Computer Troubleshooters report that Windows 7 is proving popular with Techs

Microsoft launched its Windows 7 Operating System On October 22nd with the media attention and fanfare it deserved. Many IT professionals remembered when Vista launched with similar fanfare and positive reviews but quickly became unpopular with users and technicians alike.

How has Windows 7 held up in its first month of real world usage? IT support franchise company, Computer Troubleshooters Australia , surveyed its franchise network in late November to find out.

The results of the global survey bode well for anyone who will be receiving a new Windows 7 computer this Christmas. More than half (55%) have already installed Windows 7 on their customer’s computers, and a whopping 93% say that Windows 7 is a reliable alternative to Windows Vista or XP.

Another question on the survey conducted by the IT solutions franchise was asked what “must haves” a customer’s computer need before the Computer Troubleshooters would consider it for an upgrade to Windows 7. The most popular answers were related to the processor (dual-core recommended), followed by the graphics card (Aero-capable, prefer dedicated not shared), and memory (most recommend 2GB, though many said 1GB was sufficient).

Some of the features that may tempt people to upgrade:

• Share nicely – Great for places multiple computers, the ‘HomeGroup’ feature makes it easier to share printers and files (including music, pictures and videos).
• Take the music with you – Windows 7 and Media Player 12 allow you to access and play media files from your home PC remotely via the internet on another computer.
• Snap & Shake – Time to teach your mouse some new tricks! Aero Snap activates when you drag a window to an edge of your screen. Aero Shake lets you literally grab and shake a window to minimise all of the other open windows on your screen.
• Find more – The speed of the Start menu’s search feature has improved significantly. You’ll see search results from files and Outlook emails stored locally on your computer, including the text contained within email attachments.
• USB secrets – USB storage (in either keys or portable hard disks) has become more popular for people working at multiple locations or for storing backups.
• Performance – Windows 7 requires less horsepower to run than Windows Vista.
• Saving power – Numerous features have been added to automatically preserve battery life, such as shutting off power to unused network ports and reducing background activities.

Nick Roche, CEO of the IT support franchise said “Overall the experience on Windows 7 is much better compared to Vista, although it is important to have enough memory in the chip processor to take advantage of the speed improvements and to ensure your other equipment such as printers are compatible. Consumers & business owners should be quite comfortable purchasing hardware with the new operating system”

Computer Troubleshooters Australia is an IT Support Franchise that has more than 90 locations Australia wide. The IT support franchise specialises in small business and home offices.