Windows 7 is the first Microsoft operating system that feels like a worthwhile investment in almost eight years.

Unlike Windows Vista, 7’s new features add both functionality and form to the user-interface. The updated OS is a whole lot more than just an “under-the-hood” update to Windows Vista. The new interface, in one word, is “stunning.”

The new taskbar is something to be experienced first hand. The traditional “Start-Menu” is now just a circular icon and is relatively unchanged, but the rest of the bar is new and is much more efficient at helping the user multi-task. The bar functions like an ergonomically efficient take on the “Dock” from Mac OS. Programs are now represented with a small icon instead of text. When the user puts the mouse over the icon, miniature copies of every window open from that program appear above the icon. This new function is called “peaking” and after experiencing it, you’ll never want to go back. Navigating through the operating system has never been easier.

Peaking is also present in the alt-tab Window navigation function. Peaking makes the windows-tab 3-D navigation feel like a gimmick and an abuse of CPU use.

The new OS is capable of emulating older versions of Windows to run programs that the new version of the operating system has difficulty running. Microsoft actually got it right this time with backwards compatibility and the final version of the OS should dodge the “new operating system incompatibilities” crisis altogether.

The XP emulation worked on the majority of programs tested, but it will not work on all of them. If you’re running an older version of Windows and heavily rely on software that Vista does not support, you will want to find out if your software will run on 7 before upgrading.

The emulation even works on hardware so if you’re upgrading an older PC to 7, you won’t have to wait for the computer manufacturer to release new software to run your old hardware on 7. It won’t be a flashback to upgrading to XP, Vista, or OSX.

If you’re a gamer and you’re running Windows Vista, upgrade to 7 as soon as it comes out on October 22nd. You’ll never have an urge to go back. However, if you’re running Windows XP on your rig, you’ll want to give the upgrade more thought.

On the downside, setting up 7 can be a bit fussy with very old hardware, but runs practically error free once it’s up and running. The new operating system uses noticeably less system resources than Vista, but it is still a resource hog compared to XP: use the “Vista Requirements” for programs in 7.

Even if you’re content running a gaming rig on XP and scorned from Vista, 7 is worth taking a look at.

Note: A Release Candidate version is a full-functional version of a program available for public testing before the actual program release.