Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
by Microsoft Software
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Software Summary
Manufacturer: Microsoft SoftwareBrand: Microsoft
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: DVD-ROM
Release Date: 2009-10-22
Platform: Windows 7
Model: FQC-00129
Product features:
- Windows 7 Professional (includes 32 & 64-bit versions) lets you run Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP Mode.
- Recover data easily with automatic backups to your home or business network, connect to company networks effortlessly and more securely
- 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
- Easily create a home network and connect your PCs to a printer with HomeGroup
- Microsoft Office Home & Business 2010 - 2PC/1User (Disc Version)
- Microsoft LifeCam Cinema 720p HD Webcam - Black
- Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 6000 - Black
- Microsoft Wireless Mobile Mouse 3000 - Black
- Microsoft Wireless Desktop 3000
Software Reviews of Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
Customer Review: Windows 7 - Not Quite Ready for Prime Time
Summary: 2 Stars
So here we are 1 day after the official GA launch of Windows 7; months of preparation, testing, and anticipation and all I am left with is a severe case of disappointment. I trusted the prognosticators and experts in the press. They have been touting Windows 7 for quite some time, telling anyone who will listen how great it is. But what I've discovered is that many of the analysts and press types have simply been regurgitating Redmond press releases. Not really understanding the words that they have been saying; I can only assume that they must have come from Babylon.
To be sure there are some interesting features in Windows 7. And true to Redmond's press releases, Windows 7 boots awfully fast; and if fast booting is your criteria for an enterprise class operating system then you will be pleased.
If on the other hand you are a serious computer user and you view your PC as a professional tool, then perhaps Windows 7 out of the gate is not for you. Since Windows cleaned up its act in Windows/XP, I rarely boot. I have an extended battery in my laptop, a couple of docking stations strategically placed; so most of the time, I don't even bother shutting down, hibernating, or sleeping, I just close the lid and move to my next meeting or customer. There's nothing quicker that opening the lid and pounding on the keyboard. Tell me again why I need a fast boot?
Don't get me wrong there are a lot of incremental improvements that you may consider worth the pain of converting. Microsoft has added wizards to help make a novice's life less frustrating. There are new network setup wizards and problem determination wizards. And including Media Center in the distribution is a nice touch. Those improvements will play nice for the novice or household user, not the corporate one.
But ultimately Microsoft is heading down the wrong path. The bulk of Microsoft's moneyed base is the enterprise space which by and large is populated with experienced users; the new toys in Windows 7 aren't needed to play in corporate environments. And to be sure, Microsoft is not just pursuing one path, but it seems to be pursing many, and mostly wrong ones.
Bad path number 1: Microsoft is trying to "out cool" Apple. Aero glass or whatever they call it is a pig. Unless you have an expensive graphics card, a bunch of memory, and a beefy CPU, and you think you need a dopamine rush for your inner geek; turn it off. XP's desktop and windows borders and controls expend far more processing cycles that any professional or student for that matter needs to get a job done. To Microsoft's credit they included a Windows 7 experience analyzer to let you know how well Windows 7 would fare on your hardware. Ironically my overall score was pulled down by my computer's graphic capabilities. No problem, turn-off the pig and my system runs like a champ.
Bad path number 2: for some reason, the techno brains at Microsoft decided that Windows Explorer needed an overhaul. And to be fair, this is not a Windows 7 thing it's a hold-over from the rarely seen daylight from Vista's days. And I have to admit that of all of the enhancements, this one makes me the craziest. And yes I understand that Windows Explorer in XP has its weaknesses, but guess what, it works!!!
And with the ill-conceived changes to the interface, millions of users that knew how to use the old interface, now suddenly have to learn a new interface. Did anyone in Redmond calculate how many hours of learning it will take for an existing user to become proficient with the new interface and multiply that by the number of experienced Windows users around the world and the value of their time? My guess is that the cost to productivity should at least be able to fund Obama Care for quite a while.
Think about it; Microsoft in their arrogance decided to destroy nearly every companies PC user's productivity so that some `cool new' way of doing a simple task, using Windows Explorer; suddenly becomes foreign. What they did is like taking the steering wheel out of a car and mount it on the roof to make it more fun to drive the car and to improve the driver's vision.
About the only nice feature in the new Windows Explorer is the extra information displayed for dvr-ms files. The extra meta data wrapping the mpeg file, includes to name a few of the elements, the recording title, sub-title, channel, and original broadcast date. To get at this data in XP, you had to bring up the properties or use a 3-party utility such as EDITDVRMS; kudos to Microsoft for providing immediate access to the information by simply selecting.
And yes, the inclusion of an enhanced Media Center is nice to see. The old version was pretty lame and simply lacking any sort of rational features. So they added a few nice gimmicks like the ability to click on a timeline to advance your position in a recording, something that I may add has been in Windows Media Player for a while. But Microsoft went overboard in its enforcement of digital rights to make a lot of use cases, shall I say, useless.
I've have had a SONY Media Center computer as part of my family's home entertainment center for a while. I record kid shows during that air during the day and we play them back for my youngsters before bedtime when teenage and adult fare is broadcast. I also record a few of my favorite shows to take with me on the road and I watch them while I fly.
In the Windows XP days, I would use my Media Center computer to record shows and I would use a converter to copy and convert the dvr-ms files to MPEG on a USB drive. And at a later time hook the USB drive up to my laptop and watch a show.
I was initially happy to see that Media Center was part of Windows 7; I theorized that I would be able simply copy the dvr-ms files to my Windows 7 laptop and watch the recorded shows off the laptop. My theory was wrong; Microsoft's twisted interpretation of digital rights prevented the recording of some shows and simply displayed a message that a do not record bit was set. Or I rudely learned that playback on my laptop was prohibited because it was not the recording device; so much for being able to enjoy a personal media in a distributed fashion. I'll just go back to screen scraping Hulu and playing those recordings at 37,000 feet as Microsoft has lost its value in my home entertainment system.
Okay so my complaints are my annoyances and frustrations. If you're a business user and you are buying new PCs you'll soon find the new boxes entering your organization are pre-installed with Windows 7. So, what matters to you, once you get over the training and ramped up for the inevitable extra load on your help desk is, "will Windows 7 work for my organization". And the answer today is probably not.
The reason that you will not be able to deploy a Windows 7 PC is the same story in Vista, the lack of drivers. For some unexplained reason, HP decided not to participate in the Windows public Beta or Release Candidate process. So as of October 22nd if you have any HP Printers or Scanners, you are out of luck; still no Windows 7 drivers available. Are you a Hauppauge PVR user? Hauppauge is not going to support those devices in Windows 7. Are you a user of Symantec's Partition Magic; hang it up. Microsoft has changed interfaces again, so unless your vendor chooses to support its previously sold devices, you will find yourself looking for and paying for new devices and software.
HP finally posted Windows 7 printer drivers on October the 23rd; but since they did not participate in the public beta or release candidate process their reliability has to be suspect.
Microsoft dictated obsolescence reminds me of Detroit's 50's and 60's arrogance; you know the one, "I'll make sexy cars that you'll need to replace every three years. I have no respect for your investment. Come `on, look at all the new features I am introducing this year, get with the program you need to be seen in the seat of this shinny new car".
Microsoft must have seen that a lot of vendors were avoiding Windows 7. And to be fair, if I were in the vendors' shoes, I would wait to see if the market accepts Windows 7 before I spent a bunch of R&D bucks. So, to provide some relief to the customer base, Microsoft has released what looks like a scaled down version of Hyper-V which allows you to run XP-Mode programs and some devices with only XP support.
Nice idea, but it comes up short. I was able to run my HP scanner in the XP environment, but not all XP native devices are supported. For example disks appear as a pseudo-network drive; which limits the types of things you can do with it. Symantec's Partition Magic wanted no part of a network drive. Perhaps a VMware concept of Raw Device Mapping or RDM device would solve the problem. But until either Microsoft or Symantec says uncle and upgrades their software support, I and a lot of other folks are stuck with a bunch of bookcase obsoware.
And did I mention that XP-Mode is very slow. And you have to install all of the software you would normally have for a desktop; Word Processor, Spreadsheet, Virus Scanner, Fire Wall etc. And I had to run 5-cycles of Microsoft update to get the XP image up to the latest patch level. What is Microsoft thinking?
My prediction is the corporate world will give Windows 7 the cold shoulder again. Microsoft needs to decide what it wants to be and what path it needs to go down. As a stock-holder, I suggest that they follow the money and embrace the corporate or professional user community. Fork-off Media Center centric uses for the home market, stop calling it Windows. And yes I'd like to see Microsoft trounce the elitists at Apple; so fork off a code line with your aero glass and create a viable competitor to the rotten core.
Microsoft also needs to take a keen look at IBM. IBM has had and still does have many operating systems for different classes of users. When an OS has reached it end of life, the SHARE and GUIDE crowd have a nice eulogy and move on the next better thing.
IBM has also firmly embraced LINUX and run it runs as a guest so to speak on their mainframes. Competition is good, and if Microsoft created a culture of competing OSes, you'd see them stealing features from each other and not so much the competition. When I did software at CA eons ago during their heyday, they had a saying in management; "if a product is going awry, fire half the developers to get the other half focused".
And as I observe many corporate users, I have come to the conclusion that Microsoft Windows is tolerated because there is nothing better out there. My final predication is that if Microsoft keeps its head in the sand, the Chinese will take over the commercial software industry like the Japanese and more recently the Koreans have taken over the auto industry.
Microsoft wake-up please!!!
Description of Microsoft Windows 7 Professional
Windows 7 Windows Professional N/A 32/64 Bit License w/DVDFull New License(English)UNSPSC CodeUNSPSC Code : 43233004With Windows 7 Professional, fewer walls stand between you and your success. You can run many Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP Mode and recover data easily with automatic backups to your home or business network. You can also connect to company networks effortlessly and more securely with Domain Join. With all the exciting entertainment features of Windows Home Premium, it's a great choice for home and for business. Need to use multiple languages on your PC or help protect your data with enhanced BitLocker security? Get Windows 7 Ultimate.
 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. |
Everything you need for work and home
Simplifies everyday tasks
- Improved desktop navigation features like Snap, Peek and Shake, make it easier to manage all of your open windows.
- Creating a home network has never been easier. You can even share files and printers with all the PCs with Windows 7 on the network.
- Find virtually anything on your PC ? from documents to songs to email ? just by typing a word or two with Windows Search.
Works the way you want
- Designed to make your PC sleep and resume quicker.
- Takes full advantage of the power and multi-tasking capabilities of the latest 64-bit PCs.
Makes new things possible
- Watch, pause, rewind and record TV with Windows Media Center.
- 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 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.
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. |
 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
Resume from sleep
We designed Windows 7 to help PCs sleep and resume from sleep more quickly by improving the way Windows 7 manages drivers, programs, and power.
Faster and more reliable
We reduced the amount of memory your PC needs for open windows and to execute commands to help it be more responsive to commands.
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.
- Get connected in three clicks wherever there's a wireless network connection.
- Keep documents on your PC and on network servers in sync automatically.
- Your PC will automatically use the printer you prefer for whatever network you're on.
- Simplify making presentations special settings that keep your PC from sleeping and turn off messages, notifications, and screen savers.
- 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.
- Advanced Backup and Restore makes it easier to keep your work safely backed up to external or network drives and accessible if you need it.
- File encryption helps keep proprietary and confidential information on a PC secure if it is lost or stolen.
- Preserve your investment in programs designed for Windows XP with Windows XP Mode.
- 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.
- Easily add your PC to a secured, managed, network with domain join capabilities.
- Group policy controls help administrators more easily and effectively manage the security and configuration of multiple PCs.
Choose the Windows 7 Edition That Is Best For You
Features |
Windows 7 Home Premium |
Windows 7 Professional |
Windows 7 Ultimate |
| 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. | | | |
| Watch, pause, rewind, and record TV on your PC. | | | |
| Easily create a home network and connect your PCs to a printer with HomeGroup. | | | |
| Run many Windows XP productivity programs in Windows XP Mode. | | | |
| Connect to company networks easily and more securely with Domain Join. | | | |
| In addition to full-system Backup and Restore found in all editions, you can back up to a home or business network. | | | |
| Help protect data on your PC and portable storage devices against loss or theft with BitLocker. | | ||
| Work in the language of your choice and switch between any of 35 languages. | |
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