Windows 7 is still riding high on its wave of good press. After all the positive feedback from users on the beta and release candidate, Microsoft decided that preorders of Windows 7 would be massively cheap, at $50 in the US for Home Premium (sorry, Europe). But it seems that, unlike what happened with Vista, Microsoft is giving consumers a really harsh time when it comes to deciding between Home Premium and Professional. In reading a list of specifications of what’s offered in Windows 7 Professional, one finds the touting of XP Mode, which will allow users to run their XP programs with (at least theoretical) full compatibility. For Home Premium, however, which will no doubt be the most popular version of Windows 7, no such feature is mentioned.
This is a big deal as many people did not want to leave XP for Vista, largely due to fears of software incompatibility, which were no help driven home by a media frenzy of how bad Vista was. The most notable holdouts on Vista were the corporations, which are probably going to buy at least Windows 7 Professional, if not higher-end versions. So while the businesses get that XP compatibility, it seems that the home users will have to be without it.
