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Windows 7 has been tweaked and tuned a bit since the launch of the operating system’s initial public beta in January. The official Windows 7 Release Candidate is now available for all users through Microsoft’s Customer Preview program. The release has been available since May 5.
To download Windows 7 RC, you’ll need to hit up the link below, head to the bottom of the page to select which version of Windows 7 you want (32-bit or 64-bit), select your language, and then sign in with your Windows Live account (that means you’ll need to get one if you don’t have one already). This download and product keys will be available through the end of June, so you’ve got plenty of time. Click here to Download. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/download.aspx
Small Changes
Although the Windows 7 RC contains some new features and has incorporated changes suggested by beta users, the improvements are, on the whole, relatively minor.
“If you make too many changes this late in the process, you’re likely to destabilize the operating system,” Michael Cherry, a senior analyst at Directions on Microsoft.
“So many of the new features they’re announcing, such as virtualization, have been ongoing work, and they’re just synchronizing them with the operating system,” he said.
New Features in Windows 7 RC
One of the key changes to the RC is the inclusion of the Windows XP Mode feature that lets users shift to Microsoft’s older operating system.
Another is improved security.
Yet another is Remote Media Streaming.
Windows XP Mode
XP Mode is not for consumers, and will only work with the Enterprise, Professional and Ultimate versions of Windows 7. It lets businesses run multiple Windows environments on one desktop, using Microsoft’s Virtual PC technology. It is designed for enterprises with mission-critical apps that have not been updated to work with Vista or Windows 7. Users can run the app in XP Mode until they upgrade to a newer version.
XP Mode is likely Microsoft’s response to enterprise IT pros who have been hesitant to upgrade from XP because of compatibility worries and negative perceptions of Vista.
Improvements to Security
While removable storage media has often proven very useful in the enterprise, it also poses a major potential security threat to a business.
Users can not only illicitly download corporate information onto these drives, but also provide open doors for several types of viruses and worms that target USB drives and other removable media. They include the SillyFD/AA worm that emerged in 2007 and the infamous Conficker worm, which recently hit millions of PCs.
The Windows 7 RC disables AutoRun on non-optical removable storage devices such as USB drives. AutoRun will still work for CDs and DVDs, however.
The RC also includes improvements to AppLocker, a mechanism that lets IT professionals control access to applications. One such improvement is an audit-only enforcement mode, which lets IT professionals test rules before deploying them to govern access to applications.
Remote Media Streaming
Remote media streaming is a brand-new feature in Windows 7 RC. It lets users access their home-based digital media files over the Internet from other PCs running Windows 7.
Remote Media Streaming “allows you to take media sharing on the go,” says Microsoft’s Price. So, the media library full of songs and photos that a person could access on any laptop in their home network can be accessed anywhere there is a Wi-Fi connection.
“Whether in the home or remotely you get the same access to media. I think this feature will be a lot of fun for people,” says Price. “If I chose to play a song from my home media library at Starbucks, it would stream it over the Internet. I’m not copying the songs and photos over or synchronizing them. I can just view the library and play them.”
