Windows 7 launch and what it means to you
Windows 7 is finally here. What that means depends entirely on your perspective. Here’s our take on the impact Windows 7’s debut and potential success or failure could have on every corner of the tech world.
At first glance, it might appear today has no significance beyond symbolism. After all, plenty of people have been able to download and tryout the system, both through the close-to-finished offerings from Microsoft’s sites and the finished versions through less official distribution routes.
However, what happens now is important because the system is only now going start being used by the “ordinary home user”. It’s easy to forget that downloading a 4GB disk image and installing a dual-boot set-up to try out a system is not the type of activity Joe Public engages in. The people who start using Windows 7 from now will mainly be the ones who simply buy a new computer and accept whatever system is preinstalled on it. So we’re soon to find out how Windows 7’s features and flaws play out in the ultimate consumer test.
But what does Windows 7 mean for you?
If you’re in business, it means that there’s a credible argument that you now have a system which you can safely install across your network in place of XP. Whether that argument proves persuasive is another matter. Even where bosses like the idea of an upgrade in principle, many IT staff may have to choose between the potential complexities of a phased upgrade, or waiting until the firm has the right combination of ageing hardware and spare cash to make a wholesale upgrade viable.
If you’re in the touchscreen industry, it’s a chance of something big – but only a chance. Windows 7 certainly offers the operating system support to make touchscreens worth using. However, at this stage there’s little sign of enough compatible applications in which touchscreen use is a genuine hardware seller rather than just a cool looking feature.
If you’re Steve Ballmer, it’s something of a judgment day. While he was company CEO for the releases of both XP and Vista, Ballmer was still overshadowed by the presence of Bill Gates, even then widely seen as the public face of Windows. With Gates now out of the picture, a successful launch of Windows 7 will help bolster Ballmer’s position and his perceived ability to deal with Microsoft’s slow but perceptible declines in some of its key markets.
If you produce computers, it’s the next great hope. A well-received Windows 7 could mean a boost in sales. It’s unlikely many people will buy a new PC just to take advantage of the new system. But the sour taste of Vista’s early days appears to have put many users – particularly in corporate settings – off replacing older machines. If the economy doesn’t play too much of a role, there could be a sizeable market of people who are ready for a new PC as long as they trust the operating system.
If you’re an XP user or are switching from a different edition of Vista, it means a custom or “clean” install. That means completely wiping your disk as part of the installation process, and thus needing to back up all your data and programs and restore it after the install. See our guide for some tips on how to pull this off with as little hassle as possible.
If you’re Microsoft’s publicity department, Windows 7 is a challenge. The problem is that while the system appears to have many strengths, a fair proportion of those benefits can’t be explained without the words “…unlike Vista.” By all accounts, the most honest way of describing Windows 7 is “what Vista should have been”, but that’s a difficult sell to say the least. The most effective promotional message would likely be to spell out the specific benefits that Windows 7 can bring particular users – as the saying goes, sell the benefits, not the features. The problem is that such specific marketing doesn’t fit in well with the mass-audience advertising which a firm the size of Microsoft might be drawn to out of habit.
If you’re Apple, it means a waiting game. If Windows 7 has the teething troubles of Vista, there’ll be plenty to get stuck into with the next round of “Mac vs PC” ads. But if all goes smoothly, the firm may be better served concentrating on brand awareness. Windows 7 may prove credible, but it’s unlikely to ever seem cool.
If you’re in the netbook industry, Windows 7’s success could be key. Whether through genuine shortcomings or public confusion, Linux-based netbooks have been less than an overwhelming success with the general public, despite the cost advantages. Vista and netbooks have not made for a particularly happy marriage. And while XP does the trick, an eight-year-old system that’s had its death notice repeatedly extended is not the best basis for a new market sector. If Windows 7, particularly in starter edition, proves a viable operating system for the low-spec machines at a viable price, netbooks stand a much better chance of being a success in both major and developing markets.
If you’re a gamer, it’s probably not going to mean much at all. There has been surprisingly little talk from Microsoft about the improvements on offer for game players. Perhaps the biggest difference is the introduction of WARP (Windows Advanced Rasterization Platform), a way of handling modern graphics such as those based on Direct 3D 10 on machines without a dedicated video card. The lack of gaming buzz is likely down to the way Windows 7 has been pitched more at working on as many machines as possible rather than being designed around the more advanced hardware set-ups which are common among PC gamers.
If you’re a tech journalist, in the short term it means plenty to talk about. In the long term, Windows 7’s success is something of a double-edged sword. It would be easy to say that Windows 7 experiencing major problems would make for some great stories. But with so many reporters giving strong feedback after testing the system, there could be serious credibility issues if readers find their experiences are drastically different.
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