Will Microsoft Windows 7 Succeed?

Microsoft confirmed they will launch their new operating system Windows 7 in stores on October 22nd but will it be enough to give consumers confidence back in the once all mighty software giant?

Back in April this year the Guardian reported Microsoft announced revenues of USD$13.1 billion, down from almost USD$16 billion over the same period the previous year. Profits for Q1 fell 29 percent to USD$3.05 billion, down from USD$4.3 billion for the fourth quarter of 2008. It was the first time since the Q4 of 2008 that the company had been subject to negative growth in 23 years.

Microsoft have seemingly worked hard promoting the new OS system, trying to rid itself of the un-trusting image it created when Vista was offered up back in January 2007. Back then Windows Vista, the successor to Windows XP, which most people deem to be the software giant's most successful operating system, concentrated on improved graphics and UI but neglected backwards and software compatibility. The result was a bloated OS that many companies refused to upgrade to.

The reviews by industry experts have been mostly positive. Engadget recognise Windows 7 is a big move in the right direction saying "as a whole it's clear that Microsoft has taken a strong step forward with Windows 7".

In an attempt to inject some "fun" into the launch of Windows 7 Microsoft has organised launch parties. Selected people invites friends round to theirs in order to celebrate the launch. It does sound rather lame but and it has had every Mac aficionado poking fun at the campaign, but saying that if Steve Jobs had engineered such a stunt I can imagine every Mac user in the land queuing up for an invite (however, it may have been pulled off with a little more panache).

Windows 7 Improvements

Windows 7 is a less ambitious operating system than Vista presented, but it does the basic well offers improved performance and that's what companies want - reliability. Mr Courtois, President of Microsoft International has "worked very hard with Windows 7 to achieve applications compatibility." When it rolled out the first service pack for Vista, there were a mere 2,700 applications certified to work with the system. Windows 7 boasts 8,500 certified applications.

The code has been cut down and some parts rewritten from scratch meaning no bloatware, faster PCs and lower energy consumption. The real benefit of this to business is that businesses can continue to use PCs that may have found Vista just to be a task to handle.

Windows 7 Rivals

But the timing has been both good and bad for Microsoft. Launching a new operating system in a time of economic downturn is a bold move and leaves questions over whether it will gain enough traction. However, its biggest threat in the offline world of the desktops comes from it biggest online rival Google. It's main competitor won't be launching its light weight OS until summer next year which should be enough time for Microsoft to get a hold of the newest frontier - netbooks. If Microsoft's latest offering proves fast and stable enough to operate successfully on this new platform then the head start may prove invaluable.

So it remains to be seen if Microsoft will be successful with Windows 7 as it had been with previous incarnations such as '95 and XP. So far so good, but we will wait and see if this will be Microsoft's final software juggernaut.

 

 

 

 

 

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