“After the rave reviews and positive word of mouth, how is the OS faring?”
by Andrea Dunning
Windows 7 is Microsoft’s new flagship operating system. Eagerly anticipated, it was released to rave reviews and positive word of mouth. The question now is, nine months in, how is it doing? Is the public still in love? Is upgrading worth it?
Figure 1. Operating system market share, June 2010.
As of June, the number of people running Windows 7 has nearly caught up to those running Windows Vista. Windows XP is still the most prevalent operating system, but Windows 7 has already nibbled away a fifth of Vista’s pre-launch market share in the nine months it has been out, and the two are now neck in neck for second place. Upgrading from Vista to Windows 7 is much less of a hassle than upgrading from XP, as you’re able to keep files, settings and programs. Not that a clean install isn’t a good thing from time to time, but backing up all your files to some sort of external media and tracking down those program installation discs takes some effort. This may have some effect on the number of people upgrading from XP to Windows 7. See Operating System Market Share (www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10) at Netmarketshare.com.
Windows 7 continues to get good reviews from places such as CNET (reviews.cnet.com/windows/microsoft-windows-7-professional/4505-3672_7-33704140.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody#reviewPage1), but at the same time the question remains: Will this be enough to drag people away from XP? Considering the age of Windows XP, the fact that there is any sort of discussion about whether or not to upgrade reveals something about the way computers are advancing. I remember how momentous it was going from Windows 3.1 to 98. No longer having to run Windows from DOS, and the colors! The programs were only six years apart, versus the eight for XP and Windows 7. The same impressive leaps in technology just aren’t visible. Windows 7 won’t transform your PC experience, but instead incrementally improves existing functionality and adds in a few new tricks.
Figure 2. Pinning programs to the taskbar.
Your average day-to-day computing isn’t going to change much, though a number of operations have been improved. File sharing, particularly streaming media, is much better integrated into the file structure. Searching for files is also way easier. Being able to pin programs to the taskbar for easy access is very convenient, and also an easy way to set up a computer for computer-impaired relatives. With all the important programs pinned to the taskbar, my mother never has to search the Start menu or her cluttered desktop for the icon she’s looking for (or call me when she can’t locate it). Everything is right there, always in sight.
Windows 7 also incorporates a number of new features in the Aero desktop (windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/features/aero), many of which will need to be taught to users. Aero Peek lets you see the desktop and quickly open and close all windows, but for a lot of users it is just going to be a feature that unexpectedly turns all your windows transparent every once in a while. Aero Shake, clearing off all windows but the one you shake with the mouse, is a total gimmick. Other features are more useful. If you want to look at two windows at the same time, you no longer have to carefully adjust the window size in order to make them both fit. Now you can just drag them to either side of the screen, which automatically re-sizes them to take up half the view space.
My favorite new feature in Windows 7 is being able to automatically back up your files to a network computer. Unfortunately, I have Windows 7 Home Premium edition, which does not include that feature. Touchscreen support is also a nice bonus—if you’re lucky enough to have a touchscreen.
Businesses seem to be a little tentative about making the upgrade to Windows 7. According to calculations done by Woody Leonhard over at InfoWorld, the majority of Windows 7 licenses purchased have been for private use (www.infoworld.com/t/windows/do-the-math-175-million-copies-windows-7-isnt-impressive-707?source=footer). The majority of businesses run Windows XP, and that looks like it will still be the case in the near future. I can see two big factors working against Windows 7. The first would be Windows 7-incompatible business software. Companies running older versions of software, or even custom-designed programs, may run into compatibility issues. Most companies don’t upgrade their software annually, so these issues are going to be hindering Windows 7 for years to come. Sure, you could run the program on a computer with Windows 7 through Windows XP mode, but when XP still works, why?
Figure 3. Older versions of business software have compatibility issues with Windows 7.
The second issue is, of course, money. Upgrading operating systems costs money. You’ve got to buy the OS, possibly buy new hardware, and buy newer versions of any programs that are incompatible with the new OS. That doesn’t even take into account the human costs. Someone has to upgrade all those computers and, if the jump in technology is large enough, employees may need training. Businesses tend to avoid unnecessary expenses at the best of times, and with the economy being the way it is, upgrading before it is strictly necessary looks even less appealing. Undoubtedly, as much as their IT departments would like to upgrade, a lot of companies will probably put it off until 2014, when support ends for Windows XP (support.microsoft.com/lifecycle/?LN=en-gb&C2=1173).
Windows 7 is a good operating system; it has some useful new features and a nice design aesthetic. Upgrading to Windows 7 when you upgrade your computer is definitely a good decision. The OS has all sorts of little conveniences to make computing smoother and more instinctual. However, for the average user, Windows 7 isn’t drastically different from the previous versions of Windows. If you’re not upgrading your computer, I’d side with the millions of XP and Vista users who remain with their old operating systems. The new OS is nice, but there really isn’t any rush.
Andrea Dunning is a digital cartographer, AutoCAD drafter, World of Warcraft player extraordinaire and blogger with a Master’s in Education. She also serves as tech support for her less computer-savvy family members.
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