Microsoft came so close to keeping the lid on Windows 7 Beta 1, but the security was breached yesterday. According to numerous online sources, the BitTorrent channels are burning with Windows 7 Beta 1 Build 7000, making its way from China and Russia to the West.
Australia’s ITWire has some details about one DVD image, which supposedly includes the familiar multiple editions of Windows 7: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate.
Neowin’s Tom Warren has a few more tidbits and some screen shots.
Ed Bott (@ wordpress.com) 
Why isn’t there much broader availability of Windows betas, anyway? For that matter, why not post daily builds to MSDN? If Office developers can run daily builds, then shouldn’t all developers?
I know Microsoft doesn’t want accidental use of undocumented APIs, but people will do it anyway. (Look at Sysinternals — they had to strip out all undocumented calls after their acquisition by Microsoft.) And some ISVs play compatibility chicken with Microsoft. But others don’t, and not all of them go to PDC.
I’m thinking of, for example, the one-person dev shop that puts out Ultramon. If ever there was anyone who needed access to daily builds, this is it. Multimon taskbar is going to be a challenge with the new taskbar — which is NOT in Beta 1.
I tried build 6956 and it was so stable that it feels like I’m using Vista SP1. Are they going to release it to the public in Jan 7?
Interesting that the multiple leaked versions of Windows 7, build 7000 (presumably beta 1) are all the 32 bit version.
This despite complaints on the Internet by a few Windows fans that the the 64 bit version is “more important”.
Seems that Windows remains a 32 bit world for now !
If 64-bit isn’t important now it definitely will be (I think they’ve already announced that windows 7 will be the last version to have both 32 bit and 64 bit versions). I run 64 bit with very few problems and it runs all 32 bit programs fine. The most intriguing thing is if you look in the ads in the Sunday paper you will see that at least half in the Circuit City ad have 64 bit Windows Vista running on them. When regular consumers run 64 bit without knowing it, that is the real success.
When they release Windows 7 beta 1 to the public could you show how to run Vista and Windows 7 in the same computer