Windows 7 release date confirmed for Q4 2009. Recommended specs included

Windows 7 logo
Microsoft higher-ups have officially confirmed their Windows 7 operating system (OS). It could be set for a release as early as Q4 2009. Ignoring the disappointing uptake of Windows Vista (I’m still on XP SP2 myself, how about you?) Microsoft claims the reason for this fast release of their next OS is because Windows 7 won’t be started from scratch. Instead, it will build on the foundations laid by Windows Vista, Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008. Microsoft will not be creating a new kernel for the OS.

Chris Flores, from the official Windows Vista Team Blog claims this is a normal step in the Windows OS development cycle. To quote: “…we started working on Windows Vista even before we released Windows XP. So naturally, we’ve been thinking about the investments we made in Windows Vista and how we can build on these for the next version of Windows.” Apparently they don’t want another five year wait as was the case between Windows XP and Vista.

What recommended specs should you be expecting for Windows 7? To quote: “One of our design goals for Windows 7 is that it will run on the recommended hardware we specified for Windows Vista and that the applications and devices that work with Windows Vista will be compatible with Windows 7. — For Windows Vista Home Basic that’s a 1GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor, 512MB of system memory and 20GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space. For Home Premium 1GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor, 1GB of system memory and 40GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space.” — Via N4G