Thalasar Ventures

It seems that there is a growing battle between Microsoft and open source developers all the time. However when you speak to parties on either side of this so called war it is not the case at all, they do not regard each other as the enemy, but rather as the competition and they continue to compete in a manner that is welcomed in all free market economies.

Up to now it has seemed that the main vehicle for open source operating systems (OS) has been through the Linux stable and this OS is certainly very popular amongst those that seek to maximize the life time of their old PCs. Three main reasons for this include the fact that the OS does not take up a lot of memory, it avoids the issue of making your computer’s processors all but exhausted and then of course in these tough economic times, the fact that it is free helps a lot.

But Microsoft has apparently come to the party with its latest offering in recognition of the fact that while its business model might have to change slightly, its ability to deliver high quality operating systems into the market does not have to be compromised at all. The software vendor has brought a lighter OS into the market and it seems clear that there are noticeable improvements on the highly-anticipated and then highly disappointing Vista.

Windows 7 shows that Microsoft has ensured that it has learned the lessons that Vista had to teach it. The OS is lighter and does not demand as much memory as its predecessor. Microsoft has targeted that part of the market that wants to liven up their old PC and get the most value out of it. Instead of charging the earth for a copy of Windows 7, one is now able to buy what is termed a “family pack” for just $ 150. This is already an incredible improvement on historical price levels and the additional benefit about this product is that it comes with a license that allows for three upgrades.

The nature of the software market has changed considerably since the introduction of open source software and Microsoft looks like it is ready to really prove a challenge to the competition. We are likely to see less mud-slinging and more emphasis on the delivery of great products into the market such as is demonstrated by what we have seen of Windows 7 thus far.