CES: Will Windows 7 win back our hearts and minds?

Windows 7 isn't only the next iteration of Microsoft's operating system. It is also an attempt to win back the hearts and minds of a public that was turned off by Vista -- by its rather pushy interface (IT guys who had left home didn't want their OS acting like a watchful parent), and its need for the latest and most powerful systems, among other reasons.

Microsoft representatives insist that the current SP1 version of Windows has solved many of these issues, and that much of the negative feedback is a result of the initial takes on the OS. In a meeting with Mike Nash, corporate vice president, Windows product management, he brought out Microsoft's Mojave Experiment where Microsoft introduced a group of "typical" users to what turned out to be Vista. And they loved it. Surprise!

Seriously, though, it looks like W7 may be the Windows operating system that Vista should have been. It will be, according to Microsoft (and to some of those who have tried it) more efficient and less power-hungry, to the point that netbook owners should be able to put it on their machines. (There have been hints from vendors such as Asus that netbooks loaded with Windows 7 will be forthcoming.)

The apparent push to get W7 up, running, and in front of the public (to the point that the public beta will be available on Friday) might indicate some nervousness about the success of the company's last OS. In fact, when you talk to Microsoft representatives about why Vista ended up with not a little negative public feeling, their take is that they were too forthcoming in Vista. "They told everyone what they were planning before they had decided on the reality," said Nash, "and so when some of the features didn't materialize, people talked about what wasn't available more than what was there." Nash also admitted that some of the interface issues were a problem, but said that those were fixed in SP1. The problem was that the PR damage was already done.

Which is why there may be less speculation coming out of Redmond when it comes to Windows 7 -- and what speculation there is may be based on leaked memos and other sources. "We were a company that talked about what we were thinking even if we weren't sure," said Nash, "and the results were that everyone was disappointed. With Windows 7, we'll only share what we know when it's true, not our best guesstimate."