By: Lacey Shaw

In the current economic climate it is even more crucial that new products and services being released are relevant and well received, especially for products that have a higher price point. With Windows 7 Microsoft has a new product that will not only be relevant and is being well received, it might just be a game changer. 

In developing Windows 7, Microsoft took consumer feedback from previous releases to create an operating system that can be used by anyone from individuals to enterprises. There will be six versions of Windows 7 released. Two versions of 7 will be released to emerging markets and two versions will be released at an enterprise and limited level, which leaves two versions for the majority of developed countries - Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows 7 Professional, with Professional being more geared towards small businesses.

Windows 7 is being touted as an evolution of Vista, taking user feedback from Vista into consideration. The main points Microsoft is making for 7 is that it makes PCs faster and it is easier to use. Although Microsoft has not released the official hardware recommendations, Windows will run on less state of the art machines. The operating system also requires fewer resources which will mean a longer battery life with shorter startup and shutdown times. To keep with a more streamlined machine, Windows 7 will not come bogged down with less used applications such as Windows Mail, Windows Photo Gallery, and Windows Movie Maker. Instead of coming included in the operating system the user can go to Windows Live and download the applications that they want.

A large push in the easier to use front for Microsoft was to make everyday tasks easier. One of the ways this was accomplished is by making it easier to find what users are looking for. For starters, Windows 7 has fewer menus so there are fewer places to look for a file or program and in the menu right clicking a program will list the most used files or files that have been “pinned” - selected to appear in the menu. In the new task bar hovering over an icon will bring up a full screen thumbnail so a user can take a peek at what else is open, the user can also set the order of the icons. It is also easier to have multiple windows open side-by-side at the same time so a user can quickly move from one to the next. Microsoft has also made home networking streamlined and made it more user-friendly to be able to access files on different computers. For the business user, Windows 7 has DirectAccess, which allows a user to access their office machine remotely without using a VPN.

Windows 7 was officially released into the first series of beta testing in early January, although a version was leaked on the Internet in December of 2008. Early reviews of the release have been very positive and one tester even started a petition to get Windows 7 launched now. Microsoft has Windows 7 beta for download on their website and is allowing the first 2.5 million people who download 7 to participate in the beta testing. The beta test version is scheduled to conclude on August 1st. The next step would be for Microsoft to take the feedback received from the testing and make any changes. The revised version would be released as a Release Candidate to select group of testers. Based on the feedback from this round of testing Windows 7 could go back for more revisions or be ready to ship. Microsoft has not disclosed an official release date of Windows 7, stating simply that Vista will get a three year run prior to the 7 release, slotting Windows 7 to be on the market in January 2010. Some are speculating that Microsoft might be trying to have Windows 7 ready to ship in new machines for the 2009 holiday season.

Windows 7 is just one of the many projects for Microsoft. Coupled with the new operating system, Microsoft's several upcoming releases and partnerships show that they can give the public what they want. Two major partnerships for Microsoft are with Verizon to include Live Search on cell phones and Dell to include Windows Live on new machines. Microsoft is also working on a tabletop touch screen computer that might be a little much for the individual consumer but would work well in hotels or stores (for a demo – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlWCgWCoeOg).