Windows 7

A Brief Overview and Look In

Windows 7 – A Brief Overview and Look In

• Windows 7– What is Windows 7?

• Windows 7 is the 7th public operating system release from Microsoft• Available to market October 22, 2009• Directly upgrades from Windows Vista• No direct upgrade from Windows XP• Available in 32bit and 64bit editions• Vastly improved User Interface, Processor and Memory Management• Vastly improved Driver Support and XP Support• Quickbooks officially supported in Windows 7

Windows 7 – A Brief Overview and Look In

• It looks just like Vista, what’s changed?– User Interface Improvements

• Active Taskbar• Programs are “docked” to the Taskbar• Much simpler to manage multiple screens and multiple copies of the same

program open at once• Live Demonstration

Windows 7 – A Brief Overview and Look In

• Will my old programs still work?– Better “XP” and old program support

• Vastly improved “old program” support• Programs can be run in Compatibility Mode• Actual Virtual Windows XP Mode built-in• Live Demonstration

Windows 7 – A Brief Overview and Look In

• Why so many versions?– The Range

• Home Range and Business Range• Home Range does not include Domain access• Home Range more difficult to share folders and have multi access• Windows 7 Professional the best choice for Businesses with a Domain or

where shared access is required• Windows 7 Ultimate the top of the range includes everything from Home

Premium and Professional, ie Windows Media Centre, Domain Management, Themes, etc..

• Windows 7 Ultimate the best choice for home theatre buffs! Has direct DivX7 HD support for HD media streaming across networks to DLNA certified devices and WMC Extenders.

Windows 7 – A Brief Overview and Look In

• Why so many versions?– 32 bit VS 64 bit… What’s the difference anyway.

• Relates to the size of the data blocks in any given program• 32 bit software has been the standard for a long time but that is changing• Windows 7 available in 32 bit or 64 bit / 64bit the new standard• With 64 bit OS you can install 64 bit software, gives greater computing

power as data is computed in 64 bit “chunks” hence twice the “theoretical” computational power straight from the software

• Slow takeup, but 64bit is the future, for the time being• Greater memory-mapping (programs and files assigned to memory space)

and multi-tasking capabilities in 64 bit• 64 bit can handle more memory, up to 192GB currently whereas 32bit can

only just handle up to 4GB

Windows 7 – A Brief Overview and Look In

• Where is 64 bit leading and should I buy 64 bit?– 64 bit software and drivers becoming mainstream

• Quickbooks 2010/11 64 bit support!• Microsoft Office 2010 64 bit / separate SKU to 32 bit• Internet Explorer 8 64 bit• Photoshop 64 bit• Gaming is going 64 bit• Vast driver support and getting better• Most retailers selling 64 bit / don’t know the difference between 32 or 64bit• 32 bit will eventually be phased out

Windows 7 – A Brief Overview and Look In

• How do I upgrade from older versions of Windows?– Upgrading to Windows 7

• No direct upgrade path from Windows XP!• Must upgrade to Windows Vista first if you wish to keep all your data!• Direct upgrade will run Vista -> Windows 7 as long as you remain in SKU, ie• Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 or SP2 -> Windows 7 Home Premium• Windows Vista Business SP1 or SP2 -> Windows 7 Professional• Windows Vista Ultimate SP1 or SP2 -> Windows 7 Ultimate• Windows 7 does run better on older PC’s than Vista!• Runs perfectly fine on P4 2.8/3.0 with 1GB RAM• Recommend upgrading, Vista support will end in 2012