Should my school upgrade to Windows 7?
Yesterday Microsoft launched the eagerly-awaited Windows 7. After the disappointment of Vista, people were keen to see whether Microsoft could redeem themselves and make an operating system that improved noticeably on XP.
In the preceding months the Microsoft marketing machine generated an exceptional amount of buzz, with Windows 7 remaining a popular trending topic on Twitter http://is.gd/4vYbR. Such was the hype before launch that Amazon posted that Windows 7 was the biggest pre-order product of all time, even beating the indomitable Harry Potter http://is.gd/4vYp0
From the sounds of things the wait was worth it, with internet reviews finding the system cleaner, faster, stronger and more usable.
So, what does this all mean for schools? We understand that rolling out a school-wide operating system upgrade is no small task, so you need to be sure that the new system will bring strong enough benefits.
Gerald Haigh, education writer and journalist interviewed six UK schools who were early adopters of Windows 7. He writes about their experiences of upgrading to the new operating system in a paper entitled Windows 7 in schools: The early experiences.
In the report Gerald Haigh highlights the “efficiency of Windows 7 in terms of its ability to run on existing hardware” so “there’s little or no need to spend money on new equipment”.
As well as pointing out the great functionality of the operating system Haigh noted that Windows 7 is “more energy-efficient than its predecessor systems” which “will be a cost saver for schools”.
We have been using Windows 7 since the early Release Candidate was unleashed on the world in April of this year. This has given us enough time to get to grips with the operating system to be able to confidently support our clients. The same can be said for Windows Server 2008 R2, which we have been using internally for some time now.
If you’re interested in upgrading, we are fully prepared to help answer any questions you may have about Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.
If you would like to read more about the experiences of early adopting schools the full paper can be found here: http://is.gd/4vWn0
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According to Microsoft UK Schools News Blog some 14% of their readers are now using Windows 7 http://blogs.msdn.com/ukschools/default.aspx.
Hi,
I have to do a presentation on why our schools that have PCs should upgrade from XP to Windows 7. Besides for being faster and more energy Efficient, what benefits is Windows 7 going to give the end users (Students) over Windows XP?
Hi Chad,
You’ve already touched on Windows 7 being faster and more energy efficient, which is going to give your students a better experience. If you’re moving to Server 2008 R2 at the same time you’re likely to see faster login times too.
The other thing to think about is consistency, especially for younger students – technology at home is always out-pacing that in schools so many students will already be running Windows 7. Offering them a seamless transition to IT systems at school helps them get on with their work and reduces pressure on teaching staff in lessons.
If you’ve got disabled users at your school there are improvements in the Accessibility Tools and you’ll be ready for new technologies with native Blu-ray support and OS awareness of touch technologies.
For staff there’s native encryption technologies (BitLocker) built in and if you’re moving to Server 2008 R2 then DirectAccess is a simple way for them to connect to the network and access resources.
For you there’s a number of tools that make administration easier, such as Deployment Tools, which can remove the need to maintain multiple machines images using drive imaging technology.
Hope that helps, let us know if we can be of any further assistance.