As we all know, information about Windows 7 Milestone 3 was recently leaked. Before we delve into Windows 7, lets first talk about Windows Vista.
What went wrong with Windows Vista? Why did it meet with so much negative publicity, both before and after release? I propose that these be the reasons:
- Microsoft concentrated on bringing too much new technology into Vista. This caused them to delay, delay, and delay again. When a customer is waiting for something new, time becomes critical.
- Microsoft publicized too many features initially. And the features they publicized ended up being most of the ones they had to drop.
- Microsoft concentrated so much on the back-end of Windows Vista that they forgot the front-end. It’s as though they worked and worked and worked on the internal features, and then suddenly realized that they needed to provide something attractive to the end user. So they made it transparent on the user side, and added Flip3D. A transparent user interface is not enough to provide the customer with satisfaction. And a ‘cool’ new way of switching that provides absolutely no usability benefits and only eye candy is waste… it won’t keep a customer.
- Microsoft concentrated so much on the back-end features that they left performance to the end. With the release of SP1 Windows Vista became faster, but before SP1 it was a complete resource pig. And when customers have to use a poorly performing OS for a year before getting fixes, they are less likely to change their perceptions of it, no matter how much you improve.
So… what is Microsoft going to do with Windows 7, in light of what we just talked about? Here are my predictions / views:
- Microsoft is not publicizing features early on this time around. Smart move. Let the buzz build the same way that Apple via ‘leaked’ info from developers and software pirates.
- Microsoft is concentrating more on the front-end this time around. They brought a lot of incredible IT features and benefits to Vista, and these will just get slid in with Windows 7. Now they are concentrating on providing real value to the end user, and not just IT.
- Microsoft is NOT going to let timelines slide the way they did with Vista.
- Microsoft is concentrating on performance this time around. New end user features + performance… what could be better for OS perception and adoption?
- Microsoft is concentrating on Web integration vs Office integration this time around. With Windows Vista they brought tight integration with Office and Sharepoint… now it is time to bring that sort of integration to the Web.
I may add more thoughts to this page. In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment on what you think of Windows 7.
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