Windows 7 is one of the most talked about topics on the web right now.  The reasons are many.  Personally, I believe the reason for most of the buzz this time around (remember Windows Vista?) is that this time the operating system just works.

What I mean by that is that Windows 7  does a great job by just staying out of your way – allowing you to run your applications unencumbered with consistent system dialog boxes provide by UAC (User Access Control);  a security addition to be sure that  turned out to be incredibly annoying.   Not readily apparent however, is that Win 7 is pretty much Windows Vista under the covers.  This release however does not include lots of the cruft that required lots of systems resources that ultimately would slow your system to a crawl.  Not so in Windows 7.   Some say it’s “Windows Vista done right”.

A number of programs you can now chose to download from theWindows Live site - Mail, Windows Messenger and the very good video editor – Windows Live Movie Maker are notincluded in the upgrade media.

I’d have to concur with many that Win 7 is ultimately the best operating system Microsoft has ever released.  Ostensibly this can be said about any new release.  But what’s different this time is that one set of issues has not been readily replaced by another set of problems.  There’s marked improvement with this version never seen before.

I’ve been part of the beta program for close to a year and the final release has not changed much from the early betas.  In my opinion Windows 7 has been “cooked” (ready) for close to a year.  It remains to be seen how things go now that Win 7 has been released to a much larger audience.  Even if not many chose to upgrade, millions of new PCs will come preloaded with it,  just in time for the holiday season.  Time will tell if this is what I suspect to be a great success.

So with that said here’s my list of reasons to upgrade:

1) The Lazarus effect:

I’m finding this to be the biggest surprise of all.  I’ve yet to hear anyone say that Windows 7 has NOT improved their PC’s performance – to such a degree that it brings back to life – what was considered useless hardware.  Win 7 runs perfectly well on the latest hardware, netbooks, laptops, as well as “bringing back to live” older hardware (we’re talking 5 year old Pentium stuff here).

2) Better Pricing/Versions:

Could it be cheaper? Well yeah, but $120 for the Home Premium edition, which should satisfy most, seems pretty reasonable considering the price of software.  Paul Thurrott, owner of the Supersite for Windows, offers some great detail on the various versions here. Most homes have more that one PC nowadays so for them the Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade Family Pack is a great deal at $149.99.

3) Easy Install:

We all dread upgrading our system.  Why?  Well, if we forget to backup something, we’re SOL.  So what do we do?  We put it off.  I’d urge you to rethink it this time.

There are plenty of tools to help you migrate your settings, files etc – including the free fine tools from Microsoft themselves.Not counting prep-time, you should be able to complete your upgrade within an hour.

4) The User Interface (UI):

OK, eye-candy doesn’t make a system run better.  It can, however, add comfort to your environment.  If you’re anything like me, you have so many icons on your desktop, you can no longer see the wallpaper.  Windows 7 facilitates better desktop management by allowing you to “pin” application icons to the taskbar.  I do that with the top applications that I use daily and delete the desktop icons.  We’ll see how long it lasts but it allows me to enjoy the beautiful rotating backgrounds included.

Also included in the Win 7 upgrade is very helpful tweaks including “Peek” – a handy way to find that window you’re looking for on a crowded desktop.  Yet another, Aero Snap allows you to easily snap two windows side-by-side on the screen and Aero Shake allowing you to minimize all windows by “shaking the window you want to focus on.”  Details to a lot more about the UI can be found here…

5) Microsoft Security Essentials:

I highly recommend everyone to download  this FREE tool security provided by Microsoft.  In my opinion, this is the only thing you’ll need, along with having your computer set for automatic updates, to protect your machine.  As Microsoft states: “Microsoft Security Essentials provides real-time protection for your home PC that guards against viruses, spyware, and other malicious software.”

6) Homegroup:

Sharing your folders, documents, and music on your home network has always been a challenge in previous versions of  Windows.  Windows 7 introduced something new called “Homegroup”.   It’s a simple interface allowing you to specify what you’d like to share on your home network.   After that you’re presented with a password (that can be changed anytime) that you share with the other Win 7 home computers.  They can then join the Homegroup and then you’re done – printers, music, videos, and files can now be easily accessed from anywhere on your network.

7) Device stage:

Connecting your compatible device to your computer triggers the opening of what Microsoft calls your “Homepage for Devices”.  Included on the page is a picture of the device along with its current status.  Additionally available for each device is a device specific list of tasks from which to choose.  For example, downloading of pictures from a digital camera or ordering more ink or paper for your printer.  More detail on Device stage can be found here.

8) Most drivers are built-in:

You’ll most likely find that you won’t have to go find the latest drivers for your monitor, sound card or video card.  Windows 7 comes fully loaded for virtually all needed hardware drivers.  There are exceptions but this time the exceptions are for either very dated or odd hardware as would be expected.

9) Windows search:

This is a carry-over but Vista but it still deserves mention.  No need to traverse multiple program menus in search of that program you’re looking for anymore.  Just click start and begin typing – windows immediately starts matching things on your computer, including photos, music, email or games.

10) Windows Media Center:

This tool has matured and more useful than ever.   It’s now dead easy to configure and use.  WMC now supports Netflix, allowing you to watch movies you’ve added to your Netfilx instant queue. “It also plays more popular audio and video formats—including 3GP, AAC, AVCHD, MPEG-4, WMV, and WMA. It also supports most AVI, DivX, MOV, and Xvid files”.

Support: I guess I could call this one number 11 but … anyway, 10 sounds better.   Microsoft has gone above and beyond to provide gobs of support on their site in the form of images, text and video.  They’ve not only rolled out a great OS, they’ve provided an unrivaled support structure to guarantee user satisfaction.

Good job Microsoft!  So when does the Win 8 beta begin?  Kidding!

If you’re reading this and have updated to Win 7  or purchased a new PC with Windows 7 let me know what you think.