Customer Reviews

Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(27)

 

 

I'll admit, I've been running Windows 7 for six months now: the preproduction version of it and have just upgraded to the gold code. So I have quite a bit of experience with the operating system. Let's get to the nitty gritty:

Should you upgrade from Windows Vista? YES! I mean it - upgrade today.
Windows 7 is quite simply faster, more stable, boots faster, goes to sleep faster, comes back from sleep faster, manages your files better and on top of that it's beautiful to look at and easy to use. Even the preproduction version of Windows 7 was better than my Vista with SP2.

Should you upgrade from Windows XP? Maybe, but for different reasons.
XP is a good operating system and if you don't need to add new hardware or software, XP is good. However, XP is old as an operating system. Also chances are that if you're running XP, you might not meet the minimum requirements for Windows 7 - check the compatibility site at Microsoft to see if your system will support Windows 7. That said, Windows 7 is light years ahead of Windows XP in terms of functionality, ease of use, etc - to me it's worth buying a new system.

64 bit or 32 bit?
If you don't know what I'm talking about, that's ok skip this section. If you have a core2 duo or core 2 quad or a multi cpu machine, go with the 64 bit OS, it handles memory and the CPUs much better. If you have a single core CPU, one CPU or run special programs that require 32bit, then stick with 32 bit for now.

BEFORE INSTALLATION:
I recommend you have:
-a core 2 duo or core 2 quad machine
-4gig of RAM (That's about $50 in today's market)
-good hard drive with (200 gig - it doesn't need that much but that's another $50)
-back up your files to a USB drive like Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDME5000TN (Midnight Black)
-check to make sure your computer is compatible with Windows 7

INSTALLATION:
Installation was very straight forward. You put in the CD and reboot your machine. You might have to enter your bios and enable the "boot from CD" option. Once the machine reboots a nice screen comes up to guide you through the installation. You have the option to upgrade your PC or do a clean installation. I did an upgrade and it brought in all of my files and settings from my windows Vista system. It worked great.
The upgrade did take about 2 hours for me so definitely consider.
I noticed that early on in the installation the operating system went out to Microsoft's site to look for the latest and greatest updates, so I think this should help Microsoft respond quickly to any hiccups with compatibility.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK:
The driver from my old HP Inkjet printer for 2001 doesn't work on Windows 7 so there are some things that will not transition. I had to use a generic HP driver which doesn't give me the quality that I got from an injet - so overall, I'm up and running with that printer but I'm degraded on the inkjet front. That said, I recently upgraded to a HP CP2025DN Color LaserJet Printer that I love so no real loss there. I'll likely pick up a cheap inkjet for the occasional photo that I might need to print. Everything else upgraded.

BENEFITS
-faster boot time
-faster go to sleep
-faster wakeup
-faster about 20% to 30% faster at running applications than my Vista - seriously (but those are my results without any benchmarks or anything like that, just seeing how fast Adobe Illustrator loads, and how fast all the applications respond)
-joining wireless networks is much easier
-the interface is just plain beautiful
-my wallpapers are now a slideshow that can be set to change every few minutes (I'm not stuck with the same picture)
-Gadgets - these are wonderful little small applications that you can drag onto your desktop. I have a weather gadget and a calendar gadget on my desktop that tell me
-Better taskbar management - hovering over the taskbar icons shows me mini windows of what's running
-Better file management - I can organize my files into Libraries that are sortable not only by type but by folder or other data. It's great! I can browse through my presentations or illustrator files!
-Windows Media appears to be smoother which I love.
-You get some virus protection and firewall with Windows 7 but consider something more comprehensive like McAfee Total Protection 3User 2010. Yes, it'll make your computer run a bit slower but

CONS:
- Some older programs might not work and some drivers might not be available like my inkjet driver.
- Other than that, there aren't too many drawbacks to Windows 7 - it's a great OS.

WHICH VERSION SHOULD I GET?
I got the ultimate version because I have clients who ask, "is your hard drive encrypted?" -- I wanted to be able to say yes and have sensitive data encrypted one of my computer volumes - Bitlocker is only available in the Ultimate version. Ultimate also includes Multilanguage support.

If you're a home user that doesn't do a lot of networking, you might consider just the home premium edition. If you're using a laptop and connect to networks at work, you might want the Professional version of the operating system to help you with domain joining. Also Windows Professional gives you the option to run applications in XP mode so if you have old applications you can use that nifty feature. I already have 1 application running in XP mode - it's nifty to run an old application.

NOTE:
The box contains both the 32 bit and 64 bit OS.

OVERALL:
It's very hard to write a comprehensive review on an entire operating system so I didn't even try - I'm sure magazines will devote entire articles to the operating system and several books will come out. My goal here is just to give everyone a glimpse of what I've found to date with this new OS. I do hope this has helped you in making a decision.

Hats off to Microsoft on Windows 7. It's more of a refined Windows Vista than an entirely new operating system but it was needed. Thank you.

If you're looking at Ultimate, chances are it's for one of these three reasons:

1) You have Vista Ultimate and don't want to lose all your programs/settings (more on this in a moment)
2) You want BitLocker hardware-level encryption. You'll need to do some tinkering with a USB key or have hardware that supports it (see comments to this review for details)
3) You regularly work in multiple languages and need to easily switch from one to the other

Unlike Vista Ultimate, Windows 7 Ultimate doesn't offer DreamScenes or any other eye candy different from its cousins Home and Pro. In fact, if you were a fan of the Windows Vista DreamScenes, you should know that you will be losing them when you step up to Windows 7.

Some very important things you need to know about upgrading:

1) There are two types of upgrade: "in-place" (where a Vista machine upgrades to 7 and you get to keep all your programs) and "clean" (where you lose all your old programs and settings).
2) Anyone going from XP to 7 will have to go "clean".
3) Anyone going from a different Vista to 7 (for example, Vista Home up to 7 Pro, or Vista Ultimate down to 7 Home) will also have to go "clean".
4) Anyone going from any Home or Business Vista to 7 Ultimate can do an in-place upgrade.
5) Enterprise Vista can only upgrade to Enterprise 7.
6) You cannot do an "in-place" upgrade from 32-bit to 64-bit.

If you have to do 2) or 3), all is not lost--I'll explain in a moment.

Before you even buy a 7 upgrade for your machine, stop by Microsoft's website for two things:

a) download and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. Run it with every device connected to the machine that you'll ever want to use in 7. It'll thoroughly examine your machine for any roadblocks and give you good advice about upgrading. Even very new machines will have one or two programs that need some checking.
b) Go to the Windows 7 Compatibility Center and double-check anything that came up negative in the Upgrade Advisor (or didn't show up at all). This site lists detailed compatibility info on a LOT of different devices.

Anything major, like a video card or sound card driver, I'd recommend double-checking with the manufacturer's website to be sure. This almost burned me on two of the machines that I upgraded.

Last, make a backup. There's a free tool called Macrium Reflect that can do this for you.

Do you have to do a "clean" install, but just want to carry over your user accounts and settings? Microsoft makes a program called Windows Easy Transfer that's already in Vista (and XP users can download it from Microsoft) that will export your accounts and settings and let you import them back again. It's very easy to use and does a good job of putting your accounts back together again, even going from XP to 7.

Do you have to do the "clean" install, and you don't want to reinstall all your programs? Laplink has an offer for $19.95 that will let you use a special version of their program "PC Mover" to upgrade one machine one time. Read the documentation in detail.

The most important thing to doing a "clean" install is that in the Upgrade setup you choose "Custom". Windows will take all of your major files and place them in a folder called "Windows.old". PC Mover and the Easy Transfer program will use this folder to reconstruct your system from, so this is VERY important.

I wish I had more space to go into detail here...bottom line is, if you plan ahead a bit, upgrading to 7 will go very easily (and if it doesn't, you'll have something to fall back on).

Here comes Windows 7, nearly three years after Windows Vista and eight years after Windows XP. By most accounts, Windows 7 is what Vista should have been. Do we finally have a worthy successor to XP?

** CLEAN UPGRADE UPDATE BELOW 10/29/09 **

PROS:
- Fast startup and performance
- Stable
- Nice aesthetic and functional changes to the desktop
- Improved networking, power management & security
- 32-bit & 64-bit versions included
- Windows Media Center
- Windows XP Mode

CONS:
- User Account Control still annoying
- Upgrade can be challenging
- Expensive

** CLEAN UPGRADE UPDATE 10/29/09 **
It seems that a lot of upgraders have been complaining about the upgrade process, especially from XP. Most of us expected to be able to format our hard disks and be prompted for either the XP disc or product key. Alas, this is not the case. The upgrade is much more complicated than it should be and some workarounds have been discovered

Method A (simplest)
If you already have an older version of Windows on the hard drive, finish the Custom Install, without entering the product key. After installation, go to your System Properties and click the link to activate Windows. Enter your product key and it should activate. This has worked for me twice.

Method B (hardest)
If Method A doesn't work, try the registry hack.
1. Finish the custom install without entering the product key then click Start and type regedit.exe into the "Search programs and files" box.
2. In the registry, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Setup/OOBE/. In the pane on the right, you'll see an entry for MediaBootInstall. Double-click on it and change the value from "1" to "0" and click OK.
3. Close regedit and go to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories then right-click on Command Prompt and select "Run as administrator." You'll get a UAC alert, click Yes.
4. At the command prompt, type: slmgr /rearm and hit Enter. Reboot.
5. Now try to activate. If it fails, make sure there are no pending Windows Updates to install. If there is, install them, reboot and start over from Step 4.

Method C (most time consuming)
Perform the Custom Install and skip the product key. Once completed, run the upgrade again from within Windows 7 but this time, enter the Windows 7 upgrade key and then activate Windows.
** END UPDATE **


I had been running the Windows 7 release candidate for 3 months and the full version 2 weeks before official release date. The experience convinced me to finally upgrade my Windows XP systems to 7. This review briefly touches upon some of the key features and enhancements of Microsoft's latest OS.

PERFORMANCE & STABILITY
One of the welcome enhancements Microsoft made was start-up time. The shutdown time has been improved as well. Also, in my non-benchmarked experience, Windows 7 has been at least as fast as XP if not faster. The kernel changes and ability to run the 64-bit version probably has a lot to do with that. Most benchmarks from around the Internet seem to support my observations.

64-BIT
I am elated to finally upgrade to a 64-bit operating system in order to take advantage of more memory support and modern processors. I have Intel Core 2 Duo processors in both my systems with 4GB of physical RAM but XP only allowed 3.25GB for system use.

DESKTOP
At first login, you'll notice the changes to the taskbar. The taskbar is no longer just a place to store quick launch icons and view open windows. It now provides functionality in the form of Jump Lists, which allow you to select your most frequently opened files or links from the apps you have "pinned" on the taskbar. The clock and calendar are improved and the Show Desktop icon is now integrated in the far right corner. Other desktop enhancements include Aero Peek, Aero Shake, Snap, new themes and wallpapers. You also get gadget support. All of these features combine to create a much improved and enjoyable desktop experience.

LIBRARIES
Windows 7 introduces a new feature called libraries. Previously, your system had shortcuts to My Documents, My Music, My Pictures, etc. which had files residing in only those specific folders. Files can now reside anywhere on your system and be organized inside libraries. It's similar to how many music and photo applications organize files.

NETWORKING
Even as good as XP was, networking was cumbersome. Windows 7 makes connecting two or more Windows 7 systems together easy, using HomeGroup. This enables easy sharing of files and devices. One downside is that HomeGroup is only supported between Windows 7 systems. File transfer performance between computers has been vastly improved and connecting to a wireless network has never been easier on a Windows machine.

SECURITY
Security in Windows 7 is good and comes with Windows Firewall and Defender. Still, you'll probably want to invest in a more comprehensive Internet security suite, like Norton's. User Account Control (UAC) has been tweaked in order to give user accounts more flexibility in controlling their own security as well as providing more detailed information so the user can make better decisions about whether to allow certain actions. Coming from XP however, it is still annoying. Also, in Windows 7 Ultimate, you can encrypt entire hard drives as well as external portable storage devices, like USB thumb drives. Though this is a welcome integrated feature, much of the functionality can be found in a popular open-source program called TrueCrypt.

POWER MANAGEMENT
Power management has been improved overall and you should be able to squeeze more battery life out of your laptop, even when using your DVD drive. Sleep and resume has also been improved. XP wasn't always consistent when entering or resuming from sleep mode, but Windows 7 has been perfect.

WINDOWS MEDIA CENTER
I've only briefly played around with WMC but it looks promising. It has some fun options for media, especially when you're connected to the Internet. It may even be an adequate replacement for component DVR's should you choose to use it as the centerpiece to your entertainment center. The biggest advantage for me is that Windows 7 now includes a DVD decoder. This means that I can now watch DVD's natively. WMC is available in all Windows 7 editions except Starter.

WINDOWS XP MODE
For applications that ran in XP, but won't on 7, there is now XP Mode. It isn't perfect and your system has to have virtualization support and turned on. Go to your system BIOS to check. If supported, then install Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode. Check your hardware if you intend to use XP Mode.

RECOMMENDATION
If you're an XP holdout, like I was, I recommend upgrading. Vista SP2 users may have less reason to upgrade but might want to just for the changes to the taskbar and the UAC improvements. For users who don't need to use their computers in a corporate environment, then Windows 7 Home Premium edition is a good choice. I'm guessing most power users will choose Professional. I suggest a clean install for best results. If you're a Mac OS X user, there is probably nothing in Windows 7 compelling enough for you to consider switching.

SUMMARY
Windows 7 is the premium Microsoft OS that Windows users have been waiting for. It's fast, secure, stable, visually appealing and fun to use. Windows 7 will make your old system feel fresh and new again. New system owners with Windows 7 pre-loaded can feel confident that they're getting the best Windows OS ever produced.

Having been a loyal Windows customer and paying full retail price for Vista Ultimate the pricing for this product when compared to the other versions of Windows 7 is a slap in the face first of all so one star off just for that! Microsoft should've provided some discount for prior Vista Ultimate customers at least.
Charging an extra $200 or more for a couple of features that noone will use and some outdated ones like Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications is just plain tacky.
The only one that really adds any value is the new feature called "VHD Boot". With that you can boot your entire Windows out of a Virtual Hard Disk file as those used with Virtual PC or Virtual Server which can come in handy if you are a developer or like to install alot of beta products or games and want to make sure you don't screw up your main install.
Anyways, having upgraded my overpriced install of Vista Ultimate 64 bits the first thing you notice is that Microsoft actually downgrades you by removing the few Ultimate extras they did provide with Vista!
That's right Windows7 doesn't merely tell you it won't deliver another DreamScene content pack but that it's going to take away the ones you already had including Tinker, come on, Microsoft, that's just mean. After removing your Vista extras the upgrade form Vista goes smooth for the most part. I just had to reinstall drivers for my netgear wireless usb which Win7 couldn't find or provide. XP users are totally out of luck though since they will have to do a clean install and reinstall all their programs.
Other than the fact that Windows 7 forcibly removes your extras if you are already running Vista I wouldn't be in a rush to go out and grab a copy, especially not at the current price, since the improvements are little and subtle coming from Vista. If you are still running XP on the otherhand though you should've definitely upgrade asap.
I've used the bitlocker feature on a 2TB drive and it works as advertised and that's one area where the improvement compared to Vista are noticeable. For one you know longer have to create your own partition to install bitlocker since windows 7 takes care of it for you but it still takes forever to encrypt a 2TB drive, roughly several hours, but at least it's a one time deal unless you need to decrypt it to clone it or update your bios for example.
If you are trying to scrimp on hardrive space or memory Win7 does use a bit less than Vista but still more than XP, since Movie maker, mail, and several other programs that always used to come with Windows have been removed and are now a optional download. That won't make the few people that use or depend on those programs happy but for the rest I'm sure they are happier for a slimmer Windows. The other changes people upgrading from Vista will notice is the annoying sidebar is gone and the taskbar is huge and works way different than Vista so it takes some learning to figure out where Microsoft moved everything to. It took me a while to figure out where all my stuff went since Win7 tries to be helpful and hide more stuff from you like Macos x. For example your taskbar notifications are still there but hidden by default. Nothing else really impressed me since almost all the stuff in Win7 was already there in Vista. Problem Step Recorder is a nice addition for those that help others troubleshoot their computers or is a quick and dirty way to make your own tutorials. And contrary to what others are seeing Win7 is not noticeably faster than Vista for most stuff except maybe networking and hibernation does seem to work better now. Then again since it never seemed to work before now that it does work is certainly an improvement. Windows 7 is also alot more helpful in trying to troubleshoot incompatible applications and games since a little wizard pops up trying to help you but if your program/game didn't work in Vista it most likely isn't going to work in Win7 either. Oh and another thing I turned off right away was Aero snap since it kept trying to be helpful by rearranging my windows for me which I hated. Alot of others seem to love this feature though. Other little things that Microsoft finally got around to adding to Windows is native burn support for ISO so you don't have to install Nero, usually one of the first pieces of software I install, and Blu-ray burn only support. This still doesn't make up for the lack of virtual desktops support, which Linux and Mac OS X have provided for the longest time and is one of the most useful features ever devised. This is one of the biggest oversight Microsoft continues to make which each new release. Maybe if they threw in native Blu-ray playback support for the Ultimate edition it would make sense to charge more.
So that's my take from someone that used Vista since the day it was released and has been using Win7 since it was released roughly a month ago.
Oh and finally I'm not too happy that even this latest more secure version of Windows can easily be rendered non-functional just by installing an old game. Any old game that using StarForce will install a driver that will immediately cause a blue screen of death upon reboot. For example Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Collection. Microsoft should really put a hardblock on this since I was only able to recover my system due to my technical skills. So much for compatibility with older games.

Previous versions of Windows would allow you to do a clean install on a blank hard drive using an "upgrade" disk; the installer would ask you to insert the media for a previous OS to prove you actually qualified before continuing. 7 does not do this. If you attempt to use the Upgrade disk to do a clean install on a blank drive, it won't give any warnings nor will it ask for proof you own an older version. It will just do a normal install, but when it asks for the key, it will reject the Upgrade key and demand a full retail key.

This means if you're trying to do a clean install using an Upgrade disk (e.g., replacing a dead hard drive), you'll either have to install the old OS or use your computer's original recovery disk to restore the original OS, or you can use the install-Windows-on-top-of-itself trick. You don't have to upgrade the old OS, you can have the installer copy the old Windows version to another folder and then install a clean copy, but you must have a copy of XP, Vista or 7 somewhere on the hard drive before you begin or your key won't work.

I know this isn't exactly a review, but I wish I'd known about this before I spent an hour tearing my hair out trying to figure out why my key wouldn't work.

I'm currently running Windows 7 Ultimate on my laptop (and loving it -- see my other reviews for Windows 7 Home Premium or Professional editions), but I want to point out that unless you want to use BitLocker hard drive encryption, or you want to work in multiple languages, there really isn't any reason to buy Windows 7 Ultimate -- instead, Windows 7 Professional is all you need.

With Windows Vista, Microsoft separated functions between Home Premium and Business so that you had to buy the Ultimate version to get all the media-centric capability of Home Premium, and key business-centric functions like Remote Desktop server and Offline Files & Folders of the Business edition of Vista.

With Windows 7, all that has changed now. Windows 7 Professional has *all* the media-centric capability of Windows 7 Home Premium, PLUS the business functions. The ONLY two things you get with Windows 7 Ultimate is the ability to encrypt your hard drive and work in multiple languages. If you're not doing either of those things presently, and if you have no intention of doing either of those things in the future, then save a little money and buy Windows 7 Professional to get everything the Home Premium has plus all the business functions you're probably used to.

That said, you may still choose Windows 7 Ultimate if you want to do an in-place upgrade (where you keep all your installed programs and settings, rather than reinstall everything). You can't upgrade from Vista Ultimate to Windows 7 Professional with an in-place upgrade (I tried; it didn't let me). So if you've already got Vista Ultimate, and you want to do an in-place upgrade to Windows 7, then you'll still want to buy the Windows 7 Ultimate Upgrade for a smooth transition.

Looking to do a clean install using this upgrade disk? You can, but here's how. Insert the DVD and choose "Custom" to do the clean install. During the install, DO NOT enter your product id or activate Windows -- yet. Instead, you'll finish the clean install, reboot, then use your DVD to do an upgrade of the clean install of Windows 7. Yes, you're upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 7. After you upgrade, then enter your product id and activate Windows. I haven't tried this out personally, but others have and have done so successfully. Add a comment to my review to share your experience if you go this route. Final note: This tip isn't intended to circumvent the stipulations in the licensing agreement for upgrading your computer. If you're not entitled to upgrade (because, say, you're using Windows 95, 98, 2000, or ME), then you must buy the full version. As I tell my kids, "Just because you can do a thing doesn't mean you should do a thing." :-)

Well I received "Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit", when I tried to install it as an up grade, I kept getting "Error Code: 0x800070241". I called Microsoft, the person I talked to did not have a clue. He had me install as a clean install, booting computer from DVD, in the operation formated the hard drive, did the install, with out entering the Key. When installed I went to "Computer Properties", there was a prompt to activate it, and I did no problem. Lucky I have a HP Smart Media Server, with my info backed up. It runs much quicker than "Vista Ultimate 64 bit" did on my HP. Avast Virus program, could not get it to work, changed to Trend Micro and it works well.

Bottom line, I paid for Up Grade, but got a clean install for $100.00 cheaper. In the end I happy, but was very fustrated during installation. Almost 1 hour on phone with Microsoft.

I have been running Vista Ultimate and installed Windows 7 Ultimate upgrade. I'm not a tech-savvie person so it was a disappointment to encounter several problems with the transition to Windows 7.

The first problem was that Windows 7 would not bring along VPN Client or SAP software during the upgrade. I have to have these on my home computer in order to work so this is a critical shortcoming. The second problem was that Windows 7 would not recognize my HP printer. Going onto the HP website I found there is no Windows 7 driver available for my HP printer so I would have to use a lower-end generic driver. So far I have not been able to resolve either problem.

Our tech people at work suggested that in order to get my SAP software onto my now-Windows 7 machine, I should do the Custom Install instead of the upgrade. I did that over the weekend and had to reinstall all of my software and files and run through the voluminous updates. After all of that, Windows 7 stopped recognizing my Nvidia video card and accelerator and changed my screen resolutions, brightness and colors.

So the bottom line is that my Windows 7 upgrade, advertised as very simple and direct, has proven to be a dismal failure. If you have Vista and you can live with it, stay with it.

The big question for many users is "will the 200+ dollar investment and several hours of time justified by the actual and perceived benefits of the upgrade?" From my perspective, the answer is *possibly* as general performance is incrementally improved. Personally, it may be many months, however, before I get a suitable payback for the time I have invested during the upgrade process. Sadly, there are some annoying bugs in Windows 7 Ultimate that are having an immediate impact on my productivity.

To its credit, Microsoft did do an excellent job with its upgrade process technology that allows users to keep all of their programs and files. Basically, everything should be as you left it except for various task bar and star menu links. It reminds me of a comment made by a construction contractor faced with gutting the Pentagon in the 1990's who suggested the job was like changing a black-and-white television to a color set with no interruption in programming. This must have been no small feat for Microsoft.

My goal for the upgrade was merely to increase the performance of my already fast HP Elitebook mobile workstation with an X9100 dual-core processor and 4GB of RAM running Vista 64 bit. I wasn't a Vista hater to begin with but I am always looking for a speed boost. Various IT personnel with whom I have spoken and who tested Windows 7 for months before its release raved about its speedy performance. As I continuously run a real-time full-text search application on my notebook called X1, I have taken the approach that any performance enhancement is worth the investment.

After installing Vista and then subsequently installing the graphics drivers for my Nvidia Quadra graphics card, I can say that Windows 7 is visibly faster in some aspects. Oddly, my one performance benchmark, the 3DMark06 (below), didn't conclusively demonstrate a performance bump.

The biggest improvements thus far appears to be with opening various Microsoft applications. While I have not timed this scientifically, the launch process appears to be about twice as fast. Other actions, such and launching a new tab in IE Explorer (i.e. new iexplorer.exe process) appears to be dramatically faster (> 3X). In all, Windows just seems to be running faster when under high stress environments.

Some of the new window manipulation features do allow the user to save a couple of steps. For example, one can drag an application window to the top border of the screen to have that window application maximize and fill the screen. Similarly, one can drag a window to the right or left, causing that application window to fill ½ of the screen on that particular side of the desktop.

Yet, it seems that overall, Microsoft seems to be focusing more on mouse usage and less on keyboard shortcuts. Power users who work on Wall Street are trained to use keyboard shortcuts instead of the mouse in virtually all possible circumstances. Once learning a few dozen of these keyboard shortcuts, one's productivity can increase significantly. For some odd reason, Microsoft seems to be moving away from providing such capabilities to power users as evidenced in their release of Office 2007 where many of the most important hotkeys were changed or removed. Likewise, in Windows 7, there are changes to the hotkey functions that will IMPEDE power users.

Some of the aesthetic features are a matter of taste. The Personalization functionality allows for a collection of high resolution desktop pictures to change throughout the day. Corresponding to a particular theme are system sounds so, for example, when you select American scenes them, a banjo will sound when you have an alert whereas in previous versions of Windows a beep would sound. Vindows7 adds additional transparency capabilities to the user interface. Yet, many of these such as the transparent application window frames have dubious value as they give a cluttered appearance.

Be aware, the setup - even from Vista it is time consuming. I have excluded steps that I felt were necessary but not critical to complete the install such as the 45 minutes needed to backup 20 GB of data on the drive.
Time required for the setup (HP Elitebook Mobile Workstation):

1) 3.0 hours of research (reading reviews, speaking with IT personnel)
2) 0.5 hours choosing the appropriate version and purchasing the software
3) 0.5 hours backing up data (as a precaution)
4) 0.75 hours uninstalling conflicting HP Protect software and turning back on needed processes that I disabled
5) 1.5 hours installation time
6) 0.5 installing Windows updates immediately after installation
7) 0.5 hours installing Nvidia Quadra drivers (suggested by Windows 7 installation process
8) 1.5 customizing layout of taskbars, start menu, visual effects and other Windows setting
9) TBD - learning curve
So, in total, this took up 8.75 hours of my time, which hopefully will pay off at some point.

The X1 real-time search application is my biggest processor hog by a long margin. It is one of the reasons I purchased a very high end notebook and decided to invest in the Windows 7 Ultimate upgrade. I can't say there is a big performance boost from that perspective. It does seem that there are fewer hang-ups in Windows 7 than with XP or Vista, but it still happens. Yet, when a program does hang ("application not responding") - any program, the user finds the same annoying messages "are you sure you really want to close the application, really?" It is still mystifies me why there isn't a more aggressive kill function, much like what exists in old-school Unix.

In all, I would say the upgrade is worth it. Windows 7 does appear to slightly improve performance and many enjoy the new aesthetics.


BUGS
*Conflicts with Adobe Acrobat - can't move/ resize windows in some strange instances - seems to be getting better after Adobe upgrade
*iTunes controls (top of window) don't work on a second monitor when the screen is full screen
*Adobe controls (top of window) don't work on second screen when the screen is full screen
*Window jumps around, can't move properly when there is an alert windows
*Front panel/activity pane gets stuck

Design Flaws
*Icon spacing on Task Bar is too large
*Links on Windows menu have a less control
*Still no way to aggressive kill stubborn applications

Performance Benchmarks 3DMark06 - As you can see, the CPU subscore is much LOWER in Vista. However, I can't say I have seen anything slow down. It may to do with the benchmark code.

HP Elitebook - X9100, 4GB Ram, Quadro FX 770M

********Windows Vista*********
5/30/2009
many process on,both monitors on
4831 3DMarks
1849 SM2.0
1829 HDR/SM3.0
2731 CPU

5/30/2009
several processes off,both monitors on
4828 3DMarks
1840 SM2.0
1832 HDR/SM3.0
2733 CPU

5/30/2009
sim to #2 w/ nb mon off
4862 3DMarks
1849 SM2.0
1853 HDR/SM3.0
2730 CPU

5/30/2009
On battery power
4904 3DMarks
1866 SM2.0
1868 HDR/SM3.0
2752 CPU

5/30/2009
On battery power
4903 3DMarks
1867 SM2.0
1866 HDR/SM3.0
2753 CPU

5/31/2009
Plugged in, many services disabled
4858 3DMarks
1845 SM2.0
1850 HDR/SM3.0
2751 CPU

6/3/2009
Plugged in, Standard services enabled
4954 3DMarks
1887 SM2.0
1892 HDR/SM3.0
2740 CPU

*******Switched to Windows 7*********
11/1/2009
4767 3DMarks
2098 SM2.0
1894 HDR/SM3.0
1521 CPU

11/1/2009
4869 3DMarks
2110 SM2.0
1963 HDR/SM3.0
1607 CPU

11/2/2009
4949 3DMarks
2092 SM2.0
1906 HDR/SM3.0
1874 CPU

11/2/2009
4924 3DMarks
2093 SM2.0
1900 HDR/SM3.0
1829 CPU

11/2/2009
4889 3DMarks
2085 SM2.0
1902 HDR/SM3.0
1765 CPU

11/2/2009
4997 3DMarks
2173 SM2.0
1939 HDR/SM3.0
1727 CPU

11/2/2009
Updated Nvidia Drivers for Windows 7
4986 3DMarks
2180 SM2.0
1932 HDR/SM3.0
1705 CPU

I have been using Windows 7 for over a month now. (Received an early copy) I must admit the upgrade experience is a hassle but once you install Windows 7 you will be pleasantly surprised. I recommend a clean install for all users. Windows 7 has a noticeably snappier boot time than Windows Vista. What users will notice most are the changes to the interface. It took some time to get adjust new taskbar but once I became familiar with the new interface, I found it to be an improvement over previous Windows versions. Windows 7 also includes a comprehensive device drivers, I have only had an issue with an old printer where Windows 7 could not find the drivers. But with Virtual XP this was no problem, I simply installed the Virtual XP, and used my printer within the virtualized environment. I also noticed improved power management, including once of my favorite features which is the auto dimming of my laptop monitors once my computer is not being used.

Improvements/Pros/New Features
-New Taskbar interface, each program is represented by an icon for a clutter free taskbar
-Quicker boot times
-Comprehensive driver library
-Supports many devices out of the box
-Less annoying
-Virtual XP (for those who still need Windows XP)
-Networking

Recommendations
-Microsoft Security Essentials: A free antivirus program provided by Microsoft that fights viruses, spyware, rootkits, and Trojans. This program is a separate installation, and is also compatible with XP, Vista, and 7.

-Ninite: Free program that provides easy PC Setup, and helps to install Multiple Applications at once. Is a lifesaver for Windows 7 upgrades. Caveat, limited to popular programs such as pidgin, flash, firefox, skype, itunes