Its apparent that Vista did not deliver. Look at the figures for OS market share and Windows XP is consistently leading Vista by a huge margin. 

It just highlights how poor Vista’s consumer performance was. In short, Vista was a dismal flop in more ways than one.

Microsoft is fully aware of this fact and Windows 7 is its answer – to put it very bluntly - Microsoft has just come out with an OS that hopes to kill both Vista and XP in the long run.

What caused Vista’s Downfall ?

Vista’s greatest hurdle was its issue of incompatibility and this eventually led to its downfall.  

Although, a lot had improved since it first came out, the perception it had created in the minds of PC users is what had hurt the operating system as a whole.  Vista with its Aero features and entirely different graphical user interfaces had failed in luring the consumers but instead made them cling more to XP’s stability.

A lot of these users’ most common feedback, especially those from the business sector, was unmet expectations.

So what is Windows 7’s plan of attack to claim Victory?

Microsoft has learned its lesson.

• Instead of spending too much time promoting on the OS, it has spent considerable time garnering user feedback and opinions.

They listened to users on how to improve and rise up from the messy situation that Vista had created. This shows how serious Microsoft are about undoing the damage Vista wrought  and coming up with a more usable and enhanced OS.   

Windows 7’s plan of action is  -

1. Refine the OS and deliver where Vista has fallen short i.e. a more revised and simplified user interface, a more restrained User Account Control, an inbuilt VM for running old apps, a more accelerated User State Migration Tool, iTunes support with Windows Media Player and a whole lot more.

The Windows 7’s Selling Points blog post will talk about these features in detail.

Vista’s demise has been a crucial lesson for Microsoft - from its ashes (and the disappointment) has risen (hopefully, with fingers crossed) a long-overdue successor. 

Windows 7 is worthy enough for XP users to let go of the OS that has served them well through the years. Windows 7 carries a lot of potential and some killer features that can erase the painful memories users have of Vista.

Technorati Tags: windows 7 vs vista

To Upgrade Vista to 7

1. Decide what version of Windows 7 you want to upgrade to.
2. Buy a cheaper ‘upgrade’ license for Windows 7 (since you’re already running Vista).
3. Start the installation procedure, and choose Upgrade when you are presented with the choice.
4. The installation takes 25 minutes to an hour. 
5. Your version of Windows Vista will now be upgraded to Windows 7 and all your files and software programs should work.  
6. For the exact steps the install goes through take a look at this Installing Windows 7 Beta post. Start from Step 6.

In actuality, some programs might not be compatible with windows 7. What I found with the Windows 7 Beta is that most programs worked – I did have problems with Skype, and then upgraded to the Skype 4.0 Beta and it worked perfectly.

Free Windows Vista to Windows 7 Upgrade Program – Post July 1st, 2009 Vista Purchases eligible for Free Upgrade to Windows 7

If you buy a PC with Vista pre-installed after July 1st, then (provided your OEM has allowed for this option), you can upgrade for free to Windows 7. Some of these details are courtesy TechArp -

1. It must be a new PC that is pre-installed with an eligible Windows Vista Operating System (OS), during the program eligibility window (OEM’s can make this shorter than the July 1st to Unknown Date window).
2. The PC must have a valid Certificate of Authenticity (COA) attached.
3. There are only 3 Vista versions eligible, and only three upgrade paths –

1. Windows Vista® Home Premium -> Windows® 7 Home Premium
2. Windows Vista® Business -> Windows® 7 Professional
3. Windows Vista® Ultimate -> Windows® 7 Ultimate
4. Home Basic, Vista Starter Edition, and Windows XP (all editions) are not eligible.

The program is basically designed to make sure that people don’t stop buying Vista in anticipation of Windows 7. Good luck with that!

Doing a Fresh Install of Windows 7 if you have Windows Vista

If you do a clean install in a drive that already has Vista installed, then all the files in the Windows folder are moved to a folder called Windows.Old. All your applications and files are there, and –

1. You can access your files as you like.
2. To run programs you had installed in Vista under 7, you will have to reinstall them under 7.
3. If you want to dual boot your Computer i.e. choose to run either 7 or Vista every time you start your computer, then you must install Windows 7 to a different drive than Vista.

Please leave a comment if you have questions. Hopefully this post helps you do a smooth upgrade from Vista to Windows 7.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6_MdAqT-lE[/youtube]

I really liked the preview – the startbar in Windows7 rocks. Also, this is a beta build of Windows7 so it’s hard to say what final performance will be – hopefully it’s better. Note that this is not necessarily a very unbiased video as the user is proWindows (as am I) – so please keep that in mind.

Technorati Tags: windows 7 benchmark, windows 7 vs vista