Bill Gates has defended Windows Vista and Microsoft, saying a lot of people see the OS (operating system) as the best new product of 2007.
In an interview with SeattlePi before taking to the stage at the 2008 CES (Consumer Electronics Show), Gates talked of Microsoft’s push to improve Vista in 2007 after it’s release.
"They (the users) also have very high expectations in terms of having all the (device) drivers there and the compatibility. There’s some of those areas where, as the year went on, we definitely did a better job on those things, and there’s a bit of a lesson learned there."
A lot of criticism was directed towards Microsoft after the release of Windows Vista, with many users finding devices (such as printers and scanners) that worked seemlessly with Windows XP, would not work at all with Windows Vista. Straight from the get-go though, Microsoft was constantly updating Vista with new drivers, Windows Updates and Security Patches.
Gates was also questioned about the higher system requirements of Windows Vista. A lot of PC users, especially gamers, will notice programs running faster and smoother on Windows XP unless a fairly decent amount of RAM (read 4GB) is present in the system. On identical hardware, Crysis for example, runs faster on Windows XP with Very High settings and extra features enabled than it does with the same settings on Windows Vista.
When asked if he had any seconds thoughts about Vista having such high system requirements Gates replied with "No. … We want to take advantage of the new hardware that’s out there and the new capabilities. I wouldn’t say that the hardware requirements were a tough thing."
He has a point. Developing a new OS with system requirements that is the same or only slightly higher than one released 6 years ago would majorly limit what the new OS could do and what could be created by the dev team.
SeattlePi then went on to ask Gates about what he thinks of Nintendo’s Wii. "Well, the Wii has certainly done well, and they deserve credit for some of their easy entry and how some of the older folks have found that attractive. Clearly we think we can match that and do better. We’ve got a lot of neat ideas that are coming along in that space."
"One way to look at it is to look at the depth of engagement. If you look at the money spent on Xbox in the United States, it’s actually more than the Wii plus the PS3 put together. And so in terms of games bought, hours spent, the richness of what’s going on, Xbox is way ahead of any other platform in the United States. That allows us now to go add in some of the ease of use, (and the) simple, immediate-play type gaming that I think was part of the Wii’s success."
It will certainly be interesting to see how Microsoft hopes to match the Wii’s ease of use, and then better it. Xbox 720 anyone?
[via SeattlePi]
