Windows 7 to redeem Vista?
2008 was a disastrous year for Microsoft and its Vista operating system. A slew of bad publicity and negativity seemed to follow the ill-fated operating system wherever it went. And then, with Windows XP end-of-life planned for 2008, consumers started to make themselves heard.
The demands from consumers to continue offering XP was so strong that Microsoft pushed back its end-of-life date a number of times. And technically Windows XP is no longer for sale to consumers. Unless of course they buy a netbook on which Windows XP has pretty much become the default operating system of choice.
The big news of 2009 will redoubtably be the release of Windows 7, the operating system that until recently no-one knew much about but is now positioned to make up for much of the flaws of Vista.
Windows 7 is expected to bring with it a number of capabilities suited to a new generation of PCs, including touch-screen capabilities, suitability to mobile devices and better compatibility with a broader range of hardware.
As mobile devices grow in popularity and wireless network coverage improves, mobile computing is a key objective for all operating system makers, and Microsoft is no different. The company says that Windows 7 will include improvements in energy usage, better network connection control and tighter security to guard against lost or stolen notebooks.
Interestingly, Microsoft also says that Windows 7 will be focused on core functions, while many of the client applications will be migrated to its Windows Live cloud service.
Compatibility
One of the complaints with Vista has been that there were significant incompatibilities between it and devices that users wanted to use. Microsoft is obviously well aware of this and now Microsoft says that one goal of Windows 7 is to have any application and device that works on Vista to be compatible with Windows 7.
Some critics have said that Windows 7 at this point looks like being little more than a refresh of Windows Vista with just a handful of changes.
There are, however, a number of changes that many users won’t initially see when installing Windows 7 but that might well come into play further down the line. Chief among these is the multi-touch capabilities of Windows 7. Based strongly on a combination of its own Surface technology and the kinds of features included in Apple’s iPhone and iTouch, Windows 7 will allow users to use touch screen devices to manipulate desktop items and applications. The problem, however, is that touch screens on notebook PCs are unlikely to become commonplace for the next few years, so many users wont benefit from this until they upgrade.
Microsoft said that a public beta version of Windows 7 would be available in early 2009. The final release is planned for early 2010. Whether Windows 7 will live up to expectations only time will tell, however.
Loading ...