In a blog post Thursday, Microsoft executive Charlie Kindel, who handles contact with outside software developers, said that jettisoning support for older applications was necessary to make the new operating system as powerful and user-friendly as possible.
The announcement is perhaps most disappointing to companies that have created their own software to run on Windows phones issued to their employees. The news also leaves software developers with a dilemma: they can write applications for Windows Mobile 6.5, which will soon be a dead end, or they can write for Windows Phone 7, which isnt coming out until later this year.
Phone providers [...]

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer celebrated the arrival of Windows 7 in New York with a few hundred people who had helped test early versions of the software that runs PCs. One of them, technology consultant, Jonathan Kay, flew from Toronto to attend.
“Windows 7 will redeem Windows,” said Kay, 27.
Some retailers had opened at midnight to give customers an early shot at buying a new PC or a disc that they could use to put Windows 7 on their existing computers. Such upgrade discs start at $120.
Among the stores was a Frys Electronics in Renton, Wash., several miles south of Microsofts [...]

No, you didnt. But Microsoft Corp.s names for the successive versions of Windows have been more than a little confusing. Its easy to get the impression that with every new version of Windows, Microsoft wants us to forget that there was a previous one.
Long ago, we had Windows 1, 2 and 3. So far, so good. Then Microsoft started naming its consumer software after the year of release, like a car, and we got Windows 95. That was followed by 98, while professional users got 4.0. But Windows 2000 wasnt for consumers at all - the professional version was now [...]

Windows 7 is Microsofts best shot to undercut Apple, which has grabbed its biggest share of the home-computer market since the 1990s, said Roger Kay, an analyst at Endpoint Technologies Associates in Wayland, Massachusetts. The program is Microsofts first “worthy competitor” to Apples OS X, he said.
Microsoft, the worlds largest software maker, gets about 25 percent of its $58.4 billion in annual revenue from Windows. The companys effort to entice consumers to upgrade to new Windows machines is getting a boost from a computer market that [...]

If youve been holding off on buying a new computer, Windows 7 will be a good excuse to get back into the game. And if youve been weighing a Mac versus a Windows PC, then you should know that “7″ pushes the scales on the Windows side. Windows is now easier to use and better looking than it was before, while maintaining its core advantage of cheaper, more diverse hardware.
However, most PC users should not take the release of Windows 7 as a call to action, or feel that they have to run out and buy the software for use [...]

Ballmer established a process for gathering feedback from computer makers, and hes personally surveying customers — along with his teenage son — to make sure Windows 7 works. Early users, including Continental Airlines Inc., Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and the city of Miami, say they are upbeat about the software.
“The test feedback has been good, but the test feedback on Vista was good,” Ballmer, 53, said in an interview last week. “I am optimistic, but the proof will be in the pudding.” [...]

Few details for the launch of Microsoft Corp.s next PC operating system have been made public, though its a safe bet Oct. 22 wont feature acrobats climbing buildings and unfurling banners in New York, as was the case for Windows Vista in 2007.
One thing we do know is that Microsoft hired House Party Inc. to bring the Windows 7 buzz into living rooms around the world.
House Party, based in Irvington, N.Y., and Denver, helps companies get in front of real people by supplying materials for, well, house parties. The agency vets volunteer hosts, then sends decorations, products and suggestions for [...]

A three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a judge erred in August 2007 by granting the copyright to Novell. The panel ordered a trial to determine ownership.
Novell, a software and computer infrastructure company, has been locked in a yearslong legal battle with The SCO Group Inc. of Lindon, Utah, over ownership to the copyright.
SCO said the ruling paves the way for resumption of the court case.
SCO filed for bankruptcy protection in 2007, drained by unsuccessfully filing lawsuits claiming its software code was misappropriated by developers of the open-source Linux operating system.
“For us its a [...]

There are plenty of reasons why youd want Windows 7. It appears to be more stable - less prone to crashes - than previous versions of Windows. Its less annoying than Vista, which could deluge users with security warnings and other nagging reminders. Windows 7 has a cleaner, simpler interface.
One thing that isnt simple about Windows 7 is the flavors it comes in. Microsoft said it tried to keep the options easy, but that didnt happen. You still must choose from Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate versions. (There also are Starter and Enterprise, but neither are sold directly to consumers.)
The [...]

To drum up demand among people who arent in the market for a new PC, Microsoft also said it is taking limited pre-orders for Windows 7, selling some for as little as $50.
Windows 7 is Microsofts first new operating system in almost three years. With Vista, Microsoft made under-the-hood technical changes that left other software companies and device makers scrambling to make their products work with new computers. Many didnt work at Vistas January 2007 launch; people also complained the new system was sluggish.
Microsoft is promising a smoother launch for Windows 7, in part because its not a radical departure [...]