Microsoft: Windows 7 to regain industry's trust

• Tags:
• Vista,
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• Hoping,
• Division

Ina Fried CNET News

Published: 06 Nov 2008 16:26 GMT

One of the biggest problems with Windows Vista had nothing to do with the software Microsoft shipped; it was all of the things Microsoft didn't ship.

In the years leading up to Vista's release in November 2006, Microsoft changed course several times, leading to wasted time and energy for hardware and software makers that had made bets on features or timings that later were changed.

In a speech to hardware makers attending the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in Los Angeles, Microsoft's senior vice president of the Windows Core Operating System Division, Jon DeVaan, said that the company is aiming to rebuild trust that Microsoft will deliver products with the promised features and at the promised time.

Microsoft is also hoping that most partners won't have a lot of work to do to get ready for Windows 7. "We have the tenet that, if something works in Vista, it really should work in Windows 7," said DeVaan.

The company is hoping to make a number of improvements on Vista, particularly as regards start-up times and performance when managing a lot of open windows.

Battery life is another area where Microsoft hopes software improvements will make a meaningful difference. The company said that, in some cases, it is getting up to an extra hour of DVD playback and, at a minimum, the same PC should get 20 more minutes of time running Windows 7 than the same system running Vista.

Credit: Microsoft hopes to rebuild trust with Windows 7 from CNET News

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