I’m starting to see more and more chatter about the Windows 7 build that was “leaked” (I would say stolen) from WinHEC China. I can already see the beginnings of the misinformation campaign that damaged Windows Vista in the Court of Public Opinion, so I’m going to nip some things in the bud right here (because Microsoft isn’t going to do it). You can take what I have to say as the truth, because unlike some others reporting on second- or third-hand information, I am actually running the build on my day-to-day laptop. This is not likely to endear me to any of Team Sinofsky, but I’d rather get in trouble with Microsoft than let false information float around.

• Nobody is getting a Windows 7 build tomorrow at the Houston MDC. Keith Combs cleared this up last week.
• This video of the new bootscreen is not a fabrication, it is real. The quality of the video sucks, but in person the animation is really cool. Rafael has an interesting analysis of how it works.
• There are other screenshots floating around out there, in varying degrees of quality and OS default settings. Paul Thurrott has the only ones you should trust, with the default post-install experience.
• Again, in some screenshots, there are images of windows with transparent side chrome. Some are saying that, because the build originally got out in VHD form, that the build must be using DXWARP10 that Long talked about last week. While I cannot say whether or not DXWARP10 is in this build, any purported tying of DXWARP10 and Microsoft’s virtualization technologies should be treated as speculation.
• The SuperBar has not been “un-rethought” or “un-redesigned” in any way. The default SuperBar settings are as shown in Paul’s Screenshots, and have not changed. However, there are settings that were available to anyone using Rafael’s Blue Badge tool that let you control whether or not the SuperBar renders text or not. A screenshot of that dialog is a right. if you check “Use Small Icons” and select “Never Combine” from the group, the newest build’s Taskbar displays like this:
   
  (the icons interspersed in between are the pinned programs in their original organization. And unlike Windows Vista, you can drag and reorganize the taskbar items in this state.) Microsoft has previously stated that the old Taskbar would not be available in Windows 7, so I’m not sure if the feature and rendering depicted above are going to remain. But if I were Microsoft, I’d leave it alone.

I would ask that bloggers and the press be responsible in their reporting and observations, and clearly identify the facts they are reporting from their guesstimates and speculation. Windows Vista’s reputation was damaged just as much by it’s own initial issues as it was by individuals people trust relaying unsubstantiated rumors, speculation based on partial facts, and outright lies. in other words, don’t tell us what is in a particular Windows 7 build unless you have been in the immediate presence of a machine running it, mmmkay?

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http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/WindowsNow-...ws-7-build.aspx