I GAVE my younger sister my old laptop for Christmas. Despite about my re-gifting nature aside, she was happy that it had Wi-Fi and a DVD burner and was pre-loaded with a bunch of software like Microsoft Office and anti-virus programs.

But the thing that made her the happiest was that it was running on Windows XP.

After almost two years of using Windows Vista on her desktop, she still can't get used to the resource-draining and system-resource-heavy Vista operating system. Like many around the world, she prefers its predecessor, Windows XP.

If it's not due to user preference and demand, why else would Microsoft recently extend the shelf life of XP to May next year, from its original Jan 2009 deadline, itself a date that has been extended several times, since Vista's debut in 2007? 

But if you look at the May 2009 deadline for XP, it seems a perfect time for the company to launch its latest Windows 7 OS.

Short of admitting Vista's faults outright at the Professional Developer's Conference (PDC) in October, Microsoft explained that the upcoming Windows 7 takes a back-to-basic approach to its operating system. 

Most of the upgrades to Windows 7, or rather changes, unveiled at PDC, made an impression to the audience, myself included, and the only bad news was that Windows 7 was only coming out in late 2009.

Those few more months won't be enough to convince users that Vista is worth the effort and unless it is prepared to extend the kill-date for Windows XP again, why can't Microsoft bite the bullet and release Windows 7 already?

It's not as though there is a tight veil of secrecy surrounding Windows 7, which offers touch screen interface, more network connectivity features and is less system hungry. Steven Sinofsky, senior vice-president of Windows and Windows Live presented his copy of Windows 7 at PDC, running on a netbook. The product cannot be secret any more when several hundreds of us attending PDC saw the software at work. 

Copies of Windows 7 beta are expected to be made available at CES 2009 (Consumers Electronics Show) next month (Jan) and if you know how to, beta kits for Windows 7 are already being traded on Bit Torrent file-sharing sites.

And the best news Microsoft is really happy about is that early reviews for Windows 7 are glowing compared to Vista. I have been using it since October and even though it was an earlier release, I found it simpler, faster and more intuitive. 

If not for the fact that I was told the copy I was using is a beta unit, nothing about it (from any annoying limitations or pop-ups) identify it as lacking in any features.

Given that 2009 is the year analysts are predicting the rise of the smaller netbook, there is no doubt that Windows 7 will be a boon for Microsoft. So the earlier it releases the new program, the better for Microsoft and its users.

Because let's be honest – do we really want to continue using Windows XP, a software that was made in the last millennium and released way back in 2001?

I don't think so.