22/10/09:
A quiet revolution is taking place in the world of technology today - Windows 7, Microsoft’s revolutionary new operating system is being launched. It’s interesting to remember that the launch of Windows 95 just 14 years ago was a worldwide media event. I'm sure there will be some news coverage and some TV advertising, but such is the hold that Microsoft has on the PC marketplace today that they don’t need to do much marketing.
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Check out this story and video on the BBC website for more detail:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8319083.stm
So is it time for everyone to upgrade? Both Windows XP and Windows Vista are venerable and reliable operating systems, so if they do what you want and what you want is to run office applications and access the Internet, then not much need to upgrade.
However, if you are in the market for a new computer, you should definitely choose Windows 7, preferably the 64-bit version as that will become the standard during the next 18 months. What’s the difference between 32-bit and 64-bit? In simple terms, 32-bit can only use up to 3 Gb RAM. 64-bit is a faster and can use a lot more RAM.
If you are using Windows Vista on an existing PC, but think you might want to upgrade to Windows 7 because, well just because, then my advice is to download and run the Windows Upgrade Advisor and follow any recommendations it gives you:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/get/upgrade-advisor.aspx
If you are running Windows XP on an older computer, then don’t even think about upgrading your existing system to Windows 7. Best to buy a new PC or do a clean install.
For those of my customers who are total geeks itching to upgrade their computers to Windows 7 NOW, this article on the BBC website about one journos experience may be a helpful and salutary guide to the experience:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8317005.stm
Purely in the interests of keeping our customers informed about the latest technology and not because we can’t wait to get our hands on the new Windows 7, we'll be undertaking two projects here at Paul Computers:
The first will be to build a computer specifically to take advantage of the new technologies that will be made possible by Windows 7. We’re investing a bit of money in the latest hardware at the same time – if all goes according to plan, it will be one of the fastest PCs on the planet.
The second will be to upgrade a computer with Vista already installed, but without any other hardware upgrades to see how it goes.
We'll keep you informed.
Thank you.
PaulPC.
© October 2009
