Posted by Grant Foraker on July 23, 2009 at 10:03:56:
Windows 7 went RTM today.
Following is a newletter from Mark Minasi on Win7/Vista/XP buy/no buy.
While we wait for Comet 2009, are there ways to get Comet 2008 to work on a Win7 64bit workstation?
1) shims are mentioned
2) XP Mode is mentioned
=====================================================================
Windows 7: To Adopt or Not To Adopt? (Part One)
As most of you know, Microsoft has just about completed the latest version of both of their new Workstation and Server operating systems, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. On 21 July 2009, a blog post at http://windowsteamblog.com/blogs/windows7/archive/2009/07/21/when-will-you-get-windows-7-rtm.aspx revealed that we'll get RTM on... well, it depends. MSDN/TechNet Plus subscribers see it 6 August and current Windows volume license customers can pull it down on 7 August. Folks wanting to buy new volume license copies of Windows 7 will be able to do so on 1 September. For everyone else, Windows 7 and R2 will become "generally available" — that is, you can get it from places like Amazon and Best Buy — on 22 October 2009. No matter exactly when the new Windows arrives, it's going to be soon, so it's worth considering the question: should you upgrade or not? As I see it, there are several groups of potential Windows 7 upgraders (and please note that "Windows 7" is both the specific phrase for the desktop version of the OS and the generic phrase for new desktop and server, so I'll try to keep clear which meaning I intend — I'm mostly talking in this piece about whether or not to upgrade a desktop OS):
First, there are people like me.
Second, there are the current Macintosh and Linux users who'll find Windows 7 irresistible.
Third, there are folks who are perfectly happy with XP and have no interest in moving.
Fourth, there are people who really didn't like Vista but are curious about the prospect of an all-new version of Windows.
And then, finally, there's everybody else (but I don't have anything to say to those folks unfortunately in this particular piece).
People Like Me
Inasmuch as I (1) follow operating systems for a living, (2) love having new stuff to play with, and (3) run a small organization, the "upgrade or not?" question has an easy answer: "heck yes, why not?" If, like me, you lust for the joy of exploring a new operating system and care not a bit about whatever cuts and slashes one might acquire out on the bleeding edge, then go for it. "Neophiles unite... we have nothing to lose but our legacy applications!" Of course, I fully understand that most of you live out in the real world, so don't think for a moment that I imagine that my group's very large.
Current Macintosh and Linux Users Who'll Find Windows 7 Irresistible
Okay, I was just kidding. No one falls in this category.
For Those Who Just Plain Love XP
First things first: if you're dead set on staying with XP, then relax — I'm not here to pry XP out of your cold, dead hands, nor am I here to sell Windows 7 to you. I don't own any Microsoft stock that I know of, nor do I sell software for a living, I just pay the bills explaining how to get the most out of whatever OS you've decided to use. XP's a perfectly good OS, as evidenced by the fact that most of the world has used it as their desktop OS for the past five years and the the world seems to keep turning. Furthermore, due to an apparent failure in the reality firewall around Redmond (you know — the thing that lets information get out of Microsoft while allowing them to remain unaware of what the outside world wants from them), Microsoft recently extended support on XP until April of 2014, so there's nothing forcing you to upgrade just at the moment. Personally, I wish Microsoft would just release OSes with longer planned life spans, but I also realize that unfortunately they want us to keep upgrading our OSes as frequently as possible because of the nice revenue stream that results from those upgrades. Alas, the downside of capitalism... built-in obsolescence. My father owns a refrigerator that he's had since before I was born, but those Frigidaire guys soon learned their lesson, and apparently no one ever had to teach that lesson to software companies.
(Isn't this whole you've-got-to-get-off-XP stuff incredibly crazy, when you really consider it? Here's Microsoft, a successful company who created XP, the most popular operating system in the history of the planet, and they're refusing to sell it any more. This is roughly on a par with Ford deciding to stop making their F-150 pickup truck because "there are just too many of those things on the road, it's so boring,", McDonalds discontinuing selling Big Macs, or Coca-Cola deciding to change the flavor formula on their carbonated beverages... it's all just plain crazy talk, y'know?)
Anyway, if XP's the thing for you, then you've got just under five more years to enjoy XP as I write this, so enjoy!
People Who Really D
Each file can be a maximum of 1MB in length Uploaded files will be purged from the server on a regular basis.