Are you one of the computer users who didn’t want to risk the Vista upgrade? While we didn’t really experience any problems with clients who upgraded to Vista, many companies have decided to skip Vista and move right to Windows 7.
Windows 7 is available now to business users under the Microsoft licensing program, and will be in general availability at the end of the month.Microsoft says it will run as well as Windows XP, and have the enhanced look and feel of Windows Vista.
Here are a few of my favorite features in Windows 7 that might make you want to look into upgrading to Microsoft’s newest operating system.
User Account Control
Many users found the enhanced user account control (UAC) function in Windows Vista difficult to work with. If you are not sure what UAC is, it is the dialogue box that will pop up when you run an unknown application. It asks, “Are you sure you want to open this?” Microsoft has greatly improved the options for fine tuning this security feature, so that you don’t have to turn it completely off.
Windows Shake
Windows 7 has a great new feature that helps you keep your desktop organized when you have several programs open at the same time. When you have multiple windows open you are able to click and shake the window you want to keep open and then all the other windows will minimize making it easier to sort through them. Then, if you want them back up you can just shake it again and all the windows come back up again. This, I would say, is one of the best features of Windows 7.
Very Quick Startup
Microsoft has finally solved the slow startup issues many users experienced in Windows XP and Windows Vista. It can be time consuming to just sit and wait for the computer to startup. Sometimes we have clients tell us their computer takes so long to startup that they simply leave it on all the time. Now with Windows 7, Microsoft has made the startup time about twice as fast as a comparable system running Windows Vista or Windows XP.
Auto Window Sizing
If you like the windows shake feature you might also like this windows feature. By moving your window to the top of the desktop the window will automatically maximize. Now if you move the window to the left or the right of the desktop then the window will be maximized, but only on fifty percent of the screen.
Customizing the System Tray
There have always been a lot of options for customizing the Windows system tray in Windows XP and Windows Vista. Windows 7 includes a feature for fine tuning the yellow popup balloon you always see by the clock on the system tray.
In Windows 7 you have the ability to customize which applications are allowed to notify you using the yellow popup bubble by the clock. In Windows XP and Windows Vista the only thing you could do to remove those notifications was to find a Windows registry hack to turn them off.
These are just a few of the many new features that make an upgrade to Windows 7 compelling. If you’ve just purchased a new computer, more than likely you’re entitled to a free copy of Windows 7 (you may have to pay shipping for the actual CD).
We have several systems running Windows 7 in our office, and have found very few compatibility issues. If you’d like to see it in action, feel free to stop by or call our office.