Dear Microsoft,
Congratulations on recently releasing the Windows 7 release candidate. As I've mentioned before, it's shaping into an excellent product and I have given my reasons why I think people should upgrade.
But let's pause for a moment and look ahead to your supposed next version of Windows, Windows 8, since it's already in planning stages. Now that you've gotten a way to get some kind of backwards compatibility in your OS virtually, this presents an opportunity to flesh out some new ideas with Windows. Here are some ideas I think should be implemented into the next version of Windows:
One version, one price
I personally dislike how Windows is in different editions. In my opinion, it can be confusing to the end user. Please keep it to one edition at a reasonable price.
Implement the registry more efficiently
I've worked with the registry for years, and I personally find it very confusing to work with, especially when it comes to navigating around and searching through it. I'd like to see easier navigation, and better ways to search through and edit the registry.
Make a new web browser from the ground up
While I do think Internet Explorer has been moving in the right direction, the Trident engine is old and insecure. But I see you're working on a new web browser codenamed "Gazelle" that's supposed to be better than Internet Explorer. This gives you the opportunity to make a brand new web browser from the ground up. I'd like to see a much better UI as well since I think the current Internet Explorer's UI is messy and not as streamlined.
Consider replacing Windows Media Player with your Zune software
Don't get me wrong, I do like Windows Media Player and have it as my default media player, but I've also used your Zune software, and think it's excellent, and Paul Thurrott thinks so as well. If Zune is one of your big products and it's going international, why not replace Windows Media Player with your Zune software?
Make applications easy to install and un-install
I'll use OS X as an example here. To install an application, the user simply downloads a .dmg file, drags it into the application folder, and they're done. To uninstall, they just drag that application from the applications folder into the trash bin. I like this feature a lot, and would love to see it implemented into Windows. Like for example, the user would download an image file, and to install it, they would drag it into the "Program Files" folder. And while I know this isn't entirely Windows fault, when applications get uninstalled, they can often leave things like files and registry keys behind. Yes, programs like Revo Uninstaller do take care of this, however, I'd love to see a drag and drop method for uninstalling, like for example, the user would drag the program into the Recycle Bin, and see functionality from programs like AppZapper implemented as well since it would take care of the things that get leftover when applications get uninstalled. I'm not speaking as a Mac fanboy here, but from an end user point of view.
Granted, Windows 7 isn't even out yet, and we have got a while to go before its successor is out, but in the computer world, there's never a perfect product, only there's always room for improvement in the future. I wish you all the best with your future products!
Sincerely,
Kevin
The views in this editorial piece do not necessarily represent those of Neowin but those of the Author.
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