Okay, so my vintage 2004 laptop was having some serious cpu cooling problems and failing badly. I thought about refurbing it, but in the end decided it was time to bite the bullet and upgrade to current technology.
The big question for me at that point became: ”do I go with tried and true winXP, or do I entrust all of my web development, email, blogging, and other work from home as well as personal and social computing to the new kid on the block?”
As the saying goes, it was time to fish or cut bait.
I gave serious consideration to staying comfortable, staying with windows XP, but ultimately, I realized that going to Windows 7 was the best choice for me because first and foremost, it’s what my customers are now getting and there’s something to be said for sharing your customers’ joy and pain. More importantly though, what kind of geek would I be if I took the safe route and chose familiarity over learning and discovery? So this blog post comes to you from my new Windows 7 laptop.
With just under a week of use, I’m already finding a certain familiarity as I navigate new routes to screens and settings that I recognize. I have to say, the greatest difficulty I’ve encountered thus far has been the touchpad on this Acer laptop. At first, it appeared to be possessed by demons as every touch seemed to send me someplace I hadn’t intended to go, or opened screens that I hadn’t meant to open. I made short work of that problem by going to the control panel mouse properties and turning off most of the autoscrolling and execution features. Two features that I did find handy (and not prone to accidental execution) and left running though were two-finger scrolling, and mouse pointer momentum (iphone and itouch users should be familiar with these two features). Two-finger scrolling lets me scroll up and down or across a page by dragging two fingers across the touchpad surface. Mouse pointer momentum is great for getting the mouse across the wide screen by dragging quickly or as I call it, ”flinging it” across the screen. With those changes, I exorcised the demons from my touchpad and was once again able to navigate without the constant threat of accidental diversion.
Next up, email. Windows 7 doesn’t come with a built-in email client like Outlook Express or Windows Mail as had come bundled in previous versions of Windows. I decided to download and install the free Windows Live Mail offering from Microsoft. I found it to be as easy to install and set up as Outlook Express and with a lot of the look and feel of that old standby. It took a little getting used to the fact that Windows Live Mail creates a complete set of inbox, sent items folders, etc. for every email account I set up (I have 5), but I was able to sort all my emails handily into organized folders by using message rules that thankfully, can be written to move data between accounts.
Now, one of the pleasant surprises of my Windows 7 experience. As Windows users, we’ve all had the experience at one time or another of trying to add a new device or gadget and had windows report that it’s going to “go online” to try and find the driver. And as well, we’ve all experienced the resulting disappointment when it searches forever then finally admits defeat and asks for the manufacturer’s CD which, if you’re like me or anyone I know, you just can’t find right now! Well, with my new Windows 7 laptop, I browsed the network to one of my shared printers and clicked it open to install. Of course it immediately started with the “Searching online…” routine to much eye-rolling by me. Imagine my surprise then, when it suddenly switched from “searching” to “downloading,” and then seconds later, to “finished.” Lo and behold! I can print, and it didn’t require a trip to the manufacturer’s website to wade through ill-conceived screens seemingly designed to deter me from finding the driver or software I seek! Chalk one up for Windows 7 in this geek’s book. That was easy!
I’m sure there’s more and I can’t wait to discover! So till next time, if you’re on the brink of buying a new PC and can’t decide between Windows XP and Windows 7, this geek is recommending Windows 7 
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This article was written by Andy Trask, Head Geek at Geek Housecalls, the New England area’s original traveling computer geeks, on the web at www.geekhousecalls.com. Geek Housecalls specializes in “anything computer” and, since 2001, has become the trusted in-home computer and technology support provider for over 15,000 families and small business computer users in eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and southern New Hampshire. For help with your computers, gadgets, or network at home or at the office, click here to contact Geek Housecalls via the web, or call toll free:
1-877-4PC-GEEK (1-877-472-4335)
Tags: acer, email, email accounts, email client, install, laptop, new computer, new laptop, new windows, printer, recommend, touchpad, win xp or win 7, win7, windows 7, windows live mail, Windows XP, WinXP