What to do about Windows 7

First a disclaimer, we work on Windows PCs and sell them, so do lots of other people, but be aware of it as you read this article, we’re biased because we use the same software as 90% of the population!

Windows 7 is the best operating system I’ve ever seen coming out of Microsoft. The beta version was much better than the initial release of Windows Vista, heck it was better than Windows Vista AFTER the first service pack. The release candidate was almost flawless, and the version released on Thursday to the general public is superb.

If you’ve been holding onto a Windows XP machine for several years because you refused to buy Vista (perhaps even based on our recommendation) your wait is over. Windows 7 runs well on the latest hardware, a 3 year old PC, and even a 5 year old PC. It runs better than XP on anything with a multi-core processor, and it’s no slouch on a single core machine, as long as it has 1GB of RAM. It will run in 512MB of RAM, even though Microsoft says it doesn’t, but it does bog down a little.

As to compatibility, it runs everything Vista runs, and a few things Vista never did, such as older versions of QuickBooks (pre-2007 versions). If you find something it won’t run, download XP mode, and it most likely will. XP mode is a virtual machine implementation of Windows XP, and it’s available on Windows 7 Professional and Ultimate versions. It works really well, and I have yet to find an XP vintage application that it won’t run. IT even runs Taipei, a Windows 95 vintage game that I admit I’m addicted to!

So go out with full confidence and get a Windows 7 PC, and say goodbye to Vista! A sad chapter in Microsoft history closes as a new better one opens. And for heavens sake, give that pre-2005 vintage XP PC a decent burial, and buy a new Windows 7 PC, there’s only so much the government can do to stimulate the economy – now its your turn!