Los Angeles (CA) – Microsoft today showed off Windows 7 in a comprehensive demonstration, highlighted new key features such as a more extensively deployed ribbon interface, a cleaned up taskbar, new search capabilities, multi-touch and DirectX 2D acceleration. While the company stuck to previous information that Windows 7 will be rolled out three years after Vista, the company confirmed that Windows 7 Beta will be made available in early 2009.

During a presentation at PDC 2008, Microsoft senior vice president Steven Sinofsky, as well as other Microsoft representatives, provided developers with additional information about Microsoft’s upcoming operating system, Windows 7.

PDC attendees will receive a copy of the M3 build of Windows 7, which is described as a “not-feature complete” version of the software. The feature-complete software will be made available in “early 2009”, according to Sinofsky. All of the new features of Windows 7 will be included, but the code will be “beta”, which means that it will still have stability issues and won’t perform in benchmarks as the final, the executive said.

Following the beta software, Microsoft plans a Release Candidate (RC) before releasing Windows 7 to Manufacturing (RTM). No launch date was given.

More to come.

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