What's it all about?

Whether you like Vista or not there is no doubt that Vista was a failure commercially. Sales of vista have been slow and poor market adoption have hit Microsoft where it hurts - their bottom line.

In many ways that has been good for the consumer because Microsoft have had no choice but to listen to customers and respond to their complaints for risk of producing another lemon. Microsoft needed to get it right first time with Windows 7 and initial reports suggest that in many ways they have.

Windows 7 is based on the Vista interface with significant improvements in terms or speed, accessibility and perhaps most importantly, compatibility.

We've been running Windows 7 for around six months and it's fair to say that significant inroads have certainly been made.

Windows 7 Highlights

• Improved Interface  - Windows 7 features a similar interface to Vista along with a number of much needed improvements. The task bar has been completely redesigned which may take some getting used to but is worth the effort. Accessing your favorite programs is easier than ever and handling multiple instances of applications is a breeze.

• Improved speed  - The biggest complaint from end users and IT guys alike was Vista's speed. Microsoft have implemented a number of improvements to improve interface speed in Windows 7 and the results are noticeable. Windows 7 will run on far lower specification machines than Vista did at release and most users should have no problems installing it on their current hardware.

• Improved Compatibility  - Windows 7 features a number of new compatibility options meaning your old legacy software should run fine on the new O/S. Microsoft have also introduced a new 'XP Mode' (see sidebar) which can be used to run software that will only work in XP. All in all Windows 7 has proved to be far more backwards compatible than Vista could ever be which is good news for businesses running older software.

• Increased Security  - The one area where Microsoft did a good job with Vista was security. Windows 7 builds upon the improvements made in vista to bring you the most secure O/S to date. We don't think Windows 7 will win the security battle overnight but it's a step in the  right direction.

With Vista we were very hesitant to recommend upgrading. User feedback was poor and server 2008 and SBS 2008 were not widely in use (The two server operating systems specifically designed to work directly with Vista and Windows 7)

That is no longer the case and we feel than Windows 7 is well worth the time and investment if you are thinking of updating your systems.

For more info please e-mail us or call the office on 0845 234 0580