Microsoft has vehemently rebuffed claims that its Windows 7 operating system is responsible for causing the alleged and rapid degradation of notebook batteries.
“Every single indication we have regarding the reports we’ve seen are simply Windows 7 reporting the state of the battery using [its] new feature and we’re simply seeing batteries that are not performing above the designated threshold,” company spokesperson Steven Sinofsky explained in an official blog post.
“It should stand to reason that some customers would be surprised to see this warning after upgrading a PC that was previously operating fine. Essentially the battery was degrading but it was not evident to the customer until Windows 7 made this information available.”
Sinofsky noted that the sudden degradation may have “the appearance” of Windows 7 “causing” the damage, but emphasized that “in reality,” the OS was simply reporting what was “already” the case.
Nevertheless, ZDNet’s Adrian Kingsley-Hughes observed that the controversial battery issue may have created a potential backlash against Windows 7 – which has generally received positive reviews.
“Over the past few weeks, Windows 7 has been hit by several problems, which while being high profile, may or may not only exist in the minds of the users,” wrote Kingsley-Hughes.
“There’s been the battery issue, where users claim that Windows 7 is causing battery deterioration, and on top of that claims that a reliability patch released by Microsoft is actually causing problems.”
According to Kingsley-Hughes, a number of users seem to be focusing on – and maybe even making up – things that they aren’t happy with.
“[But] I don’t think that any of this is a threat to Windows 7, because I think that there’s enough pent-up demand for the OS. It is interesting though to watch how even the shine wears off even the best things. People really are driven by ‘the next new thing,’” added Kingsley-Hughes.
