Windows 7 Microsoft in 2009 It was all about Wind

Every year, around this time, the ZDNet managers who maintain our weblog network ticking deliver each and every of us ZDNet authors a listing of our leading posts from the 12 months. In a yr like 2009 — when Microsoft made so many moves and rolled out lots of new products and strategies — it’s interesting to see what you readers found most compelling.
On my blog, there is little question what you wanted to read about: Windows. There were a few other hot buttons, like Internet Explorer, Microsoft’s open-source strategy and the story behind Microsoft’s Windows Azure (Red Dog) cloud system. But overall, it was Windows, Windows, Windows.
Here are the leading 20 posts, in terms of page views, on All About Microsoft for the past year (listed with most popular first).
1. Microsoft releases final Windows 7 system requirements
2. Vista SP2: What’s within?
3. Windows 8 starts to come into focus
4. Microsoft’s Windows 7 line-up: The good,Microsoft Office Professional 2010, the bad and the ugly
5. Windows 8: More early clues start to emerge
6. Microsoft will allow Windows 7 users to downgrade to XP
7. Vista or Windows 7? Just get rid of XP, Microsoft tells users
8. Pigs do fly: Microsoft unleashes 20,000 lines of Linux code
9. Microsoft’s IE 8 incompatibility list: 2,400 major sites (and counting)
10. New Windows ad hits a nerve (again)
11. Microsoft accidentally confirms Windows 7 RC coming in May
12. Microsoft’s IE 8 Compatibility Listing: Is it working?
13. Windows 7 Release Candidate now available for unsanctioned download
14. Red Dog: Can you teach old Windows hounds new tricks?
15. Report: PC makers to provide free Vista-to Win-7 upgrades starting July 1
16. XP, Vista, Win 7: The brewing of a perfect storm
17. Macs vs. PCs: Is it still a ‘tax’ if users happily pay a premium?
18. What’s Microsoft’s next billion-dollar business? (Hint: it’s not search)
19. April deadlines loom for Windows XP, Office 2003 product support
20. Windows 7: The incentives are coming
I was surprised there wasn’t more interest in Bing and MIcrosoft’s search strategy among readers of my blog. Ditto with Windows Mobile/Pink. But since I write more posts about Windows than I do anything else here, I guess it isn’t odd that readers come to my weblog primarily to read and comment about Windows. And with Windows 8 development gearing up in 2010, I’m sure there will be no shortage of things to write about in the Windows world in the coming year/decade.
Speaking of comments and ratings, we ZDNet bloggers also received tallies of our most and least popular posts, based on those “thumbs up/thumbs down” ratings you can award on each and every. I don’t pay much attention to those ratings, as I feel they’re inconsistently awarded. (Does a thumbs down mean you thought the post was a waste of time, or that you disagreed with what a Microsoft official or customer said? There’s no way to tell.)
But for what it’s worth, my five most “popular” post of the year were:
Microsoft’s Windows 7 line-up: The good, the bad and the ugly
New Windows ad hits a nerve (again)
Microsoft accidentally confirms Windows 7 RC coming in May
Microsoft will allow Windows 7 users to downgrade to XP
More Microsoft competitors join European browser-bundling antitrust case
And my five least popular of the 12 months:
Microsoft details changes coming to SQL Data Services
Microsoft + Federated Media + Twitter = ExecTweets
Microsoft revisits ‘Apple tax’ ahead of Tax Day
Wait: Could ‘Bing’ be the new name for Microsoft’s Live Search?
What’s Microsoft thinking with Windows Mobile?
As I’ve mentioned before, I try to make sure to cover what Microsoft customers, partners, competitors — and, of course, employees — want to read about on All About Microsoft. If there are tips and/or topics you’d like to see me follow up on, don’t hesitate to submit them (anonymously or not). All tips are treated as confidential and can be mailed to me at mjf at microsofttracker (dot) com.
Thanks for making 2009 a fun yr with all your comments, feedback (yes, even you, Linux fanboys/girls) and suggestions. And thanks for reading!