Which OS in my new Laptop?

Dear Readers,

After i wrote about the specifications of a laptop for basic home/shop usage. I was asked one more question from you all, asking me what operating system should they choose. Currently there are 3 Operating Systems (OS) from Microsoft, functional in the market. Windows XP , Windows Vista and Windows 7. I will give you a guidelines as to which operating systems you should opt for. Of-course choices vary from user to user. But this is for those people who have no idea about the OS.

What is an Operating System (OS)?

In very short terms, the Operating System is an interface or a communicating agent between you and your computer. It is there to manage and co-ordinate activities on your computer. All Applications or Softwares that you install on your computer, MUST go through the OS to communicate to your Hardware.

For Example, if you want to watch a DVD with PowerDVD software. The Software must first go through the OS driver modules to make use of the DVD Reader and the Display codec to display the DVD itself.

Which OS for my Laptop/Desktop?

Windows XP

Windows XP The acronym XP was derived from the word eXPerience. Microsoft had promised a new experience for using computers. It was released in 2001. XP is now 8 years old. Meaning its the most mature OS out there from Microsoft. Over 8 years, all Software and Application developers had developed programs which were compatible with XP. And in that time the adoption of XP was huge. So big, that until today, no one wants to migrate to a newer operating system, because they have been using it for X years. And their program is only compatible with XP. And any old , slow hardware would work flawless with XP. Because its system requirements is the same as it was 8 years ago. Meaning even an old computer lying in the garage would work nicely with XP. So if you bought a newer laptop and had windows XP installed on it. You would feel its much faster and smoother then other OS out there.

Windows Vista

Vista was released in 2006. And immediately all laptop manufacturers adopted it and sold it pre installed on their laptops. The reason was that Vista was a complete re design of XP from the ground up. The new features in Vista were just too tempting for companies like HP, Dell , etc to not adopt it. I will not talk in detail about the features because this isnt a Vista review. From the visual experience point of view, it had AERO interface. Meaning a glassy look and felt good to the eye when working with it. But there were some Major dark sides to vista,

1. You needed a high spec machine to enjoy Vista in its full glory.

2. Many XP programs were not compatible with Vista

3. Aero would slow down the computer and hang the computer

4. Every time an unsupported driver was installed, it would show a blue screen and restart.

5. Everytime you performed a task, it would ask you if you were sure you wanted to do this (UAC)

6. Battery life on Laptops went down 40% as compared to XP

.....There are many, many problems people encountered in Vista, i cannot list them all.

So the solution for most people was......to Downgrade to XP. I cannot even give you the count as to how many people have approached me to downgrade their Vista to XP. I do agree with these problems mentioned above, and so did Microsoft. To rectify this, Microsoft , over the past 3 years have released Vista Service Pack 1 and Vista Service Pack 2. These upgrades to Vista are very significant. And they make Vista a much better OS to use. But it still doesn't change the fact that to have a smooth computing experience , you need a high spec machine. And then Microsoft released a gem...called WINDOWS 7.

Windows 7

Microsoft hit the sweet spot in the OS market with this release. It was officially released on 22nd October 09. It had the same features and same glassy Aero interface which was in Vista. But they polished it so well, that so far, hardly any niggling bug has been reported. The new features in Windows 7 are extremely well thought of, and it makes using the computer fun while still increasing productivity. Everyone might say it is too early to judge. I agree. But i started using the test builds of Windows 7 last year, and i thought i would just use it for testing and do my actual work on XP. Since i installed 7, i have never gone back to XP. 7 is just so stable and reliable. And if my test build is so stable , i can only imagine that it would be perfect in the final version. Lets take a look at those Vista problems and see what Microsoft did to rectify them in 7

1. High Specs is no longer required for Windows 7. It works fine on low end computers

2. Windows 7 has a nifty new feature called "Compatibility Mode" It allows any old programs to run on Windows 7. Even if its only compatible with XP.. NICE

3. They re designed the graphic stack , so Aero feels very smooth

4. Most of the Drivers are supported with 7

5. You have the option to reduce the amount of time UAC popped up with that annoying question of running the task.

6. Battery life is now almost as same as Windows XP

.....These are the solutions to the problems i mentioned in the Vista section earlier.

So you see, Microsoft has really really worked hard with solving Vista's problems by launching Windows 7. I am working on a mini review of Windows 7 for you all. Which will cover all the new features and improvements. And probably make your adoption to 7 even easier.

If today, you had to make up your mind about which OS to choose , i would point you towards Windows 7. Not only because its the latest and the greatest, but because its is the Best from Microsoft.

Good Day!