October 22 - just another Thursday for many people but an important day for Microsoft Windows watchers.  Today Microsoft released Windows 7 - the next advance in the Microsoft Windows operating system that runs most of the world's personal and business computers.  We've been testing and working with Windows 7 since the first beta releases were made available to the tech community and have been documenting our experiences along the way.

Is Windows 7 another Vista fiasco?  We don't think so - Microsoft appears to have learned from the problems with Vista - performance problems, device compatibility problems, hyperactive security warnings and usability issues.  The support.com staffers that have made Windows 7 their computing home for the past few months have been universally satisfied.

Windows 7 provides some simple by high impact usability enhancements - Aero Snap, the new Taskbar and HomeGroup in particular.  Windows 7 appears to boot faster, run a bit faster, support devices more cleanly and (although I haven't noticed it myself) make more efficient use of power - which is good for notebook batteries.

The one virtual fly in the ointment is getting to Windows 7 from an existing computer.  It is easier than Windows XP to Windows Vista... but still not easy.  Whether your starting point is Windows XP or Windows Vista, upgrading an existing computer to Windows 7 will likely require expert assistance.  (It's for this reason that we introduced a Microsoft Windows 7 Online Migration service today.)

As a resource for consumers looking at Windows 7 below is a series of useful articles published on the support.com blog covering Windows 7 features and what consumers can expect when upgrading to Windows 7.  Included in here is an article on Internet Explorer 8 which is part of the Windows 7 experience.

• Windows 7 HomeGroup - Built-in home networking that finally works
• Windows Vista to Windows 7 - Upgrade Fun Continues!
• Internet Explorer 8.0 one month down the line - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly!
• Experiences with Windows 7 (three part series: part 1, part 2, part 3)

So my recommendation is yes - Windows 7 is an operating system from Microsoft to embrace - not avoid - and if you have the technical know how considering upgrading from Windows XP or Windows Vista to Windows 7.