Operating System (Microsoft Windows)

I suspect that whatever recommendation I make here is likely to be a little controversial! Each and every one of Microsoft's operating system has it's fans and detractors. In real terms, computing has hardly changed in over a decade. Sure, things are faster and prettier nowadays but fundamentally, we still write and print letters, create databases and spreadsheets and check our email. With this in mind - if you are currently convinced that you can do everything you want to on your computer, upgrading to a newer model or installing a newer operating system is not going to be worth the money. The only real exception to this is if you are still running Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Me, these older operating systems are no longer supported by Microsoft and in my opinion lack the security features necessary for use with broadband internet and todays 'web 2.0' applications. An upgrade in that circumstance is highly recommended. I have been testing various versions of Windows 7 for nearly a year now and I genuinely believe it is Microsoft's best ever operating system. In particular I like the 64bit version of Windows 7 and applaude it's stability, speed and ease of use. As a result I recommend it to anyone buying a new computer (although I ask you to pay attention to which version you need - 'Home Premium' for home users and 'Professional' for businesses). There are some caveats however: Windows 7 is based on a newer/cleaner version of Windows Vista's code and so if you didn't upgrade to Vista because of software compatability concerns (i.e. you need to run old software that doesn't work with Windows Vista), the chances are that Windows 7 isn't going to be able to run it either. There are several 'compatability modes' built into both Vista and Windows 7 which may get the old software running, but they are not always successful. You may need to consider buying newer software to go with the new computer. Mixed networks can be a headache! Mixing Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 machines together in the same working environment is likely to cause all sorts of issues, primarily because they have different networking, file sharing systems and security proceedures, In the case of business users, I really don't recommend upgrading to Windows 7 unless you are prepared to upgrade/replace all of your PC's at the same time (new and refurbished Windows XP computers are still available from a number of suppliers including Get I.T. Dunn). Windows XP is far from dead, in fact Microsoft will still be offering support for it until April 8th 2014 I suggest anyone needing another PC but is not content to buy a Windows 7 PC for any of the reasons above consider Windows XP (with Service Pack 3) instead. Microsoft Windows 7 is commercial software and prices will vary considerably dependant on where you purchase it from. You can find Windows 7 information here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/ and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_7 You can see if your current PC will run Windows 7 here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/upgrade addendum: I wanted to just add that I REALLY do not recommend upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7 unless you are prepared to complete a clean install (i.e. delete everything off your hard drive and install Windows 7 from scratch). Evidence is coming in that suggests the upgrade from Vista to Windows 7 can take over 20 hours in certain circumstances! A clean install will probably take less than 4 hours (including setting up your email and installing all your software, even on fairly low end kit) and will provide you with a much more stable and tidy result. http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/09/microsoft-upgrade-to-windo...