Windows 7: Model For Microsoft Reinvention

[Guest Reimar]

Windows 7: Model for Microsoft Reinvention

Product Commentary. The most popular theme in classic American cinema is redemption. Unexpectedly, the fallen hero or heroine gets another chance and in a moment makes up for mistakes made years earlier.

Microsoft's story of redemption follows a product rather than a person. Quite unexpectedly, Windows is exciting again and certainly not by accident. Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president for the Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, and Jon DeVaan, senior vice president of the Windows Core Operating System Division, are principle architects of Windows redemption. Innovation can't thrive without good management.

Microsoft has reached an unexpected juncture. Global economies are in decline, and they're sapping software sales. Microsoft executives can't even give Wall Street guidance about future quarters' earnings. There's a sense of indecision coming out of Microsoft headquarters.

Microsoft must look beyond cutbacks to future investment and in process a massive management makeover. Windows Client division is now best example and model for every other Microsoft division to follow. Windows 7 Beta 1 is remarkable resurrection. From the crash called Windows Vista comes a phoenix. Management clearly is the difference between Seven and Vista.

Under former Platform and Services division president Jim Allchin's leadership, or lack of it, Windows ran to ruin. Windows Vista is a management, development and marketing disaster. The product has done irreparable harm to Microsoft's corporate identity and to the Windows brand. Windows Vista is a failure by every milestone that matters: Performance, compatibility, usability and adoption. According to Gartner, only about 10 percent of businesses had adopted Windows Vista in late 2008.

Now contrast Vista development to Windows 7. The management team has done what a year ago I would have asserted as impossible: Fix Vista's problems and reinvent Windows. Seven is a solid and exciting product, even in beta. Early Windows Vista betas were buggy and annoying; I couldn't use them full time. But I'm running Windows 7 Beta 1 on my everyday computer, and it's installed on all my other PCs. I've been recommending the beta to everyone.

Something else worth calling out: Windows 7 is the "Wow" Vista should have been and wasn't. Microsoft released Vista about six years after Windows XP. After Service Pack 2, XP was solid, and there followed a robust channel and partner ecosystem supporting the operating system. For many people, Windows XP was good enough, which meant Vista had to be a whole lot better.

Instead, for many end users, Vista was a whole lot worse because of application compatibility problems, heftier hardware requirements and petty annoyances like UAC (User Account Control) prompts. XP is still the most-used Windows version, meaning that Vista's mandate—to be a whole lot better than Windows XP—remains for Seven. I'm surprised to say that Windows 7 is lots better than either XP or Vista.

The changes are important to highlight, because in them there is example for other Microsoft product teams to follow. I'm not privy to Microsoft's internal Client division operations. I simply look at the results. Only focused, disciplined management could produce from the Vista train wreck a better locomotive. Seven is much more dramatically different than the modest makeover I expected.

Windows 7 Beta 1 is chock full of subtle and compelling user interface enhancements. My compliments to the development team and the experience they brought from user interface work done on Office 2007.

Some other blogs have done excellent work explaining some of Windows 7's new UI features, and I would like to call them out:

• Taskbar, Gizmodo
  
• Start Menu, JKOnTheRun
  
• Play To, Gizmodo
  
• Hotkey cheats, Brandon Paddock
  
• Preview pane, Gizmodo
  
• RSS-powered slideshows, I Started Something
  
• Device Stage, Gizmodo
  
• Styles and slideshows, SuperSite for Windows
  

I will share my own experiences about using Windows 7 over the coming weeks and months. Suffice to say, Windows 7 has the makings of a hit. It means something when an esteemed reviewer like the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg praises Windows 7 Beta 1. Walt was particularly hard on Vista, but praising Mac OS X.

Microsoft can still screw up SKUs, pricing, launch and marketing—and there's the economy to consider. But as a product, Windows 7 is a remarkable makeover. The operating system should sell on its merits, even without compelling new applications.

But a killer app would go a long way to assuring Windows' rise above its fall. There, as I asserted in the last blog post, Microsoft incubation projects hold the most hope. But these projects will need a reengineering of management style, too.

Source: http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/win...einvention.html

Posted by Joe Wilcox on January 28, 2009 4:38 PM

[Crushdepth]

I just don't get that excited by operating systems anymore. Unless it adds a whole new class of functionality its just tarting up what the old OS already does. Give me a cool application instead!

[nikster]

The words redemption and reinvention are painfully out of place for an OS that still uses a central registry which virtually guarantees a gradual performance degradation.

Better than Vista - for sure. But reinvention.... eh, no.

A reinvention of Microsoft would be a brand new OS which has a fast emulation layer for the old OS. Why they never did this is beyond me. Oh wait, it's because they didn't have to. Spoils of a monopoly

What they could do is throw out all the old code, get their many smart OS people to design a new one, write it all in c# so it will be much more stable, run old Windows programs in a perfectly integrated Virtual PC instance, and provide development tools that make switching to the new system as simple as flipping a switch. That would be reinvention, and redemption.

[Crushdepth]

Making it affordable would be an act of redemption!

Suffice to say, Windows 7 has the makings of a hit.

This article has the makings of something from the M$ marketing department

[raro]

The words redemption and reinvention are painfully out of place for an OS that still uses a central registry which virtually guarantees a gradual performance degradation.

they used to have a stable OS without a central registry. It was called Windows 3.11 and its .ini files were easy to edit, even for a half-literate as I am!

[JSixpack]

they used to have a stable OS without a central registry. It was called Windows 3.11 and its .ini files were easy to edit, even for a half-literate as I am!

Cough. They once had a GUI known as Windows 3.11 that ran under the MS-DOS OS. It wasn't at all stable and it had countless other limitations.

[raro]

they used to have a stable OS without a central registry. It was called Windows 3.11 and its .ini files were easy to edit, even for a half-literate as I am!

Cough. They once had a GUI known as Windows 3.11 that ran under the MS-DOS OS. It wasn't at all stable and it had countless other limitations.

well....at it's time it was a great OS I think. I wonder why they did not continue the .ini file concept and replaced it with the registry.

I actually had a computer support job at a bank those days. then win 95 cam and I had to learn everything from the scratch...I changed my job instead.

[Phil Conners]

What is the current release # of Windows 7?

[Guest Reimar]

What is the current release # of Windows 7?

The public release is still 7000 for real beta testers are 7025

Cheers.

[Phil Conners]

I see it's available as a public download from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7...a-download.aspx.

Is the 64 bit version stable? Will it run on my AMD Turion 64x2 laptop?

Edited January 30, 2009 by Phil Conners

[wxpwzrd]

<dont need this post. link is above>

Edited January 30, 2009 by wxpwzrd

[Guest Reimar]

I see it's available as a public download from http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7...a-download.aspx.

Is the 64 bit version stable? Will it run on my AMD Turion 64x2 laptop?

Yes as stable as a beta can be and even more!! Will work on your Turion but need a min. of 2 GB memory, better 4 GB!

I run the 32 bit in dual with Vista on my Acer 4498 with 4 GB and runs nearly double fast than Vista.

Cheers.

[Phil Conners]

I just upgraded memory (dirt cheap, 1,600 for 4 GB DDR2 original Acer) and found that WinXP can only use 3 GB hence I wanted to see if Win7 was a viable alternative (I know Vista isn't). Would it be better to install the 32 bit version or what?

[wxpwzrd]

I just upgraded memory (dirt cheap, 1,600 for 4 GB DDR2 original Acer) and found that WinXP can only use 3 GB hence I wanted to see if Win7 was a viable alternative (I know Vista isn't). Would it be better to install the 32 bit version or what?

It is the 32 bit part that makes it only see 3. Four will be seen by any of the 64 bit OS. Vista included.

[Phil Conners]

Well I've now installed Windows 7 64bit on a separate partition on my laptop. Installation was relatively painless but still a few quirks:

1) CPU's are running VERY hot. The task manager is showing the second core is almost always used 100%, but there doesn't seem to be any activities to use it in the task list. It IS being used though because the CPU fan which I rarely hear under Win XP is humming along noisily and the air that's pushed out is scorching.

2) The Wifi driver seems to have been installed fine and it detects my access point - but I can't connect to it. I use WPS-PSK and the 10 character key is fairly simple and works fine under Win XP. With Win 7 it immediately comes back and says "Windows was unable to connect to access point"

3) I have all my data on a third partition, and it seems like Win 7 is imposing restrictions on itself for accessing the data. If for example I want to delete a file on the data partition it keeps wanting me to confirm this as administrator - but all I need to do is to click continue and it's done so it's a wasted step. How can i change permissions on that drive so I can access my files as I can from XP?

Edited January 31, 2009 by Phil Conners

[Guest Reimar]

Well I've now installed Windows 7 64bit on a separate partition on my laptop. Installation was relatively painless but still a few quirks:

1) CPU's are running VERY hot. The task manager is showing the second core is almost always used 100%, but there doesn't seem to be any activities to use it in the task list. It IS being used though because the CPU fan which I rarely hear under Win XP is humming along noisily and the air that's pushed out is scorching.

Running Win 7 32 Bit on an Acer with Core 2 Duo 1.66 and 4 GB memory the use of the CPU is lower than in Vista and even the temperature!

2) The Wifi driver seems to have been installed fine and it detects my access point - but I can't connect to it. I use WPS-PSK and the 10 character key is fairly simple and works fine under Win XP. With Win 7 it immediately comes back and says "Windows was unable to connect to access point"

After I installed Win 7 32 Bit on my Laptop, the WiFi was installed correctly and all I had to do was to keyin the Key for to access the net. Just one time job and never came up again on my own Network!

3) I have all my data on a third partition, and it seems like Win 7 is imposing restrictions on itself for accessing the data. If for example I want to delete a file on the data partition it keeps wanting me to confirm this as administrator - but all I need to do is to click continue and it's done so it's a wasted step. How can i change permissions on that drive so I can access my files as I can from XP?

Maybe you try to set the third partition to sharing but I'm not sure that will work because I didn't have that problem on mine.

If your memory is Kingston, than you maybe have an problem as I had and I solved that problem to change the memory to UMAX. But you also need to keep in mind that both modules should be exactly the same (Brand, Type, PC xxxx,CL pp.)to get them run as Dual Channel which brings a bit in performance. And a problem with your WiFi maybe is because you installed a 64 Bit version which isn't supported by the Acer Driver!

I really would recommend to re-install Windows 7 as 32 Bit if you didn't have for all devices 64 Bit driver.

Cheers.

[Spudger]

.

Better than Vista - for sure. But reinvention.... eh, no.

Nope more like patching up the rust and a lick of paint. M$ sux.

[Guest Reimar]

.

Better than Vista - for sure. But reinvention.... eh, no.

Nope more like patching up the rust and a lick of paint. M$ sux.

Looks like you have NOT tested that OS! Therefore your comment sux!

[Phil Conners]

Well I've now installed Windows 7 64bit on a separate partition on my laptop. Installation was relatively painless but still a few quirks:

1) CPU's are running VERY hot. The task manager is showing the second core is almost always used 100%, but there doesn't seem to be any activities to use it in the task list. It IS being used though because the CPU fan which I rarely hear under Win XP is humming along noisily and the air that's pushed out is scorching.

Running Win 7 32 Bit on an Acer with Core 2 Duo 1.66 and 4 GB memory the use of the CPU is lower than in Vista and even the temperature!

2) The Wifi driver seems to have been installed fine and it detects my access point - but I can't connect to it. I use WPS-PSK and the 10 character key is fairly simple and works fine under Win XP. With Win 7 it immediately comes back and says "Windows was unable to connect to access point"

After I installed Win 7 32 Bit on my Laptop, the WiFi was installed correctly and all I had to do was to keyin the Key for to access the net. Just one time job and never came up again on my own Network!

3) I have all my data on a third partition, and it seems like Win 7 is imposing restrictions on itself for accessing the data. If for example I want to delete a file on the data partition it keeps wanting me to confirm this as administrator - but all I need to do is to click continue and it's done so it's a wasted step. How can i change permissions on that drive so I can access my files as I can from XP?

Maybe you try to set the third partition to sharing but I'm not sure that will work because I didn't have that problem on mine.

If your memory is Kingston, than you maybe have an problem as I had and I solved that problem to change the memory to UMAX. But you also need to keep in mind that both modules should be exactly the same (Brand, Type, PC xxxx,CL pp.)to get them run as Dual Channel which brings a bit in performance. And a problem with your WiFi maybe is because you installed a 64 Bit version which isn't supported by the Acer Driver!

I really would recommend to re-install Windows 7 as 32 Bit if you didn't have for all devices 64 Bit driver.

Cheers.

The memory is Apacer, both sticks same type.

I think if the problem was the Wifi driver it would not work at all. As it does pick up my access point, just fails to connect to it, I think it must be a bug somewhere.

AFAIK you need 64 bits to address all 4GB of ram as all the 32 bit versions can only address around 3 GB.

[Guest Reimar]

Well I've now installed Windows 7 64bit on a separate partition on my laptop. Installation was relatively painless but still a few quirks:

1) CPU's are running VERY hot. The task manager is showing the second core is almost always used 100%, but there doesn't seem to be any activities to use it in the task list. It IS being used though because the CPU fan which I rarely hear under Win XP is humming along noisily and the air that's pushed out is scorching.

Running Win 7 32 Bit on an Acer with Core 2 Duo 1.66 and 4 GB memory the use of the CPU is lower than in Vista and even the temperature!

2) The Wifi driver seems to have been installed fine and it detects my access point - but I can't connect to it. I use WPS-PSK and the 10 character key is fairly simple and works fine under Win XP. With Win 7 it immediately comes back and says "Windows was unable to connect to access point"

After I installed Win 7 32 Bit on my Laptop, the WiFi was installed correctly and all I had to do was to keyin the Key for to access the net. Just one time job and never came up again on my own Network!

3) I have all my data on a third partition, and it seems like Win 7 is imposing restrictions on itself for accessing the data. If for example I want to delete a file on the data partition it keeps wanting me to confirm this as administrator - but all I need to do is to click continue and it's done so it's a wasted step. How can i change permissions on that drive so I can access my files as I can from XP?

Maybe you try to set the third partition to sharing but I'm not sure that will work because I didn't have that problem on mine.

If your memory is Kingston, than you maybe have an problem as I had and I solved that problem to change the memory to UMAX. But you also need to keep in mind that both modules should be exactly the same (Brand, Type, PC xxxx,CL pp.)to get them run as Dual Channel which brings a bit in performance. And a problem with your WiFi maybe is because you installed a 64 Bit version which isn't supported by the Acer Driver!

I really would recommend to re-install Windows 7 as 32 Bit if you didn't have for all devices 64 Bit driver.

Cheers.

The memory is Apacer, both sticks same type.

I think if the problem was the Wifi driver it would not work at all. As it does pick up my access point, just fails to connect to it, I think it must be a bug somewhere.

AFAIK you need 64 bits to address all 4GB of ram as all the 32 bit versions can only address around 3 GB.

Windows 7 used up to 4 GB of memory in 32 Bit but some apps are limited to 3 or even 2 GB which has nothing to do with windows!!

Again, I think it's a driver problem because Acer drivers didn't support 64 Bit and some just emulate the 64 Bit.

Cheers.

[Phil Conners]

So why can WinXP 32 bit only use 3 GB of RAM? I thought that was due to the 32 bit architecture...

[Guest Reimar]

So why can WinXP 32 bit only use 3 GB of RAM? I thought that was due to the 32 bit architecture...

Vista and Win 7 using something named Physical Address Extension which set't the limit to 4 GByte!

On the other hand, what 64 Bit programs you're using? There just a very few on the market right now and using 32 Bit programs in an 64 Bit system downgrades your system while using those 32 Bit programs back because the system need to emulate 32 Bit.

Really reinstall Windows 7 as 32 Bitand I do believe even your problems with the WiFi and so would be solved.

Cheers.

[joncl]

I just don't get that excited by operating systems anymore. Unless it adds a whole new class of functionality its just tarting up what the old OS already does. Give me a cool application instead!

Ah a man who has not tried PClinuxOS ... prepared to be very excited with the 2009 release

[Phil Conners]

Ok, I'll try that. Thanks.

[Guest Reimar]

I just don't get that excited by operating systems anymore. Unless it adds a whole new class of functionality its just tarting up what the old OS already does. Give me a cool application instead!

Ah a man who has not tried PClinuxOS ... prepared to be very excited with the 2009 release

:D Same joke as the 2008 release?!

[joncl]

I just don't get that excited by operating systems anymore. Unless it adds a whole new class of functionality its just tarting up what the old OS already does. Give me a cool application instead!

Ah a man who has not tried PClinuxOS ... prepared to be very excited with the 2009 release

:D Same joke as the 2008 release?!

there was no PClinixOS release in 2008 ... what are you on about? You are talking about the same mandrake sub version right?

[Guest Reimar]

I just don't get that excited by operating systems anymore. Unless it adds a whole new class of functionality its just tarting up what the old OS already does. Give me a cool application instead!

Ah a man who has not tried PClinuxOS ... prepared to be very excited with the 2009 release

:D Same joke as the 2008 release?!

there was no PClinixOS (PCLinuxOS)release in 2008 ... what are you on about? You are talking about the same mandrake sub version right?

There was a release last year, maybe I still have the Image or the CD but it was a Joke of OS! And I'm talking about PCLinuxOS, NOT PCLinixOS! Installed once, unable to use: Network, Printer, PCI-E, CD\DVD and so on. As I told, just a Joke!

[slackula]

Windows 7 used up to 4 GB of memory in 32 Bit but some apps are limited to 3 or even 2 GB which has nothing to do with windows!!

Are you saying that a W7 32 bit operating system can access 4GB memory addresses?

[Guest Reimar]

Windows 7 used up to 4 GB of memory in 32 Bit but some apps are limited to 3 or even 2 GB which has nothing to do with windows!!

Are you saying that a W7 32 bit operating system can access 4GB memory addresses?

I don't answer silly questions of yours which were answered several time already. Do a search on this forum!

[Phil Conners]

Well I installed the 32 bit version and the result is the same (second core running 100% all the time + can't connect to access point) + now only 3GB is available according to the task manager.

I reported the bugs.

I have to admit W7 looks nice but if it doesn't work it's useless.

For now it's back to WinXP for me.