Windows 7: how it works
Updated on 21 October 2009
Jamie Claret from the PC Surgery demonstrates Microsoft's newest system to Benjamin Cohen. The eagerly anticipated Windows 7 launches this week.
Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer is putting his reputation on the line with the launch of the new Windows 7 operating system on Thursday.
The 53-year-old took personal responsibility for Windows 7 after the negative response to its predecessor, Vista, and cannot afford another slip-up.
The new operating system, arguably Microsoft's most important product launch since Windows 95 more than a decade ago, arrives as demand is growing to replace aging software and hardware.
Jamie Claret from the PC Surgery demonstrated the new system to Channel 4 News.
"Vista was slow, bloated and was far more inefficient than [its predecessor] Windows XP. It would take much longer to do anything - starting the PC was much slower," he said.
"Windows XP had been around for a long time now and you're getting to the point when you can't really rely on an old operating system. When people are refreshing it would make sense to go with Windows 7.
"The main benefit is speed. It allows you to do more things faster than you could do on XP. If you're used to using Vista than I would highly recommend upgrading to Windows 7 because the speed increase will be highly significant."
