I built my first PC back in1988, a 4.7Mhz XT 512k RAM 360k 5.25" FDD, 10 Mb WD hard drive running Microsoft MS-DOS 3.0 and to finish it off, an amber screen monitor.

I have operated  nearly every Microsoft operating system since, except for two.

Microsoft  Windows Millennium better known as ME and of course, Microsoft Vista.

Yes, I did install Windows ME for a week and it turned a computer that was reliable and fast  into a total disaster, unstable and prone to daily freeze ups, crashes and numerous error messages. Reformatted the drive back to Windows 98 and the computer was reliable again and waited for Windows 2000 to come around before changing anything again.

The second OS that was skipped ? You guessed it Microsoft Windows Vista.
Yes it was a big change around security, and user interface design. So why didn't I install it on any of my personal computers?
Compatibility with my software and hardware, waiting for drivers for my peripherals at the time, the cost of the software as well as what I had to spend to upgrade my PC to make it run the same speed as what XP did in the first place.
The final straw, the popup (User Account Control) windows. It seemed every 30 secs you had to answer the operating system when it  asks for your permission to do a task you just wanted done. You ended up just clicking continue without even reading the message in the window because it was so regular.

Yes I had to install it at work for one or two staff members but they all got told the same thing, "You get concrete warranty from me" I would not support it and don't bother trying to ask me a single question about it, "You’re on your own". To tell the truth I removed  numerous copies of Vista and reinstalled XP on brand new laptops until some manufactures saw the light and started to ship with XP disks in the box or at least gave their customers a choice. How much business did they lose following Microsoft's demands to make Vista work for them.

Microsoft has to win over the business sector to make Windows 7 successful and I'm sure they have reliased that after what happen with Vista.

Windows 7 seems to have been thought out much better by Microsoft. For one, they have listened to what users want or disliked, not what sounds good on paper. The RC release worked straight out of the box on what I have tested it on so far, even a laptop that had windows 2000 allowed it to be installed within 20 or so minutes.

Here are just a few of  thlngs I think that  makes Windows 7 a winner over Vista:-

Installation
Multiple display support
Networking
New Paint
New Taskbar
Speed improvements
Stability
Windows Explorer
Window management
Windows Media Center

We will expand on the above improvements in future reviews in the next few weeks.

TT