A Guide to the Next Version of Windows

Windows 7: The Five Most Talked-About Features
From less annoying security prompts to an improved taskbar, here's a look at the five features of Windows 7 generating the most discussion and what they'll mean to you.

In anticipation of Windows 7 being released into the wild on Oct. 22, here is an up-to-date slideshow of the most compelling navigation and networking features of the OS.

Microsoft is sharing details about the Windows 7 Taskbar after not including it in pre-beta software. Will this be Microsoft's speediest, most clutter-free taskbar to date? Here's an early look at what you'll get.

Video: New Desktop Features

Windows 7: The Enterprise Features
Windows 7: Enterprise Features Explained
With Windows 7 (and in some cases Windows Server 2008 R2), Microsoft foresees a future without VPNs, with encryption on external devices and more expansive desktop search.

Your Windows 7 rollout may seem far in the future, but a research report from Forrester warns against starting your migration from Windows XP too late. Also, learn now about five key enterprise features in Windows 7 that IT managers must understand.

Microsoft has been beating the drum about how Windows 7 was designed to protect a mobile workplace that bears little resemblance to the one during which Windows XP debuted in 2001.

Windows 7: Hands-On Reviews
Windows 7 Beta Shows Off Task Bar, UI Goodies
When the public beta of Windows 7 was released in early January, Computerworld reviewer Preston Gralla called it a "solid, fast-performing, stable operating system that appears to be just about fully baked and ready for prime time" and "much further along than Windows Vista was during its initial beta phase."

Yet all the reviews weren't glowing. Infoworld's Randall C. Kennedy had this to say about the Windows 7 pre-beta: "There's little in Windows 7 that IT shops will find compelling. Most of the new features are targeted squarely at consumers, which is the same formula that got Microsoft into trouble with Vista."

Windows 7 Release Candidate 1 is a polished piece of work and arrives with a variety of nifty new changes to the interface and some important refinements under the hood.

Microsoft's Windows 7 and Windows 2008 Server R2 combination offers a big payoff in terms of virtualization and administrative policy controls

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