After XP: Windows 7 or Windows 8?

After XP: Windows 7
or Windows 8?
Glenn Weadock
MCITP, MCSE, MCT, A+

© 2014 Global Knowledge Training LLC. All rights reserved. 8/1/2014 Page 2
Glenn Weadock
MCITP, MCSE, MCT, A+
 Instructor for Windows 8,
Server 2012, and Active
Directory classes
 President of Independent
Software, Inc., providing IT
consulting services for 25 years
 Has taught 300+ seminars in the
US, Canada, UK, and SE Asia
 Author of 18 commercial books
and many seminars and videos
 In Lakewood, CO (Denver area)

Our Agenda
 Introduction and Support Timelines
 The Controversial Windows 8
 The Surprising Windows 7
 Next Steps: Choosing a Strategy
 Decision Points and Considerations for Your
Environment
 Conclusions

Introduction and Support Timelines
Microsoft Support Lingo
 “Mainstream Support”
 Free tech support
 Security updates
 “Extended Support”
 Paid tech support
 Security updates
 “Custom Support”
 For large customers; costs approximately $200/PC
 Critical security updates (important ones = extra $)

Introduction and Support Timelines
Internal Windows Version Numbers
 Vista: 6.0
 Windows 7: 6.1
 Windows 8: 6.2
Architecturally, these OSs are not as different
as the marketing names might suggest.

Windows XP Support Timeline
2008
SP3
4/2009
Mainstream
Support Ends
10/2010
NLA as
Preinstalled OS
4/2014
Extended
Support Ends
End of 2001
Retail Availability

Windows 7 Support Timeline
Late 2009
Retail Availability
2/2011
SP1
10/2014
Bundle
Sales End
(Ultimate)
1/2015
Mainstream
Support Ends
1/2020
Extended
Support Ends

Windows 8 Support Timeline
10/2012
Retail Availability
10/2013
“Windows 8.1”
10/2014
Sales End
as Separate
Product
1/2018
Mainstream
Support Ends
1/2023
Extended
Support Ends

The Controversial Windows 8
 One size fits all (maybe)
 Metro/Modern/Immersive/Start Screen
 Traditional/Legacy/Desktop
 Touch interface oriented toward tablets
 “Modern” apps (built-in plus Windows Store)
 Start Screen replaces Start Menu
 Charms bar
 Split personality control panels
 No option to keep “old” Start menu
 Revised search capability

The Controversial Windows 8 (cont.)
 Makeovers
 File Explorer
 Task Manager
 Native USB 3.0
 Faster boot times (benefit of tablet focus)
 “Client” Hyper-V
 Tools for Managing Server 2012
 SkyDrive (now OneDrive)

Windows 8.1: Mid-Course Corrections
 Start “button” on Taskbar (not menu though)
 Start Screen makeover
 New tile size options
 New apps
 Arrow to reach “All Apps” view
 Pin “modern” apps to Taskbar (“Update 1”)
 Boot to desktop option (automatic in “Update 1”)
 Better help/tutorials
 Improvements to modern apps (e.g., mail)
 More features on modern Control Panel

The Surprising Windows 7
 Released late 2009 but still strong five years later
 Very successful in consumer and professional
markets
 Far fewer compatibility issues compared to Vista
 Device driver availability generally excellent
 No “split personality” issues
 Licenses available under Software Assurance and
“downgrade” licenses
 Support deadlines beginning to loom (2015, 2020)

Next Steps: Choosing a Strategy
 Stick it out with Windows XP?
 Transition to Windows 7 and skip Windows 8?
 Jump to Windows 8 and wait for Windows 9?

Choosing a Strategy: Sticking with XP
 Riskiest strategy of the three
 Custom support? ($$)
 Network access: eliminate – restrict – isolate
 Bad guys can study patches for Windows 7/8 and
exploit XP for vulnerabilities in common
 Keep updating browsers (non-IE) and email clients
 Consider running as “thin client”
 Consider pairing this strategy with quick migration
to Windows 9

Choosing a Strategy: Go to 7, Skip 8
 Extended support ends Jan 2020
 Valid strategy if dual GUI does not appeal or apply
 Windows 7 is a solid and popular platform
 Large universe of compatible software/hardware
and USB 3.0 support can be retrofitted via drivers
 Rumors of Windows 9 (“Threshold”) in 2015 but
your company would have plenty of time to
evaluate it
 May not give you enough time to wait for Windows
10 though

Choosing a Strategy: Jump to 8, Wait for 9
 Version 8.1 (esp. with Update 1) addresses some
of Windows 8’s initial usability challenges (and is
required for updates after 1/2016)
 Mainstream support ends 1/2018, extended
support ends 1/2023 (so plenty of time to review
Windows 9 if it turns out to be compelling)
 If Windows 9 is not compelling, you have three
more years than if you choose Windows 7 (so you
can probably wait for Windows 10!)

Decision Points and Considerations for
Your Environment
1. Multi-GUI or Uni-GUI?
2. Importance of Cloud Computing
3. Hardware and Performance
4. New Apps You Might Need
5. Browser Issues
6. Old Apps You Might Want
7. Antivirus Support
8. Other Security Issues
9. Leveraging Your Server Platform
10. The Learning Curve

1. Multi-GUI or Uni-GUI?
 Does your organization use tablets?
 How about hybrids (all-in-ones)?
 If so, are there benefits to deploying a single OS?
 Can you put touch capability to work in useful
ways? (e.g., art departments – Fresh Paint, etc.)

2. Importance of Cloud Computing
 Windows 8 has tighter cloud integration
 Windows 8.1 provides greater synching controls
 Auto-save to OneDrive can be made default
behavior
 Do your employees have Microsoft accounts?
 Are there sharing/security/privacy issues? (MS
makes multiple copies of OneDrive instances)

3. Hardware and Performance
 Windows 7 lacks native support of USB 3.0, but
drivers make this less problematic
 Both Windows 7 and Windows 8 offer good SSD
support
 File copy performance is comparable between
Windows 7 and Windows 8
 Windows 8.x boots, shuts down, and wakes faster
than Windows 7 (on the order of 20% to 30%)

4. New Apps You Might Need
 Immersive apps may suit tablet environment
better
 Tablets + immersive apps can make good
presentation and demo platforms
 Windows Store growing (approx. 120K apps) but
still lacking in productivity and system tools
 Most Windows Store apps are consumer-oriented
(music, video, games)

5. Browser Issues
 Browser add-ins blocked on the Metro side
 Internet Explorer (IE) 10+ includes “enhanced
protected mode” w/ important security
improvements (ASLR, etc.)
 Highest IE version Windows XP supports is 8
(2009)

6. Old Apps You Might Want
 Most Vista and Windows 7 apps work on
Windows 8/8.1
 Resources to explore
 Windows Application Compatibility Center
 Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT)
 Client Hyper-V is a robust option
 Windows 8 Pro/Enterprise only (64-bit)
 Windows 7 supports “Virtual PC”
 Non-updated WinXP apps may have issues with
UAC

7. Antivirus Support
 Antivirus support generally available for all three
OSs
 Microsoft providing anti-malware updates for XP
through July 2015
 Includes MSE, System Center, Forefront products
 Third-party vendors generally intend to support XP
for two to three years post-end-of-support

8. Other Security Issues
 XP doesn’t have User Account Control
 XP doesn’t have BitLocker (full volume encryption)
 Neither XP nor Windows 7 have Secure Boot
 Windows 8 includes various core-hardening
improvements to thwart the bad guys

9. Leveraging Your Server Platform
 SMB 2.x (Windows 7) and 3.x (Windows 8) support
faster file transfers
 XP does not support BranchCache or DirectAccess
 Windows 8 and Server 2012 (together) support:
 Active Directory Based Activation (AD BA)
(alternative to KMS)
 PowerShell-based domain controller promotion and
emotion
 Windows 8 required to use Hyper-V admin tools for
Server 2012

10. The Learning Curve
 Migrations are always challenging, so
organizations try to minimize their frequency
 Windows 8.1 is less daunting to traditional users
that 8.0 was (improved help and tutorials)
 Anything is going to be a jump coming from XP!
 Windows 8.x will require more retraining than
Windows 7, but corporate images can be set up to
minimize disruption (e.g., via Group Policy)

Conclusions
 Staying with XP will take work, $, time to keep secure
 Windows 7 remains a viable option but was more
appealing before 8.1
 Windows 8.1 (esp. with Upgrade 1) deserves close
look
 Plan your timing so you can evaluate Windows 9
(expected approx. mid-2015)
 Avoid two migrations in < five years (pain, $, time)
 Consider third-party tools to ameliorate drawbacks
 If you have Windows 7 now, consider waiting for
Windows 9 rather than upgrading to Windows 8

Learn More
Recommended Global Knowledge
Courses
 Configuring Windows 8.1
 Administering and Maintaining
Windows 7
 MCSA: Windows 7 Boot Camp for
Desktop Administrators
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After XP: Windows 7 or Windows 8?

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After XP: Windows 7 or Windows 8?