Seattle - Microsoft is encouraging consumers to hold house parties for Thursday's launch of its new Windows 7 operating system. If anyone is actually celebrating, they are more likely cheering the departure of the infamous Vista than the arrival of its successor operating system.
Vista, which came out in early 2007, was widely regarded as a dud from the beginning.
Though it did have better graphics and security than its predecessor Windows XP, it was blasted for its huge size and high system requirements, which slowed down all but the most powerful PCs.
Thanks to Microsoft's near monopoly, Vista still sold some 380 million units globally and made 10 billion dollars a year in profits. But corporate customers and many consumers stayed with XP, which according to Net Applications was the most widely used operating system in the world in September with a 71.5 per cent market share, compared to just 18.62 per cent for Vista.
That's the main reason Microsoft is rushing Windows 7 out less than three years after it introduced Vista, promising a "completely seamless experience for customers." While reviewers basically laughed at those claims last time around, this time they are being treated with respect.
The biggest difference is the size of the program and ease of use, all of which make Windows 7 far less intrusive than its predecessor.
Once again, Microsoft has copied innovations first introduced by Apple, including a customizable taskbar that allows users easy access to the programs of their choice, and simpler networking applications that make it easier for computers to talk to each other and share files and printers.
"Our long national Vista nightmare is over," proclaimed the Washington Post's Rob Pegoraro, who nevertheless felt obliged to caution that Windows 7 "has issues of its own," most notably a tricky upgrade process for the millions of XP users who might finally be thinking of getting the latest Microsoft operating system.
Corporate users who wouldn't touch Vista with a bargepole are expected to greet Windows 7 with open arms, especially because millions of business computers are now long past their normal working lives - that and the millions of PCs that consumers will keep buying guarantees billions of dollars in profits for Microsoft.
But there's no doubt that Windows no longer occupies such a central place in the computing firmament. The two biggest challenges come from Apple and Google, both of which are viewing the launch as a chance to blow their own competing horns.
Google, for example, has launched one of its rare marketing campaigns, touting how more than 2 million businesses have already adopted its application packs, which do away with the need for Microsoft's Office productivity software.
Apple is also planning to step up its ads, which contrast the sleek simplicity of its products with geeky complexity that has so long been associated with Microsoft.
Ultimately, the biggest challenge is likely to come from sea changes in the computing world.
As more and more functions are performed through the browser, it becomes less important what operating system a computer is running. That gives Google a better chance to persuade users to use machines that will run its yet-to-be-released Chrome OS.
Additionally, more and more computing functions are now performed on handheld and portable devices, where Windows Mobile is already considered an underdog against far superior products - most notably Google's Android and Apple's iPhone.
Microsoft may have got a lot of things right about Windows 7, says technology analyst says Matt Rosoff of research company Directions on Microsoft, but it might be a case of too little, too late.
"Microsoft has a tough job," he says, "convincing companies and consumers that an operating system still matters."
