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Windows Vienna - The New OS from Microsoft TMCnet Contributing Editor Barely a month after releasing its latest operating system, Windows Vista, Microsoft (News - Alert) is set to work on its newest operating system, Windows Vienna. Although specific details of this new operating system are not available, it will take 2½ years before the users can lay their hands on it. But Microsoft will most likely look to load its new OS with advanced features such as voice-activated computing and support for touch-screen features. Microsoft is tightlipped about the potential features of this new operating system. Vienna is the code name for the new OS and speculations are rife about the benefits that customers may derive from this. But we can be certain that both the business and private customers of Microsoft operating systems will experience a whole new world of computing with the introduction of Microsoft Vienna. Although Microsoft is not divulging any details about Vienna, hints about the new operating system were dropped at the release of Windows Vista. In this event, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer felt that as the entertainment and information technologies evolve together customers are going for systems that combine these two. If a computer needs to support sophisticated forms of digital entertainment, its operating system should have capabilities that go well beyond Windows Vista. Microsoft is also aware of the fact that Vista is somewhat old wine in a new bottle. Vista still uses the same basic graphical user interface, which is in existence from the time Microsoft introduced Windows operating systems. Vienna can also be an ideal platform to deliver the Windows Live initiatives from Microsoft, which includes search, e-mail, and social networking tools. Experts opine that Microsoft Vienna will be less client-centric than its predecessors and will act as a channel between the desktop and a host of services that Microsoft plans to deliver through Windows Live initiatives. Vienna can also be a gateway for Windows users to access their PC from anywhere. Recently, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates (News - Alert) had suggested that the company is working to make Windows operating systems to allow users to have access to their files, regardless of the PC they are using. With the web 2.0 wave taking over the internet, Microsoft is looking tackle competition from Google (News - Alert) and other Web 2.0 players who are already offering Webtop applications. Clearly, the future leadership of the big bad world of internet belongs to those who understand the web 2.0 concepts and deliver products and services that support or enhance this concept. Companies like Google are already fine tuning their products to explore this new avenue. But with its huge reach and technical support system, Microsoft can still make a mark in the web 2.0 arena, even though it’s a late entrant in this field. With the announcement of Windows Vienna, it will be interesting to see how customers react to Windows Vista. This operating system requires major upgrade for the PC and the response in the market is not what Microsoft had hoped for. In such a scenario, it will be interesting to see whether Microsoft will look to promote its existing “Vista” or concentrate more on the development of “Vienna.” Don't forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP  Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users.--------- Raju Shanbhag is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page. |