Microsoft Releases Windows 7 To Manufacturers
Microsoft announced today that it had finished development on the Windows 7 Release Candidate and was shipping it to PC manufacturers. The official release of Windows 7 will be October 22. Microsoft will now turn its attention to Windows drivers and other critical applications like anti-virus and anti-malware software to make sure they will be available when Windows 7 hits the store shelves.

Hold The Vista Encore, Please!

Microsoft doesn’t want a repeat of the Windows Vista release, which saw many manufacturers claiming that their hardware and drivers were “Vista-ready” when in fact they weren’t. While the list of consumer complaints about Vista was long, the complaints persisted long after many of the most serious problems with the OS were fixed.

Windows 7 is built on a Vista chassis, but don’t expect Windows 7 to be “more of the same.” The new release of Windows 7 doesn’t contain a whole lot of dazzling, new features. Instead, Microsoft spent time repairing the underpinnings of Windows 7 to avoid repeating the Vista errors. The result is a more stable operating system that has fewer glitches out of the box, has tested drivers, and is most likely more secure.

For Windows XP diehards, Microsoft will allow users to purchase downgrade rights on new computers for about six months following Windows 7′s release. After that, Microsoft will try (again) to unhitch its wagon from the aging-yet-ageless operating system that so many users still run.

For Windows 7 to be a success in the IT market, it will have to play nice in a networked environment, something Windows Vista never quite learned to do. Most IT professionals looked at Vista as a “home-user” operating system that had nothing to offer users in the enterprise environment.

Being rolled out on the fringes of a recession didn’t help, either. Companies had a difficult time justifying the expense of rolling out a new operating system that didn’t provide any significant benefit over what they had, was slower, less stable and didn’t have the drivers they needed to run their hardware well, if at all.

Corporate IT often gives a chilly reception to new operating systems, so don’t be surprised if Windows 7 initially gets the cold shoulder from the business crowd. But at the same time, don’t be surprised if the same crowd embraces Windows 7 with open arms within the next 18-24 months.

Admittedly, the stakes are higher for corporations than for home users; corporate IT departments must be sure that their million- and multi-million dollar investments in their enterprise software won’t be laid to waste by a carelessly designed OS. Microsoft has, for the most part, addressed the major complaints with Vista. Whether new complaints are waiting to take their place has yet to be seen.

Photo Credit: Christopher Walker, via Flickr

Microsoft released the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) Beta 2 this week, in another sign that the company is ramping up for the release of Windows 7. Earlier this week, the company squashed rumors that the OS was being released to manufacturers. In a statement, the company said that while it is eager to get the OS to manufacturers, final development work on the new OS has not yet concluded. A spokesperson for the company hinted that the RTM ship date for the OS could fall within the next two weeks.

The MDT is designed to help enterprise-level users deploy the new operating system. The MDT contains tools that standardize installations, verify the availability of compatible drivers, and supports automated deployment. The MDT supports the deployment of Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP. The toolkit is available at the Microsoft Web site.

For most small organizations and single users, the MDT won’t be of much use. The kit is meant to support a mass rollout of a Windows operating system. Organizations that use a uniform disk image, or that wish to do a complete, simultaneous rollout will get the most use out of the MDT.

The appearance of the MDT is more confirmation that Microsoft will meet its October 22 general availability release date. Although the kit is listed as beta software, enterprise level users will have time to familiarize themselves with the kit as they prepare their rollout plans. Microsoft may be somewhat disappointed by the tepid response that Windows 7 is expected to receive from the enterprise user community.

Most IT directors had no immediate plans to incorporate Windows 7 into their operating environment. Many IT directors cited lack of a compelling reason to upgrade and internal upgrade cycle conflicts as the primary reason for not pursuing an immediate upgrade to Windows 7. Most enterprise level users are expected to migrate to Windows 7 within 18-24 months of the OS’s October release.

Microsoft’s volume licensing program allows those users to load any Microsoft operating sytem they choose, including those that are no longer supported. Microsoft has said that it will drop downgrade installation rights for Windows XP approximately six months after Windows 7 is released.

Most enterprise level IT departments say they prefer Windows XP because it supports a wide range of hardware drivers and is exceptionally stable in a networked environment. Since the introduction of Windows Vista, the company has encountered strong resistance from users to its plans to drop Windows XP.

Photo Credit: Microsoft

According to published reports, Microsoft now says it will allow OEMs to license Windows XP as a downgrade option for six months following the introduction of Windows 7. The company has not said when it will release Windows 7 to the marketplace, but industry analysts believe Microsoft is readying the Vista replacement for a Fall 2009 release. There’s no word on how Microsoft will address the consumers’ big complaint with Vista: difficulty in finding software drivers.

XP Still Available On A Technicality

As a catch, new computers sold after Windows 7 is released must include the physical media for Windows Vista Business or Windows Vista Ultimate. Those two implementations of Vista are the only ones that permit a user to downgrade to an earlier version of the operating system. Another catch: OEM advertising must market the computer with the OS that is normally pre-installed on the computer. Computers with Windows XP installed must not display the Vista logo and vice versa.
Currently, OEMs can sell Windows XP on notebooks only. June 2008 marked the last desktop models shipped with XP pre-installed. Like Vista, downgrade rights for Windows 7 won’t be available in every version. Only the Professional and Ultimate versions will include downgrade rights, but users who have those versions can either downgrade to the corresponding Vista Professional or Vista Ultimate versions, or downgrade to Windows XP Professional.

Six months after the release of Windows 7, users will no longer be able to request downgrade to Windows XP. The only downgrade rights available will allow users to step back to Windows Vista. Currently, Microsoft will make Windows XP media available to OEMs only through July 2009. The new plan suggests that this deadline will be extended to accommodate the new Windows 7 release.
If this has you all confused, don’t worry. In simple terms, if you buy a new desktop computer today, it will come loaded with Windows Vista. If you’re buying a new laptop today, you can request that your notebook ship with Windows XP, but you’ll be required to pop for one of the premium versions of Windows Vista in order to get the right to back down to Windows XP.

If you buy a new desktop computer six months from now, there’s a good chance that it will ship with the new Windows 7. If you spring for the premium version of Windows 7, you can request the manufacturer back your system down to Windows Vista or Windows XP, but only for a limited time. In the spring of 2010, you’ll lose the ability to get Windows XP (which isn’t supported by Microsoft, except on a per-incident basis) and your only downgrade rights will be to a premium version of Windows Vista.

Photo Credit: Courtesy Dell