May 102013
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
- Windows 7 Professional (includes 32 & 64-bit versions) lets you run Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP Mode.
- Recover data easily with automatic backups to your home or business network, connect to company networks effortlessly and more securely
- Make the things you do every day easier with improved desktop navigation; This is the Retail version of the software
- Start programs faster and more easily, and quickly find the documents you use most often
- Easily create a home network and connect your PCs to a printer with HomeGroup
Offers everything Home Premium and Professional offers plus added security features and the flexibility to work in multiple languagesSoftware Sub Type: ClientHelp prevent theft or loss of data, Use BitLocker and BitLocker To Go to better protect your valuable files even on removable drives, such as USB devicesGet remote services with DirectAccess, Access corporate resources seamlessly when you?re on the Internet, without having to initiate a VPN connectionWork in the language of your choice, Sw
List Price: $ 299.99
Price: $ 284.21
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Here Comes Windows 7,
Here comes Windows 7, nearly three years after Windows Vista and eight years after Windows XP. By most accounts, Windows 7 is what Vista should have been. Do we finally have a worthy successor to XP?
PROS:
- Fast startup and performance
- Stable
- Nice aesthetic and functional changes to the desktop
- Improved networking, power management & security
- 32-bit & 64-bit versions included
- Windows Media Center
- Windows XP Mode
CONS:
- User Account Control still annoying
- Upgrade can be challenging
- Expensive
There are only two Microsoft operating systems I’ve personally skipped since DOS 6.x– Windows ME and Windows Vista. Windows ME was so terrible that PC World coined it the “Mistake Edition.” Vista, when initially released, was considered to be bloated, relying on higher hardware requirements than XP, while being outperformed by XP on identical hardware. With Microsoft fast-tracking Windows 7, I decided to skip Vista altogether and upgrade to 7. This review briefly touches upon some of the key features and enhancements of Microsoft’s latest OS.
PERFORMANCE & STABILITY
One of the welcome enhancements Microsoft made was start-up time. The shutdown time has been improved as well. Also, in my non-benchmarked experience, Windows 7 has been at least as fast as XP if not faster. The kernel changes and ability to run the 64-bit version probably has a lot to do with that. Most benchmarks from around the Internet seem to support my observations.
64-BIT
I am elated to finally upgrade to a 64-bit operating system in order to take advantage of more memory support and modern processors. I have Intel Core 2 Duo processors in both my systems with 4GB of physical RAM but XP only allowed 3.25GB for system use.
DESKTOP
At first login, you’ll notice the changes to the taskbar. The taskbar is no longer just a place to store quick launch icons and view open windows. It now provides functionality in the form of Jump Lists, which allow you to select your most frequently opened files or links from the apps you have “pinned” on the taskbar. The clock and calendar are improved and the Show Desktop icon is now integrated in the far right corner. Other desktop enhancements include Aero Peek, Aero Shake, Snap, new themes and wallpapers. You also get gadget support. All of these features combine to create a much improved and enjoyable desktop experience.
LIBRARIES
Windows 7 introduces a new feature called libraries. Previously, your system had shortcuts to My Documents, My Music, My Pictures, etc. which had files residing in only those specific folders. Files can now reside anywhere on your system and be organized inside libraries. It’s similar to how many music and photo applications organize files.
NETWORKING
Even as good as XP was, networking was cumbersome. Windows 7 makes connecting two or more Windows 7 systems together easy, using HomeGroup. This enables easy sharing of files and devices. One downside is that HomeGroup is only supported between Windows 7 systems. File transfer performance between computers has been vastly improved and connecting to a wireless network has never been easier on a Windows machine.
SECURITY
Security in Windows 7 is good and comes with Windows Firewall and Defender. Still, you’ll probably want to invest in a more comprehensive Internet security suite, like Norton Internet Security 2010. User Account Control (UAC) has been tweaked in order to give user accounts more flexibility in controlling their own security as well as providing more detailed information so the user can make better decisions about whether to allow certain actions. Coming from XP however, it is still annoying and I choose to turn it off. Also, in Windows 7 Ultimate, you can encrypt entire hard drives as well as external portable storage devices, like USB thumb drives. Though this is a welcome integrated feature, much of the functionality can be found in a popular open-source program called TrueCrypt. If you want encryption but not multi-language support, you could just get Windows 7 Professional and use TrueCrypt.
POWER MANAGEMENT
Power management has been improved overall and you should be able to squeeze more battery life out of your laptop, even when using your DVD drive. Sleep and resume has also been improved. XP wasn’t always consistent when entering or resuming from sleep mode, but Windows 7 has been perfect.
WINDOWS MEDIA CENTER
I’ve only briefly played around with WMC but it looks promising. It has some fun options for media, especially when you’re connected to the Internet. It may even be an adequate replacement for component DVR’s…
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|A home run by Microsoft — Finally!,
Microsoft clearly understood that it was “betting the bank” on Windows 7. This is evident from the fact that installation of Windows 7 Professional is trouble-free, and the OS is attractive, easy to figure out, and easy to configure. It has quickly become a cliche’ that Windows 7 is what Vista should have been, but it is also true. In my installation all of my hardware peripherals (3 printers, a fax, a scanner, and numerous external hard disk drives) installed instantly and easily. Only one of my printers required me to log onto Hewlett-Packard’s website, and right there was a Windows 7 64 bit driver waiting for me. This is one day after Windows 7 was released to the public — Microsoft clearly worked closely with hardware developers to ensure that everything was ready to go. Installation of all hardware went without a hiccup. In fact, most times when you plug a device into a USB port, Win 7 automatically finds the necessary drivers and simply installs the device.
One caveat — XP users must do a “clean install” from XP to Win 7. This essentially means that if you skipped Vista (as many did) you will have to install Windows 7 and then reinstall your programs. I did this, and it was about a two hour exercise getting everything set up the way I wanted again after installing Windows 7 64 bit.
LOOK AND FEEL.
The “look and feel” of Windows 7 is better than either Vista or Windows XP. Unlike Vista, users of XP will have no difficulty finding the screens and menus they are looking for. The new taskbar in Windows 7 is very sharp. The user can “pin” any program to the taskbar for easy access. When a program is running, the user can hover the mouse cursor over the program icon, and a mini snapshot of the actual program appears, to show what is going on with the program. Right click on an icon on the taskbar and it will show you what files have been recently used or are open. The new so-called “aero” styling of Windows 7 is very pleasant to work with. One nice little feature is a little box at the right bottom screen–hover the mouse over it and the desktop appears without having to minimize all the open programs.
Performance wise, it is not clear that Windows 7 is wildly faster than Vista or XP. Most users will probably think it is simply because computers are in the midst of an upgrade cycle, with more and more users using more DRAM and faster processors. And, of course, the issue of 64 bit is emerging.
64 BIT
Windows 7 will likely lead the charge to 64 Bit software. Windows 7 gives the option of either 32 bit or 64 bit installation, and most users are expected to opt for 64 bit. They should. This will not immediately impact most users, but it opens the door for much better performance in the times to come. 64 bit software running on a 64 Bit OS can access far more memory than 32 bit, which was limited to 4 GB of DRAM. Those of us who manipulate large digital photographs, or use other processes that involve handling large amounts of data, will notice extreme performance improvements once true 64 bit programs are available. Now that a 64 bit OS is in place, and the accompanying hardware support (fast CPUs, cheap DRAM) is available, 64 bit computing will become common; very likely within a very short time. As always, once the capability exists, we will find new uses for them. Digital photographers such as myself have been looking forward to 64 bit applications for a long time.
In the meantime, I have found that every single one of my 32 bit programs runs just fine in Windows 7 64 bit. Supposedly some legacy programs have difficulties, but none of mine did.
CONCLUSION
After running Windows 7/64 for a couple of weeks, I have found essentially nothing negative about it. It is snappier than XP, which was starting to get long in the tooth, and seems to have eliminated some of the irritants of Vista. Most importantly, I am certain that almost all users will find that their hardware works fine on Windows 7, which was not the case with Vista. Overall, Windows 7 is clearly a major upgrade from Vista and XP and is what Vista was supposed to be.
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|For the Technically Inclined,
This is the full version of Windows 7 Professional, so chances are you’re looking at it because you are building a new computer and plan on putting this on it. If you’re wanting to upgrade your old XP or Vista computer and start from scratch, it’s not like the old days where you could only format by using a full version. Save yourself some money and purchase the upgrade version: it will still offer you the ability to do a “clean” install and jettison the old Windows baggage.
I HIGHLY recommend you stop by Microsoft’s website and look the different versions over to confirm you have the right one. If you’re running a computer old enough that you’re upgrading from Windows 98 or Windows 2000, I don’t recommend it: your performance will drop and you’ll see compatibility problems, some of which may be major. If this is the case, stop by Microsoft.com, grab their “Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor”, and run it first.
That said, Windows 7 Home Premium is probably the best bet for the average home user. Unlike XP Home, which made basic things like networking a pain, or Vista Home, which really seemed to only be missing some eye candy, 7 Home Premium truly is aimed at the everyday consumer. Professional is going to be more suited to a corporate environment, or if you are an individual, you will probably want Professional for a personal machine that you regularly use to interact with a workplace.
Pro gives you:
1) complex networking made simpler (for example, connecting to AD domains and/or interacting with your workplace/corporate networks)
2) “XP Mode” – which runs a program within a virtual version of XP. You still have the ability to use “XP Compatibility Mode”, which fools your programs into thinking they’re running in XP, but the XP Mode is an honest-to-god XP shell that runs within Windows 7. Your hardware will need to support “Virtualization Technology” in order to take advantage of this.
3) Automated backup (which can be done using free tools such as Macrium Reflect if you’d rather save the money)
Ultimate also adds:
4) Hardware-level encryption (and your hardware will need to support this)
5) Native multi-language support: which means you switch from one language to another on the fly and need to make things easier on yourself than they were when you used the Language Bar in XP or Vista
If you’re a typical home user, chances are you’ll be perfectly happy with Windows 7 Home Premium. If you’re an avid gamer who often has to rig that favorite game *just so* in order to get it to run, you might consider Windows 7 Pro to ease your headaches. Ditto if for some reason you have a lot of older “barely XP compatible” programs that you think might be completely unable to function in just “XP Compatibility Mode” (check user forums first). And of course, if you have a desktop or laptop that you often use to connect to work with, check with your support guru, and he’ll tell you whether you need to go with the Pro.
Probably one of the biggest advantages with Windows 7 over earlier versions of Windows is that it makes sorting out your networks easier: specifying whether a network is a Home, Work, or Public network means Windows will be more open about sharing across your machines at Home, easier to access your files at Work, but much more cautious about information when you’re on a Public network (which means, free Wi-Fi hotspots and the like). This will help you a lot if you’re jumping from a home environment to a work environment on a regular basis. It also helps Windows decide how often to nag you about security: more when you’re connected to a Public network, less if you’re at Home or securely connected to Work. If you dealt with that in Vista, you’ll be relieved at the fewer security nags in 7.
Another huge improvement is “Windows XP Mode”. If you have a program that is picky, XP Mode will run it in a native XP virtual environment. This doesn’t have to mean the user has to know how to manage Virtual Machines; it can be configured to be localized to the program: stop by CNET TV, and look at the video “Windows 7 video: Windows XP Mode” for an excellent explanation and demo).
If you’re putting this on a new computer that you want to use to replace an older computer, you will be happy to know that you can migrate all your old stuff from one machine to another. Search Microsoft.com for “Windows Easy Transfer”: this program will let you migrate your old user accounts and settings to the new machine very simply. If you want to take it a step further–for example, you have a lot of programs on the old machine you don’t want to have to sit down and reinstall one by one on the new machine–you can migrate all of them for $19.95 using Laplink PC Mover: their website is currently offering a special version that is just designed to migrate one computer to Windows 7 one time. Read the documentation…
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