Vista has overall, been a mixed bag of learning experiences for Microsoft I think. Certainly a Windows release that I myself never wasted much time with, others have opted to remain with XP in hopes that Windows 7 will prove to be the OS that many had hoped to see from Vista.

While I am certainly not going to sit here and make claims that Windows 7 is going to be a saving grace for Microsoft’s tarnished image, the fact is even if Windows 7 also proves to have issues with it, Microsoft is diversified enough and frankly, embedded enough with businesses/home users that its “appeal” or lack thereof, is overridden with preconceived “need”.

All of this being said, there continues to be indications that Windows 7 will be different and to some degree, provide a clear reason why it is worth upgrading to. Keep in mind that I am a Linux user and my wife is a die-hard Mac owner – clearly, not pro-Windows here. Yet despite this, members of my family are quite happy with various Windows products. So I believe that there is value in the OS depending on the needs of the individual.

On the notebook front, Vista has been TERRIBLE on almost every level. From flaky wifi to poor battery life in the notebook realm. Recently however, most of the wireless issues have been addressed as this was a problem mostly from the hardware manufacturers – something we in the Linux world have dealt with for years. So I do not blame Microsoft for that, out of their control in my opinion.

Battery life however, is something of a team effort if the hardware vendors are claiming that they have done all they can, while the OS is not reflecting this. Fast forward to this latest news and by gosh, we might begin to see even more evidence that Windows 7 is deadly serious about not repeating mistakes seen with Vista. Regardless of who did what with the previous release, clearly Microsoft is looking to not duplicate poor mistakes with the Windows 7 release.

Will I be looking at Windows 7? Not for myself, no. But if these needed improvements are going to continue to be a theme for Microsoft, I might finally be able to begin recommending the OS to others. That will be a nice change, especially being the company’s dominance with software and all.