Versatile Technology Group, LLC - News Blog

4 Things To Consider As You Ponder The Choice of XP, Vista or Windows 7Do you remember the 1981 song from the rock group The Clash which could be about Microsoft and Windows XP?

Always tease tease tease
You’re happy when I’m on my knees
One day is fine, next is black
So if you want me off your back
Well come on and let me know
Should I stay or should I go?On October 16th, 2008, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, responded “If people want to wait [stay with XP] they really can.”  This was the first time Microsoft acknowledged the lackluster acceptance of Vista in the business community. According to Microsoft, Vista has been growing faster than XP did after its introduction, but it’s the consumer market leading the charge not businesses. According to the Gartner research group, as of January 2009, only 6% of businesses have at least one computer running Vista.

Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble
And if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know!

Like it or not, we must eventually move away from Windows XP.  Microsoft stopped fixing XP bugs on April 14th and will end all support, including security patches, in 2014.  Here are four things to consider as you ponder staying with XP, moving to Vista or waiting for Windows 7.

#1 Test your applications and peripherals
There’s a lot of business software that will not run on Vista, especially software written by boutique software companies and consultants.  Because Windows 7 is built on the Vista foundation, software and peripherals like printers that don’t work with Vista won’t work with Windows 7 either.  Conversely if it does work with Vista it will work on Windows 7.  Most vendors anticipate having Vista versions of their software available before the end of 2009.  Microsoft expects Windows 7 to be available in early 2010.  With Windows 7 looming on the horizon, it may be prudent to skip Vista and go straight to Windows 7.  The key here is to communicate with your software and hardware vendors and test everything.

#2 Migrate to Vista or Windows 7 as you purchase new computers
Once you have completed testing, consider staggering your switchover by bringing in Vista on new and replacement computers.  Unless you love migraine headaches and wasting money, forget trying to upgrade existing computers more than two years old to Vista.  In this uncertain economy, a migration through replacement approach is your least expensive option.

 There is a learning curve with the Vista user interface similar to that experienced with MS Office 2007.  However, most users like the Vista interface after using it a few weeks, and most of the Vista annoyances have been eliminated in Windows 7 beta versions.  If you want to play it ultra safe, purchase your new equipment with Vista Business and select the XP Pro downgrade option.  Your new equipment is ready to use out of the box with XP Pro, yet has the hardware, software and licensing necessary to upgrade to Vista when you’re ready.

#3 Skip Vista and migrate directly to Windows 7.
If you don’t plan on replacing your computers this year, consider skipping Vista all together. Most small businesses and many enterprise organizations are pushing out their hardware replacement schedules because of the uncertain economy. Consequently, skipping Vista altogether and jumping straight into Windows 7 is a reasonable alternative.  Hey, you even have permission from Microsoft to do this! You can continue purchasing new equipment with the XP Pro downgrade and have complete confidence that this same hardware will support the upgrade to Windows 7. If this is the decision you make, be sure to begin testing with Vista now in preparation for Windows 7.

#4 Microsoft’s history of software releases.
Microsoft considers Windows 7 a major release.  Other major releases were Windows 2000 and Vista, both of which were late and in the case of Vista, required the release of Service Pack 1 before it lived up to its hype.  Windows XP was considered an evolutionary release, but it too performed poorly until Service Pack 1, then finally lived up to its promise with the Service Pack 2 update.  Calling Windows 7 a major release may be more marketing than meat because the kernel (think of this as the guts or foundation of an operating system) is the same as Vista. The good news is that this kernel has come a long way since the initial release of Vista. Windows Server 2008 draws on the Vista kernel and has proven to be a solid server operating system. Windows 7 is in beta release now and gets better with each update. Many in the industry believe that 2010 will be the year of Windows 7, but only time will tell. If you decide to wait for Windows 7, be sure to make a contingency plan that includes Vista knowing that the pain of migration from Vista to Windows 7 will be minimal.

This indecision’s bugging me
If you don’t want me, set me free
Exactly whom I’m supposed to be
Don’t you know which clothes even fit me?
Come on and let me know
Should I cool it or should I go?Let us know if we can help with this decision!

Windows 7 has been tweaked and tuned a bit since the launch of the operating system’s initial public beta in January, as is evident in the new release candidate (RC) Microsoft unveiled Thursday.

The RC is now available to MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) and TechNet subscribers, and it will be released to the general public May 5.

Microsoft will also soon release to beta the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, which will check users’ systems for their ability to run the new operating system. However, the software giant did not disclose when the upgrade advisor will be offered in beta or when Windows 7 will reach the market. The company declined to comment.

Teensy Weensy Changes
Although the Windows 7 RC contains some new features and has incorporated changes suggested by beta users, the improvements are, on the whole, relatively minor. “If you make too many changes this late in the process, you’re likely to destabilize the operating system,” Michael Cherry, a senior analyst at Directions on Microsoft, told TechNewsWorld. “So many of the new features they’re announcing, such as virtualization, have been ongoing work, and they’re just synchronizing them with the operating system,” he said.

New Features in Windows 7 RC
One of the key changes to the RC is the inclusion of the Windows XP Mode feature that lets users shift to Microsoft’s older operating system. Another is improved security.

Windows XP Mode
XP Mode will be available for Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Ultimate and Windows 7 Enterprise. It lets businesses run multiple Windows environments on one desktop, using Microsoft’s Virtual PC technology. However, businesses may have a few reasons to think twice before deciding to set Windows XP Mode as their default OS.

For one, they will have to manage multiple instances of Windows, Gartner analyst Michael Silver told TechNewsWorld. Also, sticking with Windows XP, even if it’s virtualized, could lead to trouble down the road. “Organizations that decide to run XP Mode instead of fixing their applications will run into problems when Microsoft ends support for XP,” Silver said.

Microsoft will end extended support for Windows XP in May 2014.

Improvements to Security
While removable storage media has often proven very useful in the enterprise, it also poses a major potential security threat to a business.

Users can not only illicitly download corporate information onto these drives, but also provide open doors for several types of viruses and worms that target USB drives and other removable media. They include the SillyFD/AA worm that emerged in 2007 and the infamous Conficker worm, which recently hit millions of PCs.

The Windows 7 RC disables AutoRun on non-optical removable storage devices such as USB drives. AutoRun will still work for CDs and DVDs, however.

The RC also includes improvements to AppLocker, a mechanism that lets IT professionals control access to applications. One such improvement is an audit-only enforcement mode, which lets IT professionals test rules before deploying them to govern access to applications.

Remote media streaming is a brand-new feature in Windows 7 RC. It lets users access their home-based digital media files over the Internet from other PCs running Windows 7.

Is It All Worthwhile?
Users who want to upgrade to Windows 7 when a final version is released may have to buy new computers.

“A lot of laptops probably can’t run Windows 7,” said Directions on Microsoft’s Cherry. “They need the Intel or AMD chips that have built-in virtualization.” Those are the Intel VT chips and the AMD-V chips.

New computers will include these chips, Cherry said. “Now that an application warrants using these chips, more manufacturers will begin using them.”

By Richard Adhikari
TechNewsWorld
04/30/09 1:27 PM PT