Microsoft Windows 7 Professional, Full Version, Standard License for PC

I got sent a free copy of some valuable CAD design software from the most reputable supplier of integrated physical design and simulation systems, only to find that none of the four PC's at home were new enough to run it. I then spent £500 on a new top of the range multicore CPU and motherboard from the most reputable PC CPU brand and a new graphics card, because none of my hardware are new enough to be compatible. Lastly, I bought Windows7 which seemed like a good idea at the time.

Time to boot and start typing in notepad is 40% improved from my Windows95 comparison.
Time to run a heavy calculation 2001 benchmark test was reduced by a factor of two by comparison to their 2001 reference machine, mostly explicable by running on a 3.2GHz system relative to their 1.6GHz celeron reference.
Time to open a word document and start typing was 40% faster than the Windows95 comparison machine.

Installing to a minimum-cost 64-bit CPU motherboard purchased in 2010, my first hurdle was that the motherboard drivers CD had an XP installer which Windows7 prohibits.
With no drivers, the on-board video displayed Windows7 in glaring 1989-esque 16colour horror. That was only cosmetic but lags behind the default drivers of the free linux operating system which on the same hardware goes straight into svga at 1024x768 32bit colour. So, it would seem, Windows7 is designed to intimidate users of older hardware. I got Windows7 to look nice on this board only by adding a new graphics card.

The user experience of Windows7 so far has been nice, comparable to Ubuntu, which I use for all of my critical storage and communication tasks. I suppose that Windows7 is better for compatibility with the FBI user, whilst linux is more for the UN. I was pleasantly surprised that on ordinary settings, linux on my LAN could read and write to Windows7 but not corrupt the important system files, whilst showing nothing to Windows without an invite. Windows7 network discovery features have been a delight to examine and generally simplify automatic connection to anything wi-fi which enters my neighbourhood.

Having been an avid Windows XP fan, I was loathe to abandon it and install yet another new operating system on my PC.
Long boot up times and a few other niggling problems pushed me towards a fresh install, plus the fact that Microsoft had withdrawn support for XP. This gave me the incentive I needed to make the change.
Armed with a brand new copy of Windows 7 professional I took the plunge.
Installation was a doddle although I was left hanging for a while during the installation, wondering if the program had crashed. No changing screens like XP, just a pretty blue screen with a white bird. Eventually when I was really doubting what was happening, the installation finished. The machine rebooted and I was immediately confronted with a fresh new look to my desktop. As you would expect, certain functions weren't exactly as they were in XP and after an initial familiarising period, I was able to adapt to the new OS. I love the fresh new feel to Win 7 pro, and once I'd got used to it, I loved the layout. As I said earlier, some things are hiding in different places than in XP but all in all I much prefer Win 7 to previous versions.
I'm not a huge fan of widgets, but Win 7 comes with its own supply of them plus the opportunity to download plenty more. The task bar has big icons and is twice the thickness it was in XP but easily altered to make it smaller. It has a repeating desktop theme whereby it will display a different wallpaper every so often. Not for me, as I use Advanced desktop calendar, that function will not work for me, but maybe others will like it.
After using Win 7 for a month now, I doubt I could be persuaded to return to XP. My only real gripe is my beloved scanner doesn't have compatible drivers. I thought I would have to upgrade to a new one, but Microsoft support advised I install XP mode and run the scanner from there. It's a bit more fiddly, requiring a couple of extra steps to get to my scanner but all in all, definitely preferable to buying a new one. The scanner works perfectly in XP mode with the ability to save all scanned documents to my desktop in Win 7. Closing the scanner session and xp Mode, returns me to my Win 7 desktop where my scanned files are waiting for me.
Windows 7 Professional is everything Vista should have been. When installing new hardware, it actually finds the correct driver online and saves you the trouble of searching for it yourself. In my opinion it's a class act.
As of yet I've found very little, that would prevent me from recommending it to anyone wishing to upgrade their OS.

I did not used the Pro for a long time but I have a year experience in Home... you know, it's Windows, with all the good and bad sides. If you make some safety measures you will be fine and can enjoy this pretty OS which is I think the best from Microsoft so far.

Quick delivery, standard product & reasonable priced. I am enjoying the product. Windows 2007 is much better than Windows 2003 in terms of enhanced outlook, one note etc.

Still hooked on XP , but i suppose i'll have to move on!!
Purchased this disk for cheapness of sale with a reasonable excuse for selling. Glad i did, product still factory sealed, I activated it without any problems. :)