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Microsoft preps market for Windows 7

Feb. 2, 2009 Paul Thurrott | Paul Thurrott's Supersite for Windows

Interesting news out of Microsoft today:

Microsoft Equips Partners for Continued Innovation, Business Growth With Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Readiness Program

Q&A: Mike Nash, corporate vice president, Windows Product Management, discusses how the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Ecosystem Readiness Program will give partners a clear picture for the future.

Windows is the choice of more than 1 billion customers worldwide. Its broad appeal is based on Microsoft Corp.’s efforts to make Windows a platform of innovation for thousands of software developers, device manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers, and others who form the Microsoft Windows partner community.

These partners are a key ingredient to the success of Windows innovation ultimately delivering new possibilities and choice for customers.

Today Microsoft unveiled the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Ecosystem Readiness Program designed to help Independent Hardware Vendors (IHVs), Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), developers, Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) and Original Device Manufacturers (ODMs) achieve compatibility and innovation with Windows 7.

The program provides partners with access to Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 beta builds, development and test toolkits, technical documents and application testing labs through Microsoft Connect. Software partners can join by going to: www.msdn.com/windows.

Meanwhile hardware partners can go to the Windows Hardware Developer Central (WHDC) site to access the program: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/win7/default.mspx.

PressPass spoke with Mike Nash, corporate vice president of Windows Product Management, to learn about the opportunities for partners and what they can do to prepare for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

Some key quotes...

We changed our approach to Windows 7, engaging with our partners early and planning with them in a more systematic way ... We followed this momentum by delivering a solid and stable beta version at International CES earlier this month. What this means for partners is that they can confidently invest and start testing now because the Windows 7 beta will have the same API set that they will see in the final release.

Many of the investments we made for Windows 7 started with the development of Windows Vista, which contained a number of architectural changes that made it more secure than Windows XP. As most people know, these investments posed challenges as we changed some of the interfaces that applications and devices used to interact with Windows XP, which resulted in early compatibility issues with Windows Vista. The good news is that the great work by our partners has resulted in significant improvements in compatibility of applications and devices on Windows Vista. Additionally, the reliability and security investments we made in Windows Vista will be retained in Windows 7, which means most applications that run on Windows Vista should run on Windows 7. That said, as we continue to progress toward the release candidate and final version of Windows 7, we want our partners to test their Windows Vista-based products to ensure they run well on Windows 7.

Perhaps the most important benefit is access to the new beta builds of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

Discuss this Article 28

subzerohitman721
on Feb 2, 2009
I really do hope the testing for Windows 7 Certification is much more stringent than the Windows Vista Capable Certification process. We certainly do not need a repeat of that fiasco, that's pending in court. I also hope these vendors and manufacturers participate frequently and often to make sure its done right. However, before we talk about all that, Microsoft needs to get cracking on this VBScript situation. Flaw or not, there should be an addtional layer of defense, before allowing anything to lower or disable UAC. I turned the UAC up in Windows 7. Hopefully, nVidia and ATI will test early and often. nVidia and ATI were some of the main bandits with less than stellar drivers. Also, sound companies also need to test too. Hopefully we'll be getting updated BIOS from manufacturers soon.
tayme
on Feb 2, 2009
I would hope that all of Microsoft's partners are actively testing thier products, both hardware and software, with W7. If not, the same perception that still haunts Vista will be repeated. If so, then W7 can get out of the gate strong and quick. I also hope that Microsoft is reviewing all of the beta feedback that they are getting and prioritizing it...with security being priority 1, usability being priority 2, etc. A lot can be learned from beta programs if they are used as a development tool rather than a marketing tool. Hopefully, the program managers at Microsoft know this and do the right thing. IMHO, W7 has a bright future, if they do. --tayme
animositysomina
on Feb 2, 2009
Subzero, nVidia and ATI got a whole lot of problems with drivers because Vista got some MAJOR changes in video driver model (Vista WDDM, virtualized VRAM, etc) so now, several years after Vista's release they have finally got their drivers more or less bug free. Which means smooth and slick W7 release, because of drivers that are essentially ready, they were prepared and polished by Vista transition, you know. I'm pretty sure we won't see any driver troubles this time - remember that internally W7 is Vista, so Vista driver == W7 driver, this turf is ripe and ready for the W7 seed to be planted :-)
lotsamystuff
on Feb 2, 2009
"Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Ecosystem Readiness Program" Catchy! ;-)
Heatlesssun
on Feb 2, 2009
The Windows 7 transition should be much smoother simply the driver and security models haven't changed, that's what caused the most headaches with going from XP to Vista. One encouraging sign I've seen is that a company that makes a rather niche product, N-trig, has done well with getting out beta drivers for its dual mode touch and electromagnetic digitizer for Tablet PCs. At this stage of the game Vista drivers of this sort were nowhere to be found. I think Microsoft learned a valuable lesson with Vista and getting its partners lined up and ready to go.
lketchum
on Feb 2, 2009
As smooth a path as Vista may have paved, I fear that users moving from XP to Windows 7 will still experience a bumpy transition and equally, our industry press and pundits will be very vocal about the slightest issue any of them encounter. Sadly, I simply do not trust the reporting any longer and even Paul has to pander to them from time to time. Seems a good bit of the fun has gone out of all of this... along with the science.
amabo
on Feb 2, 2009
@subzero like others have said, there will be no problems with drivers. 7 IS VISTA, plain and simple. Sure its got a few GUI changes, some stuff has been removed, mail, photo stuff, movie maker, to lean it up. I am quite sure after using it that they have given you the gui sooner and stuff continues to load up at startup to give the impression its booting faster. Also the transitions in have been sped up to make it seem faster as well. You can that in Vista, turn them off and even in Aero is seems quick. The drivers are ready. I put it on a boot camp partition and used the Vista drives, from Apple no less and it worked perfectly. 7 is Vista with a new name and lots of tweaks all to make it sell. They should just "New" or "improved" like a ketchup bottle. Or maybe go with Windows Vista Zero, like Diet Pepsi is Pepsi 0
animositysomina
on Feb 2, 2009
Look, lketchum, this is the same that happened when we were transitioning from DOS to Windows and from Windows to Windows NT. Same growing pains and stuff. Shouldn't be any different now, business as usual. Bloggers crying while the rest of the world is moving on. Nothing to pay attention to here.
lketchum
on Feb 2, 2009
@animositysomina I dunno... I've been at this since well before Microsoft existed and have seen the various transitions; this is different. The level of snark is just nuts. For example, don't you think we should be conditioning even lay users to do things the right way? Standard user accounts, only, etc... I mean there was a time when there were no seatbelts, or safety glass, or self-sealing fuel cells... people were encouraged to seek such features out long before they were made mandatory. Today, and despite increased threats, we don't see any joint effort on the part of our industry press to encourage people to run a PC in the proper context... we see a lot of griping and finger pointing. I think it is unfortunate and we'd be best served by pundits that sincerely have user interest at heart.
Waethorn
on Feb 3, 2009
Um, drivers are NOT exactly "done". Windows 7 uses a new WDDM 1.1 version which supports DirectX10 unified shaders for extra Aero acceleration. Vista drivers are WDDM 1.0 and Aero will only utilize DirectX9 shaders. NVIDIA has beta drivers, but performance is still not up to par. For example, in a Core i7 920 system with dual GTX 280's in SLi, the WEI score for gaming graphics is only a 6.0. That's the baseline score for any DirectX10 graphics card (single). I'd imagine it should be up there in the 7's at least.
gorath
on Feb 3, 2009
Wae's right. Akthough Vista drivers will work fine in 7, there are some subtle tweaks that only a driver coded specifically for 7 can take advantage of. What I don't know is if Vista will also take advantage of them when SP2 arrives.
Waethorn
on Feb 3, 2009
"Akthough Vista drivers will work fine in 7...." As I mentioned already, there are some video cards that don't work with Windows 7 Aero. The GMA 500 Vista drivers don't support Aero on 7, but do on Vista. It's not the only card that does though. Intel hasn't released compatible graphics drivers yet though. "What I don't know is if Vista will also take advantage of them when SP2 arrives." That probably depends on whether or not Microsoft is planning to backport DirectX11 to Vista.
subzerohitman721
on Feb 3, 2009
If Windows 7 was a carbon copy of Windows Vista, then the last 2 or so years of development wouldn't make any sense. Windows 7 development started in 2006. If anything, I'd compare Windows 7 to the Six Million Dollar man TV series. Vista being rebuilt and improved upon. Even the original kernel from Vista's launch is different. Remember that the Kernel was updated when Server 2008 was released. So like I said, every manufacturer, software company, peripheral maker, etc.... Needs to test their stuff and thoroughly! I do have to thank you who responded. You guys demonstrated something for me that many have warned about in here. Complacency! Even model's of cars from different years have vastly different parts and wiring. Try finding aftermarket parts for certain cars and even 3 years difference could mean changes. The fact of the matter is that most guys settle on drivers that work with the previous driver model. Everytime a new Windows launches, many driver writer's get lazy. By the time they do get around to writing good drivers, its almost a year after launch.
johnbaxter
on Feb 3, 2009
Going forward, it seems like it is time for the market* to punish vendors who can't be bothered to be ready for Win 7. Or for 64 bit. (And yes, some things that necessarily play kernel games can't do 64 bit because of Patch Guard. Good bye.) It's simple: if it doesn't work, don't buy it. They'll go away. The chaos which was Longhorn/reset/Vista didn't give the vendors much of a chance. And the market has been punishing Microsoft for that. * But not Microsoft, beyond denying certification for stickers. If nothing else, darling old Auntie Trust would think that unseemly. --John (Mac user who really likes Win 7)
Waethorn
on Feb 3, 2009
@john: Windows device certification requires that devices work equally well on 64-bit as they do on 32-bit. Complete system certification only requires certification on the operating system that is included. All systems that support 64-bit with the processor, must include hardware that has already passed certification though. That means that if the system is entirely compatible with 64-bit, all of the components must've had previously certified 64-bit drivers, if the vendor wants to certify the system as a whole, even if the system doesn't ship with a 64-bit copy of Windows. If the system vendor doesn't want to certify on 64-bit, at least the customer knows that all of the hardware components (ie. motherboard chipset, video, sound, etc.) themselves are pre-certified for 64-bit, meaning that WHQL drivers are already available, just that you might not be able to get them from the system manufacturer (ie. Dell, HP, Sony). Atom netbook/MID processors (and some VIA, but who cares about them?) are x86 only though, so the components don't need to have certified 64-bit drivers. It doesn't matter for those platforms anyway though: all of those platforms use embedded, rather than removable processors, so the customer won't be able to upgrade it anyway. The certification thing is a bit confusing though. Even if all components are certified, the system as a whole doesn't automatically receive certification. The system builder needs to separately certify the complete system. For instance, when I build systems, I use drivers that are WHQL-certified for all of the components, and each component already carries the Vista Premium cert. I would still have to pay to test and certify systems though, in order to carry the sticker on the machine. It's about $250US per standard system from a series (minor variations don't need separate certification), plus you need a $400US/yr Authenticode code-signing cert from Verisign to submit test results. THEN you get the designs for the stickers from Winqual, but you have to pay AGAIN to have them printed yourself. Right now, that's just not an option for me. When you certify a single product, you get enough Partner Points to become a Certified Microsoft Partner, but you have to pay another $1000/yr for an MSDN subscription to carry that partner level. There are pro's and con's though. Sure you can differentiate in the marketplace and receive marketing help (and Microsoft allows certified partners to list certified items on Windows Marketplace), but you need to have a high volume of sales, as well as pay a fairly large (for me anyway) monetary amount to maintain your subscriptions and certification levels. Certified Partners also get the option of ordering software licensing directly from Microsoft as a full-on Direct OEM, but must do so as the previously-mentioned predicted MOQ (minimum order quantity).
Waethorn
on Feb 3, 2009
"The fact of the matter is that most guys settle on drivers that work with the previous driver model." This is exactly the reason why Windows Me was considered a failure. VxD's will sometimes work, but they date back to Windows 95 (sometimes 3.1), and don't take advantage of Windows Me's new native features (like the newer Windows Image Acquisition support, instead of the gawdawful TWAIN protocol). Many devices were just broken. Sound and modem drivers were a common issue too, since VxD's just wouldn't work. Those devices needed WDM's for proper support. WDM's were only initially adopted for Windows 98SE, but most vendors didn't write them, nor did they test for Windows Me. A system that had WDM drivers for devices like that really made Windows Me shine though. I had a system like that. It was great - better than Windows 98SE too. But then, standard OHCI IEEE 1394 was only first supported in Windows Me too.
Waethorn
on Feb 3, 2009
Um....ok looking at my comments, it's a bit confusing. Here's the tidbits in as small a nutshell as I can make it: System certification is for the OS version that is included (32-bit OR 64-bit). The system, as a whole, doesn't have to be certified for both. A system that is certified must have parts that are also separately certified, and it must be certified with WHQL drivers only. Drivers can be made by the individual part makers or can be modified by the system maker (for variance in PnPID's, customized firmware, branding, etc.) A device that is certified ("Designed for Windows Vista"), must be certified for BOTH x86 and x64. Embedded systems (like those with Atom processors) don't need to have x64-certified components. They can't anyway, since the processor won't run x64 code. The system can still carry a premium certification on x86 if it passes all compatible tests though.
abhinov.k.s
on Feb 3, 2009
Mary Jo from ZDNet reports that there will be a Home Basic Version of Windows 7 while Paul says that there is no such version. I hope Paul got it right. Home Basic was a very bad idea and I hope it is gone for good from Windows 7. http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1890
Waethorn
on Feb 3, 2009
@ab: Windows 7 Home Basic is an extended edition of Windows 7 Starter. Both are available only for emerging markets, but Home Basic will be for systems that can multi-task respectably. In developed markets, you'll only see Home Premium and Professional for the most part. I see that Ultimate is now considered "Enterprise for consumers". Does it include the multi-VM licensing though? (Since Enterprise is available through volume licensing only, and the VM technicality is a licensing issue, it may not - I don't know). I'm kind of glad they did away with Mobility Center in Home Premium. I couldn't see any consumers that were very interested in it. I DO like that they didn't do a gimped version for netbooks though. I sent in some feedback on that and mentioned that Media Center is already in use on small screens and works extremely well (like those desktop enclosures with the 7" touchscreens). I guess they read it. :)
shark47
on Feb 3, 2009
"Mary Jo from ZDNet reports that there will be a Home Basic Version of Windows 7 while Paul says that there is no such version. " Both are right. It's not being sold in the US.
subzerohitman721
on Feb 3, 2009
I'm actually not happy with any of the new SKU's. Ultimate is going to be de-emphasized and harder to get? Professional and Home Premium still cuts out too many features. I don't know about you, but this feels like it could be a deal-breaker.
Waethorn
on Feb 3, 2009
Mary Jo says that Starter is now available in developed nations, while all that is mentioned by others is that OEM's may pre-load it on hardware.
Waethorn
on Feb 3, 2009
Re: 7 Starter, Home Basic I'm not concerning myself with these versions. If other companies want to gimp their hardware with underpowered versions, so be it. As of right now, the SKU's don't change much for the systems that I sell except that Professional will now include Media Center and DVD Maker. Ultimate hasn't been a big seller, and now, power-users can get Professional with the features that they need without losing any features of Home Premium. Bitlocker hasn't been a big selling item either, since it's only an easy sell to enterprise companies, and most whitebook shells don't ship with TPM chips anyway. If they sell Windows 7 in approximately the same price ranges as Windows Vista, then power users will get a sizeable price break by getting Professional instead of Ultimate. That's always good.
subzerohitman721
on Feb 3, 2009
From Paul's report... Windows 7 Starter Market: Emerging markets, with new PCs only Key features: Enhanced taskbar, Jump Lists, Windows Media Player, Backup and Restore, Action Center, Device Stage, Play To, Fax and Scan, basic games What's missing: Aero Glass, many Aero desktop enhancements, Windows Touch, Media Center, Live thumbnail previews, Home Group creation This version will only be sold through PC makers to users in emerging markets. As with previous Windows Starter Edition products, it is limited in some ways: You can run only three applications at once, don't get Windows 7's full mobility capabilities, and can participate in but not create a Home Group. Windows 7 Home Premium Market: Mainstream retail market Key features: Aero Glass, Aero Background, Windows Touch, Home Group creation, Media Center, DVD playback and authoring, premium games What's missing: Domain join, Remote Desktop host, advanced backup, EFS, Mobility Center, Offline Folders The volume Windows 7 offering for consumers builds on Starter and includes Mobility Center, Aero Glass, advanced windows navigation features like Aero Snap and Aero Peek, and multi-touch, as well as the ability to both create and participate in Home Groups. Home Premium will be sold at retail and be included with new computers. Windows 7 Professional Market: Mainstream retail market Key features: Domain join, Remote Desktop host, location aware printing, EFS, Mobility Center, Presentation Mode, Offline Folders What's missing: BitLocker, BitLocker To Go, AppLocker, Direct Access, Branche Cache, MUI language packs, boot from VHD This volume Windows 7 version builds on Home Premium and adds features like domain join, Group Policy (GP) controls, location aware printing, advanced backup, EFS, and offline folders. Pro will be sold at retail and be included with new computers Windows 7 Enterprise Market: Volume-license business customers only Key features: BitLocker, BitLocker To Go, AppLocker, Direct Access, Branche Cache, MUI language packs, boot from VHD What's missing: Retail licensing As before, Enterprise is aimed at Microsoft's Software Assurance (SA) volume license customers. This time, however, Enterprise is a superset of Professional and adds much-heralded Windows 7 features like Direct Access, Branch Cache, BitLocker, and BitLocker To Go. Windows 7 Ultimate Market: Retail market, limited availability Key features: BitLocker, BitLocker To Go, AppLocker, Direct Access, Branche Cache, MUI language packs, boot from VHD What's missing: Volume licensing For those few customers who simply must have everything, Windows 7 Ultimate offers all of the features from Enterprise but loses the volume licensing requirement. So you can think of Ultimate edition as Enterprise for consumers (and other retail customers). Windows 7 Ultimate is kind of a wild-card. It will be available at retail and with new PCs, but Microsoft suggested that it will not be heavily marketed and will instead be "offer-based" via occasional promotions and offers from both PC makers and retailers. -------------- So why don't Home Premium users get a full backup feature? This was an issue with Vista, still not resolved. I'm sorry but thats annoying. I'm also sure that some Home Premium users might want to have EFS too. But you'll have to pay more for that. That's annoying. I'll give johnpapola credit here because he complained about this one in Vista. His criticism will carry foward to this SKU of Windows 7. Also Professional users lose BitLocker, BitLocker to go, AppLocker, and MUI Language packs? I could definitely see users needing these. In my household, Spanish is spoken as often as english. My brother speaks many languages and it could be useful to translate. It should be included in all editions. Thats also annoying. I'm not crazy about this at all. This is really retarded stripping of what I could see are useful and necessary features. Now I'm sure the average joe might not need it, but sometimes you'll find a good use for it later. Not happy bout this one bit.
smiddlehurst
on Feb 3, 2009
Am I missing something here? Microsoft announces 7 versions of Windows 7 (includng Home Basic for now as there's mixed reports on availability) and Paul sings their praises saying they've got it right this time. And yet, not a week ago, he said: "I believe that there should only be three Windows 7 SKUs: Home, Professional, and Ultimate. That’s it. Not two Home versions. No Enterprise. No Starter. Just the three." And yet what have we got? Starter, Enterprise and two Home versions... So what happened in the last week to change his mind? For me, I still don't understand this stupid policy of multiple SKU's. It's a massive pain in the arse for users and makes no real sense other than helping Microsoft's bottom line. Surely it just makes sense to have one version for users and another for enterprises?
shark47
on Feb 3, 2009
I think it's fine. The only question I have is, why didn't they completely get rid of Ultimate and put everything in 7 Professional?
subzerohitman721
on Feb 3, 2009
@smiddlehurst, I half agree with you. However. Starter is only available in the U.S. for netbooks through manufactuers. Home Basic won't be available in the U.S. However I do agreee whole heartedly there should be 3 versions. The branding is ridonkulous! Unless they compensate by adding licences and the price, then we could see more consumer backlash. However, I'm glad they are focusing on just Home Premium and Professional. It still stinks to high heaven.
shark47
on Feb 3, 2009
Why the heck are they introducing Starter in the US market? Wouldn't Home Basic be better suited for Netbooks? Starter is pretty much useless. Maybe Mary Jo Foley is wrong?

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