Windows 7 - 从M3到Beta

Win7之家（ www.win7china.com）：Windows 7 - 从M3到Beta

 有关Windows 7到底是一个大版本还是小版本的问题一直在继续。与多年前的Windows 98相比，很多人都认为Windows 7只是Vista的改进版本，并不是一款革命性的产品。而且Windows 7主要是在修复，优化Vista中的一些东西，从视觉界面到底层技术。这些事实表明Windows 7只是一次小更新。

但微软并不这么认为。而他们的理由主要集中在Windows 7中一系列的新特性上。功能，视觉效果上的改进使得Windows 7成为了一次大更新。这样说来，Windows 7之于Vista，就相当于XP之于Windows 2000。共享底层代码但后出的在功能和界面上改进更大。

因此Windows 7更像Windows 98还是XP？这个问题一直在讨论中，至今也没有答案。但我认为Windows 7对2大类人群来说都是值得更新的系统：
1.成千上万的Vista用户
2.更多的坚守XP的用户
这使得Windows 7注定就是一款重要的产品，尤其是对于微软而言。

有关Windows 7的另一大讨论的热点就是微软会在何时发布Windows 7。对此微软并非透露任何口风。但从我们已经看到的众多M3版本看来，微软似乎很快就会发布这款产品。就我个人而言，微软将会在2009年4月发布Vista SP2的同时发布Windows 7。而最早将会在2009年6月左右正式投放市场。

而近日，Windows 7 Beta已经泄露并可以从网上下载。如今，也是时候期待Windows 7正式版了。

附部分原文;

The debate over whether Windows 7 is a major or minor release continues. It's now clear that Windows 7 is a step up from Windows Vista and not a major evolutionary leap, something I compare to the Windows 98 release of a decade ago. It's also equally clear that much of the design imperative behind Windows 7 is aimed at fixing, or at least tweaking, virtually everything in Windows Vista, from the visual fluff to the technical underpinnings. These facts suggest that Windows 7 should be viewed as a minor upgrade. A pleasant one, but not a big deal.

Microsoft disagrees. And its basic premise seems to be that the vast addition of new features in Windows 7 makes this a major release. It is the functionality, the visual changes, that make this a big deal. In that sense, Windows 7 is to Vista as Windows XP was to Windows 2000: They share architectural underpinnings but the latter products, respectively, offer important visual and functional differences.

So is Windows 7 more like Windows 98 or XP? That's a debate I and others will engage in for some time to come. But I will say that Windows 7 is a nice enough upgrade that it will appeal to two big audiences: The hundreds of millions of people who have already adopted Windows Vista, and the several hundred million people who have opted to stick with XP. That alone makes Windows 7 a hugely important product, especially for Microsoft.
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