The Windows 7 operating system is due to arrive officially in New Zealand by Christmas which, according to Microsoft New Zealand's Ben Green, means in the last three months of the year.
Excited? Well this writer is.
But a word of warning.
If you are considering buying a new computer, hang off until the new models sporting Windows 7 are in the shops.
This writer made a classic rushed error by purchasing a Vista-capable machine (because he needed it urgently) but then found installing Vista to be a bit difficult.
Eventually, the people at Microsoft helped sort the problems but the internet is still alive with people complaining about Vista.
Mr Green believes Windows 7 will prove to be the operating system we have all been waiting for.
He has been on the road for the past two weeks demonstrating the new system and getting some local feedback which has given him a really good feeling about the launch.
Mack-Line readers wanting to try out Windows 7 can do so by going to www.microsoft.com/windows.
The download is large and the file will expire in June next year, but it is available.
Already, 20,000 New Zealanders have downloaded the system either through the Microsoft download or from a disk delivered free with computer magazines.
Mr Green told Mack-Line that when Vista was released, Microsoft said the next system would be available within three years.
That would have had it on the shelves by January 2010.
However, Microsoft learned some lessons from the delayed release of Vista and the main one was deliver what you said you would.
Windows 7 had to meet high quality standards, be based on what users had requested and it had to delight, he said.
"Having it released earlier than planned is a big deal because it means we have met all the quality guidelines.
"This release, more than any other Windows release, will reflect what users do with Windows and what they expect from it."
One of the features he was most proud of was the ability of Windows 7 to be run on a machine costing $500 or one costing $5000.
The "plug and play" function for users to plug in devices had been substantially changed to give much easier use, Mr Green said.
"People just want it to work."
One of the toys he was using the most last week was a $100 TV tuner stick which allowed him to watch high-definition quality television on his laptop through the Windows 7 media centre.
The tuner stick, bought at a national retail chain, gave him access to all Freeview HD television programmes through his laptop.
Windows 7 also had a function which made it easier for users to customise their machines, something 95% of computer users did, he said.
Apart from that, the new system was "quieter" than XP with the toolbar not getting cluttered with icons unless the user placed them there.
Plenty of words have already been written about the release of the new Windows 7 operating system for public consumption, but most of it has been really technical in nature.
Asked for some features Mack-Line readers could relate to, Mr Green was enthusiastic about the "home group" function which allowed people to share their digital assets, such as photos, records and music, with others.
Photos of a family holiday could be played on a large television screen through the computer, music could be played on other computers through streaming, not copying, and TV programmes could be recorded on a home computer through the TV tuner, and watched overseas by a family member with the appropriate password and the remote streaming function.
Reviews from around the world are mixed when it comes to Windows 7.
Mack-Line will review the new operating system and report back.
do not delete this Download it at www.microsoft.com/windows
