Bill Gates says he expects the new version of Windows operating software, code-named Windows 7, to be released “sometime in the next year or so.”
The software giant has been aiming to issue more regular updates of the operating system software that powers the majority of the world’s personal computers. Nevertheless, Gates’ comments suggested that a successor to the Vista program might be released sooner than was generally expected…
He said new versions of Windows would help revolutionize mobile phones and run the desk of the future, which would have a touch surface display allowing users to call up items using their hands.
“Sometime in the next year or so” is knife-edge specific for Microsoft.
It’s all a matter of marketing,showcasing the OS’es NT (new technology–hehe, not so new today) lineage, just look up the OS version in your system information:
Windows NT 3
Windows NT 4
Windows XP — 5
Windows Vista — 6
Windows 7 — 7
They didn’t have the time to include all the features promised in Vista. We’ll add ‘em in later, they promised. After SP1 they seem to be silent on the matter. Vista was a step backward in all ways except eye candy. So, now that Vista is nowhere near what they promised, they plan to rush a new version out the door?
Windows is ungainly and ancient architecture. The time has come to step back and create a new OS designed for modern machines. Drop all the legacy functions. WHo cares if it can play pong? Get rid of the archaic registry system. Keep supporting XP for the next decade to let people fully depreciate their current machines and software but make the OS reflect the state of modern hardware and software.
Prepare for future innovations and let the past slide into history.
i wonder if ms could create 2 separate products; one for business and one for everyone else. it almost seems like while they want to convey the appearance of this – they’re actually more interested in maintaining some kind of momemtum of what’s come before, rather than really innovating
@20: The last Microsoft OS to be based on DOS was Windows ME. Win2K and beyond do not have DOS at their core.
“Gates is blowing hot air, we won’t see another windows until 2011. But he’s making the argument easy to switch to mac.”
Right…because it’s not like Apple releases a new OS every year and a half or so…
20,
its NOT an OS/Dos…
Its a Full programming environment, Wrapped around an interface.
ADD to that, Internal Interfaces, to deal with OTHER interfaces like Java, HTML, and soforth…
AND ALL OF IT, written by???
Then you wonder WHY MY writes there OWN Java, HTML, ACTIVEX, and soforth…
finally!
pj
I can only hope that WIN 7 is a smaller OS using a lot fewer resources. I don’t know anyone who uses 1/10 of anything XP is capable of doing. There is so much waste.
The answer is NOT more cores, or higher frequencies, or gigs of memory. The answer is to stop piling on all the bullshit in the OS.
#18 now becoming a viable OS? you nuts? haven’t you seen what a monumental disaster SP1 was?
#19 well, vista is windows 6. And that’s that.
#22 the problems is not pong players, it’s corporate software & hardware support. Get it? Or you think corporations will do an IT turn on a dime.
There is one way Microsoft could get a new OS out the door in that time frame … Microsoft Linux. We are the Borg … you will be assimilated.
“He said new versions of Windows would help revolutionize mobile phones and run the desk of the future, which would have a touch surface display allowing users to call up items using their hands.”
Great! I don’t have a desk with touch screen display, nor any hopes of getting one this decade… what I do have is a Vista operating system which takes 1 min 30 seconds to open Outlook and Word. Instead of designing an operating system for some distant future tech revolution, how about one that will do what I need it to do quickly and with my existing hardware.
I would wager that 90% of people who complain about Vista have never run the operating system. Does Vista have more bloat? Yes it does. Does it matter? Not if you have a newer system. Does Vista have DRM restrictions that slow or bog down your system? Yep. Is there anyway around that? Yep. You mean you can turn that stuff off? Nope, but you can eliminate the DRM ‘effect’ very easily. After that it simply takes up around 50MB of RAM/system resources, no big deal when you have 4GB Duel Channel.
First of the year I decided to build a new system to replace my P4. I already have a few XP/Pro licenses so I thought what the hell I’ll get Vista 64Bit OEM (cheap) and give it a try and see whats up. If it didn’t work out or just plain sucked I could easily slap XP on there and be done with it. Turns out if you think Vista is the new ME then you are sadly living in the past, I remember that turd O/S well and there is no comparison. If you have a decent modern machine, Vista is no better or worse than XP. If your computer sucks well Vista will suck. I put it on an old Celeron 2.0GHz w/512RAM, it installed fine, drivers ok, ran like absolute crap.
I run XP/VISTA/RH/UBUNTU on a variety of machines depending on what I need from that machine. All these O/S’s have their quirks.
Now all the stupid marketing tricks to rollout Vista on sub-par machines and with premature drivers most certainly bit Microsoft in the ass. Good they deserve it. Little hint Microsoft, build a quality finished(!)product, people will buy it – no marketing trick bullshit required.
Oh and btw, nice try with the DRM thing, all my (500+) movies and songs (1000+) I have pirated/payed for/downloaded/ripped or otherwise acquired work perfectly fine on my Vista system, either viewing on the monitor or viewing on my various big screens located through out the house. Of course I don’t use Windows Media Player, but who would use that piece of crap for anything, WMP has sucked since 1998.
This is a precious thread: Gates has turned in to an old man, ignoring the fact the technology Windows is based on is dated and broken… and you guys can’t call him on it because you find yourselves stuck using it.
The joke is going to be on the consumer when Microsoft releases Windows 7 and it is mostly a repackaged version of Vista. This OS is going to be evolutionary and not revolutionary.
I hope and pray that windows 7 will be consumer friendly cuz man vista sucks and I used it.
hey robots rule