FPSLabs : Windows 7 gaming optimizations

Posted by Rick Smith in February 27th, 2008

Posted in: Latest

Next generation Windows to be augmented for gaming, take up very little disk space.

The operating system we all know and love, Windows Vista, is already looking to be replaced by the engineers at Microsoft. A little something called “Windows 7”, formerly codenamed “Blackcomb” and “Vienna”, looks to be the next generation upgrade to what we are now dealing with. Many improvements to the kernel, and surprisingly the gaming platform, are currently being developed to create a better user experience. The developers are focusing a lot of their effort on the ability to combine gaming, entertainment, and the everyday computer tasks to make a better-than-stellar environment. The current build of Windows 7 Milestone1 (which is basically an add-on to Vista) was recently released to Microsoft’s partners, with the only prerequisite being that Service Pack 1 was installed.

[ArticleAdvert]

Microsoft has been very selective about what it says concerning the new version of Windows. The most interesting information I have come across would have to be the new kernel that Windows 7 is based off of. The new kernel, “MinWin”, only consumes about 25MB of disk space. Which is considerably smaller compared to a Vista install of about 4GBs, or a full XP install which consumes about 1.5-2GB of space. This kernel is stripped down though, not containing a GUI to cover itself with. Also missing are a number of the regular services most Windows XP or Vista users could identify with.

But this is a gaming hardware site, and we care about gaming too. As mentioned before, the development team looks to combine these three things: gaming, entertainment, and everyday computer tasks. The Windows 7 gaming platform, also known as WGX, will be implemented in Windows 7. With WGX, Microsoft is not necessarily looking to revolutionize the way we play, connect to, or view games, but rather make it a better experience with more features.

Until more details are released there is no telling what features will be implemented and which features will be left in the dust. Gaming aside, development for a new file system is in the works. Named WinFS (Windows Future Storage), first demonstrated in 2003, the new file system seems to create a way for structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data to be managed persistently and efficiently. It remains unclear what Microsoft will do with this file system, seeing as how it was supposed to be shipped with Vista and was then slated to be released after Vista. WinFS is mainly focused towards databases, which would also seem to be another kick to the face of the chances of seeing it in future Windows versions at all. Take note that it is still in development, but nothing is set in stone for its implementation.

Note: Windows 7 is not the final product name, but a codename until they have properly named the next version of windows.

Source: Softpedia

Popularity: 7% [?]

Support FPSLabs! Share and Enjoy: