"XP Mode" is Coming with Windows 7
Microsoft’s post doesn’t say much about the new feature, other than it will be aimed primarily at small businesses and will allow “suitable” applications to run on Windows 7
On Friday, bloggers Paul Thurrott and Rafael Rivera posted about a new technology Microsoft is readying for Windows 7 users that is designed to allow them to run legacy Windows XP apps via PC virtualization technology. Microsoft admitted later that the existence of this feature in a Windows Business blog post.
Microsoft’s post doesn’t say much about the new feature, other than it will be aimed primarily at small businesses and will allow “suitable” applications to run on Windows 7. A beta of both Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC for Windows 7 (Professional and Ultimate Editions only) are coming soon.
Neither of these new technologies seems to be in the Windows 7 Release Candidate build that a number of testers began downloading via torrents at the end of this week, and which is due to go to MSDN and TechNet subscribers on April 30. The public will be able to download the RC as of May 5.
If Microsoft does maintain its policy of making XP Mode a volume-license-only benefit, everyday consumers won’t be able to get it (other than on work machines). But that possible limitation aside, if XP Mode works as it sounds like it’s designed to, it could provide MIcrosoft customers with one less reason to hold off from upgrading from XP — namely, application incompatibility.
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