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Tuesday, April 21, 2009 : 1200 Hrs
Sci. & Tech.
Windows washer: Meet Microsoft's antidote to Vista
REDMOND (AP): Julie Larson-Green hopes you'll like Windows 7. If not, well, now
you and a billion other people know whom to blame.
Microsoft Corp. is counting on Larson-Green, its head of ``Windows
Experience,'' to deliver an operating system that delights the world's PC users
as much
as its last effort, Vista, disappointed them. She's in charge of a wide swath
of the system, from the way buttons and menus work to getting the software
out in January as scheduled.
Given Microsoft's history, Larson-Green's plan seems downright revolutionary:
Build an operating system that doesn't require people to take computer classes
or master thick manuals.
``We want to reduce the amount of thinking about the software that they have to
do, so that they can concentrate all their thinking on the task they're
trying to get done,'' Larson-Green said in an interview.
Microsoft relies on Windows for half its profit, which helps fuel money-losing
operations like the pursuit of Google Inc. online. Windows was still profitable
after Vista's 2007 launch, but its poor reception dinged the software maker's
reputation at a critical time. Vista was designed for powerful, pricier PCs
just as nimble rivals like Google were releasing Web-based programs that could
run on inexpensive computers. Microsoft appeared to be clinging to an endangered
world order that spawned its operating system monopoly.
What's more, Vista's initial incompatibility with many existing programs and
devices, and its pestering security warnings, exposed Microsoft to ridicule
in Apple Inc. commercials that helped Macintosh computers gain market share.
Businesses didn't give up Windows, but many delayed upgrading to Vista.
Microsoft's executives have since distanced themselves from Vista,
acknowledging its flaws. Now the company needs Windows 7 to widen that distance
even
more.
You probably don't know her name, but if you're using Office 2007, the sleeper
hit of the Vista era, you're already familiar with Larson-Green's work. She
was the one who banished the familiar system of menus on Word, Excel and other
programs in favor of a new ``ribbon'' that shows different options at different
times, depending on what a user is working on. It seemed risky, but it was
grounded in mountains of data showing how people used the software.
Focusing on real customers might seem obvious, but Microsoft's programs more
often have reflected the will of techie insiders.
One reason is that Windows' dominance relies heavily on third-party software
developers who keep churning out compelling new programs. To give those
developers
as many options as possible for reaching PC users, over the years Windows
spawned confusingly redundant features. For example, you can tweak antivirus
software settings by opening the program; by clicking on shortcuts from the
desktop, task bar or ``Start'' menu; by responding to notifications that pop
up uninvited from the bottom-right corner of the screen; or by poking around in
a control panel.
Another bit of dysfunction stemmed from Microsoft's corporate structure.
Windows employs thousands of people divided into groups that focus on search,
security,
networking, printing - the list goes on. With Vista and earlier versions, each
group built the best solutions for its isolated goals. For example, two
separate groups added similar-looking search boxes to Vista's control panels
and its Start menu. Yet typing the same query into both boxes produced
completely
different results.
Vista was the first version of Windows to include the remote-tracking software
that had helped Microsoft hone Office, and nearly 11 million Vista users
had let their PC activities be logged. Larson-Green's team also surveyed more
than 250,000 people around the world and showed other users prototypes, some
as simple as sketches on paper.
>From these billions of data points emerged big ideas that got boiled down into
>eight design principles. Larson-Green had them printed on folded slips of
paper as reminders for everyone in the group.
Many of the principles come back to Larson-Green mantras of ``user in
control.'' The team tried to build an operating system people could use without
studying
first, one that would let them get right to reading the news or sending e-mail
without dragging them down a rabbit hole of settings and configurations.
A system with manners, not one that constantly interrupts with bubbles, boxes
and warnings that, data showed, people ignored or raced to close.
The Windows groups agreed in principle but old habits often reared up. Many
Windows teams still wanted to be able to create alert bubbles for their
functions.
Larson-Green is already planning Windows 8, though her team continues to tweak
the Windows 7 user interface. Signs point to a possible release months ahead
of schedule, though Microsoft still says the official plan is for January.
Microsoft's marketing machine will pore over piles of charts to decide whether
Windows 7 is a success. Larson-Green says her measure will be the conversations
she overhears at Best Buy and comments posted by bloggers.
``I think people are going to like it,'' she said. Her voice rose a few notes
when she added, ``I hope so.''
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