Introduction

Microsoft operating systems have been a "variable quantity" ever since I started working with them back in the Cretaceous Era. DOS 3 was good; DOS 4 was a clunker. The same variability held true with Windows: Windows 98 was good, Windows ME was a clunker. Then Microsoft put together back-to-back winners with Windows 2000 and XP, and some industry observers thought that the operating system rollercoaster ride might have smoothed out at last.

But it was not to be. I can't quite bring myself to call Windows Vista a dud, because many aspects of its design (such as the revised administrative tools) show a welcome maturity and thoughtfulness; but the product did not receive much love in the marketplace. If you are Microsoft, you know that you've got a problem when even Intel does not adopt your flagship OS for internal use. Microsoft's attempts to shine up Vista's image through the "Mojave Experiment" TV commercials may have changed a few consumer minds, but corporate IT planners in droves decided to stick with good old Windows XP, notwithstanding the fact that Microsoft ended mainstream support for that OS on April 14, 2009. (This means that all XP support now costs money, except for security updates, which will continue through 2014.)

Based on my experience with the beta code, Windows 7 just might change their minds. It incorporates many of the best features of Vista while fixing many of its worst features. It's a bit of a stretch for Microsoft to give it a new name: it's really closer to "Vista R2" than anything else, in that it's more than a service pack but less than a new product. (Microsoft execs say that it uses the "same core architecture;" Gartner Group calls Windows 7 a "polishing" release.) But we won't quibble about the name too much. This product looks and feels better than anything Microsoft has released in years.

This white paper introduces the key areas in which Windows 7 differs from Vista-areas you'll need to focus on if you're thinking of moving to Windows 7, either from Vista or from XP. Use it as a starting point for your own evaluation research. The areas I focus on here include the following.

• Deployment 
• Hardware support 
• Speed 
• Robustness
• Security 
• Ease of use 
• Manageability 

Deployment

Versions. Windows 7 will apparently have the same version structure as Vista, with the exception that "Vista Business" morphs into "Windows 7 Professional" (could Microsoft be trying to make Windows 7 sound more like XP here?). There will be the 32-bit Starter edition for developing countries; Home Basic (no AERO, maximum 3 apps at once); Home Premium (with AERO, Media Center, and DVD software); Professional (which can join a domain and use EFS but not BitLocker); Enterprise (volume licensing only, offering a number of features that work together with Server 2008 R2); and Ultimate (a consumer version of Enterprise).

Software compatibility. Windows 7 should run applications that work with Vista, and the converse is likely also true: if an app does not run on Vista, chances are slim that it will run on Windows 7. The Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) will be available for Windows 7, no doubt with yet another freshening and new version number.

Tools. You may remember the Business Desktop Deployment 2007 tool, known as the BDD 2007, which included a number of tools and help files for rolling out Vista. That product morphed into the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) in 2008, and rumor has it that Microsoft will roll out an updated version (MDT 2010?) after the Windows 7 launch.

This is an area where Microsoft could make some serious steps forward in usability - the tools are a morass of finicky, standalone utilities with harrowingly long command-line syntax - but the underlying technologies of Windows Image files (*.WIM) and WinPE are solid enough and will probably see only minor enhancements. If you have spent any time with ImageX, DiskPart, WinPE, WinRE, the WAIK, and (on the server side) Windows Deployment Service (WDS), then you should be well-versed on the deployment toolkit.

Hardware Support

Minimum requirements. Looks like these will be very close to those of Vista, if not identical. Microsoft is probably not keen to repeat the customer ire that it aroused by making Vista's hardware requirements (especially in the graphics area) so much more demanding than XPs.

Related Courses

First Look: Windows 7 Beta for IT Professionals
Implementing and Administering Windows 7 in the Enterprise
Updating Your Technology Knowledge of Microsoft Windows XP to Windows 7 Beta

Related Videos

Peek Inside our Classroom: Windows 7 Curriculum Overview
Windows 7 Certification and Skills Learning Tracks