New York/San Francisco - Microsoft launched its new Windows 7 operating system around the world Thursday, hoping that the new programme will help it recover from the flop of Windows Vista, which was widely maligned during the three years it was in service. Early reviews of Windows 7 have been generally positive and it has been praised as smaller, faster and more focused than its predecessor. Though Windows still runs some 90 per cent of the world's PC's, Microsoft's desktop monopoly is facing more challenges than ever from companies like Google and Apple, and from a shift towards netbooks and mobile devices that don't use Microsoft software.
The keynote Windows 7 launch event took place in New York when company CEO Steve Ballmer and other Microsoft executives touted the operating system as "simpler, faster, more responsive."
"Today is an important day for the computer industry. Certainly for Microsoft," said Ballmer. "With Windows 7, there's never been a better time to be a PC."
Ballmer promised it would bring "more choice, flexibility and value to the market than ever before."
"With Windows 7, you are sure to find a PC that fits your life," he said.
He said that users want their PC to fire up quickly, to be responsive, and have a longer battery life, and "I think we have accomplished that" with Windows 7, Ballmer said.
"The things that you do all the time need to be simpler," Ballmer said. "You want to manage the windows on your desktop [and] make that stuff super, super simple."
He crooned over the new system's multi-touch technology and announced that Amazon will launch a beta version of the Kindle Reader for Windows 7, an electronic book reader that will allow users to scroll through books with the touch of a finger, and zoom in or out by pinching the screen.
"From the end-user perspective, you get dozens or hundreds of new features - everybody finds their own unique set of features to fall in love with," he said. Another new feature that wowed the invited audience was when one Windows 7 machine served streaming video links to seven different screens.
Analysts expect Windows 7 to provide a boost to computer sales ahead of the critical holiday season. Polls have shown business customers to be enthusiastic about the release, after many delayed upgrading their computers due to the recession and problems with Windows Vista.
