The US giant seems to have learned its lesson after that last operating system was torn apart by users unhappy with the bugs and problems it contained.
This time, they’re letting the product speak for itself, which is the best way, because it’s actually a very useful piece of software and well worth the upgrade .
And it is certainly a must-have on your PC desktop or laptop if you are still running Windows XP.
It should even work fine on a machine that is a few years old, because it has been optimised to work on devices large and small from tiny netbooks to massive powerhouses under your desk.
But to steer you through the maze of options and reasons for buying it, here are 20 things you need to know about Windows 7.
1) Prices for Windows 7 range wildly with many stores doing special offers as cheap as £55. Until December 31, the Home Premium upgrade version will cost £79.99 with the Professional at £189.99 and Ultimate at £199.99. Full versions are £149.99 for a Home Premium pack that can be used for three machines, £219.99 for the Pro and £229.99 for Ultimate. Students can upgrade for just £30 but need an education-based email address to qualify.
2) More than a billion people around the world use Windows every day and millions of them provided feedback to shape the latest version. A whopping eight million beta testers tried it out while it was being developed with another seven million doing so unofficially.
3) You can see all the windows you have open from your taskbar. Hovering over the taskbar icons produces a preview so you can instantly decide which one you need.
4) There’s no longer a need to minimise every open application to view your desktop. Pressing the Windows key plus the space bar will give you a sneak peek by making all of the windows transparent.
5) The Snap feature allows you to place two windows side-by-side for easy viewing and copy and paste. Perfect for comparing websites or finding out information you can then type into Word.
6) Setting up a wireless network in your home or office has been simplified. The “Add a Device” wizard hooks up to each gadget and you simply enter the PIN for each one to complete the connection.
7) A Jump List is available for many programmes which brings up a host of options by right-clicking the icon in the taskbar. So the Windows Media Player list includes choices showing the most frequently-played tracks you’ve listened to or gives you the chance to shuffle music direct.
8) Visual search through Internet Explorer 8 and Bing will bring up thumbnails next to the results, so you can see exactly what you are looking for.
9) Parental Controls allow you to set time limits for how long the kids can use the PC.
10) There are 50 new fonts in Windows 7 and 34 languages in total.
11) Create a Home Group that allows you to easily share files between machines in your house. You’ll be able to look through folders containing Pictures, Music, Documents and Videos from whatever computer you are on. You can also share printers.
12) Windows Media Center now contains the Sky Player which allows you to watch live TV from a range of channels for a monthly fee. Sky satellite subscribers get extra content and features too, dependent on their package.
13) If you run Windows 7 on a laptop, then it will automatically know when you’re at home or in the office and choose the printer accordingly – if you have several set up in the options.
14) A Windows 7 Starter pack is available on many netbooks now, replacing Vista. Major work was done to reduce Windows 7′s memory footprint so it would work on the smaller machines. Home Premium is also installed on some more expensive netbooks.
15) While Home Premium will suit the majority of users, the Professional version adds more security for companies and also better compatibility with software designed for Windows XP.
16) Windows 7 Ultimate lets you work in dozens of different languages at the same time and adds BitLocker to protect data on your PC or a portable memory device from prying eyes.
17) Aero Shake lets you minimise all the windows you have open in one quick shake of the mouse. Just shake one window from side to side and all the ones you have open will move out your way. Shake the same one again and they’ll return to their rightful position.
18) Battery life on notebooks and netbooks has been significantly increased. By using less memory for each task, your whole system will see an improvement in the amount of time you can go between charging. Everything works much faster too because of the tune-up under the hood.
19) There’s no more waiting around for your computer to start up. Turn on and shutdown times are far quicker enabling you to get online within seconds of switching on.
20) Windows 7 is available at more than 45,000 retailers around the world.
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