Microsoft produced Windows 7 as an operating system to be used on personal computers (both bome and business desktops, laptops, netbooks, tablet PCs and media center PC. It was released in July 22, 2009, and became available worldwide on October 22, 2009 three years after the release of its predecessor, Windows Vista, Windows 7 is succeeded by Windows 8.
Technically, Windows 7 had various incremental upgrade exclusively designed to work with Vista compatible applications and hardware. Microsoft has included the unique features in Windows 7, such as multi-touch support, an updated Windows shell with a new taskbar, referred to internally 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; but most of the applications are offered separately at no charge as part of the Windows Essentials suite.
Read Also :
Features New to Windows 7
- Advancements in touch and handwriting recognition.
- Support for virtual hard disks.
- Improved performance on multi-core processors.
- Improved boot performance, DirectAccess and kernel specifications
- Support for systems using multiple heterogeneous graphics cards from different vendors (Heterogeneous Multi-adapter).
- A new version of Windows Media Center and a Gadget for Windows Media Center.
- Improved media features.
- Inclusion of XPS Essentials Pack and Windows PowerShell.
- Redesigned Calculator with multi-line capabilities including Programmer and Statistics modes along with unit conversion for length, weight, temperature, etc.
- Inclusion of new items 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.
- Ready Boost on 32-bit editions now supports up to 256 gigabytes of extra allocation.
- 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.
Features Removed in Windows 7
In Windows 7, certain capabilities and programs are removed which were the specialties of Windows Vista, 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.