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Windows 7 Release Candidate Video

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Windows 7 Release Candidate
Created: 05/05/2009
Video description: Microsoft impressed many people with its Windows 7 beta, and its new Release Candidate looks even better. More than mere bug fixes, the Windows 7 Release Candidate improves device management and search-term highlighting, and it includes support for a virtual XP mode to run older programs. Get a preview of what's new in this First Look video.

Windows 7 Release Candidate Video Transcript

[ Music ]

>> Seth Rosenblatt: Hi I'm Seth Rosenblatt for download.com and today we're taking a first look at the Windows 7 Release Candidate. In this video I'm only going to talk about the changes that Microsoft has made to the RC. If you're looking for the first look at Windows 7 Beta you can search for Windows 7 Beta at cnettv.com. Also if this is your first experience with testing out Windows 7, CNET TV has a video explaining how to dual boot Windows 7 with either XP or Vista. So is this release candidate worth upgrading to? Is it really more than just bug fixes? Turns out, yes it is. There are new features here not found in the Beta and there are changes to older features. One of the coolest new features is that Windows 7 will now natively stream your media files over the internet to another Windows 7 computer. All you need to do is associate both machines with the same Windows Live ID and Windows Media Player does the rest under the stream tab. Windows Media Players now playing mode has been shrunk so that it looks a bit slicker and takes up less screen space. There's also the much discussed XP mode. This allows you to run programs designed for XP in a virtual XP environment. This is a more businesses than home consumers but it's good to know that Microsoft virtual PC will support an XP environment that shares the clip board, printers and external memory with its Windows 7 host. The new device stage which creates a base line environment for all peripherals has been updated to include basic support for older devices. When they're connected they'll appear on the task bar just like a running program would. There's also some frustrating news for Bluetooth audio users. Bluetooth drivers will no longer be baked into Windows 7. You'll have to install you're Bluetooth audio driver from its third party vendor. The RC has made some changes to searching too. The colors and text have been updated and the content view now has labels for all properties. Search results include longer snippets of information and uses them more often which means there's a greater chance that your words from your query will show up. There are 2 other changes. 1 is that touch support has been greatly expanded. I don't have a touch screen computer to demonstrate this on but it includes multi-touch zooming and activating the thumb nail peak just by dragging your finger over the icon. The second is a big security win; audio run has been disabled from external drives and USB keys. This exploit has been heavily used in Window's XP to transmit viruses and other malware. Not only does 7 continue to look like the operating system we've all been waiting for Microsoft's dedication to improving it before pushing it out the door bodes extremely well for the future. [Background music] Don't forget that if you'd like to see other videos about Windows 7 just search for Windows 7 at CNET TV. For cnetdownload.com I'm Seth Rosenblatt with a first look at the Windows 7 Release Candidate. [ Music ]

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