Microsoft has come out with many operating systems over the years starting with Windows for Work groups and with the latest Windows 7. Many improvements have been made to the last three Operating Systems – XP, Vista, and OS 7- to increase speed, liability, and user friendliness. Since the three operating systems have their differences, here’s some pros and cons about the three.

Windows XP was a great upgrade from windows 2000 that added a lot of security to the previous OS. XP is still widely in use in the home and business environment. The reason for which is that it’s a very secure, very device friendly operating system. XP is also the default operating system on net books because of the low system requirements. Windows XP has a long list of device drivers that work, unlike the newer Windows Vista or OS 7. And it has 16-Bit application support. The other major factor of windows XP is that it has very little hardware requirements. For example XP only requires a 300MHz processor and 128MB of RAM. The downside is that it only sees up to four gigabytes of RAM and has little 64-Bit support.

In the respects of Windows Vista, there are many people who say it has problems. Which, I cannot argue against. Truth is, the only real good things about Vista are the great looking User Interface and is easy to network. And you can’t complain about the 64-Bit support and large amounts of RAM you can install on a 64-Bit Vista system. The cons are that vista has a very limited list of device drivers vs. windows XP. So if you want to connect a lot of peripheral devices, you will most likely have some issues. Windows Vista has a minimum recommend requirement of two gigabytes of RAM to install and run, which can be a little expensive. There is no 16-Bit support whatsoever and has compatibility issues universally.

Now for the newly out Windows 7, commonly referred to as OS 7. Since this operating system is new, there are not a lot of user reviews on the product, not even the highly known site CNET has a lot of knowledge about it. Windows 7 is about the same as Vista when it comes to hardware requirements; the only difference is it requires less hard drive space to install. But on that note, OS 7 uses the system resources much better than Vista; if you have 4 gigs of ram OS 7 only uses 384MB of RAM to idle, versus Vistas 500MB+. Unlike Windows Vista, OS 7 has built in virtualization for running your system in XP mode. This allows you to install device drivers in XP so you can use older devices on your Windows 7 system. So now you have a 64-Bit system using small amounts of RAM, Supports many drivers, looks good, and is stable. With Windows 7 you’re getting only the best features of XP, and Vista in one.
One of the other great things about Windows 7 is its price compared to vistas high price. For the Upgrade to OS 7 home premium, the price is only $79. The clean install only costs $199. Vista to date is still $169, and only a month ago was selling for $199-$299 depending on the retailer or website. The only downside to Windows 7 that I can see is that it just came out. So we don’t know as much about it as previous operating systems.

1. Xbox Project Natal – This is hands down the best of the new gadgets coming out. Interactive game play without controllers. There is a motion sensor camera built in that reads body positioning, body type and can assign gender to your avatar. The camera can detect even subtle movements replicating the movement on screen.
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2. Ford’s MyKey – This is the bane of all teenagers! A parental safety control allows parents to set speed limits, audio limits, and sound an alert if the seatbelt is not engaged. Cool idea, glad my dad didn’t have one.
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3. 4G phones – These have data transfer speeds of 100 Mbps with 1G when static. Sprint, Comcast, Verizon, Clearwire, and Time Warner Cable are all releasing 4G phones, so the prices are going to be competitive. Good news for the consumer.
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4. Hydrogen powered phones –French researchers are slated to announce a hydrogen fuel source for mobile communications next year. While this may not be in production in 2010, it is newsworthy enough to be included in the cool gadgets list.
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5. Bond gadgets: These are not new ideas, but they are new applications.

Spy button camera –Good for surveillance (or stalking), this camera is available in the form of a button.

Spy Tie camera – Same as button cameras, but dressed up (Kind of snobby, really, they don’t like the buttons) as a tie tac.
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6. Apple Tablet – Netbook in slate form, the size will be somewhere between the iPhone and the Apple Mac Laptop making it easily portable.
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7. Microsoft Zune phone – features include OLED (organic light emitting diode), resolution 800×480 pixels, light sensor, GPS and compass.
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8. Playstation 3 (3D) – the new release from Playstation, this is a firmware software upgrade to your existing unit. 3-D glasses have to be worn.
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9. Canova dual touch screen laptop – As the name says, it features two screens with multi touch capabilities that respond to the lightest touch, the best features by far are the sketch pad, graph page, and multimedia package. Applications can utilize both screens for better viewing. It can also be programmed to respond to voice commands.
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10. Hydrogen fuel – From France: Hydrogen fuel to be used to as a backup power source for mobile communication devices. This is slated for production in mid 2010. Say good-bye to being tied to electrical sources of power!
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11. Nuclear Batteries – The US stays in the game – The University of Missouri is working on the development of nuclear batteries to provide longer life for batteries. The applications for these types of batteries is endless.
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12. Fuji Instax mini 7S Instant Color Photo camera – the rounded design is easy on the eyes and comfortable in the hand. Great for vacations, the kids can get an immediate print to share with new friends. The refills are expensive, but worth the cost.
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13. BioLogic FreeCharge – Dynamo attached to bike wheel can produce enough electricity to charge gadgets or power a small headlight for night riding.
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14. Radioisotope battery – The size of a penny, this battery provides more power than traditional batteries. (To the 6th power higher than normal batteries )
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15. Bluelounge Refresh – This is a charging station that can charge six different devices and can accommodate 3 at one time on the station. If you want to charge all six at the same time, three of them will have to sit outside of the station.
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16. EMS e-paper music scores with a foot pedal – The flexible screen unrolls to provide viewing surface and is fed the music through a bluetooth from a computer. This is VERY cool for musicians!
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17. Glo-pillow – gradually increases LED light output to simulate a sunrise. The pillow also features memory foam for comfort, a digital display.
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18. Motion activated headphones – built-in relational motion sensors turn on of off as the headphones are removed or inserted into the ear. These headphones will allow the user to answer an incoming call from a supported cell phone. When the headphones are removed form the ear the device will be shut off.
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19. Solio Solar Charger – With an eight hour charge from the sun (to bring the device to a 100% charge), this device can recharge your cell phone battery twice or power you mp3 player for fifteen hours.
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20. Cowan A2 – This is a multimedia player that is 4 inches wide with a bright screen. It is very portable and has full playback and recording capabilities.
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I realize that this isn’t really a tekkie devise, but it IS cool so I included it.
Toyota Prius – Toyota is introducing a solar panel on their Prius hybrid car. The solar panel is to power the air conditioning and should improve overall functioning of the car.