I can’t believe it! Windows 7 can actually run to my old ACER laptop!

Yep, it’s not a typo thing but i guess you heard me right.

Let’s face it. Not everyone has decided to upgrade to Windows Vista operating system.   Even the company where i work for with a around 5000-7000 seats still uses Windows XP SP2 Professional version. And why not? Considering  lots of issues that need to address including new operating system costs and licensing, business interruption, security and network testing… ooops… not to mention software compatibility issues which are mostly the ultimate problem when you are a developer/programmer like me, I guess that made the upgrade a bit more conservative. But how about Windows 7? Hmmm, let me see.

Seriously though, I was thinking of switching to LINUX because of the good reviews am hearing from the open source community. Through my friend Melinda of Phoenix One Makati Branch – Philippines, i found out how she managed to keep her old-time laptop  working with Windows 7 OS. She said there was a slight improvement with response rate  this time around not to mention other security patches and software drivers updates and that she kept on telling me to try it myself.

Alas! With gusto and curiosity sake,  I managed to install  Windows 7  on my spare laptop i.e. an XP Acer Laptop (actually it’s my Dad’s old laptop not mine =) ).  It’s amusing to think that  for an original hardware specs which was not meant (or advised)  to run Windows Vista, Windows 7 could actually run, and seemingly sporting  a  justifiable performance (ie comparable to the old XP that it had before).  My old laptop has the following specs:

Laptop Model: Acer TravelMate 3260
Processor: Genuine Intel(R) CPU T2250 @1.73GHz 1.73 GHz Core DUO
Installed memory (RAM): 512MB (502 MB usable)
System type: 32-bit operating system
Pen and Touch : No Pen or Touch Input is available for this Display

Installation was a breeze (took almost an hour due to software compatibility testing).  Even if the hardware didn’t fit the Windows Aero feature , it was totally ok with me as i don’t need it anyway. Although the performance vary from the software you wish to run,  still the overall  look and feel was great. There was a bearable speed when you try to launch MS Office Word 2007 which took roughly around 20 seconds while Excel 2007 took 12 seconds.    Looks like the window 7 architects got the clue this time. But i was not satisfied when i attempted to launch Adobe Photoshop CS3 which took me 45 seconds on initial loading and Adobe Dreamweaver CS3 which took me around 30 seconds. =C No wonder i was testing below the recommended minimum hardware specifications.  Well anyway, it was just a snapshot try. I wonder how this speed will go on my personal Toshiba Laptop.  Just hoping that I’ll get a free upgrade from Toshiba (my Satellite laptop with Windows Vista Ultimate) …. oh how i wish this Christmas / Year End season?

According to documentation provided, Windows 7 also sports a number of cool and interesting features spanning the use of touch and handwriting recognition, DirectAccess, and kernel improvements, support for virtual hard disks, performance improvement for multi-core processor, clean panel, improved boot performance, multiple heterogeneous graphics cards from different vendors (Heterogeneous Multi-adapter), a new version of Windows Media Center,a Gadget for Windows Media Center, improved media features, the XPS Essentials Pack and Windows PowerShell being included, and a redesigned Calculator with multiline capabilities including Programmer and Statistics modes along with unit conversion. Isn’t that cool? Eventually one by one i’ll try it myself. You should try it too. It’ll definitely make your life a little more colorful. =)

So for those who are planning to migrate to Windows 7, the minimum requirements are

** http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/products/system-requirements

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For more details check out: Windows Section

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