Windows 7 is here and it brings with it a host of improvements to the worlds favourite computer operating system. We are super excited about it being available to the public for the first time, as we’ve been running it internally for a while now, and it is spectacular. Here are some great reasons to think about deploying it sooner rather than later;

Windows 7 is more reliable; learning from all the hiccups of the past, especially from the 8 year old Windows XP, the team at Redmond have developed what is probably the most reliable version of Windows ever. I don’t recall having a single problem with it, even when running pre release versions that are supposed to be buggy.

Security has been improved; Microsoft have tweaked up user account control, improved the way security issues are reported to the user and given the whole security architechure a rev up. Considering the host of flaws present in Windows XP, this is a good reason to move up.

Aero Glass / Peek / Shake are quite useful new interface tools. I particularly like the new snap feature, where I can grab a window, drag it to the side of the screen, and it snaps to take up exactly half of the display. Aero peek, where you hover over an icon on your task bar and a thumbnail of the window is displayed, is also super handy.

The new task bar in Windows 7 is awesome; You can pin your favourite applications to it so they are always just a click away; Multiple instances of a program don’t add up to multiple icons though, they stack up, and you can use Aero peek to see them all. Plus, you can right click the icon on the task bar and get a jump list of tasks that program can do.

XP Mode; If you are stuck with an outdated software program you cannot replace just yet, and that program refuses to run on anything more modern than Windows XP, then you can take advantage of Windows XP Mode in Windows 7, which we have tested, and lets you run your app in a Windows XP virtual machine; The application runs just like any other app, so you can keep on working without a worry.

These are just some of the reasons I think Windows 7 is the first “must have” upgrade since Windows 95. Now that you can have it, give us a call and find out the best way for you to upgrade.