Expats worldwide should rejoice at the release of Microsoft’s new Windows 7 package due primarily to one of its least acclaimed features.

Amidst the hype surrounding Windows 7, and disappointment with Vista, the capability to change the operating system’s language is a significant advance in technology that will have users in multi-lingual environments overjoyed.

For years those computer users living abroad have encountered difficulties when purchasing a new PC or even using a local computer. Windows has to date been constructed in a single language, meaning that a British expat in Thailand or Germany who bought a new PC would be forced to make additional purchases to enable them to use the machine effectively. The alternative of attempting to navigate via the home country’s native platform, familiar to many overseas internet cafe users, can be a truly frustrating experience. The large expat population in Asia is faced with a range of characters that are indistinguishable from the Roman or Cyrillic alphabets. Understanding Windows in English represents enough of a challenge for some.

Windows 7 or to use its proper name Windows 7 Ultimate, will offer operating systems in 35 different languages that are available as downloads at no extra cost.

There may be a challenge when updating the language system as the initial prompts will be in the mother tongue, meaning you may have to phone a friend to help you start. The download should take a matter of minutes and will operate almost immediately.

Some base features will remain but nothing that cannot be amended by the user. The result will bring Windows into line with Linux and Apple which already offers the option on the hard drive.

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Filed under Business & Finance, Genearl Emigration News, UK News