Windows Vista Strategy

• As of 2008, Microsoft's current operating system offering is Windows Vista. The previous, and mature, system, Windows XP, is becoming difficult to buy. However, Microsoft is also preparing a successor to Vista, Windows 7.
  • We have purchased one Vista PC.
    • After much adjustment to the configuration it seems to generally work OK. However, it hasn't presented much advantage over XP.
    • We will continue to test how Vista works on this PC for our needs and what the issues are.
• To run effectively, Vista requires a much faster computer than what is required for XP.
  • Few of our current PCs are up to this challenge.
• XP support will continue until at least 2014.
• Vista provides few, if any, significant new features for a business setting, versus XP.
  • Mainly the changes in Vista are for fancy graphics, and for greater protection against the user making unwise settings changes and software installations.
    • The security features aren't different, at this point, than what is available in XP, or using free third-party software in XP.
      • Eventually, through updates being done more for Vista/Windows 7 than XP, Vista/Windows 7 may become a much more secure option, and we may not want to run XP without further protection at some point. As of 1/09, we don't see this happening for a few years.
• It will be possible to have Vista/Windows 7 machines coexist in our network with XP machines.
  • This seems very likely to be the case for 2-3 years at least.
• Microsoft is planning to have a Windows 7 readt within a shorter amount of time than the wait between XP and Vista.
  • Windows 7 is supposed to be more efficient and handle security in a less intrusive way.
• Open source operating system alternatives, such as the various versions of Linux, may become a more compelling alternative as things go forward.
  • Linux does not require nearly the resources that Vista does to run effectively.
  • Linux is generally available for free, or inexpensively, versus Vista's cost of ~$140-250.
  • The future, web-based version of Sirsi Symphony will probably work with Linux.
• Conclusion (as of 1/09): We are trying to continue to get XP machines wherever possible (but with hardware that is ready for Vista/Windows 7, and upgrade rights for Vista). At this point, it appears that we may bypass Vista except for the PC it is currently installed on, and focus on Windows 7 when it is ready.

Misc:

From a webforum post:

" Microsoft offers downgrade rights to academic licensing customers as well, and those rights continue pretty much indefinitely up until Microsoft will retire XP in about 2014.

So this XP option from Dell probably has at least another SIX YEARS of life to it. It's not really Microsoft that will limit this but rather when Dell gets tired of offering it before 2014 arrives

Microsoft's Academic Volume Licensing customers can purchase the Vista Business upgrade license and then use whatever desktop OS media pack, straight from Microsoft, that fits their needs.

Volume license cost per academic computer:

66J-00592 Windows Vista Business Upgrade $54.00

Volume media for academic customers (only need one for all installs):

66J-02077 Windows Vista Business 32-bit DVD $27.00

E85-05379 Windows XP Professional w/SP3 CD $27.00"

Note: Public Libraries like us qualify as "academic" customers, in Microsoft's language.