Then, there was this little thing called Vista, which smelled like trouble from the beginning, and in which case even the most reticent of predictions proved right. Two years of Windows Vista can be resumed in frustration from users, and accusations from computer makers that Vista was rushed and consumers were deceived about their PCs capability to run the OS, but also one unforgettable acknowledgement from Steve Ballmer, who, at one point, said Windows Vista was still ‘a work in progress.’

 

Well, it was ‘nice’ to know that, especially one year after its release (it’s still worth mentioning that an estimated one third of Vista users downgraded to XP after trying their luck). Anyway, not even Bill Gates seemed happier about what they’ve managed to come up with, and if Gates himself called it “a mess,” what can we, mere users, say to resume it even better?

 

But while Microsoft’s ‘crash and burn’ attempt to revive Vista and consumer confidence ended up in becoming Apple’s laughing stock last year, this year started on a more positive note, with the announcement of Windows 7 public beta.

 

Just to make a little comparison, Windows XP has been around since October 2001, and has managed to stay on top ever since, even when Windows Vista came out in November 2006. The five year difference suggests that while far from being perfect, XP has kept us warm for more than 5 years, and unfortunately, that’s not something we can say about Vista.

 

Microsoft didn’t even give Vista two full years before announcing its successor, and that says a lot. Rumors have it that Windows 7, whose beta testing will end in August, will be out by the end of this year. This possibility has also raised a lot of questions on whether Microsoft will wait some more or will be rushing in again, and on whether Windows 7 is some kind of Vista in disguise or an operating system capable of offering a completely different (and less frustrating) experience.

 

Windows 7 needs to be taken one step at a time (since it’s going to take quite a while to figure out all the glitches), although I must admit the start looks promising. We must not forget that Microsoft has been more than generous by removing the 2.5 million keys limit and by opening up the beta testing to all users. And this means that those who want to give it a try must expect some things to go wrong, that’s why it’s called beta, and that’s why feedback was invented.

 

Just to give an example of that, the first things I noticed on my short Windows 7 experience was that my Chrome browser just wouldn’t work (the installation went smoothly, but the pages just stay blank), however, Mozilla’s Firefox browser works just fine. I’ve just mentioned the two browsers above because they’re my personal choice, instead of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 8, which is still too unstable for my taste (I must admit though that I’ve never been to keen on it either). My 7-Zip archive utility software isn’t available anymore in my right-click menu, but aside from that, things went well for me so far (my World of Warcraft runs just as smoothly…phew!).

 

But, at the end of the day, the new operating system remains controversial. Another aspect that raises question marks on Windows 7 is its background: how much of Vista is the new OS? On a first look, it doesn’t seem very different (this also means that if you’re used to Vista by now, Windows 7 will be easier to manage).

 

On the other hand, Microsoft has acknowledged that Windows 7 comes with the same basic architecture as Vista, but it also said it will not make the same mistakes, and there will be no more compatibility issues - Microsoft explained at one point that the idea of Windows 7 started after receiving so much feedback on Windows Vista. And another thing… perhaps not making a launch this year will be the best thing Microsoft could do, since no one wants to see the Vista story repeating itself.

 

All in all, I don’t believe Microsoft can afford to go wrong with Windows 7 at this point, neither do they afford to lose any more users. Furthermore, how bad can it be, it’s not like we’re going to downgrade back to Vista…