With Windows 7 due out later this month, many of you are no doubt counting the days until release. I've played with both the beta and RC of Microsoft's latest OS, and quite honestly, I liked what I saw. If this had come out in 2006 when 'Longhorn' was promised, I have no doubt that I would not have switched to Linux (at least not yet).
However, that's not how events played out. What really happened was 'Longhorn' became Vista, and it didn't make it out the door until 2007. It arrived late, buggy, irritating (UAC), overpriced, underwhelming, confusing (licensing), and in some cases, incompatible. Now, almost three years later, and almost five since Longhorn's initially-planned release, Microsoft is releasing the OS they should have launched several years ago. Unfortunately, Windows 7 is also overpriced (slightly less so than Vista), and even more confusing.
But first, let's go over what Microsoft did right. Windows 7 is going to launch when the company said it will launch. Because of a long beta and RC testing phase, 7 is not going to be as buggy as Vista was when it debuted. Microsoft has taken the UAC down a notch. It has also come down on the price a little. The highest edition of 7 (Ultimate) is fifty percent more expensive than the highest edition of XP (Pro). This is opposed to 100% more expensive (Vista Ultimate versus XP Pro). But fair enough, the price did drop somewhat.
Underwhelming, 7 is not. In terms of its user interface, Vista was pretty much XP with a reorganized Start Menu and a black taskbar. Flip 3D was basically nothing more than a choppy gimmick (though the thumbnail previews of windows within the taskbar are pretty sweet; Windows 7 kept them, and I use them in Linux). Windows 7 actually succeeds in terms of a being a unified vision that pays tribute to the brand. Everything is made of glass in 7. Vista began this trend with the transparent glass window borders and the overlaid faux-reflection texture. But 7 really takes the use of transparent glass and reflections to the extreme. The window borders, menus, some applications, and even the taskbar and start menu are all made of glass. New tricks include being able to make all windows transparent to see the desktop. As a total package, Windows 7 has what I consider to be the first true Windows theme.
Finally, we're left with how Microsoft figured out how to solve its backward-compatibility issues.
With the introduction of XP Mode (XPM), Windows 7 will not fall victim to the nightmare of incompatibilities suffered by early-adopters of Vista. XPM is a fully-licensed copy of Windows XP Service Pack 3 running in a VirtualPC Virtual Machine (VM). In many cases XPM is the clincher that holdouts needed in order to finally upgrade. Unfortunately, the confusion created by the Windows 7 licensing scheme has all but ruined their compatibility fix.
XPM is only included in Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate. If you want a full retail boxed copy of Windows 7 with XPM, you're going to have to fork over $300 for Professional, or $320 for Ultimate. If you already own a copy of Windows XP or Vista, you can pay $200 for the upgrade to Professional, or $220 for Ultimate. Let that sink in for a minute.
That's right, Windows 7 Home Premium (and below) does not have XPM. Most systems sold by retailers come with a version of Windows completely lacking XPM. Wait, it gets better. Thanks to Microsoft's ingenious Windows Anytime Upgrade, consumers who bought a new PC with Windows 7 Home Premium can upgrade to Professional for $90 or Ultimate for $140. If you were sold Home Basic or Starter edition, you'll have to first upgrade to Home Premium for $80. Like I said, 'ingenious.' One way or another, you are probably going to have to pay Microsoft some amount of money if you want XPM...
...or not. If you're open to using Linux , you too can have a fast and secure next-gen OS with full XP compatibility, all for free!
Installing VirtualBox
In order to follow this guide, you need an installed Linux distribution (I use Ubuntu), a legitimate copy of Windows XP, familiarity with the XP installation, and Sun's VirtualBox virtualization software (free).
This guide begins with the assumption that you've already installed Linux on your system. If you need help with the installation process, go here for a refresher. I do not assume that you have any Linux knowledge, but you should be comfortable with PCs in general.
Test System Specs:
The first step to getting your very own XP Mode in Linux is to install virtual machine software. Since the point of this article is saving money, we're going with Sun Microsystem's free VirtualBox as our virtualization software. Click here and choose the appropriate .deb or .rpm file for your Linux distribution. I am using the 64-bit version of Ubuntu 9.04, so I'll need to click the AMD64 link next to Ubuntu 9.04 (“Jaunty Jackeloupe”). You can choose to either run or save the file.
Though it is free, this app is not open-source. This is the version of VirtualBox that contains proprietary code. If you only want open-source software on your system, you can use VirtualBox OSE (Open-Source Edition) instead. You can get VirtualBox OSE from Add/Remove in the Applications menu. Click here if you need a refresher on installing software in Ubuntu via a package manager. You can follow this guide to setup the OSE version, for the most part. Some of the steps will deviate slightly. Also, the screenshots may not represent exactly what is on your screen.
If you chose to save the file, double-click it when downloading completes. Click Install Package, then enter your password when prompted. When the Debconf window opens, just click Forward to continue installation. After the application finishes installing, click Close, and then exit the installer by closing the window. If you wish, you can now delete the .deb or .rpm by right-clicking on it and selecting Move to Trash.
Remember the Debconfig window? Now we have to add you to the list of authorized users in the “vboxusers” group so that any USB devices will work in the Windows XP VM. It's not just your Windows apps that you'll be able to use in the VM; devices too! Now, go to System/Administration/UsersandGroups.
In the user list highlight your user name by clicking on it, then click Unlock. In the screenshot, my user name is Adam Overa.
When prompted, enter your password and then click Authenticate. Now click Manage Groups. Scroll down until you see the group vboxusers, click it, then click Properties.
You should see the user list with check-boxes next to the user name of each user on your system. Check the box next to your user name and click OK. Now click Close, and then Close again. Now we need to log out, or restart for these changes to take effect. Click on your user name on the far right of the upper panel. Select Log Out to go to the Ubuntu login screen, or Restart to reboot.
