The IT Nerd

Steve Ballmer has crushed my spirits. After using the Windows 7 release candidate for months and then switching over the the Windows 7 Release To Manufacturing version, and being impressed about how it performs, he has to go and say this to Bloomberg:

“‘The test feedback (on Windows 7) has been good, but the test feedback on Vista was good,’ Ballmer, 53, said in an interview last week. ‘I am optimistic, but the proof will be in the pudding.'”

Come on Steve. You didn’t throw a few chairs at your development team to encourage them to make Windows 7 better than Vista? That’s sad.

Seriously, from what I’ve seen of Windows 7 over the last few months I don’t think that this is going to blow up in their faces the way that Vista did. In fact, I’ll go as far as saying that if Microsoft came out with Windows 7 instead of Vista, Steve Jobs wouldn’t be taking market share from Steve Ballmer. Yes, it is that good.

Having said that, the fact that he publicly said something like this doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.

If you thought that Kylie (who according to her is a PC and she’s “four and a half”) was cute in this ad, Microsoft is hoping that you’ll find her even more cute in this new ad for Windows 7:

My thoughts? The original ad was cute and likely to be effective as it shows something that someone who is “four and a half” might do with a computer. This ad is a bit over the top with all of the quotes from various tech blogs and her saying that Windows 7 is “snappy and re-pon-ki-ser.” The 80’s rock anthem playing in the background doesn’t help either.

What are your thoughts? Post a comment and share them with us.

UPDATE: It has been pointed out to me that the 80’s rock anthem playing in the background is “The Final Countdown” by Europe.

This has to rank as the worst idea EVER.

According to TechFlash, Microsoft wants you to host a Tupperware style Windows 7 party:

But unlike the Tupperware model, there will be no literal selling. These parties are more about generating word-of-mouth buzz. And based on early reviews, at least, it appears that this version of Microsoft’s flagship product will be somewhat more compelling than a plastic storage container.

I might be missing something here… This is an operating system that Ballmer is selling. Even Apple with the legions of fanbois that they have doesn’t do anything like this. Have things got so low for Microsoft that they have to resort to stuff like this?

At least the hosts get a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate for their trouble.

Let’s face facts. Windows 7 is an update to Vista (which works pretty well by the way as I have been running the release candidate for some time). At the end of the day I’m being asked to pay $200 to $300, depending on which version of Windows 7 I want, for what is essentially a copy of Windows Vista version 2.0. The version that you actually want. At least Apple was honest enough to admit that Snow Leopard was a refinement of OS X, and they didn’t hype it like the way these jokers have.

Here’s what I would do. I would hang around outside one of these parties and as the guests come out, hand them the business card of the local Apple Store as well as a copy of LINUX and say to every guest “you have choices.”

If you want to try out a Microsoft operating system that doesn’t suck like Vista Windows 7 for free, time is running out. Downloads of the Windows 7 Release Candidate (or RC for short) from this site will be cut off on August 20th. However you’ll still be able to get registration keys and register the product after that date though. Oh yeah, the software itself expires on June 1, 2010. So if you plan on running it for something other than test purposes, you’re better off buying a copy of Windows 7 when it is finally released in October.

I’ve been running the RC for a while now and I have to admit that if Microsoft came out with this instead of Vista, they might have avoided the circus that been going on in Redmond over the last couple of years.  It’s been stable and reliable for me. I believe that people who stuck with XP because of Vista’s faults will finally have a reason to move. All they have to do is try it.

And the clock is ticking on that front.

Windows 7 isn’t Vista by any means. But perhaps the ghosts of Vista are having an effect on how Windows 7 is being perceived. Of 1,100 IT administrators who responded to the survey, 59.3 percent said they didn’t have a plan to deploy Windows 7. Microsoft can’t be surprised by this, but it’s likely not good news for them as they plan to send Windows 7 out to the world. What do you think? Please leave a comment with your $0.02 worth. 

The Windows Blog has posted details about Windows 7 pricing and upgrades. Here are the highlights:

• If you buy a PC starting Friday, June 26th, it should be covered under a free upgrade plan. Unless you happen to buy a PC with Vista Basic. Then you’re out of luck.
• If you already own a PC running XP or Vista, you’ll will be able to pre-order the upgrade package at around half the price that they’ll eventually sell for. This too starts on the 26th, but this offer is only available until July 11th.

Okay now the pricing:

• Windows 7 Home Premium: $119 USD for the upgrade or $199 for the full version
• Windows 7 Professional: $199 USD for the upgrade or $299 for the full version
• Windows 7 Ultimate: $219 USD for the upgrade or $319 for the full version

All things considered, this is very aggressive pricing. Clearly Microsoft really wants you to upgrade to Windows 7 so that you’ll forget that Vista even existed.

What do you think of this? Leave a comment and share your wisdom.

It’s apparently official. The son of Vista Windows 7 will hit the streets on October 22nd. At least that’s what news.com says. But other sites are reporting the same thing, so there must be something to it.

But here’s where things get interesting. Microsoft is going to offer a “technology guarantee:

The software maker also confirmed, without giving details, that it plans to offer some sort of “technology guarantee” giving those who buy Vista machines close to the Windows 7 launch a free or discounted copy of the new operating system. As with past similar programs, details on pricing will be up to individual computer makers, although Microsoft did say the upgrade program will apply to Vista Home Premium and higher-priced editions (meaning not Windows Vista Basic).

The tech guarantee program is not beginning immediately, but Microsoft did raise the possibility it will offer some sort of lower-cost upgrade to those who are already using Windows Vista.

Interesting. They must want the planet to forget about Vista as quickly as possible.

Hey Microsoft, how about some official confirmation?

UPDATE: Ok. Here’s some official confirmation.

Microsoft has decided to let the know sort of know when Windows 7 is going to ship. They announced the following at Tech Ed today:

Microsoft Tech•Ed North America 2009 kicked off today with announcements of new technologies that enable IT professionals and developers to help their organizations save money and improve efficiencies during difficult economic times. As part of today’s news, Microsoft Corp. announced that the company is anticipating that the next version of its client operating system, Windows 7, will be available to customers in time for the holiday shopping season. In addition, Windows Server 2008 R2 Release Candidate (RC) is available today with the final product releasing to market in the same timeframe as Windows 7.

At least we have some clue as to when Windows 7 is going to ship. If I had to make an educated guess, the “in time for the holiday shopping season” means in or around Black Friday in the USA. Anything later would limit how much money they could make. Anything sooner would likely take away any ability for them to fix any last minute bugs and get the master off to the presses.

I guess things are going better than expected with the release candidate. Could Windows 7 really be that good?