As most of us here are avid Computer users, wee can appreciate the monolithic idea that Windows rules most if not all, and it  has come to the stage, at Windows Vista, that you ask - what's next?

2 Things to bear in mind when dealing with "Microsoft" & "Future".

1) Bill Gates - The Mastermind.
He's responsible for Microsoft, and everything that has made it what it is today.
After retiring on Sunday, he isn't anymore. This is, appreciate it or not, a fundamental difference within the Company, and the question will be, will his accomplices bring a new Generation along with them?

2) Windows 7.
Wee have reasons to believe this will be The End of Microsoft 1.0, and the prelude to Microsoft 2.0 ~ Multi-touch interfaces are a glamorous inclusion to the architecture of the Windows User Interface Family, but wee are still thinking, you know, there isn't really NEXT, NEXT GENERATION SUBSTANCE - is there??

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As much as you might hate them, they aren't stupid, they coded a hell of a lot of stuff, and Bill Gates is responsible for making the market explode... so, what is the next level of computing...?

Get your ideas rolling, but I think wee can all agree it will be starting from scratch.

Microsoft will have to take the step of preparing the new core - after all, 95 to Vista, its an incredible improvement, but its the same core, and they can't carry on building on top of it for the sake of Systems Intergrity - one new thing will make another thing break and there will be more and more possibility for flaws, instability and Security Vulnerabilities.

So I will leave you with an article by Mary Jo-Foley talking about just that - the next step for the biggest Software Company in the world.

She titles it Goodbye, XP, but I think wee'll be saying goodbye to a lot more.

When it comes ~ Goodbye Windows, Hello Midori.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1466

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End Notes:
I agree that Windows is bloated, but they nevertheless coded some masterful stuff in their times, and I don't really respect those who can't accept that. Flamers, who say Microsoft Fail, can't make OSs for spoon, etc. really don't know what they're on about.

I'm sure Mac and Linux users alike, even if they hate Microsoft or just Windows, I hope they appreciate the massive steps Microsoft has done for the industry.

Thanks for reading,
Senseito Sakura