Like many good things, some must come to an end. And so it is with XP that has officially been retired as of this month to make a clear path for its successor Windows 7.
Since Windows 7’s launch in July 2009 all new PCs came with Windows 7; however fans of XP were still able to exercise the downgrade to XP that was made available on all new Windows 7 PCs. As of this month, all major vendors (Dell, HP, etc) have stopped making this XP downgrade available.
But don’t fret XP fans, we have been using Windows 7 in our office since its launch 15 months ago and we are raving fans, as are our clients who have adopted it. Overall, Windows 7 is a faster and more stable operating system than XP. It also has a lot of features to make your workday more efficient and is a major workhorse for those computer users who are demand a lot from their computer.
But…
As robust as Windows 7 is, unfortunately their 3rd party vendors (printers, scanners) are still catching up to make Windows 7 drivers available. This means that some changes need to happen in your network to support Windows 7. This is nothing new when it comes to releasing new operating systems - we saw the same issues when XP came out.
What does all this mean for your business? You'll need to keep in mind that all new computers you purchase will be Windows 7 and you cannot downgrade to XP. For this reason if it’s your first Windows 7 PC on the network, realize that extra time is needed for your computer support provider to determine compatibility issues with software applications you use and peripheral devices and scanners. Depending on how complex your technology needs are in your business, your computer support provider will need additional time to deploy Windows 7 to integrate it with everything else in your network.
Joe Stoll is President and founder of Technical Action Group (TAG) in Toronto, Canada. TAG are productivity specialists who simplify technology for small and medium-sized businesses and make it a power tool that increases their businesses productivity, profitability and operations instead of a constant problem that costs them time and money. Learn more insider tips on how to use technology to make your business more productive and profitable. www.TechnicalActionGroup.com/Hot-News/