Windows 7

Microsoft will use a bare-bones version of the Windows kernel, called MinWin, as the starting point for the development of future products, including Windows 7 and Windows Server.

Eric Traut, one of Microsoft’s chief operating system design engineers, gave a fascinating demo recently at the University of Illinois, where he talked about where the Windows core is going and ended with a sneak peek at the kernel of the next version of Windows, known by the exciting codename of “Windows 7.” The demo showed what Windows would look like if it was literally stripped down to the core, showing the kind of work that is going on to optimize the aging NT kernel.

“We’re starting on this path,” said Microsoft distinguished engineer Eric Traut, during a presentation at a college campus.

“A lot of people think of Windows as this large, bloated operating system. That’s maybe a fair characterization,” said Traut. With an eye toward offering slimmer products, Microsoft will use a bare-bones version of the Windows kernel, called MinWin, as the starting point for the development of future products, including Windows 7 and Windows Server.

Microsoft programmers will use MinWin as a base for development and then layer on only what’s needed for particular Windows versions. “There’s a really nice little core inside Windows,” said Traut. See the full video of Eric Traut here (wmv).