Windows 7 RTMs; Already gets bad reviews

From one of the most respected and fair people in the IT industry, Walt Mossberg of the WSJ. While I totally agree with Walt’s assessment that Windows 7 migration will suck for Windows XP users I wonder just how fair it is to expect a flawless transition from an OS that came out in 2001. Can you really beat up a company, even if it is Microsoft that ought to be held to a different standard, for recommending a hardware upgrade / drive wipe to an OS that was released that long ago? Seriously, how smooth will be the upgrade from OS X 10.0 to 10.6 / Snow Leopard that comes out about a month before 2007?

My wife has been running Windows 7 and I wouldn’t say she loves/likes it but I haven’t heard any complaints. On the same laptop she has been a vocal hater of Vista.

Congratulations to Microsoft and Windows 7 on getting this one out. I hope it spells a new era for Microsoft and I hope it is a rock solid release for their sake. I don’t think Microsoft has another “Let’s tell a story, and hope people will be able to still stay on our platform if we keep a free beta out there of something more optimized” because it’s switch time for many and Mac, for all it’s lack of applications and overpriced hardware, still offers a better experience and can emulate XP for business tasks. And when you lose your enthusiasts (almost done) and get pounded by competitors (check) and your former partners (double check), there is really nowhere else to go.

So Microsoft / Windows 7, I’m rooting for you!