Compare Windows 7 to Vista to XP
Cedric Green
IT109 MS-Desktop operating System

Instructor: Luis A. Barreiros

Comparing Windows 7 to Vista to XP

Microsoft Windows XP the XP is short for experience it was released to the world on October 25, 2001. When it was released it was the most highly anticipated operating system on the market. It was introduced in two styles Windows XP Home and Windows XP Professional. (1) “Most of the feature where the same in home and professional, but the difference was that Windows XP Professional edition incorporated various feature to support communications, mobility, as well as remote help and support. Some of the support feature for home was easy setup, auto-configuration connections options.” It came standard with Internet Explorer 6 as the default web browser. (1)Bill Gates said, “Simply put, Windows XP is the best operating System Microsoft has ever built.” (2) “It was built on the momentum of the internet and digital media with the improvements that increase productivity and provide both business and home users with an easy to use exciting PC experience.” Windows XP Professional could either be installed on a single pc or throughout a worldwide network because it was built on a common code base. Do to this may it more cost effective for the business users to own. (3) “It was the key operating system for Microsoft to Vista was released in 2006. One of XP’s remarkable claims to fame is that when buying a new computer with either Vista or Windows 7, many users have elected to revert or downgrade to Windows XP. Microsoft made this option available only as result of significant pressure from customers. In July of 2010, Microsoft extends to further the rights of PC buyers to revert to XP. But Microsoft has retained other time limits. Manufactures can include XP on new netbook computers only until October 2010. And Microsoft is scheduled to cease security and other updates on XP in 2014. Today, a remarkable nine years after its release, XP remains the World’s most popular Operating System, with more than 50% of the market.
(4) “Windows Vista is a flashier, 3-D, feature-rich and more secure version of Windows XP, which is still a solid and robust performer. (Witness the fact that Microsoft still offers XP on new machines, despite the fact that Vista is widely available.) The upgrades do make it an attractive alternative to XP, but one troubling fact remains, which is that Microsoft has said it will only support Windows Vista for five years (now almost down to four years). Another thing to think about is that Vista, like any new software, has its flaws. Many of these have been corrected, but like any new product, tweaking—especially for security reasons—is an ongoing process. XP, on the other hand, has been updated and tweaked for years, thus offering a bit more stability. Given these facts, individual businesses and larger corporate enterprises will have to provide their own risk-benefit analyses when considering purchasing new machines with Vista native. Vista definitely has its advantages, but these must be weighed against possible drawbacks.” (5) “Microsoft started working on Vista in May 2001 (at that time, it was known as "Long-horn"). The intention was for it to be released in 2003 as an intermediate step between Windows XP and Windows Vienna—the operating system Microsoft intended to be the big new release. Over time, Vista absorbed the advanced features that were meant for Vienna. In addition, security was being beefed up in the wake of issues found in Windows XP. By August 2004, Microsoft decided to scrap their original game plan and decided to turn "Longhorn" into its next server product. By fall 2005, Vista was out for beta testing, and by early 2006, it seemed the overall product was ready, but it needed a few more tweaks to get it just right. Microsoft's original intention was to release Vista in time for Christmas 2006. Much to the chagrin of computer makers, who were hoping for Vista to help drive the sales of new PCs during the holiday season, the release was pushed back until January 2007.”

|Component |[pic]Windows Vista–Capable PC |[pic]Windows Vista Premium PC |
|[pic]Processor |[pic]800 MHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor; |[pic]1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor; Intel |
| |Intel Core/Pentium/Celeron, AMD, Via, or compatible |Core/Pentium/Celeron, AMD, Via, or compatible |
|[pic]Memory |[pic]512 MB |[pic]1 GB |
|[pic]Disk space |[pic]20 GB hard drive with 15 GB of free disk space |[pic]40 GB hard drive with 15 GB free disk space |
|[pic]Graphics |[pic]DirectX 9 video card capable of SVGA at 800 × 600 |[pic]DirectX 9 video card that supports a WDDM driver, Pixel |
| |resolution (Windows Display Driver Model support |Shader 2.0 in hardware, and 32 bits per pixel; graphics card |
| |recommended) |memory dependent on desired resolution |

(6)“Windows Vista was the next generation of Microsoft's client operating system to be released. Since the majority of the IT market did not switch to Windows Vista, it's important to understand some basics about Windows Vista. Windows 7 has many of the same features and attributes. There were many new features and changes from Windows XP to Windows Vista. Let's take a look at some of these new features: Improved Desktop Windows Vista introduced a new Desktop called Windows Aero. Windows Aero offers Vista Home Premium, Vista Business, Vista Ultimate, and Vista Enterprise users a more stable Desktop. Computers running Windows Aero require a compatible graphics adapter. Windows 7 also includes the Windows Aero Desktop. Windows Sidebar Windows Vista introduced a new vertical bar that's displayed on the side of the Desktop; this bar is called the Windows Sidebar. The Windows Sidebar has mini-applications running within the bar called gadgets. Windows 7 has removed the Windows Sidebar, but you can still add gadgets to the Windows 7 Desktop.Gadgets are mini-applications that allow you to easily perform and see some useful functions such as a clock, a slide show, an Internet feed, a calendar, weather reports, a stocks feed, currency exchange, and so forth. Many downloadable gadgets are available from Microsoft's website. Gadgets will be explained in detail in Desktop”. Parental Controls Parental Controls allows the computer administrator (or parent) to configure how other family members will be able to use the computer system. You can set which sites specific users can visit and what times a specific user can use the computer system. Parental Controls have been improved and are still included on Windows 7.Improved Windows Firewall Firewalls are hardware devices or software applications that either restrict or allow users and data from an internal or external source. Microsoft Vista included an improved version of the software-based firewall.” (6) “Windows 7 has improved on many of the problems that were plaguing Windows Vista. Windows 7 has a much faster boot time and shutdown compared to Windows Vista. It is also easier to install and configure. The Windows 7 operating system functions are also faster than its previous counterparts. Opening, moving, extracting, compressing, and installing files and folders are more efficient than previous versions of Microsoft's client operating systems. Let's take a look at some of the improvements and features of Windows 7. This is just an overview of some of its benefits. Windows 7 Taskbar In the previous versions of Windows, you had a Quick Launch bar on the left side and on the right side you could see which programs were loaded and running. The Quick Launch bar has been replaced by the Windows 7 Taskbar and Jump List. Windows Taskbar allows users to quickly access the programs they use the most. One advantage to having the applications on the Windows 7 Taskbar is you have fewer icons on the Desktop, thus allowing for a more manageable desktop environment.Jump Lists Jump Lists are a new feature to the Windows lineup. They allow you to quickly access files that you have been working on. For example, if you have the Microsoft Word icon in the taskbar, you can right-click it and it will show you all the recent files that you have been working with. Another advantage to using Jump Lists is that you can preset certain applications, like Windows Media Player. For Internet Explorer, you could view all the recent websites that you have visited. New Preview Pane Windows XP and Windows Vista have a Preview pane, but Windows 7 has improved on the Preview pane by allowing you to view text files, music files, pictures files, HTML files, and videos. Another new advantage is if you have installed Microsoft Office and Adobe Acrobat Reader, you also have the ability to view Office and PDF files. Windows Touch This is one of the coolest features included with Windows 7. Windows Touch allows you to control the operating system and its applications by using a touchscreen. For example, you can open a picture and then move it around, make it larger or smaller, or place it anywhere on the Desktop all with the touch of your fingers on the screen. Windows XP Mode Microsoft realizes that many organizations are running Windows XP. Also, many of these same organizations run older applications on these Windows XP systems. This is where Windows XP Mode comes into play. Windows XP Mode gives an organization that chooses to upgrade to Windows 7 the ability to run older Windows XP applications on their new system. To run Windows XP Mode, Windows 7 uses virtualized technology to run a virtual XP operating system to allow for the use of the older applications.Simpler Home Networking Windows 7 networking has been made easier with the improvement of HomeGroups. HomeGroups are an easy way to set up a network using Windows 7. Windows 7 searches for your home network, and if one is found, it connects after you enter the HomeGroup password. If a home network is not found, a networking wizard automatically creates a password for the HomeGroup. This password lets you connect all of your other computers to the same network. The password can be changed any time after the installation of Windows 7. Device Stage Device Stage is new to the Windows operating systems family. Device Stage enables you to connect a compatible device to your PC and a picture of the device appears. Device Stage allows you to easily share files between devices and computers. Before Windows 7 Device Stage, when you connected a device to the PC, you might see multiple devices shown. For example, when you add a multifunction printer (printer, scanner, and copier) the device might be added as three separate devices. Device Stage helps resolve this issue. Another feature of the Device Stage is that the device vendors can customize the icons for the Device Stage, so that the same multifunction printer can have the ability to order ink from the Device Stage.” In conclusion, Windows XP is still one the most widely use operating system in the world. While Vista never really caught on because of the lack of drivers made for device use by the OS. Windows 7 fix many of the problems in Vista. Due to the bad press of Windows Vista it is taking 7 a lot long to take off then expected.

References

1. A