In the next few days, I want to take some time to address the coming release of Windows 7. As a person who was named a Windows Vista Master, I want to look at three areas where Windows 7 will make a difference when Windows Vista did not seem to make a dent, so to speak.
Starting today, I will discuss the following topics:
1. Why IT will adopt Windows 7
2. Why XP users will switch to Windows 7
3. Why Windows 7 will crush Linux (that’s right -- I said CRUSH)
Let me begin with “Why IT will adopt Windows 7.” Anyone familiar with enterprise- or SMB-level shops knows one thing is for sure: Productivity far outweighs cool new technology. In an article I wrote on Vista back in March of 2008, I said Vista had two big strikes against it from the start. First, it was secure; and as much as everyone asked for more security, UAC is perhaps the most hated feature of Vista (at least from all the e-mails and conversations I have had over Vista). Second, people hate the unfamiliar, and the new Vista interface was just too much for many users.
When XP was first released, I had it on my desktop; in fact I had been running it since beta. The new look and the change in the menus made it impossible for me to roll it out for almost a year. Believe me it was not service packs I was worried about, it was user acceptance. As users started getting XP at home to replace Windows 98 or Windows 2000, they started asking for XP at work. I did not have a very savvy user base, so I needed to take it slowly.
Other shops successfully rolled out XP immediately; some waited for the first service pack. In all instances, IT believed that Windows XP would be an improvement, that it would bring benefits to users and make managing the desktop easier.
Not many IT pros felt that way about Windows Vista: In fact, most felt it would be a nightmare to implement. It started with driver issues -- we had that with XP (how soon people forget); the software-compatibility issue arose next; substandard hardware that was labeled Vista capable was next; and it ended with a huge footprint once the OS was installed. Installing Vista meant changing things that are working just fine. I understand that sentiment. One of the best reviews I ever received as IT director was in a year that my staff and I made no changes. We rolled out nothing new: no new OS, no new Office software, no new applications, servers, databases, e-mail or backup systems. All we did was kept the shop-running status quo; I never received such praise -- ever. So, why throw a monkey wrench into things?
Well, there are a few reasons to do so with Windows 7. To begin with, Windows XP is now an 8-year-old operating system that will not see any more service packs. People are starting to get used to the changes in the user interface (which is being carried over into Windows 7). Driver issues will not be an issue in the Windows 7 release. Installations are quick and painless with Windows 7, and the OS has a smaller footprint than Windows Vista.
As an added bonus, Windows 7 can run fine on legacy equipment. I read one review that said they used a Pentium 4 processor with 512MB of RAM, and Windows 7 still ran quickly. In this economy, it is important to some IT pros to keep that old equipment until it stops running. Not what we would ever preach as ideal, but reality is far, far different from idealism.
User acceptance, smaller footprint, less resource hungry, and security that is easier to control (the new UAC slide controller is a great addition): These make this a worthy upgrade for IT -- and not to be forgotten is that many shops are coming up on their replacement cycles, once again proving that business moves IT as much as IT moves business!
Windows 7 will get the attention that Vista did not; tomorrow's post will show how the home consumer will help the transition from XP to Windows 7: I examine “Why XP users will switch to Windows 7.”
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Ron Barrett is president of RARE-TECH, an IT Training and consulting company. He has been a technology professional for over a decade, working for several major financial firms and dotcoms. Barrett is a specialist in network infrastructure, security and IT management.
He is a co-author of The Administrator's Guide to Microsoft Office 2007 Servers, How to Cheat at Administering Office Communications Server 2007, and the Real MCTS/MCITP Exam 620 Preparation Kit and has been a contributor to Windows 2000 Enterprise Storage Solutions and Exam Cram �70-244-Supporting & Maintaining NT Server 4.
He has also contributed to several industry magazines and was featured in the book Tricks of the Windows Vista Masters. He has worked for Microsoft writing research and analysis documents for Windows Server 2008, Windows HPC, and PerformancePoint Server 2007. He has also created screencasts on Windows Server 2008 Administration for Linux Admins.
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new buttons to windows7-please add text to speech button
please add text to speech button as an icon to listen ebooks.
Windows Vista vs Windows 7
I have been reading several different blogs about Windows 7, Windows XP and Windows Vista. Most have been how wonderful Windows 7 is; the stability of Windows XP, since its release eight years ago, and the down fall of Windows Vista. I personally have dealt with Windows Vista on many levels and all of its nightmares. The younger generation does not seem to mind Vista, mainly because all they ever do is IM; check their face book accounts, and such. For them Vista is not a problem but for the above average user or the business sector it can be a living hell. Hardware vendors have scrambled to roll out the updated/new drivers for their devices and software vendors are still trying to catch up. Microsoft has always played a game with the public; release a new product and let them tell us what is wrong with it. Windows 98 was a prime example; Microsoft released it as a replacement for Windows 95 because Windows XP was not ready to be release. I always called it a pacifier until Windows XP was released. This is not a total slam against Microsoft mainly because Windows XP was well worth waiting for but why after 8 years of a good product would they release Windows Vista? Most people do not like change at any level and to totally change the look and feel is asking for trouble, people will rebel. Windows 7 has promise like Windows XP did, when first released. Maybe Microsoft has seen the light?
Windows vs Linux
Windows 7 Crush Linux? Never! well almost never. For now the PC market is dominated by windows. Linux can and will catch up! Ubuntu will be the company to watch! From the Server aspect Linux by far crushes windows! Don't believe me? Check the top ten super computers! They don't run windows! It's all Linux!!
Windows over Linux
Why would anyone in thier right mind put serious thought to articles like this???
If I were a Microsoft blogger, I wouldn't write anything other than things along this line.
You have to remember:
"Don't bite the hand that feeds you"
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