I can't speak to it's being an improvement since I never worked with Vista but I can say that as an XP user, I find Windows 7 to be reasonably intuitive. More importantly to me, it works with everything XP did. It liked my freeware. It likes my 7 year old speakers (hey, they're Klipsch and they're really nice. It likes my 6 month old monitor. It likes my 5 year old keyboard and 6 year old mouse. It likes my 4 month old printer. It likes my Photoshop CS2.

It will be liking my Works 2003. *sigh* I wanted to avoid using that pack of software again. I bought it just to upgrade my Word but it bloats with all kinds of garbage I don't want. But at this point, I'd prefer to continue ignoring the Encarta encyclopedias rather than mess with Office 2007.

I really, really want to move to Mac. My laptop is a Mac. I love it. I would LOVE to trade in my clunker of a computer desk for my grandmother's more elegant white kidney-bean desk. An iMac would look GOOD on top of that and I would have something tangible of my grandmother's. Alas, I'm still mired in the black case and a million cords. But it cost me a lot less money.

If you have any question 'bout Win7 as you continue pondering whether to buy, I'd be happy to try to answer them.

I'm using XP too, though I've had to interact with Vista a bit, and it drives me nuts. It sounds like Windows 7 is far less convoluted (great big yay!) and you've covered a lot of my questions about how compatible Windows 7 is with old versions of software.

The iMacs are so shiny though. If I had the money, it would be a no brainer. *sigh*

I've been pleasantly surprised at how well the new system works with all of my old software, which is why I suspect it's essentially XP in a new dress. (I could be totally wrong about that; I really miss my subscription to PC World! *sob*)

The iMacs ARE shiny and I covet them. I totally get your point. I'd put off the replacement of my failing computer precisely because I wanted to afford an iMac. No matter how much I'm enjoying my new computer, I would still trade it in a heartbeat if I could afford an iMac that had the software I need/want. I hate that I've re-committed to the Windows world but I'm trying to tell myself it's smart business-wise to stay current with that system.

Oh! One more thing I should note because Windows now comes in more flavors than Ben & Jerry's. I ended up with Windows 7 Professional 64-bit with downgrade rights to Win XP Pro. I didn't *choose* that; in fact, I was told that the computer came with XP pre-loaded and an upgrade disk for Win 7. I bought it intending to keep it as an XP machine since I *knew* all of my peripherals and programs would work.

I was not originally happy to find it was pre-loaded with 7 but figured I'd tour it before installing XP over it. I found I liked it well enough and decided to test it by installing everything I wanted to keep on it. And it has done well with it all. I haven't had time to fully test every last item and program so I don't know for certain that it won't eventually reveal weaknesses but so far it has installed all of my "normal" software (32-bit) in the right place and all of my 64-bit software in its proper location without my needing to know the details of the system. So far, I'm happy. :)

I didn't *choose* that; in fact, I was told that the computer came with XP pre-loaded and an upgrade disk for Win 7.

Whut! I guess that's one way to get people to try the new operating system. O.o At least it seems to have worked out in the end.

Oh god the confusion over versions! I feel like closing my eyes and throwing a dart at the screen is the way to pick what I need. :P

The biggest difference between Home and Professional that *I* found important is that Pro allowed me to download Windows Virtual PC from Microsoft. What does that do? That allows me to run Windows XP if I need it. That's a HUGE security blanket in my world.

It came in handy because I thought I needed to install my full version Photoshop 7 before I used my CS2 upgrade. Windows 7 wouldn't install PS7, though. A quick pair of downloads later and look at that -- I have a window running Windows XP and it's installing my PS7! (Turns out I didn't need to install PS7 first; just putting the disk in the DVD drive was sufficient but I didn't know that at the time.) Now I can revert to XP whenever I need. So if I *do* run into anything sticky, I can solve it. Or, so I hope.

Win7 Pro has some other features but those don't mean a lot for me with my very simple set-up. If you have a home network to back up to (a server, I assume) or log-in from home to a work server, it has some enhanced features. The 64-bit version is only worth it if you're getting one of the dual or quad core machines. It is supposed to be faster; I have no proof of this. I am constantly impressed by me new system but I'm upgrading from a 10 year old computer so I may not be an unbiased judge.

Since you're thinking of purchasing a new computer, you'll probably be buying at least a dual core and so the choice between the two will probably already be made for you. :)

Edited 2009-12-16 01:20 am (UTC)