Windows 7

Windows 7 is the latest operating system to be launched by Microsoft. There are various editions available including upgrades. Microsoft has produced a quick guide on the differences.

So what’s new?

One of the things I love the most is that you can use the Snap feature to quickly open two windows side by side quickly. I might use this for opening Word and then opening Internet Explorer at the same time to gather information.

Other new features include:

• HomeGroup – connect 2+ PCs running Windows 7 to easily share you music, videos, etc. It’s password protected too.
• Jump Lists – files and programs you use frequently eg recent documents, recent songs. You can add to the jump list by dragging a document to the jump list.
• Windows Search – click the Start button and type in the search box. The documents that match your keywords will show above. You can also preview files before you open them.
• Windows Taskbar – easier to see, can rearrange them in any order you want by clicking and dragging. If you hover over a taskbar icon it will shows you a preview of the file open.

To see a full list of new features, see http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows7/products/features.

Here's a comparison chart showing the differences between Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows7/products/compare.