The IT Nerd

Microsoft has been telling the world that if hardware supports Windows Vista, it will support Windows 7. Computer Reseller News has put that to the test, and the results don’t seem to support what Microsoft has been saying:

But after a series of tests on older and newer hardware, a number of noteworthy issues emerged: Microsoft’s statement that if hardware works with Windows Vista it will work with Windows 7 appears to be, at best, misleading; hardware that is older, but not near the end of most business life cycles, could be impossible to upgrade; and the addition of an extra step in the upgrade process does add complexity and more time not needed in previous upgrade cycles.

That basically means that if you want Windows 7, you’re best path as it stands is to buy a new box with Windows 7 on it. The article does note that Windows 7 is still in beta and things can improve between now and the time it ships, but this is not a good sign. Why? Ignoring the fact that the upgrade path as it stands right now requires more time and effort than in the past which will be a drain on IT resoursces, there is the fact that companies who are likely suffering with this rather horrific economy are not going to go out and buy new boxes just to run Windows 7.

Microsoft needs to step up and deal with this now. Otherwise Windows 7 could end up being the “son of Vista.”

This entry was posted on February 25, 2009 at 12:03 pm and is filed under Commentary with tags Microsoft, Windows 7. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.