Windows Xp Vs. Windows 7 [ Articlebase.com ]

Old Is Not Always Gold

Windows 7 has been given its name because it is the 7th Operating System (OS) of the Windows family. Microsoft has been built on the success of Windows and with each succeeding version improving on the previous one, the success just kept growing. At least, it did until Windows Vista came along. This was the first real failure from Microsoft – an OS that was resource hungry, slow, unable to work with many applications and more than a little unstable. Many users who switched to Vista soon reverted to XP and have been happy with it. So if XP is a working, easy to use and stable OS, why change? The primary reason is because in the case of software, old is not gold.

Thank God For Windows 7

Microsoft soon realized that Vista was a failure and almost immediately after its release began work on a successor – Windows 7. The philosophy behind Windows 7 was simple – keep (and if possible improve on) all the good features of XP and add on the few positives of Vista. Nothing very dramatic, but it works. With Windows 7, the XP user finally has the option of upgrading from his 9 year old OS – tried and tested though it may be.

But If It's Tried And Tested……..

Those users who find that XP gives them all the features and functions they want may ask why they should switch from what they are happy with. The answer is that they are happy because they do not know what more is now on offer. Let's look at the benefits that Windows 7 has to offer the XP user.

• It's faster. While Windows 7 will work well on PCs designed for XP, to get the best out of it you will need at least a 1.83 GHz dual core processor and 1 GB of RAM. If you are using an old PC with lower specs, please remember that computers don't last forever and upgrading to higher hardware specs is something you need to do, not just for Windows7, but for all the other software now available.


• It offers great back up options enabling you to select not just the back up location, but the specific types of files and folders you want to back up.


• Windows 7 offers improved data encryption as compared to XP and also improved security. The User Access Control of Vista was created to stop rogue programs from running, but is was a pain, intruding to check if it was okay to open a program each time you clicked on it. In Windows 7, this has been reined in and XP users will find it easy to take control of their PCs and the programs on them while enjoying the increased safety that Windows 7 has to offer.


• Ease of use has increased dramatically over XP. The new taskbar does double duty as a windows manager and applications launcher. If your browser has 3 pages open, these will appear as a stacked icon. Hover the cursor over this and you will see 3 thumbnails. Hover over the thumbnail and the window opens.


• The "Jump List" is another new feature. Right click an application in the task bar and the Jump List, which shows the history of the most recent files used for that application (or web pages opened by your browser) opens and will make finding files and getting started on tasks much faster.


• Compared to XP, organizing your data is now much easier. XP not only took it for granted that you wanted to store everything in the My Documents folder, it made changing the default location a painful process. Windows 7 has a master Libraries folder where different data storage locations can be easily defined. In fact, you can also include locations from other PCs on a network in the Libraries folder – all the data will remain in the original locations but will also be accessible in one place.


• Searching has also become much easier with more easily defined search parameters including things like meta data from Word documents etc.


• For laptop users, Windows 7's power management option offers increased battery life as compared to XP.

There is much more that Windows 7 has to offer the XP user. Diehard XP loyalists who feel that they can do without the new features must keep in mind that support for their 9 year old OS will not be available forever and that with Microsoft focusing all its energies on Windows 7, XP even if support is officially available, will soon be consigned to a back burner.

Microsoft has not overlooked the loyalty of XP users. Windows 7 has an XP mode which will allow XP users to work in a way they are familiar with and also run all the XP related applications and software without any hassles.

The Winner?

To be honest, there really isn't a clear winner in the XP vs. Windows 7 debate. XP is still a great OS and for those not looking for anything more, it will stay on as a trusted old warhorse. But for those wanting increased productivity and ease of use, plus a lot of cool new features to make PC usage more fun, Windows 7 is the way to go. XP users will have to upgrade sooner or later, so getting in on the act while it is fresh and appealing makes sense. The next version of Windows, if you want to wait that long, may not be so XP friendly.

XP has not lost the battle of Operating Systems. It is just due for an honorable retirement as the undefeated ex champion.

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