Windows 7 is the latest Microsoft operating system and is the successor to Windows Vista. Windows 7 has been in development for a number of years and transitioned into a public beta program on January 9 2009. The Release Candidate (RC) became available on 30 April 2009 and the final build of Windows 7 went to computer manufacturers (RTM or Release to Manufacturers) on July 22 2009.

General availability for Windows 7 is slated for October 22 2009. MSDN, TechNet and Volume Licensing holders will be able to get access to Windows 7 from the first week of August 2009.

A number of our engineers made the switch from Windows Vista to Windows 7 back in January this year and found it a refreshing change. We now all agree that Microsoft has managed to succeed in releasing an operating system that is a worthy upgrade from Windows XP. We found most of the new features intuitive with improved efficiency for everyday tasks, faster performance and an enhanced user experience. When compared to Vista, Windows 7 is more stable and responsive with the overall performance drastically improved. In simple terms, it is actually a pleasure to use!

What’s new in Windows 7 for Windows XP users?

• Desktop search that works smoothly and consistently
• Improved user experience: cleaner user interface, animations and effects
• Desktop widgets
• Ability to recover permanently deleted files (shadow volume copy, also known as previous versions)
• New taskbar and managemnt of open applications

What’s new in Windows 7 for Windows Vista users?

• Significantly improved performance
• Improved operating system and application stability
• Desktop search that works smoothly and consistently
• Better device management
• Application compatibility mode using Windows XP virtual machine

Through our testing we generally found a PC that was struggling to run Windows Vista managed to perform very well running Windows 7. The system boot time for Windows 7 was found to be on par with Windows XP. The only additional requirement for Windows 7 relates to the system’s video card. With a faster video card you will be able to run more windows animations and effects smoothly.

New Windows 7 features

• Windows 7 task bar and application previews
  In Windows 7 you can pin any programs to the taskbar or start menu, improving access to frequently used applications. By hovering over open applications you'll see thumbnails of every file or window open in that program. If you hover over thumbnails, you'll view a full-screen preview of that window.
  


• Application jump lists
  Windows 7 aligns the recently opened documents with associated applications, so right-clicking on the Word icon will show your most recent Word documents. If there are other files you want to keep handy, you can also pin them to the Jump List so they’ll always appear. This keeps the documents you use the most just a couple clicks away.
  


• Desktop enhancements
  Windows 7 simplifies working with multiple windows with easy ways to open, close, and arrange them. These features are subtle but they contribute greatly to your overall user experience. Some features include window transparency and mouse gestures for maximising and moving windows.


• Windows search
  Desktop search has been elevated to a new level with Windows 7 with searching more intuitive, faster and flexible. If you are looking for a file, email or application you can just click on the Start button to see a search box. If you enter a word or few letters in the name or file you want, and you’ll get an organised list of results.
  


• ...and many others

To discover how your business can benefit from Microsoft Windows 7, contact our qualified consultants on 1300 799 165.