Why you should still be waiting for Windows 7

By CRAIG CROSSMAN - McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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Microsoft's latest operating system made its debut last week, and so far, it looks to be the company's best operating system yet.

By the time you read this, you've either:

- Already bought and installed it.

Journalists attend a Microsoft Open House at the Park Avenue Armory in New York, U.S., on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009. Microsoft Corp., which will release its Windows 7 software on Oct. 22, today introduced Windows Mobile 6.5, an updated mobile-phone operating system. Photographer: JB Reed/Bloomberg

- JB Reed /Bloomberg

Highlights

Multi-task: The task bar - the strip of icons usually found at the bottom of the screen - now does more than show which programs are running. You can also stick icons for your favorite programs on it, to launch them quickly.
Go to the library: File folders can now be organized into "libraries." You can have a photo library, for instance, that gives you quick access to pictures in folders spread out over your hard drive, or even several hard drives. This is great because many applications don't automatically put files into Microsoft's My Documents and My Photos folders.
Neat tricks: Windows 7 can sense if you use more than one finger on your touch pad or touch screen, allowing for neat tricks such as spreading your fingers to zoom into a picture, just like on the iPhone.
More speed: It's 64-bit operating system means computers will now be able to use a lot more Random Access Memory, or RAM, for better performance in demanding applications such as video editing.
The Associated Press
A guide to switching to Windows 7
Windows 7 is available on new PCs, but you also can buy it for a computer you already own.
First you would want to run a software exam called the Upgrade Advisor to see whether your machine has enough memory and computing power to handle Windows 7. It's available here: http://bit.ly Most computers running Windows Vista should be fine for Windows 7.
If your PC passes the test, then you'd need to choose a version of Windows 7. You would pick from Home Premium ($120), Professional ($200) or Ultimate ($220). (Big businesses can also buy an even more feature-laden version, Enterprise.)
For most people, Windows Home Premium will be fine. Microsoft will sell the software as a download on its Web store, but copies on discs are stocked at electronics retailers and available from such sites as Amazon.com.
Make sure you buy a copy that's compatible with your PC's microprocessor. There are two flavors, 32-bit and 64-bit. Microsoft offers help in figuring out which one is right for you: http://bit.ly
The Associated Press

- You bought it and it's still sitting there in the box or on the download CD.

- You don't have it yet.

This column is for those of you who fall into the latter two.

When a new computer product is released, especially one as complex as an operating system, it's going to have bugs that need fixing.

It is the nature of software to always have problems and the only thing that will eventually address and fix many of them is time.

Software developers such as Microsoft and Apple strive to make their final operating system releases as solid and as reliable as humanly possible and therein lies the rub.

We're all human and it is our nature to be imperfect. Computer scientists will tell you that technically there is no such thing as a perfect computer program.

But if we waited for perfection, nothing would ever get released. So they do their best and release a golden master knowing full well that there will be numerous updates and patches throughout the life span of that operating system.

All the companies that make software and hardware for that operating system try to make sure their products are fully compatible. But unforeseen conflicts can arise between theirs and other manufacturer's products. There are just too many combinations to consider.

So where does that leave you when it comes to making that important new system installation decision?

The answer is to let things mellow for a while.

Don't be the first to rush out and install something brand new, especially something as complex as a new operating system.

As the first few weeks pass by, you're going to hear about the conflicts, the horror stories about lost data and more importantly, how it occurred.

So how long should you wait?

With something as major as a new operating system, give it at least a month. After all, there's nothing so new in Windows 7 that you just can't live without for a few short weeks.

However if you must get it, be sure you make a full backup of your computer's hard drive or at the very least make a backup of all your data.

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