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.