What Windows 7.0 Might Look Like!

On the back of Acer president, Gianfranco Lanci's open attack on Microsoft Windows Vista comes a serious round of speculation regarding what might constitute Microsoft's upcoming sequel to Vista, currently called Windows 7.0.

More so because Microsoft remains tight-lipped about it's next major release -- except for a few details like Windows 7.0 will release sometime in 2010, will be a full OS release, and will come in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions.

So for now, we will have to settle with what analysts say Windows 7.0 will probably look like...

For starters, they say Windows 7.0 will have less 'new' features than it will -- improvements on some of the new ones incorporated in Windows Vista.

For instance, Vista's Bitlocker encryption is one feature that Microsoft might want to improve upon in Windows 7.0.

Also, thanks to Vista's 'very large footprint', hardware utilization and performance is another area which needs working upon.

In this context, it would do well to recall an earlier speech by Ben Fathi, corporate vice president of development with Microsoft's Windows Core Operating System Division, wherein he said a 'fundamental piece of enabling technology such as a hypervisor or a drastic change in the UI would likely turn up in Windows 7.0'.

Analysts believe that while both a hypervisor and a new user interface (UI) are distinct possibilities for Windows 7.0, the former is almost a given. The reason being Microsoft would get more control over the hardware it's OS runs on by integrating a hypervisor in Windows 7.0.

Meanwhile, chances are Windows 7.0 might also get a touch-screen UI -- something on the lines of the Apple iPhone's UI.

And, desktop search too, a new feature built into Vista, has space for improvement. Reportedly, Microsoft has said it will link desktop search to Windows Server 2008 so that desktop users can search for files on the server in addition to just local files.