Leaked Windows 7 RC Reveals Windows XP Mode

Yesterday afternoon, what seems to be the final and genuine release candidate of Windows 7 was leaked to various P2P networks. This RC version carries the build string 7100.0.090421-1700 and weighs in at 2.36 GB for the 32-bit version and at 3.05 GB for the 64-bit version. The official release of the RC is still going to be the 5th of May, however.

Besides that, the Window 7 RC features a bunch of interesting new "details". One of the most exciting is a Windows XP Mode (XPM) which is a Virtual PC-based virtual environment that runs on a fully licensed copy of Windows XP with Service Pack 3. Buyers of a Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate edition are going to be able to download it as a free update from Microsoft. A noteworthy aspect of XPM is that it "does not require you to run the virtual environment as a separate Windows desktop. Instead, as you install applications inside the virtual XP environment, they are published to the host (Windows 7) OS as well. (With shortcuts placed in the Start Menu.) That way, users can run Windows XP-based applications (like IE 6) alongside Windows 7 applications under a single desktop."

This provides Microsoft with the unique opportunity to market Windows 7 as nearly 100% compatible with both Windows Vista and Windows XP.