Ballmer says, “Windows 7 is Vista, just a lot better”

In a 45 minute Q&A session hosted by Gartner Inc analysts, when Ballmer was asked how Microsoft would walk the line between doing too much or too little with Windows 7, he said,

“Windows Vista is good; Windows 7 is Windows Vista with cleanup in user interface [and] improvements in performance. Look, I’m not encouraging anybody to wait, I’d go ahead and deploy it right away. We didn’t have to go in an incompatible direction to make big strides forward.”

He even says that “it’s ok” for those to skip Windows Vista and wait for Windows 7, since it’s an improved version of Vista.

Windows 7 will be one of the first of many future Windows operating systems to come to use Vista’s code base.

Microsoft has been sure to state that Windows 7 is indeed a major release since it has received more work than what a minor release would normally receive. However, with Ballmer saying that Windows 7 is Vista but better, it seems like he’s trying to play it safe and lower the expectations for Windows 7.

You can watch the entire interview as a webcast at Gartner’s website.

[Source: Computerworld]

Related posts:

1. Microsoft: Don’t upgrade to Vista, go straight to Windows 7
2. Get Windows 7 Aero Shake feature in XP and Vista
3. Watch Ballmer’s Keynote at CES 2009