• The Wall Street Journal, Wednesday, May 28, 2008 11:15 AM

Microsoft on Tuesday offered a first-look at Windows 7, the net iteration of its market-dominating operating system, at The Wall Street Journal D6 conference in Carlsbad, Calif. The Journal took the demonstration, which comes a year-and-a-half before the product's launch, as a direct sign that Windows Vista, which was launched last year, isn't performing up to Microsoft's standards.

Taking a page from the Apple playbook, Windows 7 will use touch-screen technology, allowing users to use their fingers to manipulate software for tasks like drawing, photo-editing, and navigating digital maps. The technology also allows for multiple touches; for example, dragging ones fingers across the screen would create five separate lines. There presentation contained few other details; the tentative release date for Windows 7 is January 2010, which would be three years after the launch of Vista.

Why is Microsoft showing off Windows 7 now? One theory is that because Vista received lackluster critical reviews, Microsoft is eager to show that it continues to innovate its No. 1 moneymaker. That said, touch-screen technology is no longer anything new, having been introduced by Apple's iPhone last June.

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