Microsoft Windows 7 is being officially released this month

The next version of Microsoft Windows is being officially released this month.

Is this a good thing, and are people going to be rushing to upgrade?

Lets examine the facts.

The last Windows desktop release was Vista, a total disaster in many people's opinion.

It had huge hardware demands and if you managed to keep it running for more than 3 months it would become progressively slower and slower, until unbearable to use and you would switch back to XP or do what I did a few years back and start learning to use a new OS (Operating System).

Lets look at a bit of history.

Before Vista, people used the charming windows XP, a huge improvement from Windows 98/95, and in my opinion the best Microsoft desktop OS since DOS.

Don't forget XP was more hardware hungry than Windows 98 and like all the others had its own teething problems, however in those days it seemed that upgrading was more common for other software needs and people accepted hardware upgrades and crashes with less resistance. Today, standard pc hardware is good enough to run 90% of your software needs, and if you need to play that new game, a new screen card is all you need, or your gaming console will work fine.

Lets try remember that gremlin that came around for a very short while, Windows ME. I think people were asking for their money back before the installation progress bar reached 100%.

So what do we have.

I can generously say in my opinion, Microsoft Desktops have had a 55% hit rate over the years. Not good considering there have been better alternatives. Would you keep buying hamburgers from the same company if every second one tasted bad and cost you R1000? Well no. We bought that smelly hamburger cause it came with the free toy and bottomless coke.

It seems that bad desktop software from Microsoft happens every second generation. Hmmm, almost a marketing strategy to make their next version seem better. Lowering the benchmark before releasing an average product. So this means, as bets go, Windows 7 should be at least a half a cup full, but is that good enough for today's market?

I have looked at the beta and release candidate of Windows 7. This was my conclusion.

If you have used Mac OS or a good Linux Desktop before, Windows 7 will be as exciting as another sequel to “Rocky” the movie. You wont see anything too wonderful and it might not be worth the popcorn.

If you are a VISTA or XP user you will be excited by fancy new menu bar sorry, "Superbar”, as Microsoft now calls it. “Superbar”, Sounds like another marketing ploy or perhaps a place where everyone knows your name.

There is also new desktop effects, some are worth using and help productivity for a change, I especially liked the snapping windows. The larger preview of minimized applications seems a little silly as you could just maximise the application to see the real thing. These are worth using if you have a large high resolution monitor.

It also seems to run faster than VISTA, for that I would have to congratulate Microsoft with a one handed clap, as this seriously couldn't have been that difficult to accomplish.

This however is Microsoft's biggest hurdle, and why I think sales are going to be slower than before.

If you are currently happy with your XP installation. Your XP runs all your applications and hardware the way you like it, then why should you upgrade? The free toy just isn't worth risking another bad taste in the mouth.

How can Microsoft expect XP users to spend that extra cash on a new OS just for a "Superbar" and a few new effects? Especially after they said no to VISTA.

VISTA users and new pc contracts with hardware manufacturers seem to be the only real market for windows 7.

If you are willing to backup all your files and spend a long afternoon changing your pc to a new OS then I suggest trying Linux, at least their is no money spent and its risk free. If you are willing to spend that extra cash, then spend a little more on a Mac with new hardware and better OS. Makes more sense to me.

If you are buying a brand new PC and it comes pre-installed with Windows 7, I say then give it a go. For gamers, well, I would say until you have to, stick with XP and your consoles.

Perhaps Microsoft will have to work for their sales for a change.

I would like to hear your experiences with Windows 7 so send us your feed back and I will post it on my blog .