Windows 7 pricing is potentially an obstacle to Windows 7 adoption for some users, though in just about every other aspect the operating system is beating Vista, according to a Dell marketing executive.
"If there's one thing that may influence adoption, make things slower or cause customers to pause, it's that generally the ASPs (average selling price) of the operating systems are higher than they were for Vista and XP," Darrel Ward, director of product management for Dell's business client product group, said in a phone interview, referring to the various versions of the Windows 7 operating system that are expected to appear.
Ward continued. "In tough economic times, I think it's naive to believe that you can increase your prices on average and then still see a stronger swell than if you held prices flat or even lowered them. I can tell you that the licensing tiers at retail are more expensive than they were for Vista."
In the business market, Windows 7 Professional is expected to be more expensive than Windows Vista Business, the version that Professional is replacing, he said.
Some schools and smaller businesses may not be early adopters due to price. "Schools and government agencies may not be able to afford (the additional cost). Some of the smaller businesses may not be able to enjoy the software as soon as they'd like," Ward said.
Pricing aside, Ward said momentum behind Windows 7 is big compared with Vista. "When Vista came out we didn't have the motivation to do the types of services that we're doing now. We didn't have the clear customer demand for such services," he said. "We do have a visible number of customers, large and small, who are actually waiting for Windows 7 and who have already put plans in place to target the transition to Windows 7, they're asking Dell for help. That demand and this opportunity is stronger than it has been in the past," Ward said.
And Dell is already getting its service organization in gear for Windows 7. "Our professional service organization is beginning to structure service offerings specifically designed to help customers migrate their images, their applications, and their management infrastructure, security capabilities and so forth."
More than half of Dell's business customers are still using Windows XP and these customers will eventually have to upgrade, according to Ward. "XP cannot live forever," he said.
To help users migrate from XP to Windows 7, Dell supports the upcoming operating system's XP mode. "It's one of the things that Microsoft is doing that we think is helpful. Putting an instance of XP virtual machine in the higher end SKUs (models). This is another alternative for compatibility. We'll fully support that in our product and consulting services." he said.
Driver readiness is good, with some exceptions. "Driver readiness--it looks pretty healthy compared to the past. (There are) some things that haven't been worked out. The WHQL (Windows Hardware Quality Lab) drivers for AMT VPRO is a little behind," he said, referring to Intel's Active Management Technology, which allows remote access to PCs for security, maintenance, and management.
Generally, however, Windows 7 is much further along than Vista was at this stage, he said. "But if you look at the ecosystem enabling for Windows 7, it is much further along that it was at the same time for Vista," he said.
Updated at 6:25 p.m. PDT with comments from Hewlett-Packard.
Longstanding latent demand for PCs packing a new version of Windows is set to be unleashed, following Microsoft's nod Monday for a holiday release of Windows 7.
Laptop shipments should get a boost from Windows 7.
(Credit: Hewlett-Packard)"There's a lot of pent up demand for Windows, particularly in corporate, which by and large passed on Vista," said Roger Kay, president of Endpoint Technologies, a market research firm. "Dell and Lenovo should be relieved."
PC sales ground to a halt in the fourth quarter of 2008, after several years of consistent 15 percent quarterly growth, according to an IDC report issued earlier this year.
Windows 7 could change that. "The holiday timing will, of course, benefit consumer-oriented (PC makers) like HP and Acer," Kay said.
Windows 7 may also slow the migration to Apple's operating system. "Defections to Mac may slow. So, Apple won't be entirely happy," Kay said.
And how big is Windows 7 for hardware makers? "Win7 will have the fastest adoption curve of any new rev since Windows 95...I think you'll see adoption earlier than usual in commercial because the code is so stable. The old adage about waiting for SP1 (Service Pack 1) may not be as relevant this time around," he said.
Intel--whose processors will power the lion's share of Windows 7 PCs--is upbeat. "Our early testing is showing improved battery life for consumer notebooks, so Windows 7 should continue to improve the consumer experience," said Jeff McCrea, vice president of Intel's Consumer PC group, in response to an e-mail query. McCrea added that Intel's processors and chipsets work well with the initial beta version of Windows 7.
Hewlett-Packard is working closely with Microsoft, looking toward Windows 7 upcoming release. "We are working closely with (Microsoft) as they develop Windows 7 to make sure our customers can take full advantage of the latest features," HP spokeswoman Anne Finnie said Monday.
And PC graphics chip suppliers like Nvidia have been finessing their Windows 7 drivers in anticipation of a release of the operating system. "Windows 7 users now have the absolute latest in performance and support," said Dwight Diercks, vice president of software engineering at Nvidia, in a statement, referring to various technologies Nvidia is now supporting in Windows 7.
Select processors from Advanced Micro Devices do not support Windows 7 "XP mode" though, like Intel, the vast majority of shipping processors do support XP mode.
Microsoft describes XP mode on its Web site as follows: "As part of the upcoming Windows 7 Release Candidate milestone, Microsoft will release a beta version of Windows XP Mode, which allows users of Windows 7 Professional and above to launch many older Windows XP productivity applications directly from their Windows 7 desktop. The Windows XP Mode stand-alone feature is specifically designed to help small businesses that are using Windows XP applications move to Windows 7. For larger businesses, Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) MED-V 2.0 builds on top of Windows Virtual PC and provides centralized management of Windows XP Mode. MED-V 2.0 will be available in beta within 90 days of general availability of Windows 7."
"All CPUs AMD is currently shipping, except Sempron, include AMD-V and therefore support XP mode," an AMD spokeswoman said Wednesday.
AMD also cited processors that are not necessarily shipping currently. "With the exceptions of Sempron-branded processors and Turion K8 Rev E processors, all notebook processors shipped by AMD include AMD-V and therefore support Windows 7 XP mode," AMD said. "With the exceptions of Sempron-branded processors and pre-Rev F Athlon branded processors, all of the desktop processors shipped by AMD include AMD-V and therefore support Windows 7 in XP mode."
And Opteron processors: "Also, all AMD Opteron processors shipped by AMD from Rev F forward include AMD-V," according to AMD.
A quick search on Best Buy's Web site turned up very-low-end systems that use the Sempron processor. For example, a $329.99 Acer desktop is currently being sold with a Sempron processor. And on Hewlett-Packard's Web site, an HP Compaq dx2450 Microtower (starting at $329), for example, can be configured with a number of different Sempron processors.
Dell has sold laptops, such as the Latitude D531, with AMD Mobile Sempron processors.
An earlier Nanotech: The Circuits Blog post cited Intel processors that do not support XP mode. Intel spokesman Nick Knupffer asserts this won't be a big issue. "Having VT (Virtualization Technology) on these consumer laptops is not going to be an issue--because the consumer versions of Windows 7 (Starter, Home Basic, and Home Premium) do not include Windows XP Mode," he writes.
Updated on May 6 at 6:35 p.m. PDT with additional comments from Intel.
A small brouhaha is erupting over Windows 7 and Intel processors. The hubbub is centered on which Intel processors will not support "XP mode" in Windows 7 and, by extension, which PCs will not support XP mode. Retail laptops may be one of the most prominent segments affected.
Sony Vaio laptops sold at retail stores are among a number of models from a variety of PC makers that have processors that don't support Windows 7 XP mode
(Credit: Best Buy)What is XP Mode? Here's how Ina Fried of CNET News describes it: "XP mode consists of two things, the Windows Virtual PC engine and a licensed copy of Windows XP Service Pack 3 as a packaged virtual machine. Although neither piece will be included in the Windows 7 box, XP Mode will be a free download for those who have a license to Windows 7 Professional, Windows 7 Enterprise, or Windows 7 Ultimate."
XP Mode (XPM) is aimed at businesses that have Windows XP-specific applications that they need to run on Windows 7. XPM allows XP applications to run seamlessly on Windows 7, according to Microsoft. The catch: Intel processors must have Virtualization Technology, or "Intel VT," in order to run XPM. (I won't cover Advanced Micro Devices processors here but will address AMD in a later post.)
Ed Bott's Microsoft Report says that "some of the most popular PCs on the market today...won't be able to use the vaunted Windows XP mode in Windows 7."
Bott lists Intel desktop and mobile processors that will and will not support XP Mode here and here, respectively.
Intel mobile processors may be the most problematic in supporting XP mode; not because of the raw numbers--most newer Intel mobile processors do, in fact, support Intel Virtualization Technology--but because a disproportionate number of those that do not have VT (and therefore don't support XP mode) are laptops sold at retail. (And, undoubtedly, some small businesses purchase laptops at retail.)
In the Core 2 mobile camp, the P7350/7450, the T5200/5250/5270/5300/5450/5470 series, and the T6400/6570 do not support VT, according to Bott's blog. And this can be confirmed on Intel's Web site.
A quick glance at Best Buy shows a somewhat lengthy list of laptop SKUs (models) with, for instance, the T6400 (non-VT) processor. The list includes Dell Studio, Toshiba Satellite, HP Pavilion, Sony Vaio, Asus, and Gateway laptops.
In the $600 to $899 laptop range, I found about 30 different SKUs with T6400 processors, though it should be noted that some of these SKUs are simply models with slightly different configurations.
And a quick search on CNET Shopper turns up a number of consumer models with the T5270. The point? To state the obvious, consumers will have to verify which processor their laptop has.
In an Intel blog, Nick Knupffer asserts this won't be a big issue. "Having VT on these consumer laptops is not going to be an issue--because the consumer versions of Windows 7 (Starter, Home Basic, and Home Premium) do not include Windows XP Mode," he writes.
And Intel, in a statement, had this to say. "Intel introduced its Virtualization Technology in 2005 and has shipped over 100 Million chips with the feature. Windows XP Mode is targeted for business customers. It is available on the mid to higher end versions of Windows 7 and is supported in hardware by many Intel processors."
Intel continued: "Intel vPro technology PCs are required to have an Intel VT capable CPU and Intel VT capable BIOS. They are the best platforms for testing and deploying Microsoft Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode."
ATI graphics drivers will now be delivered in one tidy package for both Windows Vista and Windows 7.
Advanced Micro Devices said Wednesday that it has released Catalyst 9.3, a set of new graphics drivers that constitute a "unified" driver installation package, with support for both Windows Vista and Windows 7.
One of the biggest changes for Windows 7 is support for the Windows Display Driver Model 1.1, an update from WDDM 1.0 used in Vista, according to Andrew Dodd, a software product manager at ATI. "(Catalyst 9.3) is one single binary and if you install the driver under Windows 7, it automatically supports all the WDDM 1.1 features. If you install it under Windows Vista, it supports the WDDM 1.0 features," he said Wednesday.
Dodd said ATI is trying to get out in front of the official Windows 7 release. "We're trying to show the world where we are with our Windows 7 driver development. From now on, every single monthly Catalyst driver that comes out will include Windows 7 support (in addition to Vista)," he said. Catalyst 9.3 can also be used with the Windows 7 beta, Dodd said.
So, what kind of improvements will users see? "With Vista, if you had really high resolution and you had a number of windows open, you'd get to the point where you'd just run out of memory. In Windows 7, this will become much more efficient as far as memory usage and you'll never run into that situation. You can have as many windows as you like open at any resolution," he said.
Other features that are seeing changes are the Windows desktop and the Aero interface. Under Vista, DirectX 9 was required. "For Windows 7, in order to have the WDDM 1.1 driver certified (by Microsoft), you have to have DirectX 10 hardware," according to Dodd. "The (Windows) desktop was actually designed using the DirectX 10.1 API (application programming interface)."
The ATI Radeon 3000 and 4000 series of graphics chips have DirectX 10.1 support, Dodd said. The Radeon 2000 series will also be "fully operable under Windows 7," he said, though Radeon 2000 won't support DirectX 10.1. One of the biggest advantages of having 10.1 hardware is its readiness for DirectX 11, which will be an extension of 10.1, according to Dodd.
Gamers will also see performance improvements, Dodd said. "In our internal testing we're actually, in a number of cases, seeing that games are running faster under Windows 7 versus Windows Vista."
In a news release Wednesday, ATI also listed other improvements, including support for the Direct2D API introduced in Windows 7, giving third-party applications the ability to improve ClearType text rendering and hardware-accelerated vector graphics.
While much of the media is tripping over itself to mark the Second Coming of Windows (aka the Windows 7 beta), I am recalling the First Install of Windows Vista.
Although I have been running Vista without major incident since January of 2008, the initial switch in August of 2007 consigned me immediately to my own private Vista hell. Let's hope that Microsoft makes the upgrade to Windows 7 easier this time.
In a personal blog post written in August 2007, I wrote: "As more people experience the fiasco that is Windows Vista, I thought I would pile on. With trepidation, I upgraded to Windows Vista. My instincts were dead-on."
The upgrade from Windows XP went far beyond the typical upgrade woes: "I can handle the usual driver problems. But the last straw was a paid call to Microsoft that lasted four hours. I know that it lasted four hours because I remember being jolted out of the stupor of my support call purgatory by the phrase, "Thank you for being so patient over the last four hours." (For about two of the four hours, the Microsoft support person was remotely controlling my computer, and I was not present for much of that time.)"
Ordinarily, calling Microsoft for paid support is unthinkable, but at that time, I had little choice. "I had wasted so much time trying to configure Vista to work with some level of stability on my network that I just couldn't afford the additional time to figure it out on my own," I wrote. "Just so you don't think I'm an idiot, the Microsoft 'expert' had just as much trouble trying to solve my myriad problems as I did. In short, he was stumped."
In trying to think of ways to describe Vista at that time, I came up with my own code name for the program: Molasses. "The computer still hung in various situations and, to appropriate a phrase used by someone else, was like molasses. Also, as pointed out by fellow sufferers, going into standby is a crap shoot: the odds are 50-50 that you'll see the Windows desktop again. Vista seems almost ingenious at finding ways to hang, besides being just slow (I won't go into my docking-station woes)."
Reboots were excruciatingly slow. "Installing the constant parade of updates, which usually require a reboot, from various software providers can, alone, be excruciating, but Vista pushes this beyond the pain threshold. On my corporate Hewlett-Packard client (a presumably stable platform used in Fortune 500 companies across the United States), I can sometimes reboot Vista without incident, but more often than not, it goes into a 10-minute reboot holding pattern (with absolutely no indication from Vista about what it's doing)."
I had no idea what Vista was doing: "It may actually be using processor cycles to do something necessary, but you would never know it."
Granted, there were a few lucky people out there who upgraded with few problems. But I would submit that these few lucky souls used Vista on a relatively simple, straightforward workstation. Anything more complex--e.g. an IIS web server and a wireless network with a windows 2003 file server--and things could take on the consistency of molasses.
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