Windows 7 with Windows XP Mode

One of the biggest obstacle on the way to migration to the new operating system is software incompatibility. It seems that Microsoft is preparing a solution to this problem. Windows 7 will be equipped with a function that is called "Windows XP Mode".

This mode is nothing more than a pre-configured virtual machine that will make it possible to run applications that can not be natively launched in Windows 7. The most important thing is that you do not need to know about it – the user will not see the whole virtual machine, but only the application window. Its behavior is the same as in the case of any other program - for example, you can minimize such a window and close it in the same way as other windows. On the Windows team blog, you can see a screenshot with a program running in th "Windows XP Mode".

The new feature will obviously be based on the Virtual PC – a free Microsoft’s tool for virtualization. This tool, as you can see in the screenshot, was named "Windows Virtual PC". It is worth mentioning that the new version of VirtualPC finally supports mounting of USB devices. Unfortunately, the "Windows XP Mode" will only be available in Windows 7 Professional (the equivalent of Vista Business) and Ultimate edition.

The "Windows XP Mode" seems to be a very useful innovation, especially taking into account the fact that a user does not have to launch the virtual machine separately but it is launched at the moment when a user wants to start an incompatible application.