Summary: A set of news and observations about Vista 7, which Microsoft is promoting rather aggressively despite obvious problems that continue to crop up

THIS is the latest part of a long series uncovering the reality behind Vista 7. It's full of shortcomings.

SoftPedia sheds light on yet another technical problem with this new operating system, which is just Windows Vista in a new gown.

"Windows 7 RTM Can’t Print Large Page Documents

Windows 7 is by no means without its own problems, albeit in a volume far less consistent compared to Windows Vista’s. Still, users of the latest iteration of the Windows client will stumble across glitches in the operating system, some more severe than others, some just annoyances. As far as printing from Windows 7 is concerned, Microsoft informs that customers might find themselves unable to print large page documents using the platform.

Wonderful.

Then there are the compatibility issues we wrote about in:

• Signs That Vista 7 -- Like Vista -- Will Pose Compatibility Issues
• Vista 7 Starter Edition Called “Too Wimpy” by IDG, Compatibility Problems Foreseen
• Vista 7 Roundup: Microsoft Admits Upgrade Errors, People Wait for SP1, Compatibility Issues Identified
• Vista 7 -- Just Like Vista -- Incompatible with Vital Services
• Vista 7 Incompatibility Issues, Crashes, and More NPD Lies
• Jerry Seinfeld Dumps Vista, Some Users Prefer Vista Over Vista 7 Because of Incompatibility
• Vista 7 Crashes on Certain Hardware, Stifles Samba Compatibility
• Vista 7 Crashes on Certain Hardware, Stifles Samba Compatibility
• Windows, Cisco Do Not Support Vista 7

Here is another new example of incompatibility:

Songbird is free and open source, and is available for Windows XP/Vista, Mac, and Linux. Currently, Windows 7 is not officially supported, though some users have reported no problems running it on their system—just be aware that it's at your own risk if you decide to try it on Windows 7.

This is why enterprises are very reluctant to deploy Vista 7. As Wired Magazine put it several days ago:

In October, Microsoft unveiled Windows 7, the latest version of its operating system. This time around, there were no lines in parking lots, no breathless press coverage, no sense that a new computing era had begun. Indeed, some 40 percent of businesses said they had no plans to upgrade. Accessing the Net is what’s most important, and no one needs the latest Microsoft OS to do that. But Ellison himself provided the most glaring sign that the computing landscape had changed. Fourteen years earlier, he had reacted to the Windows 95 launch by becoming one of Microsoft’s loudest critics and most ambitious would-be competitors. This time, he said nothing. There was no need. The fight was over.

We have found 9 clusters of headlines about Vista 7 and none about Vista (in Google News). One short article about Vista 7 was titled: "Windows 7 – whats all the HYPE about?"

On Oct. 22, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took the stage in downtown New York at the lead event for a somewhat — for the software giant — soft-edged launch for Windows 7. Ballmer presided over a day of speechmaking and sales promotions in cities worldwide. But the events were on the whole smaller than the usual major Microsoft launches.

The Microsoft-focused Emil already starts spreading hype with vapourware (Vista 8). Microsoft never resorted to a vapourware pitch quite so early. Microsoft started speaking about "Windows 8" 6 months before "Windows 7" was even released!

So who else hypes up Vista 7? Well, how about Matt Rosoff, who describes himself as "an analyst with Directions on Microsoft, where he covers Microsoft's consumer products and corporate news," OK? This is the type of person CNET gives a blog to. They have not a single blogger there who covers Free software. It's a problem of bias which we addressed many times before. The obvious role of bias can be seen in this post from Rosoff (Vista 7 promotion), who at least had the guts to say one negative thing about the company from which he makes a living.

Songsmith. The idea wasn't all that bad. Karaoke is fun. Making music on computers is fun. So why not, reasoned some Microsoft researchers, create a program that fills in audio accompaniment as users sing. Unfortunately, the $29.95 price and unbelievably mockable promotional video turned Songsmith into an Internet laughingstock. Later videos featuring Songsmith's accompaniment to the vocal tracks of songs like Queen's "We Will Rock You" and Van Halen's "Running With the Devil" highlighted the silliness.

One of our readers, Marti, has just announced that he would no longer touch Windows or offer Windows support to anyone (Marti tried Vista 7 and hated it).

Today I have decided to remove all instances of Microsoft Windows on all my machines and that I will not any longer provide gratis help for Microsoft Windows.

So, in summary, Vista 7 continues to suffer from real problems, but Microsoft's ecosystem is trying to hide them. It even starts promoting an imaginary successor of it. This is the one that will solve all your problems! They promise. This time it's for real. Really! Trust Microsoft. ⬆