The first public trial, or beta, version of Windows 7 has been released. Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer used his keynote speech at CES to announce that software developers would get at the trial version on 7 January. On 9 January members of the public will get the chance to download the successor to Windows for themselves. Mr Ballmer said Windows 7 would be the pivot of a broader Microsoft push to improve the way its separate software and service families work together. In delivering the opening keynote, Mr Ballmer has taken over from Bill Gates – who in 2008 bowed out of day-to-day involvement with the company he founded. In a nod to the chilly economic climate, Mr Ballmer said: “We face some really big challenges. We are all feeling it and its impact will likely be with us for some time.”

But, he said, the global economic slowdown would not hobble the pace of technological change. “I believe our digital lives will only continue to get richer,” said Mr Ballmer. “There’s no turning back from the connected world.” The newest version of the Windows operating system would, he said, be the “linchpin” of an effort to make it easier for customers to do more with the different Microsoft gadgets and services they use. Microsoft is expected to cap the number of copies of the beta version of Windows 7 available to the public. The minimum requirements for running Windows 7 are a PC with a 1 Ghz processor, 1GB of RAM, 16 GB of disk space, 128MB of video memory and support for DX9 graphics. Some of the Windows 7’s features help it work with other devices. A “home group” system makes it straightforward to enrol PCs, Xbox consoles, media servers and other gadgets into a local network that can share media and content.

Where is Windows 7 going from here?

Judging by the minor evolution between Milestone 3 and Beta Build 7000, the question comes to mind: where is Windows 7 going from here? Is this it? Steven Sinofsky, Senior Vice President, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, revealed at PDC2008 that following Windows 7 Beta, the operating system would move to the Release Candidate stage and then to RTM, for the reported 2009 launch. In this context, Microsoft is rather short on time when it comes down to implementing new features and capabilities. Chances are that Beta 1 is more than just a taste of the operating system, and in fact approximately the full Windows 7.