Windows 7 Startup

The percentage of Windows 7 users worldwide exceeded the share held by Windows Vista for the first time last month, according to Net Applications. Despite Microsoft's withdrawal of active support, however, the web metrics firm's latest data Relevant Products/Services demonstrates that Windows XP continues to be the OS of choice for the majority of PC users worldwide.

Windows 7 beat out Vista in July with a 14.46 percent market share, followed by Vista at 14.32 percent. Released at the end of January 2007, Vista reached its market share peak of 18.83 percent in October 2009 when Windows 7 was commercially introduced. "With 175 million licenses sold to date, [Windows 7] is the fastest-selling operating system ever," said Microsoft CFO Peter Klein last month.

Incredibly High Satisfaction
Enterprise adoption of Windows 7 is accelerating, driven by an increase in volume licensing to businesses plus retail sales, noted Microsoft Director of Investor Relations Bill Koefoed. "Importantly, customer Relevant Products/Services satisfaction for Windows 7 is incredibly high at 94 percent and businesses are deploying Window 7 in the enterprise Relevant Products/Services," Koefoed said.

However, Windows XP remains the world's leading operating system by far. Released in August 2001 and with more than 400 million copies in use by January 2006, Windows XP held a global market share of more than 61.8 percent in July -- double the share of Vista and Windows 7 combined, according to Net Applications.

Overall, Microsoft attained a 91.3 percent share of the global OS market in July, followed by the Mac OS at 5.06 percent, and Linux at slightly less than one percent. The market shares for the Mac and Linux have remained relatively flat this year.

Microsoft executives expect sales at the company's Windows division to grow roughly in line with PC shipments during the current quarter and over the next 12 months. Given that PC growth is expected to remain in double digits for some time as users continue to update old PCs, the adoption of Windows 7 will undoubtedly continue to grow at a healthy clip. "Obviously, we are super happy with both the state of the PC market and the customer traction for Windows 7," Klein said.

IE Browser Growth
The other good news for Microsoft is that the software giant's web browser gained ground against the field for the second month running on a global basis, and for the third straight month in the United States. Reversing a long-term negative trend, Internet Explorer extended its usage share gains by 0.42 percent in July, according to Net Applications.

The latest release of Internet Explorer is also gaining traction. According to the web metrics firm, IE8 extended its lead as the world's leading browser by gaining nearly one percentage point of global market share since May. "IE8 is now the fastest-growing and most popular web browser in the market, with IE9 coming soon," Koefoed told analysts last month.

Overall, the gains achieved by Internet Explorer, which held a combined 60.74 percent share at the end of July, have come largely at the expense of Firefox and Chrome, according to the latest data. Firefox fell 0.9 percent from the prior month to a 22.91 percent share -- down from 24.43 percent in January.

Chrome's market share, which had made steady gains throughout this year, declined just 0.08 percent from the prior month to 7.16 percent. By contrast, Google Relevant Products/Services's browser held just a 5.22 percent market share in January.

Source: http://www.cio-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=74544

Communication and data sharing have witnessed a new momentum with the introduction of computers and application software. And it is Microsoft that has launched innovative solutions over time in sync with the changing trends and technologies. The computer giant’s latest upgraded version of its Windows is the Windows 7. There are a plethora of features that Microsoft Windows 7 comes with, each feature having an important role to play.

Microsoft Windows in its Windows 7 edition is equipped with sophisticated security features. There are risks related to your computer being damaged by viruses, spyware and other malware. With the Microsoft Windows 7, you can stay safe on security aspects. Whether you use LAN (Local Area Network) or WAN (Wide Area Network), you can protect data stored in your computer from unauthorized access. There are several distinctive security features in Windows 7 besides the Action Center (to help you deal with any issue), as enumerated below:

* Windows Firewall: A flexible and easy-to-use built-in firewall, protecting your computer from malicious software and hackers

* Windows Defender: Checking of slow performance of your computer at the same time protecting your system from security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software including pop-up ads

* Backup and Restore: Keeps a backup of your most important files and restores files that you may lose

* BitLocker Drive Encryption: The hard disk of your computer gets encrypted, ensuring the safety of your passwords, documents, and other important data. This gets automatically done once you turn on the BitLocker of your Windows 7

* User Account Control: Seeks the user’s permission before proceeding with a change; this feature prevents potentially harmful programs from making changes to your PC, thus reducing malware infection

* Parental Controls: Keeps your computer under check by limiting certain usages such as preventing your children from playing violent games, setting time limits on your system’s use by other members, limiting the running of specific programs by children and other members, etc.

The Action Center is situated in the Control Panel; this feature notifies you on all security related issues such as whether your anti virus software is up-to-date or not, the firewall is on or not, automatic installation of updates, and related paraphernalia.

There are several editions of the Microsoft Windows 7; with the Windows 7 Home Premium, you can actually enjoy a superlative entertainment experience on your computer. Everyday tasks are simplified to the maximum whether it is opening your desired folder instantly or finding something with just a click of the mouse or comparing documents side by side. You can actually make your computer work the way you want with the Windows 7 Home Premium. Few of its unique features incorporated in line with the latest technological trends are the 64-bit PC hardware and memory with the 32-bit version as well; Internet TV with facilities for pausing, rewinding, and recording; and ‘Touch’ feature for newer ways of PC usage. Buy Windows 7 Home Premium today and reap the benefits.

Features
After experimenting with a series of operating system form Microsoft and others, I have concluded that there is no alternative for Windows 7 Professional in the present date. Once, I had installed it I took a sigh of relief as it is much stable and user-friendly and miles away from software conflictions. I am pretty much sure that its features, like JumpList, Aero, HomeGroup, Domain Join and XP Mode are enough to challenge any OS.
Usability
Windows 7 Professional has simplified my task. Now, I can easily connect my PCs at home to share files, music, video and even my printer without any hassle. Earlier, it was never possible without help of technicians. In addition, I can maintain my privacy too with the password protection feature. I don’t face difficulty while working with multiple Windows because Aero Shake minimizes unessential applications within an eye blink by just shaking them with the mouse. I can access file located in remote section of my computer network easily and quickly with smart search of Windows Search option. When I just enter an alphabet in the search box, it gives a list of relevant files. It was never so easy with Windows Vista’s “Instant Search.” With the Tab Group feature in Internet Explorer you can easily manage multiple tabs, which was not possible in earlier versions of IE. Hence, it’s a totally a never-before experience with Windows 7 Professional.
Limitation
Although, I have a good experience with Windows 7 Professional, but I think Microsoft should have been a bit liberal with the users on the compatibility front. I faced issues while doing custom install on one of my old computer. It showed software conflicts a number of times, when I had to do install device drivers.
Conclusion:
Above and all, Windows 7 professional is a good presentation from Microsoft. There are some new features, which will be soon adaptable for me. I liked it mostly on account of its enhanced performance with least of software conflicts and strong security features, which were tough challenge in earlier versions.

Microsoft’s Windows 7, which was introduced on 22nd October, 2009, has climbed the new charts of popularity. Try this new Windows operating system to experience a new level of computing.
Performance accelerator
With latest Windows 7 loaded on your computer, managing your files and folders gets pretty easier. You can keep your frequently required files on your finger tips, with the help of JumpList and Aero Pin features of Microsoft’s Windows 7. Windows Search will help you to quickly access files, photos and other important documents which are occasionally used. Aero Snap will make your job easier, if you have to do work related to reading, organizing, and comparing windows.
Easy networking
Microsoft’s Windows 7 has introduced Home Group, which will simplify your home network, so that you can easily share your files and peripheral devices with a single click. Moreover you can customize your sharing job.
If you have a requirement to share your office or home network, you can make use of Direct Access. To maintain the security of your data you can implement BitLocker encryption feature.

Security and Maintenance
A lot of improvement has been done on the security front with the introduction of Multiple Active Firewall Policies, DirectAccess, BranchCache, BitLocker To Go, AppLocker and Biometric enhancement. Windows 7 Action Center is a user-friendly feature, because it offers a common platform to system maintenance information, security information and computer troubleshooting.
So, don’t wait and install Microsoft’s Windows 7 on your computer to get the best computing experience.

Windows 7 Feature Reviews

• 1. The new Windows Media Player is present with Windows 7 and it plays Blu-Ray discs.
• 2. The Windows Media player has its own search feature. You can use this search feature to search songs stored on the Media Library.
• 3. Voice Recognition is also a new forthcoming feature in Windows 7. With this feature You can use your Voice as a password to logon to Windows 7.

• 1. You need not to burn a DVD to install it. You can use a Virtual CD drive software for this.
• 2. Its best to create a separate partition for Windows 7. This will give you a option to work with either Windows 7 or your existing Operating System.
• 3. Be ready with the Windows 7 Beta activation key.

• The Multi-touch feature is the biggest feature Microsoft can revolutionize. The full version of Multi-touch will have 3-4 new compelling applications.
• The new Internet Explorer 8 has a 'New Tab' feature like 'Mozilla'. You can open as many tabs as you can in a single Internet Explorer window.
• The new Windows 7 is good for games also as you can play games on Windows 7 with high resolution.
• Windows 7 works faster than Vista and also boots up fast. Programs run faster on Windows 7 and you will any system slowing down because of running programs problems at all.
• Windows 7 is beautiful and also has great themes and color schemes.
• Windows is also secure than Windows Vista and XP. You can install any new Antivirus on Windows 7.

Will Windows 7 stand up to the expectations of the users and will prove to be a perfect Operating System? This is a question which is yet to be answered. After encountering problems with Windows Vista, many people are apprehensive about the new member of Microsoft family. Microsoft has tried its best to overcome the problems that users faced with Vista along with the set of new features that will prove to be helpful in enhancing user experience.

There are many factors that indicate that the new OS will prove to be better than all other previous versions. After a slow Vista, Windows users are desperately waiting for a faster system, something just like Windows XP or better. Microsoft has granted this wish to the users. Windows 7 is fast. It boots itself within 30 seconds. When compared with boot time of Windows Vista, Windows 7 is far better. Built-in Internet Explorer of the new OS is also much quicker than its previous versions. But only being faster is not enough for users to upgrade their systems. Of course, not!

Windows 7 is much more stable than others. Many people who have used this version claim that they have never encountered the blue screen of death on their system. Moreover, the computers having a low performance configuration and hardware specification, will also be able to work with Windows 7 (while Vista failed to run on it) as it has minimal hardware requirements.

Windows has sometimes been criticized to be an unsecure system in many aspects. Hackers have been targeting Windows systems for a long time now. Many enhanced security features have been added by Microsoft in its new OS that determines how sensitive it is about security and protecting its users' data and privacy. New security applications have been introduced to the users to keep their private data secure and at bay from unauthorized hands. Internet Explorer 8, which comes as a default browser with Windows 7, creates a more secure environment for internet users.

Apart from these improvements, users interface has been extensively enhanced. Many features like jump lists, appLocker, BitLocker to Go, Improved desktop contribute to simplifying and securing the day to day tasks. Hence, Windows 7 is a better Operating System with enhanced performance that comes as a blessing for users.