The Computer Buzz

January 29th, 2009

Nome and Paul Van Middlesworth - owners - The Computer Factory
 

Hello Widows 7

Windows 7, Microsoft's next OS (operating system) is on the horizon. With PC sales in the tank due in large part to Vista's failure, Microsoft has been in a two-year holding pattern. Microsoft needs a really big win to restore its credibility.

Like a Chihuahua nipping at the heels of a grizzly bear, Apple used the Vista fiasco to harass Microsoft. Microsoft did lose about 5% of the OS market to Apple and Linux since 2007 but thanks to the popularity of the venerable XP OS, Microsoft still holds over 85% of the OS business (about ten times Apple's share). While the gain of 3% (from 6% to 9%) was a big deal for Apple, it was only a fleabite to Microsoft.

Now comes Windows 7 to the rescue. The Beta release has been out for over a month and it's getting rave revues from all sides. Not only is W7 much faster than Vista, it is even faster than XP. W7 is built around the same "kernel" as Vista but there have been some major changes.

The problem with Vista was that Microsoft's product development management listened to the "propeller heads" instead of the users. Vista was stuffed with every "wow" feature that the pocket protector clowns could imagineer. As a result Vista was bloated, slow, buggy, fraught with compatibility issues and loaded with features that users didn't need or want (bloatware). Some features, like the UAC (User Account Control) proved so annoying that many users erased Vista on their new PCs and reinstalled XP.

Vista's failure forced Microsoft's developers to listen to users. The resulting W7 is what Vista could and should have been. W7 is leaner, cleaner and faster than Vista. Many of the "Wow" features that burdened Vista will be available on W7 but only as optional free downloads. W7 is so efficient that it will replace XP as the OS of choice on the wildly popular 9 and 10 inch "netbooks." Vista was far too ungainly to function on these minimalist PCs.

W7 should have a very clean release later this year. While we usually hold off using a new operating system in our PC production until the release of the first service pack, this time we expect to be able to incorporate W7 immediately. There will be no phase in or overlap in the PC industry. Vista will die the instant W7 is available.

For those planning to buy a new PC prior to W7 release we still recommend buying a system with the XP operating system. Upgrading from XP will be every bit as easy as upgrading from Vista despite Microsoft's misinformation campaign to the contrary.

W7 will surely reverse the minor encroachment of Apple and Linux upon Microsoft's dominance. Apple will need to continue finding new products outside the PC arena in order to sustain its growth and Linux will continue to be the OS of choice amongst large corporations and techno geeks.