Peering at the world through a new set of Windows

• Source: Global Times
• [08:13 November 09 2009]
• Comments

Illustration: Liu Rui

By Daniel Friedman

The recent launch of Microsoft's new Windows 7 operating system has drawn considerable public attention – and not just from within the IT industry.

A broad spectrum of the mainstream news media covered the launch, and sometimes quite extensively.

In general, reviews of the new system have been favorable, with consumer response also apparently enthusiastic. And it is unlikely that many, if any, other pieces of software could garner quite so much notice upon their debut.

Windows 7 can be seen as redemption of sorts for Microsoft for the shortcomings of its predecessor, Vista.

Vista has not been considered a success, either financially (with many people opting to stay with Windows XP and not switch to Vista), or technologically (performance is too slow, as the software demanded too much memory and processing power).

The launch of Windows 7 shows Microsoft being much more responsive to market demands and fi xing the shortcomings of the previous product: The new system is faster, needs less computing power, and is more userfriendly.

Even with the positive reviews for Windows 7, there are those critics whose "default setting" toward Microsoft is still firmly set to the "skeptical" position. This is based on perceptions of the company as a domineeringly powerful global corporation, reinforced by some of its past behavior.

In this view Windows 7 is seen as just another attempt by a big company to force consumers into buying something they don't really want or need, and further evidence of a shift from a consumer-driven to a manufacturer- driven economy.

The ubiquity of Microsoft's operating systems and productivity software has in fact played a fundamental and underacknowledged role in the digital revolution of the last 15-20 years.