It seems some people at Microsoft are starting to get the idea that Vista was a bad idea.
Okay, it’s not quite that dramatic, but, according to Computer World, Bill Veghte, Microsoft’s senior vice president for Windows business, made a keynote speech this week, and said the following.
If you’re just starting your testing of Vista, with the [Windows 7] Release Candidate and the quality of that offering, I would switch over and do your testing on the [Windows 7] Release Candidate, and use that going forward.
Well, yes, if your company is just starting to test Vista, then you need to pick up a technical journal once in a while and realize that Windows 7 is in heavy testing at this stage. The new version is expected to make it into consumer level PCs this fall, so enterprise desployment would probably start in late 2010 or early 2011, and with Windows XP support having been extended to April 2014, this would give them plenty of time to do a full roll out in a company.
However, there is one small problem with this entire idea in that apparently you can not upgrade directly from Windows XP to Windows 7. The upgrade appears to only work from Windows Vista to Windows 7, so companies that are still filled with Windows XP machines… good luck on figuring out that workaround. I would imagine they can just wipe the systems and start over, but then you have questions about hardware configurations.
This is where my personal gripe with the whole Microsoft plan comes in. There is a reason Apple just keeps extending Mac OS X: it works. The same could be said for Windows XP, even with its numerous bugs, those could have been ironed out and they could have sold incremental updates, just like Apple has done with great success. However, Microsoft doesn’t always like to make sense it would seem. Why sell just a small update when you can sell a whole new operating system and cause headaches for consumers at all levels? Yeah, that’s some bright thinking there!
As much as I don’t want to hate Microsoft, they just keep doing stupid thing after stupid thing. Yes, Windows 7 may be more stable than Vista, but isn’t that kind of like saying “Well this boat leaks… less. It still leaks, just… less.”
Any way you slice it, all PC users will eventually be forced into Windows 7, just some of us will have been lucky enough to have skipped Vista.
The Windows 7 release candidate is now available for immediate download.
Putting out a release candidate is one of the last stages before a program is officially put into the marketplace, and that is exactly where Windows 7 is at this moment. As of today you can download Windows 7 Release Candidate (presumably #1), and you’ll be able to use it free of charge up until June 1st, 2010. However, there is a catch to that 13 months of free Windows; starting on March 1st, 2010, your system will shut down every two hours to remind you that you are still using a release candidate copy.
Oh well, still 10 months of free Windows isn’t too shabby.
The download page lists some other caveats and suggestions for you keep in mind before you go crazy with your Windows 7 upgrading. (following list courtesy of Microsoft)
You don’t need to rush to get the RC. The RC will be available at least through July 2009 and we’re not limiting the number of product keys, so you have plenty of time.
Watch the calendar. The RC will expire on June 1, 2010. Starting on March 1, 2010, your PC will begin shutting down every two hours. Windows will notify you two weeks before the bi-hourly shutdowns start. To avoid interruption, you’ll need to install a non-expired version of Windows before March 1, 2010. You’ll also need to install the programs and data that you want to use. (Learn more about installing Windows.)
Protect your PC and data. Be sure to back up your data and please don’t test the RC on your primary home or business PC.
Tech details/updates: Before installing the RC, please read the Release Notes and Things to Know for important information about the release.
Keep up with the news. You can keep up with general technical information and news by following the team blog. And, you can get non-technical news, tips, and offers by subscribing to the monthly Exploring Windows newsletter.
Keep your PC updated: Be sure to turn on automatic updates in Windows Update in case we publish updates for the RC.
Installation: You can install the Windows 7 RC on a PC running Windows Vista without backing up the PC—but we encourage you to make a backup for safe keeping. If you’re running Windows XP or the Windows 7 Beta, you’ll need to backup your data, then do a clean installation of the RC, then reinstall your applications and restore your data. If you need to do a backup, please see How to back up your PC for more details and a suggestion for how to backup a PC running Windows 7 Beta or Windows Vista.
All good suggestions, and please pay close attention to the one about not putting this on your primary machine! This is still not a final release, and you WILL encounter bugs.
This all just makes me think even more within a few years people will go, “There was a Windows version called ‘Vista’? Huh… never heard of it.”
In quite possibly one of the biggest “mea culpas’ in the history of Microsoft, Windows 7 will be able to run Windows XP software.
One of the biggest original complaints about Windows Vista was its inability to run a lot of business applications. This was a problem that persisted, and kept many small businesses from wanting to make the switch as it would mean all new software, some of it being expensive custom designed jobs. Now in an announcement on the Windows Blog, we come to find out this issue is getting addressed in Windows 7 in the hopes that small businesses will finally come back to the fold.
All you need to do is to install suitable applications directly in Windows XP Mode which is a virtual Windows XP environment running under Windows Virtual PC. The applications will be published to the Windows 7 desktop and then you can run them directly from Windows 7.
Now, virtual operating system environments habe known to be unstable, and seeing as how no one outside of Microsoft hasn’t seen this yet, no one knows if this will be the case with the Windows 7 environment. It is also only going to be a feature in Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate, meaning the higer priced versions of the program.
Sure, this isn’t a perfect solution, but it is sure a lot better than what we had under Vista, which was nothing. This new feature should appear in the upcoming release candidate due next week, so reports are sure to be coming in fast and furious on how well it actually works.
Effective today, Windows XP is no longer supported by “Mainstream Support”, and will only be covered by “Extended Support”. All of this was announced in an email that came out on Monday.
On April 14, Windows XP will transition from the mainstream support phase to the extended support phase, as planned and previously announced.
Normally Mainstream Support only lasts for 5 years, but Windows XP was extended to 7 & 1/2 years due to the delay in release of Windows Vista. Extended Support means that everyone will have to pay for support from here on out unless they bought an extended service plan. This also means that Microsoft will only release security patches from here on out, and those will also come to an end on April 8, 2014.
In an odd move, the Windows XP “Downgrade” program which allows users to install XP if they have bought a copy of Vista, will last now until April 30th, 2010. If Windows 7 releases in the fall like everyone suspects, that means XP will still be ciculating even after it has released.
At this point it is almost becomng funny how this operating system will just not fade away.
Rumors have begun to circulate that the first release candidate of Windows 7 may be appearing on April 10th.
According to Ars Technica, rumors have begun to spring up that Microsoft may be readying the first release candidate (RC1) version of Windows 7 for mass consumption on April 10th of this year. For those who are not familiar with the steps a piece of software goes through prior to release it goes as follows:
Alpha – This version is usually only for internal testing, and is rarely released to the public.
Beta – This is a version that is getting close to having all of the final features, and, depending on the company, is released to some testers in the public for them to test. There can be numerous Beta releases as small tweaks are made to the software.
Release Candidate – This usually consists of two versions, RC1 and RC2. RC1 will have included notes from the beta testers, and further notes from RC1 users will be incorporated into RC2. There isn’t always an RC2, but it is fairly common.
Gold Master – This is the finalized version of the software that will be released to the public.
If the RC1 is truly going to be released by April, this adds heavily to the other rumors we’ve heard that Windows 7 may be out by this fall. This really gives us pause here at StarterTech that Windows 7 will be more like what Windows Vista was really supposed to be. The time lapse between Windows XP and Windows Vista was five years, but this will be only two years between Vista and Windows 7. This is beginning to feel more and more like Vista was a massive release candidate, or even a beta, for Windows 7.
Whatever the case may be, we highly recommend you hold off on all Windows-based computer purchases for the time being if at all possible. Vista is flawed, as is well documented all across the Web, and while Windows 7 may not be perfect, it is already looking to be an improvement. If you can wait, we suggest it so that you aren’t essentially buying an already outdated piece of software that is flawed to boot.
While you can no longer buy a PC with Windows XP pre-installed, there are still ways for you to get it… but only until July 31, 2009.
Due to a clause in the Windows Vista legal rules, if you buy certain levels of the Vista operating system, you can legally downgrade to Windows XP. (In this case, it might be considered an upgrade…) This deal was originally meant to expire on January 31st, 2009, but due to demand from manufacturers, it has now been extended to July 31st of next year.
The best case scenario for doing this is having the manufacturer do it before you receive the computer to save yourself the hassle. Most companies do offer this service, but only on select models and levels of the Vista OS. Make sure to read the description of any system you are ordering, and also make sure it is one they offer XP on.
While it’s safe to assume this mini-movie will be chopped down into bits for television airings, it has to be said again that this seems like the most pointless thing ever. It is trying to so hard to be hip and anytime you force that, it comes off as just sad.
With little to no mention of the products, or what this commercial is trying to convey, is Microsoft trying to sell more of their current products? Getting you excited about future products? Who knows, all I know is that I and about 99% of the blogosphere would like to see them give up already.
While people are still sorting out whether to even switch to Vista, Microsoft is working full speed on the Windows 7 operating system. Unfortunately what little has leaked out on the operating system doesn’t look much more promising for the common user than Vista did.
Incomparability with existing peripherals, a demand for higher end hardware and a learning curve that is too much for most common users, Vista has been a rather large disaster for Microsoft. At a recent demonstration, Microsoft showed off a video of what the new interface will look like, and beyond still appearing a lot like Vista, they have come up with a whole new user interface that will radically change how everyone interacts with their computer.
One has to wonder how they plan to make this work with existing computer monitors and laptops, or are we all expected to buy all new equipment to work with this? What about finer graphics work like you do with Adobe Photoshop?
We are still some ways off from this system, and perhaps things will change, but the work that Microsoft is doing with Windows as of late seems to be getting more complicated and uglier by the minute, and may be the best advertising to ever happen for Apple’s Mac computers.
Normally we don’t editorialize here at StarterTech, but it would seem it is going to become impossible to ignore just how badly things are going with the Windows OS, and considering their market share, it is difficult to ignore.
There has been a lot of talk about what a problem Windows Vista can be for users: peripherals that aren’t compatible, not enough computing power on some systems, a steep learning curve for some users, etc.
The good news is that until June 30th, 2008, you can still buy Windows XP if you just don’t feel comfortable with going to the next operating system, and there is really no problem with that. All of us here at StarterTech consider our selves fairly tech savvy, but you will not find Vista installed on any of our computers. We just have too many printers, hard drives and more that wouldn’t be compatible with Vista to make it worth it to us.
So, what happens after June 30th? Microsoft will continue to sell XP in lower-end systems and portable devices, as well as still offer tech support, but there will be no sales of the OS. However, some computer manufacturers are trying to find loop holes around this, with the most adamant being Dell.
It seems Dell has found a loophole that will allow them to sell you a computer with Windows XP on it, and include Vista on an upgrade disc in the package. So, technically they are selling you a copy of Vista, you just have to install it yourself, and it’s your choice whether you ever do that. They currently plan to continue doing this through 2010 when Windows 7 is set to be released. The one caveat to this is that Microsoft has never released a new operating system on time, so no one really knows when the next system will be ready.
If you are buying a brand new computer, have no old hardware to deal with, and feel like learning a new system, then you have no reason to go ahead and move up to Vista, but for those of us around here, it looks like we will be buying Dell systems only for the next few years.
Microsoft didn’t make it exactly easy in Windows XP for the new user to figure out how to change their desktop image, and even years after release I see people with the same background they had on day one. Considering you can use just about any picture as your desktop, it’s time you changed that boring old background to something that matters to you!
And this article was actually requested by a reader, so if you have something you want covered, drop us a note!
(due to the number of images in this article, please click “Continue Reading” to see it all)
It seems some people at Microsoft are starting to get the idea that Vista was a bad idea.
Windows XP’s death is drawing ever closer.
While people are still sorting out whether to even switch to 
