Will Windows 7 Make Vista Obselete?

Microsoft's sudden commitment to bringing Windows 7 out by the end of 2009 has been a surprising move. Windows Vista debuted on January 30th, 2007, which means that less than three years will have passed between the introduction of Vista and the debut of a new operating system. That is extremely quick - by contrast, about six years passed between the introduction of XP and the introduction of Vista. Microsoft's decision to move forward the release of Windows 7 seems to have been spawned from the positive reception of the Windows 7 beta. Users of the beta seem to be satisfied with the product - and considering Vista's bad reputation - Microsoft is surely eager to replace it with a more respected OS.

Of course, the sudden introduction of Windows 7 is bound to make current Windows Vista users wonder if they jumped the gun. Windows 7 seems, for the most part, to be a refinement of Vista, taking out the bad and adding in more of the good. Considering how well supported Windows XP has been during the three years since Vista was released, the introduction of Windows 7 makes it appear as if buying Vista was a bad move. So was it? And if you're looking to buy an operating system right now, what should you purchase?

From the ground up, Windows 7 is a refinement, not a replacement, of Windows Vista. Vista itself was aimed to replace Windows XP, much as Windows XP was meant to replace Windows ME and Windows 98. Since it is aimed to be a refinement, and not a replacement, there are many similarities between Vista and Windows 7. Many of the features that were first debuted in Vista, such as user account control, are being made easier to live with, in hopes of making the technological advances in Vista more appealing to the average user. These are improvements, not replacements or brand-new features. There are many places where Windows 7 looks better than Vista and feels easier to use, but many of the underlying goals and features are the same.

Ironically, the fact that Windows 7 isn't meant to be a replacement will likely result in broader appeal than what could be achieved in Vista. Vista was an important step for Microsoft, but new, different, and/or better features often conflict with older programs and drivers. Enterprise users have been particularly skeptical towards Vista for this reason, as most of them have business-critical programs that were made specifically for XP, and which would require a large investment in order to work out conflicts with the new operating system. Windows 7, however, doesn't change the rules like Vista did, and since Vista has been out for several years now, companies have had time think about implementing their existing software into a new operating system.