Should I just wait for Windows 8? (So many questions. So little time. Part 28)

Josh is asking what I’m sure a lot of people are also wondering, given the recent excitement around our next version of Windows..

Wow!  A two-parter!     

Short answer to your first part: No.  Don’t wait to start the migration. 

Longer explanations and reasons:

The many and varied ways that Windows 7 surpasses Windows XP are well documented and easy to find, so I won’t go into them all here.  But understanding those benefits and knowing that you can take advantage of them NOW should be reason enough. 

But more importantly; If you are prepared for the migration to Windows 7 and are able to make that transition now, the move to Windows 8 will be a breeze.  You’ll be using the same migration tools.  You’ll be able to run Windows 8 on the same hardware.  And although the move to Windows 7 taskbar will be a slight learning curve, you still have a start menu.  The Start Screen might be too much for them to handle all at once. 

(Actually, once you get the hang of a couple of new UI moves, and even if you only have keyboard and mouse available to you with no touch-screen, you can just think of and treat the Start screen as an improved, colorful, customizable start menu; one that has new full-screen apps that will also run on your next Windows RT tablet.)

Part 2 of your question deals with licensing.  I won’t go there.

“Oh c’mon you chicken..”

Okay.. yeah.. sorry.  But honestly, I’m not familiar with “Implementation Credits”.  Are you referring to Desktop Deployment Planning Service (DDPS) credits?  If so, this question would be best answered by your Microsoft Account Executive, or the local Microsoft licensing experts your company has been working with.

I hope you’re following my blog, Josh, or this will be a very short conversation.

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What about the rest of you?  Are you deploying Windows 7 or waiting for Windows 8?