Microsoft already confirmed that Windows 7 will have Windows Vista as its foundation. Like it or not, Windows 7 will be nothing more than an evolution of the current Windows client. According to the little details the Redmond company did manage to make public, the Vista architecture will survive into the next generation of the Windows operating system, and one illustrative example in this context are the system tools. Of course that, at this point in time, the real question is just how much of Windows Vista will be Windows 7?

This because Windows 7 has to be different enough to not only qualify as a standalone and major Windows release but also be perceived as having an identity all of its own, and not be mocked as Vista SP1, Vista R2, and so on and so forth. Judging by Windows 7 Milestone 1 this is not the case at all. The fact of the matter is that Windows 7 is much more Windows Vista than it is Windows 7. Still, M1 was nothing more than an early development milestone, the first taste that Microsoft gave of the next iteration of the operating system.

One area of the operating system that was ignored by change involves the tools (msconfig.exe) which provide users with an insight into the operating system. There is no difference whatsoever between the System Configuration tools in Vista and those available in Windows 7 M1. About Windows, System Information, Remote Assistance, System Restore, Computer Management, Event Viewer, Programs, Security Center, System Properties, Internet Options, Internet Protocol Configuration, Performance Monitor, Task Manager, Disable UAC, Enable UAC, Command Prompt and Registry Editor are all in the same place.

While it is bound that these tools need to make it into the final version of Windows 7, in order to provide continuity, Microsoft also needs to deliver additional items, and not leave the list unchanged from M1. Windows 7 has indeed moved forward, even if all details are gagged to perfection. The U.S. antitrust regulators have already received a new development build of the operating system, with a big chance that it is Milestone 2, although Microsoft is not breathing a single word on it.