ConceptMind

Windows 7 has sometimes been referred to as "Vista SP3," but under the new OS's hood, critical changes have been made, swapping out technologies that have been in place for 20 years for seemingly more complex but more efficient replacement parts. Two years ago, these ideas may have been forecast to come along around 2015. So maybe Windows 7 is more like Windows 9.

The reason Windows Vista seemed slow, and somehow, strangely seemed even slower over time, is now abundantly clear to Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) architects: The evolution of computer hardware, particularly the CPU, exceeded anyone's expectations at the time of Vista's premiere in early 2007. However, the surge in virtualization, coupled with the rise of the multicore era, produced a new reality where suddenly Vista found itself managing systems with more than 64 total cores.