Windows 7 will include virtual Windows XP Mode

[p2p rules]

In an effort to convince businesses to migrate to Windows 7, Microsoft will offer an add-on for the upcoming operating system that will allow users to run applications designed for Windows XP in a virtual machine. This represents the first time Microsoft has relied on virtualization for backwards compatibility.

The add-on, called "Windows XP Mode" creates an XP virtual environment running under Virtual PC within Windows 7. "All you need to do is to install suitable applications directly in Windows XP Mode," said Scott Woodgate, the director of Windows enterprise and virtualization strategy. "The applications will be published to the Windows 7 desktop and then you can run them directly from Windows 7."

Windows XP Mode (XPM) will be available as a free download for users of Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate and Enterprise, whereas presumably more cut-down versions of the operating system will require a fee to add the functionality. A fully licensed copy of Windows XP Professional SP3 will be included with the add-on.

The details were first revealed by Rafael Rivera and Paul Thurrott, two prominent bloggers who are also collaborating on a book called Windows 7 Secrets. "XPM does not require you to run the virtual environment as a separate Windows desktop," Rivera said. "Instead, as you install applications inside the virtual XP environment, they are published to the host (Windows 7) OS as well. That way, users can run Windows XP-based applications, like IE6, alongside Windows 7 applications under a single desktop." 

Source: AfterDawn

[Forested665]

Whats the difference between this and compatability dll's besides the fact your paying for an xp license, and presumably more resource usage?
And for this to be effective doesnt that mean the bugs would have to be worked out of SP3?

Looks like microsoft is taking the half ass road to giving people what they want while still making major profit.
Guess they learned apple's little marketing tricks....

[White Stripes]

why not slap a SP4 on XP and keep selling it cos ppl still seem eager to buy.... if they are still buying your product no matter how old why stop selling it (take the koss porta pros for example... headphones with a design right out of the 80s but were so well made ppl -still- buy them and they are still made with the same 80s design)

[Cobra]

why not slap a SP4 on XP and keep selling it cos ppl still seem eager to buy.

They are paying a bunch of people, so they need to come up with new things instead of sitting back and looking like they are doing nothing, but they also act as if the consumer looks at a new OS in the same way that they look at new video games. ("The new OS out! I must get it now!")

[Daniel]

They are paying a bunch of people, so they need to come up with new things instead of sitting back and looking like they are doing nothing.

Microsoft supported and updated XP while creating two completely new operating systems. Why not support the old, which everyone likes, while creating releasing new products?

They also act as if the consumer looks at a new OS in the same way that they look at new video games. ("The new OS out! I must get it now!")

From what I've seen, people are anti-vista and never upgraded from XP due to problems they heard about or experienced.

[Forested665]

How come people dont do the same with mac?
WHY ARENT WE EFFING PISSED AT THEM!
 
As soon as they release a new OS everyone of their customers upgrades because they provide almost 0 support for the old os. All the new programs only work on the new os ect.

never upgraded from XP due to problems they heard about or experienced.

I experienced more issues on xp then i ever heard about vista, and ive never experienced a quarter of the issue with vista that everyone propogated before its release and even now as its being phased out.
I recall one of more popular bullshits was that it wouldnt support non DRM music and if the indexer saw it your os would be disabled like when you dont put in a product key.

[White Stripes]

How come people dont do the same with mac?
WHY ARENT WE EFFING PISSED AT THEM!

mac users are a strange scientology-like cult of ppl that are best left to their own.... arguing with them is like screaming at a brick wall...

as far as vista goes... well... M$ can keep their 600$ price tag....

[Forested665]

$600 wtf?
I paid $233 for a legal copy of home premium (that also includes me ordering and shipping the x86_64 DVD) wich gave me 2 installs and 2 upgrades on both machines. You can go to wlamart now and buy a single install for like... 120 and if you call microshaft you can get upgrade keys for like 60 bux.
One of the more popular options that people caught onto later was that if you found a vendor with the crappy starter or the enterprise edition you could buy it and an upgrade key for ultimate cheaper then you could grab a copy of ultimate.
But one of the things that i find interesting is the hardware control that microsoft tries to implement. if you check through any of the features of the different versions of vista, The os limits how much ram you can use by version (and no im not talking about the 4 gig 32 bit limit as thats a physical limit).

[bu44er]

If it was not for me designing Websites I would use Linux all the way. On my main PC I have Linux and on my Laptop I am using Windows XP. Vista was a good operating system for gamers who had top end hardware, everyone else struggled. All I can say about the new Windows Operating System is "Polish a turd, it's still a turd".

[White Stripes]

@zerocool: agreed