Windows 7 or XP?

[Loki]

I've just received a copy of Windows 7 Ultimate from the university (for $6 ) and I just wanted to know, from personal experience, which one is better? I've been with XP for years and went back from Vista within a month from installing it.

The main thing that has me considering Windows 7 is that I have 4 gigs of RAM and hear that it would be better at utilizing it than XP. Suggestions? Input? Any advice is encourage and helpful.

[Kathryn Lacey]

I bought a new laptop for when I go to school this autumn, and it has Windows 7. For me, it's far more efficient, and I prefer it to XP. I've never tried Vista, and I never intend to try it.

I don't know anything about computers themselves, so I'm not sure what would be best with how much RAM you have... =\

[Weiss]

My only problem with Windows 7 was the loss of familiarity with the layout. On XP, I can quickly and easily navigate to anything I want to find. I can troubleshoot my own problems 99% of the time and there's almost nothing on this OS that I can't fix.

I installed Windows 7 on my little brother's PC, partially because I wanted him to have that instead of Windows Vista and also because I wanted to see how it handled and experiment with the OS when he wasn't around to make me get off of his computer. I honestly don't see a lot of difference, depending on the perspective. If you're looking for aesthetics, Windows Vista had Windows 7 beat, in my opinion. Windows 7 actually simplified the OS back to a pretty basic standard by stripping away some of the more interesting features of the desktop and the toolbar.

Besides, you can easily apply custom styles to Windows XP to mimic most of what's available on Windows 7 now. There are utilities to match the newer functions and aside from the aesthetically pleasing style sheets and icons, I don't see much of a benefit to upgrading, whereas there are a number of drawbacks. Namely compatibility. After Windows 98, Windows XP was the most compatible OS to date, and I have yet to find a reason to stop using it. Hell, I only recently updated to the Windows XP service pack 3 so I could use Adobe Photoshop's CS5 package.

I guess it comes down to what you want between XP and 7. I like the familiar feel of XP, so I will probably stick with XP until it becomes completely outdated and there are actual, solid reasons for upgrading to a new OS. On the other hand, if you have no particular reason for not upgrading, WIndows 7 seems like a perfectly stable and reliable OS with minimal compatibility issues.

Personal preference, in my opinion.

[UnfortunateBountyHunter]

i prefer windows 7 for a lot of reasons that i can't remember because i wasn't listening when my dad told me (He's a computer nerd)

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