TechXpose

Recently it was announced by Microsoft that Windows 7 would introduce a new feature called “XP Mode” dubbed XPM for short.  However, from what I gather from around the internet, it looks like it’s going to fail. Essentially what Microsoft is going to do, is to allow a user to install a full version of XP on the host machine inside of Microsoft’s Virtual PC technology.  The update hasn’t been a part of the latest beta builds, but Microsoft has said that they will release it to developers in the coming week and to the public starting on May 5. It will not be a feature that is included out of the box, but will be available as an update from the Microsoft website and available to users of Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate for FREE which includes a fully licensed version of XP.

The main point that Microsoft is trying to address is to try and sway the naysayers of Vista (whom have remained XP loyal) to switch over the newest version of Windows to be released sometime in 2009. XPM will allow users to launch a virtual pc with Windows XP running inside of it so that they can run legacy software and allow them to be flexible in their deployments. The virtual OS will be transparent and running XP software will look like it is being run inside the host system, with all of the applications being registered in the host machines start menu and program files.

Preview of XPM running inside Windows 7

However, I’m very disappointed in this new feature. I would like to see that compatibility built into the kernel of Windows 7. Vista attempted to do something similair to this by giving users the option to run specifically chosen programs in ‘Compatibility mode” for previous Windows OS.  XPM should be built into 7 (for all versions) and should not require the use of a virtual pc inside of a host pc. It’s 2009, are you serious? Users expect that the software they paid money for, will work on future versions of Windows or else they will just stay with their current operating systems (unless they are on Vista, like me, and would be glad to update ASAP). Who wants to run a fully bloated version of Windows XP inside a virtaul machine on their host pc? We want our machines to be fast. Yes most consumer desktops run with quad cores and up to 8gb of ram standard. But, that doesn’t mean that everything is going to run blazingly fast with a virtual machine running in addition to all of the other daily applications being used. And besides that point, this is a feature aimed at business users. Typically, businesses run older workstation hardware because they don’t need the latest and greatest technology. So running a virtual pc inside of a Pentium 4 workstation that is trying to manage Windows 7 as well, isn’t going to be a viable option. Oops, kind of a missed point there Microsoft.

Additionally, users have to manage and update a full version of Windows XP. That means that the IT department now would have to deal with the screening of XP updates and 7 updates to make sure that it wouldn’t break some crucial part of their setups. Microsoft should really look into JEOS or “Just Enough Operating System” for those of you who are not familiar. JEOS is essentially an OS with none of the bloat and is essentially the barebones of an OS with only those components that are NEEDED in order for the OS to perform certain tasks. JEOS has all of the default applications stripped out except for a select few (see eXperience on google for an example, albeit illegal example). From personal experience, I don’t use up to 70% of my OS. I don’t use the programs that are built in simply because I don’t like them. That means that there is a whole lot of wasted space, ram, system resources and it adds clutter inside my PC. Where most PC’s are connected the internet constantly, it would make sense the Microsoft would be able to offer a JEOS version of Windows XP and/or Windows 7 and allow for downloads from their Servers. This would make IT people, in particular, those businesses running a Windows shop, extremely happy as they would have much less work to do in streamlining their installs. This could save time, money, increase host system security (thus making the network safer) and lower the reccomended hardware requirments for the OS. The most important part of what I just said is that an XP JEOS would be perfect to be installed right into Windows 7. Period.