by Paul Locander, Manager, Network Systems & Support
Oliver Wendell Holmes said it best: “The greatest thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving”. Think about it; a quote like that works well with everything from politics to our economy to our friends up in Redmond, who recently revealed their latest desktop operating system, Windows 7.
And for all practical purposes, it was about time.
Windows reloaded
Windows 7, released last October, has been an operating system in the making for nearly ten years, with Microsoft working diligently on giving the world an improved user experience designed to not only make our lives easier, but also to make us more productive. It was something Microsoft had hoped to do with Vista, only to have that endeavor become the technical equivalent of a jack-knifed big rig on the Capital Beltway, leaving those who did upgrade to Vista wanting to strangle their computers, and the rest clinging tighter to their current versions of XP (or sending some straight to Apple’s Mac OS X, thank you very much).
Microsoft’s heart was in the right place. And although Vista was pretty to look at, it was a full-on miss with poor performance … proficient at grinding hard drives into the blobs of solder, laden with compatibility issues from the get-go (it’s always a bad sign when manufacturers drag their feet to create drivers and workable software for your nifty, new operating system), and plagued by a feature-set that was so irritating that it alienated just about everyone including their cat.
So is Windows 7 any better? The answer is a qualified “yes.”
In reality, Windows 7 is what Vista should have been, which is chiefly due to Windows 7 being built upon the same kernel that Vista was coded upon. Except this time around, Microsoft has been smarter about what it has bolted to the OS frame. Beyond 7’s productive visceral features—including an overhauled taskbar that includes attached Jump Lists and thumbnails displaying running application windows (and a very nice, reigned in System Tray)—Windows 7 works well on a wide range of current hardware, including netbooks and Vista-ready machines. It has also proven to be compatible with a lot of legacy software.
It’s the end of Windows XP and why you’re upgrading … whether you want to or not
So if XP works and is dependable, why upgrade to Windows 7? Easy. Welcome to the software industry, where the only thing that grows around you when you stand still is your competition. With the early buzz that Windows 7 attracted, Microsoft knew they had a winner. They immediately, and gratefully, plastered an expiration date on its much beloved operating system (XP) and started packing its bags.
Since the initial announcement of Vista, Microsoft has been trying to put XP out to pasture. A monumental task given that the operating system chugs along on just about everything from ATMs, point of sale systems, medical equipment, corporate environments, the White House, the Space Shuttle (that’s actually a guess), and my son’s computer. But with the disastrous launch of Vista, Microsoft was forced to support, offer, and maintain XP a lot longer than they wanted to. And they were forced to go back to the drawing board for a palatable and consumable successor.
And now they’ve found one, so it’s official: Microsoft is killing off XP. In fact, they’ve already started. The process actually began when XP was discontinued on June 30, 2008, and continued when mainstream support for it ended on April 14, 2009. Although you can still find systems shipping with XP, Microsoft will only do so until April 2011—or when Windows 7’s first service pack is released, whichever comes first. And then finally the coup de grâce: Microsoft will cease taking support calls and issuing security patches for XP on April 8, 2014. After that, the OS will be one with the dodo and dead in Microsoft’s eyes. That date seems far away, but those who wish to keep XP will do so at their own risk.
Okay! You win! I’m upgrading. What do I need to know?
For those running Vista, the road to Windows 7 will be a bit less bumpy given the similarities between the two operating systems. Vista is actually a good primer for Windows 7. But for those coming up from XP, it can be a bit of a shock as the look and feel of Windows 7 is noticeably different. You will still have the Start Button (hello Windows 95!) and the Start Menu layout is similar, but the way that programs launch and are found will be enough to throw off some people, so be prepared for that.
Once you get past the cosmetic changes, Windows 7 is surprisingly easy to adapt to and runs circles around Vista.
Even though user adoption is pretty good, actually upgrading from XP to Windows 7 is a technical challenge, especially in multi-computer environments. With Vista, upgrading is as simple as popping in a DVD and off you go (though an argument can be made to do clean install), but there is no direct upgrade path from XP to Windows 7, thus making the road to Windows 7 paved with fresh installations. Needless to say—but I’m going to do it anyway—devising an upgrade strategy, especially for organizations with multiple computers, is an absolute must.
A logical approach to bring in Windows 7 for a multi-system organization is during an equipment refresh, where the new operating system can be trickled in with a controlled approach (or done wholesale if you like living on the wild side). With Microsoft’s tombstone date for XP being just over four years out, they have allotted plenty of time for organizations to cycle out older equipment for newer replacements preinstalled with Windows 7. This also gives you plenty of time to educate staff on the new operating system so they’re ready to go when it lands on their desk.
Alternatively, if your hardware is relatively new and you want to make the jump sooner rather than later, a more detailed, tactical plan will help ease the pain of evolution. Such a plan would include accounting for downtime, evaluating existing equipment, application testing, and realizing the adaptability curve once the new operating system is in.
So what’s the bottom line?
Windows 7 is a go for all organizations with general purpose applications. The rest will follow soon enough. The time is now to start tapping into your IT resources and developing your upgrade strategy. Because, like it or not, Windows 7 is here stay.
That is until Windows 8 comes out.