New Windows 7 operating system launched

The latest news about windows 7 is that Microsoft finally launched his new operating system Windows 7.

Microsoft launches Windows 7 operating system

Although no one waits in long lines for a new edition of Windows software anymore, the debut of Microsoft’s latest operating system is part of why buying a PC might feel fun for the first time in years.

Windows 7 is expected to work better than its predecessor, Vista. At the same time, Microsoft Corp.’s marketing has gotten savvier and PC makers have followed Apple Inc.’s lead and improved hardware design. Windows computers suddenly seem a lot less utilitarian.

new windows 7 operating system,  which becomes available Thursday, is designed to streamline the ways people can get to work, with fewer clicks and fewer annoying notifications. Setting up home networking to share photos and music won’t require an advanced degree in information technology.

Damon DoRemus, president of Geek Rescue in Tulsa, said he’s been testing out Windows 7 on 20 to 30 computers ranging from beefy rigs to modest netbooks, and it has worked well on them all.

“Windows 7 is great,” he said. “It’s the best operating system they’ve put out since Windows 2000, and the first true competitor to the Mac.”

Making a version of Windows that people like, rather than tolerate, is critical for Microsoft. Most people don’t choose Windows as much as they end up with it, because it’s familiar and affordable. But it’s conceivable that Microsoft will have to work harder to win people over, thanks to a small but growing threat from Apple’s Macs and a forthcoming PC operating system from Web search nemesis Google Inc.

Vista fell flat because

it didn’t work with many existing programs and hardware. Microsoft fixed many of Vista’s flaws but didn’t spread the word, instead allowing Apple to attack with ads that pit a dorky office stiff (PC) against a casual creative type (Mac) and paint Vista PCs as unjustifiably complex.

DoRemus said Vista’s toxic reputation, steep hardware requirements, compatibility issues and fear of change kept most of his clients on Windows XP rather than Vista, even though XP is 8 years old.

“It’s still 70 percent XP, 30 percent Vista, even after three years of Vista,” he said. “We still get people who bought a brand-new machine with Vista and ask us to downgrade to XP. People do that daily.”

The software launch is being coordinated with plenty of new hardware that finally embraces color and style after years of chunky boxes. PC makers plan to unveil their latest in colorful and lightweight machines Thursday, an orchestration that was possible because Microsoft coordinated with PC makers earlier than usual.

This is “a very different Microsoft,” said Alex Gruzen, an executive in Dell’s consumer PC division. Gruzen said his team worked closely with Microsoft to fix things people didn’t like about Vista — such as its slow boot-up time — rather than waiting, as in the past, for the software maker to “just throw the (operating system) over a fence” for Dell to install on PCs.

Part of Apple’s success stems from having control over both hardware and software, and infusing its machines with plenty of aesthetic appeal.

By better aligning those components, Microsoft and computer makers could get some of the same benefits, and cooler PCs could squash Apple’s gains. Apple now has 11 percent of the U.S. personal-computer market, up from 5 percent when Vista debuted.

DoRemus said Windows 7 isn’t perfect — it’ll still have bugs, spyware and other niggling problems, just as other operating systems do.

The interface also strongly resembles Vista, which was quite different from XP.

“It’s Vista fixed, so don’t expect it’ll be extremely different from Vista,” he said.