>p>Although Windows 7 isn't released yet, I expect it to be a much larger success than Windows Vista. I even expect it to be as solid and popular as the venerable Windows XP. When it comes to their handling of the development process for Windows 7, it's blatantly apparent that Microsoft learned a host of lessons from their time developing Windows Vista. This time around, they did it right.
First and foremost, Microsoft hasn't overpromised and under delivered on Windows 7 at this point. At the beginning of the Vista development cycle, Microsoft went out of their way to talk about all of the awesome stuff that would make its way into the new Windows only to slowly but surely strip out the more exciting features, such as WinFS. Sure, Vista was a major overhaul and has a whole lot of new features, but the "big" stuff, with the exception o Aero and User Account Control, got dropped.
In contrast, about the only main points that Microsoft has made about Windows 7 is that it will be a streamlined version of Vista with less User Account Control annoyance and that it will be touch-enabled. Other features, such as the new Taskbar and Aero Peek, might have been talked about internally, but were pleasant surprises to a lot of people in that Microsoft made them work before a lot of fanfare.
With the Windows 7 development cycle, Microsoft has also released good product during the beta cycle that has gotten good press and gotten people excited about what they're seeing from the development team. Beta releases of Vista were, well, not so good.
Of course, this time, the new version of Windows is more of an evolutionary step rather than a revolutionary change. Windows XP to Windows Vista was a major ordeal with a ton of under-the-hood changes. Windows Vista to Windows 7, on the other hand, feels more like a service pack in some ways. That has to make the development process easier.
It even looks like Microsoft might release Windows 7 earlier than anticipated with an RC rumored to be arriving in May.
Regardless of the why behind it, the fact remains that Windows 7, in general, continues to receive good press. It's obvious that Microsoft learned the hard way that overpromising and under delivering on a product like Windows wasn't the best way to win friends.
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You think it will be better than XP?
"I even expect it to be as solid and popular as the venerable Windows XP." As solid as XP seems like a pretty low bar to clear for a eight year newer product. I just haven't thought of XP as either solid or popular.Let's hope they did it right and that they don't compare at all when the final version is shipped.
re: You think it will be better than XP?
Jan, From your statement you either have no experience in enterprise IT/IS or just another Microsoft hater. Facts point to a different direction then your statement. XP is quite solid as evidence of its continued popularity in both enterprise and consumer products. Please do not make blanket statements without evidence to back up your claims and make sure the facts support the evidence.Windows 7
After Windows 7 is released, I wonder when the first patch will be released and how big will it be? I wouldn't call comparing Windows 7 to "Vista with a service pack", good press. I will believe it when I see it, when Microsoft has finally released a winner on their first try. It absolutely amazes me how Microsoft continues to corner the OS market with the poor quality product they repeatedly offer to home and business class customers. Microsoft has been ripe for the picking for at least a decade but no one has been able to resist being bought up by them. Perhaps Google will have enough coin to resist a purchase and develop a real contender in the PC OS market. Come on Google, develop a quality OS, make it run on existing PC gear, make some deals with Dell, IBM and the like to sell PCs with a quality OS pre installed, and at least make Microsoft work for their market share.