Ah, Windows 7. After the Vista PR disaster, Windows 7 is a breath of fresh air that hopes to both repair Microsoft’s reputation and provide an overall better OS that might just be the best operating system to leave the caves of Redmond to date.
Sure, Windows 7 stands strong and with all of the positive coverage on the blogosphere, many who once despised the software giant with passion are now starting to change their minds, but there still is some hurdles that may hinder 7’s success.
Before we list out those hurdles, I’d like to list out the more positive things about Windows 7:
Windows 7 Is Compatible – Windows 7 is compatible with and supports everything that Vista does and then some. As many of Vista’s issues were caused by the lack of proper drivers for the system, Microsoft definitely kept this in mind while building Windows 7.
Windows 7 “Just Works” – Microsoft is trying hard to ensure that 7 doesn’t have a launch like Vista, and in order to do that they ensured that drivers are available and that software will be compatible, as I stated in the point above. Along with this however, they need to include a good delivery method of these drivers or else the average Joe will still stumble around trying to find the right drivers, only to install something incompatible. To combat this, Microsoft allows you to connect to the internet and download important security updates and drivers during the installation process so in most cases you don’t have to struggle to find and install the latest drivers on your first boot.
An avid Mac user that I know has always had issues with PCs because of this, but I managed to convince him to try Windows 7. In short, he said that the installation was simple, the new productivity-improving features were definitely a good addition to the OS, and most importantly it was fast and stable. It’s likely that he might purchase 7 even though just a few months ago he absolutely hated Microsoft and never had the intention of using Windows again asides from the rare occasion where he absolutely has to.
Windows 7 Works On Older PCs – At the PDC 2008, Sinofsky held up an eeePC into the air and claimed that Windows 7 will be optimized to run on netbooks. We were excited but skeptical at the same time, although once we got the chance to play around with a more recent 7 build, many of us were shocked at how fast 7 was on netbooks and older systems. This will play a key role in 7’s success as there are many people out there who use older systems as their main PCs who didn’t upgrade to Vista but want the benefits provided by a more up-to-date OS.
Windows 7 Improves Productivity – The Aero user experience has been refined in 7 with several new features to help improve productivity for the end users. By using Aero Shake, Aero Peek, the superbar, and Aero Snap, the daily tasks that we use our PCs for have become easier. On XP and Vista, I’ve actually found myself shaking windows with no result only to realize that I’m not on 7. These features certainly come in handy when you’re dealing with a huge amount of windows stacked on top of each other, and it’s something I was pretty impressed with when I played around with 6801.
Now that we have covered some of the benefits of Windows 7, it’s now time to take a look at some hurdles presented to this OS that just might hinder it’s launch:
OEM PC Manufacturers – For a long time now, OEM PC manufacturers such as Dell, HP, Toshiba, and many more stuff the PCs that they sell with bloatware and even incompatible drivers at times that often bog down the OS and cause it to crash and freeze often. This is an issue that may be fixed if Microsoft placed guidelines on these OEM companies or even started making PCs of their own, because if this goes on unaddressed it will only continue to harm Microsoft’s reputation as people will think Windows is at fault here.
I’ve witnessed and heard stories about OEM PCs, their issues, and how purchasing a fresh copy of Windows fresh from a retailer instead of using a recovery CD and installing the proper drivers completely solved these problems, so it definitely poses a threat to what will otherwise be a great launch.
Pricing – While we haven’t received any official word yet on how Microsoft will price 7, I think it will definitely play a role in it’s success. Obviously in this current economy, people have less disposable income that they can put towards an OS, and if 7 is priced at too high of a price, many potential consumers will steer clear of the OS. I think they need to price it at a fair price to both Microsoft and the consumer, which definitely means that it should be cheaper than Vista.
Windows 7 Starter Edition – Sure, Windows 7 and the fact that it supports netbooks is great, but there’s something that just might hinder this. It’s likely that many netbooks will go up for sale with Windows 7 Starter Edition, the worst and most slimmed-down SKU that Microsoft ships. There’s many limitations in place, such as the inability to change your wallpaper and the fact that you’ll be forced to use the Aero Basic theme even if the PC supports aero.
While it’s fine to keep it slimmed down, at least remove these rather ridiculous limitations that will definitely be a turnoff to potential consumers.
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Well, there you have it. Those are in my opinion the major benefits and hurdles with Windows 7. Personally, even with these hurdles in place, I think that Windows 7 will find a way to overcome them and still have an extremely successful and well-received launch. Thus far, the majority of the feedback has been positive, and, judging from the experience of myself and many others, Windows 7 might just be the most successful version of Windows to ever see the light of day. I, and most of the people that I know both online and in real life are planning on purchasing Windows 7, and I am eagerly anticipating the RTM of the OS.
Source: Geeksmack
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