7’s Eleven: Windows OSs Part 1

Windows XP End of Support

Windows XP reaches what Microsoft calls ‘End of Support’ (EOS) early in 2014, which means that security patches, bug fixes, enhancements and other updates will no longer be issued by Microsoft. Whilst 2014 seems a long way off it’s worth making the switch to W7 in a planned way, in line with your requirements and budget. By considering a switch to W7 now you’ll be able carefully to consider your options and beat any last-minute rush when it may be inconvenient and support is likely to be at a premium. Bear in mind that the risks of continuing to run XP on your computer will increase even before official EOS because Microsoft’s eye will probably come off the ball as engineers and users migrate to W7 and pressure to support W7 increases. There are plenty of reasons for switching to W7 so why not do so sooner rather than later and start to enjoy its features and benefits as soon as you’re ready?

Vista

Windows Vista is not a sensible upgrade option. It is no longer widely sold and is, effectively, W7’s flawed precursor. Vista had numerous usability and efficiency issues, which led Microsoft to replace it rapidly and effectively with W7. If you’re already running Vista the urgency to upgrade is not as great as from XP, but if your computer supports Vista it’s very likely to support W7 too.

Windows 7

W7 doesn’t have the same issues as Vista. Apart from a clean, more modern look it includes lots of new features including: Jump Lists; Snap; support for Windows Live Essentials, a free downloadable package of mail, photo and other high quality programmes; an improved Windows Task bar and full 64-bit support, which is a standard that improves speed and performance. Most XP computers only run the older 32-bit standard.