The OS on Steroids

Its the much awaited launch in the Windows world; and it looks like the
launch of Windows 7 was just a technicality for Microsoft, as it has kept the
user interest at a high decibel over the last one year, right from Beta to RC.
So over the last year, Windows 7 was very much alive in the developer community,
and even before OS was formally launched globally on October 22, proof points of
Windows 7 have started emerging. What makes Windows 7 pathbreaking is the
clutter-free GUI, that is totally different from Microsofts previous OS
versions. The OS is more oriented towards multi-taking, and hence users can
seamlessly manage multiple tasks, yet navigate without any serious issues.

While in the past, Microsofts operating systems have enforced big hardware
changes for it to work effectively; but in the case of Windows 7, Microsoft did
not enforce any big Windows 7 configuration, and kept it to the current industry
standard. Moreover, any PC running Vista, can run Windows 7. This is a strategic
move by Microsoft, and users with older hardware can also migrate to Windows 7.
The OS is available in six versions, ranging from basic to ultimate versions,
and also the Windows 7 enterprise edition.

The Key Differentiators

While Windows 7 improves upon Vista look and feel in terms of GUI, the
impact of the OS will be felt by users upon its stability and speed. Microsoft
has embedded a lot of self-healing features, that makes for proactive
auto-recovery. Right from recovering a crashed browser tab to a document file,
chances of users losing data is brought down to the minimum. Users will see
subtle, but visible changes like for instance, features like Aero Peek, Aero
Snap, and Aero Shake allowing them to preview open files; and what it means is
that one can see it, without really clicking on that file, from the task bar.

One of the key areas in which Windows 7 scores ahead, compared to Vista or XP
is speed. Its lightening fast; and this is the first significant impact any user
will see, and surely get impressed. Windows 7 also makes managing the range of
networked and peripheral devices, a lot easier. For instance, attaching
removable storage media like flash drives, or connecting a digital camera, etc,
happens so fast. Microsoft has clearly given closer attention to these small,
but significant aspects that a consumer will like. Meanwhile, discovering
devices on a network and installing is also simplified. For instance, adding a
network printer is done in minutes.

Clearly Windows 7 is the OS that plugs the pain areas of Microsofts previous
OS, in terms of security, bugs, hang issues, etc. Moreover, users who have
deployed Windows 7, vouch that the OS is far easier to deploy. S Francis Rajan,
head of ICT, Bangalore International Airport says, Overall we have found the
deployment process for Windows 7 to be faster and smoother, than its previous
operating systems. Installation took approximately 40% lesser time than the
previous deployment; and we plan to upgrade all our computers to Windows 7 by
December 2009.

Early Adopters

According to the sources in Microsoft, already there are over 1,000
enterprises across India that have deployed Windows 7, and they have started
getting significant cost savings and productivity benefits. These include
Infosys, Maruti, Bangalore International Airport, L&T ECC, among others. Mahesh
Manchi, CIO, Mahindra Holidays says, Windows 7 increases my notebook
performance significantly, and is far more reliable. Simple tasks, such as the
time to boot and hibernate have been cut down significantly. This is brilliant,
as the overall user experience has enhanced. We definitely see a reason to
upgrade to Windows 7, as it is not too resource hungry as well.

The early adopters will act as proof points for agility of the OS. But if we
look at the large enterprise scenario, how much mass migration will happen to
Windows 7 from XP or Vista is still debatable right now; and its too early to
see clearly the migration roadmap. If we look at large organizations with PC
fleet sizes ranging from 25K and above, in these instances analysts aver that
only new purchase decisions would be more aligned towards Windows 7, rather than
upgradation.

Shrikanth G

shrikanthg@cybermedia.co.in