IT Curmudgeon

People who downloaded the Windows 7 Release Candidate on May 5 found themselves either elated or frustrated. Many who downloaded the beta release found themselves happily clicking away.

A review of tech support submissions, though, shows that lots of people have problems with disk drivers, video drivers and other critical system components that prevent the OS from loading on their computers to begin the install process. I suspect that we'll see a fairly fast turnaround on the next release of the vaunted new OS, as Redmond hurries to move from "catastrophic" failures to tweaks and tuning.

Meanwhile, Microsoft faces declining overall revenue in a year when many businesses are feeling squeezed. They are reportedly preparing a massive cost-cutting layoff. They plan to set at least 5,000 of its employees free very soon.

It's probably safe to say that a lot of software and hardware businesses will be hoping to safely press the "new game" switch in the next few quarters. This will result in product lines being trimmed, staffs being laid off, and CEO's finding themselves inspired by a renewed focus on profitability.