Windows & Interoperability: Microsoft`s 2009 Included Windows 7, Bing, Azure and Windows Mobile

Microsoft had a pivotal year in 2009. As a global recession battered the bottom lines of tech companies everywhere, and industry moved increasingly to embrace the cloud, Microsoft found itself not only launching initiatives such as its Bing search engine, Azure and Windows Mobile 6.5, but also new flagship products such as Windows 7. Whether its efforts were ultimately successful will be a longer-term proposition, although early sales of Windows 7—an operating system meant to replace the much-maligned Vista—have been robust. The following presentation details Microsoft's last 12 months, including the ramp-up to October's Windows 7 general release, the launch of Bing, and the announcement of betas for Office 2010 and other products. The year also saw legacy programs such as Encarta meet their end, while Microsoft also tried to hold onto market share in the mobile and portable-media-player arenas.