Today is the official release date for Microsoft’s new operating system, cleverly named Windows 7   We are hosting a Windows 7 Launch party tonight.  If you’re in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida area – we invite you to attend.  It is a free event. 

Jim has been using the pre-release version of Windows 7 for several months now.  He just received, and installed the commercial version this week.  Tonight, he will be demonstrating the product and taking questions.  We have reserved the rear Rec Hall at Paradise Island RV park for our event.  It will start at 7pm and last about 2 hours.  For more information, you can call us at 954-83-GEEKS.

What’s with the ‘Launch Party’?  Well, I think Microsoft is trying to take a page from Apple’s playbook.  They’ve been building up hype for this product launch more so than ever before.  Jim visited a computer store earlier in the week and saw computers on the shelves advertised as having Windows 7 installed, but you couldn’t buy them until the launch day – today.  And, the store would be open starting at midnight for your shopping pleasure!

Apparently it’s worked.  We see reports from Amazon that pre-release orders for Windows 7 has exceeded the record set by Harry Potter!  At least in the U.K. – we haven’t see the stats for the US yet.

What is Windows 7?

It is the successor to Vista.  It looks like Vista, and works like Vista, but it works better.  It’s been streamlined.  See Microsoft’s website for further details.  If you have Vista now, upgrading is a pretty simple matter. 

If you have XP, it’s more complicated.  It depends on your hardware.  Generally, if your computer is more than 3 years old, we don’t recommend upgrading. Wait till you’re ready to buy a new computer with Windows 7 pre-installed.  If your computer is up-to-snuff, you will need to wipe everything off to do a ‘clean’ install of Windows 7.

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