Microsoft has released its latest operating system Windows 7 in selected countries today with other countries to follow down the road. Many say that Windows 7 is what Windows Vista should have been, an optimized operating system that combines the looks of today with interesting new features and less bloat. The similarities between Windows Vista and Windows 7 are apparent but Microsoft has modified, tweaked and altered Windows 7 in the right spots to make it the better operating system.
Everton from Connected Internet and I have created a Windows 7 blog some time ago where we closely followed the development of the operating system.
Here are the things that I personally like in Windows 7:
- Automatic digital camera (and other devices) recognition with proper actions displayed (e.g. copy photos from digital camera to the computer system). No driver installation or third party software needed to do that.
- The operating system feels more responsive and seems to run better on low-end hardware than Vista
- Better troubleshooting options
- The new taskbar. It takes a while to get used to the new features but they are very handy (e.g. pinning software to the taskbar) once you get used to them
- Light theme customizations without system file patching
- Search Connectors to search the Internet from within Windows Explorer
- Better 64-bit support (meaning developers who want a certificate need to provide 32-bit and 64-bit editions of their programs)
- Home Group feature for easier home network management and creation
Some say the differences between Vista and Windows 7 are not big enough to justify a migration to the new operating system. I say it solely depends on the situation. If you are happy with Vista or XP stick with it. It would make sense from a security standpoint to migrate from XP to Windows 7. There are other aspects that make a migration from XP to 7 desirable.
About the different editions that are available: Most users should be fine with Windows 7 Home Premium as Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate cater to a professional audience with features that are usually not requested and needed by home users (think of virtual hard disk booting, location aware printing, Windows server domain, remote desktop host, presentation mode or Branchache). Best of all it is a lot cheaper than the other two editions of Windows 7.
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Hit OR Miss. Uhh……..let us wait and see.
Thanks for the resourceful review!
I got my first look at Windows 7 this week and my initial reaction was “so far, so good.”
“So far” being the key phrase of that statement.
New operating systems are almost always an improvement, and will almost always generate some sort of enthusiasm or buzz within the first couple months.
But until the user sits down and gets a feel for what a new OS is all about (outside the VirtualBox), you’re not going to understand the product’s deficiencies … or its notable improvements.
The reality being you need at least 4-6 months under your belt before you can conclude how successful an OS is for you. And that’s the bottom line, how successful is this system to you and your work environment?
Here are my Top 7 reasons Windows 7 could be a success, and Top 7 reasons it could be a failure:
http://www.experts-exchange.com/articles/OS/Microsoft_Operating_Systems/Windows/Windows_7/Windows-7-Review-Seven-Reasons-Windows-7-Could-be-a-Success-Failure.html
“It would make sense from a security standpoint to migrate from XP to Windows 7″
Who are you fooling?? With Secpol you can lock down XP Pro tighter than any Vista/7 Home edition. Secpol can also be added to XP Home. Hell, LUA+SRP+KAFU is rock solid, requires no third party garbage and lightens resources. Speaking of which, how about an article on it??