Windows 7: More Features than XP and Vista, New Logo

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 21 May 2009

Even though Windows 7 Release Candidate has been made available for download at the start of the month (available “at least through July” – download links and activation keys here), Microsoft still believes there might be Windows users and IT experts out there that are not familiar with what the operating system has to offer. For the users that are currently running Windows XP SP3 or Windows Vista SP1 on their machine, Microsoft has released a detailed chart of new features that Windows 7 brings to the table.

“This chart compares features of interest to IT professionals across three versions of the Windows client operating system: Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista SP1, and Windows 7,” said Microsoft in the official presentation of the chart (download here – PDF warning).

According to Microsoft’s chart, here are the features that are not present in XP SP3 and Vista SP1, features that you will get in Windows 7:
Libraries
Search Federation
Enterprise Search Scopes
DirectAccess
VPN reconnect
BranchCache
Mobile Broadband
RemoteApp & Desktop Connections
BitLocker to Go
AppLocker
Multiple Active Firewall Profiles
Domain Name System Security Extensions
Biometric Support
Windows PowerShell 2.0
Scripting of Group Policy Settings
Group Policy Preferences
Windows Troubleshooting Platform
Problem Steps Recorder
Remote Access to Reliability Data
Dynamic Driver Provisioning
Multicast Multiple Stream Transfer
VHD Image Management & Deployment
Rich Remoting Experience (Multimedia, Bi-directional Audio, Multi-monitor)
VHD Boot


According to the same chart, here are the features that may be present in Vista (or come as a separate download in XP) that have been enhanced in Windows 7:
Desktop Search
BitLocker Drive Encryption
Granular Audit
User Account Control
Smart Card Support
Windows Recovery Environment
Unified Tracing
Deployment Image Searching & Management
Volume Activation
User State Migration Tool


If the perspective of running Windows 7 on your system is starting to get alluring, but you don’t know if your current configuration is compatible with the next iteration of the Windows-based OS, then you should be made ware of the fact that Microsoft released Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor Beta. This piece of software will provide you with in-depth info on how your configuration will handle Windows 7.

One other thing that will be changed with 7 is the Windows logo that Microsoft uses. The subject has already been debated when Windows 7 retail box images showed up online – the debate was whether these images are real or fakes. Confirmation on how the Windows 7 logo will look comes directly from Microsoft – Microsoft China that is.




Latest News


Sony's 'Attack of the Blockbusters Sale' Slashes Prices in Half for a Ton of PS4 Games

17 Aug 2017

How Samsung's New T5 Compares to the Old T3 Portable SSD (Infographic)

17 Aug 2017

See all