Windows 7 Public Beta 1 direct & torrent download

After the not-so-ideal release of the first official public beta of indows 7 Microsoft decided to pull of the the 2.5 million restriction and instead the redmond company offered unlimited beta downloads as well as valid serial keys.

Good news indeed, so here is how you can directly download your copy of Windows 7 Beta 1 x86 and x64 versions. For the P2P/Bittorent enthusiansts there is a version in Demonoid that contains all x86 and x64 versions and the Ultimate SKU’s are preactivated!Grab your torrent here
To get your own genuine serial number enter here for the 32bit serial and here for the 64bit serial.

Also a reliable source spoted that there are still some hidden features in the first public beta of Windows 7 but there is a way to unlock them. Read the full story here and download the blue badge tool to unlock the hidden features x86 and x64 version.

Windows 7 Beta 1 Review [Screenshots Gallery included]

Santa came a few days earlier this year and he brought us the first official beta of the Upcoming Windows 7.
I grabbed my ISO and installed on by base system. If you have installed the previous leaked build 6956 then you won’t notice anything different, if you came from Build 6801 then there is a few changes for you.
Visually, since the build 6801, had changed the boot screen, the new taskbar and the way it behaves, the start menu orb animation and some other various elements like the wireless network control or the advanced monitor settings (now called Change Resolution) in the right click menu.

But lets take things from the beginning, lets see how this first official Beta stands next to the last Microsoft OS, no other then Windows Vista SP1.

Lets begin with the installation process.

First thing you notice is the slightly changed installation environment, after you select the hard disk you want to install Windows 7 you will notice that it doesn’t prompt for activation, well this part moved at the end of installation/first boot.

You will also notice that the installation process is way too fast compared to Vista’s.

In the first boot you will see the new Boot Screen as well as the new Logon Screen, they both look nice. You will prompt to activate windows(you can skip that), then you must enter User Name and Password, pick up your timezone and some localized settings next, choose your Windows Update settings and that’s it! Ready to log into your brand new Operating System.
It wasn’t so hard right?Neither the changes from its predecessor were too much huh?

Now lets see what has changed, right click on the desktop, two new additions and one change:

• Change Resolution
• Gadgets
• Personalize

the last one is common from windows vista but if you click on it you will find that is much changed. In fact Windows 7 officially supports themes.

• Window Color
• Sounds
• Sreensaver are the same with Vista’s

• Change Background has changed a bit and a new feature has been added, Desktop SlideShow. As you have already guessed it periodically changes you desktop background. You can choose the pics you want and the time between the background changes from 10 secs to 12 hours!

You cant see the windows sidebar so you probably wonder what those gadgets are. Well, after the disappointment with this long awaited vista’s feature Microsoft redesigned it and this time is actually a useful feature! For those familiar with Mac OS X the new Desktop Gadget looks like the Dashboard. You can load of these fancy or useful Vista sidebar gadgets and can place them anywhere in your desktop. You could do that in Windows Vista as well but with Windows Sidebar loaded.

• Screen Resolution manages your monitor(s), your resolutions, refresh rates etc. its the good old advanced settings.

Lets see a list with the most *Hot* New or changed features in this Windows 7 Beta Build:

Windows Vista SP2

Well, some first previews and info are already out in the wild about the beta of Windows Vista SP2, i’m not to tell you something different, i’m about to make a first reading, taken from the official Vista Blog at http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windowsvista/default.aspx

In addition to previously released updates since the launch of Windows Vista SP1, Windows Vista SP2 contains changes focused on supporting new types of hardware and adding support for several emerging standards:

* Windows Vista SP2 adds Windows Search 4.0 for faster and improved relevancy in searches.
* Windows Vista SP2 contains the Bluetooth 2.1 Feature Pack supporting the most recent specification for Bluetooth Technology.
* Ability to record data on to Blu-Ray media natively in Windows Vista.
* Adds Windows Connect Now (WCN) to simplify Wi-Fi Configuration.
* Windows Vista SP2 enables the exFAT file system to support UTC timestamps, which allows correct file synchronization across time zones.

So, the poet tell’s us that Vista’s SP2 will be a mix of updates and “feature packs”, the already released ones (Wireless feature pack) and some yet unreleased like the three Storage Feature Packs (one of them adds support for Blu-Ray), as mentioned above.

Not a surprise though, Windows XP got their SP3 quite silently and with lack of new features. The purpose was clear, Windows XP have a strong user base and if the OS were updated further with new features then noone should have a serious reason to buy Vista(except the serious gamers that want DirectX 10 support).  While Vista SP2 adding a lot new to the existing OS and Windows 7 is waiting in the corner. A change of policy or we are just rushing about Windows 7? Microsoft believes in Windows Vista and this is obvious (the recent “Mojave” Experiment can also confirm this).

What isn’t really clear is what is going to happen with the release of Windows 7, both Vista SP2 and Windows 7 are panned for release due 2009, SP2 might be a resurrection for Windows Vista but Windows 7 will certainly be its death. Wan’t my opinion? Don’t wait for Windows 7 until Windows Vista SP3 is released.