Windows 7: Up and Running

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The animal on the cover of Windows 7: Up and Running is a Persian greyhound (Canis familiaris), known more commonly today as a saluki. Scientists believe the Persian greyhound is the earliest known breed of domesticated dog; DNA analysis identifies this dog as one of the first to have diverged from wolves.

Persian greyhound–like animals decorate Iranian ceramics from 3500 BC and Egyptian tombs from 2100 BC; the Persian greyhound also inspired Alberto Giacometti’s 1951 surrealist sculpture titled “Dog”. The breed gained an enormous following in England in the late 1800s when the Honorable Florence Amherst imported a pair of Persian greyhounds from Egypt and bred them. The Persian greyhound became popular in the United States soon after.

While some are turned off by the breed’s aloofness and tendency toward boredom when given repetitive tasks, many children love the Persian greyhound because it is gentle with them. The dog’s gentle nature can disappear quickly, however, when it ventures outside and spots an animal it believes is prey. Veterinarians recommend that the dog never go off-leash outdoors, as it is nearly impossible to train the the Persian greyhound to suppress its hunting instinct.

The cover image is from Lydekker’s Royal Natural History. The cover font is Adobe ITC Garamond. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont’s TheSansMonoCondensed.