[real-eyes] Microsoft's Ballmer touts 'best version of Windows ever'

From: "Chip Bloch" <Chip.Bloch@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <real-eyes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:31:36 -0600
Microsoft's Ballmer touts 'best version of Windows ever'
Story Highlights
Microsoft to release beta version of Windows 7 operating system on
Friday

CEO Steve Ballmer promises Windows 7 will be faster, easier to use

Ballmer gave keynote address Wednesday at CES trade show in Las Vegas

Ballmer: Despite recession, tech companies should push forward with
innovation

By Brandon Griggs
CNN
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) -- Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer kicked off the
2009 International Consumer Electronics Show on Wednesday with an
impassioned endorsement of PCs and a sneak peek at the company's future
Windows 7 operating system.

As expected, Ballmer announced that Microsoft is releasing a beta
version of Windows 7, which will be available for download beginning
Friday. The news suggests the world's largest software maker may be
giving up efforts to rehabilitate its often-maligned Vista operating
system, which was released worldwide in January 2007.

"We are on track to deliver the best version of Windows ever," Ballmer
told an audience of several thousand tech professionals and journalists
inside a cavernous ballroom at the Venetian hotel. "We're working hard
to get it right and get it ready."

Without mentioning the security and compatibility issues that have
dogged Vista, Ballmer promised that Windows 7 will make PCs faster and
easier to use. He didn't offer a timetable for its official release,
although Windows Vista went on sale more than two years after it was
issued in beta form.

Early reviews of Windows 7, which was leaked to the Internet in beta
form in late December, have been positive.

The forthcoming operating system will have touch-screen capability,
side-by-side windows for comparison shopping and a "Peek" feature that
makes open windows transparent, allowing users to see the icons on their
desktop.

"Windows 7 makes it easier to move between the things on your desktop,"
said Microsoft group project manager Charlotte Jones, who gave a brief
demonstration of the system on the hall's giant display screens. Jones
said the new system also makes it easier to send files back and forth
between home computers. Watch what's on tap at CES 2009 »

Ballmer later yielded the stage to Robbie Bach, president of
Microsoft's entertainment and devices division, who praised the
explosive growth of the company's Xbox Live online gaming community.
Bach also announced forthcoming releases of new versions of Microsoft's
popular "Halo" game series: "Halo Wars," due Feb. 28, and "Halo 3:
OSDT," which will ship in the fall. Watch Bach predict coming trends »

Wednesday's address marked the energetic Ballmer's debut as CES keynote
pitchman, a job that had been handled for the past decade by Microsoft
chairman and industry pioneer Bill Gates. Ballmer's presentation came
two days after a similar, high-profile keynote at the Macworld show in
San Francisco by Apple, Microsoft's chief rival, and its vice president
Philip Schiller, filling in for the ailing Steve Jobs.

Unlike Schiller, Ballmer tackled the struggling economy head-on in his
remarks. He said that although the recession has created "a period of
reduced expectations," the tech companies that push forward now with
innovative research will fare better in the long-term than the companies
that scale back.

Ballmer said the convergence of screens on computers, TVs and mobile
phones is revolutionizing how people communicate with each other.

"Our digital lives will continue to get richer. There's really no
turning back from the connected world," he said. "We're on the verge of
the kind of technological transformation that only happens once every 10
or 15 years." iReport.com: Are you attending CES?

As if to prove his point, Ballmer also welcomed onstage program manager
Janet Galore, who gave brief demos of some Microsoft product prototypes,
including a tabletop-like touch screen and a flexible, wafer-thin
digital screen you can roll up like a piece of paper.

In a gentle swipe at Apple, which has gained market share against
Microsoft in recent years, Ballmer said the PC remains the best choice
for consumers seeking "value and power" in a computer.

"That's why we say, 'I'm a PC and proud of it!" he bellowed -- a
reference to a new Microsoft ad campaign that play off similar ads by
Apple.

Ballmer also announced that Microsoft has formed a partnership with
Verizon Wireless to add Live Search tools to all Verizon smart phones in
the U.S.

He also announced a partnership with Dell, which will soon come loaded
with Microsoft's Windows Live suite of software, and links between
Windows Live and the social-networking site, Facebook.

Reaction to the 90-minute presentation, which also included a
performance by Australian musical-comedy trio Tripod, was mixed.
Attendees praised the lively pace of Ballmer's talk, but wished he had
made more news.

"I really loved what I heard tonight. There's definitely a lot of
things to look forward to," said Sebastian Mineau, a Montreal-based
blogger with MSN Canada. "It [Windows 7] wasn't a big surprise. But it
was still nice to get the confirmation straight from the lion's mouth."

"It was very disappointing," said Ben Sillis, a reporter with
ElectricPig, a British tech site. "CES is supposed to be about new
products, new stuff. And this had all already been leaked. There was
nothing new."

Some 2,700 exhibitors and 130,000 attendees are in Las Vegas for CES,
the nation's largest consumer electronics trade show. The event runs
through Sunday.

To subscribe or to leave the list, or to set other subscription options, go to 
www.freelists.org/list/real-eyes
[real-eyes] Microsoft's Ballmer touts 'best version of Windows ever'

Other related posts:
