Which Version Of Windows 7 Is Right For Your Business?

With the release of Windows 7, Microsoft is again offering a wide array of choices in versions of the operating system. However, if you are looking at buying Windows 7 for your business you should only really be looking at three versions, Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate.

Windows 7 Professional boasts all the functionality that is needed for virtually any small to medium sized business. It offers compatibility with many programs designed for Windows, new and old. One of the big downsides to Windows Vista that prevented many businesses from upgrading was that Vista broke functionality in older programs that were not designed to work with the added security features of the operating system. If those programs have not yet been updated Windows 7 Professional can help solve that problem, and allow you to finally upgrade from Windows XP. The way that Windows 7 solves this problem is through a feature called Windows XP Mode, which uses a virtualization technology that is nearly transparent to you and your staff, which allows you to continue using your older programs without breaking them. Windows XP Mode is not available in any of the Home versions of Windows 7.

Security is (or it should be) a concern of all businesses today. Windows 7 Professional can help your business in this area as well. Professional, unlike the Home versions, offers an Encrypting File System, which is a technology that protects your files and folders from prying eyes. Backing up data is also something that everyone should be doing, however many do not because of the hassle involved in making those backups. With the Automatic data backups functionality, data can be backed up to your network without having to remember to manually run the backup, thus taking the pain out of the process.

With Windows 7 Professional, you also have the ability to join a Windows Active Directory Domain at your business. An Active Directory Domain is a system that runs on a Windows Server and manages your staff’s network passwords and other settings. All businesses with more than 10 employees should have an Active Directory Domain. With the any of the Home versions of Windows 7 you cannot join an Active Directory Domain, and must manually manage your passwords and computer settings.

If your business requires more complex functionality Microsoft offers the Windows 7 Enterprise version. This version of Windows 7 gives your staff access to all of the functionality found in the Professional version of Windows 7 and more. One technology, not found in any of the other versions of Windows 7 is BranchCache, which if enabled with Windows 2008 R2 Servers, can limit the amount of redundant network data that is passed between remote offices and your main office or data center. This allows your remote staff to be more productive as they will not have to wait on certain network functions, such as password authentication. These network functions would be processed locally in their office instead of being sent over a slower network link.

Enterprise also offers added security through Microsoft’s Bitlocker technology, which allows you to securely encrypt the data on the hard drive of your computers. This is especially useful in the event that a computer is lost or stolen, as the data on the hard drive, including Windows itself is useless unless Bitlocker is deactivated by the user upon boot or login. Bitlocker can also be extended to protect mobile devices and usb keys through Bitlocker To Go.

Finally, Microsoft also offers the Windows 7 Ultimate edition. In Ultimate you will find virtually the same functionality as you found in Windows 7 Enterprise. Yes, they are the same, except for one main thing, you cannot buy Windows 7 Enterprise. The Enterprise version is only available to businesses that buy their Microsoft licenses though a Volume license with a Microsoft Software Assurance agreement. For everyone else there is the Ultimate version.

As you can see, there are a plethora of things to take into account when choosing the right version of Windows 7 for your business to maximize value on your investment. Luckily, there are many resources available to you to help you make the right decision. Many of these resources can be found on the Web, but you should also consider speaking with an independent IT expert or a Microsoft Licensing specialist get the right fit.

Microsoft Office 2010 Starter Edition: Is It Good Enough?

Microsoft is planning on releasing Office 2010 Starter Edition to replace their Microsoft Works product next year alongside the rest of their traditional Office 2010 lineup. Works has long been distributed on new consumer level PC’s as an entry level gateway to Microsoft Office, however it has long been maligned by users as a poor alternative to the Office suite. Works has traditionally maintained different and sometimes incompatible file formats with the rest of the Office lineup. New computer buyers dislike Works so much that some PC manufacturers have been distributing Openoffice.org on new computers in addition to Works. However, it does not look like Starter Edition is going to cut it for anyone but home users that have little use for anything that does not come from a web browser, it is definitely not designed for business users.

With Starter Edition, Microsoft is leaving out some core Office functionality, as it only includes Word & Excel. It does not include Powerpoint, Outlook, Access, and many other smaller Office component applications.

While Starter Edition is not going to include many things that hardcore Office users have grown to expect,  it is going to include one thing that the fullblown Office does not have: Ads. It is not uncommon for web-based apps to contain ads alongside the workspace, Gmail has been doing this for years, but it is a relatively new concept to include it in actual installed application on your hard drive.

The question is really where does this fit into Microsoft’s Office strategy?

Office Starter 2010 is being positioned by Microsoft to encourage new computer buyers to purchase the an upgrade to the full version of Office. In this case it will be one of Microsoft’s “Instant Upgrades”, as users will be able to purchase a CD Key online that will disable the Ads and unlock the rest of the Office goodness that it is already installed, but hidden on the computer. Microsoft is also using this as an opportunity to eliminate the Microsoft Works product of which sales have always been minescule compared to its bigger Office brother. It also allows Microsoft to make a stand against the growing tide of free Office-like suites that are emerging and being distributed on new computers.

Most new home computer buyers will not think twice about this, but Office workers will likely continue to use paid versions of the full-featured Office suite or use the upcoming web version of office.

Speaking of the upcoming Web version of Office, would Office Starter not have been better distributed as a web app with Google Gears-like functionality?

Quick Tip: Move Your Outlook Type-Ahead List to Another Computer

Microsoft Outlook has a neat feature that will help you fill in email addresses as you type. The addresses come from a type-ahead list that is populated as you send emails to people. After a while most people come to depend on this list, so much so that they often stop adding contacts to their address book. Then the shock comes when they get a new computer or have to reload their existing one, and the addresses are all gone. These addresses are not stored in your Outlook PST file and as such will not make move with the file.

But alas, there is an easy way to move your type-ahead list to another computer. The list is stored in a NK2 file stored in an obscure directory in your profile.

In Windows XP, Server 2003 & 2008 the file can be found in:
C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

In Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 the file can be found in:
C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

Simply locate all of the files with the extension “NK2″ and copy them to your new computer or back them up before you reload.

Did Microsoft Miss The Boat On Windows 7 Pricing?

Microsoft announced the Windows 7 retail pricing structure for all of the various versions of the operating system today, and at first glance it looks at though they missed the boat. While Windows 7 looks very promising thus far, as seen in the betas and Release Candidates, it looks as though they are going to drive folks away from it by maintaining nearly identical pricing to Vista, which the world seems to agree was one of Microsoft’s worst efforts to date. However, as usual Microsoft has an ace in the hole.

Pricing is as follows:

Home Premium       $199.99 Full / $119.99 Upgrade / $49 Pre-order before July 11
Professional              $299.99 Full / $199.99 Upgrade /$99 Pre-order before July 11
Ultimate                     $399.99 Full / $219.99 Upgrade

Most Consumers Don’t Buy Windows

What Microsoft normally banks on is the fact that most people don’t buy individual copies of Windows and install them on their existing computers, they get Windows when they buy a new computer. Which in my mind is why Microsoft should lower the retail price significantly, so that they can fight the public perception that Windows is expensive, but they won’t because that would require them to undercut what they are selling the licenses to OEMs and businesses at. Doing so would cause an uproar with some of their biggest partners and clients.

Microsoft also knows that Windows 7 seems to run better than Vista on existing computers that are currently running Vista and XP. This has not traditionally been the case. In the past with every new Windows release, if you simply upgraded your existing computer there was a performance hit, your computer usually would run slower than under the old operating system. This does not seem to be the case under Windows 7, which seems to fly on older computers and lower powered systems like Netbooks. All of this means that the potential market for retail boxed copy licenses for Windows 7 is greater than previous versions of Windows. Also with the current economic conditions people are more likely to upgrade than spend money on a whole new computer.

Pre-Ordering Offers The Most Value

If you are one of the many that are actually planning on buying a retail boxed copy of Windows 7, I encourage you to pre-order it before July 11th, 2009, as this would entitle you to the lower pricing of $49 and $99 for Home Premium and Professional respectively.