The launch of a new operating system for your computer is always a fraught business.  Microsoft especially has hit many a rock with undercooked releases such as WindowsME which was a disaster and Vista which really wasn't much better.

We get very used to existing systems and their idiosyncrasies, change almost always involves cost - either in time to learn new ways of doing things or in cash as we find that the old machine wont run the new software or there are other compatibility issues. And since Windows 2000 there has been a lot less urgency to upgrade because in those days upgrading really did mean getting rid of behaviours and problems that constantly beset previous operating systems. No more.

So what's the story with Windows 7? David Flynn from the Sydney Morning Herald has the checklist. Windows 7

• IT'S THE BEST VERSION OF WINDOWS YET
  Windows 7 is faster and more stable than the overhyped yet underdone Vista and ... there's almost no learning curve when you shift to the new OS.... you'll quickly discover some simple yet very intelligent changes ... designed to make it easier to manage and juggle the myriad windows on your screen and desktop, which is an area of frustration for most users.
• 3 YOU WON'T HAVE TO BUY A NEW PC
  It'll run OK on later-model Windows XP computers, as long as the PC is fitted with at least 1GB of RAM and the chip has a speed of 1GHz or higher.You can check whether your computer is up to snuff by running Microsoft's Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor program (tinyurl.com/mnmj8u).
• WINDOWS 7 IS AN EASY UPGRADE FROM VISTA BUT NOT XP
  Windows 7 won't recognise your existing [XP] software or hardware settings, email and folders such as My Documents. Windows 7 includes an Easy Transfer wizard to help import the old documents, email and such from a back-up file.But you'll still need to reinstall all your software from scratch - and then download and install all the updates and patches released over the years.
• YOU PROBABLY WON'T NEED NEW SOFTWARE
  Software that works on Windows Vista should run on Windows 7. The sole exception may be some anti-virus and security programs but free online upgrades are already available for most of the better-known brands, such as Norton.Most Windows XP software will also run on Windows 7. For those few stubborn programs that won't play nice, Microsoft has built a new ''XP Mode'' into 7 to trick XP software into working as it should.

  The catch is that your PC must use an Intel or AMD processor that includes special ''virtualisation'' technology, which tends to be found only in the latest PCs.

• WINDOWS 7 DOESN'T COME WITH ALL THE PROGRAMS YOU NEED
  Windows XP and Vista came with inbuilt programs for handling email and instant messaging, along with digital photo manager and home movie-maker programs plus some basic computer security software.Microsoft has removed these from Windows 7 in favour of promoting its free online versions of the software under the Windows Live brand. So before you can use Windows 7 to fetch email or share your holiday snaps, you'll need to download these programs, most likely as part of the integrated Windows Live Essentials pack.

On balance, as an XP user, I probably wont make the shift till I find the existing machine failing. I have all the software I need and with applications increasingly becoming browser-based, cloud/SaaS shareable tools on the network, as long as I can run a current browser I'm happy.

What about you? How do you make that decision? Or do you wait till the old machinbe collapses and just suck it up and buy the next model that comes with the latest system installed?

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