There were perfectly legitimate technical reasons for not offering a direct upgrade path. The underlying technologies in Windows XP and Windows 7 are very different and it was clear to testers early on that many software packages would need to be reinstalled. This didn’t help Microsoft however as all copies of Windows, and they’re still doing this for reasons I can’t fathom, store the user’s files and folders on the same partition or physical hard disk as the copy of Windows. These ‘shell user folders’ have become significantly easier to move in recent years but even so most users would never be aware of how they can do this.

Thus, the vast majority of Windows users are left with their files and folders sitting in the same physical location as Windows and then facing, potentially, the cost of an external hard disk to move them. That is of course assuming they even know how to perform an operation such as this.

The Windows Easy Transfer program supplied on the Windows 7 installation DVD could perform this task for you, but even that wasn’t obvious to find for most users and thus the upgrade path from XP to Windows 7 was problematic at best.

Windows XP is ten years old now and will be even older by the time Windows 8 arrives. It could easily be argued that any computer running Windows XP would need to be replaced by now. There are three problems with this. The first assumes that XP is running on a ten year old computer. New computers that were on sale in 2009 were still being shipped with XP and this hardware would be more than capable of running the new OS when it arrives. The second is the assumption that older hardware still won’t be able to run the new OS. We’ve yet to see any real-world performance information but we have now seen a copy of Windows running on an ARM processor at only 1GHz. That’s not more than half the processor speed of the earliest netbook. It’s reasonable to assume then that Windows 8 will run happily, if perhaps a bit slowly, on ageing hardware and that an upgrade to Windows 8 should work for some people.

The last point with this is that we have just been through a worldwide economic downturn and it’s entirely possible that many people will have bought cheap new computers without an operating system and simply had their existing copy of XP moved over to it. These computers would be more than capable of running Windows 7 or Windows 8, but the cost of moving to Windows 7 might have been too much for some people. Let’s not forget that XP has always been fairly forgiving when moving a licence from one computer to another.

So already we have a multitude of scenarios in which people might still be happily running Windows XP by the time Windows 8 is released late next year. So what do we expect Microsoft to do to support these people?

One interesting snippet came from a Windows 8 installer leak where the OS is seen to offer to keep the users files and, optionally, programs, during the install. Now I’ve already said that it would be difficult if not impossible to transfer existing installed programs to a new copy of Windows 8, but the ability to retain a users files would significantly ease the pain for many XP users. This scenario has not been tested yet though and isn’t feature complete anyway, so we’ll have to wait and see.

There is another alternative though and it’s one that I’m keen to see Microsoft try. There has long been speculation that XP Mode, which is an optional virtual machine running a fully-licenced copy of XP for Windows 7 Professional and above, would be built into the next version of Windows. The reasons and benefits for this are many. The operating system is smaller and lighter (Windows 8 can install apparently in as little as ten minutes) and more secure requiring fewer patches. Most patches and updates are for older legacy components. Stripping these out would make the OS much more secure.

There will be people then who perhaps either don’t have the original installers for some software, or that have software that won’t run on editions of Windows newer than XP. If XP Mode then can install a clean VM copy of Windows XP on your computer, and is built on the old Microsoft Virtual PC technology, could the Windows 8 installer create a virtual machine of an existing Windows XP setup and allow the user access to this through the in-built VM?

We’ll have some time to wait before we get an answer to this and, sadly, that answer could very well be that Microsoft won’t even bother. The company made clear with Windows 7 that upgrading from XP simply wasn’t possible. At the time Windows 7 launched however you still needed a processor that would support virtual machines in order to get XP Mode to work. Not long after Windows 7 shipped Microsoft made changes to the XP Mode program that allowed it to run on any processor. It’s not too much of a stretch then to believe that such a feature could work and be built into the Windows 8 installer, if Microsoft felt so inclined as to be helpful.

Personally I’m not too hopeful that any of this will actually happen, which is a pity because the world desperately needs to move people away from the insecure Windows XP and all the problems that come with it, such as people still using Internet Explorer 6, which is a security nightmare. None of us, regardless of what operating system we use, can rest safe from botnet and other virus attacks for as long as so many vulnerable computers still exist in the world. For many then, Microsoft taking the lead and properly helping people to move away simply can’t come soon enough.

I say it’s unusual though you have to take into account here that neither of these products are cheap, but neither will be the development for the operating system.

The update is being distributed via iTunes with users being alerted that it is available.  It fixes very little by the way of bugs but does add some interesting new features including the new game centre for multi-player gaming, the abaility to take HDR pictures, rent TV shows from the iTunes store and work with HD video on YouTube.

The update is available for the iPhone 3G, 3GS and iPhone 4 and for the 3rd and 4th generation iPod Touch.

Version 4.2 of iOS is expected to be launched in November.

But don’t let all of this frighten you. I have had success with the 9.10 -> 10.4 upgrade. And in this article I will show you how it’s done.

First things first

Before you begin the release upgrade process it is crucial that you update your current release so that it is as up to date as possible. To do this open up a terminal window and issue the command sudo update-manager which will open up the familiar tool used to update Ubuntu. If there are any updates available go ahead and let those updates happen.

After the updates are complete close out the Update Manager and then start it again, this time instructing it to check for a distribution upgrade like so:

sudo update-manager -d

Figure 1

This time you should notice new button in the window (see Figure 1). As you can see, even upon updating 9.10, there are still some updates to be done. If this happens, go ahead and click Install Updates again. If the Update Manager closes after this update, start it again with the above command.

Once you have reached the point where there are no updates click the Upgrade button which will begin the process of upgrading your release.

Figure 2

After you click this button a new window will appear (see Figure 2).  During the progress of this window you will have to OK a couple of windows. One window will inform you that some of your repositories have been disabled. This will only happen if you have third-party repositories enabled that Canonical doesn’t support. The next window you will have to okay is after the Update Manager calculates the amount of packages needed. In the last Ubuntu 9.10 I upgraded 1,476 packages had to be upgraded!

After you have Okay’d that final window the process of downloading the packages will begin. Upon completion of the download the upgrade will start. Do not interrupt this upgrade. And I wouldn’t bother trying to work on this machine either. Just let the Update Manager do it’s thing.

When the upgrade is complete, you will have to restart your computer. Before you restart, double check to make sure you have backed up all of your files. Now, restart. Don’t hold your breath (it won’t help). ;-)

Once Ubuntu has rebooted you can click on System > About Ubuntu to make sure the upgrade was successful (it will tell you which version of Ubuntu you are using). Hopefully you will see 10.4 listed.

Final thoughts

I probably shouldn’t have to remind you that not every upgrade instance will be successful. It can be risky. But when it works it works VERY well. Just remember to back up that data before you do anything.

Of course one might think such a technology would be difficult at best to use. Not so. The developers of Ksplice have created an incredibly easy to use system that allows the administrator to handle critical updates, normally requiring a reboot, as easily as those updates that do not require a reboot.

Getting such a system working does requiring the installation of third party software. This tutorial will walk you through installing Ksplice as well as how to go about updating a currently running kernel with the new system.

Installing Ksplice

Figure 1

To install Ksplice navigate your browser to the Ksplice Uptrack page and click on the link for your particular distribution. If you are using Ubuntu the Gdebi installer will be an option to select from (see Figure 1) . Select Open with and then make sure GDebi is selected. Click OK and the installation will commence.

During the installation a new window will open specific to Ksplice. In this window you will have to agree to a License and then click Forward. Once you have done this the installation will complete.

Using Ksplice

Figure 2

After install is finished Ksplice will automatically open up the update window (see Figure 2) and reveal to you if there are any updates for your currently running kernel. This might very well remind you of the average Linux package management front-end.

In order to install the update(s) click the Install All Updates button to take care of any updates pending.

You will also notice a new icon added to your Notification Area (see Figure 3). This Icon will not only allow you to launch the

Figure 3

Ksplice tool, it will also keep you informed if there are any updates available. Figure 3 shows the Ksplice icon with a pending update.  When your system is up to date the “!” will disappear and leave you with a clean “K” icon.

Command line

What Linux tool is complete without a command line component? Ksplice includes four command line tools for your terminal pleasure:

• uptrack-upgrade: This command will download and install the latest kernel updates available for your system.
• uptrack-install PACKAGE: Will install a specific update (Where PACKAGE is the package name to update.)
• uptrack-remove PACKAGE : Will remove a specific update (Where PACKAGE is the package name to remove).
• uptrack-show PACKAGE: Will show more detail about a specific update (Where PACKAGE is the package name).

Final thoughts

I have been using Linux (and computers) for quite some time. I never thought I would see the day when such a major update to the underlying sub-systems could be pulled off without a reboot. And not only that, it is done as simply as using a GUI interface.  But now we are looking at something special. Ksplice is only now beginning to make serious inroads into reaching that goal of 100% uptime. And now, without having to reboot after a major upgrade, that 100% number is looking closer and closer every day.

Extensoft released their brand new product, Extensions for Windows only a few months ago after intensive beta testing for over two years, in fact I believe some leaked screenshots led people to think what they where seeing was Windows 7.

What is it?

Extensions for Windows is a set of tools and applications which are designed to ‘upgrade’ your Windows installation with new features and functionality, the kinds of things power users find themselves wanting on a regular basis.

I asked Eugene Zvyagintsev, Extensoft’s project manager a few questions,

You’ve been working on this project for about 2 years. Did the idea for this release come about from Windows Vista’s release and a perceived lack of ‘power user’ features?

[Eugene] Actually we came up with the idea 4 years ago.  Windows XP was a mature product then, but was still lacking sufficient features and flexibility. We started tinkering with some concepts and ideas and then accelerated the development since we felt more confident that we could provide a useful product at a great value. When Vista came along, we could see that it was still lacking in many areas while being quite confusing to some XP users.

How did you come up with the initial set of tools and applications? Any scouring of message boards involved? Or were these features which you constantly found yourself wanting when using Windows?

[Eugene] Probably the latter.  As Windows power users ourselves, we feel what the majority of Windows users feel. However, we validated many of our ideas by reading blogs and articles that often praised Windows, but also pointed out its flaws and issues.

Perhaps the biggest thing for many users is the fact that a lot of the features provided in this suite can be found for free in other products. Eugene thinks it’s not that simple,

[Eugene] The main question we asked ourselves was what someone would choose if Microsoft released a sensible and functional Windows upgrade at a reasonable price? Would Windows users choose to continue looking for and download a variety of free tools?; Or would they rather choose to install a better version of Windows with the same features?”

And what should less technical users do? There are those who don’t know how to look for, what to download, and how to use such software. Many of us, experienced users, act as technical support among friends and family. We often get phone calls from friends asking us how to resize an image, how to create a PDF document, another time how to open or convert a document.  This can go on and on. And we tell them: download this, install that, and then call me back so I can explain to you how to use it.  Wouldn’t it be much easier for everyone if Windows simply included more functionality that is immediately accessible and feels familiar?

Therefore, we wanted to create a single and standardized product that we could recommend to all our friends and families…then only to occasionally answer basic questions from them. The thing Extensions really does for them is it gives them peace of mind.

He has a good point, but it’s up to you to decide. The product is sold for $50 for a one year license, that license provides unlimited upgrades, support and access to new products over the year. The current plan is to “polish things up” before releasing an additional 3 products to bring the “total number to 15 by the end of the year”.

I’ve been using them myself now for a few months and my personal opinion is that these tools are still a little rough around the edges. Performance is very good normally, however a couple tools (such as the task manager extension) caused some CPU spikes when running in the background, hopefully things like this will be fixed with time.

Anyway, to win 1 of 5 free licenses simply comment below telling us what you would want if you could choose one feature to be added to Windows… just one.

After a few days the author of Simple Tagging renamed it into Simple Tags making it fully compatible to WordPress 2.3. I still hoped that it would be easy to import the 6500 tags that I added throughout the year. I did a test upgrade on a local version of Ghacks to make sure the upgrade would be without serious consequences.

It turned out that I only needed to change the tag related function calls in the WordPress theme folder. Everything else was working as intended. I disabled the Simple Tagging plugin, made the upgrade to WordPress 2.3, edited the function calls in single.php and index.php, upped the Simple Tags plugin and enabled it.

Importing tags was easier than thought as well. The import function is a little bit hidden in the Manage > Import tab. Simple Tagging as well as other major tagging plugins like Ultimate Tag Warrior have their own import function there.

Not all tags were imported during the first import but the script started from where it stopped the previous run. So, with only minor issues that could be fixed in a couple of minutes I was able to upgrade to WordPress 2.3.

The FileHippo Update Checker scans your computer for installed applications and compares their version to the latest version hosted at the FileHoppo servers.

It then displays a list of all updates that it found on a website divided into full and beta updates. The version on the local computer and the latest version are mentioned in the list and a link to download the update is next to every entry.

Downloads start immediately if you click on the green download icons next to each application. Great that you do not have to navigate through endless webpages to reach the download.

FileHippo does not scan applications that they do not have in their database or do not provide version information that FileHippo can access.

Many useful free applications are not processed but a test scan on my system found 9 updates for applications and 2 for beta applications. Most have been standard applications like Flash Player, Java Runtime Environment or Nero Burning Rom. Great for a quick lookup. Works on Windows 98+

Let us talk about hardware first. You should check whether your devices are supported in Windows Vista or not before making the switch – nothing is more frustrating than to realize that a needed device is not working in Vista. The question if a device is working in Vista can be easily answered for hard drives and dvd drives for instance but how about card readers, scanners that use serial connections and the like ? Do they work in Vista ?

Microsoft created a “Is your computer ready for Vista” check program that checks your computer; Microsoft called this utility Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor. You might need the Microsoft XML Core Services as well. The scan was running for about a minute, after that I was presented with a page that told me that my pc was ready for Vista. Below that message were information about system requirements, devices and software currently installed on my system.

System requirements told me that my C: drive had only 3 GB of space left and that this was not enough to install Vista. It also told me that my D: drive had only 500 MB of free space. I don’t know why the tool did not check drive E: (130 GB free) and F: (120 GB free). It nevertheless told me that I could install Vista on a different hard drive. Everything else that was checked was fine (CPU, RAM, DVD, Video Adapter).
Great information so far, let us see what it told me in the Device tab. It checked the devices that were connected to my computer and found no incompatibilities but one. The scanner was not able to find information about a device called Hamachi. The reason ? Hamachi is no device but a emulated device. You probably will run into troubles if you have old devices.

Finally the programs tab. The scanner found four programs of which three ( Anti-Vir, Ulead Videostudio and Tweak UI) were supposed to have minor problems and one ( The Godfather ) with major problems. Vista told me that I had to uninstall the last one before I made the upgrade to Vista. I’m not sure about all the other freeware that I have installed on my system, it kinda scares me that Vista found only those four programs out of more than a hundred. Something seems wrong here.

So, Microsoft says my pc will run Vista and I only need to uninstall one freeware utility for the dream to come true. What did it tell you and how are Linux and MAC users going to use the Vista Upgrade Advisor ?

Make sure you check back tomorrow for the second part of Things to check before switching to Vista which will take a closer look if the software that we use on a daily basis will run in Vista.