Windows 7: The Next Version of Windows Officially Introduced
Although it seems like it only just arrived, Windows Vista is apparently not too far away from being replaced. Personally I'm still using XP, so the fact that Monday on the official Windows Vista blog, Mike Nash, Corporate VP, Windows Product Management announced that the official name of the new Windows OS would be Windows 7 came as a bit of a surprise and in more ways than one.
The first is simply that the move to usurp Vista is starting little more than a year and half after it was released. The second though is the name of the new product, Windows 7. Now Microsoft loves to use code names (Longhorn for Vista, Xenon for Xbox 360, etc.). They are great for tossing around conference rooms, putting on banners in the halls and all that stuff, but they have rarely actually kept them into the final development process, and this has never been done in the Windows product line. But in this case we are talking the seventh generation of Windows OS so they are going with it for some reason. If you care to find out more about the naming of the OS then check out an additional posting Nash put up on the Vista blog.
There has been a good deal of high level chatter on what PC users can expect out of Windows 7, but no technical details, but these should begin to be revealed over the next few weeks beginning at PDC 2008 at the end of October and then at WinHEC 2008 in early November. What we do know is that it will not be a departure from Vista, more like a successor featuring with multi-touch functionality and enhancements to the taskbar, start Menu, thumbnails and new features to shorten application install times and boot times. Not much detail I know, but PDC is only two weeks away so stay tuned for details.
--Tom Milnes
Da Coyote on October 15, 2008 at 04:33 PM
Announcing the Yugo 7. All the quality you loved from the original, and even less.
Adrian Alejandro on October 15, 2008 at 04:49 PM
Free upgrades from the horror of Vista?
Hubba-Bubba on October 15, 2008 at 05:04 PM
I don't care and I've been with them since 3.1 but when they foisted Vista off on us and told us XP would one day lose support, then I made a vow to never buy another Microsoft product. XP is my day-to-day OS, but I partitioned my hard drive a few months back, installed PCLinuxOS (free) and am learning it in my spare time.
I think I can grow to like it!
old dog on October 15, 2008 at 05:15 PM
This is such an old trick: announce vaporware with lots of promises and hope your clients will wait rather than switch. IBM used it a lot back in their heyday, too.
But it's telling that Ballmer feels the need to use it in this case. Sounds like the Mac is making even bigger inroads into Microsoft's market share than we realized, else why the rush?
As OS's become increasingly commoditized, we can prob expect more such tricks from everyone.
Roux on October 15, 2008 at 05:31 PM
Every PC we buy, we downgrade to XP. None of our Software providers have OK'd Vista.
Doug on October 15, 2008 at 06:16 PM
Microsoft just doesn't get it. Vista doesn't need an upgrade. It needs to be filed away. Microsoft changed so many things from XP to Vista that made it unuseable for anyone that had been using microsoft products before. I am an MCP in XP, Server 2003..etc and have not upgraded. Why would I? I would have to upgrade hardware, I would have to relearn to navigate all the menus, and I couldn't use all my old software. Microsoft needs to take the backbone and structure of XP and MAKE IT MORE STABLE! The additional functionality can be added in with widgets or whatever. You have a great OS. Why do you want to do the microsoft muck up?
Sean on October 15, 2008 at 06:41 PM
I'm typing this from a Mac (not mine), and while I was 100% gung ho about liking this alternative to Windows, it's just not happening.
That being said, MS really turned me off with Vista, as well as the whole big-brother "features" they had installed, that essentially meant that THEY controlled my PC, despite my having paid $1,000 for it.
I hope some Linux dude comes along and makes it easier to switch on over. Like many, I'm looking for a Windows alternative, but the I've found that the Mac (with it's proprietary frickin' everything, it's hatred of 2 mouse buttons, it's god awful "dock" instead of a taskbar, inability to "maximize" a screen, etc.) is not it.
ern on October 15, 2008 at 06:49 PM
Meh, not that much actually changed in Vista, despite what some people are saying. Neither is Vista the disaster that Microsoft detractors want to claim. And Vista has been out over a year and a half now. And people have been talking about Windows 7 for six months now. Is this really news? No. Vista could have been a lot better, in my opinion, but it's far better than XP. Those downgrading are missing out on some excellent features, particularly since the first service pack. I'm running Vista on a wide range of hardware, from four year old desktops to new laptops. It works great on all those platforms.
joe bobe on October 15, 2008 at 07:20 PM
I know all the details about Win7. Compared to XP and Vista, it will be bloatier, more unfinished, it will slough off support for softwares that we are dependent on, the parts of the interface that power users look for will be buried even more deeply, and made 10% more incomprehensible. If you use a font larger than default, parts of system messages will be hidden in the small window that can't be resized or maxed.
I wish they would truly finish one good OS, put the tools we need in it, give power users a clear interface, allow customizing of colors [really MS...XP is boring] and not cost $200.00
I know, asking too much. I think they've lost me too.
Mr. Wonderful on October 15, 2008 at 07:40 PM
Windows Server 2000 was the best OS they ever made. No bloat and stable as a rock.
Bruce on October 15, 2008 at 08:46 PM
I've been using Vista for well over a year. It's been very stable and it didn't take me long to get used to it. It's all there, just like XP, only a little different.
I find it strange that those who gush about never using it are the first to say that it isn't stable, no drivers, etc.
Dood on October 15, 2008 at 09:29 PM
Exactly.
The people that whine the most about Vista don't even use it. So childish.
I've been using Vista for over a year and have had no problems.
Matt on October 15, 2008 at 10:55 PM
I've used Vista. Tried to like it, but removed it and run Server 2003/XP SP3 dual boot config after a few months of getting pissed off.
I'm a 25B is the Army (information systems operator), been working in the IT field on some powerful hardware for a number of years. In my professional experience: Vista sucks.
Jim on October 16, 2008 at 05:24 AM
Name the new Windows 7 "Mojave!" Microsoft has already done the initial marketing and as a Vista user I can honestly say Mojave Vaporware is a vastly superior product to the ugly reality of Vista.
Lark on October 16, 2008 at 06:15 AM
I use Vista on an eight month old mid-range Dell Inspiron. It's jerky, it crashes, it's forever accessing the hard disk (I've had to replace one already), the Help is the worst ever, and it manages to be slower (even after I cleaned off the Dell sludgeware) than my previous el cheapo emachines XP system. It doesn't even have a hardware reset, so about once a week I have to get in behind it and pull the plug.
And it seems like every time I read a post about a Windows OS there's some Microsoft fanboy otaku who has to put down people who are having problems with it. Geez, way to improve the "Vista experience", guys.
Pax on October 16, 2008 at 06:36 AM
Windows 7? So maybe in 3 more versions they'll have caught up to OS X.
BTW Sean: You are struggling with OS X because you are trying to use it like Windows. I had the same issues when I first switched.. On Windows I would maximize every window too, but OS X isn't meant to work that way. It takes getting used to, but if you think Linux would be easier you're in for a rude awakening.
btenney on October 16, 2008 at 07:01 AM
I have been using Vista for 6 months now. I originally hated it.
The other day I realized that it has operated flawlessly. It just took time to figure out how to use it.
Kinda like a mule, it takes a while to get smarter than it is.
Kent G. Budge on October 16, 2008 at 07:59 AM
"The people that whine the most about Vista don't even use it."
Uh... why is this surprising? Wouldn't you expect the people who hate a product to not use it?
dl652 on October 16, 2008 at 09:26 AM
I agree with Bruce, Dood and others. I have had Vista on a Dell notebook and home built system for 15 months and 10 months respectively. Both have been rock solid. I have XP on an older Micron machine. It is a bit flakey, moreso than either of the Vista machines. But Vista does require substantially more system resources to achieve the same level of performance as XP. I was able to be productive on Vista from day one without training or documentation. Most of the commonly used user functionality works like XP but with a prettier interface.
Rosebud VII on October 16, 2008 at 11:03 AM
Macintosh and OS X:
Pure and simple. And powerful.
orthodoc on October 16, 2008 at 07:27 PM
Not whining about it. But the reason I don't use it anymore is because we had a machine specifically built for Vista, and the thing ran worse than our five-year-old PC with Windows 2000.
Frankly, I want the computer to work when I turn it on, not crash, and not have to poke around for weeks to get it to run.
By the way, we wound up getting a Mac with OS-X. Never going back to PCs, that's for sure.