I’m sure you’ve already read this elsewhere, but I’m just coming across it now as I’m working on a book specifically about Windows 7 now. Microsoft has chosen to remove a wide range of normally bundled programs from default inclusion for Windows 7. What does this mean? This means that you won’t have a mail, IM, or photo management application built into Windows anymore (or at least for the beta). Of course, you still get Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer. How wonderful. 

This may sound like a good thing from the perspective of those who are forced to use Windows. You get to choose what you want to use without having to remove or even tolerate the crap that you don’t. To the contrary, though, after working with Windows 7 in great detail I’d have to say that some of the performance gains that Microsoft has managed to get seem to stem from the removal of some of these applications; applications which were previously closely tied to Windows.

In reality, Microsoft is forging a greater connection to their online services by offering ad-free applications as proxies for connecting to their ad-laden online components. That seamless integration is clearly another step along the route Microsoft has been taking for years to engender an unbreakable bond between corporation and user. Users who fall into the trap will be so tied and beholden to Microsoft for everything that they will be incapable of extracting themselves without endangering every social connection they have. 

I don’t appreciate Microsoft’s latest attempt to subjugate its users, but they are going to do what they do. As Microsoft’s market share steadily goes down, Apple’s and Linux’ market shares keep going up, and people get tired of SHAME (shameful mediocre software enhancements; my term. I coined it… Me) from HP, Dell, and Sony, I predict a newer, trimmer, more efficient PC industry will grow from this. Once I’m done with the book I’ll be pleased to fill you all in on the gritty details.

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