Microsoft makes Windows 7 beta available

Published: Jan. 8, 2009 at 11:24 AM
MICROSOFT CEO STEVE BALLMER AT THE HARVARD UNIVERSITY 2007 COMMENCEMENT

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer used the platform of a Las Vegas trade show to announce the availability of Microsoft's latest operating system.

At the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show, Ballmer said the beta version of Windows 7, would be available Friday by Internet download for consumers who wanted to give it a "test-drive."

The new system, which Ballmer said was "on track to deliver simplicity and reliability," would be available Jan. 9, he said.

Ballmer called Windows 7 and Windows Live "an incredible pipeline of consumer technology that is making it easier than ever for people to communicate, share and get more done."

Ballmer said he expected "a lot of techies ... a lot of corporate IT people ... my 14-year-old son," will be among those to download the system, before it is made commercially available.

The system is designed to do "what the consumer wants," Microsoft said, make streaming music and videos easier.

Robbie Back, president of Microsoft's Entertainment & Devises Division, who shared the stage with Ballmer at the CES in Las Vegas, said the system could deliver entertainment on "virtually any screen that consumers commonly use today, including the PC, TV and mobile phone," Microsoft said

© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Order reprints



Additional News Stories
Changing doctor pay best bet to curb costs (15 min)
RadioShack seeking new headquarters (17 min)
Scientists find link between cancer genes (30 min)
Study: U.S. climate still changing (52 min)
UPI NewsTrack Business
Jobless claims drop in week
Gorilla blood pressure device created
fark
Unknown substance found on NJ Transit train. Probably cleanser
90% of students at City University of New York can't do basic algebra. So, you know...just like...
"Main Street merchants want crack at market" in Santa Monica, says poorly worded headline. Presumably...
14-year-old boy attacked by cougar, police say. His girlfriend isn't amused
"Spiritualist" police trainer who called for the British police to include mediums and psychics...
First Paragraph: Police say a Twin Lake man broke into a woman's mobile home last week, pulled out...