So I took the plunge deeper into the Beta pool today and upgraded to Windows 7 x86 Build 7068. This build has lots of improvements over the Build x86 7000 build which was the original public build. Everyone will have read about the obvious things like the changed and I must say much improved logon […]
So I took the plunge deeper into the Beta pool today and upgraded to Windows 7 x86 Build 7068. This build has lots of improvements over the Build x86 7000 build which was the original public build.
Everyone will have read about the obvious things like the changed and I must say much improved logon screen which has got some really like shadows and alpha blend transparency going on….graphics cards at the ready for the DirectX use here.
Other subtle changes include a new Start orb button. The idle state of the orb has slightly more glow to the top of it, but it’s when you wake it up that you really see it. It really lights up which looks nice.
The folder views like Control Panel and the Network and Sharing Center have a different coloured tasks pane on the left. It’s much softer than the Build 7000 version, and I have to say that I prefer the original one. It looks a bit washed out and dull compared with the other changes that are being made to the operating system.
There is a lot of new icons in this build, although I think a lot of these where implemented in the intermediate build which I skipped over. Control Panel, Home Groups, Paint, Calculator and Remote Desktop Connection to name a few are changers on the icon front.
With IE8 now being RTM for Windows XP and Vista I was feeling pretty left in the cold on Beta 2 in Build 7000, however it seems that the RTM build over IE8 is in this build. The build number in Windows 7 for IE8 is 8.0.7068.0. 7068 obviously signifies the Windows 7 build number but this is actually higher than the build number of IE8 RTM on Vista so I think it’s a sign.
One negative comment I must make it when using Build 7000, I had RSAT (Remote Server Administration Tools) installed which is a KB MSU download for Vista or Windows 7. As part of the upgrade this got uninstalled, however it re-installed without any problems so it’s no big deal really.
One thing that did puzzle me was when I logged in for the first time after the upgrade Windows Live Messenger kicked off a Windows Installer process. I’m not sure what it did because Messenger is still working just fine. Maybe this build includes hotfix for WLM? Who knows – I’m sure Jonathan Kay will know so I’ll be keeping an eye on his blog.
Whilst I haven’t played with this yet because I use all of the aforementioned products, but this build just like the intermediate build allows you to uninstall certain components of Windows. This is obviously designed to comply with the EU Anti-Trust rulings passed over time. The products you can remove include Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player and Windows Media Center.
Well that’s my first impressions, but I’m sure over the next few days I’ll find some more things of interest.