Are you ready for Windows 7?
by David Booth
in it-support,
July 7, 2009
Image courtesy of www.slipperybrick.com
Unless you have been hiding under a rock you would know that Microsoft has set an official release date of Windows 7 on October 22. Other websites are even saying that a Release to Manufacture (RTM) could be ready as early as July 13.
PicNet has been a keen follower of Windows 7 having tested some of the betas and release candidates of this new OS which is basically Windows Vista with all the bug fixes! In a nutshell its what Vista should have been. During the testing process we have found this new OS to be less resource hungry resulting in a better user experience. Its also quick to install, runs faster and has a smaller footprint.
Microsoft is going to want to push this OS hard to businesses and consumers by making Release Candidates free to the general public and already marketing the prices and versions of the OS at a cheaper price than the Vista equivalents.
As a Microsoft Gold Partner PicNet will gain access to the final version of Windows 7 when it goes to RTM. I know I will be keen to roadtest the final version of this OS after holding back on rolling out Vista across the company like many other companies out there.
Microsoft has announced that mainstream support of Windows XP ended on April 14th 2009 and now is entering the “extended support” phase, however security fixes will continue to be issued through Windows Update until April 8th 2014.