The Spring Collection from Windows 7

A few weeks ago I attended an event hosted by Microsoft where they showcased their new 

"Spring Collection from Windows 7".....

a variety of family focused all-in-one PCs and stylish Ultrabooks.

We saw tablets, touch screens, all-in-ones that can be used as TVs - 

all super-stylish, very fast and easy to use.

I always find these kind of events both fun and extremely useful.... 

despite the fact that I write a blog, my understanding of technology has huge room for improvement & I generally attend these things feeling as though I am the least knowledgeable person in the room.

On the other hand, that does make me think I am the perfect invitee since I have everything to learn & I tend to hang on every word, trying to absorb, digest & understand!!

That's the great thing about having an expert standing next to you - Robert from Microsoft was both patient & very good at explaining just about everything, in the simplest of terms.

We were shown a number of different models from the collection and encouraged to ask questions. All the attendees were bloggers but what was interesting was that everyone of course had different requirements with regard to their PC....

some were professional writers who were often out & about and working on the go and others worked from home. Others needed their PCs to also be family & child friendly.

I absolutely felt that the PCs and Ultrabooks we saw covered all these needs &, by the end of the event, even I understood the aim of the Spring Collection & what each model offered.

Asus Zenbook UX21 - "exceptional power with an elegant design"

2012, so we were told, is the year of the Ultrabook and the hottest trend in the UK market right now. Designed for people on the go, they are a new breed of Windows PC. Super-thin & portable but at the same time powerful, affordable and with a long battery life.

I have to say that the Ultrabooks that we saw were incredibly light and stylish, really impressive.

I was absolutely thrilled to be the incredibly lucky winner that day of the beautiful 

Asus Zenbook UX21 (as shown above)....

it will be in my happy little hands in a couple of weeks time (that's how new & special it is!!) and I will definitely be writing a review of it.    

  

Samsung Series 7 Slate

  

You can view the full Windows 7 Spring Collection on the official Microsoft site.

The Collection is Microsoft’s top picks, a selection of the top 25-30 PCs across five categories – mobile, entertainment, gaming, professional and everyday – covering a range of different price points. 

Research showed that many people found the whole process of buying a PC really daunting and 72% thought there was overwhelming choice. 

The Spring Collection aims to make it easier for people. People tend to look for PCs to fulfil specific purposes, maybe a kitchen-based PC for the family to use, a PC for business that’s portable but powerful enough to cope with the demands of the working day or a slim and stylish PC for the fashion conscious.

All in one PCs

These PCs are great for families for the following reasons:

·         Stream movies in HD and enjoy almost theatre-quality movie nights. Some all-in-one PCs come loaded with Blu-ray* disc drives so you can view everything in high definition

·         Interactive games can serve as a great way to bring the family together. Some all-in-one PCs have an integrated HDMI allowing you to hook up a gaming console and play sports or action adventure games with your kids

·         If you get an all-in-one PC with a built-in TV tuner, you can stream TV directly on your PC, making your computer your family’s centrepiece for all things entertainment

·         Certain all-in-one PCs have integrated speakers with enhanced audio so that your family can enjoy listening to your favourite music playlists, movies, games, and TV shows

·         All-in-one PCs come with wireless networking, so you can get online—to find family-friendly recipes, read news articles, stream videos, or connect with friends and family—almost as soon as you get your all-in-one PC out of the box

Parental controls

Whilst there is no technological ‘silver bullet’ that can substitute parental involvement, supervision and guidance,  Microsoft has developed a range of different tools, built into our products, to help parents take basic steps and to help ensure children are accessing sites that are age appropriate.