The Comeback: Windows 7

On Thursday, Microsoft released Windows 7 to the world, and the release was the company's most important apology in decades. The operating system was the successor to Windows Vista, the version that had been mocked, resisted, and avoided, and the successor was built to make the world forget. The company that had stumbled was asking for a second chance, and the second chance was the launch. The release is the October 2009 story, and the story is the lesson: in technology, the comeback is not about the technology alone, the comeback is about trust.

The Comeback is the subject of this article: what Windows 7 is, what it fixes, what the launch means for Microsoft, and why the operating system still mattered in the year of the web. The release came on Thursday, October 22, and the retail shelves and the new computers carried the hope of the company. The stores opened, the boxes appeared, and the world began to judge. This is the story of the launch, and the story is about the fight for the desktop.

1. The Launch

The launch was the biggest Microsoft had staged in years, and the staging was the statement. Windows 7 went on sale worldwide on the same day, in stores and on new computers, with launch events in New York, London, and Tokyo. The company pulled out the campaign stops: the advertising, the launch parties, the promotion that asked users to say what Windows meant to them. The launch was the celebration, and the celebration was the gamble. The whole company was staking its reputation on the day.

The launch was also the relief. The previous version had been a wound, and the wound had been open for two and a half years. The new version was the bandage, and the bandage had to hold. The company needed a hit, needed the reviews, needed the upgrade wave, and the need was the pressure of the day. The executives watched the first sales numbers, and the watching was the anxiety. The launch was the moment of truth, and the truth would come in the sales numbers of the months ahead.

2. The Inheritance

The inheritance was the burden, and the burden was Vista. Windows Vista had arrived in January 2007 with promises of security and beauty, and the promises had curdled: the system was slow, the hardware demands were heavy, the compatibility problems were endless, and the world had said no. Many businesses had stayed on the old system, and many consumers had learned to hate the name. The hatred was the history, and the history was the mountain.

The inheritance was also the lesson. Microsoft had learned what the market punished: complexity, demands, disruption. The new version had to be the opposite, and the opposite was the design brief. Windows 7 was built on the same core as Vista, but the core was tuned, lightened, and smoothed until the problems faded. The engineers had listened to the complaints, and the listening was the engineering. The inheritance was the history, and the history was the teacher. The burden became the blueprint, and the blueprint became the product. The lesson was engraved in the memory of every executive who had watched the previous launch fail, and the memory was the guard against the repeat.

3. The Design

The design was the polish, and the polish was the pitch. Windows 7 was faster to start, lighter on memory, and friendlier to the modest computers most people actually owned. The taskbar was redesigned: pinned applications, jump lists that leapt to recent files, live previews of open windows. The windows could snap to the edges of the screen, the touch support was improved, and the small things felt considered. The details were the difference, and the difference was the delight.

The design was the answer to the criticism. The reviewers reached for the same phrase again and again: this was what Vista should have been, the apology Vista never made. The system did not shout; the system worked. The start was fast, the shutdown was fast, the whole experience was the opposite of the slog that had defined the predecessor. The design was the discipline, and the discipline was the difference. The polish was not a feature list; the polish was the philosophy. The philosophy was the respect for the user, and the respect was the comeback.

4. The Business

The business was the engine, and the engine was the profit. Windows was the heart of Microsoft's money machine: the operating system and the office software together produced the majority of the company's profit, and the majority was the reason the launch mattered so much. The operating system was not a product among products; the operating system was the company. The launch was the heartbeat of the whole machine.

The business was also the cycle. The upgrade cycle was the rhythm of the industry: businesses waited years, then refreshed their machines all at once, and the refresh was the feast. The recession had delayed the feast, and the delay had built the hunger. The companies had held on to their old machines, and the holding was the pent up demand. The launch was the bet that the hunger would break loose, that the companies and the consumers would finally buy. The business was the stakes, and the stakes were enormous. The profit engine had to turn, and the turning was the test. The analysts watched the corporate budgets for the signs of the renewal, and the budgets were the forecast of the year ahead.

5. The Campaign

The campaign was the noise, and the noise was the message. Microsoft spent heavily on the launch: the television ads, the billboards, the launch events in cities around the world, the online push that turned customers into ambassadors. The campaign was the company shouting its confidence from every platform, and the shouting was the strategy. The volume was the statement, and the statement was the comeback.

The campaign was also the conversation. The ads answered the critics directly, the I am a PC campaign that turned the old slogan into a story about real people and real computers. The message was that Windows was for everyone, that the world ran on Windows, that the comeback was a homecoming. The stories were the warmth, and the warmth was the persuasion. The campaign was the volume, and the volume was the fight. The company that had been quiet through the Vista years was loud again, and the loudness was the point.

6. The Siege

The siege was the context, and the context was the war. The personal computer was under attack from every side: the cheap netbooks were running Linux, Google had announced a browser based operating system in July, and Apple's Macs were taking share in the premium market. The desktop was supposed to be dying, and the obituaries were being written in every technology publication. The doom was the chatter, and the chatter was the noise.

The siege was also the challenge. Windows still ran on nine out of ten personal computers, and the nine tenths were the fortress. The question was whether the fortress could hold, whether the new version could stop the erosion, whether the PC could stay the center of computing. The launch was the answer to the obituaries, the proof that the desktop was not finished. The siege was the backdrop of the launch, and the backdrop was the urgency. The launch was not just a product release; the launch was a defense of the empire.

7. The Reviews

The reviews were the verdict, and the verdict was the relief. The critics praised the speed, praised the polish, praised the design, and the praise was the reversal of the Vista years. The new version was called the best Windows in years, the version that restored the faith, the version that made the upgrade feel like a gift instead of a chore. The reviews were the word of mouth, and the word of mouth was the fuel. The good words were the best advertising the company could buy.

The reviews were also the caution. The critics noted that the world was changing, that the web was the new platform, that the phone was the new computer, and the notes were the cloud on the bright day. The operating system was excellent, the reviews said, and the excellence was the question: would the desktop matter as much in the decade ahead? The question was the future, and the future was the unknown. The reviews were the judgment of the moment, and the moment was the judgment of the future.

8. The Lesson

The lesson of the launch was about trust, and the trust was the product. Microsoft had broken faith with its users, and the breaking had cost the company years and billions. The comeback was not about the features; the comeback was about earning the faith back, one smooth start, one fast boot, one working driver at a time. The lesson was that the technology company that forgets the users pays, and the paying is the tuition. The humility was the price, and the price was the recovery.

The lesson was also about the size of the moment. The operating system still mattered, the desktop still mattered, the personal computer still mattered, and the launch was the proof. The web was rising, the phones were rising, but the PC was the foundation, and the foundation was being restored. The launch is the October 2009 story, and the story is the lesson: in technology, the comeback is not about the technology alone, the comeback is about trust. The release came on Thursday, and the world would decide in the weeks ahead.

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