Microsoft
Launches Windows 7
Microsoft’s
much-heralded Windows 7
operating system made its
global debut on Thursday.
By the time the day was
a minute old, Microsoft
workers were handing out
Windows 7 software as gifts
at a party the US technology
giant held at a San Francisco
night club to coincide with
a Web 2.0 Summit here.
Now is the start; now we
see if real people love
Windows, Microsoft general
manager of Windows Live
business group said on the
eve of the launch.
Feedback from
millions of test users of
Windows 7 has Microsoft
confident they have hit
the mark with the new-generation
operating system, which
reportedly logged more pre-orders
in Britain than did the
final Harry Potter book.
“This
is the most customer excitement
we’ve had in a long
time for a Windows release,”
Hall said.
Microsoft
is also celebrating the
availability of Windows
7 with parties and by opening
its first retail shop in
the US city of Scottsdale,
Arizona.
The shop features
laptops, netbooks, personal
computers, Zune players,
Xbox 360 videogame consoles,
and mobile phones running
on Microsoft software.
A second Microsoft
store will open in Northern
California next week.
“Our
customers have told us they
want choice, better value
and great service when shopping
for technology, and that
is what we will deliver
through our Microsoft stores,”
said Microsoft corporate
vice president of retail
David Porter.
Microsoft
hired Porter, a retail industry
veteran, in February to
open retail stores that
challenge the successful
chain of Apple Stores operated
by the maker of iPhones,
iPods, and Macintosh computers.
The launch
of Windows 7 is expected
to open the flood gates
for low-priced, feature-rich
personal computers based
on the operating system.
We have great
PCs (personal computers)
coming out for Windows 7,
Hall said. For most people,
Windows is a thing that
runs their PC. So when they
get a great PC at a great
price that works with the
other devices they have,
that’s a win for Windows.
Microsoft releases Windows
7 to the world as it tries
to regain its stride after
an embarrassing stumble
with the previous generation
operating system Vista.
It’s
a big deal for Microsoft,
analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle
Group in Silicon Valley
said of the Windows 7 launch.
“Windows Vista was
a train wreck. While computer
users may not give much
thought to operating systems
that serve as the brains
of their machines, the programs
are at the heart of Microsoft’s
global software empire.
Microsoft
operating systems run more
than 90 percent of the computers
on Earth. Microsoft apparently
learned a lesson from Vista
and worked closely with
computer makers, users and
software developers while
crafting Windows 7.
More than
eight million people have
dabbled with Windows 7 since
Microsoft began a beta test
phase in January, according
to Parri Munsell, director
of consumer product management
for the Windows client group.
Early reviews praise Windows
7 for being everything Vista
should have been.
