by Justin Shearer, Final Communications
For its time, Windows 7 was one of the best operating systems to ever hit the market. There was a great compatibility with almost every bit of computer technology, there was support for bringing old programs and data back into relevance, and it was properly updated. Unfortunately, that time has come and gone. However, there have been new additions to the Windows Family that has made things better for everyone, specifically Windows 10.
Win 7 support to end Jan 1
Windows 7 was simple to use with a start button, easy access to browsers and programs, and rare crashing. Also, Windows Update was also fairly simple to use.
Windows 7 is due to stop support at the end of January, but that doesn’t mean that the operating system stops working in its entirety. You will have the option of paying for updates if you wish to continue using Windows 7 safely. This is unadvised unless you have proprietary software that will not run on any other operating system. Windows 7 is only going to work correctly for as long as your hardware stays good and you never connect the machine to the internet.
Thus, without any further Windows 7 updates to your machine you leave it open for security flaws. Although Antivirus will help against virus and malware, it won’t protect against operating system exploits that hackers find. Those will never get patched again and your data will always be at risk. I would strongly advise against continuing any version of Windows 7.
Windows 10 upgrade offers improvements
Today, we use Windows 10 on many of our machines. Only after a week of using Windows 10, I have found that it is much, much better of an operating system than Windows 7. There are slight changes to Windows 10 from Windows 7, but nothing that interferes with what you already know using the previous operating system.
Nothing has changed in the fundamentals of using the computer. You have a Start Button that brings up your programs. Double-clicking on the browser opens up the world wide web. You double-click icons on the desktop to open your Microsoft Word. Bookmarks allow you to easily access your email and favorite websites.
You no longer have the issues you have if you ever needed to reinstall the operating system. Now, the files needed for the reset now rest on the hard drive rather than removable media. If by chance that gets lost, it’s a free download from Microsoft’s website.
Windows 10 provides automatic driver installation and updates. With Windows 7 you needed to have removable media and/or an installation package to get other electronics to work correctly with your machine. With Windows 10 it’s practically a plug and play. No more messing around with installations.
Windows 10 update scans your machine for missing or outdated drivers, which is a piece of software that allows your printer to talk to your computer or your mouse to be functional. Previously, this kind of happened with Windows 7 but you had to dig deep within the updates to find the drivers. Some of the drivers had issues, like disabling your sound. Maybe only once or twice have I found a driver issue with Windows 10 but that’s still batting better than a Windows 7 machine.
Free upgrade to Windows 10
If you own a computer with Windows 7 or Windows 8, you have free upgrade rights to Windows 10. This means you do not have to purchase the software in order to get the operating system on your computer. If you were buying a brand-new machine Windows 10 costs an extra $100 for the home edition. Therefore, if your older systems are still kicking around, then they might still be able to be used today.
All-in-all Windows 10 is the correct operating system to be using for our current time of technology and support. With all of the previous features that were rolled in from Windows 7 it makes it the right choice for people to use for the most simplicity and an acceptable end user experience.
If you need assistance with upgrading to Windows 10, please let us know!