Open little "w" windows - MinWin

Microsoft has driven the last nail in Vista's coffin if the reports about MinWin are true.

Microsoft Partners: MinWin Could Soothe Vista Headaches

By Kevin McLaughlin, CMP Channel
7:19 PM EST Fri. Nov. 30, 2007

In the year that has passed since Microsoft (NSDQ:MSFT) released Windows Vista to business users, the operating system has gained a reputation in the channel as a bloated memory hog that many companies are avoiding like a trip to the dentist.

But Microsoft partners have a more positive opinion of Windows 7, the next generation of Windows that Microsoft expects to ship in the 2010 timeframe. That's because Windows 7 will be based on MinWin, a scaled down version of the Windows core that will also serve as the framework for Windows Server and Windows Media Center.

MinWin's source code base takes up about 25 megabytes on disk, compared to about 4 gigabytes for Vista. Solution providers see this as a sign that Microsoft has learned its lesson from trying to cram too much into the Windows OS, and some feel that Windows 7 will be a roaring success in the market.

From an end-user and "integrator" perspective this means never having to say I am Vista. It also means another 12-18 month delay before I make another significant Microsoft investment.

The silver lining that I can hope for is that with a 25MB foot print Microsoft can create a unified cross platform environment. I can see where PCs and Phones and PDAs all running the same OS could be a great boon to connectivity.

All that said I believe in my heart of hearts that Microsoft is again dabbling in the fine art of vapor-ware. Promising 25MBs while rolling out a 1-2GB package.