Microsoft Corp has launched its newest operating system, Windows 7 yesterday. Many PC users had decided to wait on pulling the trigger on moving away from their trusty Windows XP to Windows Vista. Some waited due to the lack of “polish” Windows Vista sported and others waited due to the rather tall price tag that came along with. The question now is whether it is time to upgrade to Windows 7.
Most of you that know me know that I have been a “PC guy” for many years. Its only been within the last several years that I began looking closer at Macs. While there is much that can be said on that topic, I will try to keep focussed on the subject at hand. I upgraded from Windows XP to Windows Vista and was expecting a lot and therefore disappointed when I finally got up and running. When I began running an evaluation copy of Windows 7 back in April of 2009, again, I had high hopes. Only this time I was very impressed!
Windows 7 picks off right where Windows Vista fell short. The interface is similar to Windows Vista. The Start menu has a comprehensive search for programs and files and there are links to everything you need in an organized fashion. The Taskbar has been redesigned to increase the size of icons and displays a thumbnail windows view called “Live Preview.” One of my favorite features is the ability to drag a window to the left or right side of the desktop (shortcut keys are “Windows + Left Arrow” and “Windows + Right Arrow”) and it will automatically resize to one half of the width of the screen. This allows for you to have two windows side-by-side without the hassle of manually resizing each window.
So after a quick few paragraphs of my thoughts I am sure all of you want to go out and immediately purchase your own copy of Windows 7. Okay, that probably isn’t exactly the case. However, if you are pondering the idea I suggest you start by looking through the Windows 7 Frequently Asked Questions and the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor.
Thank you for this review. I have not liked Vista and will look in to Windows 7 based upon your information.
Tei, what are your thoughts of upgrading from Windows XP Pro to Windows 7?
I am recommending people consider the upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7. However, one of the main difficulties that the upgrade from Windows XP to Windows Vista encountered was a lack of drivers support for peripheral devices (ie. printers, video cards, sound cards, etc.). If you are considering the upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7 you need to make sure your computer can muster the strength to run the new OS. Your first step would be to download and run the free Microsoft utility Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. Before you run the utility make sure to plugin all of your printers, scanners, external hard drives, etc. so the utility checks compatibility with those devices.
From a performance standpoint, I have read performance benchmarks which state that for newer computers you will see a performance increase with Windows 7 and for older computers the two operating systems are comparable.
In the end I still believe that Windows 7 is a better fit for power users with multiple windows open at a time. It also is offers a higher level of security than that of Windows XP.
Tei,
Thanks for your update! I have been one of the ‘holdouts’ that is still using XP. I am happy to hear your positive feed back on Windows 7.
As I mentioned before, I have been using pre-release version since April and I absolutely love it. But don’t take my word on it. Go to Best Buy or Staples. They should have some models on the floor that you can play around with and check it out.
Thanks Tei. Good information.