Is 7 lucky for Microsoft?

BY Motley Fool
Monday, February 02, 2009
2/02/09 at 2:51 AM

Stinging from the failure of Windows Vista, it hopes its new operating system will solve a legion of problems and bad press.

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) has been ailing, but it's not dead yet.

By all accounts, Windows Vista was a massive failure. But remember — the company has been here before, with Windows Millennium Edition. After ME, Microsoft learned from its mistakes, fixed a ton of problems, and then unleashed Windows XP on a skeptical world. It's a truly stable and reliable Windows version, and many of us still use it today, more than seven years after its original release.

Windows 7 is due no later than 2010, and word on the street is that this less-bloated release could make everyone forget about the last mistake. Microsoft can't get this baby out the door fast enough.

Seven years ago, Windows had no credible competition. Today, Apple and others are chomping at its market share. And far out in left field, Web 2.0 technologies and cloud computing bring new threats. Who needs a premium operating system if every program you use runs on a Web server somewhere?

When Windows 7 hits store shelves, it has the opportunity to erase two years of bad press and disappointing sales — and to start another huge success cycle that could beat back the burgeoning competition and cement Mr. Softy's place anew atop the heap of software giants.

Associated Images:

Davy Isbert, a software developer from France, holds an early version of Windows 7, the next version of Microsoft Corp's Windows operating system, during the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles on Oct. 28. Windows 7 will replace Windows Vista, and will add features to more easily connect devices such as cameras and printers to computers, and new PCs to home networks. Jonathan Alcorn/Bloomberg News

The launch of Vista was a touted affair, but mistakes made it a failure. Windows 7 isn’t expected to hit store shelves until 2010, but with other software developers edging into the company’s market, Microsoft may launch the new Windows version sooner. Jonathan Alcorn/Bloomberg News