For the first impressions of Windows 7 that debuted at PDC 2008, we have Venkat with us who’s stayed awake late in Los Angeles to do this interview after the day’s sessions, and the dinner.

Mr.TNC Venkata Rangan is the Founder & Chairman of Vishwak Solutions Pvt. Ltd., a pioneer in Web solutions for media and newspaper verticals.

Venkat is the Microsoft Regional Director – an honorary title from Microsoft that he holds from 1999. He is also a Microsoft MVP (Most Valued Professional) on Windows Live Platform.

Abhishek Baxi: Hi Venkat! Thanks for doing this quick interview. How has the experience at PDC 2008 been?

Venkat: Overall it has been better than my expectations. I see PDC 2008 in two parts – portions that are for the future which were brand new… this was Windows Azure and portions that built on the present, improve and make it better. What I saw in terms of upcoming .NET 4.0, ASP.NET 4.0, Windows 7, Office 14 fit into this. This meant there is no need to unlearn the skills developers have built over the years and business to undo what they have invested in the last decade.

AB: We’ll talk about something you’ve put in the second category – Windows 7. From what you saw, what do you think of Windows 7 in terms of fundamentals like performance, reliability, and security. How does Windows 7 build upon what Microsoft aimed with Vista?

Venkat: I was initially disappointed to see no new UI or major changes. However, after using Windows 7 in the labs and attending more sessions, I realized it is not about throwing what was done in Windows Vista; which I personally believe is fantastic and makes me productive. It is about building on top of it, making Windows faster and more easier to use. This is cool, as it will make me productive right from day one of Windows 7.

AB: How does the improved navigation, more customization options, and a new taskbar improve the user experience?

Venkat: These are cool and seems to be inspired by Apple Mac OS which uses similar metaphor.

AB: And all that awesomeness shown in home networking?

Venkat: If this works as promised, it is great. Today in Windows Vista with UAC, it is a nightmare to get my home network working. In the last 10 years or so, Windows has been focusing on pretty much on business scenarios and consumer space was neglected. And in the last few years home networking has become more pervasive than we think, so any improvements here is much needed.

Venkat: Today I have two desktops in my house, both running Windows Vista. The first one of them is standard home PC used for browsing, email, photo editing, video editing, etc. The second I use as a Home Server to store all my photos, videos, music, and movies. I access the music through Logitech Squeezebox from my living room, my videos from my bedroom through XBOX Media extender, my photos for my parents through XBOX Media extender and a remote. But to get it working in Vista was difficult due to the improved security constraints and little help in the way. Hope Windows 7 fixes these in practice.

AB: Multi-touch. What do you think of those cool demos at the keynote?

Venkat: Multi-touch is fantastic. This is the wow feature according to me in Windows 7. It is good to see what was done in Surface is coming to Windows, and after years of promise of Tablet PCs,  it is good to see this finally here. I personally see multi-touch to be popular with new users; the key here is for Microsoft to make the hardware vendors come out with cool devices at affordable price points.

AB: How do you see the new generation of solutions for Windows with the new taskbar, Ribbon, destinations and shell integration?

Venkat: I am not sure there is a need for Ribbon interface for simple applications in Windows 7. I love Ribbon in Office 2007 where it makes sense due to the complexity of Office apps; not for Wordpad and Paint.

AB: Any grievances?

Venkat: What I didn’t see is a firm date of release which will help enterprises to plan their deployment. Also, no feature roadmap for Internet Explorer was talked about and no firm dates for release of IE 8 as well.

As we try to make sense from all the hype around Windows 7, before PDC 2008 actually shows us the goods, we talk to Nirmal, a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) and author of a popular technology blog, www.nirmaltv.com.

Abhishek Baxi: Hi Nirmal! Thank you for sharing your expectations about Windows 7. Would you introduce yourself to the readers?

Nirmal: I'm basically from Kochi in Kerala in southern India, and work with Infosys Technologies as a Software Engineer. I develop applications in Microsoft .NET technologies. I'm also a technology blogger since 1.5 years. My blog, www.nirmaltv.com, averages around 10k UVs a day. I was recently honoured with the Microsoft MVP award in Windows Desktop Experience. Its a great pleasure being an MVP as we get to know all the details from Microsoft before others come to know.

AB: That is some advantage of being an MVP!

AB: What do you think of Windows 7 as of now? I mean pre-PDC, when you haven't got your hands on the pre-beta build.

N: Talking about Windows 7, I feel its one of the most anticipated OS from Microsoft, mainly for the fact that Vista was not widely accepted. Since many companies have skipped Vista, now all eyes are on Windows 7. What I expect from Windows 7, is the user experience Vista has given and also more features including a fresh look. One of the features I liked in Vista was the start menu search, even though it was a small feature. I expect more of such useful new tools in Windows 7.

AB: So, you'll expect increased productivity with Windows 7. And I'm sure little things like start menu search you mentioned, go a long way in enhancing everyday productivity.

AB: There has been a major talk about if Windowsw 7 would be a major release or a minor one. Some have even remarked that Windows 7 would be just Windows Vista R2 (”Second release”).

N: l feel it will be a major release since Microsoft has said that they would release a new OS every three years. Further I feel it would have lots of changes and more features. It would also improve on the negative aspects of Vista like the annoying UAC etc.

AB: So couldn't a feature like UAC be fixed in Windows Vista SP2? Are fixes like this worthy of a new version?

N: In all probability its going to be a major release. SP2 is not about adding new features, but more about improving the existing features. In all aspects I feel it would be a major release, but we never know, Microsoft could have some other plans as well

AB: And if Windows 7 is going to be a major release, would it have the Aero interface or something new in UI?