Will the real "new" features in Windows 7 please stand up

* Date: October 26th, 2009
* Author: Jack Wallen

Did Microsoft really create all those nifty new features in Windows 7? Jack Wallen doesn’t think so. Read his abbreviated list of features found in Linux for some time now.

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Windows 7 is out. The release parties are over, the Windows 7 Whopper is hopefully digested (and not taken anyone down with severely clogged arteries), and the operating system is installed. So most likely you’ve had plenty of time to make a judgment call on whether or not 7 is a winner for you. I will confess that I personally think Windows 7 is one of the best offerings that Microsoft has put out. And even though I was nearly stoned to death for my article, “10 Reasons why Windows 7 could fail,” I do not dislike Windows 7. I like it. What I do dislike is the marketing coming out of Redmond. Why?

Once again Microsoft is claiming creation of features that have been in other operating systems for a while now. This happens nearly every time Microsoft releases a new operating system. And in this week’s open source blog, I thought I would illustrate that point with regards to Windows 7. It is not my intention to do a feature-for-feature comparison, but point out the features Microsoft are claiming to be “new” that have actually been in Linux for a while.

I want to make a point, though, of saying this is not an article cutting down one operating system while supporting another. I am just pointing out the errors of the PR machine at Microsoft. With that said, here we go.

Aero: We all know this isn’t new. And we all know that Linux has had every feature displayed in Aero for some time now. This is one area that really burns my cheeks. Microsoft claims to have redesigned the desktop experience, when in fact they just took ideas from Compiz and OS X and claimed it as theirs.

BitLocker: This is a big one. BitLocker (only available in the Ultimate edition) basically allows you to encrypt your entire drive for added security. Umm…Ubuntu Linux has had this starting with 9.04. You can encrypt your home directory during installation. And if you forget that (or decide you want some encryption later on) there are plenty of tools available to encrypt entire directories.

Shake, Peek, and Snap: The sad thing is that Microsoft PR makes these features out to be big. They’re not, at least when you’ve used KDE and/or Compiz for any length of time. Shake is basically mouse gestures (which you can configure in nearly any Linux desktop), Peek is translucency (again any Compiz install has this), and Snap is effectively edge-snapping hot spots.

Gadgets: Gadgets, Widgets, Screenlets, whatever you want to call them, they are not new in any way, shape, or form. These desktop “toys” have been around since the days of Karamba on the Linux desktop (remember, that was the tool Apple “purchased” and turned into Dashboard).

64-bit support: Do I really need to go there? I’ve been happily using 64-bit Linux for so long I can’t remember which release I started with.

Jump Lists: This is a re-invention of GNOME Do, or any number of other Linux tools that have offered such a feature. A Jump List is basically a more powerful “Favorites” menu (or box). The biggest difference between Jump List and GNOME Do is that GNOME Do “jumps” better than Jump “does.” What I am trying to say is that “Do” is much more powerful than Jump Lists. But at least Microsoft is starting to learn that making things actually easier for users is a good thing.

Libraries: This feature, which allows you to associate folders with other folders, is essentially the Tagging feature available in Beagle and Tracker. Even Thunar has media tagging by way of a simple plugin. This is nothing new, Microsoft.

Play To: Isn’t this basically a DAAP server built in? Linux and OS X has had this for quite some time now.

Startup Repair: The Elive distribution recently (prior to the Windows 7 RC release) introduced the Nurse Mode which is a special, graphical boot mode intended to help repair a system. Nurse Mode is not just a start up repair, but a full system repair tool.

Windows XP Mode: With Linux you can still get your full XP on using VirtualBox or, Wine for that matter. And you won’t need a special CPU capable of hardware-assisted virtualization.

The above is not a complete feature-for-feature list, but you get the idea. What I find interesting is that Microsoft, Apple, and even the open source community steal from one another. It’s a predatory world out there and only the strong will survive. The biggest difference is that the open source community doesn’t steal from either Windows or OS X and claim that the theft is their creation.

Windows 7 is a good OS. It’s nowhere as powerful or flexible as Ubuntu 9.10 will be (when it is released in less than a week), but it certainly has its place (like all OSs do). But Microsoft needs to be careful what it claims it created. Maybe some day the Redmond giant will embrace truth and give credit where credit is due.

Now, if you will pardon me, I have to finish my Ubuntu 9.10 Waffle Stack. Yummy goodness.

Shame he doesnt seem to know the technical facts behind what hes talking about...

Or thats how it seems to me.

I could rip most of his points to sheads and spoon feed the tatters to him but I cant be bothered.

That guy seems to be another guy "bashing Win7 in favor of linux", his claims are unfounded, biased, and just plain wrong. Yeah, Linux has had a lot of those features...how many of them were beta or unstable or just plain didn't really work in real world situations?

Top 10 changes to security in Windows 7 January 30, 2009
By Kris Littlejohn
Microsoft has released a public beta of its next client operating system, Windows 7. Everybody's talking about the interface changes: the new taskbar, omission of the sidebar, a new look for Windows Explorer. Under the hood, there are more changes, including new and improved security features. Let's look at 10 security features that have been changed or added in Windows 7.

1: Action Center
In Vista, security configurations are accessed from the Security Center in Control Panel. In Windows 7, you won't
see a Security Center. That's because it's been absorbed into a new Action Center. The Action Center has
security configurations as well as options for other administrative tasks, like Backup, Troubleshooting And
Diagnostics, and Windows Update. Figure A shows the Action Center.


2: Changes to UAC
User Account Control (UAC) was new in Vista, designed to provide better protection from malware. It makes all user accounts run as standard users, even administrator accounts. If you need to do something that requires
admin privileges, it asks for permission. And asks. And asks. This in-your-face aspect of UAC has caused
numerous complaints and has led some users to turn it off completely, thus exposing themselves to threats.

In Windows 7, UAC is still there, but now you can configure how "vocal" it will be. There are four settings you
configure from the UAC settings in the Action Center. You can set UAC to:
• Always notify you when you install software or make any changes to Windows settings (as Vista does
now).
• Notify you when programs make changes but not if you make changes to Windows settings (this is now
the default).
• Notify you only when programs make changes but turn off Secure Desktop, which dims the desktop while
the UAC prompt is displayed. (This is my preferred setting.)
• Never notify you. (This is not recommended.)

3: Better BitLocker
I didn't use BitLocker much in Vista. At first, it would encrypt only the operating system drive. That's nice for
laptops, but I didn't need it for my desktop because that machine is physically secure. Then Service Pack 1 added
the ability to encrypt other drives, and that was nice, but it applied only to fixed hard disks. What I really needed to encrypt were my thumb drives and flash cards and USB drives, since they're removable and portable and more likely to get lost or stolen.
Windows 7 comes through and lets you encrypt removable drives. And it's easy to do. Just open the BitLocker
applet in Control Panel, pick the drive you want to encrypt, and click Turn On BitLocker. The removable drives
appear in the section called BitLocker To Go. For more details about the BitLocker improvements and step by
step screenshots of how to encrypt a drive with BitLocker in Windows 7, see this article. Also note that, as with
Vista, BitLocker probably won't be included in the Home editions of Windows 7.

4: DirectAccess
A brand new feature in Windows 7 is DirectAccess, which allows remote users to connect securely to their
corporate networks over the Internet without using a VPN. Administrators can apply Group Policy settings and
otherwise manage the mobile computers and even update them whenever the mobile machines are connected to
the Internet, regardless of whether the user is logged on to the corporate network.
DirectAccess also supports multifactor authentication with smart cards and uses IPv6 over IPsec for encrypting
the traffic.

5: Biometric security
Arguably the most secure method of authentication is biometrics, or the use of a fingerprint, retinal scan, DNA, or
other unique physiological feature to identify the user. Windows isn't quite at the point of having built-in support for
DNA sampling, but it does include built in support for fingerprint readers. Windows has supported the use a
fingerprint sensor to log on, and many Vista laptops come with fingerprint sensors. But a third-party program is
required to use it. With Windows 7, it's part of the OS.
The Biometric Devices applet in Control Panel (Figure C) lets you configure fingerprint readers (which are the
only kind of biometric devices supported).

6: AppLocker
Software Restriction Policies are included in XP and Vista and they seemed like a great idea. Administrators can
use Group Policy to keep users from running particular programs that might present a security threat. But they've never been used that much because they aren't easy to use.

Windows 7 has improved on the concept with a new feature called AppLocker. AppLocker is also included in
Windows Server 2008 R2. It's easier to use and gives administrators more flexibility and control. You can use
AppLocker with domain Group Policies or on the local machine with the Local Security Policy snap-in. As you can
see in Figure D, AppLocker falls under the Application Control Policies node in the left pane of the snap-in.
Win7 still supports the old Software Restriction Policies, too. Also note that AppLocker may not be available in
some editions of Windows 7.

7: Windows Filtering Platform (WFP)
Windows Filtering Platform (WFP) is a set of APIs introduced in Vista. In Windows 7, developers can use it to
integrate some parts of the Windows Firewall into their own applications. This will allow a third-party program to turn off certain parts of the Windows Firewall selectively if need be.

8: PowerShell v2
Windows 7 comes with PowerShell v2, the command-line interface by which administrators can use cmdlets
(small "one liners" that allow you to perform single functions) to manage various settings, including Group Policy
security settings. You can put multiple cmdlets together to create scripts. The cmdlet method generally requires
fewer steps than using the graphic interface to perform the same task.
Windows 7 also includes the PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE) (Figure E), a graphical tool for
using PowerShell.

9: DNSSec
Windows 7 includes support for DNSSec (Domain Name System Security), which is a group of extensions to the
DNS platform that enhance security. With DNSSec, a DNS zone can take advantage of digital signature
technology so that you can validate the authenticity of data that's received.
According to the Port 53 Blog on TechNet, the DNS client doesn't perform the DNS validation on its own but is
security-aware, so it expects the server to return the results of validation. You can read more about this here.


10: Internet Explorer 8
Windows 7 comes with IE 8, which provides such security enhancements to the Web browser as:
• The SmartScreen filter-- Replaces/expands upon the Phishing Filter in IE 7
• The XSS Filter -- Protects against cross-scripting attacks
• Domain highlighting -- Puts emphasis on the relevant part of the URL so you can more easily determine
the real location of the site you're on
• Better security for ActiveX and the ability to install controls on a per-site basis
• Data Execution Prevention (DEP) enabled by default
For more downloads and a free TechRepublic membership, please visit http://techrepublic.com.com/2001-6240-0.html

The annoying security popups people complain about? Oh, sure, annoying....but next time a malicious advert tries to infect your computer, you'll be glad it alerted you.

History
On 2001-03-24, Mac OS X v10.0 was the first mainstream operating system to ship with working compositing and effects , provided by its Quartz component. However compositing was not accelerated using hardware. On 2002-08-13, with the release of Mac OS X v10.2 and Quartz Extreme , the job of compositing could be moved to the video card (for certain types of card), where it took advantage of the hardware's drawing capabilities.

Compositing under the X Window System required some redesign, which took place gradually, and slowly opened up many new possibilities. Metacity 2.8.4 was one of the first X Window System compositing window managers, which is now included with GNOME, and was released in August of 2004. The first widely-publicized compositing window manager for X was Xfwm, which is part of the Xfce desktop environment, and was released in January 2005. [8] KDE's KWin now also supports compositing. On 2005-01-26, Compiz was released for Linux and added fully accelerated 3D compositing to the Linux platform.

A compositing window manager for Microsoft Windows codename Longhorn, the Desktop Window Manager, was first demonstrated in WinHEC 2003, including "Compiz-style" floppy windows.Windows Vista was severely delayed, however, and so Windows did not gain compositing capabilities until Vista was released in January 2007 .

BitLocker Drive Encryption | Microsoft | 2006

dm-crypt/LUKS | Clemens Fruhwirth (LUKS) | 2005-02-05

“Widget” is short for “window gadget”. The term was first applied to user interface elements during Project Athena in 1988. The word was chosen because "all other common terms were overloaded with inappropriate connotations" and – since the project's Intrinsics toolkit associated each widget with a window of the underlying X Window System – because of the common prefix with the word window.

64-bit software timeline

* 1991: 64-bit support for the R4000 would not be included in the IRIX operating system until IRIX 6.2, released in 1996.

* 1993: DEC releases the 64-bit DEC OSF/1 AXP Unix-like operating system (later renamed Tru64 UNIX).

* 1995: DEC releases OpenVMS 7.0, the first full 64-bit version of OpenVMS for Alpha.

* 1998: Sun releases Solaris 7, with full 64-bit UltraSPARC support.

* 2000: 64-bit Linux on zSeries follows the CPU release almost immediately.

* 2001: NetBSD is the first operating system to run on the IA-64 processor at the CPU's release. Additionally, Microsoft releases Windows XP 64-Bit Edition, also for the IA-64 architecture, although it was capable of running 32-bit applications through an execution layer.

* 2003: Apple releases an update to its Mac OS X operating system which adds partial support for 64-bit mode. Several Linux distributions release with support for AMD64. Microsoft announces plans to create a version of its Windows operating system to support the AMD64 architecture, with backwards compatibility with 32-bit applications. FreeBSD releases with support for AMD64.

* 2005: On January 31, Sun releases Solaris 10 with support for AMD64 and EM64T processors. On April 30, Microsoft releases Windows XP Professional x64 Edition for AMD64 and EM64T processors.

* 2006: Microsoft releases Windows Vista, including a 64 bit version that retains 32 bit compatibility. All Windows applications and components are 64 bit, although many also have their 32 bit versions included for compatibility with plugins.

* 2009: Apple's Mac OS X 10.6, "Snow Leopard," is rewritten in 64-bit code which is almost backwards-compatible with 32-bit applications and not older processors, like those found in older Macs. However the on Mac OS X (Not Server) the Kernel of the OS stays at 32-bit, as Apple have stated. However those with 64bit EFI's can enable the 64bit kernel by a Terminal Command.

* 2009: Microsoft's Windows 7, like Vista, includes a full 64 bit version.

Taskbar Jump Lists are presented in the Start Menu via a guillemet; when the user moves his or her mouse over the guillemet, or presses the right-arrow key, the right-hand side of the Start menu is widened and replaced with the application's Jump List.

GNOME Do (often referred to as Do) is a popular, free application launcher for Linux originally created by David Siegel,[1] and currently maintained by Alex Launi. Unlike other application launchers, it not only allows you to search for applications and files but it also allows you to specify actions to perform on search results by providing instantaneous, action-oriented search results that adapt to reflect user habits and preferences.

While it is designed primarily for the GNOME desktop, it works in other desktop environments, such as KDE.

GNOME Do was inspired by Quicksilver for Mac OS X, and GNOME Launch Box.

Libraries:
Windows Explorer in Windows 7 supports Libraries, virtual folders described in a .library-ms file that aggregates content from various locations - including shared folders on networked systems - and present them in a unified view. Searching in a library automatically federates the query to the remote systems, in addition to searching on the local system, so that files on the remote systems are also searched. Unlike search folders, Libraries are backed by a physical location which allows files to be saved in the Libraries. Such files are transparently saved in the backing physical folder. The default save location for a library may be configured by the user, as can the default view layout for each library. Libraries are generally stored in the Libraries special folder, which allows them to be displayed on the navigation pane.

Beagle is a search system for Linux and other such modern Unix-like systems, enabling the user to search documents, chat logs, email and contact lists in a similar way to Spotlight in Mac OS X, and Windows Search or Google Desktop (third party) under Microsoft Windows.

Beagle grew out of Dashboard, an early Mono based application for watching and presenting useful information from a user's computer. It is written in C# using Mono and uses a port of Lucene to C# called Lucene.Net as its indexer. Beagle includes a Gtk#-based user interface, and integrates with Galago for presence information.

Beagle is developed and maintained by Joe Shaw, with help from a growing open source Beagle community. Other notable past contributors include Jon Trowbridge, Robert Love, Nat Friedman, and David Camp.

Isn’t this basically a DAAP server built in? Linux and OS X has had this for quite some time now.

A DAAP server is a specialized HTTP server, which performs two functions. It sends a list of songs and it streams requested songs to clients. There are also provisions to notify the client of changes to the server. Requests are sent to the server by the client in form of URLs and are responded to with data in application/x-dmap-tagged mime-type, which can be converted to XML by the client. iTunes uses the ZeroConf (also known as Bonjour) service to announce and discover DAAP shares on a local subnet.

Startup Repair:

http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/opensource/?p=1009&tag=nl.e011

This is true, SuSE & Fedora have also had this for a long time, full system repair...services, settings, programs/base packages, bootloader, etc....
http://en.opensuse.org/SDB:YaST_System_Repair
==========================================

Windows XP Mode:

Many Linux distros come with Xen (SuSE & Fedora are just two), Sun's Virtualbox and KVM can also give a full featured Windows XP on a Linux desktop
There is also WINE that comes preinstalled on some distros.

If you overuse the security pop-ups, people will start to simply ignore it. How about a security pop-up when there is an actual threat? Now thats something that is really needed. Not something to question a persons every move, that in itself is not a security device

what makes it worthwhile?

- light , real time fast, biometrics, touch screen

It's pretty

otherwise, I really don't know much about it.
We've only had a brief introduction. I usually wait to get to know a new fella B4 I own or install him. just sayin'....

don can you show me a link that puts all those features in one place at one time from first install without customising the distro?

Features

* Like other Linux distributions, several desktop environments are included such as:
o KDE (versions 3 and 4)
o GNOME
o Window managers like Window Maker
o and Blackbox
+ the YaST2 installer allowing the user to choose a preselection of GNOME, KDE, or no desktop at all.
* OpenSUSE 11.1 supports both KDE 4.1 and KDE 3.5.10 though the intention is that version 11.1 will be the last release to support the KDE 3.5 series.[citation needed]
* It contains the following:
o Compiz Fusion, a 3D desktop, that runs on AIGLX, enabled by default when 3D opensource drivers are available for the graphics card of the system
o Beagle desktop search software
o OpenOffice.org productivity suite and software for reading and/or creating other common document formats such as PDF
* SUSE ships with multimedia software such as:
o K3b (CD/DVD burning)
o Amarok (audio playback)
o Kaffeine (movie playback).
+ Due to their patented nature, the distribution does not install codecs for proprietary formats like avi by default, but these can be installed with packages available on the internet.
+ MP3s are handled in the fully capable graphical media studio Amarok with the Fluendo codecs pack.
* It also includes:
o Xen
o VirtualBox
o KVM and Qemu virtualization software
o AppArmor security suite to give certain applications rights based on how they run and interact with the environment, as well as a basic SELinux support.
o BareXML an XML parser

But you dont expect Ferrari to thank the inventor of the wheel everytime they make a car, or Lexus to thank Mercedess Benz everytime they make an automatic transmission...

They didnt claim the invention, they just didnt cite the inventors.

Standard practice I think you will find.

you'll all be using it soon..... get with the program..... go forward, move ahead >> as Devo suggested in song years ago.... didn't xp users listen?... ..

Why not be smart?

2) This Week in Brief:

Some vulnerabilities have been reported in Mozilla Firefox, which can
be exploited by malicious people to disclose sensitive information,
bypass certain security restrictions, manipulate certain data, or
compromise a user's system.

For more information, refer to:
http://secunia.com/advisories/36711/

--

Some vulnerabilities have been reported in Opera, which can be
exploited by malicious people to disclose sensitive information,
conduct spoofing attacks, or compromise a user's system.

For more information, refer to:
http://secunia.com/advisories/37182/

========================================================================
3) This Weeks Top Ten Most Read Advisories:

1. [SA36983] Adobe Reader/Acrobat Multiple Vulnerabilities
2. [SA35948] Adobe Flash Player Multiple Vulnerabilities
3. [SA37007] Microsoft Products GDI+ Multiple Vulnerabilities
4. [SA36649] Mozilla Firefox Temporary File Download Manipulation
Security Issue
5. [SA24314] Internet Explorer Charset Inheritance Cross-Site
Scripting Vulnerability
6. [SA36979] Microsoft Internet Explorer Multiple Vulnerabilities
7. [SA37049] Foxit Reader Firefox Plugin Memory Corruption
Vulnerability
8. [SA34451] Sun Java JDK / JRE Multiple Vulnerabilities
9. [SA37055] VMware Products DHCP and JRE Multiple Vulnerabilities
10. [SA37006] Microsoft .NET Framework Multiple Vulnerabilities

========================================================================
4) This Week in Numbers

During the past week 69 Secunia Advisories have been released. All
Secunia customers have received immediate notification on the alerts
that affect their business.

This weeks Secunia Advisories had the following spread across platforms
and criticality ratings:

Platforms:
Windows : 8 Secunia Advisories
Unix/Linux : 30 Secunia Advisories
Other : 4 Secunia Advisories
Cross platform : 27 Secunia Advisories

Criticality Ratings:
Extremely Critical : 0 Secunia Advisories
Highly Critical : 11 Secunia Advisories
Moderately Critical : 23 Secunia Advisories
Less Critical : 30 Secunia Advisories
Not Critical : 5 Secunia Advisories

Subscribe:
http://secunia.com/advisories/weekly_summary/

I miss the onboard windows mail that vista uses and W7 doesn't.... I got used to that...and might hack it back in soon....