The Windows 7 beta from Microsoft continues to generate lots of positive buzz. In fact, the word of mouth reaction is almost the polar opposite of Vista's. When it's finally released, hopefully sometime this year, it may yet turn Microsoft into the Comeback Kid of software.
As I wrote on Saturday, the beta will no longer be available for download after Feb. 10, so get it while it's out there. Meanwhile, here are five things you need to keep in mind about Windows 7 and what it means for Microsoft . . . and you!
• The beta is Microsoft's best. I've worked with beta versions of Windows since Windows 95, and I don't recall a test release that was this solid and polished. It's not perfect - there are still bugs. But if the quality of this release is an indicator of what's to come, then I'd say Microsoft is going to have a huge hit. That said, I'm not sure it's going to generate the kind of marketing madness we saw for the releases of Windows 95 and XP. Those days are over, but I think there will a lot of PC users who will be more than happy to get their hands on this release, if only to ease the pain of Vista, or of being stuck with an aging OS like Windows XP.
• It may halt defections to the Mac. As you know, I'm all about cross-platform computing, and I've been urging Windows users who are interested in switching to Apple's Macintosh to take the plunge. But now, I'm telling Windows users who aren't happy with XP or Vista to look at Windows 7 before switching. Yeah, it's that good, and frankly, if Apple is counting on Windows switchers to grow its market share, then Steve Jobs & Co. may have a problem on their hands. While Windows is still going to be the target of viruses and spyware, and Microsoft's focus on backwards compatibility in an open-hardware environment makes it harder to deliver a rock-solid operating system, Win7 greatly improves the Windows experience.
• It still may not make business happy. Most of the things I like about Windows 7 have to do with user experience and general reliability. The fact that it's less intrusive, runs well on less-powerful hardware and is generally compatible with hardware and software that runs on Vista will make most home and business users happy. But as Paul Thurrott points out, there's not much that's new in Windows 7 to call to businesses. What is new, he says, is tied to an as-yet-unreleased version of Windows Server 2008. Microsoft needs businesses to adopt Windows 7 in a big way, but there may be little here that speaks directly to them.
• It's not a step back to Windows XP. A lot of XP die-hards are hoping that Windows 7 will be a roll-back to Windows XP, but that's hardly the case. In fact, Microsoft takes Windows 7 even farther away from legacy Windows. For example, you can no longer set up the interface to look like Windows 2000 - it's the Win7 interface or nothing. (You can, with some tweaks, make it look more like Vista.) That said, it's been my experience that Windows 7 runs as well as XP, if not better, on older hardware. While the recommended specs match that of Vista - 1-GHz processor and 1 GB of memory - it will run smoother and faster on those minimums than Vista does. But it won't look or behave like XP. Oh, by the way - there will be no upgrade installation for XP users. You'll need to do a clean install of Windows 7 if you've got XP on your system.
• There's still no pricing or release date. The Windows 7 beta expires in August, and Microsoft has been cagey about whether testers will have a new build, or even the finished product, available by then. That's one reason not to install the beta, because it means possibly rolling back to your previous operating system before the expiration date. In addition, we don't yet know how much Microsoft will charge, or what editions will be offered. There are indications we'll have at least Home Premium, Professional (a.k.a. Business) and Ultimate. I asked a Microsoft product manager at CES earlier this month if there'd be a Home Basic, and he wouldn't say. I'm hoping that Microsoft gives upgraders a break and charges significantly less than usual. I think paying $49 to go from Vista Home Premium to Win7 Home Premium sounds about right, don't you?
• There are things missing, by design. When you install Windows 7, you'll notice that it's missing some things. Gone are the Photo Gallery, Windows Mail, Windows Movie Maker and Windows Messenger. This makes for a simpler, lighter installation, but if you actually use any of those products, you'll have to go download them from the Windows Live Essentials site.
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