Windows Seven 将高度定制，一切都将模块化

Vista之家（www.vista123.com）：Windows Seven 将高度定制，一切都将模块化

　　早在2006年，Gartner就预言，如果微软要避免将来Windows Vista的失误、频繁发布更新，微软将会把操作系统组件化并使用虚拟技术来彼此分离它们。arstechnica罗列了一些Vista继任者—Windows 7将要模块化的证据：

　　1、其实，Vista已经在模块化方面有了一定趋向，如Vista有3个消费版本：Basic、Premium和Ultimate，都被集成在一个DVD媒介中，可以在安装时选择版本安装，或许相关授权。显然，已经有了模块化的雏形。

　　2、Windows Server 2008的"服务器角色"功能也为Windows 7指出了一个发展方向。

　　3、微软已经获得一份"模块化操作系统"概念专利，提出了"核心功能"模块，它包括内核、授权验证模块。

　　4、如果模块化操作系统，更加有利于微软整合产品，将各种功能分拆出售或租赁。

　　5、软件+服务战略也促使微软将操作系统模块化。

　　6、人们更加乐于接受类似Linux系统那样模块化的安装方式，需要什么功能就安装那部分，而不必将自己不需要的东西也安装进来。

　　这些理由可以支撑微软模块化Windows Seven，可能并不充分，但这些理由都很不错。

Vista之家（www.vista123.com）特别附上国外的分析报告原文：

Evidence mounting: Windows 7 going modular, subscription

When Windows 7 launches sometime after the start of 2010, the desktop OS will be Microsoft's most "modular" yet. Having never really been comfortable with the idea of a single, monolithic desktop OS offering, Microsoft has offered multiple desktop OSes in the marketplace ever since the days of Windows NT 3.1, with completely different code bases until they were unified in Windows 2000. Unification isn't necessarily a good thing, however; Windows Vista is a sprawling, complex OS.

A singular yet highly modular OS could give Microsoft the best of all possible worlds: OSes that can be highly customized for deployment but developed monolithically. One modular OS to rule them all, let's say.

Mary Jo Foley is wagering that one of the big changes coming with Windows 7 is that it might be "available in pieces." That is to say, Windows 7 could be a modular OS. I'll go further. Windows 7 will be a modular OS, and we can already see the clues in Windows Vista, because it, too, is a fledgling modular OS. What we're talking about and why it matters (= software subscriptions), follows...

A modular Windows 7 is a lock
The first reason Foley gives is that Windows Server 2008 has "server roles" which can automagically determine which packages are installed and how the system in configured (more here). Foley suggests that this approach on the server side would translate well to the client, but the process of modularization has already begun on the client side.

Windows Vista was designed so that all three consumer editions—Basic, Premium, and Ultimate—can be installed off of one DVD and can be upgraded in place from one version to another. The changes can be "deep," since (for instance) Home to Premium can enable Aero Glass, and Premium to Ultimate can add BitLocker drive encryption, etc. My point is that Microsoft is already selling a "modular" OS, and the modules currently map to Windows Vista SKUs. Microsoft is also developing other modules around its Live efforts.

Unsurprisingly, Microsoft already has a patent on a "modular operating system" concept. A "core function" module, which includes the kernel, features a "license validation module" that authorizes the use of all additional modules, and uses DRM-like technology to prevent the use of unauthorized modules. Windows Vista uses part of its anti-piracy arsenal to validate and monitor changes to the OS for this reason.

So, Windows 7 will be modular, but to an unknown degree. I personally expect the modularization to focus on value-adds, as did Anytime Upgrade on Vista. It allows Microsoft to draw lines between what is and isn't "in" the OS for DoJ compliance issues. Whether it be Live Services, Windows Media Player, or even Internet Explorer, Microsoft could roll those into modules and then say, "Hey, look, that's not part of Windows, we're charging extra for that!" Foley says that she's heard from sources that Microsoft is working on a Photo + Mail + Video module that would exist apart from the OS, for instance. I've heard less specific groupings myself.

A brave, modular world (might not be so great)
Is a modular world a better one? For those of us having to manage software rollouts to scores of desktops, this would be yet another tool in the toolbox. Microsoft could create "desktop roles" like "information kiosk" that includes a stripped-down feature set, for instance.

Microsoft can also add/remove functionality module by module. New modules could be sold post-launch, keeping revenue streams strong. In fact, modules could be maintained independent of OS versions. Microsoft could create a "Live Services" module that is maintained by a dedicated team, designed to work across multiple OSes, yet provide a completely consistent experience.

A modular approach could also allow the company to make functionality available on a time-limited basis, potentially allowing users to "rent" a feature if it's needed on a one-off basis. Note that Microsoft is already testing "pay as you go" consumer subscriptions in developing countries.

The software+services side of modularization is what is surely driving this change at Microsoft. As I argued last summer, this is all a critical piece of Microsoft's software subscription dreams. In "2010, a 'Windows 7' software subscription odyssey," I noted that Microsoft has been reinventing its approach to Windows in order to facilitate the continued sales of multiple levels of the Windows "experience." Microsoft has confirmed that there will be multiple SKUs for Windows 7 and that there will be different subscription services built around the OS.

Whether or not this is a good thing is difficult to predict. Generally, we're very much in favor of package-based setup routines, much like you find with popular Linux distributions. Why run a web server when you don't need it? Why start device drivers that aren't going to be used? Why install a library on a system that doesn't need it?

But just imagine a Windows 7 install that allowed you to install only what you wanted. Don't like Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, Windows Mail, Windows Firewall, etc.,? Don't install them or their supporting code. You've got to like that, if you're a Windows user.

Does this mean that Microsoft will ask you to subscribe to the next version of Windows, as opposed to buying it? That's unlikely, unless you're in business. The next consumer release will likely be a standalone OS stocked with an array of built-in and subscription-only modules.

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