Windows 7 slated for 2010 - will be less annoying

The forthcoming Windows 7 will let users choose to see fewer alerts and warnings from their computers. Rampant notifications alerting people to security risks irked many Vista users.

"We had all the best intentions of helping to secure the PC platform even more, particularly for novice PC users who needed to be protected," said Steven Sinofsky, a senior vice president in Microsoft's Windows group. But Sinofsky acknowledged that Microsoft needed to work more closely with outside companies to avoid a similar mess this time.

Michael Silver, an analyst for Gartner Inc., said a smoother debut for Windows 7 is critical for Microsoft.

"The real hurdle is to get Vista's reputation behind them," he said.

Windows 7 keeps some of the significant design changes that debuted in Vista, but tosses out others.

In an interview, Julie Larson-Green, a Windows vice president, offered one small example: In Vista, Microsoft took the "add printer" feature out of the Start menu, but is restoring it in Windows 7 after users complained.

Larson-Green said some changes in Vista made sense to developers but weren't fully tested on actual PC users — a misstep she seems committed not to repeat.