Who's on Board for Windows 7?

Software giant Microsoft will release the latest version of its Windows operating system in October, and the company can only hope that this go around is smoother than the last.

Microsoft's Windows 7 will be the latest upgrade to the company's software juggernaut since Vista - a release that quickly earned varying degrees of criticism for reported security vulnerabilities, bugs, and compatibility issues. Many federal agencies delayed or opted out entirely of an upgrade to Vista from its predecessor Windows XP, deciding the added features were not worth the potential risks.

So will Windows 7 be more well received?

As is true for any significant software upgrade, challenges do exist. For example, it has been reported that the upgrade for those running Windows XP will have a harder time. And apparently with Windows 7 will come an update to the security settings that federal agencies are required to implement.

The Federal Desktop Core Configuration, which the Office of Management and Budget issued in March 2007, requires agencies running Microsoft Windows XP or Vista operating systems to comply with 229 standard configuration settings and recommends that they implement an additional 329 settings to further improve security and reduce risks and costs associated with software vulnerabilities. Microsoft has been working with the Defense Department to update those settings for the new version of the operating system. How many additional settings will be required is unknown.

Despite potential hurdles to adoption, Windows 7 has earned generally positive reviews from the trade publications, many of which tested the "Release Candidate," which Microsoft described as one step beyond beta and one step below official availability. Also compelling agencies to move may be the fact that Windows XP was first released in October 2001 -- more than five years a before Windows Vista and 8 years before the upcoming release of Windows 7; federal agencies still running that version are long overdue for an upgrade.