14 DAY TRIAL // In the evolution from Windows Vista to Windows 7 Microsoft has turned completely around when it comes down to the information shared with the public. Coming at the head of the Windows project with a reputation of underpromising and overdelivering, Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president, Windows and Windows Live Engineering Group, introduced a translucency strategy, which filtered, sometimes down to zero, the info available on the project. Essentially, Microsoft acknowledged its errors in sharing Windows Vista details with the public ahead of their due time, only to feel the backlash when it came down to changes in the development process.
“When we’ve discussed new versions of Windows in the past, we typically shared ideas as if they were final. Sometimes things would shift, which could make it difficult for partners to plan when they should begin developing products,” explained Mike Nash, corporate vice president for Windows Product Management. “We’ve learned a tremendous amount from these experiences. In response we changed our approach to Windows 7, engaging with our partners early and planning with them in a more systematic way. We had the opportunity not only to watch how our partners were using and developing for Windows, but also to get their input on what was important to them.”
The true signal that Microsoft is sending out with the building of Windows 7 is that the next iteration of Windows will not be plagued by the same problems as its precursor. Vista suffered from multiple delays and ended up an amputated operating system compared to where it started with the Longhorn project. With promised features, capabilities and functionality being cut off as Vista moved along, Microsoft ended up giving the feeling that the operating system launched in January 2007 was less than what it was initially promised. The same is not valid for Windows 7.
“We were able to prioritize the things that developers cared about, and share an application programming interface (API)-complete version of Windows 7 at the Professional Developers Conference (PDC). We held the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) in November as well, and took the event to Asia to reach our partners in Beijing, Taipei and Tokyo,” Nash added. “We followed this momentum by delivering a solid and stable beta version at International CES earlier this month. What this means for partners is that they can confidently invest and start testing now because the Windows 7 beta will have the same API set that they will see in the final release.”
Windows 7 Beta is available for download here.
Product keys to activate Windows 7 Beta are available here.