Archive for category general

Let me be clear. Windows 7 is the next release of the Windows operating system line of products due to be released later this year. One of the biggest questions being asked by all normal users is: “Do I need it?”

The answer is simple: Yes, no, and maybe.

So much for being “clear”.

A lot of this is going to be dependant on the uses to which it will be put, how much you have to spend and the hardware onto which it will be installed. Windows 7 (I’m just going to refer to it as “Seven” from here on out for brevity’s sake) uses the same basic kernal, or core code structure, as the oft-maligned Windows Vista fleet of OSes. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing depends on whether you actually have or used Vista or not. Because, frankly, Vista is a decent operating system that is both stable and secure, but suffered from whithering attacks from both Apple Computer’s wildly successful marketing efforts and the one “flaw” pointed out by many; that being that it required a fairly high-powered array of PC hardware to run, depending on the version of Vista that one selected.

I am a “power” user in nearly all respects, and I have never had a major failure or configuration problem using Vista (Business version) on either a fairly pedestrian Dell desktop (as plain-jane vanilla as you can get) or a hopped-up ASUS notebook workstation (”so tweaked you could cook a paella with the heat generated while gaming online”).

OK, so let’s get down to it…

This series of OS levels consist of several levels:

Seven Basic or Starter (depending if you live in an industrialized nation or a third world country will depend which option is available to you): Both versions are primarily geared to lightweight Netbook and small mobile devices without a lot of power and are geared for low-end budgets and non-specialized applications. Both are stripped of many user interface config options, but as of the time of this writing do NOT restrict the number of programs that can be run simultaneously to three as previous release candidate versions of the products available to early testers were. Kudos to Microsoft for actually listening to it’s user base and stripping this unpopular “feature”. Does not play DVDs without adding non-MS software.

Seven Home Premium: Largely a full version of windows that includes the better multimedia support, including integration of Windows Media Server and Multimedia enhancements. This is the version that you will most likely find on pre-configured computers in brick-n-mortar stores that hock PCs. It does not, however, include advanced support for connecting to business networks; otherwise it is feature-rich and will be a popular seller.

Seven Professional: Probably the level that I would end up getting, it is geared more to the business and power users that have a tendency to network every damned thing we can get our hands on (servers, workstations, routers, coffee pots, hamsters…) and also it is only this version and the Ultimate/Enterprise versions that can act as host to Remote Desktop Connection utilities. Also has advanced file synchronization utilities, file management, a fully licensed Windows XP virtualization system and several other “power toys”. Add this on top of the multimedia support a la the Home Premium version and you have a real runner.

Seven Ultimate/Enterprise: The only difference between these two are how you acquire a copy: Enterprise is for business customers that purchase group or site licenses, whereas one-off and retail purchases will sport the “Ultimate” tag. These versions contain all features of the business oriented Professional edition (networking, tools, etc.) with the multimedia optimizations as well, and adds heavy encryption for the disks, Windows Server 2008 extended networking utilities, location-aware printing spoolers and on-demand support for additional language packs.

I expect that most people will opt for Home Premium and Professional versions; the Enterprise/Ultimate versions are going to cost, well- a premium… for tools that a precious few people are going to opt for.

Speaking of costing a premium, most people are going to talk a long look at the long price tag attached to these versions of Windows, which accounts for the second “no” part of my answer. Although there are no official releases concerning cost at this time, certain interviews with industry insiders lament that Pro and Ultimate versions might run in the $300-$350 range, which is quite a cut for most people.

Finally, the “maybe”: one thing everything can agree upon is that Seven does not abuse early hardware nearly as much as Vista has. I don’t recommend that one shoud expect crisp loadtimes when installed on an old i486 IBM, but the engineers at MS have spent a lot of time lightening the system resource overhead to optimize compatibility with lower end notebook and netbook applications. This should deliver more than adequate response across the Seven releases (just don’t expect to get Windows Aero glass UI features on that first gen Asus EePC, ummkay?)

For the most part, Windows 7 will be a welcome upgrade for most purposes, as long as one can handle the likely cost of installation.