Say Hello to Windows 7

Microsoft, despite not releasing the price and ship date of the new upcoming Windows 7 (codenamed Vienna), has described in detail the different versions of the new operating system. Windows Vista was criticized for its performance. Compared to Windows XP, Vista was a resource hog, arguably had too much security, and it had problems after problems with hardware and software compatibility. Windows 7 plans to change all that, once again releasing an operating system that will have the same impact that XP did. I believe that Microsoft plans to diffuse the increasing popularity of MAC computers and Linux (which I also use), by releasing this totally revamped system.

What are the new versions?
Windows 7 Starter, Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, and Windows 7 Ultimate. Windows 7 Home Basic will also be sold, but only to emerging markets.

So what versions will I able to buy in a store?
Consumers will only be able to buy either Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 7 Professional at retail—and deliberately so; Microsoft wants to try and limit consumer confusion by only putting the two versions in front of consumers. Windows 7 Ultimate will be included on both discs, but will require a user to go through the upgrade process, either online or offline, to access them.

Except for Windows 7 Starter, each version will be available in either a 32-bit or 64-bit version.

It should also be noted that Microsoft sees the progression as a good-better-best scenario: Home Basic is better than Starter, and Home Premium is better than Home Basic. Windows 7 Professional is positioned as a step up from Home Premium, and the Enterprise and Ultimate editions are the premium Windows 7 offerings.

Let's talk upgrades. I'm a Vista user; can I upgrade directly to Windows 7?
Not without buying a Windows 7 disc and installing. But once you've purchased and installed Windows 7, you can upgrade to different versions using what's called Windows Anytime Upgrade, or WAU. In this case, the "base" versions are Home Premium and Professional, or the Starter version that will come preinstalled on lower-end computers. We'll talk about Starter later. It appears that Home Premium Users will be guided to upgrade to the Ultimate version, and that Business users will be encouraged to upgrade to the Professional Edition.

In each case, you'll have to pay to unlock each additional operating system: in other words, to jump from Starter to Home Premium to Ultimate will require two paid upgrades. Whether Microsoft will offer any discounts for those upgrades is unknown.

Can XP users upgrade to Windows 7? Can Vista users perform an in-place upgrade?
Yes, and yes. Customers can purchase upgrade media and an upgrade license to move from Windows XP to Windows 7, according to Microsoft; however, they will need to do a clean installation of Windows 7, including backing up data, installing Windows 7, and re-installing the programs, and then the backed-up data.

For PCs running Windows Vista, consumers have the option of an in-place upgrade of Windows 7, keeping the data and programs intact, or performing a clean install of Windows 7. The upgrade maintains all your settings, installed programs, files, and customizations, although Microsoft recommends that you back up your data.

How will the upgrade process work?
With Windows 7 WAU, there are two processes by which a customer can upgrade from one edition of Windows 7 to a higher edition of Windows 7:

• Online Purchase & Upgrade: Consumers will use the WAU Tool to go online, shop, learn, and purchase a product key for the upgrade. This key will be delivered automatically to the customer's machine via the Internet. Once the key is received, the WAU Tool will initiate the upgrade process.
• Offline Purchase & Upgrade: Consumers will have the opportunity to purchase what's known as a Media-Less Key (MLK) at retail. When they return to their PC, the customer will use the same WAU Tool to manually enter the Product Key printed on the MLK.

Windows 7 appears to be the real deal. It is only a matter of time to see wether this new operating system flunks, or if Microsoft once again revolutionizes home computing. For more information, go here.