I have been using Windows 7 Ultimate (32-bit) for a while now on my work laptop. At home I am still on Vista Ultimate (64-bit) just because I do not want to go through the entire re-installation process, but as soon as I have a free weekend (an a spare $250 to buy Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit), I am going to do just that!
Windows 7 has the look and feel of Vista, which some users may hate, or never got used to, but honestly I prefer it now to XP, and I was a die-hard XP fanboy long after everyone else had switched. In fact, at work I went straight from Windows XP to Windows 7, just a month ago, because XP was so stable…why change? Well, the reason I went with Windows 7 was not only the glowing reviews I had heard from the same people who said “Vista is horrible,” but also the fact that Windows XP will stop being supported in summer of 2010…that leaves only 5 more months (max) from the time of writing this, to get Windows Updates for XP. I also do not like to wait until the last minute to switch because you and I both know that Microsoft always focuses on their new product more, and will be making it more secure, while not focusing as much on XP since it is a dying product. It makes no sens, business-wise for Microsoft to invest any more major funding or efforts to support XP when after summer of 2010 it will be extinct!
If you are like me, then for the longest time you have hung on to Windows XP, because let’s face it…it was the best operating system that Microsoft ever released (once SP1 came out that is). I believe that Windows 7 has replaced this position by leaps and bounds.
Windows 7 still has the UAC feature, but you do not get popups every two seconds anymore. This was also fixed in SP2 for Windows Vista, so you may not have noticed it for a while. Also, file-copying is much faster when copying around the local harddrive, or to/from other Windows 7 based drives due to the Ext4 file-system being used. I will not go into the details of how this allows for faster throughput, because honestly I do not understand it fully myself, but the basic concept lies around less verification (but still secure) and more streams pushing the data…(in layman’s terms obviously).
The bottom line, in my opinion, is that Windows 7 has the looks of Vista, but the functionality of XP. Like XP it is stable, fast, and just gets things done; while at the same time (even on low-end hardare) giving you the look and environment of Vista – which honestly does not take long to get used to if you give it more than a day of usage.
Let me know what you all think of Windows 7. If you are using the ‘Home’ or versions other than “Ultimate”, then I cannot guarantee your experience will be as rewarding as mine. The ultimate version of Windows 7 (just like “Professional” with XP), is the only version of Windows worth installing in my opinion. Comments?!!
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