On January 31, 2007 Microsoft launched Windows Vista and Office 2007 in all global markets, including Korea. The two flagship products -- which were released to business customers on November 30, 2006, were available to consumers in over thirty countries.
A new era of connected experiences
Microsoft said in its press release that "Windows Vista and the 2007 Office system deliver innovations in interface design that transform the desktop and make these two products visually exciting and significantly easier to use." It goes on to say that new capabilities make it easy for anyone to create and share digital content like photos, music and videos, and participate in digital communities by posting blogs, creating Web sites or playing games online.
New opportunities
According to data from IDC, the release of Windows Vista will enable IT industry companies in Europe and North America to sustain more than 2.5 million existing jobs, and add 150,000 new positions. In the United States alone, Microsoft partners and other companies will generate over US$70 billion in new revenue in 2007 as a direct result of the launch of Windows Vista. Worldwide partner revenue from the two products is expected to exceed US$250 billion. The consumer launch of Windows Vista is also expected to unleash a flood of new next-generation hardware devices. Currently, there are more than 1.5 million devices and peripherals on the market that work with Windows Vista, including more than 2,000 that are Windows Vista Certified. Among the new devices available today that are designed specifically to work with the features of Windows Vista are the TouchSmart PC from HP, which includes a touch-sensitive screen; the Toshiba Portege R400, which features a SideShow display that lets users view their e-mail without turning on the PC or opening the lid; and the OQO model 02, a new ultra-mobile device that optimizes entertainment and communication on the smallest mobile PC form factor available.
Details, details
Significant new features in the world's most popular operating system include faster search. The new Instant Search feature is said to help users locate any document, photo, song, video, or any other file on their computer faster than previous versions of Windows. Users can view and organize their files in a variety of new ways. Live Icons display a thumbnail of the contents of each file as you view a folder. A three-dimensional representation of every window that is currently open in a stack for certain versions of Windows. Users can also add personal tags to their files to make them easier to find. Windows Vista is said to be faster as well. The user interface is said to respond faster when starting up and sleeping makes desktop PCs act more like active children than old men. With the greatest number of engineers and largest beta test in the history of software -- some 2.5 million testers -- the software is definitely going to affect the world economy and the Korean IT market.
Firsts for Windows
There are some unique firsts for Microsoft and for the Windows franchise that are interesting to note. First of all, this year marks the first time in eleven years that a new version of Windows is being released at the same time as a new version of Office. This is also the first time that multiple language support for the interface has been supported in a limited way, allowing the user to switch between English-language and Spanish-language interfaces on the same computer without buying an entirely new Spanish-language version of the OS. Windows Vista can be currently installed in 37 different languages, but it is only able to switch between English and Spanish on the fly.
