One of my engineers has started using Windows 7 in earnest. He started by putting it on his Laptop, which was in need of an OS reinstall. He liked it so much that he then put it onto his main PC. My policy here is that I’m quite happy for the guys to install whatever they want – providing it does not disupt their producivity.
Which brings me to Windows 7′s XP Compatibility Mode.
I get really wound up by a lot of application developers. I’ve had rows with them before over Vista compatibility of their applications. Probably 9 time out of 10 the application can be made compatible with Vista by simply obeying the rules, rules that have been around for years. The ‘problem’ with Vista is that due to public demand the rules have been tightened, and are now enforced. Microsoft have a program for certifying applications for Windows (you may have seen the “Designed for Windows” badges) which is not too arduous to get your software certified by. If you do that one of the things that your software will do is write files in the correct places. Or rather not write files where it shouldn’t. Vista’s enhanced security puts a stop to writing in some of the wrong places, and thus a stop to badly written applications.
So when I see features such as the XP Compatability mode I look at it as a mixed blessing.
What it does is give you a fully licence virtual copy of Windows XP that can run on top of your Windows 7 installation. Any XP only apps then get installed on that, which runs seperatley and unaware Windows 7. You can then copy the application icon to your Windows 7 desktop and enjoy the loveliness of Windows 7, but still have the application available running in Windows XP.
The mixed blessing for me is that although it will knock down a lot of barriers to using Windows 7, it also gives developers an excuse to stick their head in the sand and not update their application. It also means that end users will be able to keep that unsupported old application going for that bit longer – increasing the risk of depending on unsupported software to run your business.
If you are using an application that you are not sure about Windows 7 compatibilty, now is the time to badger the developer. They should be actively testing and converting code right now, and maybe running Windows 7 in house already in anticipation.
Windows XP Compatibilty mode will be included in Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate.
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