Where to now with Windows 7

It's been an exciting week for techies everywhere this past week, with Windows 7 now available. From all accounts, and even by our testing, this is a much better system than Windows Vista. It's faster, more stable, works with your current hardware and doesn't require any major hardware upgrades like Vista.

 Will it run on my PC running XP?

You can check whether your computer is up to speed by running Microsoft's Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor program.

Microsoft Upgrade Advisor Program

You won't have to buy a new PC if you want Windows 7. It will run on older hardware suitable for Windows XP, however make sure that you have at least 1GB or RAM and  are running at least a 2Ghz CPU. Obviously if you really want to take advantage of the speed and improvements in 7 get the latest hardware.

Upgrading to 7

The upgrade process from Vista to 7 is quite simple and should not cause any problems. Because 7 is based on the same system as Vista the upgrade will migrate all your existing settings and programs over thto the new version, please remember make a backup of your data before attempting any upgrade.

Upgrading from XP to 7 is not so simple and will not migrate your existing settings, so we suggest this should be done as a clean installation, which means reinstalling all your software again. Make sure you backup first.

Any software you have been using with Vista should also run on 7 without any problems.

Windows XP and Vista came with inbuilt programs for handling email and instant messaging, along with a photo manager and movie-maker programs plus some basic computer security software.

Microsoft has removed these from Windows 7 in favour of promoting its free online versions of the software under the Windows Live brand. So before you can use Windows 7 to fetch email or share your holiday snaps, you'll need to download these programs, most likely as part of the integrated Windows Live Essentials pack.

While online, you should also grab the just-released Windows Security Essentials, which provides a first line of defence against viruses, hackers and malicious software.

What Edition Should I Get?

There are three editions of Windows 7 that will affect your business:

Home Premium

Business Professional

Ultimate

How Much is it?

So how much will you pay for this beast (these prices are indicative only)

Upgrade Editions:
Home Premium    -  $199
Professional         -  $399
Ultimate                 -  $429

Full Versions:
Home Premium    -  $299
Professional         -  $449
Ultimate                 -  $469
 
Basically if you have been using Vista you won't notice many changes apart from improved performance and minor tweaks to the user interface. So, unless your really into spending money on things you dont need or don't provide any immediate benefit, stick with Vista or XP.

More information on features checkout Microsofts Windows 7 page:

Windows 7 Features

Cheers

Troy