Microsoft waved a magic wand and everything people hated about Windows Vista went away? You might have an operating system that you liked-and that's what Microsoft appears to be striving for with Windows 7. We checked out an early beta ofthe future as, and though at this point many features are either missing or works in progress, the improvements to everything from user interface to memory management look highly promising.

Of course, some of the promised features are things that Microsoft has pledged-and failed to deliver-before. Wasn't Vista supposed to be faster than its predecessor? We won't be able to definitively test performance (and other under-the hood features) for some time, obviously, but we can share with you what Microsoft is saying to back its claims.

In some cases, that's very little: No word on pricing and editions, for example. And there's some question on when Windows 7 will ship, since Microsoft has given early 2010 as the target date, but some insiders say it wiIllaunch sooner. Microsoft has said all along that Windows 7 would refine (but not rewrite) the Vista kernel.

However, some new features depend on support outside of Microsoft's control. For example, a few network enhancements will work only if your employer installs Windows Server 2008 R2-or if your network includes more than one Windows 7 pc. Other features won't be visible unless hardware vendors activate them. And Microsoft has slimmed down the code by offioading applications (such as e-mail and photo management) that were once bundled with the as: Some apps you'll be able to download, and others you'll access as Web services.

But the as that remains tries very hard to please users by addressing some of the biggest gripes people have had about Vista, and by generally making everyday tasks accessible and easy to perform. These efforts in the beta look pretty good.