Windows 7 may replace XP on CMU computers

The PCs serving students and faculty across campus in labs, classrooms and libraries may get a Windows 7 facelift.

The newest version of the Microsoft Windows operating system is under review by Central Michigan University to determine whether the upgrade will be helpful to the university and to make sure it does not cause any problems.

“We have a group that’s evaluating Windows 7 for issues,” said Roger Rehm, vice president for Information Technology and chief information officer. “We haven’t really found any problems so far.”

The Beta Subcommittee, a standing committee within the Distributed Computing Steering Committee, is a group which seats representatives from every tech unit on campus.

The group meets to test commonly used programs in beta stages, if possible, to check for any problems before they are integrated across campus.

The Beta Subcommittee is planning to convene Nov. 11 to give its official recommendation to the university on whether to make the upgrade.

A similar group was formed to deliberate on the upgrade from XP to Windows Vista.

“Like many other businesses, we chose not to go with Vista,” Rehm said.

No extra cost

Rehm said the Windows 7 license would not cost the school any more than the current contract for XP.

“The license is about $300,000 a year,” he said.

The license covers OS upgrades, Office suites, the Portal and other Microsoft products and services.

Tim Gramza, the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences manager of technology, is the head of the Beta Subcommittee. The group is comprised of Gramza and approximately six other technological experts on campus.

“So far, (Windows 7 is) great. We haven’t run into too many red flags,” Gramza said.

While all current signs point to a recommendation in favor of making the switch, it is unlikely all PCs on campus will convert as soon as possible.

“I don’t anticipate a campus-wide rollout of Windows 7. Each individual tech manager is probably going to decide,” Gramza said.

Many programs are already starting to make the switch.

While some computers on campus cannot support Windows 7 and some departments may want to stick with XP for a while, Gramza is confident it will eventually become the standard.

“If there were going to be any larger rollouts, it would probably be next fall,” he said.

The Beta Subcommittee also is forming a group to investigate Apple’s Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard as an option for widescale upgrades for Macs on campus.

He said the Mac incremental upgrade scheme tends to make it easier to test and recommend than the larger and less common Windows upgrades.

“I think there will be less deliberation,” Gramza said.