If you were to base your opinion on what was the most important announcement at Microsoft’s Professional Developers’ Conference last week in Los Angeles, you might conclude that it was Windows 7. To a certain extent, that makes sense. If Windows Vista proved a difficult operating system for customers and reflected negatively on Microsoft, then its successor is of particular importance for the company. Windows doesn’t just represent a large portion of the company’s revenues (which it does). It also represents Microsoft’s ability to lay claim to developer mindshare.
I noted back in December of 2007 that Microsoft MUST make user experience (which includes interface) a priority. I thought then that putting Sinofsky in charge of the Windows development group and Julie Larson-Green in charge of the user experience for next generation Windows were inspired choices, given what they had done with Office 2007. That confidence seems to be born out in the directions they took with Windows 7, as revealed at the PDC.
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