| Log In | Register Now
Microsoft Corp. formally unveiled Thursday its newest operating system, Windows 7, as the software giant hopes to breath new life into its Operating System product line.
1 of 1 
"I'm Steve Ballmer and I'm a Windows 7 PC," said the Microsoft CEO at the Manhattan launch.
According to Ballmer, the idea behind the new OS is to make computing "simpler, faster, more responsive." He said the product was a result of an "intense collaboration" between Microsoft and its partners - 50,000 software, hardware, and peripheral vendors, as well as 8 million beta testers.
"Windows needs to be an incredible opportunity for innovation, for hardware companies [and] software companies, and it needs to be a place that is simple and easy to use and opens up the world of diverse innovation ... in a way that is manageable and consumable by billions of people around the world," Ballmer said.
In terms of sales, Microsoft expects to sell 300 million Windows-based PCs this year. Around 45,000 retailers across the world are already stocked with Windows 7.
Microsoft has six different versions; Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, and Windows 7 Ultimate, with Microsoft charging consumers between $119 and $219.
Windows 7 Home Basic will also be sold, but only to emerging markets.
Overall, Ballmer says that Windows 7 is faster than its predecessor Windows Vista.
"The things that you do all the time need to be simpler," Ballmer said. "You want to manage the windows on your desktop [and] make that stuff super, super simple." Ballmer says that Windows 7 now has the solutions for these needs.
According to PC World, Microsoft also announced that next month, Amazon will launch a beta version of the Kindle Reader for Windows 7, which will allow users to peruse books using multi-touch. Users will be able to scroll through a book with the touch of a finger, and zoom in or out by pinching the screen.
Ron Paul 2012: Misses CPAC 2012, but Rand Paul Generates Support
U.S. Air Force Buys 18,000 Apple iPads to Replace Flight Bags
Free Edition
TAKE A TOURWe value your privacy. Your email address will not be shared.
![Baby Blue Ivy Carter was Conceived in Paris: Beyonce and Jay-Z Officially Announce Birth of Girl [VIDEO of 'Glory']](http://img.ibtimes.com/www/thumb/mainpage/214587-150110-jay-z-and-his-wife-beyonce-watch-the-new-jersey-nets-play-the-phoenix-.jpg)
