Microsoft to let consumers test Windows 7 on Friday

[Brian Warkoczeski]

Microsoft to let consumers test Windows 7 on Friday

Jan 8, 2009

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) plans to let consumers 
test the next generation of its computer operating system, Windows 7, 
starting on Friday and said the new software is "absolutely on track."

Wall Street has identified the timely launch of retail sales of Windows 
7 as one of the critical challenges for Microsoft this year, after 
Windows Vista debuted 12 to 15 months late in January 2007.

Windows 7 is "absolutely on track," Robbie Bach, president of 
entertainment & devices at Microsoft, told Reuters in an interview at 
the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

He declined to give a specific release date beyond the beta testing on 
January 9, though he reiterated Microsoft's pledge to deliver Windows 7 
around three years after Vista.

According to Collins Stewart analyst Sandeep Aggarwal, the market 
expects Windows 7 to debut in November 2009. "However, Vista was (late) 
and it did cost Microsoft dearly in terms of loss of many senior 
executives, pressure from partners, and increasing competition," he said 
in a research note this week.

Microsoft, the world's biggest maker of software, has said Windows 7 
will incorporate touch screen technology and allow users to more easily 
personalize the system. It promised more user-friendly features, such as 
a new taskbar that previews all open windows from a single application 
by hovering over the program's icon. Another new feature, "Jump Lists," 
provides updated lists of recently worked-on documents or oft-visited 
websites without first having to open Microsoft Word or an Internet browser.

At CES, Microsoft also announced a series of new deals designed to show 
its ability to ride out the economic crisis that has hurt spending on 
personal computers. Shares of Microsoft fell 6 percent on Wednesday 
after chip giant Intel Corp (INTC.O) alarmed tech investors by issuing 
yet another revenue warning.

Bach said he expects Microsoft to emerge from the economy's troubles "a 
much stronger company."

"The economy is going through a reset," Bach said. "In the short term, 
that means that every business is having some impact. We are going to 
manage through that and come out the other end of that reset a much 
stronger company with a great product lineup."

Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer is expected later on Wednesday 
to give details of the company's deal to provide mobile Internet search 
services to Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N), a contract that it won 
over rivals Google Inc (GOOG.O) and Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O).

Bach also said Dell Inc (DELL.O) had agreed to put Windows Live -- an 
online hub for personal services ranging from e-mail, instant messaging, 
and photos to Web applications and links to social networking site such 
as Facebook and LinkedIn -- on all new Dell computers.

Microsoft will also introduce a new "Halo Wars" video game for the XBox 
console in March, and an online game show channel on XBox Live, Bach said.

"You are going to see us continue to invest in technologies," he said. 
Microsoft has "tremendous optimism about where the market is going and 
what the opportunities are over the next five years."

(To see blog posts from the Consumer Electronics Show, please visit 
MediaFile at http://blogs.reuters.com/mediafile. For other CES stories, 
see http://www.reuters.com/news/topics/CES)

(Reporting by Franklin Paul, editing by Tiffany Wu, Richard Chang)