14 DAY TRIAL // There are only two weeks left until the latest operating system from Microsoft becomes available on the market, and the Redmond-based company has just unveiled some details on the Windows 7 compatibility programs it is running. The RTM version of Windows 7 has been on the table for a few months now, and both hardware and software makers have had time to make their solutions work seamlessly with the OS. Over 6,000 products have already received the Compatible with Windows 7 Logo and thousands more are expected to get it in the near future.
As one can easily imagine, the software giant is trying to make sure that users of Windows 7 will receive the best experience possible, and having both the hardware and software solutions that they are going to use tested for compatibility is one way to ensure all goes according to plan. According to Mark Relph, senior director with the Windows Product Strategy Group, things have been moving into the right direction until now, and there are more applications already marked as compatible with Windows 7 than have been with any other release of Windows.
“Compatibility is critical and we’ve continued our focus on making sure our hardware and software partners have all the resources they need to test and build on Windows 7. We have spent a lot of time with these partners in the last few months, including hosting more than 60 application compatibility labs, 6 logo fests, and outreach to partners in more than 93 different countries. In the Windows Ecosystem Readiness Program alone we now have over 50,000 developers from 17,000 companies using our technical resources to ready their products for Windows 7,” Relph notes.
The Ready.Set.7 program should not be a mystery to anyone, nor the fact that products capable of delivering a great experience when coupled with the forthcoming platform will have the Compatible with Windows 7 Logo placed on the packaging and on retailer websites. However, something that is new is that a new Windows Compatibility Center Website will soon be unveiled, meant to offer users a simple way of learning which products have received the award and are best fit for them.
For what it's worth, Microsoft worked hard on the compatibility side of its new client. According to Relph, nine out of ten beta testers of Windows 7 can already enjoy suited drivers for the hardware devices on their PCs. Moreover, the Compatible with Windows 7 Logo comes only to products that work with all Windows 7 flavors, 64-bit included. The applications and devices that one would acquire after purchasing a computer are those included in this compatibility program, yet Microsoft has something in store for the PCs coming with Windows 7 right out of the box too.