Further info about Windows 7 can be found by downloading the following
podcast from BBC:
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/worldservice/digitalp/rss.xml
One problem is though, this system is expected to contain touch screen
facility and that's where again accesibility issues get completely ignored.
Vetri.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sudhir R (NeSTIT)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 12:52 AM
Subject: [AI] Microsoft introduces Windows 7, dumps Vista....
JOHN MARKOFF
Published: October 28, 2008
LOS ANGELES -
Microsoft
introduced what it said would be a slimmer and more responsive version of
its Windows operating system on Tuesday, while unceremoniously dropping the
brand
name Vista for the new product.
Related
Microsoft Plans 'Cloud' Operating System
(October 28, 2008)
Times Topics: Microsoft Corporation
The new version will instead be branded Windows 7, because it is the seventh
of a long line of operating systems for PCs developed by the company since
the 1980s. The company did not say when it would sell Windows 7 to the
public.
The company also said that it was planning to introduce a Web-based version
of its Office programs, which is aimed at heading off a new wave of
competitors
like
Google
Docs and Zoho, which have deployed word processors, spreadsheets and
presentation programs that run on a Web browser. The company was vague,
however, about
how it would price the programs and acknowledged that it would face
skeptical Wall Street analysts who think the strategy would cannibalize the
company's
profitable Office franchise.
After almost two years, Windows Vista is still getting a lackluster
reception from consumers and facing a relentless marketing barrage from
Apple.
The problem was highlighted last week when Microsoft reported its financial
results for the most recent quarter. Its Windows unit reported just a 2
percent
rise in revenue against a 4 percent decline in operating income. The
computer industry viewed the setback as a shift of historic proportions. The
company
acknowledged last week that the mix of Windows sales in both mature and
emerging markets had tipped more toward low-cost PCs, which come with
lower-margin
versions of Windows and often not Vista. Sales of Office software rose 23
percent, bringing in more revenue than the operating system.
On Tuesday morning, the company demonstrated Windows 7 before a group of
more than 6,000 programmers attending the company's Professional Developers'
Conference
being held here through Thursday.
"We've done a lot of work around how you manage the windows, how you launch
programs and how you manage the windows of the programs that you've
launched,"
said Steven Sinofsky, the Microsoft technologist who has led the development
of the new version of Windows. "It's all about personalization and putting
you in control of the PC, and that's a big initiative that we've had."
Mr. Sinofsky took the stage and issued an apology of sorts for the problems
and frustrations associated with Windows Vista. He said the company had
listened
to and was responding to the feedback.
"We got feedback from reviews, from the press, a few bloggers here and
there, oh, and some commercials," he said, with a nod to a lengthy Apple
advertising
campaign that has mercilessly poked fun at Microsoft's woes.
He also said that he had not taken particular offense at Apple's ad campaign
teasing the giant software developer. However, the laptop did have an "I'm
a PC" sticker on its cover, a reference to a recent series of ads Microsoft
ran that were widely viewed as a somewhat belated response to Apple. "As an
engineering team we have to do what engineers do, when you build a product,
when you build a service, you step back and say what have we learned from
this,
what can we do better, what went well, how do we build on our experience,"
he added.
He then demonstrated a "pre-beta" version of Windows, acknowledging that
some features were still missing. The presentation focused generally on the
more
polished control features of Windows 7 including how on-screen notifications
are handled, an issue that was an irritant for early Vista users who
complained
about the nannylike behavior of the software.
Other new features in this very early version included an enhanced and more
flexible task-bar, more powerful search features, and an easier-to-use home
network and file sharing. There was also a hint that Microsoft plans to
revise Windows 7 to take advantage of the coming wave of multicore
microprocessors
from
Intel
and
Advanced Micro Devices.
Mr. Sinofsky said the company would give more details on the ability of the
new program to handle up to 256 processors.
Mr. Sinofsky, who previously led the development of the company's Office
application, showed Windows 7 running on a low-priced Lenovo notebook
computer
equipped with just one gigabyte of memory and a relatively low-power Intel
Atom microprocessor. This suggests that the new version of the program will
require far fewer resources than its predecessor, although Mr. Sinofsky
declined to make specific performance promises.
Microsoft also said that it planned to offer versions of a number of its
Office applications via a Web browser instead of as an application on a PC,
via
the Microsoft Office Live Web service, and to businesses through a hosted
subscription.
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A version of this article appeared in print on October 29, 2008, on page B5
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