THE reality behind Vista 7 increasingly becomes identical to that of Windows Vista (if not worse).

Analysts: 2010 will see surges in Windows 7 malware and application exploits

Sweden-based computer security firm Lavasoft predicts that trends in the creation and deployment of malware will change in 2010, toward newer models of cyber crime.

The release of Windows 7 will cause a large-scale shift in the production and distribution of malware, which overwhelmingly tends to target Microsoft products because of their widespread use. New versions of Windows require new versions of malware, to better target the incautious enterprise users that are the bread-and-butter victims of cyber criminals.

Microsoft Is Losing Fight for Consumers, Analyst Says

[...]

“Except for gaming, it is ‘game over’ for Microsoft in the consumer market,” he said. “It’s time to declare Microsoft a loser in phones. Just get out of Dodge.”

Regardless of Microsoft’s performance, amid the rise of Apple’s iPhone and phones using Google’s Android software, it seems unlikely Microsoft will heed Mr. Anderson’s advice. The smartphone is becoming the innovative hub of software development and applications, far more so than the personal computer. If Microsoft loses in smartphones, Mr. Anderson noted, “It is pretty grim. Those applications are going to move upstream.”

The underlying problem, Mr. Anderson said, is cultural. “Phones are consumer items, and Microsoft doesn’t have consumer DNA,” he said.

“Walk the halls at Microsoft and you can see it is not a place that gets consumers,” Mr. Anderson said. “Just as if you walk the halls at Google, it’s obvious it is not a place that gets the enterprise world.”

--Microsoft, internal document [PDF]