… I'm typing this on a netbook running one of the RTM escrow builds of Windows 7. I certainly could have installed Windows XP on this machine instead of its newer sibling. However, the hassle of patching, tuning, and hunting down drivers just to get XP to boot on this newfangled hardware would have made the effort difficult to justify. By contrast, Windows 7 simply worked from the get-go. With few exceptions, its default configuration was entirely functional.
I have a feeling this same scene is playing out across the IT landscape. Shops weary of patching and tweaking XP to get it working reliably on modern hardware are looking at Windows 7 and thinking it might just be the version that finally lures them away from their legacy environment. After all, there's something to be said for convenience. And when it comes to seamlessly embracing new hardware technologies, Windows 7 is far better positioned than creaky old XP.
Windows 7
Windows 7 so great Microsoft is giving it away for free — RoughlyDrafted Magazine – Daniel Eran Dilger:
What a difference two and a half years makes: the Windows Enthusiast pundits who were all once shaking their fists at the less than enthusiastic reviews for Vista are now themselves characterizing Vista as fetid garbage with a dismissive contempt far in excess of what the initial reviewers ever suggested.
What was once the bee’s knees is now an arthritic old cow, they say in unison, because Windows 7 is so much better than Vista. One would expect as much, given that hardware has had two years to grow into the increased overhead demanded by Vista/Widows 7 over Windows XP, and that Microsoft has had another two years to fix many of the issues related to Vista/Windows 7 code base.