Again, though, it's a smart tactic to win back some of the folks who got disgusted with, or scared away by, Windows Vista: "We're listening to you. We care. We're not the Borg anymore; if you look at us in the right lighting we're almost kind of cuddly."

The question is, after more than 30 years of bluster, hype, deception, cluelessness, and an inexplicable lack of humility, has Microsoft really changed? Or has it just hired better marketing consultants?

(Memo to : I haven't laid a finger on Windows 7 yet. This is not a review. Please save your poison pen e-mails for later if/when I do trash Win 7. But heck, it's got to be better than Vista, right?)

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