In the past 9 years Microsoft has rolled out over 4 different operating systems for the desktop, and with each one expecting businesses and home users to move to the latest and greatest version.

• February 2000 – Windows 2000
• September 2000 – Windows ME (we all remember this flop)
• October 2001 – Windows XP
• January 2007 – Windows Vista (windows ME again?)
• October 2009 – Windows 7

(Dates from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Windows)

 Each release is supposed to be better, faster, more stable, and offer more features than its predecessor.  As many IT Admins, CIOs, Managers, and even most home users have come to realize…they do not always live up to the hype.   Our most recent painful memory is Windows Vista.  It looked cool and sounded great; the hype was high, then the install took place, and its fall far from grace was swift.  Boot times were bad, resources usage was enormous, and networking was the pits.

 Even tho Vista was further in the hole than California’s budget Microsoft started the push, threatening major vendors that Windows XP was to be cut off and they had to use Windows Vista, this caused a major uproar across the industry.  Companies were getting ready to stop purchasing new PCs unless Windows XP was available or they might even move to Open Source.  Dell even made mention of selling PCs with an Open Source Desktop software if they had to. The battle raged on, and after several months Microsoft quietly slipped away and started to ramp up production on Windows 7.

 Windows 7… could it be the OS we were all hoping for after XP?  It has the glossy veneer look; it’s quick, and very stable.  I have been using it since its beta and are currently running the RTM, set to be available in stores Oct 22^nd of 2009.  So, if you’re like me, you wonder what is better?

 Some Positives:

• The most obvious is the clear and transparent user interface: “Aero.”  While Aero did exist in Vista, Windows 7 seems to make it sharper, smoother, and operate with a “snap” to it…like real speed.  The ability to make all windows transparent except for the one you are focusing on, which allows you to find what you are looking for with ease, works beautifully.    
• Multi-Monitor Support, this was probably the single most aggravating change I stumbled across in Windows Vista.  Windows Vista only supported a single video card driver at any one time, meaning if you (like me) were using  multiple monitors but were using 2 different brand video cards to power them, it would not work in Vista.   This forced us to purchase a new video card…even when there was nothing wrong with the originals, to match one of the other two we already had installed!  All of this to make use of 3+ monitors.  Windows 7 brought back the support of multi-video cards within the same system with the use of WDDM 1.1 (WDDM 1.1 has many increased uses and features that are beyond the scope of this post).  This allows Windows 7 to run and manage multiple video drivers at the same time, bringing a sigh of relief to the multi-monitor addicts like me, that have been using them successfully on a Windows XP system.
•  The “Ribbon” is in full force.  Anyone who has used or even laid eyes on Office 2007 will notice the drastic change in the menu system / tool bar, now dubbed the Ribbon.  The Ribbon while it was a complete (some argue, unnecessary), change has found its way into just about every new Microsoft product.  Windows 7 has some old programs that got a little face lift thanks to the Ribbon: MS Paint and WordPad.
•  Speed!  Is it faster?  Isn’t that the the real question? The answer: YES!  Windows Vista pushed boot times to 30 seconds or more, making “I will get it done in a few mins” take more like 10 mins.  Microsoft vowed to get the boot time to below 15 seconds on most systems, and I must agree that they did it!  My system, a a Dell Lattitude D630 laptop with 4 gig of RAM, boots in 10 seconds.   One of the biggest reasons that Windows runs faster is the way is handles graphics.  In short, Microsoft was able to transfer more of the renderings to the graphics card to lessen the burden on the CPU.  Read more in-depth, here. 
• Pricing underwent a little revamp, if you compare Windows Vista Release Date Pricing to Windows 7 Release Date Pricing, you’ll notice that it is a little cheaper to upgrade to or purchase Windows 7 than it would have to been to move to Windows Vista.  Read a full comparison, here. 

Some Negatives:

• Layout.  There are a few areas where Microsoft still needs to spruce up the layout; the most noticeable is the control panel.  The control panel has a very simple layout and it is easy to find everything but it lacks in the “kinda cool” thought area that most of the rest of Windows 7 possesses.
•  Internet Explorer 8 is pre-installed / built in, this is a killer for a lot of businesses.  Several businesses, and even home users, have chosen not install IE 8 because of the compatibility problems with many sites and applications needed within their organization.  If your usage of the Internet relies heavy on Internet Explorer, I recommend considering the installation IE 8 on a Windows XP machine first to test for compatibility problems, BEFORE moving to Windows 7.
•  The System requirements are basically the same for Windows 7 as Windows Vista.  Initial boot (just to the desktop) still runs up to approximately 800MB or 900MB of memory, and the high CPU usage is about the same in Windows 7.  Your computer will still perform faster and more be stable running Windows 7 than Windows Vista, but if you are only meeting the minimum requirements, consider an upgrade before moving forward.

At the end of the day, Windows 7 is a huge improvement from Windows ME..err..Vista, and it has MANY new features that we did not cover in this post.   With many businesses tightening budgets and with no compelling reason to move forward,  I am not sure how quickly the world will take to Windows 7; only time will tell…and…it might even live up to the hype.