Microsoft announces successor to Vista

Just two years after launching its much vaunted but troublesome Windows Vista, Microsoft has announced plans to release a successor this September.

Windows 7 is likely to be a make-or-break development for Microsoft, considering the relative failure of its predecessor and the fierce competition faced by the company from both Apple and rival open-source operating systems.

Indeed, its level of success may define Microsoft’s position in the global PC software market for the next decade.

Although not scheduled for sale until autumn, a ‘release candidate’ (a version containing full functionality but largely untested for bugs) has been leaked on torrent sites this week.

Whether this was an act of piracy or a deliberate move to gauge the reaction from IT-savvy web users before a worldwide launch is still unclear.

There are two points which Microsoft has stressed over the last few weeks. The first is that, having been stung by complaints of sluggish performance with Vista, Windows 7 will use less CPU and RAM and will therefore also be accessible to a broader range of users.

The second is that this version will give greater flexibility to users who do not wish to use the default Microsoft software included with Windows (such as Windows Media Player or Internet Explorer).

While this is good news for the consumer, the real reason behind the change could be a desire to avoid any further charges of monopolisation, which previously slapped a $1.3 billion fine on the corporation for abusing its dominant market position.