Windows 7: Satisfaction Status

The introduction of Windows 7 as the newest operating system occurred more than a month now. People who availed the OS are still in the act of learning and settling in process. Presently, Windows 7 is still being improved by wiping out bugs and glitches and of course delivering compatible drivers for utmost performance. But after a month of release, users are already scrutinizing the system.

So the question is: Is Windows 7 actually better than the Vista version? Technologizer group decided to interview their community of tech fanatics about their say on the operating system. The survey about Windows 7’s experience started last November 16 for their readers and Twitter followers. It was conducted for the purpose of having realistic reviews about the new operating system to conjoin with the enthusiastic comments of Windows 7 beta users last March.

The beta users of Windows 7 were composed of more than five hundred fifty members. The survey conducted from them gave a positive feedback and it viewed the new operating system as an improve version of both Vista and XP. It is a fact that the main reason a user decline to upgrade his operating system is the hassle of doing so, which is why until now many postpone changing their operating system.

Before forecasting the complete survey, this article includes some information about the respondents:

Forty-six percent of the testers are previous Windows Vista users and thirty-two percent is using Windows XP.  An average of seventeen percent equally runs Windows XP and Vista. Only five percent preferred using a different operating system while 0.7% runs another version of Windows aside from Vista and XP.

Seventy-three percent of the respondents upgraded their operating system to Windows 7 and eight percent of them decided to only pre-install it. About fourteen percent is still running a pre-released edition and only six percent availed it on their Mac computers via Boot Camp.

Sixty-one percent respondents considered themselves as competent Windows users while thirty-five percent are included in the intermediate level. The remaining less than one percent respondents said that they are just beginners.

An average of sixty-one percent is currently running Windows 7 for personal and home use. Twenty-five percent has been using the system both for home and work use while the remaining fourteen percent entirely runs the system for work purposes.

About sixty-one percent runs the 64-bit version of Windows 7 and the remaining thirty-one percent installed the 32-bit edition.

Eighty-two percent respondents installed Windows 7 entirely from scratch while nineteen percent preferred installing it over Vista.

An average of fifty-nine percent extensively runs Windows 7 while thirty-six percent used it fairly enough. The remaining five percent just managed to use it slightly.

Be informed that the survey was taken only from volunteer members of the Technologizer group. It does not represent the entire Windows 7 users. These are individual comments and are not affected or altered by any other person. This is only for the due purpose of delivering interesting reactions about the newly released operating system.

Installing the Operating System

The first and foremost reaction of any user comes from the installation process which is of course the first action done to be able to utilize a program.

As mentioned before, most people agreed that any form of upgrade on an operating system surely cause mental strain but this is not the case from Windows 7 testers. The respondents commented that they only experienced little problems and no major ones at all in comparison with Vista version. The survey stated that almost all of the testers performed easy installation of the operating system.

An average of eighty-four percent mentioned that the procedure was really smooth while thirteen percent rated the process as fair. Only three percent experienced major difficulties but eventually two thirds of them were able to resolve the problem. This is really an impressive outcome aside from the one taken from XP users which shows that half of the respondents had installation difficulties.

Although majority of the respondents gave a positive feedback about the upgrade, it still does not imply a perfect operating system. According to the survey, there are a few difficulties regarding the upgrade. Above forty-percent of testers encountered driver problems while some experienced incompatibility of software. There are also other reported issues experienced by small number of testers. Eleven percent detailed their experience about having blue screens and software crashes while six percent graded Windows 7’s efficiency as incompetent. Even so, Windows 7’s reputation level is still higher compared to Windows Vista.

The outcome of the survey can not be the basis of rating Windows 7. But the fact remains that all the operating system of Windows whether Vista, XP or Windows 7 has some form of glitches regarding installation process.

About the Features

Next to be judge by our respondents are the features included in Windows 7 especially the new and revised ones. The survey also includes question about the DeviceStage of the operating system, which in our opinion is a disappointing feature.

According to the survey, the most notable features that received an excellent mark from two-thirds of the testers includes: System Tray, Aero Peek, Taskbar and the window tiling. Even the new edition of User Account Control first produced in Vista was rated excellent by more than half of respondents while three percent rated it as poor.

Aside from the mentioned features that received a high mark, there is one addition to Windows 7 that is not given exceptional grade. This is exactly the Internet Explorer 8, which was first introduced for XP and Vista last March. Only nine percent marked it as excellent and fifty percent graded it as good. About twenty percent testers marked it as fair and the remaining thirteen percent actually graded it as poor. This is the feature given the lowest approval from our respondents.

Satisfaction Level…

The survey imposed that Windows 7 received a very impressive mark in regards with overall features. The result from the survey shows that the respondents definitely had an effortless installation and setting up process. They also gave a high approval for most of the features. A whooping seventy percent graded the satisfaction level of Windows 7 as excellent and twenty four percent of the respondents were satisfied. In total, ninety four percent was contented and pleased with the new operating system. The other four percent was having doubts to grade the OS satisfactory or not while the last two percent was dissatisfied. This is really a great result if compared to the Vista’s satisfaction level conducted in 2007 in which it only received high marks from one third of testers and one fourth of them were unimpressed.

Curiosity hits us on asking the reason of those who were dissatisfied about Windows 7 but truth is the response was really insignificant. Most of them said that the operating system is expensive and that the features included does not warrant the cost.

A rather different approach was given by previous Vista and XP users who tried the new operating system. Most Vista users comprised of ninety-percent are really satisfied while sixty one percent Windows XP users had the same experience. It just shows that Vista enthusiasts are more eager to welcome Windows 7 compared to XP users.

Another data we aimed to gather from the survey is the willingness of the respondents to change their present operating system to Windows 7. And the result suggests that majority of them comprised of seventy-three percent definitely will change to Windows 7. The other eighteen percent are having doubts while three percent will not upgrade. The last three percent said that they definitely will not use Windows 7.

Therefore, the overall satisfaction rates of Windows 7 are as follows: Eighty-six percent of Vista users gave Windows 7 a warm welcome and said that they will definitely use it. And only sixty-one percent of XP users will upgrade to Windows 7 and the remaining respondents decided to stick to their old operating system. The satisfaction result from XP users is low compared to Vista users.

Compare and Contrast

For more informative result, the survey also includes queries about Windows 7 in comparison with other operating systems. This form of survey allows the respondents to reveal their extended review of Windows 7. Before upgrading to Windows 7, most of the respondents are previous Vista users and they affirmed that the new operating system is really an enhanced Windows edition. Two-thirds of them commented that it is more superior to Vista. In average, ninety-four percent said it is at least better while three percent viewed both operating systems as equal. There is also one percent who reckons that they are better off with Vista than Windows 7.

It is a known fact that Windows XP is preferred by most users than Vista and some of its fame did not falter with Windows 7 release. Only a few respondents said that Windows 7 is better than XP and more of them remarked that XP is still their number one choice. However, the overall result of the survey concludes that Windows 7 passed expectations with flying colors.

The survey also conducted queries about Windows or Mac user preference. Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard was compared with Windows 7 and the result was actually a draw. The respondents answer was equally divided into three: one-third says Windows 7 is better, the other third represents Snow leopard while the remaining portion believes that both operating system are the same. And this is the same result when Windows 7 was compared to Mac’s OS X 10.5 Leopard.

Windows 7 was also compared to Linux and even though many might comment that it is hard to assume result due to Linux wide range of operating systems, the issue was still cleared: about two-thirds of the respondents indeed preferred Windows 7 and there is no arguing to that.

Above all the positive feedbacks on Windows 7, there are still some who does not prefer Windows 7. The primary reason of the twenty-nine percent unsatisfied Windows 7 testers is that they are already contented with Windows XP and only four percent from Vista users says that they are more satisfied with their old operating system. An average of sixteen percent thinks that the Windows system is too expensive.

Additional Reviews…

The end part of the survey form allows our respondents to write their own review of the new operating system. Positive and negative feedbacks are all entertained. Below are some rephrased comments from testers.

Positive Feedbacks:

Respondent #1 said that he loves Windows 7 and that he previously used XP operating system. Before he tried changing to Vista and he was really unsatisfied. But the experience from Windows 7 made him happier with his personal computer. And even though he’s currently using Pentium 4, he says that the operating system is fair enough.

Respondent #2 said that he has been a Windows 7 beta user since January and the experience was absolutely positive. Some features from Vista that did not work on his personal computer before like Sleep mode definitely works with Windows 7. He also said that the start menu enhancement is really great and that he really loves it.

Respondent #3 said that Windows 7 has everything he wanted from Vista.

Respondent #4 said that he absolutely loves Windows 7 and that he’s really excited about the new operating system, never been better since Windows ’98.

Respondent #5 said that Windows 7 is finally the first Windows version that made him happy.

Respondent #6 said that Windows 7 does what he wants like having a hat that fits right.

Respondent #7 said that Windows 7 is the best Windows edition he experienced. He said that even though he prefers Snow Leopard and Linux due to political reasons, he still likes Windows 7.

Respondent #8 said that Windows 7 is nimble, sleek, compatible and fast.

Respondent #9 said that the upgrade process was really easy. He also said that the operating system is quite surprising compared to other Windows version.

Respondent #10 said that Windows 7 works well and he has no complaints about it. He mentioned that he does not need to check the operating system while he’s working meaning that it’s doing a good job.

Negative Feedbacks:

Respondent # 11 said that Windows 7 is not really what others said it would be. According to him, there were useful upgrades but some were made just for a change. He also commented about the interface which was made simpler but took away power user functions. He ended the review by stating that because of the fact that the industry is upgrading to Windows 7, so is he.

Respondent #12 said that Windows 7 appeared to be utilized by people with the littlest idea about the system. He said that locating data was difficult and was hard to do without using search function. According to him, the operating system withholds many features and some were already eliminated. Above all, he believed that Windows 7 was meant for children and that it was a totally screwed up operating system.

Respondent #13 said that only a few improvements were made in Windows 7 which was not enough for him to consider changing from XP to Windows 7. He said that the operating system was as horrible as Vista.

Respondent #14 said that he can live without Windows 7 and he was not convinced that it is way better than XP.

Respondent #15 said that his main concern is the performance level of the operating system. He does not think that Windows 7 is better than XP. He said that he only upgraded because Windows 7 is the latest operating system.

Respondent #16 said that Windows 7 is really sloppy and that the features were only for average users.

Respondent #17 said that he is very disappointed with Media Player 12 of Windows 7. He said that the changes done on the feature made it more difficult to access. According to him, you can only control the menu by closing and re-opening the program unlike before in which it can be found on the top of screen where it is readily accessible.

Respondent #18 said that Windows 7 is only a cleaner version of Windows Vista.

Respondent #19 said that Windows 7 is too expensive.

Mix Feedbacks:

Respondent #20 said that the $50 upgrade is too pricy if the basis of cost is only the features. However, he does not think of returning to XP.

Respondent #21 said that if you are a Vista user the upgrade to Windows 7 is likely but if you’re using XP there is no need for it and according to him it is just a waste of money because there are features that are better on XP than Windows 7 and vice versa.

Respondent #22 said that in comparison to Vista, Windows 7 is more superior especially the file transfer feature. He said that the features on Windows 7 are improvements from Vista but not for Windows XP.

Respondent #23 said that the Media Center library is a nice feature of Windows 7. But according to him, a full media library is better. He said that it is a nice experience watching TV over the network but having a tuner like the one in Xbox360 would be nicer.

Respondent #24 said that he experienced file permission problems with the media library in which he can not delete recorded shows. He said that the experience was quite annoying.

Respondent #25 said that he is currently using the touch features of Windows 7 on his Touchscreen computer. He said that the feature is user-friendly compared to the old operating systems. He also suggested that more options should be developed for easy access of hearing and visual impaired individuals. According to him Windows 7 is really touch-friendly but not touch-centric.

Respondent #26 said that at first he experienced Windows 7 installation problems over Vista. But after days of trying he was finally able to set up the operating system.

Respondent #27 said that he is happy with Windows 7. He said that disabling UAC and reversion of taskbar should be done after the upgrade so that it will match XP or Vista style. According to him, there are a few glitches but can still be considered worthwhile.

These are the comments and reviews from Technologizer group. And after this, the group decided to continue gathering views about Windows 7. Technologizer group will also conduct another survey after some time when more people are finally using the operating system.