I get a lot of questions about Windows newest operating system – Windows 7. Most people want to know if it is worth their time and effort to upgrade from XP or Vista. After using the OS for several months now, I’ve decided to compile a short list of the best new features coming out of Redmond.

• Interface. My favorite change has been to the user interface on the desktop and throughout the operating system. Gone are the days of a long bar with text. The new taskbar, aka Superbar ditches text completely. You will now just have a large icon for any running program. You can drag icons to rearrange their order, whether the program they represent is running or not. When a program is running, the color changes slightly so you don’t confuse it with your quicklaunch programs. You can also hover your mouse over any running program to see a thumbnail preview. Something I love about this is when I have several windows open of the same program (Firefox), it displays a thumbnail of each and I can choose which one I want to open.
• Interface. There are many new usability changes as well. With AeroSnap installed and running, pulling a window to the right edge of your screen resizes it to half of the screen on the right side; pulling it to the left resizes the window to your left half. Finally, pulling a window to the top of your monitor will maximize it. Aero Shake can be activated by clicking on a window’s title bar and moving the window swiftly left and right a few times. That minimizes all open windows except the one you’re playing with. Shake again to restore the minimized windows to their previous positions.
• Libraries. Windows is slowly ridding themselves of the hierarchical model they’ve used since DOS. The new library feature is a virtual folder, defined by snippets of XML in a well-hidden part of your user profile.Libraries tries to address the problem of users’ content stored all over the PC by allowing users to have full control over their “Documents Library” folder structure. These areas may include: Documents, Movies, Music, Downloads, and Pictures. When you add a folder or shared network drive to a library, it remains in its location in the file system—in other words, the path is unchanged—but its contents appear in the library, where you can open, change, and delete files just as if they were in the actual folder where they’re stored. If you search, your search goes across all the locations in the library (including shared network folders) and returns a consolidated set of results.
• Networking. Microsoft is trying to make the whole process easier so everyone can enjoy the benefits of a home network. Homegroup is designed to simplify the process of sharing digital media, printers, and documents between Windows 7 PCs. Once setup, you can easily browse another user’s shared libraries. They also show up in Windows Media Player and in Windows Media Center. Also, for companies employing Windows 7, when coupled with Server 2008 or Microsoft Home Server, common networking tasks see speeds double and even triple.
• Wireless networking. The networking feature is now easier to get to, and gives the user more control in connecting to wireless access points. When a wireless adapter is installed and active, an icon appears in the Notification area. Clicking that icon displays a list of available networks and gives you all the tools you need to connect securely.
• XP Mode. Many companies were weary of upgrading to Vista because of perceived incompatabilities. XP mode is a virtualisation of Windows XP, and comes free with Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Windows 7. It takes up about 280 MB of RAM, and runs a copy of XP in the background so every older piece of hardware or software will run perfectly. This feature should mostly apply to companies, but most geeks will find it fascinating as well.
• Search. This feature has been greatly improved in speed and consistency.
• Drivers. One of the main complaints about Vista was the lack of proper drivers. Microsoft has made it a priority to not let this happen again. While there are few drivers made officially by that sound or network card manufacturer, Microsoft has a plethora of options for most mainstream hardware components. Video card makers have also jumped onboard. Both Nvidia and ATI have been delivering regular driver updates that support the WDDM 1.1 driver model, which will consume less resources than Vista’s WDDM 1.0 spec, meaning faster performance.  Having installed Windows 7 on both a desktop and a laptop, I have had few problems except for my bluetooth module in my HP laptop. Other than that, all hardware was recognized from the start, and I find regular driver updates with Windows Update.
• Security. Most people don’t want to hear about security features, they just want them to work. Microsoft is starting to understand this. They’ve greatly toned down the annoying User Account Control popups, and most users will see this number drop by 29%. If you are an administrator, you should be able to go days without being pestered. Microsoft has also created a program to encrypt USB thumb drives. Bitlocker will work on any Windows 7 machine and has 256 bit encryption to prevent access to secured documents.