Windows 7 - Deja Vous, all over again

Michael Gartenberg | May 30, 2008, 11:11 AM

Microsoft spent some time talking about Windows 7 (the current name for whatever comes after Vista) this week at Walt Mossberg's D conference. I knew this was coming but I'm still surprised at how they're presenting the next generation of Windows. It seems they have learned nothing from the Longhorn/Vista launch and are going to make the same mistakes all over again. That's a shame since there are so many new mistakes for them to make.

First, I can't understand why they're taking the same road they did with Longhorn, showing features way too early and totally out of context with the rest of the experience. It was a mistake then and it's a mistake now. Especially when you go to great lengths to tell everyone that these aren't final features and might not even make it into the final product. This was Windows 7 first impression for the world and it was poorly handled.

Second, of all the features to show, why on earth show Multi-Touch capabilities which is now so closely identified with Apple Inc it makes it appear that Microsoft is once again chasing Apple. Geez, the folks in Cupertino love this stuff, watch for it in a future Apple ad. For the record? I saw Microsoft's multi-touch efforts long before Apple showed their stuff in public. Yes, multi-touch and Surface are things for MSFT to be proud about but not in this forum and in this way. (and i'm not sure how well multi-touch will work as they showed. multi-touch works well on the iPhone and in Surface because those devices are optimized for that experience. Even Apple has limited this capability to only work on trackpads in a limited way in Mac OS and for now, that's a better approach for a platform still designed for a mouse and keyboard).

Third, Where was Vista? Hardly a mention. This is not the time for MSFT to back away from the Vista message. All they've done is get the market thinking about the next version of Windows. I suspect there's a lot of folks out there who made the decision this week to just skip Vista and wait for what's next.

This is a real mess IMHO. I feel like I'm watching the Longhorn story all over again. It need not be this way for MSFT. If there's anyone out there in Redmond reading this, please give me a call? We need to talk. George Santayana said it best. "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."