The New Upstart?

Computers, laptops, and notebooks have undergone a sea change in the recent

past, in terms of different operating systems being deployed, and users having

the experience to use these for their different applications. Windows 7 is the

latest entrant in the operating system space, and its launch has found a lot of

users, both from a consumer and enterprise perspective.

According to KC Palanisamy, senior IS manager, Indian Oil Corporation,

"Windows 7 is a much better operating system (OS) compared to Vista. Key reasons

being the ease of use, and suitability with the different applications we run."

The company has a total of 4,500 PCs within southern India, which runs on Vista

as well as Windows XP. The company plans to purchase at least 1,000 more PCs

within the southern region, which will run on Windows 7. It also plans to deploy

the OS in some of the laptops on a trial basis, with the aim to fully migrate to

the Windows 7 platform. In case the users find it suitable and comfortable for

running their applications, the refresh cycle in the organization will happen

soon.

According to Palanisamy, suitability and comfortability are the key criteria

while looking for a better operating system. But it needs to be seen whether

Windows 7 will completely overshadow Vista in the coming times.

PC Suraj



surajp@cybermedia.co.in

Considering the fact that Windows 7 is the latest offering from Microsofts

stable, it is expected to be a quality product, and a lot of trust and

expectations are expected to be associated with it. The plus point of this

program, compared to Microsofts previous version, Vista, is that it is very

user-friendly, and this will surely enable it to be more popular in the market.

It is also comparatively less complex. "Taking a serious note of all these

advantages, we do intend to use it in the future, as and when the need arises.

But currently, we do not use Windows 7. Our shift will primarily be based on our

requirement," says Ajay Rai, IT manager, Cincom Systems India. The best part of

using Windows 7 is that it can be used with any type of hardware drives, hence

if one needs to upgrade to Windows 7, one need not spend for changing hardware

drives. It is also compatible with any type of software. Rai says, "The prime

reason for us to upgrade to Windows 7 is that the process will not require much

of an investment. We mainly require such programs for the sole purpose of

testing our applications. The use is expected to be at the security level and

for process based activities; I am referring to domain control security

activities."

Shilpa Shanbhag



shilpas@cybermedia.co.in

Windows 7 has generated quite a lot of interest among IT users. Hence, many

organizations from big to small are pondering over migrating many of the users

to this new OS. Microsoft has already showcased many early adopters of Windows

7. One such company is Malayala Manorama, which has gone the Windows 7 way. VV

Jacob, senior manager, systems, Malayala Manorama gives his views on Windows 7,

"I think Windows 7 is a good blend of performance, features, and security.

Compatibility with our existing applications is critical for us to roll out a

new OS. We were very pleased to see Windows 7 compatible with most of our

applications. Additionally, the Windows XP mode in Windows 7 ensures that even

legacy applications, which are not compatible can be run on Windows 7.

We are also very excited by the direct access feature, which allows our

mobile users to connect to our corporate network without requiring third party

VPN software. Windows Easy Transfer gives a greater flexibility. At Malayala

Manorama, we are very happy with the performance of Windows 7 on our existing

hardware, and are in the process of upgrading 850 PCs from XP to Windows 7.

Shrikanth G



shrikanthg@cybermedia.co.in