The Nevada Sagebrush

• The Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade is available at the Computer Den at the ASUN Bookstore for $119.99.
• Visit win741.com before Jan. 3, 2010, to purchase Microsoft’s student upgrade for $29.99.

Windows 7, recently released, is available to students for a reduced cost for a limited time. Shane Kelly/Special to The Nevada Sagebrush.

Advertising its new operating system as “your PC, simplified,” Microsoft released Windows 7 recently, complete with an assortment of new features and a revamped look.

The Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade is for sale at the Computer Den in the Associated Students of the University of Nevada Bookstore for $119.99.  However, Kurt Adams, a Computer Den supervisor, said a $29.99 version is available for students at win741.com until Jan. 3.

Only university students can buy the discounted version, and students will be required to verify their university e-mail address when purchasing.  Microsoft usually does not offer education-priced deals on its software, so the offer is limited-time only, Adams said.

Customer interest in Windows 7 peaked on its release date, though Adams could not specify an exact number of students who have shown interest in acquiring the upgrade.  However, he said about one-third the number of students who bought Apple’s Mac OS X Snow Leopard within its first week of availability have purchased Windows 7 from the Computer Den.

Adams said the Snow Leopard release produced “massive” interest among students.

Kurtis Itskin, a 20-year-old criminal justice major, works in the Computer Den.  Itskin said he uses Windows 7 and worked on its beta versions before the program’s commercial release.

“Microsoft really cut down on (Windows) Vista, but they did add a lot of new features,” Itskin said.

Such features include Snap, which allows users to arrange two open windows side-by-side on the computer screen, and an improved Live Taskbar Preview, which allows users to view and interact with thumbnail previews of open applications.

Though Microsoft touts these features as potential selling points for Windows 7, Itskin said its improved capability to sync with Blackberry and other smart phones is one of its most practical enhancements for students.

Itskin also said Windows 7 corrects difficulties with Vista’s networking capacity.

“They needed networking,” Itskin said.  “It’s not easy to set up a home network (using Vista).”

Itskin also noted that Windows 7 generally responds much faster than Vista.  He said his total installation time was about 20 minutes, though that time can vary according to whether users update from Vista or Windows XP.  With Windows 7, Itskin said launching and using applications “is incredibly fast.”

Though many of Windows 7’s new or simplified features attempt to enhance its ease of use, Adams said he thinks Snow Leopard is slightly more “intuitive” than Windows 7, at least for inexperienced computer users.

“For a novice user, Macs are a bit easier to use,” Adams said.  “But Windows is moving in that direction as well.  Their user experiences are very close.”

Itskin said the two operating systems are difficult, or even impossible, to compare.

“I’m not as familiar with Mac OS X, so I find it to be less user-friendly,” Itskin said.  “But a lot of people find it to be easier to use.  It’s kind of like comparing apples and oranges.”

Aaron Benedetti can be reached at news@nevadasagebrush.com.

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