Windows & Interoperability: Microsoft Windows 7 One Year Later

Windows 7 represented a massive bet for Microsoft. With large numbers of both customers and business users still relying on Windows XP after nearly a decade, and Windows Vista a critically maligned albatross, Microsoft desperately needed Windows 7 to be a game-changing hit. In terms of sheer sales numbers, it succeeded: Since its launch in October 2009, Windows 7 has sold more than 175 million licenses. Windows 7 combined a shiny user interface with a variety of new features. For IT pros, programs such as BitLocker gave them more granular control over system aspects such as security or power management. For users, Remote Media Streaming and other programs aimed to make life more fun and productive. Additionally, features such as HomeGroup showed Microsoft's growing awareness of the importance of the cloud. A year after Windows 7's launch, Microsoft continues to wrestle with some major issues—most notably in mobile, where the company has placed a huge bet on Windows Phone 7's ability to reverse its market-share declines—but one thing remains clear: It still knows how to build an operating system.??í??í