You are giving a presentation at the Simsbury Public Library on Dec. 16 called, “Windows 7 – Look Before You Leap.” Are you concerned about Windows 7? Should businesses be leery of using it as an operating system?
Yes, if only because it is new. Most people in my field recommend waiting until a “Service Pack” is released. A Service Pack is a combined patch effort by the software manufacturer to fix all the woes that came with the first iteration of the software. So I ask why should businesses spend time and money on new software now before the kinks are worked out when waiting really costs them nothing and they hopefully get a cleaner system when they do make the leap.
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How does this changeover affect the average business user? Will support for Windows XP rapidly evaporate? Is Windows going to compel a changeover?
Not much. Windows XP, the dominant operating system still for business users, will remain in use for some time. By Microsoft’s schedule Windows XP support ends in 2014, but that is less important as businesses either have internal IT support or consultants like myself that rarely work with Microsoft directly for operating system related issues. I think in the long term Microsoft has to compel a changeover or they could be in trouble as Vista had a mere 19% adoption rate which means that Microsoft has not sold a new operating system on a mass scale in nearly 10 years.
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One of things you will be discussing is the right and wrong profile users to switch. What types of users should switch and who should stay put with their current operating system?
Although that is a broad question, in general, if a user currently has XP or Vista and no current pressing computing issues, stay put for now. Users that use custom designed software or out of the mainstream software (i.e. Goldmine, Act!, etc.) should wait for at least Service Pack 1 on Windows 7 before making a move and consult with their software/hardware vendors before doing so. Users that have Vista and do not like it and just use MS Office, email, and Internet may want to move to Windows 7 for a better, faster experience.
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You also allude to the fact that there are things that won’t work with Windows 7 and it’s surprising what doesn’t. What’s on the list of incompatible things?
For example, main stream firewalls like Zone Alarm conflict with Windows 7. Cisco’s common platform VPN (Virtual Private Networking) client. Firefox will not work in the 64 bit version of Windows 7, and Act! 2009 to name a few. There is even a larger list of untested software, for example Dentrix, one of the largest dental office management systems
(which does not support Vista). The list goes on.
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Why do operating systems need to be constantly updated? Can’t patches fix problems or is it a need to keep programmers employed?
Oh gosh, you may have uncorked a secret. The fact is I know people with Windows 98 and for what they do (email and Internet) it is fine and faster than XP. I know attorneys who have 10-12 year old HP printers that are perfectly adequate to the tasks they are performing. I have a manufacturing client who’s entire install base is Windows 2000, no issues. So, the answer is no. In fact, the question should be rephrased: Do companies that create software need that software to be constantly updated, repackaged, and re-sold to survive? That answer is yes. If this sounds cynical, it is nothing more than the acknowledgment that businesses that create software that only sell it once generally die and those that figure out a model for sustainability (i.e., upgrades/maintenance) generally survive. As for Windows 7, of the dozens of articles/reviews I read, including the venerable Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal, (those who tested it, used it), not one had a bad review. Red flag! Then I think, gee, that is the same thing they said about Vista. Further, Microsoft had 8,000 beta testers, and no issues? Second point, most all of the “new” features in Windows 7 are already available in XP and Vista either by performing the function a bit differently or free 3rd party software that tends to be better anyway. So, to your question, why bother?
I’ll be honest and say if you are on XP, I see very little to compel me to upgrade to Windows 7. With that said, watch for adoption among corporations to be very slow. They will probably wait for Service Pack 2, which generally occurs 12-18 months after a release, and then it takes corporate America 18-36 months to switch. Think 3-5 years from now.
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There’s a Macintosh commercial that pokes fun at the different promises made by Windows over the years. How accurate is that jibe at the foibles of the Windows’ operating systems?
Very, but hey, Apple just had an operating system release that deletes a user’s data, no fun either. Is Apple more stable than Windows? Yes. Does it offer as many options as Windows does for software? No. For all the rave about the iPod, it has many drawbacks, not the least of which is a soldered on battery and locking you in to use iTunes software. Keep in mind one thing above all, with technology, as with any other things in life, there is no such thing as solutions, only tradeoffs.
