Windows 7 is an ‘operating system’. It plugs the gap between the user, the computer hardware and the applications the user wants to run. What you really need from an operating system is for it to be as reliable, flexible and unobtrusive as possible whilst allowing you to access the applications you need as easily as possible.

The features below have had most impact on us during our evaluations of Windows 7. Looking down the list now, the changes may seem small, but the overall effect has been to streamline and stabilise the interface.

Pin

Application icons can now be pinned to the Task Bar to give a dock effect very similar to that of the Mac. Click on the icon on the Task Bar to run an application.

While the application is running it sits in the same spot on the taskbar, making it easier to find.

Thumbnails

If you hover the mouse pointer over a running application icon on the Task Bar, a thumbnail image of each copy pops up. Hover over each thumbnail and the main display will change to show you this window. Click on a thumbnail to bring that instance to the foreground.

This makes switching back and forth between applications far simpler - particularly if you keep a selection of web pages open.

Recent

Each application tracks the documents it has opened recently. In Windows 7 if you right-click on a Task Bar icon a list of these recently used documents is displayed, making it a doddle to open a frequently used document.

Tip: You can drag icons from these lists to drop them into other applications - for example as email attachments.

Libraries

Libraries are the next step on from the old “My Documents” folders. They bring together documents from a number of different folder locations and allow them to be viewed as one. This has the most impact in larger organisations where the filling system is subdivided to provide security. Each user can have a library that includes the documents to which they require access, with no need to change the filing system.

The search facilities understand libraries too, making it very easy to search for documents.

Device Support

Windows 7 supports a vast range of hardware devices straight out of the box. Drivers are still required for some manufacturer’s hardware, but the major manufacturers already have Windows 7 versions available and generally the Windows Vista version will work too.

Overall, connecting and disconnecting devices has become significantly more straightforward.

Power Management

Windows 7 comes with improved Sleep and Resume features. These cover much the same things, but actually seem to work very reliably.

Using Sleep and Hibernate you don’t need to wait so long for your computer to start up.

Portable Security

Windows 7 builds on the security and encryption introduced in Windows Vista. With Windows 7, BitLocker Drive Encryption helps protect sensitive data from being accessed by unauthorised users who obtain lost, stolen or poorly decommissioned computers. BitLocker to Go extends this data protection to USB storage devices, enabling them to be protected with a passphrase.

There are a host of other features that, to be honest, you will probably never see. These make it easier to connect to remote networks, manage computer resources and access peripherals (like scanners).

Application Compatibility

Windows 7 happily runs almost every application that is compatible with Windows Vista and Windows XP. There are some, frankly shoddily written, applications that will work on Windows XP but which do not run directly under Windows 7. However, Windows 7 can run an entire copy of Windows XP in the background and let incompatible applications run within it.

Learning Curve

Windows 7 does do several things in a slightly different way, but these follow on logically from how they used to be done. While it will undoubtedly take users some time to adapt, we have found that almost all do so within a day. There has been no need for retraining, though many have benefited from a quick overview of the new features mentioned above.

Should I Upgrade?

It is typically going to cost around £250 (£150 for the software and £100 labour) to upgrade a computer to Windows 7. Some recently purchased computers have been supplied with a free upgrade voucher, but even then you will need to pay for a couple of hours of work to perform the upgrade.

Recently purchased portable computers running Windows Vista are actually likely to benefit from the upgrade, becoming more responsive. Those currently running Windows XP may benefit from the feature set, but there is no getting away from the higher hardware specifications required.

Overall, we are very happy with Windows 7 and are happy to recommend it. But unless you are a portable computer user it is unlikely to make enough of a difference to make the upgrade worthwhile and you should wait until your computer needs replacing before embracing Windows7.