Big Change is Coming by Steve Gomberg, Business Development

October 22, 2009 marks the release date for Windows 7™ – the latest PC Operating System from Microsoft. If the past is any indication of the future, that date will start a flurry of questions and activity. In the beginning, the questions will revolve around whether to upgrade now or to take a wait and see attitude. But, the underlying question is really whether the changes Microsoft has made to the OS are worth the investment in time and money to move from XP or Vista to Windows 7.

I have been using Windows 7 on my work computer since the “Release Candidate” was made available for beta testing several months ago. Having chosen not to move to Vista, I had been using Windows XP Pro for several years. My experience with the RC Beta was so positive that when the “Release to Manufacturing” version became available, I immediately did a clean install and have not had one single problem. Windows 7 is chocked full of great features and improvements – some of which are geared to every level of user.

There has been much discussion in the technical press about whether Windows 7 should even be considered a new version, or if it's just a combination of fixes to Vista. In the end, it doesn’t matter. However, there are plenty of points that are worthy of discussion. Watch for more about these topics in future blogs:

• The speed and stability of Windows 7
• The process for installing Windows 7
• The improvements in the handling of devices that are “connected” to a computer running Windows 7
• Are device drivers still necessary to install before a device can be used?
• Are there compatibility issues, or are they solved with certification of “Compatible with Windows 7”?
• Are you more secure with Windows 7 as compared to XP and Vista?
• What can be gained or lost by waiting to update?
• New features such as –
• Improved taskbar with full screen previews of open files
• Jump lists for keeping the functions that you use most easily at hand
• Desktop enhancements to help you compare two open windows
• Enhancements to Windows Search
• Instant search results in Internet Explorer 8
• A new technology called Device Stage
• Home Group - a new feature to simplify connecting at home
• One click access to all connected networks through a common interface

These are just some of the topics that we plan to discuss over the few weeks so that  you can make an educated decision regarding when to upgrade.

To cap off our discussion, on October 6, 2009, AtNetPlus will also host a special edition of ‘Talk it over Tuesday’ on Windows 7. Join us and be ready for the big changes that are coming. You can register for any of our events at www.atnetplus.com/events.