10 reasons you need to upgrade to Windows 7

jjones | Guides, Windows 7 | 22/10/2009 15:03pm
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1 DESKTOP AND TASKBAR

The new taskbar is one of the biggest changes in Windows 7. Instead of stacking open windows, the taskbar works more like a dock, enabling you to access your common programs and files, and offers you live previews of open windows.

2 WINDOWS MEDIA CENTER

Widely regarded as the best all-round media program, Windows Media Center has even more to shout about in Windows 7. There’s high-def support, tours of album art, fantastic picture slideshows and Sky Player integration for satellite subscribers.

3 SPEED-BOOST

If your PC has been slowing down, you may have been thinking about a costly upgrade. Windows 7 is the first version in history that doesn’t require increased hardware specifications, and runs as well as – or better than – Windows Vista on the same computer.

4 AERO SHAKE

Some of the finest achievements in Windows 7 are the new Aero features, which have the power to revolutionise the way we work with Windows. Apart from the enhanced live previews, which have been developed since Windows Vista, there are a host of mouse gestures to make simple tasks a breeze. Moving windows around the screen enables you to snap them to the left or right, and dragging a window to the top maximises it. This is immensely satisfying, and being able to easily tile two programs you’re working with makes you wonder how you survived without the feature.

5 PLAY TO…

One of the most difficult aspects of Windows used to be getting media to play across your network. In Windows 7, you can play media to any connected device from Windows Media Player. Just select a track, choose Play to and sit back and enjoy your favourite movies and music from the other side of your home or workplace.

6 EASY NETWORKING

Apart from media streaming, the whole networking process has been given an overhaul using a new feature called HomeGroup. You can see and manage all the devices attached to your network easily, rather than having to enable each one using cryptic menus and confusing jargon. This is great for setting up media servers, network hard drives and other home PCs.

7 SECURITY

Windows Vista is one of the most secure operating systems ever built. However, some felt that the User Account Control (UAC) in Windows Vista was too aggressive, causing it to annoy rather than help you stay safe. Unless programs are being installed from the
internet, the new-look UAC rarely bothers you, giving you ultimate peace of mind as well as an easy life.

8 OVERHAULED PROGRAMS

The main programs in Windows 7 feature Microsoft Office 2007-style Ribbon menus, instead of the old drop-down system. This puts more options at your fingertips.

9 HIGH-DEF VIDEO

Windows 7 adds support for loads of high-definition formats in Windows Media Center and Windows itself, so it’s the perfect choice for any media lover. MP4, Xvid, DivX and AVCHD (the format used by high-definition camcorders) all work straight out of the box. There’s also built-in support for Blu-ray, as well as future-proof support for Freeview HD, which is due to be released some time over the next few years.

10 WORK FASTER

The new taskbar in Windows 7 means you can take advantage of a whole new way of working. The Jump Lists enable you to access your favourite files with just two clicks, where before you would have to trawl through your Documents folder system to find the file you were looking for. You can also pin files to the Jump Lists, so that you always have those regularly-used documents to hand.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 3:03 pm and is filed under Guides, Windows 7. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.