Microsoft on Tuesday offered up more details on Windows 7, the successor to Vista.
The software maker is focused on improving the time it takes for Windows to start up and shut down. In addition to its own work, Microsoft has been working directly with computer makers to address all of the factors that affect system performance.
Windows 7 also features support for multitouch input and a new taskbar that makes it easier to manage multiple open windows.
"The focus is on making sure the things you do [today] are easier and the things you always wanted to do are possible," corporate vice president Mike Nash said in an interview on Monday. "There's a lot of work we've done to just make things easier and faster."
The early, pre-beta version being handed out to developers at the Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles has all of the programming interfaces that will be in the final version but only some of the planned features.
Several enthusiasts who have been investigating the new code in recent days praised the stability of the release, noting that the operating system is still at an early stage.
With Windows 7, Microsoft has changed the way it approaches building early releases. In the past, Microsoft included features at various stages of development. With Windows 7, features are included in the main Windows build only after they are fully developed.
Microsoft is looking to leave a far different first impression than it did with Vista, which made major changes under the hood and led to considerable incompatibilities.
Microsoft is not introducing any major changes to the Windows kernel with Windows 7 and is keeping much of the other plumbing substantially similar to that of Vista.
The software maker has also tried to mitigate some of Vista's other perceived irritants, such as the frequently criticised User Account Control feature, which some have complained presents too many dialogue boxes. Windows 7 users will be able to choose for themselves how often the system warns them of changes being made to their computer.
The next external release of Windows 7, a feature-complete public beta, is scheduled for early next year.
Nash wouldn't say whether the company plans more than one beta version before Windows 7's final release. "We'll see how the first one goes," he said.
The company has said it will have the release out within three years of Vista's January 2007 mainstream release. However, chief executive Steve Ballmer has said he wants Windows 7 out next year.
