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Bits and Bytes April 17, 2009
By Gregory M. Peiguss
What’s that? There’s a light at the end of the operating system tunnel? Coming soon to a PC, laptop, or netbook near you, is Windows 7. With the much beleaguered release of Microsoft’s Vista operating system, that couldn’t come soon enough. Microsoft has been planning the release of this OS since 2007 and is planning to set it free sometime in the fall of 2009. So what’s the difference between Vista and 7? Well Microsoft claims that it is not going to be much more different from Vista other than its going to work better. There is going to be more compatibility with device drivers (i.e. software that runs the hardware you have connected to your PC).
For those of us who made the jump to Vista we all encountered problems, one way or another. Some of us had to go out and buy new printers, or other accessories just to remain productive. Not to mention that we had to learn a practically new user interface when we unboxed the new toy. For seasoned veterans of the PC world, it wasn’t much for us to get familiar with the new features and learn where the heck Microsoft hid certain items, like the file menu. After the initial learning curve was surpassed some of Vista’s traits started to ferret themselves out. Namely, the amount of system resources it hogged up. I upgraded my laptop to Vista from Windows XP and quickly realized that although it met their “System Requirements” I was not going to be a happy camper without some more firepower under the hood. After some upgrades, I was actually pleased with Vista’s performance and what you could do with it.
Now, some 2 years later, here comes the next iteration, 7. I’ve seen it, I’ve installed it, and to be quite frank, I like what I see. The interface for 7 looks remarkably like Vista; so the learning curve will be much less daunting than before. There are adjustments to the start menu, and a more streamlined process for switching between the open windows that you have active. Microsoft also claims that end-users will not see the compatibility issues faced from when we moved from XP to Vista. They insist that 7 is a improved version of Vista.
With Microsoft enduring an ever increasing loss of market share (Apple), the need for innovation and ingenuity is becoming more and more relied upon. Up and to a few years ago Microsoft had nearly no competition in the PC operating system market. However, with more frequent attacks upon their operating system, Microsoft is losing its stranglehold.
Be on the lookout for Windows 7. If you haven’t made the jump to Vista from XP, perhaps the wait was well worth it.
You can e-mail me at anytime at g@219.com
Gregory M. Peiguss
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