When you buy a PC what do you think the single most expensive part? Is it the CPU? Nope. The hard drive? No way. It's long been Windows, and, with the coming of Windows 7 on notebooks and lower-priced PCs, Windows may not only be the priciest part, it may cost you more than everything else in the PC combined. Now, that's real value for your money!

Vista Users:

Microsoft may call the newest version of its operating system Windows 7, but you may want to think of it as Windows 6.5. In overall look and feel, it mimics Vista, although there are enough changes to make it far more than just a juiced-up service pack.

Anyone looking for massive changes or some kind of paradigm shift will be disappointed. But those who want a better-working Vista with the kinks ironed out and some nifty new features introduced will be very pleased.

Overall, Windows 7 is a more functional; more efficiently designed operating system than Windows Vista, with far more attention paid to the user experience. From revamped a User Account Control (UAC) feature to better home networking, improved search and nice interface tweaks, the entire operating system has gotten an overall polishing. Even Windows Backup, one of the worst applications ever shipped with an operating system, has been turned into something useful.

The bottom line

Windows 7 is new, and beta tested, so there's no way to come to a definitive, bottom-line conclusion about the operating system. However, it's surprisingly stable, solid, well-done and speedy at this early stage in the development cycle. Some important features of it are still missing -- notably, the new Taskbar.

However, even at this early stage, it's clear that Windows 7 is a real improvement over Windows Vista. It cleans up some of Vista's rough edges, adds useful new capabilities and most likely won't have the same problems with hardware that Vista did. We'll have to wait for the full release to offer a more definitive conclusion.

Xp Users:

 
Microsoft's leaders really, really want you to forget about Vista and move right on to Windows 7. And who can blame them? Vista was almost a train wreck. Not many users are using Vista, not even the Microsoft faithful. Windows 7, on the other hand, is a worthwhile desktop operating system. There's only one little problem -- there's no good way to get from XP to 7.

Actually, that's not a small problem at all. According to Net Applications' Market Share report, in August 2009, 71.7% of all desktops were running XP, compared to a mere 18.8% running Vista. That means the great majority of Windows users will have to try to migrate from XP to 7.

I use the word "migrate" deliberately instead of "update" or "upgrade" because this will be a migration. If you are among the small minority using Vista, you can upgrade to 7 without any fuss or muss, so long as the move is between equivalent versions like Vista Home Premium and Windows 7 Home Premium -- or if you're jumping up, for example, to Windows 7 Ultimate.

I only wish that were the case for XP. The only way you can get from XP to Windows 7 is to do a clean install. Period. End of statement.

What's involved with a clean install, you ask? It means you erase every last program and file on your hard disk during the "upgrade." Ow!

I like Windows 7. It's much better than Vista. But if you were to ask me to name the one feature that makes it a step up from XP, I'd be left speechless. If you also can't think of a good, sound business reason to upgrade to Windows 7, you'll be a lot better off ignoring Windows 7 for now, when it finally arrives on Oct. 22, 2009

Click here to learn about Windows 7

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