Notes on Windows 7

 

This week, on May 5, Microsoft will release Windows 7 RC 1 (Release Candidate) to the general public; the beta of Windows 7 was released last year, and Seven is due to be officially launched around October 23, 2009. In the last six months, Microsoft has illustrated the features in Windows 7 that will appeal greatly to consumers but hasn’t elaborated on the benefits Seven might have for business. So, I wanted to take a few minutes to run down the known pros and cons for the small business.

Pros for Enterprise – companies with hundreds or thousands of users:

1. WOD Compliance. Like Vista, Seven was developed under Microsoft’s Windows Optimized Desktop compliance initiative. Like Vista, Enterprise users can download a number of tools from the Windows Depolyment Optimization Pack for Software Assurance. 

2. New GPO’s (Group Policy Objects). New GPO’s will be released to centrally control how the desktop behaves for end-users and specifically govern aspects of the new Power Shell released in Seven.

3. Power Shell. One of the cooler features released to Windows Server 2008 was Power Shell – a terminal for Windows to control all aspects/functions through a command-line interface rather than the GUI (Graphic User Interface). Seven ships with Power Shell – administrators will like this because it reduces their TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) – example: Microsoft promises you’ll be able to script multiple GPO insertion with Power Shell, which would be faster than using the Group Policy editor on each box. 

4. WIM and WDS (Windows Imaging Format and Windows Deployment Services). Like Vista, you can build and multicast images of the o/s to workstations and, now, dynamically introduce drivers into the image. This means that it’s easier to update the centralized image of Seven and distribute it (in multicast, that’s new) to workstations. Also, Seven allows for integration of up to 36 separate language packs in a single Windows master image, reducing TCO.

5. AppLocker. This is a whitelist function for Enterprise Server that can push “accepted applications” to the client desktop and reinforce through group policy. You can specify applications by filename, version, and publisher, and control what applications can or cannot be used by the user community. 

6. Bitlocker and BitLocker to Go. Bitlocker can be enforced through GPO in Seven, allowing administrators to set encryption rules for hard disks centrally from the server, and in Seven, removable media can be encrypted/password protected using IEEE 1667-compliant USB drives. GPO-enforced policies on removable media can also be pushed to client configurations.

7. More Extensive Firewall GPO’s. Enterprise managers can introduce more settings into the Windows Firewall and allow for exceptions easier than in previous versions.

8. VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure). Microsoft promises “better peformance” and “optimization” for virtual deployments of Seven under VDI – better graphics, local audio.

9. Virtual Machines. Microsoft is granting the licensing rights in Enterprise to run up to four fully-licensed Windows VM’s. 

 

Pros for the Small Business – companies with less than one hundred users:

1. BranchCache. Combined with Windows Server 2008 R2, files can be securely replicated from a server share to a Windows Seven workstation using SSL, and, servers can receive dynamic file updates from upstream servers. To me, this sounds like folder synchronization on steroids using HTTP/SSL.

2. DirectAccess. Also requiring Windows Server 2008 R2, this is a new way for users to interact securely with a private network without a VPN. Connections are made securely and “silently”, without user intervention, so that the user is connected with the office.  Some of the implementation requirements on this are a little weird and there are no official white papers yet, but the 2008 Server, for example, is expected to require two NIC’s and IPV6 and running a Certificate Authority for PKE (Public Key Encryption).  Based on its complexity, I’m almost tempted to put DirectAccess into the “Enterprise” category above, but there’s some real advantages for the small shop here, even if implementation sounds highly technical. 

3. Reduced UAC. The User Account Controls (UAC) features that bug Vista users when they want to do something that could affect system state have been eased a bit, so Seven will “complain” less than Vista. 

4. WindowsXP Virtual Machine. The Pro and Ultimate versions of Seven will ship with a complete XP license in a Windows VirtualPC – a virtual machine. This means, for example, that you would have a fully-licensed copy of WindowsXP running virtually on the Windows 7 system to run applications in a safe, backwards compatible space. This is good and bad (see below).

5. Apps in XP Mode. Similar to Parallel’s on Mac, you can also run XP applications in a backwards compatable mode in real-time, similar to the older compatability settings for legacy 16bit apps on Windows95.

6. Mobile Computing. Enhancements have been introduced that reduce battery power on laptops; BranchCache and DirectAccess allow for a completely different model in staying connected to the office place.

7. Windows Touch. With enabled hardware, you’ll be able to interact with the machine using touch-based interfaces… personally, I can’t see a significant embrace of this technology in a workplace on a PC; maybe a different kind of computer, like, a table-top for conferences and discussions, but I hope I’m never required to put my finger on my monitor and drag something. I just got used to moving my hands away from the keyboard to the mouse (grin) – plus, I can’t wait to see people’s dirty, grubby monitors, much like their keyboards today. Ich. 

Concerns for All Involved:

1. Licensing and Editions. Microsoft continues to confuse by maintaining at least six different editions of Windows (Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate). Wikipedia has a great article on the feature comparison between them. Ultimately, this will end up confounding end-users and administrators on what versions are precisely needed to take advantage of specific features. Interesting to note: Starter edition will only be able to run 3 applications at once.

2. Upgrade Path. Microsoft announced a few weeks ago (and I talked about it here as well) that there will be no upgrade path for WindowsXP to Windows 7. This will force a higher TCO on the small business who’ll have to wipe out their hard drive and install Windows 7 clean, reinstalling all of their data and applications. There is, naturally, an upgrade path for Vista, and Microsoft actively encourages small business to embrace Vista today (to work out the compatibility kinks) prior to adopting Seven.  So like I was saying, you can either pay now or pay later – migrating from XP to Windows 7 will be a chore – it may be useful just to look at a Windows 7 upgrade in terms of gradual natural attrition just like Vista: adopt the new o/s when buying new PC’s and keep XP on legacy (older) equipment. Retrofitting older machines to Windows 7 will reflect a high TCO.

3. Danger in VM. I do foresee a danger in hosting a fully-licensed copy of Windows XP in a VM with Vista. This means that TCO is doubled – we have to make sure that Vista is patched and maintained as well as the XP VM so, in essence, for every one PC you’re really supporting two PC’s. Further, how you can lock down the capabilities of the XP license in the VM is really at question – I mean, what’s preventing some user from running risky applications inside the VM – stuff we’d usually lock down using o/s controls? What if the VM isn’t running our standard for anti-virus and anti-phishing? Hard to say. Slashdot echoed this concern last week. What I foresee here is higher administration costs and a security risk: our centralized control and management of machines becomes meaningless if users can work-around our restrictions inside of a virtual PC, and then interact with our network. I look forward to reading more from Microsoft and others on how they are going to handle this risk.

4. User Interface. Windows 7′s interface is a lot like Vista’s and that may be a problem. Many of my small business customers were put off by its interface. We’ll see how widely it gets adopted/accepted.

I guess I’m skeptical. As I’ve mentioned here before, I think next year will be more about options and less about upgrades – consumers have more choice today than Microsoft. Sixty-three percent of all microcomputer o/s’ run on WindowsXP. When comparing the costs of moving from XP to Seven, Macs, Linux, staying put and doing nothing… all becomes more affordable. Although there are certain benefits to the Enterprise that look pretty appealing (with a complementary server investment), the business case for small business still looks pretty tough to me: full-price licensing, high TCO in the migration, new compatible device and software acquisition costs, long-term TCO in maintaining the o/s and it’s VirtualPC/WindowsXP components.  I’m not sure if I can rationalize its benefits yet to small business, and frankly, Microsoft hasn’t provided a compelling case in their own literature. 

What do you guys think? Upgrade? Wait? Enthusastically embrace? Find alternatives? What’re your thoughts?

R

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