Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Sunday, 19 October 2008 14:22
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 3
Speaking at the final keynote of
Gartner’s “Symposium ITxpo” in the US, Ballmer explained Microsoft’s
stance on Windows 7, saying it’s “Vista but a lot better”, yet
insisting Windows 7 is a major OS revision, and not a minor one, while
criticising Google Apps. Oh, and yeah, it’s ok to wait if you want.
A
ZDNet blog has details of answers Microsoft’s CEO, Steve Ballmer, gave at the final keynote of the Gartner Symposium ITxpo ealier this week on Microsoft, Windows 7 and more.
Given that Windows 7 uses the Vista SP1 codebase and builds atop that, Ballmer saying that: “Windows 7 will be Vista, but a lot better,” and insisting that: “it’s not minor because it’s a lot more work than a minor release. It’s a major release” makes sense.
Vista has been optimised with SP1 and has had lots of new drivers written and made available since its business launch on November 30, 2006, and its consumer launch in late January, 2007, and Microsoft is even planning an SP2.
Vista SP2 will arrive before Windows 7, with those improvements likely enhancing Windows 7's code as well.
Existing screenshots of Windows 7 show a Vista-like interface with lots of little improvements to the user interface and menus, such as the Office 2007 ribbon toolbar making an appearance in programs such as Microsoft Paint and WordPad, while the little programs being upgraded, such as the calculator, among others.
Bigger improvements include better networking, an updated media center, a better security center called a ‘solutions center’, fewer installed apps, better user control for apps that are installed and headline features like ‘multitouch’.
But as Windows 7 is expected to launch around the middle of 2009, it needs to start getting feedback on Windows 7 builds now, so a pre-beta copy will be given to all Professional Development Conference attendees in late October, with the first real beta due in December.
Once we’ve all had a chance to use Windows 7, we’ll know whether it truly is a major update, compared with just a facelift on Windows Vista, but given Vista’s performance improvements up to and since SP1, an OS that’s had couple more years work on it based on Vista should be even better, more efficient and Vista hardware driver compatible, as is being promised.
If Microsoft plans going gold in mid-2009 into a Q3 timeframe in time for computers loaded with Windows 7 to go on sale in late October or early November, it’s only got a few months left to finish upgrading existing features, adding new ones and getting beta tester feedback to keep or cut the final features.
CONTINUED page 2...
