As Windows 7 RC hits the net, Microsoft’s top exec in charge of the new OS tells NBR that netbooks will be a crucial market - but to a degree, his company’s netbook fate is now out of its hands.

The Release Candidate version of Windows 7 went to developers today, and will be available for public download from May 5 via microsoft.com/windows7 (the RC version will work for an unusually long period - until June 1, 2010).

The final version is still officially slated for release to PC manufacturers in January next year (PC maker Acer says October 23), but the early release of the RC or “dress rehearsal” version clearly indicates Microsoft is positioning itself to go early. Partly the move is in response to HP and others testing the netbook version of Google’s Android OS, raising the alarming prospect of the world’s number one PC maker releasing a Windows-free laptop.

Two new features appear in the RC version: a virtual Windows XP mode, for running older software, and media streaming, for sharing content with any other internet-connected Windows 7 PC - so you could, say, sit at work and access a video on your home PC.

Most commentators agree that the super-hot netbook market will be one of the most crucial markets for the new OS. For some Windows 7’s very fate hangs on how it performs on one of these cloud-friendly ultra-ultraportables.

Fate out of Microsoft’s hands
On a call from the US, Microsoft corporate vice president, Windows product management Mike Nash agrees that “there’s a tremendous amount of interest in Windows on netbooks”.

“One of the key things [with Windows 7] is that our mainstream OS will now run on a netbook.”

The current version of Windows, Vista, will not run on a netbook. That means netbooks today - including two bought by Mr Nash for personal use - run on the outré Windows XP or various flavours of Linux.

Mr Nash (pictured) recommends that, once his new OS is released, customers buy a netbook running either the Home Premium or Ultimate edition of Windows 7 (NBR testing of the beta version has found Windows 7 Ultimate does indeed run smoothly on a netbook).

But here’s the rub.

Microsoft will also release a Starter edition of Windows 7 which will be cheaper (relatively speaking, no pricing is finalised) but only let users run three applications at once.

It will be up to PC makers which flavour of Windows 7 they sell with a notebook.

That being the case, it’s likely that many will opt for the cheaper Starter edition in this price-driven segment.

Controversially, Windows 7 Starter only lets you have three applications open at once - and Instant Messenger, IE and Outlook count as apps. So, if, say your web browser, word processor and Excel are running, and want to open your chat programme or send an email, you’ll have to choose an app to close first. "Most" antivirus software will be counted as a service rather than one of the three apps, Mr Nash says.

It’s supremely annoying, and functionally pointless given that, as Mr Nash says, the full-blooded version of Windows 7 will run on what he describes as “the classic netbook with 1GB of memory and an Atom processor”.

Mr Nash says customers could upgrade from Starter to Home Premium or Ultimate “within minutes” using Microsoft’s Windows Anytime upgrade service, with unlocks features.

NBR’s take: Microsoft could save itself a lot of grief by simply releasing one edition of Windows 7, as Apple does with MacOS. Certainly, that would mean PC makers could not choose to bundle Windows 7 Starter, giving Android a ready opening.

Mr Nash is relaxed about the Android threat. The very first netbook came with Linux, he points out. But once Microsoft gave Windows XP a stay of execution, allowing PC makers to bundle it with netbooks, it soon gained a majority of the market.

Netbook customers prefer Windows XP for its familiarity, and its wider ecosystem of compatible hardware and software, says Mr Nash, and the same will hold true for Windows 7.

Business chops?
Mr Nash says the Windows 7 feature he misses the most as he hops back and forwards with Vista is the new OS’s jumbo preview panes on its ToolBar. Second on his list: jump lift, and the ability to copy and snap elements to the desktop.

NBR agrees. In usability terms, there’s a lot to like in Windows 7 (none the least, for Firefox and Chrome fans, the ability to turn off IE).

But will business take to the new OS?

Mr Nash says the Virtual XP mode added to Windows 7 RC will lure those still running Windows XP because they fear Vista won’t support their older or custom-written software.

While Software Assurance (corporate license) pricing has yet to be set - and, in fact, Mr Nash can not even say if it will be higher, the same or lower than Vista - Windows 7 will include an XP license for running the older OS in virtual mode.

Mr Nash says Windows 7 also has better remote networking, easier image tools for mass network deployment, and takes aim at some mobile computing bugbears, such as when a notebook gets confused after being suspended at home then resumed at work.

Plays better with others, right out of the box
Another key reason the new OS is ready for business: with Vista, Microsoft fundamentally reworked Windows’ architecture as it strove for more stability, security and speed.

These aims which were, in NBR’s mind achieved. Vista largely ran into flack for political reasons, and being overpriced.

There was one very valid customer objection at Vista’s launch, however: driver issues meant it often didn’t play well with other software or hardware.

Mr Nash says more than 10,000 companies have contributed to a Windows 7 readiness programme designed to identify any compatibility issue at launch.

Moreover, Windows 7 does not get the same extreme makeover as Vista; most of its architecture is carried over.

Almost universally, reviewers agree. Windows 7 is ready for lift-off.

So why wait until January?

NZ businesses dip their toes
“The RC milestone is an important step on the path to the final delivery of Windows 7 and indicates the operating system is ready for IT pros and partners to evaluate. Now is the time for local businesses to start putting the operating system through its paces,” says Microsoft New Zealand's Windows product manager Ben Green.

A number of New Zealand organisations, including Gen-i and BJ Ball, have already begun testing Windows 7. Leanne Buer, Gen-i’s head of Infrastructure and Business Applications, says the operating system will deliver benefits to its clients.

“Windows 7 offers a number of new features designed specifically for businesses. The operating system will help enhance IT security, streamline IT management and facilitate remote working,” says Buer.

These sentiments are echoed by BJ Ball IT Manager, Richard Holden who says, “the implementation of Windows 7 on my production desktop is the smoothest I have experienced, taking less than half the time of Windows XP. The operating system is stable, responsive and intuitive. I’m looking forward to deploying it within the enterprise.”