Okay the net’s been spewing crap all about this preview. Want to know what I think? They are simply copying Apple and doing it poorly. Which in fact is how the monstosity we all hate got started to begin with (Pirates of Silicon Valley anyone???). Anyways, I found some like-minded quotes:

Microsoft Makes Multi-Touch Interfaces Look Boring

While multi-touch interfaces, like the iPhone interface, are sure to play an important part in future computer interfaces, Microsoft seems to be enamored of the technology, instead of what you an do with it. The video manages to suck the “wow” out of multi-touch technology.

Can multi-touch on Windows make interacting with the Internet better, make content creation more fun or even just be cool for gaming? It looks like Microsoft is waiting for developers – or Apple – to lead the way on this.

I have an iPod Touch. Nothing Ballmer can bluster out can make me do more than fart or yawn.

Mac User comments:

So… something OS X has, some multi-touch, and what seems to be a version of Google Earth. Yeah. Not impressive in the least. I’m not just being a fanboy here. This is just a really sad showing. There was one other tidbit of information. We can expect Windows 7 in 18 months. We’ll likely have moved on to the next version of OS X by then.

I AM being a fangrl, and am not imressed – the only interesting thing was that it has a FREAKIN’ DOCK!!!! Does Microsoft have no shame to do such blatant whoring? Wait a minute…. I guess not consider how much they already stole from Apple.

InfoWorld says what I thought:

In other words, I was right. About Windows 7. About its Vista underpinnings. About everything. My detractors (and by now you are legion) may commence with the crow consumption.

But the “pièce de résistance” had to be the Windows 7 “demo” conducted during a Walt Mossberg/Kara Swisher interview with Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer. Though the video (scroll down the page a bit) of the demo portion of the event is a bit grainy, you can at least make out some aspects of the cool Surface-derived UI direction that Microsoft is taking with Windows 7. Someone else mentioned seeing a Mac OS X-like “dock” in the video, however, I couldn’t make it out — though I did glimpse a couple of objects that seemed similar to the “wheely” things you can see in this collection of supposedly leaked Windows 7 screen shots.

Bottom Line: Nothing revolutionary — just a logical integration of multi-touch principles into the core Windows interface. More important, it’s all stuff that you could build easily using the Vista/2008 code base as your foundation, which is encouraging from a “can they really pull this off?” perspective.

Translation: Ballmer doesn’t have the testicular fortitude to rewrite Windows from the ground up as it needs to be and as many people predicting they would. In a staring contest Jobs would beat Ballmer in a microsecond. What a gelding.

Stephane at GovTeen comments that it looks “slick” (if you like the cheap trollop look I guess) but also says:

Quick side note, Windows 7, like other Microsoft OS’s before it, seems to have borrowed a thing or two from Mac OS X. This time it’s Apple’s Dock, which Microsoft appears to have borrowed. Multi-touch and a Dock. In Windows. Steve Jobs must be so proud.

I am not sure proud is the word. But I do think the harpoon in his hand ready to finally nail that white whale.

MysticPete at the “Vista Support Community” (LOL) reported:

When challenged as to who will get to market first with a new touch screen device, Microsoft or Apple, Mr Ballmer said it was not much of an issue.

“We’ll sell 290 million PCs and Apple will sell 10 million Pcs.”

“They’re fantastically successful and so are we and our partners. But it’s a different job. Steve (Jobs Apple CEO) can flip his hand and sell a few models and I don’t take a thing away from him.”

1. iPod Touch. Done.
2. Ballmer, you couldn’t take anything from Jobs, he can make a doody and produce something nicer than Redmond has in years.
3. When your OS sells in WalMart where you can also buy underwear and toilet paper, the numbers don’t impress me much.

Anyways, this rant was fun as always. Toodles.