Don't skip Vista, says Microsoft
Businesses planning to skip the upgrade to Vista and go straight to Windows 7 will potentially cause more trouble for themselves than they plan.
This is according to Gavriella Schuster, a member of Microsoft’s Windows Product Management team, who issued the warning on her blog yesterday.
Schuster said that while Microsoft was aware that many users were electing to skip Vista, there were many potential and unseen pitfalls in doing this.
Chief among these, she said, was that by leapfrogging Vista, users may find themselves with applications that are discontinued on XP but still not available for Windows 7.
Schuster also warned that Windows 7 may not be ready for some time yet. Although there is a beta version already in release, a date for a final release has not been set. Most observers have predicted a late 2009 release but this could well stretch to an unspecified date in 2010. Microsoft has previously said that it would release Windows 7 "when it was ready", a hint that the operating system may not actually be on the brink of release.
Despite the attempt to ramp up Vista sales, Schuster’s warnings may fall on deaf ears, however. There is nothing preventing users upgrading XP to Windows 7, so long as the applications they require are supported. And with a Beta version of Windows 7 already in circulation, many users will be convinced a final release can’t be too far behind.
Vista and Windows 7 – give your views
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