23 October 2009

Windows 7 arrives.  What do you need to know?

Microsoft will officially release Windows 7 this Thursday.  This newest version of Windows comes two-and-a-half years after the debut of the mostly unloved Windows Vista, which launched with many hardware and software incompatibilities as well as high hardware requirements.

In light of those negatives, many organizations stuck with venerable and stable Windows XP, the predecessor to Vista, waiting for the problems to get sorted out.  Windows 7 appears to be a superior product, but we’re still planning a conservative migration path for many reasons.

What’s (apparently) good about Windows 7?

With Windows 7, Microsoft appears to have learned from the disappointments of Vista’s release.  Windows 7 will run on any new computer and on most machines that were new when Vista was released.  Indeed, in our early testing it appears to run as fast as XP on older equipment.

Microsoft has worked with vendors to ensure maximum hardware and software compatibility as well.

Windows 7 shares the same "look" as Vista with its see-through Aero interface and with additions such as Aero-peek.  So you should get a prettier, more functional operating system without the performance price.

Will we get Windows 7 on campus computers immediately?

Generally, no.  There are many clinical, administrative, and research applications that are not compatible with Windows 7; and this will be the case for some time.  Also, Windows 7 ships with Internet Explorer 8, the newest version of that browser.  Many browser-delivered applications on campus are not yet compatible with IE8.

Generally, large enterprises like UM take a conservative approach and hold off on mass deployment until the first "service pack" is released.  Based on past versions of Windows, that is about a year off.  Waiting also allows time for any significant problems with the initial release to be fixed.

What is currently incompatible with Windows 7 (or IE8)?

As of this writing, the Pointsec encryption software used on the Medical campus is incompatible with Windows 7.  Campus applications such as IDX and RIS/PACS are at present incompatible with IE8.

Which version of Windows 7 is right for me?

Windows 7 will come in three flavors for its retail release:  Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate.  For a breakdown of the differences, see Microsoft’s Compare Editions page.  For the medical campus, we will support the Professional and Ultimate versions.

If you have a couple of computers at home that do not need to connect to each other, Home will be enough for your needs.  If you do need to have your computers networked, then Professional might be best for you.

What about "old" versions of Windows?

Medical Information Technology will continue to support Windows XP and Vista until their “end of life” (end of Microsoft support and security patching).  That is many years away for both products.

If you have a computer that is running Windows 2000, the predecessor to XP, be aware that Microsoft support and security patching for that product ends in June 2010.  Because an un-patched computer represents a risk to the entire campus network, our goal is to upgrade all remaining Windows 2000 machines to XP well before June 2010.  Please contact the Help Desk at 305-243-5999 for assistance with updating such machines.  If you have a computer with Windows 2000 that supports a specialized application maintained by an external vendor, please contact the vendor to discuss upgrade possibilities.

What’s the bottom line here?

For now, Medical Information Technology does not recommend installing Windows 7 on University desktops or laptops, and our standard operating system for Windows PCs will remain Windows XP until the aforementioned compatibility and security issues are resolved.

More information