BANGALORE, INDIA: Tomorrow is when Microsoft will formally launch the next version of Windows, dubbed Windows 7. A majority of current Windows users still use XP, which is getting to be 9 years old now.

After the launch of Windows Vista, many had no option but to buy PCs pre-loaded with Vista. Some paid extra to ‘downgrade’ to Windows XP. The main issues with Vista? Widespread reports of sluggishness, frequent hangs and crashes, incompatibility with certain software and hardware. Vista was basically a troublesome experience for someone who just wanted it to ‘work’.

Windows 7 is a result of consumer feedback

Somewhere down the line, Microsoft lost touch with consumers. And they’ve worked hard to correct those shortcomings. Windows 7 was available for thousands of Beta testers worldwide since January this year. And Microsoft listened to what they had to say. Many bugs have been ironed out – this time before the official release of the product! 

According to several PC vendors, market acceptance of Windows 7 is already high – much higher than it was for Vista. This is good news for the new PC market and good news for Microsoft. To quote most reviewers of the pre-release versions; “Windows 7 is what Vista should have been”.

Skip Vista target Windows 7 says Gartner

And Windows 7 really is a “make-or-break” situation for Microsoft, especially after the Vista debacle. But Wired summed it up really well – “Although Windows 7 will be familiar to XP users, fundamentally it’s different enough to make you change the way you think of Microsoft.”

Here’s why I think Windows 7 will encourage thousands of PC users to spend their money to upgrade.

* Speed - Windows 7 will be noticeably faster on the same hardware. Windows 7 will enable faster start up times, increased responsiveness and quicker applications

* Compatibility – Windows 7 has lower hardware requirements and is more efficient. This means that it will work well with older machines & even netbooks.

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* Smooth & intuitive – For a Windows user, the basics of operation, shortcuts and application compatibility remains the same. The advantages add on from there.

* Great new features and look – Windows 7 is prettier than Vista. Plus you get great new features like aero peek, aero snap, aero shake (to handle multiple open applications & windows better), easier home networking and improved automatic device install

* Better battery life – You’ll get better battery life with notebook PCs since Windows 7 makes more efficient use of system resources.

* Hardware advantages - Windows 7 will offer a larger boost in performance with newer multi-core CPUs. It also includes support for up to 256 core CPUs.

* Increased security – The new Windows Action Center integrates security and maintenance into one package. It works. And it doesn’t interfere like Vista’s much-maligned User Account Control (UAC).

* New Media - Native support for Blu-Ray, ISO image burning and new media formats and codecs to fully take advantage of the digital age.