Microsoft gives more details on Windows 7 XP Mode
Microsoft's Scott Woodgate offers up a few more details around the once hush-hush virtualization project within Windows 7 now known as XP Mode
Follow @infoworldAs we discussed earlier this week, Microsoft is going to use desktop virtualization technology from its Virtual PC software to help Windows 7 users run programs that operate fine within Windows XP but not in Windows Vista or Windows 7. Instead, they could run these applications within their Windows 7 environment by installing them inside a Windows XP virtual machine, a process being dubbed "Windows XP Mode." This XP Mode sounds like it is going to operate in a similar manner to the technology found in VMware Unity or Parallels Coherence.
Information early on about the XP Mode technology was sparse. So after reading a few e-mail letters from readers, I asked Scott Woodgate, director of Desktop Virtualization and Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) at Microsoft, to clarify a few points and provide a bit more detail around the subject.
[ InfoWorld's Randall C. Kennedy calls Windows 7's 'XP mode' the right idea, wrong technology, and XP mode may not work on many PCs. | Ready to upgrade? Find out if your PC can run Windows 7 | Learn more about Windows 7's actual performance and capabilities in InfoWorld's special report. ]
InfoWorld: When is the final version of XP Mode going to ship? And will it remain an add-on that people have to download separately or will it ultimately be packaged in with Windows 7?
Scott Woodgate: A beta of Windows XP Mode is available today. Beta testers can download Windows Virtual PC and the virtual Windows XP environment. When Windows XP Mode is released to production, there will be two ways for customers to get Windows XP Mode. The easiest way will be to get it pre-installed on a PC from an original equipment manufacturer or local value-added reseller. This requires minimum configuration and delivers the most compelling experience for small to medium-size businesses. As an alternative, Windows Virtual PC and Virtual Windows XP will be available as downloads from Microsoft.com for Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise customers.
InfoWorld: To clear up any confusion, are there any differences in the way Microsoft plans to promote MED-V and XP Mode's virtual XP to small businesses? Why would they use one technology over the other?
