[Blind-international-students] regarding windows 7
labhendra mhatre
dr.labhendra at gmail.com
Tue Oct 20 14:24:22 UTC 2009
hi,
Why Microsoft can't afford Windows 7 to fail
Will Windows 7 allow users to forget Vista?
On Thursday, Microsoft launches Windows 7, the latest version of
its operating system. Its success or failure will determine the future
of the world's biggest software company.
When talking about Microsoft, it is useful to remind yourself of
the sheer scale of its reach. Windows powers about 90% of the world's
computers; by the company's own reckoning more than one billion people
use it.
Windows also powers Microsoft. During its last financial year, a
$58.4bn (£35.7bn) turnover generated an operating profit of $20.3bn
(net profit: $14.6bn). Windows accounted for well over half of that.
For years, critics have claimed that Microsoft's virtual monopoly
is about to end.
They say it will be brought down by a resurgent Apple, insurgent
open-source rival Linux or a revolution in how we use computers, when
the actual computing moves from desktop machines to the "cloud" where
software runs on remote servers.
Windows without a Vista
In reality, Microsoft has been its own worst enemy. Ruthless
behaviour towards rivals earned it the attention of regulators such as
the European Commission and the US Department of Justice.
Windows 7 is much easier to install than its predecessor
More importantly, three years ago Microsoft botched the release
of Vista, the operating system that preceded Windows 7.
Vista - a bloated, difficult to install operating system - left
many early users with suddenly unusable hardware and software. The
disaster badly undermined Microsoft's credibility with consumers and
software developers.
Today, Vista is still outshone by its eight-year-old predecessor
Windows XP. One (particularly low) estimate from web metrics firm Net
Applications suggests Vista has a mere 18.6% share of the market.
Others put it at just over 35%, which is still a poor figure.
Among companies, "Vista is the worst-adopted operating system",
according to Annette Jump, research director at Gartner, a technology
research firm.
The president of Microsoft International, Jean-Philippe Courtois,
opts for understatement: "We don't feel great about Vista adoption."
Windows reloaded
Windows 7 is Microsoft's one and maybe only chance to redeem
itself. "We have learned a lot from what went wrong with Vista," is a
mantra repeated by every Microsoft executive.
The preparations for Windows 7 have been a remarkable step
up from the days of dealing with Vista
Alex Gruzen, Dell
For starters, Windows 7 is on time, arriving less than three
years after the launch of Vista, which was two years overdue.
Early users report it to be fast, reliable, secure and easy to
use on the move.
Most importantly, Microsoft went out of its way to avoid a repeat
of its biggest Vista mistake, when it failed to prepare its partners
for the new system.
Windows 7 loves Windows 95
"Peek" helps users find their way around a crowded taskbar
"The Windows ecosystem is the broadest in the world, and we have
to take care of that," says Mr Courtois.
Microsoft's partners have noticed the change in tack. "The
preparations for Windows 7 have been a remarkable step up from the
days of dealing with Vista," says Alex Gruzen, the man in charge of
consumer products at the computer giant Dell.
"In the past, Microsoft looked at its operating system in
isolation, and gave it to [manufacturers] to do whatever they wanted,"
he says. "Now they collaborate, help to figure out which third-party
vendors are slowing down the system, help them improve their code."
We expect a tangible Windows 7 bounce [in PC sales]
Richard Huddy, AMD
Microsoft, promises Mr Courtois, 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.
At launch, Windows 7 boasts 8,500 certified apps.
And if you want to use old software on your computer, Microsoft
has built in a "compatibility tool" that allows you to run
applications that were built for operating systems as old as Windows
95.
Windows 7 also has a smaller "footprint" than Vista. It needs
less computing power so older PCs run it quite happily. "Our PCs have
gained another two years lifetime," says Chris Page, who deployed
Windows 7 on nearly 700 computers in schools run by Warwickshire
County Council.
Just one five-year-old laptop refused to run the new operating
system, he reports.
The best or worst of times?
But is this the right time to launch an operating system? Parts
of the world may be out of recession, but investment remains low and
consumers are facing the prospect of rising unemployment.
The timing, however, might actually be Microsoft's biggest asset.
The new Taskbar preview is popular with users
"Technology has always been leading economies out of recession,"
says George Colony, boss of tech research firm Forrester.
Despite the downturn, IT investment is growing three times faster
than most economies, reports tech industry analyst IDC. Even among
consumers there are still pockets of growth, especially small netbooks
with their low-power processors, which cannot run Vista but deliver
zippy performance under Windows 7.
The launch of the new operating system will produce "a tangible
Windows 7 bounce", says Richard Huddy of chipmaker AMD.
"Along with that, we're also seeing evidence on a global scale
that the recession is starting to lessen."
"The fact that Win 7 is more efficient than Windows Vista means
that it's viable for lower-cost PCs, so I think we can safely say
we're increasingly optimistic."
The bottom line
At Dell, Alex Gruzen sounds bullish too. Many companies have kept
old computers running for at least a year longer than they would
normally do. Now "there is some optimism that the refresh cycle will
begin over the next year; Windows 7 certainly helps, it provides a
good catalyst for it."
April 2014: the deadline for Windows XP
A changed digital world is also driving change. Consumers and
corporate computer users are becoming more mobile and Windows XP
simply was not built for that.
Forcing the issue, Microsoft has said it will stop supporting
Windows XP in April 2014. And even if there is an extension, by then
most makers of third-party software for XP will have phased out their
support, says Steve Kleynhans, vice-president of research at Gartner,
"which will increase the pressure to upgrade" to Windows 7.
Also, organisations testing Windows 7, such as the UK accounting
firm Baker Tilly and the City of Miami, report sharply lower support
and energy costs, and higher productivity, according to Stella
Chernyak, the product manager for Windows 7 Enterprise.
Gartner's Steve Kleiynhans also counsels companies against the
traditional wait for "Service Pack 1", because these days Microsoft
rolls out upgrades and updates continuously. The service pack will be
a mere catch-up for those who have failed to install them.
The bottom line for Mr Courtois: "We expect business to adopt
Windows 7 much faster" than previous operating systems.
Watching rivals
Microsoft has tidied up Windows Explorer
At Gartner, Annette Jump is more cautious: "We don't expect that
Windows 7 will drive PC shipments," although companies "really will
have to" upgrade to Windows 7, because otherwise "the support costs
for older PCs will be piling up".
Microsoft's timing has been helped by the fact that one of its
arch rivals, Google, won't launch its lightweight operating system
Chrome OS before the middle of next year, which will be plenty of time
to establish Windows 7 firmly in the netbook market.
Also useful is the misstep of its other nemesis, Apple, which
uncharacteristically botched its new operating system Snow Leopard,
not anywhere near as badly as Vista, but enough to give Microsoft a
clear run for its Windows 7 launch.
Windows' last hurrah?
"I really have to go back to Windows 95 to remember people being
so excited about a new operating system," says Mr Courtois, a 25-year
veteran of Microsoft.
"Windows 7 is everything that Vista promised to be and more,"
enthuses AMD's Richard Huddy. Dell's Alex Gruzen calls the software
"outstanding."
This may be hyperbole. Gartner analyst Annette Jump, for one,
calls Windows 7 "a polishing release of Windows Vista".
But most reviews have been positive, even enthusiastic. "The fact
it's an operating system I see nobody complaining about [suggests] you
have something that's really good and solid," argues Mr Huddy.
That alone will not banish the fundamental threats to Microsoft's
business model, though.
Over the next few years there will be "a big shift to [operating
system] neutral applications like browser-based apps, Java,
Silverlight, Flash, .Net", says Mr Kleynhans at Gartner.
"That will limit the dominance, the factors that drive people to
have Windows."
Should Microsoft rest on its Windows 7 laurels, it might end up
being its most, but also its last, successful operating system.
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Ravi Paul <ravipaul.chanti at gmail.com> Tue, Oct 20, 2009 at 10:13 AM
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To: accessindia at accessindia.org.in
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Source, please. You can't just Plagiarize... Please give some credit
to who ever wrote it.
Regards, Ravi Paul
- Show quoted text -
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firoz <firojjee at gmail.com> Tue, Oct 20, 2009 at 2:11 AM
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Why Microsoft can't afford Windows 7 to fail
Will Windows 7 allow users to forget Vista?
On Thursday, Microsoft launches Windows 7, the latest version of
its operating system. Its success or failure will determine the future
of the world's biggest software company.
When talking about Microsoft, it is useful to remind yourself of
the sheer scale of its reach. Windows powers about 90% of the world's
computers; by the company's own reckoning more than one billion people
use it.
Windows also powers Microsoft. During its last financial year, a
$58.4bn (£35.7bn) turnover generated an operating profit of $20.3bn
(net profit: $14.6bn). Windows accounted for well over half of that.
For years, critics have claimed that Microsoft's virtual monopoly
is about to end.
They say it will be brought down by a resurgent Apple, insurgent
open-source rival Linux or a revolution in how we use computers, when
the actual computing moves from desktop machines to the "cloud" where
software runs on remote servers.
Windows without a Vista
In reality, Microsoft has been its own worst enemy. Ruthless
behaviour towards rivals earned it the attention of regulators such as
the European Commission and the US Department of Justice.
Windows 7 is much easier to install than its predecessor
More importantly, three years ago Microsoft botched the release
of Vista, the operating system that preceded Windows 7.
Vista - a bloated, difficult to install operating system - left
many early users with suddenly unusable hardware and software. The
disaster badly undermined Microsoft's credibility with consumers and
software developers.
Today, Vista is still outshone by its eight-year-old predecessor
Windows XP. One (particularly low) estimate from web metrics firm Net
Applications suggests Vista has a mere 18.6% share of the market.
Others put it at just over 35%, which is still a poor figure.
Among companies, "Vista is the worst-adopted operating system",
according to Annette Jump, research director at Gartner, a technology
research firm.
The president of Microsoft International, Jean-Philippe Courtois,
opts for understatement: "We don't feel great about Vista adoption."
Windows reloaded
Windows 7 is Microsoft's one and maybe only chance to redeem
itself. "We have learned a lot from what went wrong with Vista," is a
mantra repeated by every Microsoft executive.
The preparations for Windows 7 have been a remarkable step
up from the days of dealing with Vista
Alex Gruzen, Dell
For starters, Windows 7 is on time, arriving less than three
years after the launch of Vista, which was two years overdue.
Early users report it to be fast, reliable, secure and easy to
use on the move.
Most importantly, Microsoft went out of its way to avoid a repeat
of its biggest Vista mistake, when it failed to prepare its partners
for the new system.
Windows 7 loves Windows 95
"Peek" helps users find their way around a crowded taskbar
"The Windows ecosystem is the broadest in the world, and we have
to take care of that," says Mr Courtois.
Microsoft's partners have noticed the change in tack. "The
preparations for Windows 7 have been a remarkable step up from the
days of dealing with Vista," says Alex Gruzen, the man in charge of
consumer products at the computer giant Dell.
"In the past, Microsoft looked at its operating system in
isolation, and gave it to [manufacturers] to do whatever they wanted,"
he says. "Now they collaborate, help to figure out which third-party
vendors are slowing down the system, help them improve their code."
We expect a tangible Windows 7 bounce [in PC sales]
Richard Huddy, AMD
Microsoft, promises Mr Courtois, 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.
At launch, Windows 7 boasts 8,500 certified apps.
And if you want to use old software on your computer, Microsoft
has built in a "compatibility tool" that allows you to run
applications that were built for operating systems as old as Windows
95.
Windows 7 also has a smaller "footprint" than Vista. It needs
less computing power so older PCs run it quite happily. "Our PCs have
gained another two years lifetime," says Chris Page, who deployed
Windows 7 on nearly 700 computers in schools run by Warwickshire
County Council.
Just one five-year-old laptop refused to run the new operating
system, he reports.
The best or worst of times?
But is this the right time to launch an operating system? Parts
of the world may be out of recession, but investment remains low and
consumers are facing the prospect of rising unemployment.
The timing, however, might actually be Microsoft's biggest asset.
The new Taskbar preview is popular with users
"Technology has always been leading economies out of recession,"
says George Colony, boss of tech research firm Forrester.
Despite the downturn, IT investment is growing three times faster
than most economies, reports tech industry analyst IDC. Even among
consumers there are still pockets of growth, especially small netbooks
with their low-power processors, which cannot run Vista but deliver
zippy performance under Windows 7.
The launch of the new operating system will produce "a tangible
Windows 7 bounce", says Richard Huddy of chipmaker AMD.
"Along with that, we're also seeing evidence on a global scale
that the recession is starting to lessen."
"The fact that Win 7 is more efficient than Windows Vista means
that it's viable for lower-cost PCs, so I think we can safely say
we're increasingly optimistic."
The bottom line
At Dell, Alex Gruzen sounds bullish too. Many companies have kept
old computers running for at least a year longer than they would
normally do. Now "there is some optimism that the refresh cycle will
begin over the next year; Windows 7 certainly helps, it provides a
good catalyst for it."
April 2014: the deadline for Windows XP
A changed digital world is also driving change. Consumers and
corporate computer users are becoming more mobile and Windows XP
simply was not built for that.
Forcing the issue, Microsoft has said it will stop supporting
Windows XP in April 2014. And even if there is an extension, by then
most makers of third-party software for XP will have phased out their
support, says Steve Kleynhans, vice-president of research at Gartner,
"which will increase the pressure to upgrade" to Windows 7.
Also, organisations testing Windows 7, such as the UK accounting
firm Baker Tilly and the City of Miami, report sharply lower support
and energy costs, and higher productivity, according to Stella
Chernyak, the product manager for Windows 7 Enterprise.
Gartner's Steve Kleiynhans also counsels companies against the
traditional wait for "Service Pack 1", because these days Microsoft
rolls out upgrades and updates continuously. The service pack will be
a mere catch-up for those who have failed to install them.
The bottom line for Mr Courtois: "We expect business to adopt
Windows 7 much faster" than previous operating systems.
Watching rivals
Microsoft has tidied up Windows Explorer
At Gartner, Annette Jump is more cautious: "We don't expect that
Windows 7 will drive PC shipments," although companies "really will
have to" upgrade to Windows 7, because otherwise "the support costs
for older PCs will be piling up".
Microsoft's timing has been helped by the fact that one of its
arch rivals, Google, won't launch its lightweight operating system
Chrome OS before the middle of next year, which will be plenty of time
to establish Windows 7 firmly in the netbook market.
Also useful is the misstep of its other nemesis, Apple, which
uncharacteristically botched its new operating system Snow Leopard,
not anywhere near as badly as Vista, but enough to give Microsoft a
clear run for its Windows 7 launch.
Windows' last hurrah?
"I really have to go back to Windows 95 to remember people being
so excited about a new operating system," says Mr Courtois, a 25-year
veteran of Microsoft.
"Windows 7 is everything that Vista promised to be and more,"
enthuses AMD's Richard Huddy. Dell's Alex Gruzen calls the software
"outstanding."
This may be hyperbole. Gartner analyst Annette Jump, for one,
calls Windows 7 "a polishing release of Windows Vista".
But most reviews have been positive, even enthusiastic. "The fact
it's an operating system I see nobody complaining about [suggests] you
have something that's really good and solid," argues Mr Huddy.
That alone will not banish the fundamental threats to Microsoft's
business model, though.
Over the next few years there will be "a big shift to [operating
system] neutral applications like browser-based apps, Java,
Silverlight, Flash, .Net", says Mr Kleynhans at Gartner.
"That will limit the dominance, the factors that drive people to
have Windows."
Should Microsoft rest on its Windows 7 laurels, it might end up
being its most, but also its last, successful operating system.
--
Labhendra Mhatre..
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