Windows 7 In Your Face: 10 Scenes From The Launch

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer took the stage at downtown Manhattan's Skylight Studios to usher in the new era for PCs that Windows 7 represents. After being introduced by Kylie, the adorable 5-and-a-half -year-old girl from Microsoft's Windows Live television ads, Ballmer conveyed the message that Microsoft listened with hawk-like intensity to Windows 7 feedback from its testers and partners. This, Ballmer said, is the 'secret sauce' that makes Windows 7 run so well.

Microsoft's OEM partners were on hand to show off their latest PCs that take advantage of multi-touch, Windows 7's most visually impressive feature. At this point, dragging one's finger across a screen of water and seeing the ripples is intriguing, but it remains to be seen whether businesses will be able to find practical uses for the technology. Still, only the bitterest skeptic would deny that these new PCs are impressively designed.

Prior to the keynote, attendees roamed the seating area, sipping mimosas and chatting breezily as they waited for Steve Ballmer to rock their collective worlds. Television crews were also on hand to deliver their Windows 7 launch footage in time for the evening news.

The color green is associated with a lot of different things these days, and you can add Windows 7 to the list. Green is the official color of Windows 7, and it's also a reflection of what Microsoft hopes to gain from an industrywide migration to the new release. For a company whose Windows cash cow has had the flu of late, Windows 7 couldn't have come a moment too soon.

Executives from twentysix New York, a Big Apple-based Microsoft solution provider, are bullish on Windows 7's prospects for revitalizing the IT industry. CEO Jay Harris Rabin (left), and Andrew Brust, chief of new technology, told Channelweb.com that the buzz around Windows 7 is reminiscent of the excitement that Windows releases used to routinely generate in the past.

As the appointed time approached, members of the print, Web and television media jockeyed for the best possible position from which to view Ballmer's keynote. This being New York, the jostling in the crowd was vigorous and unapologetic, but fortunately things had calmed down by the time Ballmer took the stage.

After Ballmer's keynote, a curtain in the back of the room opened to reveal a mini-convention area where Microsoft's OEM partners showed off their new Windows 7 PCs, notebooks and netbooks. The dazzling array of new hardware gave support to Microsoft's case that Windows 7 has what it takes to revitalize the moribund PC market.

Launch event attendees had plenty of opportunities to try out new Windows 7-powered games, which is one area where the graphical and video processing advancements Microsoft hardware partners have made are particularly apparent.

No celebration would be complete without champagne, and there was plenty of it flowing at the Windows 7 launch event. The minimalist dcor at Manhattan's Skyline Studios resonated with the leaner, more efficient Windows 7 message that Microsoft has been sending since an early stage in its development.

The Windows 7 launch event gave Microsoft a chance to show it has pulled its partners closer than ever in order to ensure the highest quality product. If that trend continues, and it surely will, there's no reason to believe that Windows 8 won't be another impressive release that shows the power of Microsoft and its partner ecosystem.