The software company is counting on Windows 7 to help it stave off competition from Apple, and PC makers like Hewlett-Packard and Dell are releasing a slew of new computers, anticipating that the new system will revive their sales as well.
We’ll be following the event in New York, and you can watch CEO Steve Ballmer’s keynote at the streaming video below.
11:00 a.m. EST: At the Windows 7 launch event in New York. It’s a zoo. Standing room only, but that’s mainly because Microsoft seems only to have budgeted for about 50 chairs. Lights are dimming. Micrsoft is playing Windows television commercials.
11:01: Microsoft Windows and Windows Live CFO Tami Reller takes the stage.
11:02: Microsoft opened Nasdaq directly from its campus in Redmond today, Reller says. “This is a big day for Microsoft.”
11:03: Windows customers number 1 billion.
11:04: Kylie, the young star of the “I’m a PC” commercials, is here. Reller is kneeling to see eye-to-eye with her. “I’m a PC, and here’s Steve Ballmer, Kylie says.
11:05: She chastises Ballmer for being late to meet with her this morning.
11:06: Ballmer as Santa: Kylie gets a pink notebook PC.
11:07: In the first big understatement of the day, Ballmer says, “I’m an enthusiastic personality.”
11:08: Windows 7 is in 45,000 stores, he says. “Not only am I Steve Ballmer, and I’m a PC — I’m Steve Ballmer, and I’m a Windows 7 PC.” He then asks, “What’s special about Windows 7?”
11:09: The answer: 3,000 engineers, 50,000 partners and eight million beta testers. The development team created something called the Wishing Wall at Microsoft headquarters, filled with customer comments on Win 7.
11:11: (I have seen the Wishing Wall. A number of the comments are critical of Windows 7, which may be the reason one Microsoft executive told me he calls it the Wailing Wall.)
11:12: Things you do on PCs need to be simpler, Ballmer says.
11:13: Ballmer’s sons love the HomeGroup feature in Windows 7. What are the chances of that?
11:14: You will see how Windows phones connect to Windows 7, Ballmer says. Today is a very good day, he adds, but the center of the day is product itself. (I feel a demo coming…)
11:15: Microsoft corporate vice president Brad Brooks has a demo. He’s going to show the “seven wonders” of Windows 7. Get it?
11:16: He plugs a Nikon camera into a Win 7 PC to show new the “device stage” feature. An icon showing a picture of the camera appears on the taskbar.
11:17: Brooks makes an “auto movie” using Windows Live Moviemaker — one-button movie-making, or thereabouts. Win 7 is going to blur the lines between the PC and the TV, he says.
11:18: He shows a touch-capable HP desktop PC, then sweeps his finger across the screen. The image ripples. It’s a pond filled with fish.
11:19: Brooks is now showing live TV on the PC. You can get a plug-in TV tuner for less than $100.
11:20: Announcing today a deal with CBS — you can get primetime content from CBS, like “NCIS,” without a TV tuner by accessing it over the Internet.
11:21: The content appears to be the same CBS shows freely available online, but with slick integration with Windows 7 Media Center. Brooks shows Netflix’s streaming Internet service and confesses that “Caddyshack” is one of his favorite movies.
11:22: Here we go. Bill Murray is after the gopher.
11:23: Amazon has created Kindle reader for Windows 7. So if you want to read a book on your PC, you can now do it, turning pages by swiping your finger on a touch-screen.
11:24: More on sharing information on a home network — Brooks is about to set up a “home group.”
11:25: He’s joining a second PC to the home network. It requires entering a password — that’s it. Two PCs are now sharing music, video and pictures. Tentative applause. Everyone knows Windows 7 can do this already.
10% off everything in the Microsoft Store! Use promo code MSSTORE10%OFF.
Offer valid 11.16.09-11.25.09.
11:27: Remote media stream, with Windows Live ID, can connect a PC on the go with the PC at home, on the same home group. Brooks shows this by connecting to a PC back in Redmond, then tries to play a “Family Guy” video. It’s loading slowly.
11:29: We’re at the “seventh wonder” of Windows 7, “Play To.”
11:30: Brooks has a bunch of gadgets, a picture frame, a set top box, etc., that he’s going to send media to through the Play To feature.
11:31: He says he has a “man cave” with an Xbox. He sends a picture from the PC to a picture frame, a music stream from PC to stereo and a video to a TV through a set-top box. In all, the PC is serving up four separate streams with pics, video and music to various devices.
11:33: Now for his next trick, Brooks sent media streams to 16 different devices from one PC. (Yikes. This is apparently a good feature if there are two Octomoms living together.)
11:34: Ballmer is back.
11:36: The diversity of Win 7 devices — netbooks, ultrathins, notebooks, desktops, all-in-one, gaming PCs — are core to its appeal, Ballmer says. Ninety-five out of 100 times, people choose Windows PC, he adds.
11:39: Subtext: Steve Jobs gives you a few things. Microsoft gives you a lot of things.
11:40: Weird — a screen in the middle of the room is pulled back to show a pretend series of living rooms in the back of the hall.
11:41: Ballmer makes his way to the pretend living room, which seems to have been decorated with Ikea furniture.
11:42: He’s showing the HP Envy, a 4-pound notebook with 7 hours of battery life. It wakes up from “sleep mode” in two seconds. Then he shows a Sony Vaio touch-screen desktop PC, a touch-screen notebook from Toshiba, a notebook from Acer. (He’s flying through demos.)
11:44: A Microsoft staffer shows a notebook that connects to a docking station through “conductive” technology. No wires. It sits on top of a docking pad.
11:46: An Acer entertainment PC in a tiny box is playing video.
11:47: Showing graphics capability — a demo shows a ladybug in extremely high fidelity, being rendered in real time. Can zoom in and out.
11:48: ATI graphics card costs $400, uses Windows 7 and Direct X 11, Microsoft’s graphics technology.
11:49: Ballmer shows a notebook made out of carbon fiber. Holds it with a pinch grip using a couple of fingers. Don’t drop it Ballmer!
11:50: Ballmer has the stage again, except he’s not on stage. He’s on the floor with a camera filming him.
11:51: We’re winding down. “Today is an important day for the computer industry. Certainly for Microsoft,” Ballmer says.
11:52: Kylie is gripping her pink notebook. Big smile. She is psyched.
11:53: The event ends.
No comments:
Post a Comment