Windows 7 ( What is it?)

Windows 7
Windows 7 is the next release of Microsoft Window. Formerly it was codenamed Blackcomb and Vienna.

Microsoft stated in 2007 that it is planning Windows 7 development for a three-year time frame starting after the release of its predecessor, Windows Vista, but that the final release date will be determined by product quality and it will be released after it achieve certain superior level bar. Though market rumors tells us that MS might be releasing it in the mid 2009.

Unlike its predecessor, Windows 7 is intended to be an incremental upgrade with the goal of being fully compatible with existing device drivers, applications and hardware. Presentations given by the company in 2008 in PDC and WinHEC have focused on multi-touch support, a redesigned Windows Shell with a new taskbar (superbar), a home networking system called HomeGroup,and performance improvements. Some applications that have been included with prior releases of Microsoft Windows, most notably Windows Mail, Windows Movie Maker and Windows Photo Gallery, are no longer included with the operating system; they are instead offered separately as part of the Windows Live Essentials suite.

Naming:

As major feature work on Windows Vista wound down in early 2006, Blackcomb was renamed Vienna. However, following the release of Windows Vista, it was confirmed by Microsoft on 20 July 2007 that "the internal name for the next version of the Windows Client OS" was Windows 7, a name that had been reported by some sources months before. On 13 October 2008, it was announced that Windows 7 would also be the official name of the operating system.

Mike Nesh, Microsoft's vice-president of Windows product management said:

“ The decision to use the name Windows 7 is about simplicity. Simply put, this is the seventh release of Windows, so therefore Windows 7 just makes sense.
Coming up with an all-new 'aspirational' name does not do justice to what we are trying to achieve, which is to stay firmly rooted in our aspirations for Windows Vista, while evolving and refining the substantial investments in platform technology in Windows Vista into the next generation of Windows.