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Even
after the introduction of Microsoft Windows Vista in 2007
it's predecessor, Microsoft
Windows XP, remained (for us and many resellers similar to
ourselves) the operating system of
choice for almost all of our customers.
Despite being given
the free choice of which product to be installed on their
new computer system(s), the bad press and negativity
surrounding Windows Vista has had a
overriding factor in their decisions. Rightly or
wrongly, as a supplier for whom our customers trust our
thoughts and opinions, we've found it hard to push people
towards the usage of Windows Vista against Windows XP unless
they have had specific requirements that have meant Windows
XP would not be suitable.
On October 22nd
2009, Microsoft released the successor to Windows
Vista - Microsoft Windows 7. We've been testing it
since May 2009 and thankfully, this time around, we
found the experience a lot more enjoyable than we did the
first time we 'tried' to install and use Windows Vista.
Windows
7 does look like Vista but all of the rough edges and has been tidied up and the overall
look and feel of it are now much improved over Windows Vista
although Windows XP users may still take a while to adjust
while they find their way around the menus and options.
Windows 7 lets
you do things much easier, and the annoyances of the
restrictive security in Windows Vista have been removed and
can be easily customised to give greater control and freedom
over the system once more. It'll still stop the user
from doing anything really silly, but it will now let you
run programs without continually asking you if you're sure
you want to run it.
Windows
7 is faster than Windows XP in starting up, shutting down
and opening applications (note we didn't compare it to
Windows Vista which was generally slower in doing most
things).
Better
still... Windows 7 will
work on almost any systems which currently run Windows XP!
If you don't want to buy a new computer system, we can sell
you an upgrade kit to upgrade your Windows XP or Windows
Vista system to the latest operating system.
From November 1st 2009, all new systems will be
supplied with a choice of Windows 7 Home or Windows XP Home as the standard operating
system with customers able to upgrade their systems to the
Professional or Ultimate versions of Windows 7, or Windows XP Professional, as required.
We see this as
the way forward and are already happy enough with the new
operating system to feel positive enough about it to give it
the promotion it deserves. The time is now right to
move on and whilst we recognise that there will be a period
of adjustment for some of our customers as they come to
terms with the changes in the new operating system, our
testing and usage thus far of the new operating system give
us enough confidence to recommend it to our customers.
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Top three business
customer benefits of Windows 7 Professional |
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1. |
Works the way users
want.
With a focus on the fundamentals, Windows 7
Professional is fast, reliable, and compatible. |
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Starts up, resumes from
Standby, and is ready to go in seconds. |
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• |
Performance
improvements include improved memory utilization and
64-bit computing support. |
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Works with the majority
of software or devices that already work with the
Windows Vista operating system. |
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2. |
Helps you get more
done.
Improved ease of use through user-interface
enhancements together with more sophisticated
networking and mobility features helps workers be
more productive - whether at work, home or on the
road. |
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Windows Desktop Search,
the Windows Aero user experience, JumpLists, and
Live Taskbar previews are just a few of the features
that help users find files and navigate open windows
easily. |
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With longer battery
life and features such as Location-Aware Printing
and Offline Files, mobile workers can be productive
anywhere. |
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Improved networking options include Remote Desktop
Host, HomeGroup and Domain Join. |
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3. |
Safeguards for
businesses.
Windows 7 Professional helps keep PCs backed up,
protected, and highly secure. |
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With Backup and
Restore, users can schedule a periodic backup to
save their data or an entire system image to a
network location or a local drive. This helps you to
quickly restore individual files or folders that get
accidentally deleted. |
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The Encrypting File
System feature helps businesses protect confidential
information with powerful encryption technologies
that encrypt their files and folders. |
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Windows Defender helps
protect users PCs from spyware and other forms of
malicious software, while the Internet Explorer® 8
Internet browser helps protect their data and
business information by delivering improved
protection against security and privacy threats. |
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Top three objection handlers |
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1. |
How is Windows 7
Professional better than Windows XP? |
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Windows 7 Professional
is easier to use, more reliable, more secure, and
faster than Windows XP. Windows XP is nearly a
decade old, with limited support for new hardware
and software.
On the other hand, Windows 7 Professional has been
specifically designed to meet the growing demands of
modern technology users with more sophisticated
networking, mobility, entertainment, data
protection, and compatibility features.
And with the new Windows XP Mode feature of Windows
7, you get the compatibility of Windows XP in
Windows 7 Professional. |
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2. |
How is Windows 7
Professional better than Windows Vista? |
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With Windows 7
Professional, Microsoft listened to their business
customers. First and foremost, they have improved
performance, reliability, and security.
Improvements have been made to make it easier to
use, their is better wireless networking and more
comprehensive (and comprehensible) troubleshooting.
A new feature called Windows XP Mode has also been
added giving businesses and users the option to
extend the life of older productivity applications
by running them in a virtual Windows XP environment.
There is also a new feature to make the transition
between work and home easier with features like
Location-Aware Printing. |
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3. |
Why should I invest in
Windows 7 Professional? |
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Investing in Windows 7
Professional can bring long-term value to your
business, while helping your workers be more
productive - at home, at work, and on the road.
New PCs with Windows 7 Professional are designed to
be faster, more reliable, more secure, and easier to
use than older PCs running Windows XP or Windows
Vista.
More sophisticated networking and mobility features
help mobile workers access their computer programs,
files, and network resources away from the office.
PCs with Windows 7 Professional can do more to
protect your valuable business and customer data. At
the same time, compatibility features let you run
many of the applications and devices. |
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Windows 7 Professional compared to Windows XP
Professional |
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Windows 7 Professional
offers more reliability, security, and performance
than Windows XP. |
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Faster and more
responsive performance. Windows 7 Professional
starts, shuts down, and resumes from Standby faster
than earlier versions of Windows. Searching and
indexing are also faster. Customers will have fewer
interruptions with Windows 7 Professional and can
recover more quickly from problems when they do
occur. |
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Improved reliability.
Reliability improvements in Windows 7 Professional
include fewer memory management issues, reduced
disruption from diagnostics, and driver sandboxing
to prevent one device driver from negatively
impacting others. |
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Enhanced security.
Windows 7 Professional helps to better protect
security and privacy while existing security
features, such as User Account Control and Windows
Defender, are more personalized and easier to use. |
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Improved battery life.
Improvements to power management in Windows 7
Professional will help extend the battery life of
mobile PCs.
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New and Improved
Features in Windows 7 |
Windows 7 Home Premium |
Windows 7 Professional |
Windows 7 Ultimate |
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HomeGroup: Easily
share media, files, printers, and devices across
multiple PCs. |
Y |
Y |
Y |
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Action Center: Fix
problems yourself, on your own schedule, with
powerful diagnostics and troubleshooting tools.
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Y |
Y |
Y |
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Device Stage:
Interact and synchronize with any compatible device
connected to your computer. |
Y |
Y |
Y |
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Remote Media
Streaming: Send video and audio output from one PC
to a network-enabled media player, home stereo, and
even other PCs on the network. |
Y |
Y |
Y |
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Bluetooth Support:
Wirelessly synchronize files and folders between
your Bluetooth-enabled phone and your computer.
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Y |
Y |
Y |
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Live Taskbar
Thumbnails: Mouse over the taskbar or an application
icon, and see a visual list of recently used items.
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Y |
Y |
Y |
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Fast User
Switching: Switch between users without having to
log in, log out, or close any programs. |
Y |
Y |
Y |
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Computer-to-Computer Networking: Connect to nearby
PCs without a network access device via adhoc
wireless networking. |
Y |
Y |
Y |
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Location and Other
Sensors: Enables PCs and applications to adapt to
their current environment. |
Y |
Y |
Y |
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Windows Mobility
Center* (with Presentation Mode): Put your most
frequently used mobile PC settings in a single,
easy-to-find location. |
Y |
Y |
Y |
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Aero Glass: See
behind application windows with translucent
glass-like menu bars. |
Y |
Y |
Y |
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Aero Background:
View the contents of the windows that are currently
open with taskbar thumbnails. |
Y |
Y |
Y |
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Windows Touch:
Control a touch-enabled computer by touching the
screen, with visual feedback for tap and doubletap
gestures. |
Y |
Y |
Y |
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Windows XP Mode:**
Run many older productivity and business programs
for Windows XP on Windows 7. |
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Y |
Y |
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Domain Join and
Group Policy: Connect to company networks easily and
more securely. Group Policy controls allow
businesses to better manage the security and costs
of multiple PCs. |
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Y |
Y |
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Backup and Restore:
Schedule a periodic backup to save your data or
entire system image to a network location or a local
drive. |
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Y |
Y |
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Location-Aware
Printing: Send your documents to the right printer,
whether you are at work or at home. |
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Y |
Y |
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Remote Desktop
Host: Access documents and programs on a computer
remotely from another computer. |
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Y |
Y |
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Advanced Backup and
Restore (Network and Group Policy): Back up your
data to a network location, and have the ability to
recover and restore your documents. |
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Y |
Y |
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Encrypting File
System: Provides user-level file and folder
encryption, ensuring strong data protection and
control. |
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Y |
Y |
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Offline Folders:
Work offline with the ability to automatically
synchronize between your PC and the network content.
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Y |
Y |
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BitLocker and
BitLocker To Go drive encryption: Help protect
confidential information and stay compliant with
business and regulatory policies. |
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Y |
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AppLocker:
Specify which applications are available to which
end users, reducing the need to modify settings. |
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Y |
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DirectAccess:
Seamlessly connect mobile workers more securely to
their network without a virtual private network. |
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Y |
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BranchCache:
Replicate and synchronize files between a central
store and branch locations, enabling more
productivity for workers in remote offices. |
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Y |
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Multilingual User
Interface Packs: Switch the user interface from one
language to another via a language pack add-on to
the English version. |
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Y |
Hardware
Requirements
Since the beginning
of 2009 all of our custom-built desktop systems already met
and exceeded the
minimum system requirements set out by Microsoft for
standard product usage.
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1Ghz or
faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
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1Gb RAM
(32-bit systems) or 2GB RAM (64-bit systems)
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16GB
available disk space (32-bit systems) or 20GB (64-bit
systems)
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Microsoft®
DirectX® 9 graphics processor with Windows Display
Driver Model 1.0 or higher driver
Additional
requirements to use certain features include:
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Internet
access
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Full
Windows Media Center functionality also requires a TV
tuner and some additional hardware
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Windows
Touch and Windows Tablet require specific touchscreen
hardware. See our sister website at
www.touchscreens-direct.co.uk for a wide range
of touchmonitor products.
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HomeGroup
requires a network and PCs with Windows 7
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BitLockerTM
requires Trusted Platform Module 1.2; BitLocker To GoTM
requires a USB flash drive
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Windows XP
Mode requires:
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Additional 2 GB RAM (32-bit) or 3 GB RAM (64-bit)
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Additional 15 GB available disk space
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Processor capable of hardware virtualization, with
Intel VT or AMD-V turned on
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Windows
XP Mode software and Virtual PC software are
available as a free download from the Microsoft
website (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc)
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