Atomac

Last week saw the release of Windows 7. It also saw Microsoft launch its new retail store strategy. Both events were covered widely by the tech media and rightly so since they are both worthy of note, but one really gets the feeling that both were further symptoms of the giant, Microsoft, stumbling further off kilter.

It is no news that Vista was a large scale failure. While some may argue that it wasn’t as bad as many made out and that it was a good deal better after the service pack the negative press it generated limited sales and had PC box assemblers begging Microsoft to let them continue to sell Windows XP. Apple capitalised on the negative press of Vista by suggesting the XP users move to a Mac instead. More damaging still to Microsoft businesses and corporations did not widely adopt Vista.  It was for these reasons that Microsoft had to get Windows 7 absolutely right.

From all accounts Microsoft has put a tick in all the boxes. I am still to use Windows 7 (and to be honest I never used Vista for more than five minutes), but I have read a multitude reviews and they all speak very positively about improved speed, better driver support, smaller memory footprint and improvements in interface. It would seem that Microsoft have a winner on their hands. And yet a few things trouble me.

Firstly, most reports I have read conclude with a sentiment akin to “It’s what Vista ought to have been” or they note Windows 7′s similarities to Vista and the areas in which it is better. While the Windows apologists are quick to argue that it isn’t “just a service pack” it certainly sounds like one in the reviews. At the very least it isn’t a new version of the operating system in real terms.

Which leads me to my second point, price, and it is here that I must finally raise Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard’s head. Windows enthusiasts are quick to point to Snow Leopard and gleefully jibe at the US$29 price for what they see as a service pack. Sure, Snow Leopard isn’t that different from 10.5. It isn’t the difference between 10.4 and 10.5 and the price reflects that. Mac OS X has been evolving since 2001. Its DNA has slowly altered and it has grown new features and become faster with each iteration.

What these same apologists seem to be blind to or ignore is that the cheapest version of Windows 7 costs $110. And Windows 7 is really just what Vista ought to have been. People who shelled out for Vista are going to have to shell out again just for fixes.

Windows 7 brings Windows more up to date, but according to two comparisons I have read, one being at CNET, Mac OS X is still better. This must be so galling to Microsoft and its captive audience. However, a large portion of the tech industry is beginning to realise what we have known for a long time. Microsoft doesn’t innovate it just copies. Naturally Windows 7 can’t be better than OS X if it is just a pale imitation of it. Sure there is Aero Peak, which looks unusable compared to Exposé, but other elements like the Dock like thing at the bottom of the screen are pure Apple.

At the end of the day Windows 7 is still Windows and it will be interest to see how long it takes before Windows 7 is the target of malware and viruses. Windows it notorious, also, for slowing down over time. I wonder if those shiny new test machines Microsoft have been sharing around are quite so nippy in 6 months time.

And while we are talking about Microsoft copying Apple they have just opened their first retail stores. From what I have seen so far they are essentially Apple Store like with light woods, lots of space and an attempt to be similarly hip. The stores apparently carry a multitude of brands. When Apple opened their first retail stores most of the industry thought that they were going to fail. Needless to say Apple’s retail stores have been a massive success  - the way that they showcase Apple products and the level of support that they offer to customers is outstanding in the industry. Enter Microsoft. I am not sure what Microsoft imagine the impact of their stores will be, but I am certain that it they will not succeed. Microsoft and their box assemblers compete on price not on features. These stores are doomed to become discount merchants in order to survive and will simply cannibalise sales from other outlets selling Windows computers.

Windows and Microsoft aren’t going anywhere, but Microsoft’s time as a power is over. They know it and so do we.