Windows 7 is finally here

[dilettante]

There are some new UI elements you might program for: Jump Lists, Thumbnail Toolbars, Overlay Icons and Progress Bars, Custom Switchers, Deskbands, and changes in Gadgets and Window Arranging. Nothing crucial or life-threatening though.

You can watch the webcast or just browse the PowerPoint deck: Integrate with the Windows 7 Desktop.

There is some new stuff "under the hood" too, some of which will be back-ported to Vista and XP in coming updates. Mostly stuff like a new native code Web Services API, Windows Installer enhancements, changes to default cryptographic hashes, UAC tweaks, etc.

[Lord Orwell]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvoo31F98X0 (skip the 2 minute long intro...)

you know, you can put a start time on your youtube video links to skip it automatically
Here's your corrected link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvoo31F98X0#t=2m0s

[chris128]

Well what d'ya know... Learn something everyday.

[Lord Orwell]

i got it from a tekzilla daily tip

[esposito]

In terms of backwards compatibility, will all VB6 applications which work under Vista be compatible with Windows 7 without making any changes at all?

[Lord Orwell]

according to what i've read, the OS actually enables new functionality automatically, and gives you new apis to extend your program even further into the new interface.

Example: Your program automatically gets the thumbnail, but ie8 for example has it's own thumbnail icon for each tab. And the context menu is automatically generated but you can add custom options with the api such as "shuffle" that a media program might want to use.

The big feature i'm looking forward to is the way they've finally properly integrated the media library and media center.

[esposito]

according to what i've read, the OS actually enables new functionality automatically, and gives you new apis to extend your program even further into the new interface.

Example: Your program automatically gets the thumbnail, but ie8 for example has it's own thumbnail icon for each tab. And the context menu is automatically generated but you can add custom options with the api such as "shuffle" that a media program might want to use.

The big feature i'm looking forward to is the way they've finally properly integrated the media library and media center.

At this point the question is, will this new set of APIs be accessible from VB6? If the language needs amendments to exploit the new APIs, I'm afraid VB6 developers can just wait.

[chris128]

VB6 can make the same calls to the windows API as Vb.NET cant it?

[dilettante]

"Jump Lists" were a late name change in the Win7 Beta, the Win32 API calls them "Destination Lists."

Yes, in a sense you automatically get a Thumbnail, but what is new in Win7 is that it has a toolbar that can have up to 7 buttons (added via API calls).

Almost all of this is exposed via native APIs so VB6 can use it. Microsoft seems to have earned its lesson about creating .Net-only functionality. For example WCF has been a sore point and thus the new WWSAPI. However there has been no particular effort made to make these things easy to use from VB6.

[Lord Orwell]

it's actually possible to write .net in vb6 as well, but it's by no means something i'd want to do.

[esposito]

it's actually possible to write .net in vb6 as well, but it's by no means something i'd want to do.

I wish the contrary was true, i.e. write vb6 in .net!

[Atheist]

I wish the contrary was true, i.e. write vb6 in .net!

Unfortunately, there is alot of legacy support in VB.NET

Edit: I might also add a

[esposito]

Unfortunately, there is alot of legacy support in VB.NET

But, unfortunately, that legacy support does not allow you to create Framework independent applications. So, for my purposes, it's just useless.

[ccps]

i love this beta Great better get it. 2.5 million will get it and its over .. better download both verisons and burn them on a DVD because they are to big for a normal cd.

[dilettante]

I'm waiting for the crying jag when the Beta expires. I think Microsoft hopes to have you hooked so you'll fork over the money for a retail copy.

[dilettante]

I'm a little surprised nobody has complained about the lack of an email client in Win7 yet.

Windows Mail only lasted one release (Vista)!

[chris128]

Isnt Outlook Express in there?
Also, I heard that they were taking out a lot of the built in stuff like Live Mail and delivering it through Windows Live instead... for some reason

[dilettante]

Outlook Express died two years ago when Vista came out.

[Lord Orwell]

that's not the only app they left out. Picture gallery, movie maker, windows mail and i am pretty sure messenger are now downloads. Annoyingly the movie maker is even less functional than the vista one. The picture gallery is cool though. It stitches photos taken into a giant one, etc. The messenger has had functionality increased so it works with other off-network providers like yahoo.

[Nightwalker83]

that's not the only app they left out. Picture gallery, movie maker, windows mail and i am pretty sure messenger are now downloads.

Yeah, all those programs have been left out and can now be downloaded! Which, is a good thing because I got sick of having to run the script to remove messnger from Win xp . Microsoft has finally realize that there is no point in bullying people to use their programs anymore. They chose to allow downloads of these programs because of it.