Windows 7 Review, Windows 7 RC1: Windows XP Mode

Perhaps the biggest surprise - and for Microsoft, possibly the biggest boost - is a feature that has been announced but not yet available: Windows XP Mode, which will run XP applications in an XP compatibility box, but make them appear as if they are running directly in Windows 7 itself. In this way, Microsoft hopes to give users the best of both worlds - the compatibility of XP and the shinier new Windows 7 interface.

The feature sounds underwhelming until you dig into the details. According to Microsoft, you won't actually have to manually run Virtual PC to run those XP applications once you've installed them; instead, they will appear to work directly within Windows 7.

You'll just have to run Virtual PC the first time and run the application - from that point on, it will appear to be just other application running directly in Windows 7 (at least, that's the promise). And you won't have to buy XP separately - your Windows 7 EULA (end-user licence agreement) includes XP as well. In essence, you get two operating systems for the price of one.

This solves one of Microsoft's biggest problems with XP very cleverly - it's such a solid, stable operating system that people simply don't want to give it up to move to a newer operating system. Now they don't have to - they can run XP as if it were a part of Windows 7.

Microsoft says Windows XP Mode will soon be ready for download, and as soon as it is, I'll follow up with a report on how well it works.

Source: www.pcadvisor.co.uk

How much Windows 7 Price?

The price of Windows 7 Starter Edition per machine will be around double that of Windows XP Starter Edition. As reported (here - warning: PDF - and here), Windows 7 Starter Edition will be between $45 and $55 compared to $25 and $30 for Windows XP Starter Edition.

It's not clear where DigiTimes, the source of this particular news, got the new price.

The situation is complicated by the fact that the Starter Edition price is generally not disclosed. This version of Windows is an OEM-only edition and pricing comes down to how far OEMs can arm wrestle Microsoft, with agreements then locked up under NDA.

Microsoft refused to comment when asked by The Reg on the Windows 7 Starter Edition price, pointing to the NDA chastity belt that accompanies this SKU.

If Microsoft has bumped the price, it'll put a serious crimp in the appeal of Windows 7 on netbooks. OEMs margins are tight, and on a machine priced at $300, Microsoft will be taking a serious bite out of the margin that would have gone to the PC manufacturer.

In Microsoft's world, a price of between $45 and $55 might count as flat - or no increase. Leaked copies of Windows Vista Starter Edition are available for $52.

With the technology hurdle that hurt Windows Vista gone, that leaves just price as the barrier to OEMs using Windows 7 on netbooks. And for OEMs who had skipped Windows Vista Starter Edition for Windows XP Starter Edition, that price of between $45 and $55 per unit won't count as pricing stability at all. It'll be an effective increase.

The only card Microsoft has left in this game is application and hardware compatibility. Software and devices that consumers know and like will work with Windows on netbooks. This might compel OEMs to swallow the price.

Apart from that - and it's not an insignificant consideration - it'll be up to Ubuntu's chief sponsor Canonical and other Linuxes to lobby Acer, Asus, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and others making netbooks. Those manufacturers will be concerned about their margins