Let’s talk about Win7
Are you ready for Win7? Should you upgrade? Windows 7, which hit stores last month (October 2007), is shaping up to be the best version of Microsoft’s widely used operating system yet.
But nothing’s perfect. Windows 7, like any product, has flaws — some of them are big ones. Wired.com has laid out a list of good reasons to upgrade to Windows 7 (http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/08/windows7-seven-reasons/), including an enhanced user interface, improved compatibility with newer hardware and a seamless entertainment experience.
Now let’s look at the other side of the story: The reasons you might consider skipping this upgrade altogether.
Upgrading From Windows XP Requires a Clean Install
Oops, if you’re still a Windows XP user, upgrading isn’t as easy as inserting a disc and running the installation. Instead, you must back up all your applications and all your files, reformat your hard drive and perform a clean install of Windows 7. After getting Windows 7 up and running, you must manually reinstall all your software and rebuild your file library.
Vista users, on the other hand, can upgrade to Windows 7 without a clean install.
The Upgrade Is Expensive
Windows 7 isn’t cheap. Pricing varies based on the version you choose, but you’ll be paying at least $120 to upgrade from XP or Vista. And if you don’t already own a copy of a Windows OS, you must pay the full price of at least $200 for Windows 7.
It’ll Cost You Time, Too
If you’re in business and use your computer all the time, then upgrading will be very time consuming since you want to be so very careful with all your data. Plus, you must ensure that all the software you use in your business will work in Win7.
Security Isn’t Automatically Better
Win7 has been reviewed by many writers and magazines. Many think that Windows 7 won’t change anything from a security perspective. Everything that you’re doing now with Win XP or Vista will be the same things you need to do with Win7! Since Windows 7 is still Windows, you’re again the primary target of attack for hackers and virus coders. Therefore, it’s up to you to protect yourself with anti-virus software and running update patches to keep the OS as secure as possible. (Compare this experience to Mac OS X Leopard, for which many don’t even run anti-virus software, because it’s more secure out-of-the-box compared to Windows.) Though Windows 7 does deliver some security enhancements, such as data encryption for thumb drives, and a feature for IT administrators to control which applications can run on a corporate network, these are not general security improvements that change much for the overall user experience.
Built-In Support for Egregious Hardware-Based DRM
Paranoid XP users won’t wish to upgrade to Windows 7 for the same reason they didn’t switch to Vista: Like Vista, Windows 7 includes support for digital rights management technologies that could potentially regulate how you use your media. Though some alarmists have called Microsoft’s DRM “draconian,” the implemented DRM hasn’t proved to bear significant consequences yet.
Ars Technica provides a thorough explanation (http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/02/oh-the-humanity-windows-7s-draconian-drm.ars) of the DRM in question. In short, the technologies called Protected Video Path (PVP) and Protected User Mode Audio (PUMA) provide secure playback of video and audio media, respectively. “Little or no media actually demands the use of the protected paths, so on most users’ systems, Windows never invokes them,” wrote Ars Technica’s Peter Bright. “Play back unprotected media on a Vista machine, and the DRM subsystems simply don’t get used.”
Still, there are going to be people cringing in fear that one day PUMA and PVP will screw them over. And for that reason they’ll be sticking with XP — or a totally open OS like Linux.
Snow Leopard Is Almost Here
Apple’s next-generation Snow Leopard arrived in September — a month before Windows 7. Apple is promising its OS will deliver on many of the improvements Microsoft highlights in Windows 7 — 64-bit addressing, improved efficiency with task management on multiple processors, and others. It’s undetermined which OS is better, but from my own perspective as a long-time Mac user, I will say I already prefer the current Mac OS X Leopard to Windows 7. If you’re looking (or willing) to switch to a radically different OS, then OS X Snow Leopard is an option to consider before committing to Windows 7.
Conclusion
Do the cons outweigh the pros? That probably depends on how committed you already are to Windows. If you’re currently using Windows Vista, the upgrade to Windows 7 is a no-brainer. Most of those currently using Windows XP should also upgrade, to take advantage of Windows 7’s usability, enhanced device support, and other features. But if you’re currently using a Linux distribution or a version of Mac OS X, Windows 7 isn’t going to offer much to get you to switch.
