In an Open Space discussion at Microsoft PDC, Steven Sinosfky (Microsoft senior vice president) spoke with attendees about Windows 7 (a pre-beta release of Windows 7 was given out to PDC attendees).
One new feature he mentioned is "triggered services" or the option to have Windows services start in response to an event such as an application starting. And conversely, services can be stopped in response to events. I’m stoked about this feature since it should lead to fewer processes running when not needed and fewer services starting automatically when you boot your computer.
A simple example just off the top of my head: the SQL Server service on my dev machine is really only needed if I have Visual Studio or Management Studio open. The rest of the time I would be quite happy if SQL Server was not running.
Steven Sinofsky is the senior vice president for the Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group – the user experience of Microsoft Windows and Windows Live services. The group is responsible for the development of Windows Vista technologies, including user interface, device support, graphics and media as well as Microsoft Internet Explorer; the group delivers Windows Live services experiences, including Windows Live Hotmail, Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Spaces and a rapidly growing list of user-centric Internet services, striving to build the most valued and trusted online community.
http://microsoftpdc.com/Agenda/Speakers.aspx#steven-sinofsky