Nothing interesting for businesses
Too bad. It looks that Windows 7, same as Vista, is trying to compete with Apple's OSs or with CSI's (the series) fictional interfaces. This brings MS OSs at the level of home users - mainly the ones interested in multimedia. I consider this to be the wrong strategy for MS since I suppose that very soon they will start loosing business customers.
These exact gadgets stopped Apple in becoming an interesting choice for companies. That is why Apple may prove itself more useful for mass media industry and for multimedia processing. And, these features are the exact ones which the companies outside the above mentioned industries don't need.
What companies need is a simple, fast, reliable and secure OS. Not all the cartoons embedded in the new MS OSs. And, since it is harder every day to find a PC with Windows XP pre-installed, I am seriously considering switching to Linux. I may replace MS Exchange with Lotus Domino on Linux, and keep a MS Windows server for MS SQL. I may even replace the file and printing sharing with Samba. Or, I may decide to keep the Windows server just for these functions.
There are many options for replacing a MS server. Not so many for the desktops, though.
Still, the only solutions I have to find now for the desktops - which stop me for switching right now to Linux, are AutoCAD for Linux and a replacement for MS Outlook or, at least, for Lotus Notes client.
But, since MS is pushing me to install an OS with unneeded kitschy functionality, I have no other choice but starting to research on how to replace everything we use now in our company with Linux counterparts. As an idea for Outlook, I may use OWA instead of the MS Outlook client.
Or, maybe, MS will decide to provide a simplified OS for business - stripped of all these unwanted bells and whistles.
Who knows? Time will tell.
