Microsoft's Windows 7 made for touch-screen

BEIJING, May 29 (Xinhuanet) -- Microsoft Corp.'s top executives on Tuesday reaffirmed interest in hooking up with Yahoo Inc. and said at The Wall Street Journal's "D: All Things Digital" conference that its next operating system will be made for touch-screen applications.

Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer called the touch-screen feature "just the smallest snippet" of the Windows 7 operating system slated for release in late 2009.

A Microsoft employee showed possible applications like enlarging and shrinking photos and navigating a map of San Diego, California, by stroking the screen.

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates framed the new feature as an evolution away from the mouse.

"Today almost all the interaction is keyboard-mouse," Gates said. "Over years to come, the role of speech, vision, ink ─ all of those ─ will be huge."

The software company's top two executives defended its last operating system, Vista, while acknowledging missteps. Gates said he has never been 100 percent satisfied with any Microsoft product, and that the company prides itself on fixing shortcomings in later versions.

Ballmer said Microsoft remained in discussions to team up with Yahoo Inc. after Microsoft's 47.5 billion U.S. dollar bid for the company was spurned earlier this month. He said Microsoft wasn't planning to buy Yahoo but offered only the barest details of what he has in mind.

"We are not rebidding for the company. We reserve the right to do so. That's not on the docket," he said. "All I'll say is we're in ongoing discussions with them around a partnership."

(Agencies)