Due in 18 months, Windows 7 has raised hopes that it will fix the troubled Vista. But will your PC be ready for Microsoft’s new OS?The Windows 7 Compatibility Testing widget can help to evaluate a PC’s suitability to run the next version of Windows. In today’s Windows Sentinel blog, Randall C. Kennedy walks users through the testing, which starts with the system’s hardware — specifically, the type/speed of your CPU and the amount of installed memory — and then addresses the current system “stress” levels, where “we examine three key areas of system loading: Peak CPU Saturation; Peak Memory Pressure; and Peak I/O Contention.” The testing ends up with an in-depth look at the composition of your current workload, “to quantify what, if any, workload ‘headroom’ is available for additional OS-related overhead.” Take the Windows Sentinel widget for a test run as an “easy way to get a generalized sense of a system’s suitability for running a post-Vista Windows OS.” Software Development