C&VG takes a look into what's coming up in the PC hardware world this year and previews what might be in your enthusiast rig in 2010. Agree, disagree, or think they missed something?

One goal of Windows 7 is touchscreen-friendliness (yes, comparisons to the iPhone's swipey gestures and virtual buttons have been made). MS aren't always reliable trendsetters - tablet PCs, anyone? - but this one really is looking likely, more so for laptops than for desktops. It won't hit big until 2010, but it looks certain to be part of the long-term future of PCs.

If you're looking for big, sweeping changes in Windows 7 (that's the official name) you won't find them - this is still Windows, but as a happy side-effect of that MS are promising we won't suffer a new round of software and hardware compatibility problems. Anything that works on Vista should work on 7. Perhaps more importantly, they're aiming to improve performance, one of Vista's major failings. In the words of one William Gates, Esq, Windows 7 will: "...be lower power, take less memory, be more efficient, and have lots more connections up to the mobile phone, so those scenarios connect up well to make it a great platform for the best gaming that can be done." Hmm. A beta is due in the next few months, the full release mid-year.