Microsoft's mysterious Windows 7 missive

• Tags:
• Surface,
• Pen,
• Touch,
• Vista

Rupert Goodwins ZDNet.co.uk

Published: 29 May 2008 18:36 BST

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...any detail or specifics, it's hard to know what it's saying apart from: "Touch — it's going to be great."

Windows 7 takes advantage of key investment areas in Windows Vista; therefore, Windows Vista is a logical step on the path to eventual deployment of Windows 7. Microsoft's current guidance to customers is to deploy Windows Vista now to take advantage of its existing benefits and that it will be the smoothest upgrade path to Windows 7 when it is available. With Windows 7, Microsoft plans to create end-to-end scenarios that were the basis for the development process. Windows 7 will include features and enhancements for consumers and businesses alike. Microsoft's goal looking forward is to focus on building optimised desktop infrastructures, including an OS versus single point-in-time OS releases.

This is the most gnomic and yet transparent paragraph so far. "Windows 7 will be like Vista, so please buy Vista now. But it'll be better than Vista, so please buy Vista now." It's unclear how "end-to-end scenarios" match the "focus [on] providing amazing innovation [Microsoft] partners will use to develop amazing innovations Microsoft can't even imagine". What's it going to be: end-to-end scenarios or asking partners to do the work? And can anyone tell us what "Microsoft's goal looking forward is to focus on building optimised desktop infrastructures, including an OS versus single point-in-time OS releases" actually means?

Microsoft is still on track to ship Windows 7 approximately three years after the general availability of Windows Vista (30 January, 2007). Microsoft will be releasing early builds of Windows 7 prior to its general availability as a means to gain tester feedback.

Nice to have it in writing.

In Windows 7, Microsoft is building on the advances made in Windows Vista to address emerging trends and technologies. For instance, one significant trend Microsoft sees is the need for organisations to balance users' flexibility needs with IT's requirement for a controlled desktop environment. Microsoft's investments in Windows 7 are designed to address these competing needs of the business by letting users access information anywhere, enabling businesses to improve security and compliance, and helping IT simplify PC management.

Since the first Apple II appeared on an office desk, the balance between user desires and management control has been a primary concern for everyone. If Windows 7 lets users access information anywhere, what on earth have we been doing for the past 10 years of web-based services?

Surface and Windows work collaboratively to bring Surface technology and applications to the Windows PC experience. The Windows and Surface teams are sharing technical insights, best practices and user-interface knowledge to ensure that the consumer experience of using natural gestures and touch is the same, whether on a Surface computer or Windows PC.

Well, it's good that the operating system and interface teams are talking to each other. Is this unusual? Don't suppose you're talking to the Windows Mobile team, who might be expected to benefit more than anyone else from this work?

Windows 7 will be available in both 32-bit and 64-bit.

It'll probably support keyboards, screens, mice and hard disks too.

Microsoft absolutely recommends customers deploy Windows Vista today. It represents tremendous innovation for consumers and businesses alike, from security and online safety to instant search to cool new multimedia tools. The platform innovation introduced in Windows Vista will carry forward in Windows 7 when it ships. The goal with Windows 7 is that it will run on the same hardware as Windows Vista and that the applications and devices that work with Windows Vista will also be compatible with Windows 7. So customers will be able to fully leverage their Windows Vista investments in the future when Windows 7 ships.

Please buy Vista. Pretty please. We know we misled you, the industry and our partners over 'Vista Ready', but you can trust us now. So, please, buy Vista. Note that "fully leverage their Windows Vista investments" is unlikely to mean: "You'll get a free upgrade". That investment has been fully spent.

For further information and for a video of the touch capabilities in Windows 7 please visit the Windows Vista Team Blog.

Not the Windows 7 Team Blog?

———

It's good that Microsoft is trying to communicate more about Windows 7. It's not so good that it communicates in such a peculiar way, nor that the information it communicates is indistinguishable from marketing platitudes.

It's left to us to wonder whether the internal state of Windows 7 development, marketing and planning is accurately reflected by the content of this release, or whether there really is a coherent, convincing and plausible message to be told about the new operating system. If so, Microsoft would be doing itself and us an enormous favour by getting it out as soon as possible.

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