Windows 7, Microsoft's successor to Windows Vista, was first demonstrated in 2008's D: All Things Digital conference, though the only features that they've showed off to the audience was multi-touch technology. Yes, it was like D5 (D 2007) with Microsoft Surface, only this time they've used a special touch-capable monitor and Windows 7.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says that the touch feature is just one small "snippet" of Windows 7, and there were many to follow.

Codenamed Vienna, Windows 7 was planned way before Vista launched worldwide. In light of the plans to discontinue support for Windows XP and that Vista exhibited incompatibility issues with many users' programs, Windows 7 became many Windows user's ideal leap stone.

However, Ballmer stated that Windows 7 would be released some three years into the life of Windows Vista. As Vista was officially released worldwide a year ago, that means there's two more years to pass before Windows 7 would ship to shelves.

When questioned about the shortcomings of Vista, Ballmer said, "It's not a failure, it's not a mistake. Are there things we'll modify and improve going forward? Sure." Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, simply said nothing and smiled.

Microsoft plans to tweak the multi-touch feature more to make it great for everyday use. More updates on Windows 7 and D6 (D: All Things Digital 2008) as we get them.

Windows 7 image and logo courtesy of Long Z.