The newest member of the Windows family is the most popular of all.Microsoft announced on October 22nd that Windows 7, their new operating system, is ready for shipping. Over 8 million people participated in beta testing the system, the highest percent of which were from Hungary.
This is one of the most highly anticipated operating systems in Windows’s history. 7 is as popular now as Vista was a year after its release.
The software previewed publicly in Hungary on October 31st in the Papp László Stadium during the Budapest Game Show. University teachers and students with a valid student card were eligible to receive a free copy, as well as a CD with the latest version of Internet Explorer 8.
Four different versions of the operating system are available in stores: Windows 7 Home Premium for regular users, Windows 7 Professional for small business enterprises, Windows 7 Ultimate for those who want to make the most of the system, and Windows 7 Enterprise for corporate use. There is also a fifth version, Windows 7 Started, which is pre-installed on some notebooks.
One of the system’s most important features is a virtual PC mode, available in Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise versions. After Vista’s introduction, a lot of users complained about compatibility problems, which were caused by different version numbers of the operating systems (Windows XP is 5.1, Vista is 6.0, while 7 is 6.1). In order to avoid this, Windows 7 users can download a fully licensed virtual XP SP3 (enabling virtual PC mode) from Microsoft’s website, which will allow a smooth run for programs that would otherwise have compatibility problems.
According to previous surveys, out of approximately 4 million PC’s in Hungary, 2.2 million meet the hardware requirements for running Windows 7, and 75% of large Hungary-based corporations are estimated to update to the new system in the next two years.
However, updating from Vista poses quite a headache to some unsuspecting users, as there is an unpleasant bug in the updating process. The installation might fail and want to restore Vista, but the system will start an infinite rebooting sequence.
Though everyone is excited by the hype surrounding Windows 7, Microsoft will not forget about their previous releases. Four updates are coming to earlier versions of Windows on November 10th, of which three are a critical priority.
Download Virtual XP and more: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/default.aspx
By Márton Tévald for XpatLoop.com
Sources: www.itcafe.hu
Edited by Ben Brundage
13.11.2009