A letter from Microsoft to Windows customers -that is business partners- , that has not happened a lot in the past. The letter gives Windows customers an update on three interesting core issues: The plans for Windows XP, the progress in Windows Vista and the view on Windows 7. The last part is obviously the one that is of interest to us more than the other two although they are a good read for everyone running one of those operating systems or planning to do so in the future.
So what has Bill Veghte, Senior Vice President of Microsoft, to say about Windows 7. Not that much unfortunately. The largest part of the article is reserved for Windows vista and only two paragraphs at the end take a look at Windows 7.
Some of you may have heard about “Windows 7″, which is the working name for the next release of Microsoft Windows. We have learned a great deal through the feedback you have shared with us about Windows Vista and that feedback is playing an important role in our work on Windows 7. You have told us you want a more regular, predictable Windows release schedule. To this end, our plan is to deliver Windows 7 approximately 3 years after the January 2007 general availability launch date of Windows Vista.
Microsoft is aiming at a Windows 7 release around January 2010, that’s now confirmed by Microsoft in this official letter. It does not really mean that it will come out at this time because development could very well be delayed for one or the other reason as was the case with Windows Vista. But for now we stick with January 2010 for the new operating system.
You’ve also let us know you don’t want to face the kinds of incompatibility challenges with the next version of Windows you might have experienced early with Windows Vista. As a result, our approach with Windows 7 is to build off the same core architecture as Windows Vista so the investments you and our partners have made in Windows Vista will continue to pay off with Windows 7. Our goal is to ensure the migration process from Windows Vista to Windows 7 is straightforward.
So Windows 7 will be build on the same core that Windows Vista was build on. Many customers who did not like Windows Vista or are sticking with Windows XP for the time being will probably dislike that last paragraph. There is a reason why so many users are not switching to Windows Vista and it is safe to say that Windows Vista is disliked by many.
