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Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade |  | From: Microsoft Software
Category: Software
List Price: $119.99
Buy New: $107.58
as of 9/4/2010 05:23 CDT details
You Save: $12.41 (10%)
New (19) from $107.58
Seller: Digitech Toys
Rating:  438 reviews
Sales Rank: 11
Format: DVD-ROM
Platform: Windows 7
ESRB: Everyone
Media: DVD-ROM
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Batteries Included: No
Operating System: windows_7
Processors: 1
System Memory: 2.0E+6
Memory Type: SDRAM
Hard Drive Size: 60
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 1.1
MPN: GFC-00020
Model: GFC-00020
UPC: 882224883429
EAN: 0882224883429
ASIN: B002DHLUWK
Release Date: October 22, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Windows 7 Home Premium (includes 32-bit & 64-bit versions) makes it easy to create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music--you can even watch, pause, rewind, and record TV | | • | Make the things you do every day easier with improved desktop navigation | | • | Start programs faster and more easily, and quickly find the documents you use most often | | • | Make your web experience faster, easier and safer than ever with Internet Explorer 8 | | • | Easily create a home network and connect your PCs to a printer with HomeGroup |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
If you're already running XP or Vista, you probably know some of the many benefits of being a Windows user. Now, with the Upgrade Version of the latest Windows edition, you can get current with all the best new and classic features of the world's most popular operating system, all without paying the full price for the new version.
Amazon.com Product Description
Upgrade to Windows 7 Home Premium. Windows 7 Home Premium makes it easy to create a home network and share all of your favorite photos, videos, and music. You can even watch, pause, rewind, and record TV (a broadcast TV tuner may be required). Get the best entertainment experience with Windows 7 Home Premium. Do you use your PC for work, run Windows XP programs, or require enhanced security? Consider Windows 7 Professional.  Windows 7 is designed to make your PC simpler--to be more reliable, more responsive and to make the things you do every day on your PC easier. Click to enlarge. | Upgrade to Windows 7 All editions of Windows XP and Windows Vista qualify you to buy an upgrade license. 1. Choose your edition of Windows 7
Explore key features and choose the edition that's best for you. Be sure to check the expanded list of extended features in Windows 7 Home Premium, Windows 7 Professional, and Windows 7 Ultimate. System requirements vary for each edition of Windows 7 because some features might require special hardware. 2. See if your PC has what it takes to run Windows 7
In general, if your PC can run Windows Vista it can run Windows 7. To make sure, download and run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor to do a quick check. If you want certain features, such as HomeGroup or Windows Media Center, check to see if your PC has the hardware that's needed. 3. Check which operating system your PC is currently running
How you make the move to Windows 7 depends on your current operating system. - Windows Vista
The transition to Windows 7 should be pretty smooth, although you may need to update your system to the latest service pack first.
- Windows XP (or any other operating system)
Windows 7 is best experienced on a new PC with the latest hardware, but if your computer meets the minimum specifications, you can install Windows 7 on a PC running Windows XP. Windows 7 must be "custom" installed (also known as a "clean" installation) over Windows XP. Before beginning the installation, you'll need to copy your files and settings to an external drive. After Windows 7 has been installed you will need to re-install all of your programs using the original installation media and then copy over the files and settings you backed up to your external drive. Because Windows 7 requires a custom installation, we strongly recommend that you get help with this process from your local computer service provider.  More work, more play, and more of everything in between. Click to enlarge. |  Manage lots of open programs, documents, and browser windows easily with thumbnail and full-screen previews of open windows. Click to enlarge. |  With Snap you can arrange two windows side-by-side just by dragging them to opposite sides of your screen. Click to enlarge. |  Open files you use regularly in just two clicks with Jump Lists on the improved taskbar and Start menu. | The best entertainment experience on your PC Easiest Windows to use ever
- Simplify your PC with new navigation features like Aero Shake, Jump Lists, and Snap.
- Customize Windows to look and feel the way you like by changing themes and taskbar programs.
- Setting up a home network and connecting to printers and devices is easier than ever.
- Windows 7 Home Premium supports the latest hardware and software.
It's faster
- Designed to make your PC sleep and resume quicker.
- Takes full advantage of 64-bit PC hardware and memory.
- Connecting to wireless networks is fast and easy.
Best PC entertainment experience
- Watch, pause, rewind, and record TV with Windows Media Center.
- Blu-ray read/write support for data files.
- Includes integrated video and Dolby audio codecs.
Simplifies Everyday Tasks Simple to use Preview
Manage lots of open programs, documents, and browser windows easily with thumbnail previews and full-screen previews of open windows. Pin
Open files and get around your PC faster with the improved taskbar. You can easily pin programs you use often to the taskbar and launch them in just one click.  Windows 7 lets you peek behind open windows to get a quick look at your desktop. Click to enlarge. |  Instantly locate and open virtually any file on your PC right from the Start menu with Windows Search. Click to enlarge. |  Turn your PC into a TV with Windows Media Center, and enjoy your favorite videos and music with Windows Media Player. Click to enlarge. | Jump Lists
Open files you use regularly in just two clicks with Jump Lists on the improved taskbar previews and Start menu. Snap
Windows 7 has simple new ways to manage open windows. For example, with Snap you can arrange two windows side-by-side just by dragging them to opposite sides of your screen. Peek and Shake
Windows 7 lets you peek behind open windows to get a quick look at your desktop. Windows Search
Instantly locate and open virtually any file on your PC, from documents to emails to songs, right from the Start menu, with Windows Search. Easy to connect  Setting up wireless connections is easier with consistent, one-click connections to available networks. Click to enlarge. |  Enjoy the photos, music, and videos on your home PC when you're away from home with remote media streaming. Click to enlarge. |  Windows Touch makes PCs with touch screens easier and more intuitive to use. Click to enlarge. |  Manage Backup and Restore and other features through Action Center. Click to enlarge. |  Search, organize, and edit files across a network in the same way you would a single folder.Click to enlarge. | Wireless setup
With Windows 7, setting up wireless connections is easier with consistent, one-click connections to available networks, whether those networks are based on Wi-Fi, mobile broadband, dial-up, or corporate VPN. HomeGroup
Connect Windows 7 PCs on a home network in just four clicks and easily get to the photos, music, and files on each one--even share printers--with HomeGroup. Easy to browse the web Internet Explorer 8
Visual search helps you quickly find the information you want by adding visual cues and previews to search results from top search providers including Live Search, Wikipedia, Yahoo, Amazon, and others. Internet Explorer 8
Use Web slices to conveniently keep up with changes on frequently updated websites, like eBay auctions or traffic sites, directly from the IE8 toolbar. Easy to communicate and share Windows Live Photo Gallery
Windows Live Photo Gallery makes share your photos to your favorite photo site easy. Windows Live Mail
Windows Live Mail makes managing multiple email accounts easy. Windows Live Family Safety
Keep your child safe by managing what sites they can visit and who they can send/receive emails and im communications from. Note: Windows Live components need to be downloaded separately. Works The Way You Want Faster and More Reliable Windows 7 will help your PC sleep and resume more quickly. It is designed to respond to commands more quickly and will help your PC to be more reliable. Fewer clicks and less interruptions
Makes New Things Possible Media on your terms Windows Media Center
Turn your PC into a TV with Windows Media Center. Windows Media Center
Watch shows for free when and where you want with Internet TV. DirectX 11
DirectX 11 technology delivers breathtaking game graphics so real, it's unreal. New ways to engage Windows Touch
Windows Touch makes PCs with touch screens easier and more intuitive to use. Media on your terms Windows Media Player
More and more consumer electronics, from TVs to digital photo frames, can be connected to home networks. With Play To in Windows 7, you'll be able to easily send music, photos, videos from your PC to a networked device throughout your home. You can enjoy the photos, music, and videos on your home PC when you're away from home with remote media streaming. Work anywhere Location Aware Printing
Windows 7 will automatically pick the right printer for you when you move from home to work networks. Work anywhere with less effort. - Instantly locate virtually any file, email, or document on your PC just by typing a word or two.
- Get around your PC faster with the improved taskbar.
- Open programs you use regularly in one click and files you use regularly in just two.
- Manage lots of open programs, documents, and browser windows easily with thumbnail and full-screen previews of open windows.
- Manage multiple email accounts, including Hotmail, Gmail, AOL, and Yahoo! Mail Plus, all in one place with one simple program.
- Get to the files, photos, and music on any PC with Windows 7 in the house from any other.
- Print to any printer in the house from any PC with Windows 7 in the house.
Safeguard your hard work. - Windows Internet Explorer 8 helps keep your PC safer from malware and you safer from fraudulent websites designed to fool you into divulging private information.
Choose the Windows 7 Edition That Is Best For You
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 438
 Worth the Wait October 22, 2009
Just Anonymous (Georgia, USA)
755 out of 794 found this review helpful
I'll admit, I've been running Windows 7 for six months now: the preproduction version of it and have just upgraded to the gold code. So I have quite a bit of experience with the operating system. Let's get to the nitty gritty:
Should you upgrade from Windows Vista? YES! I mean it - upgrade today.
Windows 7 is quite simply faster, more stable, boots faster, goes to sleep faster, comes back from sleep faster, manages your files better and on top of that it's beautiful to look at and easy to use. Even the preproduction version of Windows 7 was better than my Vista with SP2.
Should you upgrade from Windows XP? Maybe, but for different reasons.
XP is a good operating system and if you don't need to add new hardware or software, XP is good. However, XP is old as an operating system. Also chances are that if you're running XP, you might not meet the minimum requirements for Windows 7 - check the compatibility site at Microsoft to see if your system will support Windows 7. That said, Windows 7 is light years ahead of Windows XP in terms of functionality, ease of use, etc - to me it's worth buying a new system.
64 bit or 32 bit?
If you don't know what I'm talking about, that's ok skip this section. If you have a core2 duo or core 2 quad or a multi cpu machine, go with the 64 bit OS, it handles memory and the CPUs much better. If you have a single core CPU, one CPU or run special programs that require 32bit, then stick with 32 bit for now.
BEFORE INSTALLATION:
I recommend you have:
-a core 2 duo or core 2 quad machine
-4gig of RAM (That's about $50 in today's market)
-good hard drive with (200 gig - it doesn't need that much but that's another $50)
-back up your files to a USB drive like Western Digital My Passport Essential 500 GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive WDME5000TN (Midnight Black)
-check to make sure your computer is compatible with Windows 7
INSTALLATION:
Installation was very straight forward. You put in the CD and reboot your machine. You might have to enter your bios and enable the "boot from CD" option. Once the machine reboots a nice screen comes up to guide you through the installation. You have the option to upgrade your PC or do a clean installation. I did an upgrade and it brought in all of my files and settings from my windows Vista system. It worked great.
The upgrade did take about 2 hours for me so definitely consider.
I noticed that early on in the installation the operating system went out to Microsoft's site to look for the latest and greatest updates, so I think this should help Microsoft respond quickly to any hiccups with compatibility.
WHAT DOESN'T WORK:
The driver from my old HP Inkjet printer for 2001 doesn't work on Windows 7 so there are some things that will not transition. I had to use a generic HP driver which doesn't give me the quality that I got from an injet - so overall, I'm up and running with that printer but I'm degraded on the inkjet front. That said, I recently upgraded to a HP CP2025DN Color LaserJet Printer that I love so no real loss there. I'll likely pick up a cheap inkjet for the occasional photo that I might need to print. Everything else upgraded.
BENEFITS
-faster boot time
-faster go to sleep
-faster wakeup
-faster about 20% to 30% faster at running applications than my Vista - seriously (but those are my results without any benchmarks or anything like that, just seeing how fast Adobe Illustrator loads, and how fast all the applications respond)
-joining wireless networks is much easier
-the interface is just plain beautiful
-my wallpapers are now a slideshow that can be set to change every few minutes (I'm not stuck with the same picture)
-Gadgets - these are wonderful little small applications that you can drag onto your desktop. I have a weather gadget and a calendar gadget on my desktop that tell me
-Better taskbar management - hovering over the taskbar icons shows me mini windows of what's running
-Better file management - I can organize my files into Libraries that are sortable not only by type but by folder or other data. It's great! I can browse through my presentations or illustrator files!
-Windows Media appears to be smoother which I love.
-You get some virus protection and firewall with Windows 7 but consider something more comprehensive like McAfee Total Protection 3User 2010. Yes, it'll make your computer run a bit slower but
CONS:
- Some older programs might not work and some drivers might not be available like my inkjet driver.
- Other than that, there aren't too many drawbacks to Windows 7 - it's a great OS.
WHICH VERSION SHOULD I GET?
I got the ultimate version because I have clients who ask, "is your hard drive encrypted?" -- I wanted to be able to say yes and have sensitive data encrypted one of my computer volumes - Bitlocker is only available in the Ultimate version. Ultimate also includes Multilanguage support.
If you're a home user that doesn't do a lot of networking, you might consider just the home premium edition. If you're using a laptop and connect to networks at work, you might want the Professional version of the operating system to help you with domain joining. Also Windows Professional gives you the option to run applications in XP mode so if you have old applications you can use that nifty feature. I already have 1 application running in XP mode - it's nifty to run an old application.
NOTE:
The box contains both the 32 bit and 64 bit OS.
OVERALL:
It's very hard to write a comprehensive review on an entire operating system so I didn't even try - I'm sure magazines will devote entire articles to the operating system and several books will come out. My goal here is just to give everyone a glimpse of what I've found to date with this new OS. I do hope this has helped you in making a decision.
Hats off to Microsoft on Windows 7. It's more of a refined Windows Vista than an entirely new operating system but it was needed. Thank you.
Making the leap from XP to 7 October 22, 2009
Syc (M)
36 out of 40 found this review helpful
At first, I was hesitant to try Windows 7 because of the criticism I've seen and heard about Windows Vista. Both of my computers still had Windows XP SP3 on them, but I decided to risk the upgrade to try something new.
You don't need anything fancy-- single-core computers with just 1-2GB of RAM will do just fine for 7. My computers are both lower-end computers, but I was surprised at how well they performed on Windows 7. For comparison, they are:
Dell Dimension B110 desktop computer (2005)
2.53 GHz Intel Celeron processor
2GB RAM after RAM upgrade
1.0 on the Windows Experience Index
ASUS Eee PC 900A netbook (2009)
1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor
2GB RAM after RAM upgrade
2.2 on the Windows Experience Index
The Windows 7 upgrade will not let you directly install 7 on top of XP. I had to backup my files on another drive, and then do a clean install with the DVD, which deletes everything on the drive I was using. However, installing Windows 7 was a simple process that took less than 30 minutes for each computer. After rebooting the computer just once, it was ready to use!
Drivers were a minor issue for both computers. Windows 7 already has plenty of drivers to cover most computer parts. One of the drivers on each computer was not covered, but I was able to automatically choose and install the missing drivers from Windows Update. However, there was one exception-- there were no Windows Vista or Windows 7 drivers available for my HP Officejet v40 printer. This meant that I couldn't access the advanced options through the computer, though I can use them through the printer itself. The included generic printer driver was able to print through the Officejet with no problems.
After the display was corrected, the first thing I noticed was the very eye-appealing interface. The Eee PC could run Windows Aero with the transparent glass borders, but the Dell Dimension could not. Nevertheless, the Dell Dimension's blue-gray theme is a refreshing change from Windows XP. Also, the new taskbar at the bottom has been much improved. It's a little wider, which means that I can see both the date and time in the clock at once. Also, there is no text-- only icons, which makes for a more organized look. Besides the windows, the desktop backgrounds have a slideshow option that changes the background every once in a while. The backgrounds bundled with Windows 7 are stunning, including beautiful scenery of buildings and nature, and also a slideshow of famous places from any country. I chose the landscape slideshow for both computers.
I enjoyed the new convenience features in Windows 7. There is a button at the end of the taskbar which minimizes all windows with one click, and brings all of the windows back with a second click. Also, I liked the ability to make a window expand to half of the screen by dragging it either side of the screen. I found this helpful when I needed to do two things at once, such as typing in Word and browsing online. Gadgets, little desktop displays from Windows Vista, also appear in Windows 7. I opted to place the weather gadget on the Dell Dimension to show me the weather in my location whenever I see the desktop.
Windows Explorer has received a facelift, and the left bar is categorized into favorites, libraries, computer, and network. Favorites allows me to access my download folder and recent places I visited on my computer in one click. I can also quickly open my documents, music, pictures, and videos in one click through the libraries. Also, there is now a search function on the upper right of Windows Explorer, which works very quickly to find files on my computer. The same search function is also right on the start menu-- after I start typing, the start menu automatically starts searching and displaying the results in a few seconds.
Speed was not an issue for either computer. Even when the Eee PC had Windows Aero turned on, I did not experience any problems surfing the web, checking email, watching YouTube videos, or typing in Word. The Dell Dimension behaved the same way. For these two computers, normal use is pretty fast-- not quite as fast as Windows XP SP3, but very close. On the other hand, startup and shutdown times were much improved compared to XP. The same applies for putting the computer to sleep or hibernate.
Battery life did seem to cause a minor issue for the Eee PC. Even though the window borders automatically cease to be transparent when the netbook is running on batteries, the batteries only lasted about 80% of their normal time. This is not a problem for me since I usually have access to an outlet for charging, but Windows 7 does make a difference here.
Any program that runs fine on Windows XP would run fine on Windows 7 for me. If a program did not work, Windows 7 would automatically detect that it had failed, adjust the compatability settings by itself, and ask if you would want to run the program again. Every time a program made for XP failed for me on 7 (which was very rare), the automatic detection would successfully correct the problem and the program would run as if it were on XP. Microsoft only offers the "Windows XP Mode" on the Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate editions, but with the auto-adjust, the Windows XP Mode looks totally unnecessary.
If you are looking reasons to upgrade because Windows XP works fine for you, keep in mind that Windows 7 is more secure and that Windows XP will not be able to support Windows 7-only programs in the future when XP is phased out. I found the transition to Windows 7 smooth for both a desktop computer and a netbook, and I found the upgrade to be worth my time and money.
Win 7, everything it promised to be October 23, 2009
Herbert Freeman (Ilion, NY USA)
52 out of 62 found this review helpful
Received my order without a hitch (release date delivery).
I opted for the Clean install, wanted to take advantage of switching to the 64 bit version of home premium.
The install was easy and straightforward. The needed drivers auto installed and it even advised of a problem driver and went and downloaded it directly from Dell, after clicking through two advisory windows.
The whole expirience was painless and the most pleasent install of a operating system from microsoft, ever!
It loads blazing fast, software runs smooth and even downloads from the internet seem to be faster.
The clean install was performed on a Dell Studio 1535 and the task was flawless!
Total install (counting downloading anti virus software and email) took about three hours.
Very, very satisfied!
Good Enough to Switch from Mac to PC October 23, 2009
Nix Cadavre (Michigan, USA)
38 out of 45 found this review helpful
I was a Mac user until I used Windows 7.
I've owned several Macs running OS X, including the late 2008 aluminum MacBook. Thanks to Boot Camp, I was able to run Windows on my Mac, and when the opportunity to try the Windows 7 Release Candidate came up, I decided to use my Boot Camp partition for just that.
It ran great. I was impressed. After a few months, I found myself spending more time in the Windows 7 partition than in the OS X partition. I finally decided to swap around my partition sizes, and gave Windows 7 the larger chunk of my hard drive, while OS X was re-installed fresh and left unused on a tiny partition. I didn't miss OS X, which is interesting because I've spent many years defending OS X, and countering PC users when they bashed Macs. Still, I was a Mac user. I had Mac hardware. I was certain it was a good value anyway.
Some online friends proved me wrong on that count, too. They showed me PC laptops that had more features than the MacBook, and which cost way less than the MacBook, too. I couldn't deny it: I was clinging to my Mac out of brand loyalty, and with Windows 7 on the horizon (and the RC working so well) I could see no reason why I shouldn't switch to PC.
So I did. I sold my aluminum MacBook and picked up an ASUS gaming PC. I removed Windows Vista from the ASUS and installed the Windows 7 RC as my primary operating system, and was pretty happy with it. It ran smoothly and without incident for many months while I waited for the retail release of Windows 7.
Just yesterday I got my copy of Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade, and I have to say that installation went well. I was up & running in less than an hour, and had my previous Windows Backup restored to my new OS within another 40 minutes. I did have to spend a little time re-downloading some things like Firefox and Thunderbird, but those things are to be expected with a fresh install. The cool thing is that Windows 7 remembered that the RC I was running was an "upgrade" from a legitimate Windows Vista installation, and so I wasn't bugged, prompted, or tasked with proving my ownership of Vista. It just *knew* and went ahead with the installation.
Once installed, activation was simple and took a few seconds online. You need not fear MS activation now, as they're a lot less touchy than they were when Windows XP first showed up.
So what do I like about Windows 7? On a really basic level, I like that I can play Direct X games, where the Mac was a little short in the gaming department. But that aside, I like the availability of software, the new features like the improved Taskbar, Windows Peek, and the Aero environment. Sidebar gadgets are nice, too. Windows also did a good job ripping off the "Sticky Notes" application from the Mac, and I use that quite a bit.
The big negative for most people in switching to Windows 7 will be the lack of an email client. For me it's no big deal because I use Mozilla Thunderbird (free and open-source). For people used to Windows Mail or Outlook Express, you'll either have to switch clients, or make a purchase.
Best of all, Windows 7 is not a resource hog. I gained a lot of performance going from Vista (the original OS in my ASUS laptop) to Windows 7 RC, and the retail release is no different. Things work better, and Windows 7 takes advantage of my 4GB of RAM. It helps to be running 64-bit, though. It's a good thing Microsoft included both 64-bit and 32-bit DVDs in the case. No mail-in upgrades, here!
If you're used to OS X, but want to come into the PC world where things cost less and you get more features, by all means consider Windows 7 the stepping stone to do just that. After seeing the pricing on the newest MacBooks this week, and the limited features compared to what I currently own, I have to say that now is the right time to consider that switch to PC.
Windows 7 is Windows Vista done right October 22, 2009
William W. Davis
42 out of 55 found this review helpful
I've been using Windows 7 since its beta release, but my laptop's been running the final version for weeks now. I really disliked Vista and preferred XP still, but Windows 7 has tipped the scales...finally. Windows 7 has been reliable and it's snappier than Vista. Windows 7 sips laptop battery power so my 1-year-old Dell XPS M1530 runs longer under Win7 than it did under Vista. But what I really like about Windows 7 are the new and improved features it offers. Here's a list of my favorites:
#1 VIRTUAL LIBRARIES
With virtual libraries, the special folders like Documents, Pictures, Music and Videos have all become libraries. Instead of being a physical storage location, they're indexes that point to one or many locations on the computer you're using, as well as other computers you're networked with. In a home setting, where you're running Windows Home Server, you can now easily direct file stores to your server. Also in the home, housemates can easily see each others' data by including their respective folders in one another's libraries. When you search a library, you're searching your computer and any other computer that has folders you've added to your library. You determine which physical location will be the default location for saving new files to your library. This is, for me, the single best feature of Windows 7, and is an excellent reason to upgrade.
#2 START SEARCH
The Start Search has been improved in Windows 7 so results appear instantly as soon as you click the Start button, and then either type the name of a program on your computer, or a task you'd like to perform (like, "change my display settings"). No more hunting folder hierarchies to find that elusive program, or spend time figuring out where Microsoft has placed something in the Control Panel. This is a tremendous time-saver.
#3 AERO SNAP
The Aero user interface has three new tricks -- Shake, Peek, and Snap -- but only Aero Snap is a major leap forward. Have you ever tried comparing the contents of two windows together, side-by-side? It's painful to do because you have to fiddle with resizing the two windows. With Aero Snap, now all you do is grab the title bar of one window, sling it to the left, and Windows 7 will automatically resize the window to fill-up one-half of your screen display. Do the same with a 2nd window by slinging it to the right, and it'll fill-up the right-side of your display. You can start comparing two windows in...an Aero Snap. Aero Shake and Peek are cute, but not nearly so helpful.
#4 TASKBAR
Gone is the Quick Launch bar that too many people didn't know existed. Now, the whole Taskbar is a quick launch bar -- drag and drop any program icon onto the bar, and you're one click away from starting the program. Also, it's so easy to move the taskbar around now. I keep it on the left vertical on my computer. Gone is the system tray, too -- Notification Area takes its place. The Action Center alerts you to anything you need to do to keep your computer working smoothly.
#5 PROGRAM COMPATIBILITY
Any program can be run in one of many compatibility modes now. Windows 7 has a wizard that will help you pick the right, earlier version of Windows under which to run an older program -- just right-click on the program icon and choose "Troubleshoot Compatibility". Or, You can do the same thing more quickly by right-clicking on a program icon, click the Compatibility tab, enable Compatibility mode, and select the earlier version of Windows you want to run with your program.
#6 STICKY NOTES
Less functional that the Vista Sticky Notes -- which nobody used -- but now I actually use Sticky Notes to put reminders on my Desktop. They're quick, easy, and work just like a regular Post-It note only you don't get fingerprints on your screen!
#7 JUMP LISTS
There are two kinds -- Jump lists that let you quickly pick a task to perform, and Jump lists to quickly select a document to open and edit in the associated program. Jump lists include most recently used files, or you can pin your own files, too. These are nice time-savers.
#8 SAVED SEARCHES
In Windows Explorer, you can create filtered searches and then save them in your Favorites for later use. This is handy to find filtered data in the future. When you re-execute the search, it creates a dynamic results set (so your search is never stale).
#9 CONTENT VIEW & ARRANGING
Also in Windows Explorer, two new features. Now you can arrange a folder into subdivisions by date (great for your pictures folders!). You can use the Content view to combine thumbnails of files along with details that usually are found only in the Details view.
#10 USER ACCOUNT CONTROL
Most everyone hated UAC in Vista (even though it helped to keep your computer safe). In Windows 7, Microsoft tamped down the annoyance factor of UAC. You can change your date and time without setting off UAC, for example. You can also decide whether UAC should go into secured Desktop mode whenever it does get triggered (secured Desktop is when your screen darkens and you're forced to respond to UAC's dialog box asking permission to run a program or make a change to your system). You can easily turn-off UAC, too.
#11 PAINT, WORDPAD, CALCULATOR
All three of these utilities got updated. Wordpad and Paint have the Office-like "ribbon" now, and Calculator has a few new memory keys, touch sensitivity, and a Programmer view for those dealing with hexidecimals and binaries.
#12 HOMEGROUP SHARING
This is the easiest way to share data with others in your (home) network. HomeGroup creates a password that is shared among computers, and that takes care of all the issues with user accounts, file permissions and "access denied" problems. This is great for unsophisticated home networks. I made this feature last because I'm not using it -- I just think it's a great idea for inexperienced users. Note: all the networked computers need to be running Windows 7 to make HomeGroup sharing work.
Upgrading advice: I went through the upgrade process twice. Here's what I learned to do before and after the upgrade: 1) Remove Adobe Reader and reinstall the latest version (9.2 as I write this) after the upgrade. Older versions of Reader won't render correctly in Windows 7 and an IE8 browsing session. 2) Remove your antivirus, anti-malware and anti-spyware programs, and reinstall them after the upgrade using the latest versions available. 3) Remove any virtualization programs (like VMWare Workstation) and reinstall following the upgrade. 4) After the upgrade, look for the latest video driver from the video card maker, not by your computer hardware vendor (in my case, it was getting a new driver from Nvidia rather than from Dell).
Looking to do a clean install using this upgrade disk? You can, but here's how. Insert the DVD and choose "Custom" to do the clean install. During the install, DO NOT enter your product id or activate Windows -- yet. Instead, you'll finish the clean install, reboot, then use your DVD to do an upgrade of the clean install of Windows 7. Yes, you're upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 7. After you upgrade, then enter your product id and activate Windows. I haven't tried this out personally, but others have and have done so successfully. Add a comment to my review to share your experience if you go this route. Final note: This tip isn't intended to circumvent the stipulations in the licensing agreement for upgrading your computer. If you're not entitled to upgrade (because, say, you're using Windows 95, 98, 2000, or ME), then you must buy the full version. As I tell my kids, "Just because you can do a thing doesn't mean you should do a thing." :-)
And finally, my few quibbles with Windows 7: My Dell XPS M1530 has always had sporadic issues resuming from a sleep or hibernate state under Vista. That still is the case, even with Windows 7. I'm not convinced, though, that the underlying problem is an operating system issue as much as a hardware/BIOS problem, so I can't knock Windows 7 for this problem. Not all my laptops have had similar power-on problems, even under Vista, so my advice to you is to NOT expect Windows 7 to solve any power-on problems from a sleep or hibernate state if you've currently got those problems with your laptop.
Lastly, if you like to periodically examine the Reliability Monitor in Vista, it's not as nice in Windows 7 -- there is no precise data value assigned to your machine's ever-changing reliability metric. And it's impossible to find in the Control Panel (but it's easy to do a Start Search on). The graph is still there, though, and it's updated hourly instead of daily. For most people, I'm guessing this is a complete non-issue.
In short, think of Windows 7 as Windows Vista done right.
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