Windows 7: the Vista we always wanted?

Monday, January 12th, 2009

Like most of my colleagues, I’m feeling pretty upbeat about the new Windows 7 beta. I think almost every one of its new features and tweaks is a step in the right direction, and it’s already replaced Vista on my PC.

But what I find particularly encouraging is not just the code itself, but what it reveals about how Microsoft’s mood and methods have changed since the Vista launch.

For a start, Windows 7 shows every sign of arriving on time, or even early. That alone bespeaks a major improvement in Microsoft’s internal processes. Remember that Vista was originally intended for release in 2003, with a number of headline features that never, in the end, saw the light of day. Its successor, by contrast, is already so complete, and so stable, that many of us here at PC Pro are happily using it as our primary work OS. (more…)