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Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, began the year of Windows 7 Wednesday night at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

After a tepid response to Windows Vista, which was introduced just two years ago, Microsoft wants to assert that a new version of Windows is something computer users should get excited about. Mr. Ballmer announced that a beta, or test, version of the new operating system will be available to the public this Friday. (It will be at Microsoft.com/windows7). The final release is still nearly a year away.

In an interview before his speech Wednesday, Mr. Ballmer bristled at the suggestion that Windows Vista was a disappointment and that PC operating systems in general are becoming less relevant to consumers as more functions are being handled on the Internet. “I don’t worry about Windows being relevant,” he said. “It is highly popular and very important to the people who own Windows computers.”

Mr. Ballmer said he didn’t expect his speech, or any other marketing, to convince people to buy Windows 7. Rather, the software will speak for itself. “I think we have the right product for the right time,” he said. “But we are going to have to show that with the delivery, not a bunch of words.”

As for the complaints that Vista suffered performance problems, Mr. Ballmer said, “We have learned form both the things that people responded to positively and the things people would have liked to see different.”

He added, however, that Windows 7 should not have the same sort of problems with compatibility with devices and programs that Vista did. While some of underlying architecture of Vista changed from earlier versions of Windows, Windows 7 is built on Vista’s underlying structure.

Microsoft is trying to highlight three areas where Windows 7 is meant to excel: First, it makes everyday tasks, like creating a home network, easier. It is also adding new forms of interaction with users like better support for touch screens.

Second, it has improved performance, like starting faster and using less battery power on a laptop.

And third, it has expanded features to support home entertainment. For example, if a user of Windows 7 sees an interesting video clip on the Web, there is a simple way to send it to play automatically on another computer in the house.

As usual, the company has a laundry list of other announcements, of varying importance. It struck several search engine deals. The company’s Xbox division will introduce a new form of game that will occur at set times, like a television show, and pit players against each other. The first is based on the NBC trivia quiz 1 vs.100.

As for its cellphone operating system, Windows Mobile, Microsoft is waiting until a wireless conference next month to discuss the new release. It will announce a new version of the Internet Explorer browser for cellphones.

Even as the company works to finish Windows, its flagship software for personal computers, it is also increasingly emphasizing services that will run on its big data centers and be delivered to users over the Internet. A key goal of these services is to let people keep track of their personal information and entertainment content on many different devices.

“We talk about a three-screen world — phone, PC and TV, and the Internet cloud supporting it all,” Mr. Ballmer said. “Windows 7 takes a step to facilitate connections among all those devices.”

Source: The New York Times