The next version of Windows, the one after Windows Vista, is code named Windows 7. It marks a staggering development in the Windows series. That’s because Windows 7 basically ressurects what was once the most hated computer operating system in history. Windows 7 is DOS.

Well, not exactly.

DOS, if you recall (or maybe not), was the PC’s first operating system. It was text-based. It could run only one program at a time. It was awkward and unfriendly. Hence, I sold millions of copies of DOS For Dummies. Would Microsoft really want to return to such an era? Don’t be silly. But at least Microsoft is thinking about how computers really work and not how to squish competition and only afterwards think about how computers work. A refreshing change.

The core of Windows 7 is something called MinWin. It’s a big step in the right direction, and a big step backwards at the same time.

MinWin is the Windows operating system boiled down to its core. It’s tiny and fast. And it’s text-based. So just like the Unix heart of Mac OS X and Linux, MinWin provides a tight, solid platform on which to build the rest of the operating system. I say, It’s About Time!

Now, MinWin is not DOS. It does, however, sport a full-screen, text-based, command line interface. I’m sure that it will be DOS-like, probably based upon the Windows Power Shell. If Microsoft documents it well, then they can get hoards of developers writing tools for it. (An argument I made about OS/2, but IBM offered up the goods far too late.)

On top of MinWin comes the graphical shell, or the part of the operating system that’s the graphical fun and goodness we currently know as Windows. Yet, because of the design, it would be easy to use other shells, say KDE or Gnome on top of MinWin. At least that’s what I’d like to see.

All of this is conjecture, of course. The timetable for release of Windows 7 talks about late 2009. If you multiply the release time by the Windows Vista Delay Factor, that translates into early 2011. Maybe. Until then, I’ll pay close attention for you.

Relevant Links. DOS. Windows Power Shell. OS/2. KDE. Gnome.

iPhone Dept. Expect Apple’s iPhone sales to blow through the roof. Yesterday (3/5) Apple released the iPhone Software Developer’s Kit (SDK). Finally and officially, third-parties can create software for the popular phone/iPod/portable-Internet device. I’m thrilled. In fact, as of noon on Thursday (3/5 again) the Apple Developer site was off-line as way too many people tried to download the SDK. Bully!

In my last entry, I bemoaned the fact that few people using a computer bother with making a safety copy of their stuff. Indeed, the term safety copy would probably be far more effective than the dreadful, avoidable, and hated word backup.

As mankind waddles into the digital desert, people have to understand that fleeting electrons and magnetic impulses lack the permanent nature of information stored on paper, etched in metal, or carved into stone. No doubt your computer has in its technological bosom digital pictures, music, videos, and other creative efforts you’ve put your heart into. ’tis a shame to think that you place little effort into ensuring the longevity of that information, especially when there are three easy and effortless ways to backup your stuff.

Time Machine. Apple’s solution for the Macintosh is a pretty face on an old Unix program (rsync). Introduced with Mac OS X Leopard, the backup solution is called Time Machine. What it does it to automatically back up your Mac’s data 48 times a day. Anything new you create or stuff you change is copied over to an external hard drive. Then Time Machine manages the backups for as long as it can (until the external hard drive fills up).

Windows Complete PC Backup. The Microsoft solution for backing up is an automatic program called Windows Complete PC Backup. Sadly it comes with only the more expensive versions of Windows Vista (Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate). The backups take place automatically on a schedule and a complete system backup is done every so often. The preferred backup device is a nice, roomy external hard drive. As one would expect, the interface is clunky and primitive when compared with the Mac.

JumpValut. A strong third party solution worth looking into is the JumpVault. It’s a USB flash drive, aka jump drive, you plug into your PC or laptop. The flash drive contains the backup software, which runs instantly. Files are backed up right onto the USB drive. So when you’re done, you just un-mount the drive and you take your backups with you. This has the advantage of letting you restore the files easily to any computer.

Each of these options represents a logical and simple solution to the necessary job of backing up your computer’s valuable data. And each solution is simply a more elegant version of that same old backup program everyone avoids. But when you really care for your stuff, you need a backup program. Having one that does backup automatically is a blessing. And given the low cost of external hard drives, there’s little reason to avoid useful tools like Time Machine and Windows Complete PC Backup.

Fading in and out on his screen saver were this guy’s vacation photos from 2004 up to today. That cruise from 2003? And all the family photos before then? Gone. The PC went into the shop and the hard drive was erased. I accepted that the guy had no backup, few casual users do. Yet I was floored that he just figured losing all that important information was a standard part of owning a PC. Folks, it’s not!

Thanks to the whole user-friendly thing, there are zillions of people out there operating computers who have no clue about what they’re doing. That’s okay for our market-driven culture that prides material goods and debt over knowledge and understanding. I would expect more, but I’ve given up hope long ago. There’s just too much pressure on people to work / shop / be happy. So being ignorant is kindly forgiven and even rewarded.

The annoying truth you don’t want to hear, however, is that you never need to lose anything on your computer. Just because you have digital pictures inside Mr. PC doesn’t mean that they go bye-bye when you get a virus or have to take the computer into the shop. That so many people blindly accept such a thing is humongously disappointing.

The very first topic I wrote about in the very first computer book that I published (in 1987) was backup. I’m weary of writing about it because so few people pay attention. And with the attitude today of “well, it’s okay that I lost all those precious digital moments” you can understand my frustration. But things need not be that way.

First, I’ve been the victim of losing data — and I didn’t enjoy it! In 1989 my hard drive was subject to a .5 second power outage. All data gone. I lost 6 months worth of work because it had been 6 months since my last backup. Then just a few years ago, my external backup drive failed. It stored the only copy of my complete publishing archives. So I lost data from six books that I’ve published. Gone forever. (I now have several redundant, external backup drives.)

Second, there are three marvelous backup solutions I want to share with you. Because of these solutions, there should be no excuse for you not to backup your precious stuff and never to lose anything on your computer.

I’ll discuss the three solutions in my next blog entry.

Microsoft being bullied? For years, the conventional wisdom has been that it’s Microsoft who bullies the computer manufacturers. Who would have thought that it was really the other way around! Apparently, Microsoft was really tousled and tussled over Windows Vista. Microsoft kowtowed to the hardware vendors, curtailing the operating system’s potential.