Microsoft unveils new operating system

REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 29 (UPI) -- U.S. software giant Microsoft unveiled its newest operating system, Windows 7, claiming it was quicker out of the gate than Windows Vista.

The system boots up faster than Vista and resolves some technical issues that have nagged at customers, the company said.

One new feature allows users to turn off system alerts, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday. Another allows users to change the desktop taskbar to allow users to store their favorite applications in one location.

A feature called Home Group allows easier interactions between networked computers, the company said.

In a demonstration at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference in Redmond, Wash., vice president for Windows Experience Julie Larsen-Green used Windows 7 to stream music stored on a networked computer into a stereo in another location, the Chronicle said.

"What customers told us they wanted … was that they wanted to make sure the basics were there and to deliver on fundamentals," said Debby Fry Wilson, a senior director for Windows product management. "So, compatibility, reliability," she said. "Make things I do today better. Make them faster and easier and give me new things, but make sure the things I do today are an improved experience."