This question must be asked and answered by IT Directors that have been delaying the upgrade from Windows XP to Windows Vista. Is Windows 7 better than Windows Vista for current XP users? I would suggest that the answer is yes – assuming the final product is as good as the current candidates suggest it will be.
The one feature that I feel is most appealing is XP mode. The press is covering XP mode as if it is a band-aid and something that is less than beneficial in the long run (see NetworkWorld, June 1, 2009); however, I see it as an essential component of the new operating system. The biggest complaints about Vista have been in two categories: performance and compatibility. Windows 7 seems to be performing better than Vista on like hardware, but I’m not going into that in this post. In my opinion, Windows 7 is better than Windows Vista even if it performs the same. The XP mode makes it worth it.
I know that some will say you could use either Terminal Services on Windows 2003 servers or Virtual PC on Vista to run XP apps that are not otherwise compatible; however, those solutions are much more costly (Terminal Services) or confusing to the users (Virtual PC). With XP mode the applications run as apparent local applications but are indeed running in an instance of Windows XP. Yes, there will be more work for the IT group, but the goal is seamless operations for the user. (The "more work" for IT would be in updating and maintaining the "XP instance" as well as the Windows 7 installation.)
I think it’s worth it. For me, yes I’d rather use Virtual PC or VMware Workstation, but for my users I’d much rather them have the simpler tool that XP mode will provide. Time will tell, but I am one techie who likes the looks of Windows 7 so far.
