Forget about Windows ‘Blue’ — stay focused on Windows 7

A pirated copy of Windows “Blue” has leaked, and from what I’ve seen in screenshots, it is awesome. What???!!! Right, I know everyone else is trash-talking the 20 screenshots that show nothing really and give us no solid indication on what we are looking at. Seriously folks, we have greater flexibility with the color schemes for our Start screen and new tile options. Great stuff, love it — but let’s get back to work.

For more detailed look into the little we actually know about Windows “Blue,” you can read Woody Leonhard’s “Windows ‘Blue’: We waited for this?” Personally, I don’t know that anyone is really waiting for it. It’s just the next tweak of Windows 8. What do people really want to see? A Start orb! Or more specifically, a choice to reenable a Start orb without having to install third-party Start menu applications.

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From what I’m seeing, that isn’t happening in “Blue,” so we might as well focus on the one operating system that is ready and available to save us from the looming end of XP support: Windows 7!

I’ve been using Windows 8 on both an Acer touchscreen all-in-one PC and a Dell Alienware Aurora with a traditional nontouchscreen monitor. It’s tough either way, though more difficult without the touchscreen because the OS was built for finger swipes. That means the traditional enterprise must either replace all its hardware with touchscreen devices and replace all personnel with 15-year-olds who are more comfortable with touch than mouse, or we can go with Windows 7, get 90 percent of the benefits of Windows 8 in terms of security enhancements and so forth over XP, and wait.

Wait for what? Well, not “Blue,” apparently. Perhaps for more turnover in hardware and a workforce more comfortable with gesture-based computing as Baby Boomers retire and Gens X, Y, and Z take over the workforce with their mad finger skills.

Right about now is when some of my readers will begin furiously typing up comments about how 1) they are going to switch to Mac, 2) Linux is not dead, or 3) XP is still working and that they will die running XP, plus my column stinks. To those folks I say:

1. Switch to Mac — you can join the three other people using a Mac in the enterprise.
2. You’re right Linux is not dead; it lives and prospers as the base OS for appliances and such, although your career in enterprise IT might be dead.
3. Mom, stop trashing my column; I switched you to Windows 7 years ago and you’re doing fine.

Windows 7 is your mainstay; Windows 8 can fit in, too Windows 7 is what you’re really looking to migrate from as you finally retire your XP boxes. It’s no so dramatic a leap, so users will not be completely lost, as they would be with Windows 8. But Windows 8 is perfect for folks who already use it at home and have begun taking it up at work, as well as those who want a tablet that is fully Windows but fully portable like an iPad. The two OSes can run whatever flavor of Office you have, and they can be managed by Active Directory. You can choose both.

But tell your people to steer clear of the Windows RT and Microsoft’s Surface RT tablet. Although its that ARM processor promises a bit more battery life, it cannot be domain-joined, cannot have group policies applied, and cannot run standard Windows applications. Ultimately you end up using it as you would an iPad, which means you set up some kind of virtual desktop infrastructure and connect remotely to a floating OS that is now securable and maintained by IT. That’s a lot of work you avoid by getting a Surface Pro or similar Windows 8 tablet.

Yes, I’ve heard the battery complaints from users of Intel-based tablets like the Surface Pro, but I’m confident Intel will rally here. In the meantime, I can plug my device in every few hours if necessary — it’s not like a power socket is hard to come by these days.

Why we’re blue over “Blue” I believe everyone is so ticked off about Windows “Blue” because deep down they want to see something great come from Microsoft. That doesn’t seem to be “Blue.” Some of us remember waiting on line for Windows 95. Some of us want Microsoft to just listen, get out of its insular ways, and give us an OS that truly knocks our socks off. We believe and hope Microsoft can rally.

If Microsoft doesn’t come through and another platform emerges as the new enterprise leader, I know I’m in trouble: I’ll probably go into hiding as I’ve made way too many enemies defending Microsoft to survive should it fall. It’s in my best interest for Microsoft to make “Blue” more awesome than what has leaked so far. If Microsoft doesn’t do that, then I’ll have to pin my hopes on Windows 9.

Until then, Windows 7 makes a darn good operating system, with Windows 8 thrown in where it makes sense.

This story, “Forget about Windows ‘Blue’ — stay focused on Windows 7,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Read more of J. Peter Bruzzese’s Enterprise Windows blogand follow the latest developments in Windows at InfoWorld.com. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.