Windows 7: Overall

The biggest problem for Windows remains the sheer sturdiness of Windows XP. IT managers the world over now know this operating system so intimately that it will take either a big benefit or a brave move from Microsoft to wean them off it.

With extended support for Windows XP lasting until 2014, the latter may seem distant. However, it will become more difficult to buy computers with Windows XP preinstalled, so (aside from businesses that have images already prepared) IT managers will at best have to cope with a mixed environment for the next five years.

For laptops, there are many arguments for making the move sooner rather than later; the case for Windows XP is becoming less and less convincing. Your users will be more productive in Windows 7 (or Vista for that matter), as the superior support for Sleep and Hibernate modes means they can start working almost the instant they lift up the laptop lid.

There are also "green" benefits of Windows 7 versus XP. We wouldn't risk forcing users to automatically slip into Sleep mode after 20 minutes' inactivity under XP, since there's no guarantee of the PC springing back into life. With Windows 7, you can be certain it will leap back into action.
 
And there are other benefits on offer to add weight to the argument. Ultimate/Enterprise introduces AppLocker for controlling which applications are run and installed, and BitLocker To Go for encrypting removable drives. Arguably, the jewel in the crown is also included in Professional: the beautifully implemented Windows XP Mode for combating all the cries of "our programs won't work!".

Microsoft hoped touch would be the killer feature for consumers. Cast your mind back to the piano-playing demo when we first caught sight of Windows 7 in the wild; clearly this was seen as the big breakthrough by Redmond.

But although we're going to see a slew of touch-enabled computers over the coming months, it seems inevitable that touch isn't going to be central to Windows 7's success. We'd be surprised if more than one PC in ten included a touchscreen by the end of 2012.

Far more likely to prove a hit are the little details. Better support for home networking, thanks in part to HomeGroup. Easier navigation, with Jump Lists reducing the need to dump every single item onto the Windows desktop, and the improved search mechanism via the Start menu. Plus the fact that everything just works.

This is also a less irritating operating system than Vista. It feels quick and responsive, even if we know that under the skin not much has changed. And Microsoft has tamed UAC, so that it's a help rather than a hindrance.

Barriers to success
We've been looking around trying to find any potential problems to match Vista's sluggish file transfers, and the closest we've come is some early issues with intermittent network dropouts.

However, a combination of improved drivers and Windows Update has solved all the problems we've seen, which leads us to believe that - in technical terms at least - Windows 7 has a clean bill of health.

That's not to say it's perfect. There are still too many ways for cybercriminals to attack the OS, and until some big steps are taken - whether via sandboxing using virtualisation or a protected-kernel approach akin to MinWin - that will remain the case.

The biggest barriers to Windows 7's success, however, are also potentially its greatest weapons: pricing and marketing.
Should you upgrade?

In the absence of any jaw-dropping features, Microsoft is supporting Windows 7 with the biggest weapon in its armoury: marketing. Quite aside from the adverts you're about to see, there are numerous special offers to give consumers and businesses compelling reasons to upgrade.

Take students: they're being offered Windows 7 Professional for £30 inc VAT. With the definition of student a hazy "someone with a .EDU email address", many households in the UK will benefit from this deal. The Family Pack is a compelling offer too, with one licence allowing up to three Windows XP or Vista machines to be upgraded to Windows 7 Home Premium. We've seen the boxed version of the single user version of Home Premium on sale for £65 inc VAT, while the Family Pack is on sale for around £130 inc VAT. So yes, for home users, we recommend you upgrade.

Businesses will rightly be more cautious. While Microsoft has tools available for businesses to make upgrades as seamless as possible, there are the associated costs of retraining and upgrading existing systems.

It's more difficult to justify this disruption, but at some point you'll have to shift from XP. The old adage of waiting for SP1 doesn't carry as much weight as usual; it's a well-known fact that Windows 7 is based on Vista's code, and in some ways it's more akin to Windows Vista Service Pack 3 than it is a brand-new operating system.

One thing is for sure. All the most interesting new hardware is going to be Windows 7 only, so if you want to keep your senior executives happy then you're going to need to manage Windows 7 machines sooner rather than later.

Which version?
We're disappointed by Windows 7 Professional. With pricing so close to Ultimate, it feels like a pointless edition - the omission of security tools such as BitLocker and AppLocker, which are most likely to be installed on business laptops, remains baffling. Home Premium, on the other hand, strikes the right balance between features that most home users will want while keeping the price low - at least while all the price promotions continue.

Which leaves Ultimate/Enterprise, the OS split at marketing birth. As a piece of engineering, Ultimate will appeal to all techies: extras such as Windows XP Mode and virtual hard disks will give owners endless geeky pleasure. And if your business is on a licensing scheme that bundles Enterprise, then it should impress IT departments too.

So, overall, is this a ringing endorsement for Windows 7? It's certainly hard to find fault. Sure, there's no shout-from-the-rooftops feature that will have Mac enthusiasts casting aside their MacBook Pros, but Windows 7 delivers on ease of use, performance and features. We recommend you make Vista and XP a thing of the past as soon as you can.