Windows 7 wins rave reviews, but could it be another Vista?
Windows 7 is almost here, with just two weeks until Microsoft’s latest operating system is unleashed on the great unwashed. Everything has so far gone swimmingly, with a good beta testing and very positive reviews from people who should know what they’re talking about. But wait a goddamn minute. Is there any chance that Windows 7 could turn out to be another Vista?
When Windows Vista was launched at the start of 2007, it received a mixed bag of reviews. Some of the improvements made were just that, improvements. They needed to be made even if the way they were integrated into the OS left a little to be desired. But then there were other changes that didn’t make any sense or existed without anyone actually wanting them.
Vista has been improved considerably since release thanks to two widely acclaimed service packs but the damage had already been done, with the hearts and minds already having been lost. Which is why Windows 7 feels a little make or break for Microsoft. If it turns out to be bad then people are going to inevitably stick with Windows XP or, even worse, switch to Apple, buy a Mac, and use OS X.
Luckily, everything is looking good at this point. Testers have given glowing reviews, and now detailed reviews of the retail copy are coming through. The latest is from Walt Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal, a much-respected journalist who has been following Microsoft for many years.
His review is titled ‘A Windows To Help You Forget’ and is generally very positive. He does refer to some not-so-good aspects of the new OS, such as slow start-up times, an awkward upgrade system, the Mac still winning on some features. But he concludes that, “Windows 7 is a very good, versatile operating system that should help Microsoft bury the memory of Vista and make PC users happy.”
But, and it’s a rather big but noticed by a reader of Brainstorm Tech, Mossberg was equally positive about Vista back in 2007…
Walt Mossberg, Wall Street Journal, Jan. 18, 2007:
After months of testing Vista on multiple computers, new and old, I believe it is the best version of Windows that Microsoft has produced.
Walt Mossberg, Wall Street Journal, Oct. 8, 2009:
After using pre-release versions of Windows 7 for nine months, and intensively testing the final version for the past month on many different machines, I believe it is the best version of Windows Microsoft has produced.
What’s more, even Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer isn’t counting his Windows 7 chickens yet, with Bloomberg noting him as saying in an interview recently:
The test feedback (on Windows 7) has been good, but the test feedback on Vista was good. I am optimistic, but the proof will be in the pudding.
Those three quotes alone leave me pondering the possibility that Windows 7 could be another Vista just waiting to happen. I hope to God it isn’t, and I don’t believe it is going to be, but we won’t actually know until it’s released to the general public on Oct. 22 and the man and woman on the street start reporting on the Web about their experience of it.
Which they will do on blogs, social networks, and forums in their droves. Microsoft execs must have all their fingers and toes crossed it goes well.
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October 9th, 2009
It’s only one data point, but my employer basically skipped Vista but does plan to migrate to Win7. So there’s 30K or so Win7 installs for Microsoft.
October 9th, 2009
The good thing about Windows 7 is that it actually works – the main problem with Vista was driver flaws. There were other major problems, there’s no denying that, but driver flaws were the biggest cause of problems. There should be no such problems this time. It seems a much more solid system, the UAC is far less annoying and for once, a new operating system does not require faster hardware than Vista did to run on – it actually requires less!
Saying that though, that’s just what could hold companies back from upgrading from XP; its not just a software upgrade required, the vast majority of machines will need to be replaced entirely to be able to run windows 7, thus incurring a large cost at a time when companies are looking for all ways of reducing costs, and IT normally bears the brunt of cost reductions. It will be interesting to see whether or not Windows 7 can tempt businesses to upgrade – the beta and release candidate were good, but it needs to be extra-good in recession times.
October 9th, 2009
Vista was a dog..Windows 7 is peppy (compared to Vista)…. But as others have addressed…do IT departments have the funds available to run Windows 7 on low grade XP machines?
My work uses many XP (and even Windows 98) computers with a Celeron 1300 Mhz with 128 and 256 MB Ram tops. Something tells me they are not going to spring for new machines (just to run Windows 7) when the old ones still are functional .