Microsoft Pushes Windows 7 RC; Kills AutoRun
Microsoft has officially pushed out its Release Candidate for Windows 7, although the software is still just available to professional developers.
Specifically, the software is now available via Microsoft's MSDN or TechNet sites. The anticipated general release of the RC to the public will be on May 5. PCMag.com has a hands-on review of the Release Candidate, which reviewer Jeremy Kaplan called an opportunity for Microsoft to put some spit and polish on the OS.
"Quicker to install, more polished and customizable, and easier to use than earlier builds, the Windows 7 Release Candidate (build 7100) is a nice step towards finalization of the operating system," Kaplan wrote.
One of the more intersting new disclosures around Windows 7 has been the addition of Windows XP Compatibility Mode, which creates a virtualized Windows XP Professional environment to run what is essentially legacy code. However, enabling this mode also requires a separate download. Also of interest is the "Play To" feature, with improved media streaming around the network.
Microsoft has also disabled the AutoRun feature from Windows 7, a response to worms like Conficker, which apply deceiving Autorun messages in an attempt to provoke users to click ad launch the malware.
"Windows 7 introduces key changes to AutoPlay that keep you from being exposed inadvertently to malware like Conficker when doing your common scenarios with devices (e.g., get to the files on your USB flash drive, download pictures from an SD card, etc.), Arik Cohen wrote on the Engineering Windows 7 blog on Monday.
"In particular, Windows will no longer display the AutoRun task in the AutoPlay dialog for devices that are not removable optical media (CD/DVD.) because there is no way to identify the origin of these entries," Cohen said. "Was it put there by the IHV, a person, or a piece of malware? Removing this AutoRun task will block the current propagation method abused by malware and help customers stay protected. People will still be able to access all of the other AutoPlay tasks that are installed on their computer."
Earlier, Microsoft employees expressed satisfaction with how development is progressing.
"On behalf of everyone here, I would to thank all of our beta testers for helping us get to this point," Microsoft's Brandon LeBlanc said in a Microsoft blog post last week. "You guys have been busy. At the peak of the feedback cycle, we were receiving a "Send Feedback" report every 15 seconds for an entire week. Since then, the engineering team has been busy analyzing the feedback, fixing bugs, and working hard to improve the overall experience."
Officially, Windows 7 is slated to be released within three years of the launch date of Windows Vista.
