Tech journalism

Many people using Windows 7 recommend people using Windows XP to upgrade to Windows 7 and consider Windows XP obsolete. But can anyone of them really tell why to consider Windows XP obsolete? What technical improvements do Windows Vista or 7 have over Windows XP? An updated Start menu, which can be very well achieved using ViStart? Or some more eye-candy effects which can be very well achieved in Windows XP, just see http://www.askvg.com/transform-windows-xp-into-windows-7-without-using-customization-pack/

All this means that there is almost nothing in Windows 7 that can't be achieved on Windows XP. For BitLocker, there is a far superior alternative called TrueCrypt. For Snipping Tool, it has been ported to Windows XP with the use of Alky for Applications, or if you have Office 2010, just use Screen Clipping feature. For Windows Live Movie Maker, Windows Movie Maker 2.1 is still as powerful.

Let's look at the reverse side. Are there any things Windows XP can do and Windows 7 cannot. Yes, there is one thing that I know of that Windows 7 can't do; one software sending sound to multiple audio devices - see http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/w7itprogeneral/thread/5861360d-53c4-4998-bc78-6c208e79e895

Also, there are more things that Windows 7 can do, but are more difficult to do than in Windows XP or require 3rd party software. One such example is of File Types tab under Folder Options. The File types tab not only allowed you to change which file extension is opened by which application, but also allowed specifying parameters for executing that application to open the file and specifying another program for when the user right-clicks the file and selects another option other than Open. This is not possible in Windows 7, except for by manually editing the registry, which can be a nuisance if you have to do it for some file extensions.

AS for other things, there are some useful features that Windows XP supported natively but Windows 7 does not and requires extra software to do. An example is ability to add password to a ZIP file is removed in Windows 7 and requires third-party software like 7-Zip, WinRAR or WinZip to do so.
A good list of features can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_features_removed_in_Windows_Vista

When it comes to application compatibility, Windows XP beats Windows 7 clearly, running both old and new software without any issues. Windows XP is also the only widely used operating system today which can run with good performance on older, not so powerful hardware.

There is nothing Windows 7 can do and Windows XP can't - my reason for not upgrading to Windows 7. It's a matter of shame that Microsoft did nothing really "new" in Windows Vista and 7 except for some DirectX improvements and Windows Aero.