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Windows 7's Virtual XP Mode a Support Nightmare?

Posted by kdawson on from the twice-as-many-windows-to-wash dept.

CWmike writes "Microsoft's decision to let Windows 7 users run Windows XP applications in a virtual machine may have been necessary to convince people to upgrade, but it could also create support nightmares, analysts said today. Gartner analyst Michael Silver outlines the downsides. 'You'll have to support two versions of Windows,' he said. 'Each needs to be secured, antivirused, firewalled and patched. If a company has 10,000 PCs, that's 20,000 instances of Windows.' The other big problem Silver foresees: Making sure the software they run is compatible with Windows 7. 'This is a great Band-Aid, but companies need to heal their applications,' Silver said. 'They'll be doing themselves a disservice if, because of XPM, they're not making sure that all their apps support Windows 7.'"

5 of 413 comments (clear)

  1. Since when does anyone take Gartner seriously? by jerryasher · · Score: 5, Funny

    Fear and doubt...doubt and fear.... Our two weapons are fear and doubt...and ruthless uncertainty.

    1. Re:Since when does anyone take Gartner seriously? by amliebsch · · Score: 3, Funny

      I didn't expect a kind of Slashdot inquisition!

      --
      If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
  2. Dual OS like Dual Core? by dlevitan · · Score: 5, Funny

    So when Intel and AMD couldn't increase the speed of their processors any more, they decided to introduce dual core chips. Does this mean that Microsoft has decided they couldn't slow down computers any more with Windows 7 and is now planning on shipping a dual OS system to ensure slow performance?

  3. Re:Pardon me... by actionbastard · · Score: 3, Funny

    "Mac OS is a niche market. In the Windows market, reality has a way of kicking you in the balls."

    Obviously you've never been Rochambeaued by Steve Jobs.

    --
    Sig this!
  4. Re:Pardon me... by atraintocry · · Score: 4, Funny

    Yes.