Microsoft offers virtual XP desktop views in Windows 7

XP Mode and Virtual PC preserves legacy applications

The arrival of virtualisation software from Microsoft will allow IT shops to run legacy applications in the new Windows 7 desktop environment, just as if they were running in XP. 

The software allows users to run legacy applications in a virtual Windows XP desktop, using the Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC programmes available on Windows 7 to run multiple Windows environments. 

Microsoft reckons Windows 7 has a strong compatibility story with Windows Vista, and many applications that currently run on Windows XP-based or Windows Vista-based PCs should just run natively on Windows 7.

The new Windows XP Mode release provides what the company calls 'last mile' compatibility for those cases when a Windows XP productivity application is not compatible with Windows 7.

It said the built-in client virtualisation technology should make it easy to install and run Windows XP applications directly from a Windows 7-based PC, allowing companies to maintain support for legacy applications.

Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode can be run on any Windows 7 machine once hardware virtualisation has been enabled on the PC.

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