Microsoft simplifies the PC with Windows 7
Microsoft Thailand marks the arrival of its new operating system and counts down to official launch to Thai consumers at Siam Paragon, October 31st – November 1st 2009.
BANGKOK - October 22, 2009 — Today Microsoft Corp. announced the worldwide availability of its new Windows 7 operating system. Windows 7 delivers on a simple premise: make it easier for people to do the things they want on a PC. The new operating system offers a streamlined user interface and significant new features that make everyday tasks easier and allow people to get the most out of computers of all styles and sizes.
“Windows 7 is here and there has never been a better time to be a PC,” said Patama Chantaruck, Managing Director, Microsoft Thailand speaking at today’s press launch event. “We are very excited, as are many of our customers and partners, and it’s easy to see why. With Windows 7, consumers are getting an experience that is more reliable, more responsive, and that makes the things they do every day easier. Small and medium sized businesses will find that Windows 7 is the best operating system for work and home, with Windows 7 Professional working the way they want it to and helping them get more done. Similarly for large enterprises, Windows 7 delivers all of this, plus even more enhanced security and control to reduce risk, simplify PC management and dramatically reduce business costs.”
Building Windows 7 has been a collaborative process from the beginning, with Microsoft’s engineers and designers working with customers and partners to build an operating system that delivers on the vision of the PC, simplified.
“While we were building Windows 7 we did a lot of research and listened to the people that will be using it everyday,” explained Patama Chantaruck. “Feedback and data was compiled from millions of PCs in more than 200 countries around the world and we conducted over 16,000 interviews with people that use Windows to help us identify, test and validate the scenarios and features that we were building. Moreover, there has been a significant amount of Thai involvement in the building of Windows 7, with a team of 50 Thai software developers, testers and bloggers called upon to help perfect the operating system – and we even have a Thai artist, ‘Pomme Chan’, who was selected to design one of the official wallpapers in Windows 7.”
Similarly, more than 8 million people around the world and in Thailand took part in the Windows 7 beta download program – an incredible indication of just how many people wanted to have a say about where Windows was going.
Partners rally around Windows 7
Along with increased customer involvement, Microsoft’s partners have had a closer, more involved role in the product vision and planning process with Windows 7. The collaborative approach to engaging partners to inform development efforts has resulted in improved performance for PCs as well as compatibility with a broad range of software and hardware across the Windows ecosystem. More than 16,000 software and hardware companies are building solutions on Windows 7 and over 44,000 developers are enrolled in the Windows Ecosystem Readiness Program. Together, these partners are developing hardware, software and services capable of reaching more than a billion PCs around the world.
Here in Thailand Microsoft engaged earlier and more often with local hardware, software and retail partners to ensure that Thailand’s IT ecosystem is ready to deliver Windows 7 and related IT solutions at the right price to customers.
“We are lucky to have a great network of partners in Thailand that we have been collaborating with closely to ensure that together we can keep delivering powerful and relevant IT solutions to Thai consumers,” continued Patama Chantaruck. “It’s great to see so many of our hardware partners coming out with new and exciting Windows 7 machines and we are very grateful that thanks to our partners delivering on the promise of ‘simplicity, value, and choice’ there are now more ways to get a fantastic Windows 7 PC than ever before.”
Indeed this collaboration with partners is just one small part of the significant wider boost that Windows 7 is expected to bring to local IT industries around the world. In the midst of an economic crisis, with most governments seeking economic stimulus to grow their economies, the impact of Windows 7 will reach far beyond Microsoft, driving revenues and growth for many of the IT companies worldwide that sell hardware, develop applications, provide IT services, or serve as IT distribution channels. This growth will do its bit to help economies around the world climb out of the current economic crisis.
“This launch is hugely significant for Microsoft Thailand but we expect that it will also have a very positive impact on the whole Thai IT industry,” said Patama Chantaruck. “Through close collaboration with our partners, who are introducing products and services revolving around Windows 7, we are confident that Thailand will also start to enjoy economic benefits as more and more Thai consumers, businesses and developers experience first-hand all that Windows 7 has to offer.”
Launching Windows 7 to Thai consumers
Following today’s press event and worldwide launch, Windows 7 will be officially launched to Thai consumers from October 31st – November 1st, 2009 at Fashion Hall, Siam Paragon in Bangkok. Over the last few months an unprecedented number of people have already taken part in a number of creative contests and promotional Windows 7 activities that will reach a conclusion during the launch weekend event. However, consumers will still have the chance to take part in activities and get the chance to purchase Windows 7 for a discounted price during the launch event, which will include a mini-concert and appearances by Thai celebrities. For the latest information on offers and activities, consumers should visit
www.windows7thailand.com or
www.facebook.com/windows7thaifan.
Simplifying the PC
Over the past 18 months, feedback from more than a billion opt-in customer sessions and eight million beta testers validated Microsoft’s research on how to simplify everyday tasks. Here are a few of the many ways you’ll experience a more simplified PC with Windows 7:
Simplifies everyday tasks
Taskbar: The go-to spot for launching programs and switching windows, the taskbar has been completely redesigned to help you work smarter, cut clutter, and get more done, with features like thumbnail previews of webpages, documents—even running video.
HomeGroup: Easily share your files and printers with other Windows 7 PCs in your home.
DeviceStage: Shows you the status of all your connected devices such as cameras and mobile phones and makes it easier to synchronize and manage them.
Photos and Videos: Windows Live Photo Gallery and Windows Live Movie Maker offer customers great, free options to edit photos and videos and easily share with loved ones.
Snap: Drag an open window to your screen’s border to automatically re-size it. Snap two different windows to the left and right borders for a perfect comparison.
Shake: Click a window pane and shake your mouse to minimize all other open windows. Shake the pane again to restore the windows to their original sizes.
Internet Explorer 8: Our fastest, easiest, and safest browser ever. Smart new features like Instant Search, Accelerators, and Web Slices help you get more out of the Web.
Works the way you want
Faster and more reliable: Every Windows 7 user will benefit from the focus on underlying performance, faster startup, resuming and shut down time, and enhanced power management.
Protecting your PC: Safeguarding the data on your PC is easier with advanced backup capabilities to protect you against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.
Compatible with you: Run many Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP Mode. Windows 7 is designed to deliver fewer system messages, pop-ups and notifications, so you can work with fewer interruptions.
Makes new things possible
Windows Touch: Interact with your PC with a touch-screen monitor, using your fingers and multi-touch gestures.
PlayTo: Stream your digital music, videos, and photos to other PCs or devices such as your Xbox 360 connected to your TV.
Internet TV: New content providers and an improved interface make it even easier to watch TV on your PC.
Rich Gaming and Graphics: Windows 7 includes performance enhancements that take power gaming and entertainment to a new level, with 64-bit support and DirectX11 graphics.
Location-Aware Printing – your documents are sent to the right printer whether it’s at home or at the office. And with Offline Files you can work offline and automatically synchronize between a PC and documents on your office network.
Partners’ Voices
Mr. Alan Chiang, General Manager, Acer Computer Co., Ltd. cited that the arrival of Windows 7 is creating much excitement in the market and many customers are eagerly awaiting its general availability. Our range of Windows 7 compatible product lines are notebook, LCD monitor and all-in-one desktop which come with Multi Touch Screen technology. We also introduced the world’s first 3D notebook to take the viewing experience to the next level of virtual reality effects by 3D glasses available in the package.
“After personally trying out Windows 7, I can say that this new operating system is a joy to use – not only in terms of ease-of-use, but also thanks to its features that support today’s full range of business and multimedia uses. Moreover, we have found Windows 7 to be fully compatible with our own ASUS technology and we are committed to developing new innovations for the Windows platform. Indeed Microsoft and ASUS have been partnering for a long time and we have plans to launch our ‘UL Series’ of ASUS notebooks that will allow Acer to bring the Windows 7 experience to our customers,” said Mr. Pornthep Watchara-Amnouy, Managing Director of Asustek Computer Thailand Limited.
“Many customers fear that migrating to a new OS can be time-consuming and complicated, but Dell is already helping customers realize the benefits of upgrading to Microsoft Windows 7 through our tight integration with Microsoft. We have spent literally thousands of engineering hours to help develop and test Windows 7 on the Dell platform as it is our job to make the process as easy as possible for the customer - to help them do what they want to do without thinking about how to do it,” said Anothai Wettayakorn, Managing Director, Dell Corporation (Thailand) Co., Ltd.
“The collaboration between Intel and Microsoft for Windows 7 means consumers and enterprise customers will get an enhanced PC experience with better performance and energy efficiency on Intel processor-based clients,” said Accharas Ouysinprasert, Country Manager, Intel Microelectronics (Thailand). “Intel has collaborated with Microsoft since the beginning of the Windows 7 development cycle involving hundreds of engineers to deliver hardware and software innovations to help provide new technology experiences and take advantage of the many new PC usage models today and the future."
Sony VAIO PCs are built to meet and exceed the demands of today’s consumers. The design, look and feel of the hardware is critically important, but so too is the operating system of the PC which allows users to truly express themselves. When Sony VAIO customers choose Windows 7, we are confident that they will truly benefit from all the new features and easy to use interface, resulting in the best ever PC user experience,” said Mr. Ken Nagate, Director, Sony Thai Co., Ltd
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About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Established in 1993, Microsoft (Thailand) Limited provides world-class software that is easy to use and localized to suit the local market’s needs. It also has a compelling and consistent platform to build powerful business solutions that can scale from a notebook computer to a mainframe – class multiprocessor systems using Microsoft technology. For further information, information, please visit the Microsoft (Thailand) website at:
http://www.microsoft.com/thailand.
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