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To upgrade to Windows 7 or not
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Oct. 24, 2009 – Despite the ads that bemoan Microsoft’s history of launching Windows upgrades to high expectations only to disappoint, Windows 7 knocks the ball out of the park. It does everything Windows Vista promised to do and much more.
In fact, it is a full replacement operating system, not just Vista tweaked, with support for the latest touch screen computers, full media sharing for between all your home's PCs, quicker program response and better battery management. But it’s not without flaws, such as no automatic Bluetooth connectivity.
Is the upgrade worth it? For me, the answer was a resounding yes. Not only did upgrading to Windows 7 give my computer a beautifully simple and uncluttered new look, but the functions actually work the way they were designed to. No more of the annoying program permission issues I had with Vista and the multitude of other problems. (I got so frustrated with Vista one day that I actually stripped it off of one of my computers and went back to Windows XP.) The upgrade to Windows 7 for me was relatively short and painless. I did a clean install (from scratch) rather than upgrade from XP, and transferred my files and settings via the transfer wizard to the new Windows 7 operating system. I personally love the new taskbar and the snap-to resizing for working in two windows at the same time.
But the question of whether to upgrade to Windows 7 is one you’ll have to answer for yourself, based on budget concerns, the time involved with installing a brand new operating system and transferring your files and settings, and a number of other factors. Here’s a link to one video that weighs Windows 7’s pros and cons. Here’s another link that compares Windows 7 to Apple’s Snow Leopard. And here’s how to do the upgrade and other Windows 7 tips.
If you are looking to buy a new PC, I'd hold off a bit until I can get the one I want with Windows 7 already installed or take a look at one of the few on the market already with Windows 7 as the operating system like the Lenovo ThinkPad SL410, SL510. Check for local availability.
One other note. Some people who still had compatibility issues between Windows 7 and some of their Windows XP programs even when they ran the programs in compatibility mode chose to do a duel boot, operating both systems on one computer. Tech Republic has instructions on how to do a duel boot.
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