Windows 7 – What’s it all about?

Excitement is growing around the launch of Windows 7 - available from 22nd October.   Microsoft failed miserably with Windows Vista which was launched only two years ago.  The operating system was slow, hungry for resources, and could not run many proprietary programs or communicate with some existing hardware such as printers.
As a result most of our customers have remained with Microsoft Windows XP which has been around since 2002 and has proved to be fairly stable.  Clearly Microsoft had to respond rapidly to retain their customers and have rushed out a new operating system called Windows 7.
Now generally I don’t get too excited about operating systems – after all, they are just a means to launch a program on your PC.  However, Windows 7 has some genuinely good features which will finally make an upgrade from XP worth undertaking..
Windows 7 boots quickly, is highly reliable and more secure. Low hardware requirements mean that it even runs well on most PCs from the last few years, so you don't have to update your hardware just to run Windows 7. At the same time, Windows 7 will make users productive anywhere, and new features like Home Group and Windows Touch make new things possible.

Get to know Windows 7 and see how it can simplify just about everything that you do with a PC. Here are the Seven Wonders of Windows 7:

1. Connectivity

Connecting to devices and networks is easy as Windows 7 instantly shows you the wireless and other networks that are available. You can now access all your computer programs, files, and network resources like never before. Whether at work, at home, or on the road, you can easily connect to other networks or other computers.

With Domain join you can quickly and safely join a PC to workplace networks, while DirectAccess enables remote users to access the office network via an Internet connection - there's no need for a VPN connection. 

2. Speed

Nobody likes to wait so Windows 7 is more nimble and always ready to go. Windows 7 is designed to sleep, resume and reconnect to wireless networks more quickly. Search and indexing are faster, and you can better take advantage of external USB flash memory drives to improve performance.

Windows 7 is leaner and less busy, so unlike its predecessors, it is designed to run speed-sapping background services only when they're needed. So if a Bluetooth device is not being used, then the Bluetooth service in Windows 7 stays off. Windows 7 is also less memory hungry than previous versions, boosting overall performance.

3. Reliability

Improvements to power management in Windows 7 help extend the battery life of mobile PCs, so your laptop is less likely to die at the wrong moment. There's a new tool to diagnose battery drain problems and check battery health. Background activities are reduced and Windows 7 intelligently reduces display brightness to conserve power. Reliability improvements make PCs more resilient, so you will experience fewer hangs and crashes. New troubleshooters resolve common memory management issues, reduce the disruption caused by diagnostics and detect, diagnose and recover from most common network hang situations without notifying you. If there is a crash, then System Restore makes data recovery simpler with automatic backup to home or business networks and can prevent hours of troubleshooting headaches.

Windows Update also helps keep your PCs safer - and their software current - by fetching the latest security and feature updates from Microsoft via the Internet.

4. Simplicity

As the wealth of data stored and referred to increases, Windows 7 makes searching much simpler - results are now grouped by category and contain highlighted keywords and text snippets to make them easier to scan. Few people store all their files in one place these days, so Windows 7 is also designed to search external hard drives, networked PCs, and libraries.

Interacting with the PC is much simpler with Windows Touch. It's available only in the Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate editions of Windows 7 and with the right monitor it
recognises multitouch gestures. This means that you can zoom in on a picture just by pinching your fingers together. Or you can touch an item on the screen with one finger and tap the screen with a second, instead of right-clicking on a mouse. There's also an On-Screen Keyboard, which lets you `keyboard without a keyboard' using the mouse or hot keys instead. You can also input text by tapping directly on the screen.

5. Productivity

By simplifying the way that users interact with their PCs and giving them more options, Windows 7 is easier to use as well as more fun. Innovative new features have the added benefits of improving productivity.

Windows Speech Recognition now works better-and with more programs. So instead of using the keyboard, you can just tell their computer what to do. Narrator in Windows 7 can read on-screen text aloud and describe some events (like error messages), enabling users to be less reliant on their computer's display. In addition, Magnifier helps people with low vision, but everyone will appreciate its ability to enlarge hard-to-see text and pictures.

Windows 7 comes with three simple yet powerful new features called Aero Shake, Aero Peek, and Snap to help users instantly clear through desktop clutter. Also new to Windows 7 are jump Lists which take users right to the documents, pictures, songs, or websites that they turn to each day.

6. Compatibility

Windows 7 is continually tested against a comprehensive list of the most widely-used consumer and enterprise applications and software vendors have worked closely with Microsoft development teams to minimise compatibility issues.

New features include; Device Management which has been designed to make working with cameras, cell phones, and other devices easier and Location Aware Printing, where Windows 7 automatically switches to the nearest available printer when using a laptop.

You can upgrade your existing hardware to Windows 7. Its low hardware requirements mean that it will run well on most PCs from the last few years.

In addition, Windows XP Mode is available for the Professional and Ultimate editions of Windows 7, and helps prevent older business programs from becoming obsolete. For more information visit the Windows Compatibility Centre
www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility

7. Security

Windows 7 provides greater protection from Internet threats, spyware, and other forms of malicious software.
Backup and Restore has been improved for Windows 7. It creates safety copies of important personal files, so users are always prepared for the worst. BitLocker is another improved feature, and is available in the Ultimate edition of Windows 7. It helps to keep everything from documents to passwords safer by encrypting the entire drive that Windows and the data reside on. In addition, BitLocker To GoT"' provides data protection for removable storage devices such as USB flash drives and greater control on how they are used.