[Editor’s note: see update on early results of running Windows 7 on an upgraded 18-month-old PC.]
I’ve been using Windows 7 release candidate on a MacBook Pro for several months, and would like to upgrade a workhorse PC from Vista to Windows 7. Before upgrading the PC, I wanted to identify potential issues with my primary software applications. Good thing I took this precaution. Here’s why.
This PC’s main purpose is to run my company’s financials and some Windows-only software so I need to be confident that upgrading to Windows 7 won’t disrupt our accounting or timekeeping. And while I don’t have to upgrade to Windows 7, Vista is so slow that my beta experience with Win 7 RC encourages me to take the leap…
What I’ve Learned
Researching the status of key business software and drivers has been an interesting experience – with some surprises, given the long time that Microsoft has had to work with the developer community.
Surely everyone wants to avoid the mishaps that plagued the Vista upgrade, so they can profit from the pent-up demand to replace aging PCs or toss out Vista. So I’ve been surprised to discover some laggards…
Let’s start with some bright spots.
HP
Firstly, I am thrilled that HP has finally released the Windows 7 printer drivers for the LaserJet P2055. The experience of printing to that device from Win 7 RC has been a daily disappointment, so this driver upgrade made my day.
Adobe
Adobe’s online resources provide clear guidance on product compatibility (or lack thereof), and I am delighted to learn that my CS4 investment will pay off – the Windows programs are compatible, or will be patched soon.
Intuit
It took longer than I’d expected to get an answer regarding Windows 7 compatibility when I went to Intuit’s websites. Eventually I discovered that both QuickBooks Pro and Quicken Deluxe must be upgraded to the 2010 versions if I want to install Windows 7.
Sadly, I see no feature-based reasons to upgrade to the 2010 releases other than Win 7 compatibility. I am also disheartened by the critical product reviews I’ve read to date by beta testers or early buyers of the 2010 releases from Intuit. They report few functionality improvements over what I already use in my current versions.
Early product reviews point to feature bloat, slowness, etc., in addition to the usual bugginess that you get these days with each new release from Intuit. In fact, one QuickBooks reviewer on Amazon.com wondered whether there was a “whiff of offshore cubicle” in the 2010 release…
I’ve ordered my upgrades, but am not feeling good about the value I’ll receive in exchange for the several hundred dollars I’ll be shelling out to Intuit just to get Windows 7 compatibility…
Timeslips
Sage, the publisher of my high-end timekeeping software, Timeslips, says absolutely nothing about Windows 7 compatibility on their website. There’s also no information at all about Timeslips on Microsoft’s software compatibility page.
Because the Windows 7 release is such a watershed event for the PC community, it’s surprising that Sage has missed the boat when it comes to informing their customers about Windows 7 compatibility.
This reinforces my impression that this must be an old-guard software company, with below par concern for customers’ information needs. While I don’t expect (but would hope for) a compatible product release as of today, I’d certainly expect Sage to inform customers on when such a release will be available: this quarter? Next year? Never?
With more than a decade’s worth of timekeeping data locked in Timeslips, I feel trapped in this relationship (or lack thereof)…
Microsoft
Microsoft’s Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor is a handy utility for identifying troublesome drivers – and it indeed, it spotted a few things on my Windows Vista PC that needed upgrading – including Microsoft’s Intellitype mouse driver.
Interestingly: Microsoft’s Bing did not provide well-filtered results in response to my queries about Windows 7 compatibility for several leading brands. Ironically I got the relevant results much faster when I performed the same query using Google.
Apple
Yes, Apple probably needs to upgrade Bootcamp so its drivers are better tuned for Windows 7. Having said that, I’ve been using Bootcamp with Windows 7 RC with surprisingly few problems over the past few months. I can attach external monitors to my Mac Book Pro with no problems.
Sleep and hibernate modes work quite well – better than Vista did when running in a Bootcamp partition.
In fact the only Apple incompatibility issue I’ve encountered so far is with the numeric keypad on the external Apple wired keyboard, which attaches to the MacBook Pro via USB. All the keys appear to work except for the numeric keypad, and I can’t find a control panel or key sequence that enables me to activate the keypad. It’s been a minor annoyance.
General Observation
Given how many people are no doubt conducting similar research, I was surprised at how few webmasters have prepared for queries regarding “windows 7 compatibility” on their websites. I would have thought that every company that’s 100% dependent on the Windows ecosystem would already have prepared the navigation path they’d like users to follow in response to this incredibly obvious question.
But even a day after Windows 7 official release, it can be difficult to find an answer to that question from some of the companies that serve the business community. And even more surprisingly – this is one of the few change events in the tech sector that’s 100% predictable. Therefore it’s hard to understand why more brands aren’t prepared…
Good luck with your research!
Revised on November 13, 2009
