In a keynote address at the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced the beta availability of the Windows 7 operating system as well as the availability of the latest version of the Windows Live, a suite of personal communications services and applications.
Microsoft Windows 7, the beta version, of Microsoft’s next-generation PC operating system, can be downloaded today at MSDN, TechBeta and TechNet. Consumers who want to test-drive the beta will be able to download it beginning Jan. 9 at http://www.microsoft.com/windows7.
Microsoft also announced the global availability of Windows Live, a free suite of communications and sharing applications. The new and enhanced Windows Live services including Windows Live Messenger, Windows Live Mail, and Windows Live Photo Gallery are designed to work seamlessly with more than 50 popular Internet services.
Microsoft’s president of the Entertainment & Devices Division, Robbie Bach, said the Xbox 360 registered its biggest year ever, driven by record sales at retail with 28 million consoles sold to date, an 84 percent jump in online consumer spending, and Xbox LIVE membership that has grown to 17 million active members.
The free public beta of Windows 7 will reportedly will be less of a resource hog than Vista and may even run well on netbooks. The Windows 7 public beta is reportedly “feature complete” and will expire on Aug. 1, 2009. Windows 7 may even incorporate elements of Microsoft’s upcoming Azure “cloud” OS. Windows 7 is expected to hit shelves toward the end of this year or the start of 2010.
Dissatisfaction with Vista has allowed Apple to gain share. Windows’ market share in November fell below 90% for the first time in years while Mac OS is now flirting with the 10% mark, according to market watcher Net Applications.
Microsoft also introduced Tags. The new phone tool — designed for Windows Mobile as well as Android and other environments, resembles barcodes, but contains more information — that can then be placed on a business card or just about any other item. Once the tag is scanned in by a camera on a smartphone, the user can go directly to a Web site associated with the tag without typing in a URL.
The application can be accessed by visiting Gettag.mobi using your mobile phone browser; for the iPhone, search for ‘Tag Reader’ in the App Store.
