Believe it or not, I rather like Windows 7. I still think XP SP3 is what you want if performance matters most to you, but 7 does OK on the racetrack, and most of Vista’s biggest annoyances have either been fixed or dumped. Technically speaking, Windows 7 is exactly what Microsoft needs in order to recover from its Vista fiasco. Too bad the company seems to want to shoot itself in the foot.
Although Windows 7 pricing hasn’t been officially announced, the word is out — the “word” actually being two words: higher prices. Whether you buy a single Windows 7 license or a few thousand, the expectation is that you’ll be paying more.
Will this go over well? Let me check. Is the economy still a mess? Does anyone have much cash lying around? I don’t think so, and neither do any of the companies that track such things. There’s a reason why cheap-as-dirt netbooks have been the one hardware sector that has been showing some life: People can afford them.