhanced mode kernel was an enhanced version of the protected mode kernel in Windows/386.

Windows 3.0 received two updates. A few months after introduction, Windows 3.0a was released as a maintenance release, resolving bugs and improving stability. A «multimedia» version, Windows 3.0 with Multimedia Extensions 1.0, was released in October 1991. This was bundled with «multimedia upgrade kits», comprising a CD-ROM drive and a sound card, such as the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Pro. This version was the precursor to the multimedia features available in Windows 3.1 (first released in April 1992) and later, and was part of Microsoft’s specification for the Multimedia PC.

The features listed above and growing market support from application software developers made Windows 3.0 wildly successful, selling around 10 million copies in the two years before the release of version 3.1. Windows 3.0 became a major source of income for Microsoft, and led the company to revise some of its earlier plans. Support was discontinued on December 31, 2001.^[19]

In response to the impending release of OS/2 2.0, Microsoft developed Windows 3.1 (first released in April 1992), which included several improvements to Windows 3.0, such as display of TrueType scalable fonts (developed jointly with Apple), improved disk performance in 386 Enhanced Mode, multimedia support, and bugfixes. It also removed Real Mode, and only ran on an 80286 or better processor. Later Microsoft also released Windows 3.11, a touch-up to Windows 3.1 which included all of the patches and updates that followed the release of Windows 3.1 in 1992.

In 1992 and 1993, Microsoft released Windows for Workgroups (WfW), which was available both as an add-on for existing Windows 3.1 installations and in a version that included the base Windows environment and the networking extensions all in one package. Windows for Workgroups included improved network drivers and protocol stacks, and support for peer-to-peer networking. There were two versions of Windows for Workgroups – 3.1 and 3.11. Unlike prior versions, Windows for Workgroups 3.11 ran in 386 Enhanced Mode only, and needed at least an 80386SX processor. One optional download for WfW was the «Wolverine» TCP/IP protocol stack, which allowed for easy access to the Internet through corporate networks.

All these versions continued version 3.0’s impressive sales pace. Even though the 3.1x series still lacked most of the important features of OS/2, such as long file names, a desktop, or protection of the system against misbehaving applications, Microsoft quickly took over the OS and GUI markets for the IBM PC. The Windows API became the de facto standard for consumer software.

On December 31, 2001, Microsoft declared Windows 3.1 obsolete and stopped providing support and updates for the system. However, OEM licensing for Windows for Workgroups 3.11 on embedded systems continued to be available until November 1, 2008.^[20]

Meanwhile, Microsoft continued to develop Windows NT. The main architect of the system was Dave Cutler, one of the chief architects of VAX/VMS at Digital Equipment Corporation.^[21] Microsoft hired him in October 1988 to create a successor to OS/2, but Cutler created a completely new system instead. Cutler had been developing a follow-on to VMS at DEC called MICA, and when DEC dropped the project he brought the expertise and around 20 engineers with him to Microsoft.

Windows NT Workstation (Microsoft marketing wanted Windows NT to appear to be a continuation of Windows 3.1) arrived in Beta form to developers at the July 1992 Professional Developers Conference in San Francisco.^[22] Microsoft announced at the conference its intentions to develop a successor to both Windows NT and Windows 3.1’s replacement (Windows 95, codenamed Chicago), which would unify the two into one operating system. This successor was codenamed Cairo. In hindsight, Cairo was a much more difficult project than Microsoft had anticipated and, as a result, NT and Chicago would not be unified until Windows XP—albeit Windows 2000, oriented to business, had already unified most of the system’s bolts and gears, it was XP that was sold to home consumers like Windows 95 and came to be viewed as the final unified OS. Parts of Cairo have still not made it into Windows as of 2025: most notably, the WinFS file system, which was the much touted Object File System of Cairo. Microsoft announced in 2006 that they would not make a separate release of WinFS for Windows XP and Windows Vista^[23] and would gradually incorporate the technologies developed for WinFS in other products and technologies, notably Microsoft SQL Server.

Driver support was lacking due to the increased programming difficulty in dealing with NT’s superior hardware abstraction model. This problem plagued the NT line all the way through Windows 2000. Programmers complained that it was too hard to write drivers for NT, and hardware developers were not going to go through the trouble of developing drivers for a small segment of the market. Additionally, although allowing for good performance and fuller exploitation of system resources, it was also resource-intensive on limited hardware, and thus was only suitable for larger, more expensive machines.

However, these same features made Windows NT perfect for the LAN server market (which in 1993 was experiencing a rapid boom, as office networking was becoming common). NT also had advanced network connectivity options and NTFS, an efficient file system. Windows NT version 3.51 was Microsoft’s entry into this field, and took away market share from Novell (the dominant player) in the following years.

One of Microsoft’s biggest advances initially developed for Windows NT was a new 32-bit API, to replace the legacy 16-bit Windows API. This API was called Win32, and from then on Microsoft referred to the older 16-bit API as Win16. The Win32 API had three levels of implementation: the complete one for Windows NT, a subset for Chicago (originally called Win32c) missing features primarily of interest to enterprise customers (at the time) such as security and Unicode support, and a more limited subset called Win32s which could be used on Windows 3.1 systems. Thus Microsoft sought to ensure some degree of compatibility between the Chicago design and Windows NT, even though the two systems had radically different internal architectures.

Windows NT was the first Windows operating system based on a hybrid kernel. The hybrid kernel was designed as a modified microkernel, influenced by the Mach microkernel developed by Richard Rashid at Carnegie Mellon University, but without meeting all of the criteria of a pure microkernel.

As released, Windows NT 3.x went through three versions (3.1, 3.5, and 3.51), changes were primarily internal and reflected back end changes. The 3.5 release added support for new types of hardware and improved performance and data reliability; the 3.51 release was primarily to update the Win32 APIs to be compatible with software being written for the Win32c APIs in what became Windows 95. Support for Windows NT 3.51 ended in 2001 and 2002 for the Workstation and Server editions, respectively.

After Windows 3.11, Microsoft began to develop a new consumer-oriented version of the operating system codenamed Chicago. Chicago was designed to have support for 32-bit preemptive multitasking like OS/2 and Windows NT, although a 16-bit kernel would remain for the sake of backward compatibility. The Win32 API first introduced with Windows NT was adopted as the standard 32-bit programming interface, with Win16 compatibility being preserved through a technique known as «thunking». A new object-oriented GUI was not originally planned as part of the release, although elements of the Cairo user interface were borrowed and added as other aspects of the release (notably Plug and Play) slipped.

Microsoft did not change all of the Windows code to 32-bit; parts of it remained 16-bit (albeit not directly using real mode) for reasons of compatibility, performance, and development time. Additionally it was necessary to carry over design decisions from earlier versions of Windows for reasons of backwards compatibility, even if these design decisions no longer matched a more modern computing environment. These factors eventually began to impact the operating system’s efficiency and stability.

Microsoft marketing adopted Windows 95 as the product name for Chicago when it was released on August 24, 1995. Microsoft had a double gain from its release: first, it made it impossible for consumers to run Windows 95 on a cheaper, non-Microsoft DOS, secondly, although traces of DOS were never completely removed from the system and MS DOS 7 would be loaded briefly as a part of the booting process, Windows 95 applications ran solely in 386 enhanced mode, with a flat 32-bit address space and virtual memory. These features make it possible for Win32 applications to address up to 2 gigabytes of virtual RAM (with another 2 GB reserved for the operating system), and in theory prevented them from inadvertently corrupting the memory space of other Win32 applications. In this respect the functionality of Windows 95 moved closer to Windows NT, although Windows 95/98/Me did not support more than 512 megabytes of physical RAM without obscure system tweaks. Three years after its introduction, Windows 95 was succeeded by Windows 98.

IBM continued to market OS/2, producing later versions in OS/2 3.0 and 4.0 (also called Warp). Responding to complaints about OS/2 2.0’s high demands on computer hardware, version 3.0 was significantly optimized both for speed and size. Before Windows 95 was released, OS/2 Warp 3.0 was even shipped pre-installed with several large German hardware vendor chains. However, with the release of Windows 95, OS/2 began to lose market share.

It is probably impossible to choose one specific reason why OS/2 failed to gain much market share. While OS/2 continued to run Windows 3.1 applications, it lacked support for anything but the Win32s subset of Win32 API (see above). Unlike with Windows 3.1, IBM did not have access to the source code for Windows 95 and was unwilling to commit the time and resources to emulate the moving target of the Win32 API. IBM later introduced OS/2 into the United States v. Microsoft case, blaming unfair marketing tactics on Microsoft’s part.

Microsoft went on to release five different versions of Windows 95:

• Windows 95 – original release
• Windows 95 A – included Windows 95 OSR1 slipstreamed into the installation
• Windows 95 B (OSR2) – included several major enhancements, Internet Explorer (IE) 3.0 and full FAT32 file system support
• Windows 95 B USB (OSR2.1) – included basic USB support
• Windows 95 C (OSR2.5) – included all the above features, plus IE 4.0; this was the last 95 version produced

OSR2, OSR2.1, and OSR2.5 were not released to the general public, rather, they were available only to OEMs that would preload the OS onto computers. Some companies sold new hard drives with OSR2 preinstalled (officially justifying this as needed due to the hard drive’s capacity).

The first Microsoft Plus! add-on pack was sold for Windows 95. Microsoft ended extended support for Windows 95 on December 31, 2001.

Microsoft released the successor to NT 3.51, Windows NT 4.0, on August 24, 1996, one year after the release of Windows 95. It was Microsoft’s primary business-oriented operating system until the introduction of Windows 2000. Major new features included the new Explorer shell from Windows 95, scalability and feature improvements to the core architecture, kernel, USER32, COM and MSRPC.^[24]

Windows NT 4.0 came in five versions:

• Windows NT 4.0 Workstation
• Windows NT 4.0 Server
• Windows NT 4.0 Server, Enterprise Edition (includes support for 8-way SMP and clustering)
• Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server
• Windows NT 4.0 Embedded

Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows NT 4.0 Workstation on June 30, 2002, and ended extended support on June 30, 2004, while Windows NT 4.0 Server mainstream support ended on December 31, 2002, and extended support ended on December 31, 2004. Both editions were succeeded by Windows 2000 Professional and the Windows 2000 Server Family, respectively.^[25][26][27]

Microsoft ended mainstream support for Windows NT 4.0 Embedded on June 30, 2003, and ended extended support on July 11, 2006. This edition was succeeded by Windows XP Embedded.

On June 25, 1998, Microsoft released Windows 98 (code-named Memphis), three years after the release of Windows 95, two years after the release of Windows NT 4.0, and 21 months before the release of Windows 2000. It included new hardware drivers and the FAT32 file system which supports disk partitions that are larger than 2 GB (first introduced in Windows 95 OSR2). USB support in Windows 98 is marketed as a vast improvement over Windows 95. The release continued the controversial inclusion of the Internet Explorer browser with the operating system that started with Windows 95 OEM Service Release 1. The action eventually led to the filing of the United States v. Microsoft case, dealing with the question of whether Microsoft was introducing unfair practices into the market in an effort to eliminate competition from other companies such as Netscape.^[28]

In 1999, Microsoft released Windows 98 Second Edition, an interim release. One of the more notable new features was the addition of Internet Connection Sharing, a form of network address translation, allowing several machines on a LAN (Local Area Network) to share a single Internet connection. Hardware support through device drivers was increased and this version shipped with Internet Explorer 5. Many minor problems that existed in the first edition were fixed making it, according to many, the most stable release of the Windows 9x family.^[29]

Mainstream support for Windows 98 and 98 SE ended on June 30, 2002. Extended support ended on July 11, 2006.

Microsoft released Windows 2000 on February 17, 2000, as the successor to Windows NT 4.0, 17 months after the release of Windows 98. It has the version number Windows NT 5.0, and it was Microsoft’s business-oriented operating system starting with the official release on February 17, 2000, until 2001 when it was succeeded by Windows XP. Windows 2000 has had four official service packs. It was successfully deployed both on the server and the workstation markets. Amongst Windows 2000’s most significant new features was Active Directory, a near-complete replacement of the NT 4.0 Windows Server domain model, which built on industry-standard technologies like DNS, LDAP, and Kerberos to connect machines to one another. Terminal Services, previously only available as a separate edition of NT 4, was expanded to all server versions. A number of features from Windows 98 were incorporated also, such as an improved Device Manager, Windows Media Player, and a revised DirectX that made it possible for the first time for many modern games to work on the NT kernel. Windows 2000 is also the last NT-kernel Windows operating system to lack product activation.

While Windows 2000 upgrades were available for Windows 95 and Windows 98, it was not intended for home users.^[30]

Windows 2000 was available in four editions:

• Windows 2000 Professional
• Windows 2000 Server
• Windows 2000 Advanced Server
• Windows 2000 Datacenter Server

Microsoft ended support for both Windows 2000 and Windows XP Service Pack 2 on July 13, 2010.

On September 14, 2000, Microsoft released a successor to Windows 98 called Windows Me, short for «Millennium Edition». It was the last DOS-based operating system from Microsoft. Windows Me introduced a new multimedia-editing application called Windows Movie Maker, came standard with Internet Explorer 5.5 and Windows Media Player 7, and debuted the first version of System Restore – a recovery utility that enables the operating system to revert system files back to a prior date and time. System Restore was a notable feature that would continue to thrive in all later versions of Windows.

Windows Me was conceived as a quick one-year project that served as a stopgap release between Windows 98 and Windows XP. Many of the new features were available from the Windows Update site as updates for older Windows versions (System Restore and Windows Movie Maker were exceptions). Windows Me was criticized for stability issues, as well as for lacking real mode DOS support, to the point of being referred to as the «Mistake Edition».^[31] Windows Me was the last operating system to be based on the Windows 9x (monolithic) kernel and MS-DOS, with its successor Windows XP being based on Microsoft’s Windows NT kernel instead.

On October 25, 2001, Microsoft released Windows XP (codenamed «Whistler»). The merging of the Windows NT/2000 and Windows 95/98/Me lines was finally achieved with Windows XP. Windows XP uses the Windows NT 5.1 kernel, marking the entrance of the Windows NT core to the consumer market, to replace the aging Windows 9x branch. The initial release was met with considerable criticism, particularly in the area of security, leading to the release of three major Service Packs. Windows XP SP1 was released in September 2002, SP2 was released in August 2004 and SP3 was released in April 2008. Service Pack 2 provided significant improvements and encouraged widespread adoption of XP among both home and business users. Windows XP was one of Microsoft’s longest-running flagship operating systems, beginning with the public release on October 25, 2001, for at least 5 years, and ending on January 30, 2007, when it was succeeded by Windows Vista.

Windows XP is available in a number of versions:

• Windows XP Home Edition, for home users
• Windows XP Professional, for business and power users contained a number of features not available in Home Edition.
• Windows XP N, like above editions, but without a default installation of Windows Media Player, as mandated by a European Union ruling

• Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE), released in October 2002 for desktops and notebooks with an emphasis on home entertainment. Contained all features offered in Windows XP Professional and the Windows Media Center. Subsequent versions are the same but have an updated Windows Media Center.
  • Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004, released on September 30, 2003
  • Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, released on October 12, 2004. Included the Royale theme, support for Media Center Extenders, themes and screensavers from Microsoft Plus! for Windows XP. The ability to join an Active Directory domain is disabled.
• Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, for tablet PCs
  • Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005
• Windows XP Embedded, for embedded systems
• Windows XP Starter Edition, for new computer users in developing countries
• Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, released on April 25, 2005, for home and workstation systems utilizing 64-bit processors based on the x86-64 instruction set originally developed by AMD as AMD64; Intel calls their version Intel 64. Internally, XP x64 was a somewhat updated version of Windows based on the Server 2003 codebase.
• Windows XP 64-bit Edition, is a version for Intel’s Itanium line of processors; maintains 32-bit compatibility solely through a software emulator. It is roughly analogous to Windows XP Professional in features. It was discontinued in September 2005 when the last vendor of Itanium workstations stopped shipping Itanium systems marketed as «Workstations».

On April 25, 2003, Microsoft launched Windows Server 2003, a notable update to Windows 2000 Server encompassing many new security features, a new «Manage Your Server» wizard that simplifies configuring a machine for specific roles, and improved performance. It is based on the Windows NT 5.2 kernel. A few services not essential for server environments are disabled by default for stability reasons, most noticeable are the «Windows Audio» and «Themes» services; users have to enable them manually to get sound or the «Luna» look as per Windows XP. The hardware acceleration for display is also turned off by default, users have to turn the acceleration level up themselves if they trust the display card driver.

In December 2005, Microsoft released Windows Server 2003 R2, which is actually Windows Server 2003 with SP1 (Service Pack 1), together with an add-on package.
Among the new features are a number of management features for branch offices, file serving, printing and company-wide identity integration.

Windows Server 2003 is available in six editions:

• Web Edition (32-bit)
• Enterprise Edition (32 and 64-bit)
• Datacenter Edition (32 and 64-bit)
• Small Business Server (32-bit)
• Storage Server (OEM channel only)

Windows Server 2003 R2, an update of Windows Server 2003, was released to manufacturing on December 6, 2005. It is distributed on two CDs, with one CD being the Windows Server 2003 SP1 CD. The other CD adds many optionally installable features for Windows Server 2003. The R2 update was released for all x86 and x64 versions, except Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition, which was not released for Itanium.

On April 25, 2005, Microsoft released Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003, x64 Editions in Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter SKUs. Windows XP Professional x64 Edition is an edition of Windows XP for x86-64 personal computers. It is designed to use the expanded 64-bit memory address space provided by the x86–64 architecture.^[32]

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition is based on the Windows Server 2003 codebase, with the server features removed and client features added. Both Windows Server 2003 x64 and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition use identical kernels.^[33]

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition is not to be confused with Windows XP 64-bit Edition, as the latter was designed for Intel Itanium processors.^[34][35] During the initial development phases, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition was named Windows XP 64-Bit Edition for 64-Bit Extended Systems.^[36]

In July 2006, Microsoft released a thin-client version of Windows XP Service Pack 2, called Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (WinFLP). It is only available to Software Assurance customers. The aim of WinFLP is to give companies a viable upgrade option for older PCs that are running Windows 95, 98, and Me that will be supported with patches and updates for the next several years. Most user applications will typically be run on a remote machine using Terminal Services or Citrix.

While being visually the same as Windows XP, it has some differences. For example, if the screen has been set to 16 bit colors, the Windows 2000 recycle bin icon and some XP 16-bit icons will show. Paint and some games like Solitaire aren’t present too.

Windows Home Server (code-named Q, Quattro) is a server product based on Windows Server 2003, designed for consumer use. The system was announced on January 7, 2007, by Bill Gates. Windows Home Server can be configured and monitored using a console program that can be installed on a client PC. Such features as Media Sharing, local and remote drive backup and file duplication are all listed as features. The release of Windows Home Server Power Pack 3 added support for Windows 7 to Windows Home Server.

Windows Vista was released on November 30, 2006, to business customers—consumer versions followed on January 30, 2007. Windows Vista intended to have enhanced security by introducing a new restricted user mode called User Account Control, replacing the «administrator-by-default» philosophy of Windows XP. Vista was the target of much criticism and negative press, and in general was not well regarded, this was seen as leading to the relatively swift release of Windows 7.

One major difference between Vista and earlier versions of Windows, Windows 95 and later, was that the original start button was replaced with the Windows icon in a circle (called the Start Orb). Vista also featured new graphics features, the Windows Aero GUI, new applications (such as Windows Calendar, Windows DVD Maker and some new games including Chess, Mahjong, and Purble Place),^[37] Internet Explorer 7, Windows Media Player 11, and a large number of underlying architectural changes. Windows Vista had the version number NT 6.0. During its lifetime, Windows Vista had two service packs.

Windows Vista shipped in six editions:^[38]

• Starter (only available in developing countries)
• Home Basic
• Home Premium
• Business
• Enterprise (only available to large business and enterprise)
• Ultimate (combines both Home Premium and Enterprise)

All editions (except Starter edition) were available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. The biggest advantage of the 64-bit version was breaking the 4 gigabyte memory barrier, which 32-bit computers cannot fully access.

Windows Server 2008, released on February 27, 2008, was originally known as Windows Server Codename «Longhorn». Windows Server 2008 built on the technological and security advances first introduced with Windows Vista, and was significantly more modular than its predecessor, Windows Server 2003.

Windows Server 2008 shipped in ten editions:

• Windows Server 2008 Foundation (for OEMs only)
• Windows Server 2008 Standard (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2008 Enterprise (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2008 Datacenter (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems (IA-64)
• Windows HPC Server 2008
• Windows Web Server 2008 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Storage Server 2008 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Small Business Server 2008 (64-bit only)
• Windows Essential Business Server 2008 (32-bit and 64-bit)

Windows 7 was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and reached general retail availability on October 22, 2009.^[39][40] Since its release, Windows 7 had one service pack.

Some features of Windows 7 were faster booting, Device Stage, Windows PowerShell, less obtrusive User Account Control, multi-touch, and improved window management. The interface was renewed with a bigger taskbar and some improvements in the searching system and the Start menu.^[41] Features included with Windows Vista and not in Windows 7 include the sidebar (although gadgets remain) and several programs that were removed in favor of downloading their Windows Live counterparts. Windows 7 met with positive reviews, which said the OS was faster and easier to use than Windows Vista.

Windows 7 shipped in six editions:^[42]

• Starter (available worldwide)
• Home Basic
• Home Premium
• Professional
• Enterprise (available to volume-license business customers only)
• Ultimate

In some countries in the European Union, there were other editions that lacked some features such as Windows Media Player, Windows Media Center and Internet Explorer—these editions were called names such as «Windows 7 N.»
Microsoft focused on selling Windows 7 Home Premium and Professional. All editions, except the Starter edition, were available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.
Unlike the corresponding Vista editions, the Professional and Enterprise editions were supersets of the Home Premium edition.

At the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) 2008, Microsoft also announced Windows Server 2008 R2, as the server variant of Windows 7. Windows Server 2008 R2 shipped in 64-bit versions (x64 and Itanium) only.

In 2010, Microsoft released Windows Thin PC or WinTPC, which was a feature-and size-reduced locked-down version of Windows 7 expressly designed to turn older PCs into thin clients. WinTPC was available for software assurance customers and relied on cloud computing in a business network. Wireless operation is supported since WinTPC has full wireless stack integration, but wireless operation may not be as good as the operation on a wired connection.^[43][44]

Windows Home Server 2011 code named ‘Vail’^[45] was released on April 6, 2011.^[46] Windows Home Server 2011 is built on the Windows Server 2008 R2 code base and removed the Drive Extender drive pooling technology in the original Windows Home Server release.^[47] Windows Home Server 2011 is considered a «major release».^[45] Its predecessor was built on Windows Server 2003. WHS 2011 only supports x86-64 hardware.

Microsoft decided to discontinue Windows Home Server 2011 on July 5, 2012, while including its features into Windows Server 2012 Essentials.^[48] Windows Home Server 2011 was supported until April 12, 2016.^[49]

On June 1, 2011, Microsoft previewed Windows 8 at both Computex Taipei and the D9: All Things Digital conference in California.^[50][51] The first public preview of Windows Server 2012 was shown by Microsoft at the 2011 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference.^[52] Windows 8 Release Preview and Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate were both released on May 31, 2012.^[53] Product development on Windows 8 was completed on August 1, 2012, and it was released to manufacturing the same day.^[54] Windows Server 2012 went on sale to the public on September 4, 2012. Windows 8 went on sale to the public on October 26, 2012. One edition, Windows RT, runs on some system-on-a-chip devices with mobile 32-bit ARM (ARMv7) processors. Windows 8 features a redesigned user interface, designed to make it easier for touchscreen users to use Windows. The interface introduced an updated Start menu known as the Start screen, and a new full-screen application platform. The desktop interface is also present for running windowed applications, although Windows RT will not run any desktop applications not included in the system. On the Building Windows 8 blog, it was announced that a computer running Windows 8 can boot up much faster than Windows 7.^[55] New features also include USB 3.0 support, the Windows Store, the ability to run from USB drives with Windows To Go, and others.

Windows 8 is available in the following editions:

• Windows 8
• Windows 8 Pro
• Windows 8 Enterprise
• Windows RT

Microsoft ended support for Windows 8 on January 12, 2016.

Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 were released on October 17, 2013. Windows 8.1 is available as an update in the Windows Store for Windows 8 users only and also available to download for clean installation.^[56] The update adds new options for resizing the live tiles on the Start screen.^[57] Windows 8 was given the kernel number NT 6.2, with its successor 8.1 receiving the kernel number 6.3. Neither had any service packs, although many consider Windows 8.1 to be a service pack for Windows 8. However, Windows 8.1 received two main updates in 2014.^[58] Both versions received some criticism due to the removal of the Start menu and some difficulties to perform tasks and commands.

Windows 8.1 is available in the same editions as its predecessor for users not running Windows 8.

Microsoft ended support on January 10, 2023.

Windows 10 was unveiled on September 30, 2014, as the successor for Windows 8, and was released on July 29, 2015.^[59] It was distributed without charge to Windows 7 and 8.1 users for one year after release. A number of new features like Cortana, the Microsoft Edge web browser, the ability to view Windows Store apps as a window instead of fullscreen, the return of the Start menu, virtual desktops, revamped core apps, Continuum, and a unified Settings app were all features debuted in Windows 10. Like its successor, the operating system was announced as a service OS that would receive constant performance and stability updates. Unlike Windows 8, Windows 10 received mostly positive reviews, praising improvements of stability and practicality than its predecessor, however, it received some criticism due to mandatory update installation, privacy concerns and advertising-supported software tactics.

Although Microsoft claimed Windows 10 would be the last Windows version, eventually a new major release, Windows 11, was announced in 2021. That made Windows 10 last longer as Microsoft’s flagship operating system than any other version of Windows, beginning with the public release on July 29, 2015, for six years, and ending on October 5, 2021, when Windows 11 was released. Windows 10 had received thirteen main updates.

• Version 1507 (codenamed Threshold 1) was the original version of Windows 10 and released in July 2015.^[60] One of the big features was the introduction of Windows Hello, which at launch enabled users to log into Windows with facial recognition if the PC was equipped with a compatible active illuminated near-infrared, NIR, camera.
• Version 1511, announced as the November Update and codenamed Threshold 2. It was released in November 2015. This update added many visual tweaks, such as more consistent context menus and the ability to change the color of window titlebars. Windows 10 can now be activated with a product key for Windows 7 and later, thus simplifying the activation process and essentially making Windows 10 free for anyone who has Windows 7 or later, even after the free upgrade period ended. A «Find My Device» feature was added, allowing users to track their devices if they lose them, similar to the Find My iPhone service that Apple offers. Controversially, the Start menu now displays «featured apps». A few tweaks were added to Microsoft Edge, including tab previews and the ability to sync the browser with other devices running Windows 10.^[61][62] Kernel version number: 10.0.10586.
• Version 1607, announced as the Anniversary Update and codenamed Redstone 1. It was the first of several planned updates with the «Redstone» codename. Its version number, 1607, means that it was supposed to launch in July 2016, however it was delayed until August 2016. Many new features were included in the version, including more integration with Cortana, a dark theme, browser extension support for Microsoft Edge, click-to-play Flash by default, tab pinning, web notifications, swipe navigation in Edge, and the ability for Windows Hello to use a fingerprint sensor to sign into apps and websites, similar to Touch ID on the iPhone. Also added was Windows Ink, which improves digital inking in many apps, and the Windows Ink Workspace which lists pen-compatible apps, as well as quick shortcuts to a sticky notes app and a sketchpad. Microsoft, through their partnership with Canonical, integrated a full Ubuntu bash shell via the Windows Subsystem for Linux. Notable tweaks in this version of Windows 10 include the removal of the controversial password-sharing feature of Microsoft’s Wi-Fi Sense service, a slightly redesigned Start menu, Tablet Mode working more like Windows 8, overhauled emoji, improvements to the lock screen, calendar integration in the taskbar, and the Blue Screen of Death now showing a QR code which users can scan to quickly find out what caused the error.^[63] This version of Windows 10’s kernel version is 10.0.14393.
• Version 1703, announced as the Creators Update and codenamed Redstone 2. Features for this update include a new Paint 3D application, which allows users to create and modify 3D models, integration with Microsoft’s HoloLens and other «mixed-reality» headsets produced by other manufacturers, Windows My People, which allows users to manage contacts, Xbox game broadcasting, support for newly developed APIs such as WDDM 2.2, Dolby Atmos support, improvements to the Settings app, and more Edge and Cortana improvements. This version also included tweaks to system apps, such as an address bar in the Registry Editor, Windows PowerShell being the default command line interface instead of the Command Prompt and the Windows Subsystem for Linux being upgraded to support Ubuntu 16.04.^[64] This version of Windows 10 was released on April 11, 2017, as a free update.^[65]
• Version 1709, announced as the Fall Creators Update and codenamed Redstone 3. It introduced a new design language—the Fluent Design System and incorporates it in UWP apps such as Calculator. It also added new features to the Photos application, which were once available only in Windows Movie Maker.
• Version 1803, announced as the April 2018 Update and codenamed Redstone 4 introduced Timeline, an upgrade to the task view screen such that it has the ability to show past activities and let users resume them. The respective icon on the taskbar was also changed to reflect this upgrade. Strides were taken to incorporate Fluent Design into Windows, which included adding Acrylic transparency to the Taskbar and Taskbar Flyouts. The Settings App was also redesigned to have an Acrylic left pane. Variable Fonts were introduced.
• Version 1809, announced as the Windows 10 October 2018 Update and codenamed Redstone 5 among new features, introduced Dark Mode for File Explorer, Your Phone App to link Android phone with Windows 10, new screenshot tool called Snip & Sketch, Make Text Bigger for easier accessibility, and Clipboard History and Cloud Sync.
• Version 1903, announced as the Windows 10 May 2019 Update, codenamed 19H1, was released on May 21, 2019. It added many new features including the addition of a light theme to the Windows shell and a new feature known as Windows Sandbox, which allowed users to run programs in a throwaway virtual window. Notably, this was the first version to allow an application to default to using UTF-8 as the process code page^[66] and to default to UTF-8 as the code page in programs such as Notepad.
• Version 1909, announced as the Windows 10 November 2019 Update, codenamed 19H2, was released on November 12, 2019. It unlocked many features that were already present, but hidden or disabled, on 1903, such as an auto-expanding menu on Start while hovering the mouse on it, OneDrive integration on Windows Search and creating events from the taskbar’s clock. Some PCs with version 1903 had already enabled these features without installing 1909.
• Version 2004, announced as the Windows 10 May 2020 Update, codenamed 20H1, was released on May 27, 2020. It introduces several new features such as renaming virtual desktops, GPU temperature control and type of disk on task manager, chat-based interface and window appearance for Cortana, and cloud reinstalling and quick searches (depends from region) for search home.
• Version 20H2, announced as the Windows 10 October 2020 Update, codenamed 20H2, was released on October 20, 2020. It introduces resizing the start menu panels, a graphing mode for Calculator, process architecture view on task manager’s Details pane, and optional drivers delivery from Windows Update and an updated in-use location icon on taskbar.
• Version 21H1, announced as the Windows 10 May 2021 Update, codenamed 21H1, was released on May 18, 2021.
• Version 21H2, announced as the Windows 10 November 2021 Update, codenamed 21H2, was released on November 16, 2021.
• Version 22H2, announced as the Windows 10 2022 Update, codenamed 22H2, was released on October 18, 2022. It was the last version of Windows 10.

Windows Server 2016 is a release of the Microsoft Windows Server operating system that was unveiled on September 30, 2014. Windows Server 2016 was officially released at Microsoft’s Ignite Conference, September 26–30, 2016.^[67] It is based on the Windows 10 Anniversary Update codebase.

Windows Server 2019 is a release of the Microsoft Windows Server operating system that was announced on March 20, 2018. The first Windows Insider preview version was released on the same day. It was released for general availability on October 2, 2018. Windows Server 2019 is based on the Windows 10 October 2018 Update codebase.

On October 6, 2018, distribution of Windows version 1809 (build 17763) was paused while Microsoft investigated an issue with user data being deleted during an in-place upgrade. It affected systems where a user profile folder (e.g. Documents, Music or Pictures) had been moved to another location, but data was left in the original location. As Windows Server 2019 is based on the Windows version 1809 codebase, it too was removed from distribution at the time, but was re-released on November 13, 2018. The software product life cycle for Server 2019 was reset in accordance with the new release date.

Windows Server 2022 was released on August 18, 2021. This is the first NT server version which does not share the build number with any of its client version counterpart, although its codename is 21H2, similar to the Windows 10 November 2021 Update.

Windows 11 is the latest release of Windows NT, and the successor to Windows 10. It was unveiled on June 24, 2021, and was released on October 5,^[68] serving as a free upgrade to compatible Windows 10 devices. The system incorporates a renewed interface called «Mica», which includes translucent backgrounds, rounded edges and color combinations. The taskbar’s icons are center aligned by default, while the Start menu replaces the «Live Tiles» with pinned apps and recommended apps and files. The MSN widget panel, the Microsoft Store, and the file browser, among other applications, have also been redesigned. However, some features and programs such as Cortana, Internet Explorer (replaced by Microsoft Edge as the default web browser) and Paint 3D were removed. Apps like 3D Viewer, Paint 3D, Skype and OneNote for Windows 10 can be downloaded from the Microsoft Store.^[69] Beginning in 2021, Windows 11 included compatibility with Android applications, however, Microsoft has announced support for Android apps will end in March, 2025; the Amazon Appstore is included in Windows Subsystem for Android. Windows 11 received a positive reception from critics. While it was praised for its redesigned interface, and increased security and productivity, it was criticized for its high system requirements (which includes an installed TPM 2.0 chip, enabling the Secure Boot protocol, and UEFI firmware) and various UI changes and regressions (such as requiring a Microsoft account for first-time setup, preventing users from changing default browsers, and inconsistent dark theme) compared to Windows 10.^[70][71][72]

• Version 21H2, codenamed «Sun Valley», was the initial version of Windows 11 released on October 5, 2021.^[73]
• Version 22H2, announced as the Windows 11 2022 Update, codenamed «Sun Valley 2», was released on September 20, 2022.^[74] Features in this Windows 11 version include an updated, UWP version of the Task Manager and the Smart App Control feature within the Windows Security app. This version has had three major updates, with features including tabbed browsing in the File Explorer,^[75] iOS support for the Phone Link app,^[76] Bluetooth Low Energy audio support,^[77][78] and a preview of Microsoft Copilot within Windows.^[79][80]
• Version 23H2, announced as the Windows 11 2023 Update, codenamed «Sun Valley 3», was released on October 31, 2023.^[81]
• Version 24H2, announced as the Windows 11 2024 Update, codenamed «Hudson Valley», was released on October 1, 2024.

Windows Server 2025 follows on Windows Server 2022 and was released on November 1, 2024. It is graphically based on Windows 11 and uses features like Hotpatching, among others.

• Comparison of operating systems
• History of operating systems
• List of Microsoft codenames

Windows 7 (codenamed Windows 7^[7]) is a major release of the Microsoft Windows series of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use with personal computers, tablets, and other devices. Windows 7 was intended for fixing issues with Windows Vista, including its quality and performance.

Windows 7 was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and reached general retail availability on October 22, 2009, less than three years after the release of its predecessor, Windows Vista. Windows 7’s server counterpart, Windows Server 2008 R2, was released at the same time.

On October 26, 2012, Windows 7 was superseded by Windows 8. However, as Windows 8 introduces significant changes in its user interface and is optimized for touch-screen devices, Windows 7 remained available for purchase until 2014, and ended support on January 14, 2020.

Unlike Windows Vista, which introduced a large number of new features, Windows 7 was intended to be a more focused, incremental upgrade to the Windows line, with the goal of being compatible with applications and hardware with which Windows Vista was already compatible. Presentations given by Microsoft in 2008 focused on multi-touch support, a redesigned Windows shell with a new taskbar, referred to as the Superbar, a home networking system called HomeGroup, and performance improvements. Some standard applications that have been included with prior releases of Microsoft Windows, including Windows Calendar, Windows Mail, Windows Movie Maker, and Windows Photo Gallery, are not included in Windows 7; most are instead offered separately at no charge as part of the Windows Live Essentials suite.

Features[]

New and changed features[]

Windows 7 includes a number of new features, such as advances in touch and handwriting recognition, support for virtual hard disks, improved performance on multi-core processors, improved boot performance, DirectAccess, and kernel improvements. Windows 7 adds support for systems using multiple heterogeneous graphics cards from different vendors (Heterogeneous Multi-adapter), a new version of Windows Media Center, a Gadget for Windows Media Center, improved media features, the XPS Essentials Pack and Windows PowerShell being included, and a redesigned Calculator with multiline capabilities including Programmer and Statistics modes along with unit conversion for length, weight, temperature, and several others. Many new items have been added to the Control Panel, including ClearType Text Tuner, Display Color Calibration Wizard, Gadgets, Recovery, Troubleshooting, Workspaces Center, Location and Other Sensors, Credential Manager, Biometric Devices, System Icons, and Display. Windows Security Center has been renamed to Windows Action Center (Windows Health Center and Windows Solution Center in earlier builds), which encompasses both security and maintenance of the computer. Readyboost on 32bit editions now supports up to 256 Gigabytes of extra allocation. The default setting for User Account Control in Windows 7 has been criticized for allowing untrusted software to be launched with elevated privileges without a prompt by exploiting a trusted application. Microsoft’s Windows kernel engineer Mark Russinovich acknowledged the problem, but noted that malware can also compromise a system when users agree to a prompt. Windows 7 also supports images in RAW image format through the addition of Windows Imaging Component-enabled image decoders, which enables raw image thumbnails, previewing and metadata display in Windows Explorer, plus full-size viewing and slideshows in Windows Photo Viewer and Windows Media Center.

The taskbar has seen the biggest visual changes, where the Quick Launch toolbar has been replaced with the ability to pin applications to the taskbar. Buttons for pinned applications are integrated with the task buttons. These buttons also enable the Jump Lists feature to allow easy access to common tasks. The revamped taskbar also allows the reordering of taskbar buttons. To the far right of the system clock is a small rectangular button that serves as the Show desktop icon. This button is part of the new feature in Windows 7 called Aero Peek. Hovering over this button makes all visible windows transparent for a quick look at the desktop. In touch-enabled displays such as touch screens, tablet PCs, etc., this button is slightly wider to accommodate being pressed with a finger. Clicking this button minimizes all windows, and clicking it a second time restores them. Additionally, there is a feature named Aero Snap, that automatically maximizes a window when it is dragged to the top of the screen. Dragging windows to the left/right edges of the screen allows users to snap documents or files on either side of the screen for comparison between windows, such that the windows vertically take up half the screen. When a user moves windows that were maximized using Aero Snap, the system restores their previous state automatically. This functionality is also accomplished with keyboard shortcuts.

Unlike in Windows Vista, window borders and the taskbar do not turn opaque when a window is maximized with Windows Aero applied. Instead, they remain translucent.

For developers, Windows 7 includes a new networking API with support for building SOAP-based web services in native code (as opposed to .NET-based WCF web services), new features to shorten application install times, reduced UAC prompts, simplified development of installation packages, and improved globalization support through a new Extended Linguistic Services API. At WinHEC 2008 Microsoft announced that color depths of 30-bit and 48-bit would be supported in Windows 7 along with the wide color gamut scRGB (which for HMDI 1.3 can be converted and output as xvYCC). The video modes supported in Windows 7 are 16-bit sRGB, 24-bit sRGB, 30-bit sRGB, 30-bit with extended color gamut sRGB, and 48-bit scRGB. Microsoft has also implemented better support for solid state drives, including the new TRIM command and Windows 7 is able to identify a solid-state drive uniquely. Microsoft is planning to support USB 3.0 in a subsequent patch, support not being included in the initial release due to delays in the finalization of the standard.

Картинка с сайта: microsoft.fandom.com

Internet Spades, Internet Backgammon and Internet Checkers which were removed from Windows Vista, were restored in Windows 7. Windows 7 includes the new Internet Explorer 9 and Users are also able to disable many more Windows components than was possible in Windows Vista. New additions to this list of components include Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, Windows Media Center, Windows Search, and the Windows Gadget Platform. Windows 7 includes 13 additional sound schemes, titled Afternoon, Calligraphy, Characters, Cityscape, Delta, Festival, Garden, Heritage, Landscape, Quirky, Raga, Savanna, and Sonata. A new version of Microsoft Virtual PC, newly renamed as Windows Virtual PC was made available for Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions. It allows multiple Windows environments, including Windows XP Mode, to run on the same machine. Windows XP Mode runs Windows XP in a virtual machine and redirects displayed applications running in Windows XP to the Windows 7 desktop. Furthermore, Windows 7 supports the mounting of a virtual hard disk (VHD) as a normal data storage, and the bootloader delivered with Windows 7 can boot the Windows system from a VHD; however, this ability is only available in the Enterprise and Ultimate editions. The Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) of Windows 7 is also enhanced to support real-time multimedia application including video playback and 3D games, thus allowing use of DirectX 10 in remote desktop environments. The three application limit, previously present in the Windows Vista Starter Edition, has been removed from Windows 7.

Removed features[]

Certain capabilities and programs that were a part of Windows Vista are no longer present or have been changed, resulting in the removal of certain functionalities. These include the classic Start Menu user interface, some taskbar features, Windows Explorer features, Windows Media Player features, Windows Ultimate Extras and Inkball. Four applications bundled with Windows Vista — Windows Photo Gallery, Windows Movie Maker, Windows Calendar and Windows Mail — are not included with Windows 7, but applications with close functionality are instead available for free in a separate package called Windows Live Essentials which can be downloaded on the Microsoft website. Although Windows Ultimate Extras was removed, many of the extras can be installed separately. Most popular extras were Microsoft Texas Hold ’em, Microsoft Tinker, and Windows DreamScene. InkBall may also be installed into Windows 7.

Development[]

Originally, a version of Windows codenamed Blackcomb was planned as the successor to Windows XP (codename Whistler) and Windows Server 2003. Major features were planned for Blackcomb, including an emphasis on searching and querying data and an advanced storage system named WinFS to enable such scenarios. However, an interim, minor release, codenamed «Longhorn,» was announced for 2003, delaying the development of Blackcomb. By the middle of 2003, however, Longhorn had acquired some of the features originally intended for Blackcomb. After three major viruses exploited flaws in Windows operating systems within a short time period in 2003, Microsoft changed its development priorities, putting some of Longhorn’s major development work on hold while developing new service packs for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. Development of Longhorn (Windows Vista) was also restarted, and thus delayed, in August 2004. A number of features were cut from Longhorn.

Blackcomb was renamed Vienna in early 2006 and would soon be cancelled due to its scope and replaced with a new project, codenamed «Windows 7» in 2007.^[7] On October 13, 2008, Mike Nash announced that Windows 7 would also be the official name of the operating system.^[8] There has been some confusion over naming the product Windows 7, while versioning it as 6.1 to indicate its similar build to Vista and increase compatibility with applications that only check major version numbers, similar to Windows 2000 and Windows XP both having 5.x version numbers.

The first external release to select Microsoft partners came in January 2008 with Milestone 1, build 6519. At PDC 2008, Microsoft demonstrated Windows 7 with its reworked taskbar. Copies of Windows 7 build 6801 were distributed at the end of the conference; however, the demonstrated taskbar was disabled in this build.

On December 27, 2008, the Windows 7 Beta was leaked onto the Internet via BitTorrent. According to a performance test by ZDNet, Windows 7 Beta beat both Windows XP and Vista in several key areas; including boot and shutdown time and working with files, such as loading documents. Other areas did not beat XP; including PC Pro benchmarks for typical office activities and video editing, which remain identical to Vista and slower than XP. On January 7, 2009, the 64-bit version of the Windows 7 Beta (build 7000) was leaked onto the web, with some torrents being infected with a trojan. At CES 2009, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced the Windows 7 Beta, build 7000, had been made available for download to MSDN and TechNet subscribers in the format of an ISO image. The Beta was to be publicly released January 9, 2009, and Microsoft initially planned for the download to be made available to 2.5 million people on this date. However, access to the downloads was delayed because of high traffic. The download limit was also extended, initially until January 24, then again to February 10. People who did not complete downloading the beta had two extra days to complete the download. After February 12, unfinished downloads became unable to complete. Users could still obtain product keys from Microsoft to activate their copies of Windows 7 Beta, which expired on August 1, 2009.

The release candidate, build 7100, became available for MSDN and TechNet subscribers and Connect Program participants on April 30, 2009. On May 5, 2009 it became available to the general public, although it had also been leaked onto the Internet via BitTorrent. The release candidate was available in five languages and expired on June 1, 2010, with shutdowns every two hours starting March 1, 2010. Microsoft stated that Windows 7 would be released to the general public on October 22, 2009. Microsoft released Windows 7 to MSDN and Technet subscribers on August 6, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. PDT. Microsoft announced that Windows 7, along with Windows Server 2008 R2, was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009. Windows 7 RTM is build 7600.16385.090713-1255, which was compiled on July 13, 2009, and was declared the final RTM build after passing all Microsoft’s tests internally.

An estimated 1000 developers worked on Windows 7. These were broadly divided into «core operating system» and «Windows client experience», in turn organized into 25 teams of around 40 developers on average.

Goals[]

Bill Gates, in an interview with Newsweek, suggested that this version of Windows would be more «user-centric». Gates later said that Windows 7 would also focus on performance improvements. Steven Sinofsky later expanded on this point, explaining in the Engineering Windows 7 blog that the company was using a variety of new tracing tools to measure the performance of many areas of the operating system on an ongoing basis, to help locate inefficient code paths and to help prevent performance regressions.

Senior Vice President Bill Veghte stated that Windows Vista users migrating to Windows 7 would not find the kind of device compatibility issues they encountered migrating from Windows XP. Speaking about Windows 7 on October 16, 2008, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer confirmed compatibility between Windows Vista and Windows 7, indicating that Windows 7 would be a refined version of Windows Vista.

Reception[]

Windows 7 received critical acclaim, with critics noting the increased usability and functionality when compared with its predecessor, Windows Vista. CNET gave Windows 7 Home Premium a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars, stating that it «is more than what Vista should have been, [and] it’s where Microsoft needed to go». PC Magazine rated it a 4 out of 5 saying that Windows 7 is a «big improvement» over Windows Vista, with fewer compatibility problems, a retooled taskbar, simpler home networking and faster start-up. Maximum PC gave Windows 7 a rating of 9 out of 10 and called Windows 7 a «massive leap forward» in usability and security, and praised the new Taskbar as «worth the price of admission alone.» PC World called Windows 7 a «worthy successor» to Windows XP and said that speed benchmarks showed Windows 7 to be slightly faster than Windows Vista. PC World also named Windows 7 one of the best products of the year. In its review of Windows 7, Engadget said that Microsoft had taken a «strong step forward» with Windows 7 and reported that speed is one of Windows 7’s major selling points—particularly for the netbook sets. Laptop Magazine gave Windows 7 a rating of 4 out of 5 stars and said that Windows 7 makes computing more intuitive, offered better overall performance including a «modest to dramatic» increase in battery life on laptop computers. TechRadar gave Windows 7 a rating of 5 out of 5 stars, concluding that «it combines the security and architectural improvements of Windows Vista with better performance than XP can deliver on today’s hardware. No version of Windows is ever perfect, but Windows 7 really is the best release of Windows yet.» USA Today and The Telegraph also gave Windows 7 favorable reviews.

Nick Wingfield of The Wall Street Journal wrote, «Visually arresting,» and «A pleasure.» Mary Branscombe of Financial Times wrote, «A clear leap forward.» of Gizmodo wrote, «Windows 7 Kills Snow Leopard.» Don Reisinger of CNET wrote, «Delightful.» David Pogue of The New York Times wrote, «Faster.» J. Peter Bruzzese and Richi Jennings of Computerworld wrote, «Ready.»

Some Windows Vista Ultimate users have expressed concerns over Windows 7 pricing and upgrade options. Windows Vista Ultimate users wanting to upgrade from Windows Vista to Windows 7 had to either pay $219.99 to upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate or perform a clean install, which requires them to reinstall all of their programs.

The changes to User Account Control on Windows 7 were criticized for being potentially insecure, as an exploit was discovered allowing untrusted software to be launched with elevated privileges by exploiting a trusted component. Peter Bright of Ars Technica argued that «the way that the Windows 7 UAC ‘improvements’ have been made completely exempts Microsoft’s developers from having to do that work themselves. With Windows 7, it’s one rule for Redmond, another one for everyone else.» Microsoft’s Windows kernel engineer Mark Russinovich acknowledged the problem, but noted that malware can also compromise a system when users agree to a prompt.

Antitrust regulatory attention[]

As with other Microsoft operating systems, Windows 7 is being studied by United States federal regulators who oversee the company’s operations following the 2001 United States v. Microsoft settlement. According to status reports filed, the three-member panel began assessing prototypes of the new operating system in February 2008. Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Jupiter Research said that, «[Microsoft’s] challenge for Windows 7 will be how can they continue to add features that consumers will want that also don’t run afoul of regulators.»

In order to comply with European antitrust regulations, Microsoft has proposed the use of a «ballot» screen, allowing users to download a competing browser, thus removing the need for a version of Windows completely without Internet Explorer, as previously planned. In response to criticism involving Windows 7 E and concerns from manufacturers about possible consumer confusion if a version of Windows 7 with Internet Explorer were shipped later after one without Internet Explorer, Microsoft announced that it would scrap the separate version for Europe and ship the standard upgrade and full packages worldwide.

As with the previous version of Windows, an N version, which does not come with Windows Media Player, has been released in Europe, but only for sale directly from Microsoft sales websites and selected others.

Editions[]

Windows 7 is available in six different editions, of which the Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate editions are available for retail sale to consumers in most countries. The other editions are not available in retail. The Starter edition is only available preinstalled by OEMs on new PCs, the Enterprise edition only by volume licensing, and Home Basic only to certain developing countries’ markets. Each edition of Windows 7 includes all of the capabilities and features of the edition below it.

All editions support the IA-32 processor architecture and all editions except Starter support the x86-64 processor architecture. The installation medium is the same for all the consumer editions of Windows 7 that have the same processor architecture, with the license determining the features that are activated; license upgrades permit the subsequent unlocking of features without re-installation of the operating system. This is the first time Microsoft has distributed 2 DVDs (1 DVD for IA-32 processor architecture, the other DVD for x86-64 processor architecture) for each edition of Windows 7 (Except for Starter and Home Basic; some OEM copies have only DVD for IA-32 architecture; the installation DVD of Windows 7 Home Basic 64-bit edition is not included but can be obtained from Microsoft.). Users who wish to upgrade to an edition of Windows 7 with more features can then use Windows Anytime Upgrade to purchase the upgrade, and unlock the features of those editions.

Some copies of Windows 7 have restrictions, in which it must be distributed, sold, or bought and activated in the geographical region specified in its front cover box.

Microsoft is offering a family pack of Windows 7 Home Premium (in select markets) that allows installation on up to three PCs. The «Family Pack» costs US$149.99 in the United States.

On September 18, 2009, Microsoft said they were to offer temporary student discounts for Windows 7. The offer ran in the US and the United Kingdom, with similar schemes available in Canada, Australia, Korea, Mexico, France and India. Students with a valid .edu or .ac.uk email address could apply for either Windows 7 Home Premium or Professional, priced at $30 or £30.

Windows 7 is also currently available as an embedded version to developers (previously Windows Embedded 2011).

Marketing[]

The different editions of Windows 7 have been designed and marketed toward people with different needs. Out of the different editions (Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate), the Starter edition for emerging markets, Home Basic has been designed and marketed for lower cost notebooks, Home Premium for normal home users, Professional for businesses, Enterprise for larger businesses and corporations, and Ultimate for enthusiasts.

Hardware requirements[]

Microsoft published the minimum specifications for a system to run Windows 7. Requirements for the 32-bit version are similar to that of premium editions of Vista, but are higher for 64-bit versions. Microsoft released an upgrade advisor that determines if a computer is compatible with Windows 7.

Minimum hardware requirements for Windows 7

Additional requirements to use certain features:

• SATA AHCI support was not added to Windows until XP Service Pack 1. As a result, in most motherboards the BIOS default for SATA support is to (emulate) IDE (ATA) rather than use AHCI (SATA). As explained here, this setting needs to be changed before installation, and any chipset-specific AHCI or RAID drivers need to be loaded (from a USB Flash drive, for example) at installation time.
• Windows XP Mode (Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise): Requires an additional 1 GB of RAM and additional 15 GB of available hard disk space. The requirement for a processor capable of hardware virtualization has been lifted.
• Windows Media Center (included in Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise), requires a TV tuner to receive and record TV.

Physical memory limits[]

Maximum limits on physical memory (RAM) that Windows 7 can address vary depending on both the Windows version and between 32-bit and 64-bit versions. The following table specifies the maximum physical memory limits supported:

Physical memory limits for Windows 7

Processor limits[]

The maximum total number of logical processors in a PC that Windows 7 supports is: 32 for 32-bit, 256 for 64-bit.

The maximum number of physical processors in a PC that Windows 7 supports is: 2 for Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate, and 1 for Starter, Home Basic, and Home Premium.

Service Pack 1[]

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) was announced on March 18, 2010, with a beta being released on July 12, 2010; the final version was released to the public on February 22, 2011. At the time of its release, it was not made mandatory. It was available via Windows Update, direct download, or by ordering the Windows 7 SP1 DVD. The service pack is on a much smaller scale than those released for previous versions of Windows, particularly Windows Vista.

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 adds support for Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX), a 256-bit instruction set for processors, and improves IKEv2 by adding additional identification fields such as Email ID to it. In addition, it adds support for Advanced Format 512e as well as additional Identity Federation Services.

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 also resolves a bug related to HDMI audio and another related to printing XPS documents.

Windows 7’s end of support[]

Before January 14, 2020[]

Unlike when Windows XP was reaching its support deadline, Microsoft decided that they should inform the users more about the end of support so they can be ready to switch from Windows 7. In May 2019 Microsoft started to send messages that Windows 7 was going to become more vulnerable to viruses and malware. This time, instead of recommending users to upgrade to the latest version of Windows, they recommended buying a new PC with Windows 10.

After January 14, 2020[]

In a support document, Microsoft has stated that a full-screen upgrade warning notification would be displayed on Windows 7 PCs on all editions except the Enterprise edition after January 15. The notification does not appear on machines connected to Active Directory, machines in kiosk mode, or machines subscribed for Extended Security Updates.

Trivia[]

• Windows 7 is the second major release of Windows (after Vista) to feature Aero transparency effects, though these graphical options are not included in Starter and Home Basic editions.^[9]
• Windows 10 and 11 support restoring from pre-existing Windows 7 backups through the «Backup and Restore (Windows 7)» Control Panel applet. As this feature had been deprecated with the release of Windows 8, File History remains the default and preferred method to back up local content in later versions of Windows.^[10] For the system image functionality, Microsoft recommends using third-party software.^[11]

References[]

External links[]

• Introducing Windows 7 at Microsoft (archived 2009-10-24)
  • Windows 7 support at Microsoft Support
  • Windows 7 for Developers at The Windows Blog (archived 2009-04-01)
  • Windows 7 Team Blog at The Windows Blog (archived 2008-10-31)
• Windows 7 at Wikipedia

Windows 7 — пользовательская операционная система семейства Windows NT компании Microsoft. Следует по времени выхода за Windows Vista и предшествует Windows 8. Расширенная поддержка была прекращена 14 января 2020 года. Платная поддержка для ОС была прекращена 10 января 2023 года. На данный момент, платная поддержка предоставляется только для банкоматов и специализированных устройств^[1]. Это последняя версия ОС Windows, использующая скевоморфический дизайн интерфейса, все последующие, вплоть до Windows 11^[2], используют плоский дизайн в стиле Metro.

До 9 апреля 2013 года исходный выпуск Windows 7 включал обновления и техническую поддержку, после чего пользователям для получения поддержки и обновлений требовалась установка пакета обновления 1. В то же время был выпущен серверный аналог Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2.

Windows 7 задумывалась как постепенное обновление до Microsoft Windows, направленное на устранение негативного восприятия Windows Vista критиками при сохранении аппаратной и программной совместимости. В Windows 7 продолжились улучшения пользовательского интерфейса Windows Aero с добавлением переработанной панели задач, позволяющей закреплять приложения, и новых функций управления окнами. В операционную систему были добавлены и другие новые функции, в том числе библиотеки, новая система обмена файлами HomeGroup и поддержка мультисенсорного ввода. Также был добавлен новый «Центр действий», чтобы предоставить обзор информации о безопасности и обслуживании системы, а также были внесены изменения в систему контроля учетных записей, чтобы сделать ее менее навязчивой. Windows 7 также поставлялась с обновленными версиями нескольких стандартных приложений, включая Internet Explorer 8, Windows Media Player и Windows Media Center.

В отличие от Vista, Windows 7 получила признание критиков, её считали значительным улучшением по сравнению с предшественницей из-за улучшенной производительности, более интуитивного интерфейса, меньшего количества всплывающих окон контроля учётных записей и других улучшений, внесённых в систему. Windows 7 стала большим успехом для Microsoft: ещё до её официального выпуска число предзаказов операционной системы в интернет-магазине «Amazon» побило предыдущие рекорды. Всего за шесть месяцев по всему миру было продано более 100 миллионов копий, а к июлю 2012 года количество лицензий увеличилось до более чем 630 миллионов. К январю 2018 года Windows 10 превзошла Windows 7 как самую популярную версию Windows в мире.

По состоянию на март 2025 года доля Windows 7 занимает ▼2,21 %^[3]. С 2022 года Windows 7 находится на третьем месте по популярности среди всех версий Windows в мире, второе место занимает Windows 11^[4]. Windows 7 по-прежнему остаётся популярной в таких странах, как Сирия^[5] и Китай^[6].

Windows 7 — это последняя версия Windows, которая изначально поддерживала процессоры без SSE2 или NX (обновление, выпущенное в 2018 году, прекратило поддержку процессоров без SSE2^[7]). Её преемнице, Windows 8, требуется процессор с SSE2 и NX для любой поддерживаемой архитектуры^[8].

Операционная система поступила в продажу 22 октября 2009 года^[9] — спустя два года после выпуска системы Windows Vista. Партнёрам и клиентам, обладающим лицензией Volume Licensing, доступ к RTM был предоставлен 24 июля 2009 года. В интернете оригинальные установочные образы финальной версии системы были доступны с 21 июля 2009 года.

С июля 2011 по апрель 2017 Windows 7 занимала лидирующее положение по количеству пользователей в мире (обогнав предыдущего лидера Windows XP). По данным на февраль 2023 года, доля Windows 7 составляет 0,7 % среди используемых в мире операционных систем для доступа к сети Интернет и занимает четвертое место в мире по популярности после Windows 10 (69.9 %), MacOS (9,2 %) и Linux (4,0 %)^[10].

В 2017 году компания Microsoft объявила, что поддержка Windows 7 будет прекращена 14 января 2020 года. Также в конце 2020 года обещают окончание поддержки ОС для голосовых сообщений^[11][12].
Платные обновления расширенной безопасности (ESU), продаваемые отдельно для каждого устройства, будут предлагаться до января 2023 года^[13].

В июле 2019 года Microsoft объявила, что сервисы интернет-игр Microsoft на Windows 7 прекратят работу 22 января 2020 года^[14].

Номер версии[править | править код]

В линейке Windows NT система имеет номер версии 6.1 (Windows 2000 — 5.0, Windows XP — 5.1, Windows Server 2003 — 5.2, Windows Vista и Windows Server 2008 — 6.0).

Серверной операционной системой того же семейства выступает Windows Server 2008 R2, интегрируемой операционной системой этого семейства (облегчённой версией, встраиваемой в устройства) — Windows Embedded Standard 2011 (Québec)^[15], мобильной — Windows Embedded Compact 2011 (Chelan, Windows CE 7.0).

В этой операционной системе реализована поддержка Юникод 5.1^[16].
Панель поиска Instant Search стала распознавать больше языков^[16].

Также, в этой версии, как и в Windows Vista есть тема Aero. При желании эту тему можно отключить в Панели управлении Windows.

Данная ОС обладает поддержкой мультитач-управления^[17].

Все версии ОС включают 50 новых шрифтов. Существующие шрифты доработаны для корректного отображения всех символов. Windows 7 — первая версия Windows, которая включает больше шрифтов для отображения нелатинских символов, чем для отображения латинских. Панель управления шрифтами также подверглась улучшению — по умолчанию, в ней отображаются только те шрифты, раскладка для которых установлена в системе.

Windows 7 поддерживает псевдонимы для папок на внутреннем уровне. К примеру, папка Program Files в некоторых локализованных версиях Windows была переведена и отображалась с переведённым именем, однако на уровне файловой системы оставалась англоязычной.
Также в систему (кроме версии Windows 7 Starter и Windows 7 Home Basic) встроено около 120 фоновых рисунков, уникальных для каждой страны и языковой версии. Так, русская версия включает тему «Россия» с шестью уникальными обоями высокого разрешения.

Дополнительным преимуществом Windows 7 можно считать более тесную интеграцию с производителями драйверов. Большинство драйверов определяются автоматически, при этом в 90 % случаев сохраняется обратная совместимость с драйверами для Windows Vista.

В Windows 7 была также улучшена совместимость со старыми приложениями, некоторые из которых было невозможно запустить на Windows Vista. Особенно это касается старых игр, разработанных под Windows XP. Также в Windows 7 появился режим Windows XP Mode, позволяющий запускать старые приложения в виртуальной машине Windows XP, что обеспечивает практически полную поддержку старых приложений.

Новая, 11-я версия DirectX, впервые выпущенная именно в составе этой ОС, имеет следующие улучшения: добавлена поддержка новых вычислительных шейдеров, возможность многопоточного рендеринга, улучшена тесселяция, появились новые алгоритмы компрессии текстур и др.

Проигрыватель Windows Media Player 12 получил новый интерфейс и стал поистине «всеядным», в отличие от предшественника, которому требовалось большое количество кодеков для воспроизведения. Однако он не может воспроизводить лицензионные Blu-Ray диски с видео^[18][19], но имеет возможность считывать и записывать на них данные.

Функция Удалённого рабочего стола также претерпела изменения. Была введена поддержка интерфейса Aero Peek, Direct 2D и Direct3D 10.1, поддержка нескольких мониторов, расширений мультимедиа, DirectShow, а также возможность воспроизведения звука с низкими задержками^[20].

Сетевая технология Branch Cache позволяет кешировать содержимое интернет-трафика. Если пользователю в локальной сети потребуется файл, который уже был загружен кем-то из пользователей его сети, — он сможет получить его из локального кэш-хранилища, а не использовать канал с ограниченной пропускной способностью. Технология рассчитана на крупные сети и предлагается для внедрения на предприятиях в составе Корпоративной и Максимальной версий ОС.

Windows AIK, с помощью которого можно создавать образ с любыми конфигурациями и настройками. Таким образом, в Windows 7 можно добавить поддержку USB 3.0, Bluetooth 4.0, DirectX 11.1 и .NET Framework 4.5 по умолчанию.

Картинка с сайта: ru.ruwiki.ru

Изменения коснулись и панели задач. Теперь она увеличена на 10 пикселей и имеет обновлённый внешний вид. Также на панели содержатся только иконки без подписей, аналогично Dock у Mac OS X. Панель задач можно сделать прежней, как у Windows Vista, в «Свойствах». В обновлённой панели под «Часами» стоит текущая дата. В правом углу находится кнопка «Свернуть все окна». Любопытно, что при наведении курсора на иконку открытого приложения подсветка меняет цвет, если к примеру иконка красная, значит подсветка красная. Среди прочего, если в свойстве панели задач поставить галочки на пунктах «Закрепить панель задач» и «Использовать маленькие значки», а в меню «Кнопки панели задач» выбрать пункт «Группировать при заполнении панели задач», вид панели задач приобретет вид Windows Vista.

Windows 7 также получила OEM-поддержку UEFI, а также поддержку UEFI в Retail-образах Windows 7 SP1. При желании можно записать UEFI-установщик Windows 7 на USB-накопитель. Также можно самостоятельно с помощью Windows AIK добавить поддержку UEFI целиком. Однако не всем пользователям подобные модификации разрешены.

Безопасность[править | править код]

В Windows 7 реализована более гибкая настройка User Account Control (UAC), которая в отличие от Windows Vista имеет ещё два промежуточных состояния — «Уведомлять только при попытках программ внести изменения в компьютер» (положение по умолчанию), «Уведомлять только при попытках программ внести изменения в компьютер (не затемнять рабочий стол)».

Внесены изменения в технологию шифрования BitLocker и добавлена функция шифрования съёмных носителей BitLocker to go, позволяющая шифровать съёмные носители, причём даже при отсутствии модуля TPM.

Добавлена возможность защиты данных на USB-накопителях с помощью Enhanced Storage^[21].

Улучшения коснулись и брандмауэра Windows: вернулась функция уведомления пользователя о блокировке программы, которая пытается получить доступ к сети.

С помощью групповой политики и функции AppLocker можно запретить запуск определённых приложений.

В лицензионной версии присутствует защита от удалённого управления PC для которого необходимо разрешение пользователя, также блокируется связной адрес hosts для управления и обмена данных между PC, для чего также необходимо разрешение администраторских прав.^{[источник не указан 3026 дней]}

Функция DirectAccess позволяет устанавливать безопасное соединение с сервером в фоновом режиме, в отличие от VPN, которому требуется участие пользователя. Также DirectAccess может применять групповые политики до входа пользователя в систему.

Новые функции Aero[править | править код]

Windows 7 по-прежнему сохраняет графический интерфейс Aero, который был ещё в Windows Vista.

Shake — в интерфейс Windows Aero добавлена новая функция Aero Shake, позволяющая свернуть все неактивные приложения движением мыши. Для её активации достаточно захватить заголовок окна и немного «потрясти».

Peek — функция Aero Peek позволяет отображать уменьшенные копии окон при наведении мыши на значок панели задач, переключаться между окнами приложения простым кликом по значку, перетаскивать и фиксировать на панели задач различные окна и приложения, просматривать рабочий стол одним наведением в специальную область экрана и многое другое. Данная функция не включена в версию Starter.

Snap — аналогично функции Shake Aero Snap позволяет движением мыши разворачивать окно на пол-экрана, весь экран или только по вертикальной оси.

Стили оформления[править | править код]

Windows 7 поддерживает несколько вариантов оформления пользовательского интерфейса:

• Windows Aero — оригинальный стиль оформления с прозрачными многоцветными рамками окон, применяемый по умолчанию. Доступен в редакции «Домашняя расширенная» и выше.
• Windows 7 — упрощённый стиль — Windows Aero с некоторыми отключёнными возможностями (например, прозрачностью окон, Windows Flip 3D, AeroPeek). Требования к системе гораздо ниже, чем у Windows Aero. Доступен во всех редакциях Windows 7 и является основным в редакции «Начальная». Этот стиль также применяется при запуске приложений в режиме совместимости.
• Классический — минимальные требования к системе, оформление окон в стиле «классической» темы Windows 2000. Доступны различные цветовые схемы, в частности, подобные схемам Windows 2000; пользователь может создавать свои цветовые схемы.
• Пользовательские темы оформления — пользователи, недовольные интерфейсом Windows 7, могут разработать и применить собственный стиль оформления, основанный на одном из вышеперечисленных.

Удалённые компоненты[править | править код]

Из состава Windows 7 были исключены приложения, разработанные для Windows Vista: Inkball, DreamScene, Ultimate Extras, приложения, имеющие аналоги в Windows Live (Почта Windows, Календарь Windows и пр.), технология Microsoft Agent, Windows Meeting Space. Из меню «Пуск» исчезла возможность использовать классическое меню (вернуться к нему можно только установив стороннее ПО, например Classic Shell), а также исчезла автоматическая пристыковка браузера и клиента электронной почты.

Минимальные аппаратные требования Windows 7^[22]

Максимальные аппаратные возможности, поддерживаемые Windows 7

• Однако в функциональных возможностях платформы виртуализации Hyper-V указано максимальное число виртуальных процессоров для Windows 7 — 4 шт.
• Windows 7, хоть и содержит обширную базу данных драйверов для многих устройств, но поддерживает меньшее их количество по сравнению с Windows XP. В частности, в базе нет драйверов на многие устройства, выпущенные до 2005 года. С одной стороны, это связано с технологией Windows Aero, которая требует видеоадаптер как минимум со 128 МБ памяти и поддержкой DirectX 9.0 (Shader Model 2.0), с другой — драйверы на видеокарты Geforce серии FX (5200-5900) также отсутствуют в комплекте, несмотря на то, что данное поколение уже поддерживает DirectX 9.0. Также отсутствуют драйверы на многие устаревшие модели звуковых карт и на большинство встроенных аудиокодеков стандарта AC97.
• Несмотря на то, что официально для установки Windows 7 требуется как минимум 1 ГБ ОЗУ, данная система успешно устанавливается на компьютеры с меньшим его объёмом, например, 512 МБ (но для стабильной работы нужно выключить графические эффекты), так как Windows 7 была создана на основе предыдущей ОС Windows Vista, которая официально требовала именно 512 МБ ОЗУ.
• Кроме того, в интернете довольно большое распространение получили пиратские Lite-версии Windows 7, устанавливающиеся на компьютеры с объёмом 128—256 МБ ОЗУ (официальные версии Windows 7 требуют как минимум 512 МБ ОЗУ и отказываются устанавливаться при меньшем объёме).

Так как Windows 7 сохранила совместимость с Windows Vista, а к моменту выпуска Windows 7 критическая масса необходимых пользователям приложений и драйверов были перевыпущены с учётом совместимости под Windows Vista — практически все они также корректно работают под Windows 7.

Кроме того, через «Центр обновления Windows» распространяются обновления, обеспечивающие совместимость с более старыми приложениями и драйверами. Также эти обновления могут не давать программе установиться или запуститься, если она имеет статус жёсткой блокировки. Мягкая блокировка даёт программе запуститься, однако выводит сообщение о том, что пользователь может испытывать проблемы с запуском.

Также в состав Windows 7 включена программа, которая может помочь решить проблемы совместимости — «Выполнение программ, предназначенных для предыдущих версий Windows».

Для пользователей профессиональных редакций бесплатно распространяется специальный пакет виртуализации XP Mode, который позволяет запускать приложения в виртуальной машине Windows XP в среде Windows 7 (редакция Профессиональная и выше).

Официально объявлено об отказе поддержки некоторых устаревших технологий (например порта LPT, однако в некоторых случаях принтеры с данным портом продолжают функционировать).

Windows 7 имеет шесть редакций:

1. Начальная (Starter; обычно предустановлена на нетбуках)
2. Домашняя базовая (Home Basic)
3. Домашняя расширенная (Home Premium)
4. Профессиональная (Professional)
5. Корпоративная (Enterprise, для продажи крупным корпоративным клиентам)
6. Максимальная (Ultimate)

Все редакции, кроме начальной (Starter, только 32-битная версия), существуют как в 32-битной, так и в 64-битной версиях^[25][26][27].
Максимальный объём оперативной памяти для 32-битных версий ограничен 4 Гб, начальная редакция поддерживает до 2 Гб. Пользователям, в некоторых случаях, доступен меньший объём, из-за аппаратных ограничений часто невозможно реализовать функцию режима PAE^[28][29][30]. Существуют сторонние патчи ядра (например ReadyFor4GB или fix128)^[31], которые позволяют задействовать всю доступную оперативную память во всех 32-битных редакциях Windows 7. Официальная же поддержка более крупных объёмов памяти доступна только для 64-битных версий^{[32][33][34][35]}. Они поддерживают до 8 Гб («Домашняя базовая») либо до 16 Гб («Домашняя расширенная»), старшие версии могут адресовать до 192 Гб оперативной памяти.

Начальная редакция (Starter) распространяется исключительно в версии OEM и не включает в себя предустановленной функциональной части для проигрывания H.264, AAC, MPEG-2. Домашняя базовая — предназначена исключительно для выпуска в развивающихся странах, в ней нет интерфейса Windows Aero с функциями Peek, Shake, и некоторых других функций^[⇨]. В ней есть те же ограничения на просмотр, что и в начальной редакции. В профессиональной, корпоративной и максимальной версиях существует поддержка XP Mode.

Кроме этого, согласно требованиям Еврокомиссии, для продаж в Европе планировалась специальная версия всех редакций с индексом «Е» (Windows 7 Е) — без предустановленного браузера Internet Explorer, однако она снята с продажи.

Одной из причин снятия с продаж является недовольство партнёров и OEM-производителей отсутствием браузера в изначальной комплектации^[36]. Всем, кто выполнил предзаказ версии с индексом «Е», было предложено заказать обновление или заказать полную версию с 1 сентября 2009 года^[37].

Тем не менее, в течение 5 лет планируется заменить встроенный Internet Explorer опциональным. В настоящее время данная схема согласована с Еврокомиссией^[38].

Бесплатная 90-дневная версия Windows 7 Корпоративная доступна для ИТ-специалистов, желающих познакомиться с Windows 7 в рамках организации^[39] (была информация, что с 31 января 2013 года её нельзя активировать).

Сравнение редакций Windows 7^{[27][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47]}

«Семейная лицензия» (Family Pack) с правом установки лишь на три компьютера стоит в США 150 долларов^[56]. В качестве редакции ОС для «семейной» лицензии выбрана Windows 7 Домашняя расширенная^[57], для других редакций «семейная» лицензия неприменима.

«Семейная лицензия» также продаётся в России^[58]. Microsoft неоднократно акцентировала внимание на ограниченности предложения. В настоящее время Family Pack исчез из розничных магазинов и крупнейших интернет-магазинов, некоторые магазины продают его уже по 250—290 долларов^[59].

Кодовое название Blackcomb принадлежало Windows NT 6.0, операционной системе, которая, как планировалось, станет следующей после Windows XP. Blackcomb должна была стать преемником этой ОС как для настольных, так и для серверных рабочих станций. В конце 2001 года выпуск Blackcomb был запланирован на 2005 год, а в августе 2002 года было объявлено о том, что промежуточной версией станет Windows Longhorn, которая будет обновлением ядра Windows NT 5.x. В течение разработки Windows Longhorn в неё были добавлены некоторые функции Blackcomb и присвоен номер 6.0. Blackcomb была окружена слухами о том, что планы по маркетингу были сильно пересмотрены и что она должна быть серверной ОС Windows 6.x, но с улучшениями^[60].

В январе 2006 года Microsoft объявила, что новой клиентской ОС будет Vienna, выход которой был запланирован на 2010 год^[61][62].

В марте 2006 года стало известно, что наследницей Windows Vista будет Fiji, выход которой был запланирован на 2008 год^[63].
В 2008 году, в результате жалоб фиджийского правительства на то, что новая ОС будет носить имя их страны, стали известны новые сведения о Fiji^[64]. По словам фиджийцев ^{[обтекаемое выражение]}, Бен Грин сказал, что в Fiji будут добавлены новые телевизионные форматы, поддержка интерактивных служб и улучшения пользовательского интерфейса для Windows Media Center.

24 июля 2007 года корпорация Microsoft официально сменила кодовое название Vienna на Windows 7^[65]. Номер Windows 7 в линейке NT — 6.1 (в своё время системы этого семейства получили номера: Windows 2000 — 5.0, Windows XP — 5.1, Windows Server 2003 — 5.2, Windows Vista и Windows Server 2008 — 6.0).
13 октября 2008 года вице-президент Microsoft Майк Нэш сообщил, что кодовое имя Windows 7 и станет официальным названием новой версии^[66].

В июле 2009 года, всего за 8 часов, предварительные заказы на Windows 7 на Amazon превысили спрос, который Windows Vista имела в первые 17 недель. Windows 7 стала самым кассовым товаром в истории Amazon, что превышает продажи предыдущего рекордсмена, седьмой книги про Гарри Поттера. Через две недели после выхода Windows 7 её доля превысила аналогичный показатель Snow Leopard, выпущенной двумя месяцами ранее в качестве последнего обновления от Apple. По данным Net Applications, доля Windows 7 достигла доли рынка в 4 % менее чем за три недели (для сравнения — Windows Vista потребовалось семь месяцев для достижения той же планки)^[67].

В период с 26 июня 2009 по 31 января 2010 года Microsoft предоставляла бесплатное обновление до Windows 7 (в случае загрузки дистрибутива через Интернет; за доставку физического носителя (DVD) бралась плата в размере 35 евро) для всех, кто купил компьютер с предустановленной ОС Windows Vista любой редакции (за исключением редакций Starter и Home Basic) у любого производителя. Этой возможностью могли воспользоваться только обладатели купона программы Windows 7 Upgrade Option^[68].

Windows 7 распространялась на DVD^[68] без возможности заказа комплекта CD (как это было ранее с Windows Vista и Windows XP). Однако возможность создать комплект CD-дисков доступна с помощью утилиты ImageX (через ключ /split) из комплекта для автоматической установки (WAIK) Windows Vista или Windows 7. Также для владельцев нетбуков без DVD-привода распространяются USB-токены с программой установки Windows 7. Однако выяснилось, что эта программа содержит код GPL. В ноябре 2009 года Microsoft извинилась перед покупателями и пообещала открыть код программы^[69] и 10 декабря 2009 года окончательно открыла исходные коды Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool под лицензией GPLv2^[70].

4 марта 2010 года Microsoft объявила, что продала более 90 млн лицензий Windows 7. К 23 апреля, то есть за шесть месяцев, было продано более 100 миллионов копий Windows 7, что сделало систему самой быстропродаваемой у Microsoft. К 23 июня было продано более 150 млн копий; по состоянию на 22 июля было продано 175 млн экземпляров ОС. 21 октября Microsoft объявила, что продано более 240 млн копий. 3 месяца спустя, 27 января 2011 года, Microsoft объявила об общем объёме продаж в 300 миллионов копий. По состоянию на 19 января 2012 года, было продано свыше 525 миллионов копий Windows 7^{[источник не указан 2313 дней]}.

На основе данных по всему миру, полученных в июне 2010 года с Windows Update, 46 % компьютеров работают на 64-разрядной Windows 7. По словам Стивена Бейкера из NPD Group, в апреле 2010 года 77 % компьютеров, проданных в США, были с предустановленной 64-разрядной Windows 7.

Отзывы о Windows 7 были в основном положительные, отмечалось повышение удобства и функциональности по сравнению с её предшественницей Windows Vista. CNET дал Windows 7 Home Premium рейтинг 4,5 из 5 звёзд. PC World присваивает Windows 7 рейтинг 9 из 10 и называет её «Массовый прыжок вперёд» в плане удобства и безопасности, также высоко оценивая новую панель задач.

Согласно жизненному циклу продуктов Microsoft, c 31 октября 2013 года прекращены продажи всех версий Windows 7 для розничной торговли (BOX версии). OEM-продукты Microsoft продавались до 31 октября 2014 года (за исключением OEM Windows 7 Professional — до 31 октября 2016 года)^[71].

Microsoft регулярно выпускает пакеты обновлений своих операционных систем, устраняющие выявленные проблемы и добавляющие новые возможности.

Поддержка Windows 7 RTM без пакетов обновления завершилась 9 апреля 2013 года.

Windows 7 не поддерживает CPU Intel Kaby Lake, 7-е поколение AMD (Bristol Ridge) и построенные на более поздних микроархитектурах, которые поддерживаются только в Windows 10^[72].

Пакет обновления № 1[править | править код]

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1) был представлен 18 марта 2010 года. Бета-версия была выпущена 12 июля 2010 года. В окончательном варианте пакет был обнародован 9 февраля 2011 года. Сборка получила номер: 7601.17514.101119-1850. 22 февраля пакет обновления № 1 официально стал доступен для свободного скачивания через центр обновлений Windows^[73].

В данный момент доступно несколько вариантов скачивания пакета обновления, в том числе по прямой ссылке^[74]. Подробнее см. Сведения об установке пакета обновления 1 (SP1) для Windows 7^[75].

Данный пакет исправлений не такой масштабный, как пакеты обновлений для предыдущих версий Windows, особенно Windows Vista^[76]. Данный пакет исправлений содержит все выпущенные на момент его выхода обновления и заплатки для Windows 7, а также исправление некоторых ошибок.

Накопительные обновления[править | править код]

В мае 2016 года Microsoft выпустила «Convenience rollup» (рус. — «накопительное обновление») для Windows 7 — KB3125574. Номер сборки ОС не изменился. Пакет включает в себя все обновления безопасности по апрель 2016 года. Чтобы установить обновление Convenience rollup, нужно предварительно установить обновление сервисного стека для Windows 7 и Windows Server 2008 R2 (KB3020369)^[77].

С октября 2016 года Microsoft перевела Windows 7 на кумулятивную модель обновлений. Каждые ежемесячные обновления, выпущенные позднее, основаны на предыдущих и выпускаются одним общим пакетом^[78]. Обновления, выпущенные ранее, по-прежнему доступны отдельными патчами.

Основная поддержка Windows 7 прекращена 13 января 2015 года. Расширенная поддержка Windows 7 SP1 завершилась 14 января 2020 года^[50][79]. До указанной даты компания выпускала обновления безопасности.

Окончание поддержки[править | править код]

Выпуск обновлений безопасности прекратился 14 января 2020 года, об этом говорит патч Microsoft.

Окончание поддержки значит то, что на Windows не будут поступать обновления, но ваш компьютер всё ещё будет работать.

В связи с президентскими выборами в США 2020 года, компания Microsoft продлила поддержку Windows 7 исключительно для системы голосования до 2 ноября 2020 года^[80]. Также до 18 сентября 2021 года Microsoft продлила поддержку для системы голосования в выборах государственной думы в России.

Для некоторых версий Windows 7 поддерживается возможность даунгрейда до Windows XP, поскольку поддержка Windows XP прекратилась 8 апреля 2014 года, но далеко не все офисные компьютеры в тот момент удовлетворяли минимальным системным требованиям Windows 7. Даунгрейд до Windows XP был продлён до 2020 года^[81].

Для редакций Embedded, которые предназначены для банкоматов и специализированных устройств, поддержка Windows 7 была ещё доступна. Для Windows Embedded 7 Standard расширенная поддержка была прекращена 13 октября 2020 года. Расширенная поддержка для последней редакции Windows 7, Windows Embedded POSReady 7 расширенная поддержка была прекращена 12 октября 2021 года. Платная поддержка Windows 7 была прекращена 10 января 2023 года. Для редакции Windows Embedded 7 Standard платная поддержка действует до 10 октября 2023 года и до 8 октября 2024 года для Windows Embedded POSReady 7.

Сразу после появления на рынке в 2009 году, Windows 7 критиковалась за более медленную, относительно Windows XP, работу приложений (по результатам тестов на 2—4 %)^[82]. Усложнение ОС повлекло более высокие системные требования, увеличение энергопотребления и снижение времени работы батарей нетбуков на 2—8 % (а в некоторых случаях до 30 %), по сравнению с Windows XP^[83][84]. Несмотря на все нарекания, система была «тепло» встречена пользователями по сравнению с Windows Vista.

В Windows 7, как и в предыдущих ОС от Microsoft, применяется активация лицензионного ключа. Хакеры несколькими путями отключали её, но ещё до релиза, который состоялся 22 октября, был найден метод полного обхода этого механизма с помощью перепрошивки BIOS компьютера. Активация Windows Vista производилась таким же образом, так что фактически активация Windows 7 была взломана ещё до своего появления, так как было очевидно, что её механизм не претерпит значительных изменений^[85]. Через несколько месяцев после выхода ОС было выпущено обновление KB971033, при установке которого происходила блокировка нелицензионной версии Windows 7, однако через некоторое время был разработан способ и этого обхода.

Фонд свободного программного обеспечения развернул кампанию Windows 7 Sins (игра слов, которую можно перевести как семь грехов Windows или грехи Windows 7). В ней приведены 7 доводов — в частности, опасения, что в Windows 7 используются технологии, позволяющие Microsoft вторгаться в личную жизнь пользователя и опасение, что из-за повсеместного использования DRM возможно замыкание пользователя на продукцию конкретных поставщиков и, в первую очередь, Microsoft^[86].

Причиной судебного разбирательства между Alcatel-Lucent, AT&T, Dell и Microsoft в сентябре 2009 года стал метод выбора даты без использования клавиатуры на экране компьютера в Outlook, Microsoft Money и других приложениях Microsoft, запатентованный компанией AT&T в 2002 году^[87].

После выхода RTM версии Windows 10 Microsoft выпустила обновления KB3080149 и KB3075249 для Windows 7 и Windows 8.1 соответственно, которые добавляют сервисы телеметрии и сбора данных, включая сервис diagtrack. Он посылает данные на серверы vortex-win.data.microsoft.com, settings-win.data.microsoft.com и прочие^[88][89][90]. Позднее были выпущены дополнительные обновления, связанные с телеметрией и сбором пользовательских данных.

Данную функцию можно отключить либо путём отключения службы Diagtrack, либо её полного удаления из системы.

• Официальный блог разработчиков. Архивировано 16 мая 2010 года.
• Официальный форум Microsoft Windows 7. Архивировано из оригинала 20 июля 2009 года.
• Windows 7 для нетбуков

Несмотря на отличный приём на рынке и огромную популярность Windows 7 среди домашних пользователей, эта операционная система пока ещё плохо принимается во многих секторах (к примеру, на предприятиях).

Большинство предприятий готово перейти на Windows 7 только после выхода первого пакета обновлений (Service Pack 1). По этой причине Microsoft всеми силами старается выпустить этот пакет как можно раньше.

По сведениям источника, данное событие состоится в сентябре 2010 года, то есть примерно через год после официального выхода ОС. Между прочим, информация подтверждается более ранними слухами, которые в качестве даты выхода Service Pack 1 называли осень 2010 года.

Грядущий пакет будет содержать все обновления, вышедшие после RTM-версии, а также, как ожидается, улучшит поддержку WiFi и Bluetooth и добавит — USB 3.0. Ожидается и ряд других небольших обновлений, но в целом SP1 не внесёт заметных изменений.