The way I read it, Windows 7 is launching not with a bang, but a whimper. Which is a good thing. Unlike Vista, whose January 2007 debut was accompanied by Microsoft protests that it really, truly was great (even if the WDM display drivers clearly weren't), Windows 7 simply works. Anyone who has test-driven the beta gets that. Now that I'm about to install the final, release-to-manufacturing version, it's time for a quick OS recap. Click ahead for a video and some MS PowerPoints.Lest you think I'm sucking up to Microsoft, let me preface my praise of Windows 7 by noting that I believe this will be the last great client-side OS launch we'll ever see. Face it, we're at the end of the beginning of the Internet era. And old-fashioned, desktop OSes won't be all that relevant in a world of Web-host applications (aka SaaS) running on Netbooks or Apple iTouch Tablets.

Which means you should enjoy Windows 7 the way you did the last Beatles album. Great stuff, but it won't come again.

OK, so what's the big deal about Windows 7? Well, it's just not fair to criticize Microsoft for getting it right, and that's what they've done both in terms of performance and features. Regarding the former, as I've previously noted, Windows 7 is the Vista that Vista never was. It runs fast and seemingly flawlessly.

As for features, we've got a bunch of important additions, which boost security and enable increased administrative control over users (good for enterprises and their admins, though perhaps not welcomed by the users themselves).

BranchCache, a bandwidth-saving feature for far-flung businesses. It mirrors copies of files on the home server out to servers at branch offices.

There's also deployment help, to enable admins to easily re-image the PCs and laptops in their enterprises. Per all these features, I refer you to some Microsoft PowerPoints I snared at a briefing earlier this year. Click through to see some concise slides illuminating Win 7's enterprise features.

Microsoft slides spotlight the tech features of Windows 7. (Click to enlarge, and to see more PowerPoints.)

For the final leg of our recap blog, here's a video I did back in March, which includes my early Win 7 impressions, plus ome Microsoft-generated footage about its enterprise ecosystem.

See also:

Enterprises Iffy On Windows 7 Migration

Windows 7 Revealed: 24 Screen Shots Of Microsoft's Next Operating System.

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Alex Wolfe is editor-in-chief of InformationWeek.com.